Do Hard Things
by Tom Neven on 04/16/2008 at 10:44 AM
If it's hard, scary or dangerous, I'm there. I volunteered for the Marines and the infantry -- while there was still a war going on. I traveled with guerrillas in southern Sudan to report on the war and Christian persecution in that country. When I lived in Switzerland I skied double-black-diamond, parachute-optional runs in the Alps. I look for sharks when scuba diving. And, as research for a magazine article, I pulled 9 G's in an F-16.
But when it comes to my faith ... well, sometimes I'm a wimp. I take the easy way out. It's easy to say I'm on fire for the Lord, but all too often it's simpler to just stick with that and forget the "therefore go ..." part of Christ's commands.
That's why I'm thrilled to see Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris, brothers of Joshua Harris of I Kissed Dating Goodbye fame. (The foreword is by Chuck Norris, and our very own Ted Slater has written an endorsement.) The twin brothers have started a movement they call The Rebelution to urge Christians to recognize that God has commanded us to do hard things.
I think it's the new generation's answer to the problem of cheap grace addressed by Dietrich Bonhoeffer more than 60 years ago. The Harris brothers say:
We're not just saying that hard things happen and that you can benefit from them. We're not just saying that you have the ability to do hard things. We're telling you that you should do hard things because it's the best and only way to experience true growth in your life. ... Our big, crazy idea is that this is the life God has called us to live now—not 10 or 20 years from now, but right now, as young people. This is your best life, not your easiest life; the only way to avoid wasting your single years and ultimately your life.
It's a great insight that I think we have to rediscover with every generation. Me, I have to rediscover it every week or so.
What kind of hard things are you doing? What do you wish you were doing?
1. Lindsay said the following at 12:09 PM on Apr 16:
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After reading "Do Hard Things" yesterday, I also wanted to know WHAT hard things we could be doing. I hope people respond to your questions at the end, inviting them to share.
2. Matthew said the following at 1:29 PM on Apr 16:
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Hard things I'm doing (not to brag, but to encourage): going to med school and doing missions among unreached peoples.
Hard things I wish I could be doing: talking with my roommates more about Jesus, taking less time for myself and more to pray.
Hard things I would like to do some day and hope other Christians can do:
-Move into the inner city, even the unsafe parts, and humbly work with churches (even those that you have theological disagreements with) to help rebuild broken communities.
-Go to unreached peoples in the 10/40 window where the work is hard and the cost is high.
-Take in a mom struggling with an unplanned pregnancy.
-Spend time with someone who's homeless.
-Give more to missions and works of mercy.
-Find a way to provide for the millions of Americans without health insurance.
-Speak the truth in love to people when it's uncomfortable.
-Disciple and love on young people without strong parents.
-Visit lonely or disabled people in your church.
-Listen before talking.
-Be honest about your sins with other Christians in your community.
-Open your home to said young people/homeless/teenage mom/whoever needs it (my parents do this-- our front door is always open.)
3. Matthew said the following at 1:32 PM on Apr 16:
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also:
-pray for those who persecute you, who persecute other Christians around the world, and who persecute Christians in the U.S.
-Seek to change our culture through individual witness, producing good works of art, and social justice before enacting laws.
-Make friends with people that might otherwise make you uncomfortable and use the opportunity to share the love of Christ with them.
4. Callie said the following at 1:40 PM on Apr 16:
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Through Christ, I am finally attacking and overcoming my lifelong weight problem. One meal, one decision, one emotion, one pound at a time. His mercies are new every morning!
5. Sarah P. said the following at 3:31 PM on Apr 16:
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A hard thing = filming the stories I write and then sharing them with others, esp. when they're imperfect and always gonna be. This is very, very hard because the vision is solitary, but I know if I don't, I'll always be wondering if I could.
6. Joey said the following at 4:02 PM on Apr 16:
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While I'm sure Alex and Brett are great guys and I haven't read the book yet, I've long felt "the Rebelution" is rather vague. As Lindsay asked, what "hard things" are Alex and Brett talking about? Yes, as Christians we're commanded to do hard things - even impossible things - and that's a point worth noting, but if we stop there we're really missing out.
7. Rachael said the following at 4:42 PM on Apr 16:
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I really appreciated the article "Do Hard Things"; thank you for publishing it.
I'm NOT NEARLY as brave as Tom, but, I admit I have or had a tendency to be attracted to the semi-more adventurous things or established service/ministry types of things. Strangely it's often the seemingly small, mundane things that I demonstrate fear through my avoidance or procrastination. And I don't feel I've mastered purely 'invisible service'.
Dealing with business and 'life-management' :) . This is a 'hard thing' I want to tackle...
And I'd love to be more thoughtful in invisible ways that require a bit (even if a petty amount) of sacrifice.
What may be 'hard' for one is not 'hard' for another...
Matthew (2),
Neat about your 'would like to do' hard things #1 and 4. My heart also gravitates toward the homeless and toward other people who are of different socioeconomic classes. I enjoy being involved with a type of mercy ministry (might be counted as such anyway, don't think I heard the term before going to my church). That said, I've never taken a homeless or street person out for a meal. Maybe that should be a goal of mine should God provide the strength, opportunity, and connection...
8. Mrs. B said the following at 4:53 PM on Apr 16:
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YES!!! This makes me so happy to read! I'm so tired of Christians taking the easy way out and thinking that's okay. If you look at Jesus' life, as well as the disciples', their lives were hard and the cost was high but it was worth it! It's more than just mentally agreeing with Jesus, it's living like Him.
I think complacent Christians are a HUGE hindrance to the spreading of the gospel locally and internationally. Before I was Christian it was a hindrance to me as well. I wondered, "What makes your God so appealing if you're just like everyone else, except you don't to 'bad stuff'?"
In a John Piper sermon called "Doing Missions When Dying is Gain" (search on www.desiringgod.org) there is the story of a missionary traveling by foot who speaks about Jesus all over this one region of the world, only to be mocked by the people. Worn out, he goes to sleep under a tree. The next morning he wakes up with people gathered all around him. He thinks they're going to kill him, but they're staring at his sore, blistered, dirty feet. THAT was what won them over - the suffering he went through just to bring the gospel to them.
THAT is what will win people over.
9. Mrs. B said the following at 5:02 PM on Apr 16:
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Oh, and my "hard things"
- Teaching. It's harder than it looks. Especially with my dear, sweet ESL kids who are wonderful students but don't have good home support and are generally low-SES on top of trying to learn a second language.
- Marriage. Again, harder than it looks. :)
- One thing my husband and I are preparing for in the near future is teaching ESL in northern Africa. It's incredibly exciting, but also incredibly scary. (But I heard somewhere you can't run from where God calls you or you'll get swallowed by a whale ;) Haha.)
- Living missionally, locally. It's so much easier to just do my own life each day and avoid uncomfortable situations, but the cross wasn't comfortable, was it?
10. Ted Slater said the following at 5:30 PM on Apr 16:
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Lindsay asked, "After reading 'Do Hard Things' yesterday, I also wanted to know WHAT hard things we could be doing."
Their book addresses that explicitly. It's a fine book -- I encourage you to pick up a copy.
11. Nicole said the following at 6:12 PM on Apr 16:
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Hard thing I'm doing right now is living in the city I'm in. Out of grad schools this was my last choice (mainly because I hate this city) until my high school best friend called me to say she was getting a divorce and needed me. She lived in the city of my last choice grad school. We share an apartment. Doesn't sound all that hard, but when you watch someone who is like a sister to you literally self destruct it is heart breaking. And you get up many nights to pick her up from somewhere cause she is too drunk to drive and you sit in the hallway with her while she cries, it is a really hard thing to do.
Hard thing I would like to do is be more willing to share about Christ at work/school (same thing for me) instead of being afraid it would hurt recommendations from professors in the future or be seen as intolerant to my colleagues.
12. Nicole said the following at 6:21 PM on Apr 16:
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Matthew #2
"Take in a mom struggling with an unplanned pregnancy."
I think that's a beautiful thing and something I would love to do one day. Helping women like that is what being a Christian is about. Unless I'm willing to step out and help them how can condemn the woman who chooses an
abortion because she's afraid she'll be on the street without it.
I worked as a waitress through college and most of the girls there had young kids who had been unplanned and they were struggling to make ends meet. Some of them had been kicked out of the house when their parents found out. I had great respect for how hard they worked to feed their kids, keep a roof over them, and often go to school. I regularly slipped money into one girl's apron because I knew how hard she was struggling. (as a side note, when you eat out be sure you think about the fact that your waitress might not be sure how she's going to afford daycare that week when you tip her).
One girl told me that the only reason she had her baby was because her aunt told her she could live with her. That is a way to make a difference in this world.
13. Kathryn said the following at 7:15 PM on Apr 16:
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I agree with Joey (#6). What kind of hard things should we be doing here? The one that springs most to my mind at the moment is resisting the temptation to fall into a particular sin I've been struggling with. That's rather hard for me at the moment.
Is there any other scripture that they take this challenge from, because I rather feel that James 1:2 is misapplied. Because although standing up under persecution is hard, they seem to take that to imply that we ought to then seek out hard things. Whereas I feel that in my struggle with sin situation, I'm better applying James 1:2 because I'm persevering under trial.
How about we seek out the expression of love in our lives? Feeding and clothing the homeless, evangelising, etc.
This is my understanding. Anyone want to come back at that?
14. anonymous said the following at 7:29 PM on Apr 16:
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A hard thing: my boyfriend and I breaking up when we can't see any real reason to, except that we know that it's not best for us to be together. Trusting that God knows and wants what's best for us.
15. Marc the hobo said the following at 9:41 PM on Apr 16:
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I just got back from a three-week road trip starting in Peoria, IL to visit friends in Dallas, Phoenix and Los Angeles. I backpacked Joshua Tree and drove mountain passes. I stayed with friends and in hostels. I encouraged the people who were believers and talked to yoga instructors and actors about my walk with the Lord.
But
I lack constancy. I can do many things, provided that the phrase "every day" is not at the end of its description. That is what I wish I could do.
16. Casey said the following at 10:22 PM on Apr 16:
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this is great.
Speaking of homeless & taking them out to dinner..I'm doing something hard this week! I've been developing a relationship with a homeless man named John over the past months. I told him last Sunday that some friends and I would take him out to lunch so we could get to know each other and so I could learn about his story.
I'm so excited! ..and also a little nervous.
Please pray for us!
17. Nate said the following at 7:02 AM on Apr 17:
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Teach high school students and live in a foreign country where I don't speak the language.
18. Matthew said the following at 7:15 AM on Apr 17:
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Rachael,
Honestly, if you're waiting around for God to provide "the strength, opportunity, and connection" then you need to knock it off. "Do hard things" means just that: stop talking about the hard things that you want to do or ought to do and just go do them. I hope this doesn't sound harsh (I recognize that this is just a blog, I don't know anything about your life, and I am being rather flippant), but if that's something that God really has given you a heart for, you should schedule a Saturday sometime in the next month when you'll go to the nearest place where you know homeless people hang out and you can just go there. Or call a local soup kitchen and arrange to volunteer with them. Don't wait around; God has already blessed you with all the riches in Christ and the strength that you need. Go out and bless others in His name.
19. IMO said the following at 9:20 AM on Apr 17:
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Hi Nicole (#11),
You wrote that "And you get up many nights to pick her up from somewhere cause she is too drunk to drive."
Has your friend become an alchoholic? Are you in any way actually enabling her to continue this path instead of helping her recover? I hope you know I'm really just asking, I'm not assumming or judging that this is the case. [I think anybody would be grateful to have such a loyal friend like you]. I've watched maybe way too many Interventions on tv...which caused me to see a red flag in your comment about your friend.
20. Gina said the following at 9:47 AM on Apr 17:
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For those who are interested (and if you don't mind me tooting my blog's horn :-) ), Catherine Claire has been posting this week at The Point about her interview with the authors:
http://thepoint.breakpoint.org/2008/04/qa-with-brett-a.html
http://thepoint.breakpoint.org/2008/04/qa-brett-and-al.html
http://thepoint.breakpoint.org/2008/04/qa-with-brett-1.html
Installment 4 will be up this afternoon, and the last part will run tomorrow.
21. Rachael said the following at 9:53 AM on Apr 17:
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Hi Matthew,
Yes, I am involved in a street ministry which involves cooking, going to certain places or the street to hand out meals, and cooking for church meals around holiday time to which people within the street community can come. Our church also has game nights that the people can come to -I've gone to one of those and the next one is this Saturday. Thanks for your concern, but please don't judge the next person as you seemed to judge me.
I'm talking about when I'm out and about by myself, I feel that if there's an opportunity (the connection and time is there), that maybe I should invite someone out to a meal or coffee.
22. Rachael said the following at 10:12 AM on Apr 17:
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PS Matthew - Can't see my comment yet, though I think I could give you more 'proof' to my interest in interacting w/ people from different socioeconomic classes, but God is my witness and I shouldn't seek to please man, including people who comment here. There is ALWAYS more that anyone of us could be doing. It's not always those obvious things that need the most attention. I guess my opinion is that we should always be serving God through everything, including the most mundane boring invisible things that don't necessarily even involve other people.
I guess please just remember that you really really don't know people from comments or blogs - they don't show their whole sides. Your comment to me honestly makes me feel sad, but I know you didn't mean to come across as harsh. I know there are ways I can improve, but honestly I am involved in Christian communities and technical 'ministries', but also strongly feel that seeming religiosity is not a substitute for personal holiness and godliness in God's eyes. I strongly feel that way, actually. Maybe because I tend to activity/ministry myself up and know it doesn't amount to more 'holiness' ...
That said, thanks for the challenge.
23. BDB said the following at 11:26 AM on Apr 17:
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The OP wrote:
>>And, as research for a magazine article, I pulled 9 G's in an F-16.<<
Hard things, eh?
That's like "sacrificing" by buying expensive chocolate for research, or "enduring" the tropical heat on a Hawaiian beach for research.
Hey, we can clear this up. Send me the contact inormation for the people who arranged your flight, and tell them that FOTF has asked me to "research" an article...
I'm near Edwards Air Force Base. Make it an F-22 checkride if you would...
24. kman said the following at 1:45 PM on Apr 17:
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I minister to inner city kids as of this past December. It's been difficult but I see so much need there. It's a test every week in some form or another but I wouldn't trade it for some easier ministry.
We need to be stretched and challenged in order to grow. God loves us too much to leave us like we are.
25. kman said the following at 1:53 PM on Apr 17:
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Rachel-
re: homeless ministry- ask your church if there homeless ministries in your community where you can get involved.
I'll go ahead and say it. Be careful who take to lunch one on one (homeless or not) if you don't know them. I've met some folks that ,honestly, I'd be afraid to get in a car with alone and I'm 6'1" and 240lbs. I know someone will flame me for this but I have to say it. Flame on! :P
26. Rachael said the following at 5:10 PM on Apr 17:
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kman,
Not everyone the ministry I mentioned above outreaches to is necessarily literally homeless, though the housing of many of them is probably temporary. I think I've been told that if I drive I should have someone else in the car w/ me. That said, I may have almost given someone (maybe not homeless) a ride the other day but a man did it instead. I guess the 'hard thing' I'd like to do on a one-to-one basis that I was writing or thinking about earlier would not involve cars but just stepping into a nearby restaurant if there was one...
27. Matthew said the following at 6:25 PM on Apr 17:
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Rachael,
I'm really sorry for coming across as judgmental. That's not what I mean to do at all and I definitely spoke way too soon in an inappropriate context. I got the impression from your first comment that you had an interest/desire in that sort of ministry in general and were just waiting for "something else" so that you get started.
I guess what I was worried about was the attitude that I and a lot of fellow Christians struggle with-- that is, the attitude that expects the Holy Spirit to light a big neon sign over someone on a day when we found $100 in our mailbox so that way we'll know when we should do something hard like asking someone out to lunch. I've met people like that who have a God-given desire and are just sitting around waiting for something to happen when they just need to get up and do it. I'm glad that you're clearly not one of those people-- you seem to be way more active in your church's ministries than I am-- and again I apologize for what I said. Please forgive me.
kman, I agree with you that we have to be discerning and always, of course, listening to the Holy Spirit's guidance in matters like this. No flaming on your wisdom from me!
28. Nicole said the following at 7:15 PM on Apr 17:
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IMO--
Actually that's a question I've asked myself many times -- am I enabling her? But she refuses any kind of help currently. Says she doesn't need it. She has given herself "a pass" (her words) because her husband left her. (problem is this pass was supposedly for a year and it's been 18 months now with no sign of an end). I think she does have a problem with alcohol. Since living with her (8ish months now) she has not went two days (usually daily) without at least a couple glasses of wine. Unfortunately we live in a university town where drinking is the way of life (awkward for someone who doesn't drink). All her friends drink as often and as much as she does so it doesn't look like a problem. And at this point I've seen her actually drive quite drunk. She will tell you she's not that bad the nights she has drove. She only calls me on the nights she can't even walk straight, unfortunately.
It comes down to the fact that she is going to do it and I would rather her not drive so I'm willing to pick her up. It also has led to more interesting conversations than any other time. I haven't been around a lot of extremely drunk people, but it's like she hits bottom when she's like that. She cries, she pours her heart out then. I don't know how much is sticking that I say to her then, but maybe some of it. She does at least mention some of it the next day.
She knows it is wrong. She knows it is stupid and doesn't want to stop. Refuses. Ultimately, no one gets better until they want to change. I've seen drug addicts who really tried before. Until then I have decided I have to be there.
It was similar to the decision I made for her when she got married and wanted me to be a bridesmaid. I was against her marrying him. I knew it was not the right thing. I actually offered on her wedding day for her to take my car and I would handle explaining stuff to everyone if she wanted to leave. I had serious doubts about being in her wedding when I didn't think she needed to marry him, ultimately I decided to be there for her so she would know that I was there if she needed me later (he was hitting her even while they were dating by the way).
29. Rachael said the following at 11:57 PM on Apr 17:
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Matthew,
That's okay. Your comment may have led me to think, even if not exactly about the points you originally mentioned. Just hopefully I will be more careful about the timing of when I check Boundless in the future so as to avoid a student asking 'Why are your eyes red?' The tears were probably a bit 'overdue' anyway, so, if I didn't cry today it's likely they would've come out at some other time, so thank you for getting them out of me. Maybe it saved me from them popping out at an even more inopportune moment :)
So, thanks. It's good to think, to some extent, and like I said, it may have triggered related thoughts (perhaps: shaping an opinion and also reminding me of the importance to just take action with regard to sin -- something I've recently heard in a sermon and read about on a blog, both of which referred to a particular videoclip that emphasized the words "Stop it!"). So in short, God may have used your comment for the good so don't worry. Next time though you just might want to change the word choice :) Sorry for the long response.
30. Matthew said the following at 9:16 AM on Apr 18:
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Rachael, it's perfectly alright for the long response and I'm glad that God used my stupidity for your good. : ) I've learned my lesson and I know to be more careful and thoughtful next time.