When pastor/author John Ortberg asked his mentor, the late Dallas Willard, what the next step of growth was for him, Dallas said, "John, you must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from you life."
Interesting thought, eh?
I've not found a single time in all the New Testament when Jesus hurried.
Maybe it's time we become more like Jesus in that regard too.
Two more thoughts:
1) Hurry is not the same as hustle. Hurry is reckless; hustle is controlled.
2) Hurry is not the same as fast. While Jesus didn't hurry, he did move purposefully and, at times, with immediacy.
If this is ringing true in your spirit, I have a follow up question: shouldn't we ruthlessly eliminate hurry from our worship?
Songs can still be up-tempo.
Segments of the service can still move quickly.
There is a difference between dead time and stillness.
Seems to me that frantic is the enemy of shalom.
Which makes me wonder, what could we do in modern worship to return a greater sense of shalom (the perfect peace found in living at the timing of God) to our gatherings?
For example, I can tell if we don't have any songs with turnarounds, interludes, or a cappella singing in them. All of those things seem to slow time down. And the presence of the Spirit is often most palpable in those very moments.
Bottom line: if Dallas Willard were to visit your church, would he say "You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your worship"?
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