The Spark Newsletter

New Idea

Idea #1: If the Church is going to discuss ideas and meet new people, the most consistent place to meet them is still social media (as sad as it is for me to admit).

In Ancient Greece, new ideas, new habits, and new life were stirred up in an "agora," a word rarely used in these parts. It was the town center, a marketplace, a shared space.

In our modern world, people no longer have to shop in stores. Everything can be picked up online, brought to your car, or shipped home. And those who shop in stores have earbuds, so they don't have to endure awkward conversations with the strange people around them who also want some bananas.

We also rarely feel like we have time to meet up with friends to hang out in the downtown space.

The reality is that for most of our community, the most common and repeated space ventured into is the digital space. It is a place where the Church can have consistent influence when done well.

But…

Idea #2: The Church must use social media to draw people into physical communities. 

Though we will have consistent influence over people visiting a social media space, we ought not to use social media as the final landing page of our connection effort. Instead, social media is a platform to inspire people to draw together and contribute to thriving in physical spaces.

We are in a friendship deficit. We have fewer connections in a time and more ways to connect than ever. The Church is the solution.

New Habit

It can be easy to slip into the habit of seeing everything wrong in your life and the world. Political agents never seem to perform in the way we like. The economy is a mess. Groceries cost too much. Work is something a majority of Americans are not satisfied with. You and your spouse may not see eye to eye. The neighbors drive you up the wall.

And it seems like ice cream manufacturers are putting less cookie dough in every container!

We know it feels terrible; something is off, but we only sometimes explain why it matters. Why does that thing upset you? Is it because you hold the president with such esteem? Or is it because it is impacting the world you inhabit? Or is there a connection to be made with the idea that your life is not measuring up to how you want, so you look for a big target to blame? (Ouch).

Even less often do we travel to the logical end of finding problems: finding solutions. 

Let's commit to a new habit together. Every time we complain, we must come up with a solution. If we do not, we cannot complain about it. If you have found the problem and do nothing about it, you only add to it.

Habit: To every complaint, find a solution.

New Life

This weekend, I completed a 6-hour ultra marathon. No big deal 💁‍♂️. 

Challenging your status quo changes you and brings you new life. 

So, if you want to run a much shorter run with me, there is an excellent race for a cause in Columbus that Olga, the kids, and I will be running. It is a 5k raising money to help families who have someone going through treatment for brain tumors. Click the link below to sign up!

But, say you cannot run this time. I challenge you to get up and move your body with a friend. Once you do, I'd love for you to tag me on socials, DM me on X, or email me with what you accomplished!

Life: Run for a good cause with good friends.