Old and New

Listen: “Brand New Sun” by Jason Lytle at SXSW 2009

Transitions in life are always challenging. They can be filled with childlike anticipation for a new adventure, or they can be laced with adult-like dread over a broken relationship. Sometimes it’s a mixture of both. Positive transitions include starting a new degree, a new relationship, a new job, a new geographical move, a new career, a new marriage, a new faith journey, a new child, or a new grandchild. Painful transitions may involve a debilitating injury, an illness, a death of a love one, a divorce, an addiction, a career loss, a financial loss, or a loss of faith and community.

Transitions always involve reflection on our past and anticipation of our future. Some transitional situations can lead us to question past assumptions, beliefs, and perspectives while leading us to embrace new beliefs, perspectives, and opportunities.

In transition, we hold on and we let go. We access treasures of wisdom which are old and new. We discard beliefs and perspectives which have been harmful, and we discover new beliefs and perspectives which inspire love and hope for the future.

When I started Vineyard Church of Kansas City, Missouri in 1990, it was a transitional time in my life—one that involved fear and excitement, pain and opportunity. I grew up in a Southern Baptist Church and felt called to full-time Christian ministry as a sixteen year old within that context. I earned degrees from Baptists institutions in preparation for my ministry career (Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary). Over the course of my studies, I came to embrace some theological positions which were not considered mainstream in Southern Baptist circles. When I graduated from Seminary, I applied with the Baptist Home Mission Board to be a new church developer. I was rejected and turned down because of my “fringe” beliefs. It was painful at the time because I had developed a large network of friends and family in that faith community.

This rejection ultimately led me to the Vineyard church movement, which was more non-traditional and progressive than my Southern Baptist heritage (though still conservative in some ways). I remember when I was starting Vineyard Church in the Northland of Kansas City, Missouri that some of my old Southern Baptist friends thought I was starting a cult group. This was painful, but I pressed ahead—holding on to some of the old, letting go of some of the old, and embracing some new beliefs and practices. I remember one pastor from a neighboring church even preached a whole series of messages against my “heretical beliefs” (so amusing now).

As I founded, pastored, and developed Vineyard Church over the next twenty-nine years (1990-2019), Vineyard Church became one of the fastest growing churches in America. My Southern Baptist friends and colleagues stopped calling me a cult leader (thankfully), instead they called me a progressive Evangelical or a British Evangelical. (I guess because British Evangelicals are more progressive?) Depending on who was saying it, that was either a good thing or a bad thing. I was always growing and changing, but I was secure in who I was as a person.

Now I find myself in the midst of another transition in life. It’s easily the most difficult and challenging transition I have ever experienced. Like all transitions, I am evaluating my past and looking forward to my future. I am holding on to some of the old, letting go of some of the old, and embracing some new beliefs and practices. Here are some old and new treasures in my current transition:

Jesus (who is ever old and new). I started following Jesus when I was sixteen, and I have always found his life and teachings to be full of wisdom and insight. Jesus was a Torah teacher, and I have spent my life studying and gleaning from the Hebrew tradition of this radical rabbi from Galilee. Jesus understood the importance of renewing old traditions. Old traditions can become worn out, brittle, and even harmful. Jesus was a radical reformer of a beautiful, ancient Hebrew tradition. Jesus said, “Therefore every scribe [or student of Torah] who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old” (Matthew 13:52; ESV). Jesus taught that all of us are called upon to examine, question, and renew the traditions which have been handed down to us.

Grace. I have always approached life through a grace-based lens—affirming the essential dignity of humanity (imago dei), forgiving faults, and fostering grace-based, transformational communities. After what I have gone through the last few years, I am even more radically committed to grace-base living. Everyone needs to receive grace and forgiveness, and everyone needs to give grace and forgiveness to others. Most of our inherited religious traditions from around the world are full of shame-based and fear-based beliefs and practices. These need to be examined, questioned, and renewed. Grace-based living is the only way to fly.

Friends and Family. I am so thankful for true friends and family. They stick with you when you are down, when you have lost everything, when you are are questioning everything, and when you aren’t sure where to turn. You find out who truly loves and practices grace. I’m also grateful for new friends who have connected with me in my deepest valley.

Recovery. I can’t say enough about the recovery community. This community lives out the heart of Jesus better than most churches I have ever seen, read, or experienced. (The church has so much to learn!) I have been in the recovery community for almost three years. I have grown to love the honesty, vulnerability, humility, and spirituality of this community. My life will never be the same because of my experience, connection, and involvement with the Twelve Step Recovery community. I’m so grateful.

Core values. I think of core values as a guide for the kind of person we want to be and become. It’s not a set of doctrines about what we believe or don’t believe about God. It’s a set of values to which we aspire—like the pursuit and practice of love, beauty, goodness, peacemaking, forgiveness, community, and social justice. I revisit my top ten core values periodically, and they have remained consistent throughout much of my adult life.

Meditation. When I experienced my worst moments of depression and humiliation, I found help in a couple of therapy models—DBT and Family Systems. The DBT model introduced me to mindfulness meditation. I have been learning to practice mindfulness meditation for a couple of years. With my overactive brain and my inner critic, I have needed to learn some new approaches to meditation. Mindfulness meditation is a growing practice of awareness, radical acceptance, and embracing the moment.

Growth groups. I am grateful for people who desire to grow spiritually through in-person groups, zoom groups, and community events. I realize I am still a pastor at heart, and I am called to foster spiritual growth and transformation through groups and community. We need each other, and we are not alone in our struggles, pains, and transitions. I lead and participate in several types of growth groups, so please let me know if you would like to join me in a group for spiritual growth.

Shalom

©realfredherron, 2022