GARDENCITY

One of my favorite teachers, and the founding pastor of the church I happily attend in downtown Portland, recently re-released one of his bestsellers, Garden City: Work, Rest, and the Art of Being Human. Along with the release, his teaching podcast Practicing the Way (also the name of his latest book), re-aired his six-part sermon series by the same name, originally delivered in 2013. My how the world has changed since then (especially mine), but his message has not. As I have been driving back and forth from Eugene for the past several months, I had a great chance to do some healthy binging. I recommend it highly (it goes best with chocolate).

One of the letters in my first book is the same smashup you see as the title. I believe there are a lot of happy smashups in the Kingdom of God, which I’ll be writing more about in book three. The story of the Scriptures is located between two gardens, Eden and Eternity. However, The Revelation describes the garden to come as having a divine twist. It will be a Garden City. Perhaps like Kensington & London? Or Butchart & Victoria? Or Forest Park & Portland? Not even close. In fact, John of Patmos had to describe the New Jerusalem symbolically because there were really no words for what he saw!

John Mark introduces us to this Garden City in the most compelling fashion. In fact, you can consider this blog as an infomercial for his book.  Seriously, it was life-changing for me the first time I read it (and the second), as I had never heard someone give such a meaningful theology of our work. But the immediate impact for me was a literal life change, that being me beginning the spiritual practice of Sabbath. At the time, I had been a practicing pastor for nearly three decades. Talk about late to the party! But seriously, this practice alone has changed the way I live all seven days of the week, not just one day. It has changed my thinking about work and rest. And thankfully, it has made the biggest difference in my ongoing battle with anxiety and depression. What a gift.

Which is just what Sabbath is: A Gift. John Mark says, “Sabbath is one of the greatest things on offer in the Kingdom of God.” I say, amen! It is a foretaste of forever. It is also one of the greatest ways to rebel against the systems and philosophies of this world that are driving us into the grave, just like Pharoah did to the children of Israel. “Sabbath is a way of saying, ‘NO!’ to the slavedrivers of Pharoah. It is an act of defiance. It is a day when we say, “ENOUGH!” It is subversive stopping. It is an act of faith and trust. And it is good.

John Mark also unpacks a theology of work and calling. As the imago Dei (image of God) we were made to “rule and to build culture.” We were each given a unique divine identity (“who God made me to be”) and calling (“what God made me to do”). But our world is continually trying to press us into its mold of busyness and the endless loop of “Work more. Buy more. Repeat.” We resist when we Sabbath. We resist when we live generously. We resist when we intentionally slow down. And we resist when we live simply. You simply are going to have to listen to the Podcast…and read his books. All of them. But start with this one.

Of course where the rubber meets the road, in the words of Jesus, is when we don’t just hear God’s will, but we take steps to put it into practice. Jesus calls us wise when we do. I’ll give John Mark the mic one more time for the drop: Not only is the way of Jesus right, it is the best way to live!

Right?! Right.

JAY