Dear WRC,
It’s the season of costumes and getting dressed up, and around my kids’ friends it’s been a common question over these last few weeks: What are you gonna be for Halloween? We’re going to spend even more effort than normal over these next couple days on what we look like on the outside, but it’s gotten me wondering about the relationship between what we look like on the outside and who we are on the inside, between who we are and who we’re going to be.
Once we become adults, I don’t think we often think of ourselves as moldable clay. Children are impressionable, but we’re more apt to say that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. There are things about who we are that solidify with years and repetition, but I think we underestimate the degree to which we’re still becoming. I’m convinced that part of what it means to be human is that we are always in the process of being formed. We are being formed by our relationships, by the stories we read and tell, by the things we give our attention to, and by the actions and practices that we repeat over and over again.
I was reminded of this a week or so ago when listening to an interview that mentioned the 1999 book How the News Makes us Dumb. There is a certain formational power in the 24-hour news cycle that captures our attention with never-ending information but shapes us to be—at least in that author’s opinion—dumber. If that was true in ’99 before smart phones and social media, just imagine what it’s doing to us now!
But it isn’t just the news. The act of picking up my phone for every notification is shaping me. Scrolling when bored is shaping me. The movies, shows, podcasts, Substacks, and other subscriptions all have the power to shape who I am and who I’m becoming. And, back to Halloween: Who am I gonna be? The algorithm certainly doesn’t care about how it’s forming us as human beings—its only concern is to keep us watching so it can sell advertising. Have we discerned what we’re allowing to shape us and who we’re becoming? Have we taken even half the time my kids did to pick out their costumes and get everything just right so they can be who they want to be this Halloween?
As your pastor, I have some interest in how you’re being formed. In Romans 12, Paul famously counseled, “Do not be conformed any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.” There is great formational power in the repeated rhythms of our worship together, in daily prayers and Bible reading. But there are a host of other ways in which we may also experience that trans-formation. So, I wanted to quickly share with you a couple other things that have recently been forming me in ways that are fruitful.
· “Low in the Water” podcast – The Eugene Peterson Center started a podcast that is a weekly conversation between two friends about a passage of scripture. It helps that I know most of the people involved, but I love the tone of the conversation and the way they are teaching me to pay attention to God—in Scripture and in myself.
· “The Russell Moore Show” – Another podcast, this one by Christianity Today, where Russell is the Editor-in-Chief. I don’t agree with him on everything, but I appreciate his posture as an interviewer. He hosts some interesting conversations among Christians about a wide gamut of cultural and ethical questions and maintains a gracious and curious posture. I’ve found, through a host of his conversations, that I am pointed back to Christ.
· “As Long As I Am in the Tent of this Body I Will Make a Joyful Noise Pt. 2” by John Van Deusen – This recently released album has been on repeat lately. Music is pretty subjective, so this may not be your cup of tea, but I’ve long found that the music we listen to and the words and melodies we allow to get stuck in our heads have a unique power to shape us. How wonderful to walk around all day with lines like, “Heavenly Fire, burn bright. I’m only living if I’m abiding,” running through your head!
Who are you gonna be, not just for Halloween, but a year from now? Ten years? How are you being shaped by your practices, relationships, and by all that you give your attention to? How might you be transformed further into the image of Christ instead of conformed to the ways of this world?
In Christ,
Pastor Andy
