Ten Years Ago

I hope all of you welcomed in the new year with family and friends or (if you so chose) enjoyable solitude. My small group along with some of our kids, grandkids and friends had a great time welcoming in the new year by playing games, enjoying snacks and drinks and reflecting on the highs and lows of the last decade. As we shared our thoughts, I began to realize what an incredible decade this has been for me and my family.

Ten years ago none of our children were married and Shelley and I had no grandchildren. Ten years ago my dad was still alive. Ten years ago I had no thought of ever leaving my career as a University professor. Ten years ago my understanding of the kingdom of God, the centrality of non-violence and reconciliation, and the manner in which core American values contradict the values of Jesus was just beginning to take the form it has today. Because my thought was still undeveloped, however, the church I teach at (Woodland Hills Church) was still experiencing incredible growth tens years ago. (The clearer I get on the kingdom, it seems, the less popular I get…boo hoo). Ten years ago I still ate meat and intentionally stepped on bugs! Ten years ago I could still run marathons, tie my shoes without groaning and shovel snow without my back aching for a couple of days.

Ten years ago — one moment it seems like yesterday, the next like it took place in a different life. It’s all so very very strange. And I wonder what I’ll be saying about the upcoming decade ten years from now.

Stay awake to the weirdness and wonder of this quickly passing adventure! Seek first the Kingdom. And have a blessed New Year!

Greg