06 Aug On the Couch With Jesus

Church family,

Recently, as I sat on the couch with my two-year-old son sitting on my lap and my five-year-old daughter snuggled up next to me on my right, I couldn’t help but feel like it was one of those “this is what it’s about” moments. As a man in this season of life, I wear many hats. I’m a husband doing my best to support my wife as she goes through nursing school, a father trying very hard to be present [and patient] with my kids, and I’m a pastor desiring to serve and love the people God has entrusted to me. I’m also a son and brother… but most importantly, I’m a child of God.

I love being a husband, dad, son, brother, and pastor but if I’m honest, there are times where these roles and the demands of reality tug at my heart in ways that make it difficult to just be Barnabas, God’s son. Turning down the volume of my outward responsibilities and inward desires is one of the most challenging things I have ever encountered…because my son wants applesauce “right now” and my daughter is convinced that the moment Daddy is cooking breakfast is the perfect time to have a meltdown.

To all the men, maybe you also are feeling the pressure in the midst of adapting to a world you never anticipated living in. A world where working from home or even being unemployed has brought things out of you that you never knew were there. A world where racial and relational pressures may cause you to be faced with fear, anxiety, and a feeling of hopelessness.

If you’re a woman and close to a man, then you sense it. Maybe it’s your husband, son, brother, father, or a close friend; you may not be able to put it into words but you can feel the tension and uneasiness.

It’s important for us to acknowledge the challenges, problems, and even injustices we’re facing, but we can’t forget to recognize what they present to us…a choice.

Even amid a pandemic and what appears to be worldwide chaos, we are provided with an opportunity to sit on the couch with Jesus and allow His Word to sit on our laps and His presence to rest beside us in ways that will change us forever. So what does this look like for us…particularly for us as men?

Men, I’d like to invite you to join us for a 4-week Men’s Morning Devotional where we will answer this question together. Beginning August 12th, we’ll spend Wednesday mornings together on Zoom from 7-8 am going through the Christian classic, “A Long Obedience in the Same Direction” by Eugene Peterson. This best-selling, deeply spiritual book about the “Psalms of Ascent” speaks to the heart of Christian discipleship, and I truly believe it will shed light as we navigate following Jesus during a time such as this. I hope you will join us and invite a friend as we begin this journey of purpose and discovery together.

And perhaps most of all, I can’t wait to see your face!

Barnabas