Posted by Helen on: 03.02.2008 /
Pam Hogeweide is a contributing writer for Off The Map. She recently appeared as guest editor for The Porpoise Diving Life, an online zine, where more articles about the power of an ordinary life can be read.
For so many years I despised my ordinary life, equating ordinariness with boring. But now, in my early forties, having seen up close and from a distance, the illusion of fulfillment with those who live on the cutting edge of spiritual and personal success (whatever that means), I have come to respect the unsung heroism of everyday living.
Jesus lived an ordinary, dull life. He had a working class occupation. He came from an average family. He did not pursue greatness, or super-stardom. If anything, he avoided it and sometimes spoke or acted strangely in his attempts to live below the radar. (How many times did he tell someone after healing them, Don’t tell anyone… like, as if!)
Living in the ordinary moments of my life is my goal these days. I need to get over myself and just get on with it. For real. Grand schemes will come and go, great glimpses of inspiration will transpire and then wither away, but the routine of everyday life is a constant, like the rising of the sun every morning.
In these times of celebrity worship, found even in the church, I wonder about the danger of grandiose imaginings that can lead to self-loathing. We want our lives to matter and can unwittingly despise our small contribution to our communities. Like the grandmother who bakes cookies each week for street kids, but laments to her pastor, “I wish I could do more.” Or the young person who has been told in their youth group over and over again to do great things for God - but what if God’s plan for that person is to lead a quiet, obscure life simply loving his family and friends?
I wonder if the spotlight for the power of an ordinary life lived is finally shining? Are the unknown and unaccomplished saints finally being noticed? Or heard? Is a fresh wind of the Spirit blowing for the weak and the forgotten, the overlooked and uneducated? Is there an emerging revolution of the un-great? And if there is, will we see it?
Probably not, for this revolution is about nothing special and no one in particular. It will not be glamorized in a rash of books or overpriced conferences. The only special people will be the Everyday Janes and Joes who won’t care if the mic is on or not.
A blogger friend of mine recently posted this question:
Is there destiny, fulfillment, and meaning for those who are called to ordinary life?
I would say, yes, most definitely Yes! There must be, for God created so many of us, so many ordinary people in every nation and culture on earth. God must love ordinary people for having called so many of us to live the quiet life that the Apostle Paul urged in the New Testament (Thessalonians 4:11).
My friend Bill Dahl pointed out to me that the stories in the bible about kingdom of God revolutionaries, such as the prophets, were always people of ordinary stature. Jeremiah was a kid, so was Josiah; Jonah was no one special; Mary was a village girl from an unexceptional family; and the original twelve disciples of Christ, simple fishermen. God, it appears, is attracted to the common folk.
In these disillusioning times in Christendom, I sense a new regard for the virtue of meekness, which can be described as power restrained. In the system of the world it is a value to posture one’s self for position and influence. It’s necessary in the pursuit of business and career and social status. But in the kingdom of Jesus, which my friend and pastor Deborah Loyd, describes as an upside-down kingdom, it is the opposite - humility is a core value, ordinariness celebrated.
I do not despise my everydayness anymore. I welcome the predictable details of home life and vocation. I am filled with new found appreciation for common kindness in daily interactions. Helping a neighbor clean up her home, listening to a teen in emotional crisis, reaching out to the shy newcomer on a Sunday morning…these are non-spectacular efforts to connect to others.
The power of the average person living the average life is anything but average. There is, I believe, a revolution of ordinary people that is simmering beneath the surface of our religious and community cultures. If we listen, we might hear their voices. If we listen even more carefully, we might hear our own.
Comment by: leslie d.
1 03/2/08 7:56 PM | Comment Link |You put into words something that has been bugging me at the back of my thoughts. I thought I had to do more/be more just to be who I am. I am a happy little Jesus Freak, nobody special. It is enough for me, but I’ve spent years mourning my limits, listening to the voice of the enemy whispering the lies that nothing was ever enough. Some days not quitting is an act of heroism. I love Jesus and I serve Him, but it will be a relief to let go the idea that I need to be something so much more than I am.
Thanks for your words, they relieve my heart.
Comment by: Lisa
2 03/2/08 8:24 PM | Comment Link |Pam, thank you. This is what I needed to hear today. OK, actually it is what I need to hear every day. And thank you, God, that being who we are in the little things each day is enough.
Comment by: Erin Word
3 03/2/08 9:00 PM | Comment Link |Pam - You ROCK!
Comment by: Beth
4 03/2/08 9:21 PM | Comment Link |Pam,
Thanks for this excellent post.
Apocryphal stories abound that God goes to ordinary mortals to ask them to do extra-ordinary things. I’m sure the reason, if He were to be interviewed by Helen, would be something like: “because they will do it (whatever they’re asked to do)”.
Thank you for the budding joy in the ordinariness of your being…it’s quite extraordinary!
Beth
Comment by: Jim Henderson
5 03/2/08 10:43 PM | Comment Link |Considering that our leader Jesus spent the first 30 years of his life doing nothing,I’ve often wondered why his followers seem to feel the need to qualify their ordinariness with a reference to extra ordinary ?
Pam, thanks for surfacing this critically important theological issue.
Comment by: Phil
6 03/3/08 6:54 AM | Comment Link |Pam, thanks for your story. It is a great reminder about God’s priorities. There is power in powerlessness according to Jesus, who Himself said to probably the Most “ordinary” man of all time, Paul the Apostle: “MY power is made perfect in weakness.”
The other day we discussed as a family how God makes even everyday things sacred. Your post reminds me of that. Thanks again!
Comment by: Dave
7 03/3/08 7:11 AM | Comment Link |Pam,
I pastored an ordinary church for 20 years, caring for people at the fringe and fighting to keep the cancer of religion from invading our body. I did pretty good at the former, but ultimately failed at the latter. Years of feeling like a failure because my church didn’t live up to the standards set by conference speakers took its toll and I didn’t have the emotional strength to fight any more battles, so I left.
The past five years have been spent getting the knives out of my back and feeling like an even greater failure for having walked away. I go through the motions of living, but can’t shake the feeling that since I’m not doing what I was “called” to do, I really am a failure.
But as I read your words this morning, I began to feel something I’ve not felt in years—hope that a loving Father might still love me. I’m wondering if I have misinterpreted His call on my life to simply love and care for those I come in contact as a call to pastor a church that meets the expectations of Christian culture. To tell you the truth, it is easy to use a call to “full time” ministry as an excuse to avoid the more difficult call to love the unloved and overlooked full time.
Thank your for your reminder that, ultimately, success isn’t measured by accolades handed out by those whose main concern is to be fed every Sunday morning, but by the willingness to serve (most often in obscurity) the ones Jesus loves.
Comment by: Melanie
8 03/3/08 7:32 AM | Comment Link |Pam,
Thank you. As a member of our worship team in an almost mega-church, with a fairly pretty voice, and surrounded by wonderful, gifted artists who write beautiful songs of worship, sometimes it is easy to feel rather small and insignificant. It is so beautiful to know that the Lord delights in my simple sacrifices as an ordinary wife and mother of pre-schoolers, and that that is perhaps even more precious to Him than the few times I stand up in front of the congregation and help lead them in worship. I know it in my heart, but there are times when we really need to be reminded of the truth - and this week was one of those times. Thank you, and God bless you for your obedience to Him. And thank you, Jim, for this website. On the rare occasions I am able to check out the emails I get, my heart is always refreshed, and I am always reminded of simple truth on a day when it is the most needed.
Comment by: pamhogeweide
9 03/3/08 11:20 AM | Comment Link |So glad this message of the power of the ordinary is resonating with people. I truly do believe a revolution of eveyrday schmucks is upon us, but really, we probably won’t notice for awhile cause they won’t make a tv show out of it!
Dave said:
Wow. That’s intense. Would you tell us more about what those standards were? What takeaway messages did conference speakers leave behind for your congregation? I’d like to know more about your story. I’m glad this article is a timely encouragement for you. Stay connected to the Off the Map community. There’s a whole lot of good and healthy takeaway messages that inspire freedom and authenticity. And the OTM people are cool, too.
Melanie said:
I hear ya, Melanie. Which is why I am writing a lot these days about the power of an ordinary life. Not in spectacular feats that razzle and dazzle, but in the invisible places of simplicity. Yes, leading worship is a great thing to do, and so is making afternoon snacks for those little ones who need to be cared for!
Comment by: Stephan
10 03/3/08 12:10 PM | Comment Link |Pam, thanks for posting this. I think a lot of people need to hear it.
I’ve probably said this before, but one of my favorite movies is Groundhog Day. I think it’s message is the same as this post. Phil, Bill Murray’s character, hates being a nobody. He sees himself as too important for his position and treats everyone around him as if they were less important. Then he finds himself in Punxatawny, living Groundhog Day over and over again. By living the same day over and over he gets perspective - the beauty of life is in the small moments and making a small difference wherever you can. I watch this movie every year (yes, on Groundhog Day) as a reminder to myself to forget about my situation in life and get on with living.
Comment by: Tracy
11 03/3/08 2:48 PM | Comment Link |Such a great article. I can relate to what you’ve written here on so many levels. I can also really relate to what Dave wrote. Dave, if it’s of any comfort at all, there are many, many of us “out here” that used to be “pastors” at churches and ended up having to walk away as you did.
My husband and I have now been out of “the ministry” for over a decade and it is only this past year that I feel TRUE recovery and healing are taking deep root in my heart from that whole experience. Interestingly, I now see that experience and all the pain and wounds (and, yes, many knives in our backs as well) as some of the greatest GIFTS I’ve ever received. I’ve come to know the Lord in His grace and mercy in ways I don’t think I could have or would have apart from going through that level of pain and wounding.
Well, just wanted to let you know you’re in our hearts and prayers. May God’s healing rise in your heart starting this very day.
Tracy
Comment by: jason
12 03/3/08 5:34 PM | Comment Link |This is a lot like Ken’s story (legendary over doing nothing). I heard Ken speak of these “ordinary” people long before the article about him, before HomePDX even. “Not everyone can be Bono,” he said “not everyone can save the world”.
The essence of this, for me, is that we, the limited, spend most of our days among the same community where no single person has the resources to provide for everyone else, nor does anyone have a throne. There isn’t a “fish king”, we are all sharing the tackle, the rods, as well as the boat.
Some days there are plenty of fish (resources), some days we grow hungry. We, the limited, find advantage when we realize we are learning the trade out of being in a position of need for it.
Comment by: Bill Dahl
13 03/3/08 8:30 PM | Comment Link |Pam:
This IS YOUR book….I told ya so! Look at the blessed resonance in the comments above. You’ve hit the human heart with this one. By the way, your issue of The Porpoise Diving Life (Feb 2008) with the theme, “The Power of the Ordinary” was read by folks in 147 different countries….get outta here! That’s resonance.
This article is just another tangible piece of evidence that the “REMNANT REVOLUTION” is at hand!
Lead on Girl!
Bill Dahl
Comment by: Jim Henderson
14 03/3/08 10:09 PM | Comment Link |Dave - Off The Map was started to give people like you hope.
Comment by: leslie d.
15 03/3/08 10:36 PM | Comment Link |Pam,
When you responded to the remarks we left, the one’s you chose to further comment on were the two who were in positions of service on the center stage of sunday mornings - a singer and a pastor. It seems a bit contradictory to me. You are all about the ordinary, but you point out the church superstars, those who preach and those who sing in the praise team.
I guess there are levels of ordinary.
Respectfully,
Leslie
Comment by: Barbara
16 03/3/08 10:45 PM | Comment Link |Pam,
This is a message that would benefit a lot of people that are still hearing the “be more” message.
Note to Leslie, I think Pam purposely pointed out those two comments specifically because they were two people in the spotlight that saw the value of what she was saying.
At least that’s how I read it :)
Comment by: Helen
17 03/4/08 6:05 AM | Comment Link |Pam thanks for this article - I’m delighted to see it’s encouraging so many people!
Dave, like Pam said, I hope you’ll stay connected with us. If you haven’t been there yet, check out our Doable Evangelism site - like Pam’s article, Doable Evangelism is all about affirming that God is pleased with our ‘ordinary attempts’.
Leslie, I’m sure Pam didn’t mean to imply other commenters are more important than you.
You are sooo right.
I used to struggle with that too. I don’t know if this happens to you - I used to read Bible passages and I’d always focus on the verses challenging me to do more, not on the verses about standing in grace. One day I discovered the verse about Jesus not crushing a bruised reed or extinguishing a smoldering candle (see Isaiah 42:3 which Matthew says is about Jesus. I realized, if that’s true then of course Jesus would not beat up on someone who already feels inadequate. And from then on I tried to treat myself more like Jesus would :)
Comment by: pamhogeweide
18 03/4/08 11:23 AM | Comment Link |Leslie said:
.
Well, I didn’t even think about it. It was actually more about a time thing. I could only be online very briefly so I responded to the last two comments, who also seemed to need encouragement the most BECAUSE of the pressure of platform ministry.
Here’s the thing: I don’t want to be that person who shows partiality to someone because they have a big platform or, in contrast, that they don’t. My whole thing is that there is a tendency in evangelical culture to devalue the details of everyday life, as if God doesn’t value it. Which can easily turn into a distorted idea that God doesn’t value me.
God loves people. We’re all commoners to him. Imagine the strongest leader of all the nations trying to swagger into the halls of heaven as if his power can impress the Almighty. It is my hope to inspire my readers to discovering their identity as the Beloved no matter their station in life. The power of an ordinary life is the power of God’s love for that life.
Thanks for dialogging about this Leslie. I can see where my comments seemed preferential. But they’re not.
(ok, i gotta hop offline. i have some ordinary deadlines to meet…!)
Comment by: garret
19 03/4/08 12:03 PM | Comment Link |Hey friend.
I often skip over the ordinary things, the opportunities to be faithful, and run after maybe’s of fame and influence/impact. May God grant me humility, and I grant myself an opportunity to worship God (making it about Him, pointing to Him, not exhalting myself). I’ve addressed this before, but I still debate over work and trust.
Love you friend,
Garret
Comment by: Doreen A Mannion
20 03/5/08 2:29 PM | Comment Link |Pam, that was awesome. If we could only allow ourselves to see the human dignity in the other, we’d realize that no one is ordinary.
Comment by: Rachel
21 03/12/08 7:38 PM | Comment Link |There’s a brilliant book by the name of “The Power of an Ordinary Life.” Incredibly powerful stories of people who used their ordinary life to be “difference-makers.”
Comment by: Helen
22 03/12/08 7:52 PM | Comment Link |Thanks Rachel - I hadn’t heard of that book. It sounds very encouraging.