Expectations

Tonight, I sat with the leadership team from my church to discuss upcoming events and services.  As we were planning for one of the special services, our conversation eventually led to what the church members would or would not do. Why is that?  Is it because that’s what we EXPECT of them?  

This time of year, we expect the snow to eventually melt and flowers to bloom. We turn on a faucet and expect water to flow. We go through the drive-thru and expect food to be delivered through the window. So why is it so difficult to expect GOOD THINGS from others?

Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Dr. Caroline Leaf, a cognitive neuroscientist, has spent the past 30+ years studying the brain and how it changes, PHYSICALLY CHANGES, based on our thoughts.  Thoughts that are good and joyful and filled with love and kindness, have a positive effect on the brain and lead to healing and wholeness. And the opposite is true as well. Negative thinking contributes to physical illness and diseases. (Switch on your Brain: the Key to Happiness, Thinking & Healing)

Dr. Leaf is not alone in her study.  Deepak Chopra, in his book Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul, cites a story from a friend of his:

He was walking down the street in a big city where he was visiting, and on impulse he went into a fancy bakery, enticed by their extravagant window display. The minute he stepped in the door he saw trouble. The bakery manager was screaming at the girl working the counter. She was in tears, and both were so engrossed that they didn’t notice that a customer had entered the shop. My friend said that he had a sudden intuition. I can bring harmony here. He turned his back on the argument, which settled down once his presence was noticed. In itself, that is unremarkable. But my friend kept lingering, and as he did so, he centered himself in his own peace—he’s been an experienced meditator for many years. He could feel the atmosphere in the shop soften, and although few would believe what happened next, the manager and the girl at the counter exchanged smiles. By the time my friend left, he saw them embracing and mutually expressing how sorry they were. Can your mere presence bring harmony to a situation the same way? The first step is to believe that it is possible; the second is the willingness not to take sides, but to act solely as a peaceful influence, silently if you can, but speaking up if that becomes necessary. (p 249, Kindle edition)

So what if we expected something different from our congregations? What if we planned worship that included meditation, journaling about questions of the heart, outreach toward those who might be downhearted, abused, homeless, or sick?  What would happen if we EXPECTED our members to respond and to follow through with challenges to outreach, heal and transform our communities? What if the same truths that apply to an individual, are also applicable to a group of people? After all, aren’t we the “body of Christ?” 

“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:4-5.

So tonight, as I consider my earlier conversation with my church leadership team, I am challenging myself to begin EXPECTING something different. I am challenging myself to start thinking differently – about myself and about others.  I am challenging myself to change the world!

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8.

I think it’s just that simple!