Did you change your mind yet?

Hey Friends…

​ I have an addiction that I should tell you about. I can’t stop watching aircraft accident analysis videos on YouTube. That may sound a bit morbid to many of you--and just underscored why some of you are terrified of flying. But as a recreational aviator, it keeps me honest. As most aircraft accidents are the result of a pilot thinking one thing is true when it is not, I need to learn how to change my mind. Spiritual and relational accidents in our lives are almost always caused the same way: by our thinking. I’ve been in one near-miss that could have been a fatal aircraft accident; I’ve been in many near-misses and a handful of full-blown ball-ups in my spiritual life. I’ll tell you more about it in Deeper Thoughts below…
 
But first….
 
·      RSVP to experience ACTUAL freedom in Christ!! We will work seven steps to freedom, wholeness, healing, and strength at our Freedom in Christ day-retreat, Saturday, April 27 from 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Join us for scriptural discovery, guided prayer and reflection, and an actual pathway to reframe our thinking, habits, and experiences. Click here for more information and to RSVP!
 
·      TOMORROW: Saturday, April 13, 9:00 -12:30 - Church-wide Spring Spruce Up Workday. C'mon out for lots of fun and fellowship for all skill levels, abilities, and interests—indoor and outdoor, heavy-lift and light duty…whatever you will enjoy the most!
 
·      THIS SUNDAY: April 14, 11:45 a.m. Volunteer Info Meeting for serving our Kids and Teens – a no-commitment information and vision-casting meeting. Lunch included!! Click here to let us know you’re coming!
 
·      Did you miss Mt. Hope being featured on WAVA 105.1? I had the privilege to brag on you for an hour about the passionate culture and super-healthy dynamics you all are creating in our church. If you’d like to hear the podcast on WAVA’s Drive Home show, click here, and then scroll down through the podcast listing to April 8.
 
OK…that’s it today for you email skimmers and those who are as scared of Jesus as you are of flying.  BUT…
 
 
Some Deeper Thoughts…
 
I’ve gotten a lot of things wrong over the years. How about you? Most of us are relatively slow to admit it. Confirmation bias as well as simple pride keep us from recognizing a particular spiritual or emotional cliff we are careening towards. The damage is entirely unintended, and we usually think we’ve done the right thing to prevent it. But the results speak for themselves, do they not?
 
Oxford Dictionary defines confirmation bias as “the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one’s existing beliefs or theories.” In other words, we want something to be true, or we assume something is true, so we just keep assuming this even when evidence in front of us should tell us otherwise. In fact, the new evidence--while objectively contradicting our biases—is often used to confirm the bias rather than refute it.
 
Most aircraft accidents are caused by pilot error—a series of poor decisions that sneak past warning after warning that something is not normal. The pilot assumes they are on the right course, doing the right thing, even when clear evidence is to the contrary.
 
Most spiritual and relational catastrophes in our lives equally come from faulty thinking that careens past truth that is distinctly revealed in God’s Word. The scriptures give clear instruction on the best and healthiest way to navigate a particular experience. We either ignore the teaching, or worse, distort its guidance to affirm the ill-advised course we prefer to take.
 
We see it in our interpersonal conflicts; in our identity; in our dysfunctional family patterns. We see it in our romance, our politics, our frictional acquaintances, even those who may be our enemies. Our society has fiercely trained us; cultural norms and human impulses demand common relational patterns and reactions. Worse yet, since we all live in this same culture and have these same human instincts, we all think we’re doing the right thing. We cling to the bias, even though the evidence suggests that it is not serving us well.
 
I almost died in an airplane once.
 
It was a very gusty, bumpy day. Being relatively junior in my aviating experience, I elected to purposely go fly in such rough weather to build my skills and confidence with landing an aircraft in gusty crosswind conditions. I was practicing a series of takeoffs and landings, flying a tight circuit around the airport traffic pattern between each takeoff and coming back around to land. The airport had no air traffic control tower, meaning each pilot had to self-report to others on the radio our whereabouts and intentions.
 
I heard another aircraft announce on the radio that they were six miles away, inbound to land on a straight-in approach. My bias heard six miles away… no problem, I’m just making a quick turn towards the runway, and I’ll be well ahead of him. I called out to him on the radio with my intention but received no response—and most importantly, no confirmation of his actual position. Moments later, while a mere 200 feet above the ground and less than a quarter mile from the runway, a gust of wind kicked the nose of my aircraft a little to the left. Right there, out of the corner of my eye, I saw that other aircraft right below me… twenty feet below me! I was right on top of him, descending directly into him, both of us tracking to the same runway threshold.
 
It was my confirmation bias that we were both safely where we should be--when clearly, we were not—that nearly cost us both lives.
 
How about you and me in our day-to-day spiritual and relational experiences? Do we think we are on the right course, doing the right things, in the right way? But there… just in the corner of our eye… could there be an impending collision with another person that will have catastrophic emotional consequences?
 
Years ago, the gust of wind that kicked my aircraft nose to the left saved me and that other fellow from certain catastrophe. Friends, I pray that the Word of God will blow a gust our direction today to save us from emotional damage and lead us to the abundant joy of well-framed relationships.
 
For this to truly happen, we likely need to change our mind.
 
God reveals to us in Romans 12:2 that we must no longer conform to the patterns of this world—to no longer navigate our human experiences with the confirmation bias our society has firmly established. God calls us to renew our mind—to be entirely transformed to a new way of thinking.
 
When it comes to relating to one another, to God, and to ourselves, He gives us just one instruction: “Change your mind.”
 
Do a little advance reading before this Sunday—carefully explore Romans 12. Do you see any specific instructions that challenge how you instinctively react to other people? To how you are focused in your relationships with others? To how you respond towards others who might even be considered your enemies? Do you see any wisdom in this teaching that contradicts how our culture has taught us to relate?
 
Let’s continue into Uncharted Territory this weekend. This will change everything about our purpose and our relationships. This Sunday at 10:00 a.m.—in-person (best!) or online-livestream (if needed). Can’t wait to be with you all!!
 
Much love to each of you… you matter to me and Sherri more than you know!
 
Chris Eads
Mt. Hope Pastor
Friend