You're Right!

A disarming approach to conversations in a conflict-crazed world

We all know the power of words in human relationships. 

Take the words “I’m sorry.” for example. These words, when expressed whole-heartedly, can bring people together like no other. 

There is, however, another (not so popular) phrase that has even more power to bring people together. It is the phrase, “You’re right.” These words have tremendous ability to bridge even the most furious gaps between human ideologies and opinions. Say it out loud again…

“You’re right.”

When was the last time you said these words to someone? Anyone?

For most of us, it is a distant memory to recall the last time we uttered this phrase. Some of us will have a hard time recalling ANY time that we have said those words humbly and whole-heartedly to another human being. Oh, you may have said it to someone in an attempt to shut down a conversation, but that doesn’t count. You may have said it to someone with whom you agree...that doesn’t really count either, does it? Agreeing with the talking head on TV or your social media “doppelganger” is just a manifestation of our own attraction to anything that agrees with our own confirmation bias, right?

I mean when was the last time you said it calmly and humbly to another person in an attempt to gain common ground when there wasn’t much to speak of? When was the last time you said it to someone with a different worldview than you? Could you even listen to them long enough to find something that you agree with?

Crickets? This is why I needed to write this down. It is something that needs to be said. On the heels of yet another contentious national election this needs to be said.

“You’re right.”

In most cases, this phrase is reserved only for our most intimate relationships. These are words that we would (almost begrudgingly) say to our family, a best friend, our spouse after we have tried everything else. We would never think of expressing this phrase to a stranger when we seem to be at odds. In my opinion, this is why the world seems so divided. We have lost our ability to be humble. To listen. To affirm. This phrase can change all of that, but only if it is used humbly, authentically and often.

Finding common ground is a strategy for establishing unity in a divided world. It is a revelation of the power of these two words to heal relationships (from your most intimate relationships to the wild west of social circles where no two people think alike). It has been born out of years of pastoral ministry and real-life mediations. It has been something I have been learning for myself and it feels too important to ignore.

It is a plea for us to elevate the words, “You’re right” in almost every situation.

It is easy to say in some situations because someone is agreeing with us, but it is most difficult to say when a person seems diametrically opposed to us in every way. These words have the power to create the foundation for real conversation and (dare I say) unity in a fragmented world. If this thought intrigues you, read on. I hope that this concept changes your world as it did mine!

 

Pride and Loneliness

The precepts of this post revolve around a revelation I had a few years ago in the midst of some personal conflict I was navigating with people who mattered very much to me. As a follower of Christ, I knew that I was called to be a peace-maker. It’s a simple idea, but that didn’t make it easy. In fact, at times it seemed as if everything inside of me wanted to rebel against Jesus’ teachings on peace. I wanted to prove my “right-ness” and found how inflexible I could become.

As I doubled-down on my “right-ness”, I watched some who seemed to be at odds with me drift away one by one. Eventually, I discovered that it was my pride motivating my desire to be right. That inflexibility can lead to an exodus of friends leaving as a result of pride. It became clear to me in that season that prideful people are lonely people.

Prideful people are lonely people.

Everybody’s Right (about something)
In my loneliness, I cried out to God with a broken heart brought on by relationship failure. The Holy Spirit is the best discipler around (He is the Spirit of Jesus, the Greatest Discipler after all!) and when I humbled myself, He stepped in. His answer didn’t bring me an instantaneous improvement. It actually threw me into greater upheaval as the Holy Spirit challenged the roots of my pride.

He said two words to me.

“Everybody’s right”

I choked.

"No, they aren't" I said to myself.

Since that first moment, I have repeated this phrase in multiple situations as a bit of an experiment.

"Everyone is right."

The statement begs to be disproven. I have said this phrase aloud to others who are embroiled in arguments and almost immediately they try to refute. However, I have found that the truth of this statement can bypass any confirmation bias. Inevitably, each person takes a step back from their own position to see that there may be some common ground between them and the person they seem to disagree with so vehemently if they let down their guard.

It is important to recognize that the phrase is not "Everbody's right about everything." We know intuitively that it is impossible to be completely right about everything. It is also equally important that we recognize that the opposite phrase is just as true as the initial assertion. If I say, "Everybody's wrong" I would also be speaking the truth with the same condition. Everybody's right or wrong (about something). Not one person alive can be completely right about everything, no matter how much you want it to be true.

We can only know what we know. To assume that you know what someone else knows is presumptive and arrogant. It takes humility to search for as place of agreement and then be the first to say “you’re right.” So how can we start applying this concept to our everyday encounters?

Practice the Pause

Do we want to be right or do we want peace? There is a fine line between standing up for our beliefs and flat out offending an entire group of folks that you know nothing about. I choose civility, because my opinion is my own...It's just my opinion. When confronted with a differing opinion, I can stay right by holding my peace. How does this concept strike you? Is it possible to agree with someone without abandoning your own right-ness? Can you be right in your argument and yet be wrong about how you disagree? Let me hear your thoughts!

Leavin' on a Jet Plane...Again!

So here's the deal...

God has provided an incredible
opportunity for our family to
share our gifts with an
amazing group of people
overseas!

In May, my daughter and I
are going on a missions trip
to the Dominican Republic
with a goal of seeing thousands
of people make a real connection
to the living Christ through
community outreach and partnership with church planters on the island. The result will be a festival that
shares the Gospel of Jesus with thousands of people who need to know that Jesus cares about them!

Zion and I are preparing for ministry in the capital city of Santo Domingo with several others
from my church, but this is very much a family effort on our part! I have prayerfully
set this time aside because I believe that God can use us dynamically to change
lives through the power of the Gospel alive in us...

...Can you believe with us?

If you have a connection to me personally, I am asking you to
consider partnering with us in two ways.

First, I am asking all of you to pray for us from now until we embark as we are gearing up for
this intense time of ministry. Pray that many would have their lives transformed through God's
grace at work in our team and that we would be safe, strengthened by the Holy Spirit to do
every good thing we are called to accomplish. I would also ask you to pray that God would do
something huge in OUR lives as we go. This will be Zion’s first missions experience!

We are excited for all that God will do IN us and THROUGH us!

Secondly, I believe that many of you would be willing to partner financially with
us to reach our goal of $3,000.00 to pay for our travel expenses.
My family and I want to bear a large portion of
this cost, but I know that some of you understand that when you sow seed into
another person's ministry, you receive a harvest from their work as well.

That is why I am asking each of you reading to
consider a gift of $10, $100 or $1,000 to invest in God's work
for the people of the Dominican Republic.

If you feel led to give to our work in the DR, you can simply send
a check (payable to the Intersection) to me and I will deposit it into an account
at the Intersection. Be sure to write "Missions-DR" in the memo,
but do not write my name directly on the check if you want the gift to
remain tax-deductible. Simply add a post-it with my name with the check
to make sure it gets to me.

You can hand the check directly to me or mail it to the church (address below) with my name
on the front of the envelope or you can give online at intersection.church and click on GIVE.
Then choose “DR Missions” in the drop down options to give securely. It's that simple.

If you give online, please send me a message to let me know you gave to us
so that I can make sure it gets credited to the cost for our trip.

Please consider giving any size donation to help us get there so we can share the love of Christ with people in Santo Domingo!!

Blessings to all of You!!
jeremiah, zion and the whole Herbert Family

The Intersection
c/o Jeremiah Herbert
1980 Baltimore Pike
Gettysburg PA, 17325

Here Comes November!

November brings thankfulness to the forefront as we head into the Holiday season discovering ways to share God’s love with those around us throughout the Holiday season. Regardless of the trials or troubles that may be affecting our lives, we have much to be thankful for. 

I want to encourage you to do 30 days of thankfulness throughout the month of November and beyond. Post pictures on social media and share God’s goodness in your life with others. Spend time with a friend over coffee and express the amazing things God continues to do for you. Let’s create value in every opportunity where we can share God’s love with family, friends or even a stranger. 

We allow God to create connection with others when we create paths for the Holy Spirit to operate and work through us. Let’s be a blessing to everyone we meet this season! From the Walmart worker to the grocery attendant and even those we know and call family, tell them how important they are to God.  

Let God give you an attitude of gratitude this Holiday season!

jeremiah

What God CAN'T do.

FAITH.

It's a mysterious thing for so many. For others, it is a well studied language that seems to move their lives forward in ways they never imagined even for themselves.

I move and live in faith...MOST of the time. I believe God for things I can't see because I believe HE sees them for me. I have to. It's part of the gig, right? What good is a pastor without faith?

I have believed God for things that seemed unreasonably unattainable at the time and have seen Him come through for me, my family and my church time and time again. In fact, I am starting a 7-week sermon series on FAITH this Sunday at church! I am always working to grow in my faith just like I want to grow in my ability to love or forgive.

But, want to know a secret? I still have doubts. I wrestle with faith. Just like you, I feel my faith waver from time to time. 

Why? Because like ANYONE who believes God repeatedly for healing, miracles and vision for the future, there have been times when I have believed God...in faith...for something, but He didn't answer me.

He didn't show up like I expected Him to.

This leaves any reasonable person with a shadow of doubt. In time, several of these experiences pile up on our faith and leave our confidence in our prayer life or ability to hear God...well, shaken.

For many people, too many faith failures lead to a lack of confidence in God, not just their faith.

So what do you do with that?

In Isaiah 7 there is the story of Ahaz, king of Judah. He ruled in a time of great distress for God's people and the account in chapter 7 tells us that Judah had a pretty good reason for distress. The kings of neighboring countries had taken up arms against them and were on there way to blow Judah away for good. The king and all the people had been asking God for help, but they hadn't seen it the way they expected it to come. So naturally when he got the news, King Ahaz flipped out (along with ALL of Jerusalem) over this bad news.

God tells the prophet Isaiah to find King Ahaz and deliver the message that God would fight their battle and destroy the enemy that had mobilized against them, so don't worry about it!

He also says something that completely rocked me...to. the. core. Isaiah says,

"Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm." (Isaiah ch.7 vs. 9)

WHAT?!? Did you catch that?

However you read that, Isaiah is saying that neither the prophet or God Himself could help Ahaz stand firm if his faith was firm.

So did Isaiah just answer the question about God making a rock so big even HE can't lift it?

More importantly, what are we to do when our faith is well...shaken?

To be honest, I know the religious answers or the pat answers that Peter Pan faith people will fling around to bolster their faith when they don't get the job they want or they can't find a parking spot close to the door after they asked God for one.

Honestly, I've thrown those verses around too. I won't offer glossy throw pillow scriptures or theological-blanket-fortress kinds of responses to great questions of faith and doubt.

What I will do is offer what God is showing me about faith because, well...my faith has been shaken. Not a while back, either. I have led people to faith while my own faith was under attack. I want to be transparent. I want to be honest because I believe you deserve that honesty.

I also believe that the only way to help others is to be honest about my own experiences. God has shown me so much and I can't wait to share it with you!

Until I do,

I wonder if any of you have had your faith shaken?

What did it do to your prayer life or relationship with God?

Are you talking to God about it or have you written Him off?

Do you believe that your faith can ever stand firm again?
Leave a comment and share your story! You never know how others might benefit from knowing that they are not alone with matters of faith and doubt!

jeremiah

What God's Been Up to Since Forever.

Historians tell us that the temple of Solomon was one of the most impressive buildings ever created by man. So what if God was building something? How amazing would that be?



I've been thinking and praying a lot about the eternal, spiritual temple that Peter tells us about in 1 Peter chapter two, starting in verse four...

Living Stones for God’s House

4 You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. 5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests.[a] Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. 6 As the Scriptures say,

“I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem,[b]

    chosen for great honor,

and anyone who trusts in him

    will never be disgraced.”[c]

7 Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him.[d] But for those who reject him,

“The stone that the builders rejected

    has now become the cornerstone.”[e]

8 And,

“He is the stone that makes people stumble,

    the rock that makes them fall.”[f]

They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.

9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests,[g] a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

10 “Once you had no identity as a people;

    now you are God’s people.

Once you received no mercy;

    now you have received God’s mercy.”[h]

Peter was speaking under the unction of the Holy Spirit here, but there is no doubt that this "building project" was something that Jesus spoke about in private as He and Peter sat by the fire together. It's like getting the chance to be a "fly on the wall" while Jesus shared the secrets of the Kingdom with His closest earthly friend and successor. This passage is, undoubtedly, Peter sharing one of the "private lessons" on the Kingdom of Heaven that He received from the King Himself.

Peter quotes the prophets and scripture several times in this passage. He tells us that Jesus is the Cornerstone of a spiritual "temple" that David (the planner of God's earthly temple in Jerusalem) prophesied about along with Ezekiel, Isaiah and many of the other prophets. This living temple has been God's building project since the Garden of Eden. It has been on His heart since the beginning of time and He is still skillfully creating it out of people like you and I.

Jesus is the first stone of that temple that God placed in human history. Like looking through eclipse glasses, Noah, Abraham's Covenant and even the earthly temple Solomon built was just a shadow of what God was really up to behind the scenes. Everything prior to Jesus was God laying the spiritual groundwork for His living, beautiful and eternal temple that could not be torn down or destroyed. The law, Tabernacle and temple were all like blueprints, communicating the Father's intentions in building this temple that could never be defiled. This Temple is also called the Church or the Kingdom interchangeably and Jesus is the living Cornerstone of that building project.

Peter goes on to say in verse five that we are "living stones" placed carefully by God, finding our orientation and purpose in Christ alone. The Cornerstone was laid when Jesus was murdered and then cheated death 3 days later in Jerusalem. That was the culmination of God's redemption plan and until that time, God's spiritual temple was more of a tabernacle. Until Jesus was literally (and figuratively) laid in the ground as the chief stone that every other "living stone" would find it's orientation from.

The picture Peter draws out for us is that each generation of disciples becomes and addition or new wing of God's eternal temple that He has had planned since the beginning of time. Even now, you and I are chosen by God to hold our place in space and time, saved by grace to be a testament to what God's love and power can do!

This purpose became clear to us when we recognized Jesus as our Cornerstone, aligning ourselves (with the persistent help of the Holy Spirit), to God's will for us as sons and daughters. This gives us our new identity and family along with every other living stone. We have become "priests" and "living stones" in God's eternal temple along with the redeemed of EVERY generation from Adam until now. 

What an amazing God we love and serve!!

Crossing the Threshold (August 13th, 2017)

Leaving the house gave me extra pause this time.


I have crossed this threshold countless times for everyday errands, visits and ministry. Today it was different. Not because I forgot my keys or coffee cup, but because I could sense that I was doing more than just leaving my house. I was crossing the threshold into something more than just an everyday adventure.

God has spoken very clearly to me that I must go on a journey like the prophets we read about in the Old Testament. Just a destination. No back up plan or extra cash. Just trust. So I am leaving my home, my family and what I know to experience God in a new way and hear His voice more clearly regarding my purpose, call and the next season of my life and ministry. I did more than leave my house this morning...I crossed the threshold into a new reality. I am leaving my pre-conceived ideas of God behind and chasing after what He wants.

Father, lead me and direct every step and action. I trust you for provision!

 (From journal on August 13th, 2017)

Road Trip with the Holy Spirit

On the Road Again...Ohio today, who knows tomorrow :)

This time of year always seems to find me on the road to somewhere I've never been.

I should probably just start planning these things at the beginning of the year, but I also love the spontaneity and dependence on the Holy Spirit these road trips bring about in my life. The goal, as always, is to hear from God regarding my life, family and ministry in a new, fresh and deeper way. I do this because in ministry it is often very difficult to discern the voice of God amidst the voices of so many others that you care about (including family, friends and ministry partners).
For those of you that don't know, I am planning to spend a week or two in Ohio, Missouri and Kansas City to pray, read scripture and talk to Him about who He wants me to be. He called me to it and I trust Him for provision. If you are reading this, I would love your prayers and happy thoughts during the course of the next two weeks! As much as there are miracles, provision and revelations on these trips, there are often frustrations, fears and inner turmoil that surfaces while God is speaking.

The goal of these two weeks away would be that I would find:

1) Greater clarity regarding the ministry God has called me to
2) New vision for the church He has given me to serve
3) Personal breakthrough regarding faith and health
4) More love for people so I can be an even better pastor, father and husband

I will be keeping a REALLY low profile on social media while I am gone. I will not be on Facebook very much at all, but I do plan to post regularly to my instagram with pictures and updates to let people know what I am up to. If you want to follow my instagram account, search for the username ADAMSRESCUE1 and pray for me as often as I come to your mind.

Much love to you all!
jeremiah