02-New [BLANK]-Same You

There are a lot of things that are challenging about being the pastor of a small church. Things like training volunteers, fighting the finances, managing the building, and providing for the spiritual needs of a group of people you truly care about, just to name a few. It’s stressful, but I wouldn’t trade it. Through all those drama inducing phenomena, the hardest things are the real burden and responsibility you feel for your people. One of the hardest things to watch is to see well-meaning people who are unhappy with their lives setting out to fix their problems with something new. They try a new relationship, new job, new diet, new plastic surgeon, new hobby, new doctor, new weight loss plan, new school, or new church, only to find they’re still the same person.

It doesn’t make you a failure to admit that you are part of them problem. Romans says, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Sure, maybe you find yourself reading this because you’re not happy with the situation that you’re in and maybe you got there, partially, by virtue of someone else’s choices. Maybe your parents didn’t exactly set you up for success. Maybe your spouse was unfaithful and blew up your family. Or maybe you wasted your twenties and blacked in in your thirties to discover you couldn’t afford the life you wanted with the entry level job you’ve had for a decade. Ultimately, you’re responsible for you. You can’t control how you got here. You can only control how you go about getting out. It’s time to give someone else the reigns for a while. Here are a few things to commit to as you get started:

IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL

Every January, 9% of Americans make New Year’s Resolutions. Many of us start the year with high hopes for the changes we’re going to make to do better this year. Unfortunately, 23% of those Americans quit on those resolutions by the end of the first week and 43% of them quit by the end of January. It’s because the most common resolutions, weight loss, financial discipline, quitting smoking, and reading more books, are easy to start but hard to finish.

The first countertop microwave oven for home use was introduced by Amana in 1967. That means that at the time this was written, in 2025, there is no one alive under the age of 58 who lived in a world without a microwave. The type of growth you’re looking for with The What’s Next Project cannot be microwaved. You need to prepare yourself for a season of growth, not a moment of freedom. This is bar-b-que baby! You’re getting slow cooked to perfection!

NO HIGH PLACES

The Old Testament King Jehoshaphat has two good things going for him. First, he is one of the few kings of Judah considered a “Good King” and not an “Evil King.” Second, his name is incredibly fun to say!

Dating back to the days of Abraham and Isaac, God had instructed Israel to not intermarry with the locals in Caanan because they worshiped false gods and would lead Israel astray. The Israelites immediately fell in love with the Canaanites. They did in fact lead them to worshipping other gods. Which is a big deal when the first rule God tells you to write down is, “have no other gods but me” (Exodus 20:3). For hundreds of years, the Israelites worshipped their God, and many other local gods and it cost them.

By the time of Jehoshaphat, Israel and Judah were littered with “high places.” For ancient peoples, the concept of the heavens was real. The higher you were in the sky, the closer you were to God. So, they built these altars to other gods on the tops of mountains and cliffs. When Jehoshaphat becomes king, he did so under some shaky circumstances. Israel faced threats from other nations like Moab, Ammon, Edom, and the Philistines as well as a tenuous relationship with neighboring Israel. Rather than sure up defenses or alliances, he immediately set about trying to right the ship spiritually, “[Jehoshaphat’s] heart was devoted to the ways of the Lord; furthermore, he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah” (2 Chronicles 17:6).

As you walk through this process, you’re going to be encouraged to make a lot of changes. It can be tempting to say to yourself, “Well, I’ve worked so hard in several areas, I’m going to allow myself so vice or some sin in another area of my life.” You don’t get to take a spiritual cheat day. You may also face doubts that some of these changes are too hard for you to make so you decide you’re just going to take the wins you can achieve and leave well enough alone. When it comes to obeying the Lord I’m forced to quote the great theologian Yoda, “Do or Do Not—There is No Try.” You’ve got to tear down all the high places and you can do it. We’re here to help.

YOU CAN’T DO IT YOUR WAY

With any plan to get better, or stronger, or thinner, we all start being really strict. Then, over time, we decide that we can adjust or modify the regimen. Adverbs are a great indicator that you’re drifting off course. You’ll say to yourself that you are basically, or essentially, or mostly following the plan. When you finish that thought you realize that what you’re saying is you’re doing some of it your way. If you try to do the right thing the wrong way it will cost you.

In the Old Testament, The Ark of the Covenant, was a physical object that embodied God’s presence for Israel. During a particularly dark time, some spiritually compromised priests hauled it into battle and attempted to use God’s presence as a weapon. They not only lost the battle, but they lost the ark! For Israel, they had lost God’s presence and it stayed missing for 70 years.  Eventually, King David discovers the location and immediately sets about returning it to the temple. It had been so long since they had even seen the ark that they didn’t exactly remember how to handle it. They moved ahead according to their best wisdom. They put it in a cart and headed for home. The problem is, God had given very specific instructions for how the ark was to be transported:

12 Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. 13 Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 14 Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it. 15 The poles are to remain in the rings of this ark; they are not to be removed (Exodus 25:12-15).

As the ox cart traveled the ox stumbled, and in an effort to keep it from falling on the ground, a man named Uzzah grabbed the ark and fell dead.

It’s a harsh story, but what it teaches us is critical. God has told us many specific ways to live. We must follow them. Not some version of them that suits us best, or not even a version that is based on our best understanding. We must completely seek out how God wants us to live and pursue those plans. God said through the prophet Jeremiah, “you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

SHOW BACK UP

In the shock of this moment, scripture tells us that David was angry and afraid, and that he stashed the ark nearby and left if there for three months. I’ve got some questions for you: What are you going to do when you experience a setback? How are you going to handle it when you fail? Because you will. It’s not if. It’s when. Go ahead and say it out loud. “I’m going to make some mistakes. It might make you feel better. Whether you’re pursuing God or not, it is impossible to go through this life mistake free. Obviously, we want to avoid as many as possible, but they’re going to happen. What are you going to do?

After three months, David realized that the benefits of having God’s presence was worth the risk of trying again. This time they stopped to check out God’s plans instead of just barreling ahead and it worked and David and all the people were blessed. It’s time for you to show back up. Let’s get started.