In the fall of 2012, I began to sense that my time at Starbucks would be ending soon, and I was a little frightened by the thought. I spent a night wrestling with God and realized that once I was back in full-time ministry, I’d lose my excuses. For 18 months, whenever someone asked why this or that was wrong with the church, I blamed working at Starbucks. For good reason—I was stretched very thin in those days. But I was afraid of the increased expectations that might accompany returning to full-time ministry. I was afraid that I couldn’t measure up. “The Starbucks era” had undoubtedly been one of the most important seasons in my life, yet I had to face the fact that I was allowing it to hold me back. Eventually, I surrendered my excuses and self-doubt to God. “If you took me this far, Father, I can trust you to take me through the next stage too.”
Less than three weeks later, I stood in front of my congregation and told them that it was my last Sunday as a bivocational pastor. An unexpected change in our church’s finances (a story in itself ) allowed me to quit Starbucks and return to being a full-time pastor. I was no longer afraid, but eager and excited for what was ahead. That Sunday, I preached a sermon titled “Lessons I Learned at Starbucks.” I decided to preach it wearing my green Starbucks apron, partially for the drama of taking it off at the end, but more as a final assault on any embarrassment I still had over my “normal” job.
The final lesson of that sermon was deeply personal. I told my church that I hadn’t realized how fortunate I was to be their pastor. I didn’t appreciate what I had until it was nearly taken away. I got choked up as I talked about that year and a half at Starbucks. By God’s grace, we had stuck together through many trials, and now it was time to move forward. I took my apron off and asked, “So where do we go from here?”
I write this final chapter in that same spirit. Thank you for sticking with me through these chapters and allowing me to talk with you. I hope these lessons and stories have impacted you as they’ve impacted me, but now it’s time to move forward. This book isn’t the final word, but only a jumping-off point. I trust the Holy Spirit to take you onward. I’ll leave you with seven specific challenges to help you avoid both obsessive and complacent Christianity and discover the radically normal life God wants to give to you.
1. Examine Your Pursuit of God
Remember that there are not two separate tiers of Christianity, with the super-Christians on top and the rest of us on the bottom. There is only the “saved by grace and not by works” tier, and it includes John the Baptist, the apostle Paul, Mother Teresa, Billy Graham, you, and me. We are all in it together.
On a scale of one to five (one meaning not at all and five meaning completely), how honestly can you say, “By his grace, I’m pursuing wholehearted devotion to God”?
If you answered anything less than a five, ask yourself why. If your answer is “Because I don’t want to,” at least you’re being honest. An answer like “Because I can’t” is nothing less than a lie of the enemy. Every believer’s walk is empowered by God’s grace, which each of us is capable of receiving. The only thing required on your end to circle a five is surrender.
2. Discover Your Greatness
I want you to be welcomed into heaven with the words “Well done, good and faithful servant!” Do you know the context of those words of praise? It’s from the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30). As you may remember, one servant started with five talents and earned five more, and another started with two talents and earned two more. Have you ever noticed that both of them receive exactly the same praise, word for word? The Master was far more pleased by what they did with what they were given than he was with the net profit. I find that very encouraging because it means God’s definition of greatness is different from my own. The only servant who was rebuked was the one who didn’t do anything with his talent.
Your opportunity for greatness comes from finding the talents God has given to you and then partnering with him. Don’t worry about everyone else; just pursue the greatness God has given you. Remember, “The place God calls you to is where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” 1
If you don’t already know what your deep gladness is, commit yourself to discovering it and finding out how you can meet the world’s hunger through it. (See appendix 2 for some resources.)
That’s only the first step. Greatness does not come easy. Ask yourself what you may need to sacrifice to pursue your calling. I had to make a daily choice to write instead of getting a high score on my favorite video game. The choice sounds so obvious now, but in the moment I had all sorts of excuses—I needed to wind down, I deserved a break, I’d only play for five minutes, and so on. In the end, I had to delete that game from my computer. Had I not made that sacrifice, I wouldn’t have written this book.
Is sacrifice really the right word? I gave up a mindless video game to pursue my lifelong dream. The lesser joy is not worth comparing to the greater joy. I still play an occasional video game and watch an occasional TV show, but pursing my greatness cost me some of my leisure time.
Where do your deep gladness and the world’s hunger meet?
What might you need to sacrifice in order to pursue your greatness?
3. Enjoy This Life
Spiritual joys are not better than earthly joys—there is a proper time and place to enjoy each. If you think God is happier when you’re praying than when you’re watching a football game, you’ll be far less likely to invite him to the game. And when you don’t invite Jesus to the football game, bad things are more likely to happen there.
Take a moment to think about what you enjoy doing. On a scale of one to five, how frequently do you invite Jesus to join you there?
If you didn’t choose five, consider why. Do you struggle to believe that God really wants you to enjoy this life? Or do you know, deep down, that your fun isn’t entirely sin free? As I said before, my goal is for you to be able to scream your lungs out over a touchdown one moment and whisper a “Thank you, Jesus” the next.
4. Pursue Happy Holiness
Sin is fun—at first. But in the end, it will leave you miserable. Holiness isn’t always easy, but it brings greater joy. Do you believe that God has your best interests in mind? Pursue holiness by creating your own Consequence Inverter. Commit to trusting God’s wisdom more than your own.
Identify one sin you’re holding onto. Are you ready to start trusting God and believing that obedience brings joy? If so, begin with the simple prayer, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
But happy holiness isn’t just about what you stop doing, it’s also about what you start doing.
What is one new spiritual discipline you want to begin exercising?
silence and solitude
prayer
fasting
Bible reading
church participation
5. Grow in Generosity
Generosity is a great way to experience joy through obedience, but it’s the hardest one for many of us. Neither complacent accumulation nor obsessive sacrifice is the biblical ideal. We are blessed to be a blessing—God is generous to us so that we can enjoy some and give some. In doing so, he also tests our ability to handle more important things.
On a scale of one to five, how much do you think God can bless you and know that others will be blessed thorough you?
If you can’t choose five, consider why not. Remember that a five doesn’t mean you have to give everything away. It usually means being like the Proverbs 31 woman, who opened her arms to the poor yet enjoyed the fruits of her labor. Are you willing to ask God to help you find joy in generosity? If so, begin by identifying one new opportunity to practice generosity. You may have to sacrifice some lesser joys in order to gain greater ones.
6. Cultivate Hunger
The joys of this life can either distract you from Jesus or help you long for him more. God has put a heaven-shaped hole in you to keep you from getting too comfortable here. If you try to numb these eternal hunger pains with earthly things, the earthly joys will distract and disappoint you. Instead, cultivate this hunger. Then they can become samples of eternal joy and help you long for God.
On a scale of one to five, how much do you enjoy this life but long for the next?
If you didn’t answer five, do you struggle more with enjoying this life or longing for the next? Do you need to cultivate hunger by fasting, or do you need to cultivate joy by embracing the good things of this life?
7. Live Like It Matters
This life is not a rough draft. God is not going to destroy it and start over. It’s the first chapter of his great story. How we live this life has profound implications for the next. What we do here matters.
On a scale of one to five, how much do you welcome the news that this life is only the first chapter?
If you didn’t answer five, consider why. Are you nervous that your poor stewardship of your body, your resources, and this planet will cause you to suffer loss in eternity?
I challenge you to choose just one area of this life to pay more attention to—your body, caring for the poor and oppressed, promoting art and beauty, or caring for the environment.
We Can Do This
You might have assumed I wrote this book in reaction to other books that promote a more obsessive form of Christianity. That is not the case. I probably share a common goal with those authors. I think we have all witnessed the tragedy of complacent Christianity and are desperate to rescue God’s people from it. The biggest difference between this book and some others is in our strategies. Perhaps some authors set such high standards in order to move us just a little closer. Maybe they would be happy if they could simply get average Christians to start tithing and talking to their neighbors about Jesus.
There are two problems with obsessive goals. First, they are misleading. As you now know, I don’t think obsessive Christianity is biblical. Second, they don’t work. In my experience, most Christians read that kind of book and feel guilty for not measuring up, but they don’t change. Instead, I’ve tried to motivate by showing that wholehearted obedience brings greater joy.
I’ve also tried to remove the biggest excuse and fear that most of us have—“I can’t do this.” Perhaps I’ll be accused of tickling itching ears, encouraging complacency, removing the sacrifice, and making Christianity too easy. Don’t believe that for a minute. I’m actually making wholehearted devotion harder by making it possible. Did you notice that I expected you to mark a five on all of the “one to five” questions? God’s grace makes every one of us capable of being a fully committed follower of Christ. Nothing you’ve read requires a move to India or vow of poverty. If I’ve done my job, you haven’t been thinking, “It’s nice that pastors and missionaries can follow Jesus like that.” Instead, I hope you’ve been thinking, “I can do this.” Being radically normal isn’t easy, but it’s certainly achievable through (and only through) God’s grace. What’s more, it’s a lot more joy filled than being obsessive or complacent.
Happy Endings
I ended the first chapter with the story of telling Grace and Sarah that we were taking them to Disneyland. Two months after my final Starbucks sermon, the four of us were on a plane headed for Southern California. I had been praying about the trip and preparing for it for years, and God’s generosity blew us away. No one who earns as little as I did should be able to give his family the sort of vacation we had. Blessing after blessing was poured out on us, even before we got to Disneyland.
Perhaps my favorite memory is of the ride from the airport to the hotel. For the same price as a taxi, I was able to surprise my little princesses (and their mommy) with their first limo ride. They giggled with delight as they drank 7-Up from champagne glasses and watched the interior lights change colors. I held back tears of joy and gratitude. The driver took us to In-N-Out Burger, and we ate a late dinner in the limo as she gave us an extended ride through Anaheim. I tipped her very well.
The next day was amazing. The lines were short, and we got to go on almost every ride. Marilyn’s ticket had a picture of Bambi, her favorite Disney character. It was as if God winked at her. Thanks to a gift from a dear friend, we were able to do all the things I never got to do as a kid, including buying autograph books and eating wherever we wanted. We also got great pictures of the girls with Tinker Bell in Pixie Hollow. That night, as I tucked Grace and Sarah into bed and kissed them goodnight, I didn’t bother asking them their favorite part of the day. I already knew the answer—all of it. As they fell asleep, I took a moment just to look at them, so precious in my sight. I was so happy that I could bring them so much joy.
God is always good, but his goodness is more tangible at some times than at others. I didn’t regret the trials he had taken us through, but I was grateful for the moments of delight. As I fell asleep, I knew that my Father was also watching me, so precious in his sight, happy that he could bring me so much joy.
I’d love for you to follow me on Twitter (@joshkelley) and visit my website and blog at www.RadicallyNormal.com. If you’d like to join the conversation about being radically normal, use the hashtag #RadicallyNormal or respond to some of my blog posts. Better yet, start your own conversation!