Tag: sermons

Who: Libby and Kyron

Church: New City East Lake (Presbyterian)

Lunch: Urban Stack

Topics: Motivated by Love, Institution vs Bride, Micro vs Macro

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to join a group of people from different corners of Chattanooga’s music scene for a meeting at the Mayor’s office. On a personal level, it was exciting to look around the room and realize that I knew half the people there—because we’ve collaborated with so many of them. On a professional level, I noticed an interesting parallel between the music community and the church community. There are a lot of people with strong personalities opinions and a lot of potential for incredibly impactful collective work.

As I was leaving the building, I spotted my friend Libby chatting with someone else from the meeting. Never one to meet a stranger, I introduced myself to Kyron, the new music director at New City East Lake. I then proceeded to invite myself to their church and they graciously accepted my invitation. And I’m so thankful they did because it turned out to be one of the most meaningful church services I’ve ever experienced.

Upon entry of the sanctuary, I was immediately reminded of my grandmother’s church: old wooden pews, stained glass window, and acoustics that any vocalist would salivate over. (I’ve grown to appreciate that last one thanks to my kids.) My secondary thoughts: This congregation is incredibly diverse. Like its sister church in Glenwood, which Sydney and I visited about a month ago, New City East Lake has a diversity that spans across generation, ethnicities, and socio-economic classes. And its service felt like a time travel/teleportation back to Cuernavaca, Mexico when I was a study abroad student in college.

The ENTIRE service was bi-lingual, which has its own unique challenges, but this service had a beautiful flow that never came across as disjointed. I should also note that worship had me chuckling thanks to a few “old school” throwbacks that I knew by heart. Not to mention some songs in Spanish! I’m a little rusty, but singing those songs took me back to living in Mexico… back to a time where community and church were truly synonymous.

And before I move on to the conversation during lunch, I have to talk about how this church does communion. I’ve been to hundreds of churches over the years and I’ve NEVER experienced communion like this. They empty the pews, row by row, each person coming to the front of the church to pick up their cup of grape juice, or wine… yes, real wine. Each congregant also breaks off their own bread before creating a ginormous circle around the room. This followed with the taking of communion and then another song of worship.

An introvert’s nightmare.

But, as I looked around the sanctuary, for the second time since starting this year-long experiment, I was struct by the diversity. Generational diversity. Ethnic diversity. Socio-economic diversity. And compared to so many of the homogenous congregations I’ve grown accustomed to, this was a refreshing and powerful reminder of what community should look like. It wasn’t just a gathering of people who looked alike or shared the same background—it was a true mosaic of life experiences, perspectives, and stories. In this space, everyone had a seat at the table, no matter where they came from. It made me realize how much richer our shared faith and sense of belonging can be when we embrace diversity, rather than shy away from it. This sanctuary was a glimpse of the inclusive, welcoming church world I hope to see more of.

As we moved into lunch, something happened that has NEVER happened before: I took ZERO notes. During the sermons, I typically take pages of notes and this Sunday was no exception. My little reporter-style, hand-held notepad with the Mary Poppins quote (“There’s a whole world at your feet.”) was filled with notes. But in the actual discussion time with my friends this week, I was so busy talking about the sermon… and it’s implications… that I only wrote one sentence:

Where are you giving your attention?

For context, the sermon was entitled “Let Your Kingdom Come – The cycle of Love” and was rooted in Acts 3:1-10. The premise: Love was the mark of the early church. And here are just a few of the notes I took away from the sermon:

• They saw the kingdom of God on the move and were a part of it.
• The kingdom of God is NOT for self-promotion.
• True joy can be found when we shift focus from ourselves to others.
• The “agenda” is not to control and dominate.
• The “agenda” is about power… the power of love.
• Peter denied Jesus until the power of love consumed him.

The teaching centered around this idea that Jesus modeled a profound cycle of love that should follow in our day-to-day lives, which consists of three components: Notice, Engage, Give. As a quick synopsis NOTICE simply means cultivating awareness. Jesus was attentive to the needs of the people around him. This is really about moving from self-focus to others-focus, recognizing where love is needed. ENGAGE is the next step once we’ve noticed the need. Jesus looked past the struggles and stepped into their lives, shared their burdens, and connected with them on a deep, personal level. To engage means we’re showing up with empathy, actively listening, and making the decision to get involved in meaningful ways, whether through offering time, resources, or emotional support. GIVE is all about love in action. Giving is not just about material possessions but about offering ourselves—our love, our care, our presence. It’s a selfless act that completes the cycle, contributing to the well-being of others without expectation of return. (Please, read that last part again.)

And that brings us full circle to the one thing I scribbled down in my notebook during lunch: Where are you giving your attention? We’d been sitting there for about 45 minutes by then, with to-go boxes already ordered, when Kyron dropped the question. It hit me like a punch to the gut. I’ll never forget the sound that escaped me in that moment—it was somewhere between a gasp and a laugh, but it carried the weight of a realization I wasn’t ready for.

Confession: During this current season, my attention is all over the place and I’m having some really difficult discussions with myself, my family, and a few other people in my inner circle about my priorities and how they’ve shifted in ways I never anticipated. It feels like I’m juggling a hundred things at once—projects, relationships, responsibilities—and none of them are getting the attention they truly deserve. (And this isn’t new.) But, the question Kyron asked wasn’t just about focus, it was about intention. Where am I placing my energy, and more importantly, why?

I’ve come to realize that attention is more than just where my mind wanders—it’s a reflection of what I value, consciously or unconsciously. And right now, my values feel scattered. I’m caught between the urgency of deadlines, the pull of new opportunities, and the need to nurture the people I care about. In these tough conversations, it’s becoming clear that some things need to change. I’m being forced to confront what really matters to me and make some hard decisions about where I need to invest my time, and heart, moving forward.

Maybe that’s the real punch—the realization that not everything can be a priority, and if I don’t choose wisely, something, or someone, will inevitably be left behind.

CHALLENGE: This week might be a little difficult, or even painful, because it’s based in the the acknowledgment that not everything can be treated with equal importance. Take an inventory of your current priorities… based on how you ACTUALLY spend your time… and ask yourself if it lines up with how you WANT to spend your time. The struggle of balancing immediate responsibilities, long-term goals, and personal relationships, while accepting that some things may need to be left behind can be difficult. But, it’s also really important.