Trusting God «

Even If You Don’t Follow, You Are Still Being Led

Posted on Apr 17, 2025 in General | Tags: Encouragement in Faith, Everyday Faith, Trusting God

We like to imagine ourselves as independent. Masters of our own fate. In control. Even in our spiritual lives, we may pride ourselves on how well we follow the Light, how earnestly we seek God’s will, how obediently we walk the path laid before us.

But what about when we’re not so good at following?

What about the days when we’re distracted, discouraged, or even defiant—when we stray, stumble, or sit down entirely, arms folded, muttering, “I don’t feel like it today”?

Here is a grace too often overlooked: Even then, we are still being led.

The Psalmist writes, “If I make my bed in the depths, You are there” (Psalm 139:8). The truth is, God’s presence doesn’t waver when our attention does. The Spirit does not stop leading just because we’ve temporarily taken a detour to “do things our own way” (which, historically, has mixed results).

The early Friends spoke often of “the Light that enlightens every person.” That Light is not conditional. It does not flicker out because we looked away. It does not retreat when we wander. The Light shines in the darkness—and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:5).

Sometimes we learn more from our detours than we do from our discipline. Sometimes being led means being guided gently back after we’ve lost the trail. Other times it means God simply walks beside us as we sit in our confusion, or waits patiently while we attempt to solve our spiritual lives with spreadsheets.

To be led doesn’t always feel like movement. Sometimes it feels like stillness. Like silence. Like nothing at all.
(Also, sometimes it feels like standing in the kitchen, staring into the fridge, hoping the Holy Spirit will tell you what’s for dinner.)

But here’s the quiet truth that holds us together: God is still leading. Always.

So even when you don’t know the way—or aren’t walking it—don’t despair. The path is still there. The Shepherd is still calling. And the Light still shines.

You don’t have to have it all together. You don’t have to be a perfect follower. You just have to be willing to listen again. Look again. Be found again.

Because even if you’re not following, you are still being led.

–BC

Feb '25

Small Ships, Big Impact

Posted on Feb 1, 2025 in Faith in Action | Tags: Acts of Service, Community Outreach, Encouragement in Faith, Everyday Faith, Faith and History, Miracles, Trusting God

Feb '25

There is a story about a naval expedition to rescue soldiers from an embattled town on the coast of France during World War II. The town’s name was Dunkirk. Over the course of eight days, more than 800 ships, many of which were small private vessels of fishermen and other everyday people, rescued over 300,000 soldiers. This amazing occurrence is sometimes called the “Miracle of Dunkirk.”

Why do I mention this? Because so often we consider the actions that we take to not have an impact. Without those little ships, it is very likely that many of the soldiers rescued would have been captured or killed. It mattered a great deal that those ships were there, even when they weren’t large enough to ferry the whole contingent waiting on the beach or in the surf.

Any that were taken away were that many saved. If you had been on the beach that day, you wouldn’t have asked for a bigger ship, you would have been grateful to get away. These small ships had a big impact over the course of the rescue effort. I wonder, what small efforts can we do to make a big impact for God’s great rescue mission?

Dec '24

Not Resolution, Re-Orientation

Posted on Dec 29, 2024 in Faith in Action | Tags: Everyday Faith, Goal Setting, Life Transformation, New Beginnings, Spiritual Renewal, Trusting God

Dec '24

Many people like to come into the new year with some resolutions — often having to do with diet and exercise or some life goal. Many of those resolutions last for a short time but typically they lose the battle to entropy and are dropped by about March! This is why I think that framing our desire for change in a different way can be helpful.

Instead of resolutions, we need to reorient our lives. Most resolutions are things that go along with the way we have been doing life already. A reorientation is a bit more drastic, changing the direction of our lives. This may feel disruptive in the beginning, but if we continue on the same path with new baggage, we are still going to the same destination.

Reorientation, however, gives us a chance to shift not just the things we are carrying, but the destination of our journey. Where do I think we should orient ourselves? Towards Jesus. We should give His light and life the focus of our lives. The direction we want to go is wherever we can grow closer to Him.

Dec '24

Something’s Afoot in the Church and it’s not at the End of Your Leg

Posted on Dec 20, 2024 in Service | Tags: Acts of Service, Community Outreach, Encouragement in Faith, Life Transformation, Stewardship, Trusting God

Dec '24

One of the neat things about coming into a new situation — for example joining a church you’ve never been part of before — is that you have no idea really about what is and isn’t possible. When you don’t know whether a thing can be done or not and you’ve got a sort of eager go-getter mentality that for better or worse believes there isn’t anything you can’t learn or be taught to do, there aren’t a lot of barriers to you when you say you want to do things that no one else has looked at in a while. Libraries, for instance. Coffee service, for another. Websites for a third.

On my first day at MFC, as I am sure he will confirm, the big question I felt lead to ask Pastor Jesse was, “What does your church need most?”

“Volunteers,” he said.

So, I took him at his word (which you should definitely always do with Pastors) and, as I walked around the church building with him the next week on his tour, I asked him a lot of annoying questions about who was doing what every time I saw something I thought needed doing. Which is how I ended up sorting out the library. And why the renamed Sunday coffee ministry, Fellowsip, is back. And why you are now looking at a shiny new website for the Church.

I was pleased to discover that the church Facebook page had become a sort of repository of Church History and photographs. I’ve incorporated many of those from the earliest days of the church right up to the most current ones into the redesign of the website. I hope it will bring fond memories to those of you who are seasoned enough to remember some of the people in them or the events that occasioned their taking. Eventually, I’d love to add a dedicated Church History page to the site, showcasing documents and photographs that tell the story of MFC from its beginnings to today.

Another project close to my heart is reviving the Pastor’s Blog. One of my goals has been to make it easy for Jesse to communicate informally with the congregation through the website. While there are still a few technical details to work out, we’re much closer to making this a reality today than we were yesterday. This post is proof of that.

Now, I know it can be daunting to see the new guy come in and just sort of leap into doing things that you might have been wondering if you’d ever see again, but, as someone told me last Sunday before service, “You came with your skates on.”

To which I could not help but reply, “Yes I did. And anyone else who wants to hitch on can come along for the ride.” Because as Peter reminds us in his first letter:

7 For the culmination of all things is near. So be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of prayer. 8 Above all keep your love for one another fervent because love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without complaining. 10 Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of the varied grace of God. 11 Whoever speaks, let it be with God’s words. Whoever serves, do so with the strength that God supplies, so that in everything God will be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

–1 Peter 4:7-11 NET

I came to MFC in that spirit, confident from the start that this was where I needed to be after a long absence away from any church whatsoever. Did God pick me up and send me here? I won’t claim that. I can’t say for certain. But I know this: it feels right, and I am committed to serving with all the energy and love I can muster.

–Brian