What Makes Your Heart Sing? by Jason Edwards

What makes your heart sing? This is the first prompt the Lilly Foundation presents to pastors applying for their $50,000 Clergy Renewal Grant. It’s a stirring question, one that filled me with wonder and want. I wonder what life would be like for all of us, for our families, and for our church if our hearts sang more often? How might we impact our world in more meaningful ways? I want us to experience the answers to these questions.

So, I pondered the question “what makes my heart sing” personally and prayerfully. As I did, two life experiences emerged: one, summer fly-fishing on Montana’s Kootenai River in 1998. The other an exploration of sacred sites in Italy in 2015. Both were reflective of what early Celtic Christians called “thin places,” spaces in this world where the veil between heaven and earth is so sheer you can almost step through it. They originally believed these places were found in certain locations, but over time broadened their understanding to include any moments in life when the “holy” becomes visible to the eyes of the human spirit. A thin place might be found any time a person encounters an eternal reality within present time. This happened to me in Montana and Italy, and the personal effects are worth noting.

First, there is a sense of surprise reflective of Jacob’s Genesis 28:17 epiphany: “surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” This awe would be enough to make these experiences satisfying, but there’s more. Within these “thin” moments, one can experience greater attunement with God and self. Time slows down and the volume of life’s worries gets turned down. Notable effects of this holy connection are greater calm, clarity, and creativity. In the calmness, stress and defensiveness melt away. I become more open. In the openness, I listen for God’s voice and the voice within. In the listening, I gain clarity. Clarity about who I am, what God is doing in my life, and what God wants to do with me and through me. From this calm and clarity, creativity emerges. Sometimes this brings new vision for life and ministry. Other times it’s expressed through writing, teaching, or preaching. Amid all this, there is rising joy and gratitude. My heart sings.

I want all of us to experience more heart singing in our lives. Certain activities may prompt these sacred experiences for one individual but not another. My upcoming sabbatical experience was designed by mining holy moments from my past in order to foster more in the present. With similar principles in mind, the programs and activities planned for our church during this time have been designed to encourage and equip members of our church to identify the kinds of experiences that uniquely attune them to God’s presence. All of this was planned with the hope of helping all our hearts sing more often by cultivating holy connection, calm, clarity, and creativity as we live our lives together with Christ focused on making a greater impact for Christ in this world.

I’m so grateful to God for the experiences that lie ahead. I’m approaching this season of renewal with the great expectation that God has plans for us all that will powerfully impact our future, as individuals and as a congregation.

I promise to pray for you while we’re apart. I want to return to the news that God worked powerfully in your life. I’ll be eager to hear how God has made your heart sing. Will you commit to participate in that? Will you show up, open up, and intentionally pursue life-changing encounters with the living Christ this summer?

Will you pray for me and my family as well? I promise to approach this opportunity with great expectation and intention. I want our family to encounter God in life-giving and life-transforming ways, with the hope that God will use these encounters to bless our church, our city, and our world. I’m going to miss you in the months ahead. And I’m praying that in the upcoming days, none of us misses God or what God has planned for each of us and all of us.

I love you,

Jason Edwards

Senior Pastor

A Sabbatical Sketch for Pastor Jason

As a reminder, Jason’s last Sunday before his sabbatical is May 8 and he will be back with us on September 18. During his sabbatical, Jason will spend time with a tour group in Israel walking where Jesus walked, as well as visiting sacred sites in Greece and Italy with Christy. Some renewal activities will take place with family in Missouri and Texas. Jason will also spend several weeks in Northwest Montana in prayer, study, writing, and engaging in the spiritual practice of fly-fishing. His family will join him for some of the retreat in Montana. You can follow along with Jason’s sabbatical travels on Instagram. Find him on Instagram at jasongedwards.