Woodmont in 2022

Woodmont in 2022
by
January 10, 2022

Welcome to 2022! We all hope it’s going to be better than the last two. We have started a new sermon series on Sundays called “Simply Jesus” where we are journeying through the gospel of Matthew. Matthew is the first gospel of the New Testament and the most Jewish of the gospels. We are now offering our Seeking, Sharing, Serving Class on Wednesday nights at 6 p.m. in the chapel. In 2022, our three focus areas at Woodmont will be Worship, Small Groups, and Hands-on Mission. January is an excellent time to recommit and refocus our spiritual lives for the new year. Also, please remember we are now accepting leadership nominations through the end of January: Board members, Elder, Deacon. The nominating committee will begin meeting in February.

I’d like to share 10 Guiding Principles as we begin 2022:

1) Identify your top priorities and intentionally invest your time and resources in them. Don’t spread yourself too thin. In life, we cannot do everything so we must do the things that matter the most. Many people find themselves “an inch deep and a mile wide.” That is not a healthy way to live.

2) Seek to be a non-anxious presence in the midst of a chaotic world. Anxiety is contagious. Leaders are able to remain steady when everybody else is afraid. Edwin Friedman said that managing emotion is the most important component of authentic leadership. We have too much fear and angst in our culture. We must stay grounded.

3) Accept the fact that Covid is now endemic and is not going away. We have to live with it responsibly. Despite what many believed at first, Covid is not going away. It’s like the flu and the common cold. We should not be reckless and irresponsible but we cannot hide out forever. That is no way to live.

4) Surround yourself with people who will tell you the truth and make you a better person. Invest in the most important relationships that you have. Some people make you better. Others bring you down. Be around those who make you better.

5) Stay away from toxic people who are always negative, cynical, gossiping, and who have a problem for every solution. Life is too short to spend large amounts of time with people who suck the joy and magic out of living.

6) Keep an ongoing gratitude list and constantly add to it. When we fail to be grateful, we become entitled. We also spend our time focusing on what we wish we had. Gratitude is the key to finding contentment.

7) Self-care must be a top priority. Nobody else can do your self-re. We all have physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs that are interconnected. We cannot neglect them. If our cup is empty, we have nothing to pour out.

8) Spend less time on social media and more time face to face. Social media is an addiction that seems to have no limits. We need face-to-face interaction as human beings. Happiness is found in relationships but those relationships cannot be limited to a screen.

9) Pray, meditate, and reflect on a regular basis. Whether you are religious or not, downtime is essential. This allows us to remain grounded. We must learn to slow down the mind to think clearly.

10) Pick and choose your battles wisely. We cannot fight them all. Live humbly and civilly. Howard Baker always said, “Remember that the other guy might be right.” Our culture needs more agents of peace, healing, and reconciliation. We have too much conflict, tension, polarization, and drama.

Most importantly in the new year, remember that the greatest joy in life comes from relationships. The happiest and most fulfilled people recognize this and live by it.

Happy New Year!

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