The gospel
As good and succinct an answer as I've found to the question, "What is the gospel?":
The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope. This is the only kind of relationship that will really transform us. Love without truth is sentimentality; it supports and affirms us but keeps us in denial about our flaws. Truth without love is harshness; it gives us information but in such a way that we cannot really hear it. God's saving love in Christ, however, is marked by both radical truthfulness about who we are and yet also radical, unconditional commitment to us.
Tim Keller, The Meaning of Marriage, 48.
What are you hoping for this year?
There's a general sense among all the people I've talked to recently that 2012 is going to be a good year. There's a tangible feeling of optimism and anticipation for this year.
And that applies to myself as well: as I alluded to yesterday, I'm stoked to be able to focus on the one thing that God has called me to--serving as Associate Pastor at The District Church. (And there's definitely something satisfactory about approaching 30.) I'm looking forward to a couple trips to California, including one in June to celebrate the wedding of my dear friend Kristin to her awesome fiancé, Joey. I'm looking forward to seeing what God is going to do in and through this toddler-aged church these next twelve months--I have no doubt we'll trip and fall on occasion, but I'm excited to see how we learn and grow and start walking. I'm looking forward to growing more as a pastor, a preacher, a worship leader, a small group leader, a communications director, a graphic designer, and of course, a son, a brother, a friend, and most of all, a follower of Christ.
Growing up, the most common refrain my parents would hear from my teachers at their parent-teacher conferences was, “Justin has a lot of potential; he just needs to apply himself. He just needs to focus.” And I was reminded of this because I realized that was true for most of 2011. I was severely lacking in focus, and leading a very reactionary life, running from one thing to the next without any understanding of the larger narrative I was inhabiting, and it led me to do everything I wanted to do (and, indeed, felt called to do) poorly.
So choose to be intentional in 2012. There are things over which we have no control. That’s what life is like; that’s reality. But there are things over which we do have control—our lives, our attitudes, our decisions—and as Paul writes to Timothy: “God did not give you a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of self-control” (2 Tim. 1:7). Having within us the power of the Holy Spirit of the God for whom nothing is impossible, we are more than capable. So commit to living intentionally, to living healthily. Take the time to look at your life, to look at your schedule, to look at how you’re living, working, doing, being.
And hope for this year. Plan for this year.* Prepare for this year. Ask God to give you a vision for this year. Write it down--from the large scale, generic ideas that you want to see come to pass this year, all the way to the specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely goals that you set deadlines for.
And come back to the vision. Again, and again. In the inevitable peaks and troughs to come, come back to the vision. Remind yourself where you began, reflect on where you've traveled, look up to where you're going.
Live intentionally.
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* Some people don't like making plans. They say that they're never going to come to pass anyway, so what's the point? They quote Proverbs 19:21 ("The human mind may devise many plans, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established.") as their supporting verse. But that doesn't tell us not to make plans! My philosophy? Make plans, hold them lightly, trust that God is ultimately the Lord of the Universe and of our lives, and that he has things in hand.
Facebook reminds me of God
Facebook has this new thing where it posts flashbacks: “On this day in …” Today it popped up on my sidebar while I was browsing a friend’s pictures, and it read: “On this day in 2010: ‘Heading up to MA for final interviews. If you’re the praying kind …’”
Wow. It’s only been a year. It’s already been a year. The last twelve months have simultaneously felt like they’ve flown by, and yet an eternity has happened in that same time. Twelve months ago, I was still on the verge—and completely mentally prepared—to move to Cape Cod. I was excited for the opportunity to get paid to play music and hang out with young people, and excited for the opportunity to get to work with John-Paul.
It was also the first step in the redirection play that God ran on my life. A couple days after this post, I was back in DC … lost, uncertain, searching, wondering. I had no idea that God had better things for me—all I knew was that what I thought was going to happen, hadn’t.
So today, I give thanks to God for his redirection play, for his bigger plan, for proving himself trustworthy. I give thanks for the times when my plans didn’t come about because God had his own, for the disappointment that was the fertile ground for a new hope, for the uncertainty that gave space for me to trust and have faith in God.
And thanks to Facebook for reminding me of all of this. 
Waiting
What God wants to do in us as we wait is at least as important as the things we think we're waiting for.
- (paraphrasing) Ben Patterson, Waiting: Finding Hope When God Seems Silent, 11.
Tim Be Told share their ‘Humanity’
Last night I finally got to see the band Tim Be Told at Jammin Java in Vienna, VA. I’d wanted to see them since I was first introduced to their music a couple years ago but just missed them when I moved to the East Coast and they took their tour out west.
Anyway, last night was a perfect occasion, since I also got to see my friend Wendell Kimbrough open for them. Wendell and I had played together in a church setting several times over the last year, but it was a real treat to see him perform, with such highlights as ‘February,’ about how much he hates the second month of the year—and my friend Laura agreed heartily—and ‘Communication,’ a painfully spot-on portrayal of male-female (mis)communication. Go check him out!
Then, on to TBT, who opened with ‘Analyze,’ from their last album.
Other highlights from the evening included ‘Miscommunication,’ which was preceded by a proposal—yes, a real one; an acoustic set, including old song ‘Ordinary’; the title track from their newly-released album ‘Humanity,’ ‘Lament,’ and ‘Scared to be Alone.’
What I appreciated as much as the music, though, was Tim’s words between songs, sharing stories behind words, being open about good times and about struggles. It helped provide context for many of the songs, and really brought out the hope in their new album, 'Humanity' (which you can now order online on their website!).
Getting to chat with Tim, Andrew, Tim and Caleb afterwards was also stellar—they’re all solid guys.
Anyway, last night was the kick-off for their ‘Humanity’ tour. Go see them, if you can; you won’t regret it.