Luckily for us, Smurfette is the only girl in the Smurf village. Whew, that had serious potential of becoming quite awkward.

Whether it’s a new show, one that’s been around for a long time, or one that has been written into the pages of history, we want to know! Tell us by leaving a comment below.

Have you heard that message? Doesn’t it sound exciting? Easy? It’s a message I’ve heard in the church a thousand times. Every time a chapter is closed another is beginning. Every time a season ends, another is starting. Every time a door closes, another is opening.

“ing”…

Until you’ve been there, until you’ve managed to find yourself in the “ing”, this message makes perfect sense – a perfectly timed progression of events, moving from one door to the next, from one place in life to another.

Instant. Easy. Exciting.

But it’s the “ing” we don’t want to talk about. It’s the waiting, the moving, the happening, the progressing…

It’s the time spent in the hallway, when one door shuts and the next door hasn’t opened yet. It’s the waiting, the moving. It’s the trying, the proving, the growing, the questioning, the doubting. It’s the listening, the hearing, the knowing, the planning, the building.

No one talks about the hallway.
Yet it’s a familiar theme in the Bible.
It’s called Exodus.

Israel. David. Joseph. Jesus. The list goes on. They all spent time in the hallway, in exodus.
So why don’t we talk about it? Why does it feel so wrong? Why does the hallway get such a bad wrap?

The first question you’ll get when you decide to walk out the door is, “So where are you going now?” And if you don’t have an answer to that one, be ready for the follow-up, “Then why are you leaving?” The hallway can be confusing and uncomfortable. The hallway can even feel like punishment. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Exodus is a departure, a leaving, a movement. It’s motion, energy, action. An exodus is something you do, something you’re caught up in, somewhere you’re going, something you join because you don’t want to stay where you are.” –Rob Bell

The hallway is hard, but it’s a necessary part of our walk with God.
The hallway is where God speaks and gives direction.
It’s a time of growing, maturing. It’s a time of preparation.

We like to have things figured out, perfectly planned and put together. But God likes for us to rely on Him. We like to know where the closest and safest open door is before we let the door behind us slam shut. But God wants us to step out in faith and rely only on His all-sufficient grace, mercy and wisdom.

In the hallway we may look confused and misguided, but that’s exactly how we maybe ought to look, because in that, the light of God’s perfect way shines that much brighter. Besides, who are we to pretend we’ve got this all figured out?

In the hallway, after you’re finished complaining and groaning, doubting God and questioning your lot in life, make an attempt to just stop and listen.

God speaks in the hallway.

And when He has finished leading you and the next door finally opens, the light of God’s perfect way shines that much brighter and our past steps and seemingly misguided ways begin to make perfect sense in the scheme of God’s unchanging plan.

The hallway doesn’t always make sense, but in the end, it’s a necessary part of our walk with God. And when one door shuts another will always open. It’s not our job to have our next move all figured out. That’s God’s knowing. He’ll let us know when He’s ready. Just be prepared to spend a little time in the hallway.

Listen.
Follow.
A door is opening.

Chad has spent the last decade as a youth pastor and worship leader. In the past few years, he has successfully led and developed of one of the largest and fastest growing youth and college ministries in Northwest Ohio. Chad lives in Columbus, Ohio with his wife Katie and two daughters, Morgan and Macy. He is co-founder of the Columbus Church Project and leads a growing team of 20-something young people committed to planting a new church in the Columbus area in 2010.

Guest podcaster Erik Williams, also known as Erik w/a K, recently chatted with David Crowder about their upcoming tour, The Rock and Worship Roadshow, the new addition to the DC*B family (Steve 3-PO) and David’s favorite televangelist.

We know that we all have predictions of what will happen in the year to come. And we’d love to know what you think will be a trend, what will be the latest and greatest, what is the forecast of things to come in 2010.

We need your help! Tell us ANYTHING. The skies the limit. Your answers will go into the Mar/Apr 2010 issue of Rethink Monthly. So, please, comment away. Let us know your predictions for 2010.

There was one particular day I remember vividly. It was a good day. And I was feeling positive about the headway we were making in the youth department amongst the young people. I spent the majority of the day remodeling the youth room to make it more, well, “youthy.”

In addition, Melissa and I were starting to feel a great connection with those involved in the music and worship department. We felt like, though things were still somewhat new for everyone, we were making progress and things were starting to flow together nicely.

All throughout this specific day I had been thinking on these things and I was starting to feel good about our new role and the progress we were making. But just as I was leaving the church parking lot for the day, I felt an urge to go a different route home. At first I wasn’t exactly sure why I did this, especially since it was completely the wrong direction in which I was supposed to be heading. Regardless, I just started driving, turning left instead of right. And as I turned left, I immediately knew the reason for this illogical prompting.

He was a large man in a powered wheelchair cruising down the sidewalk on Main Street. I’d seen him before and, though he didn’t look poor or in immediate need, my heart still went out to him. I felt bad but never really did anything about it or asked him if I could help in any way. You know, never being Jesus in the flesh. I wanted to but didn’t. And knowing all this, I felt another urge – an urge to stop and ask him how I could help.

So I did.

Well, first I pulled my car into a parking lot on the other side of the road and told myself, “If he crosses the street right here, then I’ll get out of my car and talk with him.” He crossed the street but I stayed in my car.

I pulled back onto the street and into a different, more secluded parking lot down the road and told myself, “If he passes by here, then I’ll get out and ask him if he needs anything.” He did. So I did what felt natural. I stayed in my car and pulled back onto the road – such a risk-taker, I know.

Then I pulled into the Burger King parking lot. When I say “the” Burger King parking lot, I mean the “only” Burger King parking lot – validating my earlier point that Keokuk is, in fact, a really small town. I’m sure you can guess what I did next. I told myself “If he goes into Burger King, then I’m definitely getting out and talking to him about Jesus.”

He wheeled past my car, up onto the ramp, and drove his wheelchair into the front entrance of Burger King. I watched him the whole way, praying that he would go somewhere else – anywhere besides Burger King. But he did not. And so I got out of my car and walked in.

If you’re hoping for a nice ending, well, this story doesn’t have one. I was as nervous as could be as I walked through the door. God had called me to this point, the opportunity was there, but I was petrified. I was so nervous to present Jesus, if even by actions only, to this man.

He was short a quarter for his meal. I reached into my pocket, found a quarter and handed it to him. The door opened. He thanked me. I acknowledged politely, “Of course, no problem.” I ordered a burger and stood fairly close to the man as we both waited for our orders – the door still wide open. He turned and thanked me again. It would’ve been so easy for me to simply say, “I’ve seen you around town a few times. My name is Bo.” or “Man, I’ve had a pretty decent day. What about you?” Something, anything could’ve been my first step through the open door. But I let it slip away.

He grabbed his order. I grabbed mine. He cruised away in his wheelchair while I got in my car and drove home. That “great day” I had was robbed right from under me and I was the one who stole it.

It’s unfortunate, and ironic, that I had a hard time reaching out to one person when now I have been given the opportunity to reach out to thousands of people each month with our magazine, Rethink Monthly. Who’d of thought, as the hymnist penned, that a wretch like me, a guy who couldn’t even follow the simplest urge, would be given a task such as this.

Bo & Melissa Lane have two beautiful kids, Benjamin and Bella Lane. Besides having the privilege of printing this wonderful magazine, they enjoy long walks on the beach, listening to Hillsong United, and will pay virtually any amount for a quality babysitter.