Drinking From the Same Dipper

I've Moved my Blog. Come find me...

2010-01-07T23:07:00.000-05:00

I've moved my blog to:

http://scottlinscott.wordpress.com

Leeland lyrics from Follow You

2010-01-03T23:54:00.001-05:00

I've been singing this song so much lately...

You lived among the least of these
The weary and the weak
And it would be a tragedy for me to turn away.

All my needs you have supplied.
When I was dead you gave me life.
How could I not give it away so freely?

And I'll follow you into the homes that are broken.
Follow you into the world.
Meet the needs for the poor and the needy God.
Follow you into the World.

Use my hands, use my feet
To make your kingdom come
Through the corners of the earth
Until your work is done
'Cause Faith without works is dead
And on the cross your blood was shed
So how could I not give it away so freely?

And I'll follow you into the homes that are broken.
Follow you into the world.
Meet the needs for the poor and the needy God.
Follow you into the World.
(X2)

I give all myself.
I give all myself
I give all myself... to you.

And I give all myself.
Yes, I give all myself.
And I give all myself... to you.

And I'll follow you into the homes that are broken
Follow you into the world.
Meet the needs for the poor and the needy God.
Follow you into the World.

I'm like the fidgetting kid in church. You?

2009-12-31T17:42:00.001-05:00

I'm antsy. Do you know the feeling? It's a mix of expectation, anxiety, excitement and fear. It's like driving behind someone who has had their directional on for awhile. Do they know it's on? Are they going to turn? Is anything going to happen? When?

I feel like the Lord has been getting me ready for something. My heart is shifting, the things I enjoy are changing and something is building up in me that could be called "vision." It's been happening in Robin simultaneously.

Have you ever had something to say but you just can't seem to get it out in the midst of all the other noise? For example, you're at a meeting and the ideas are flying but you just don't get a chance to add what you're thinking. Take that up a few notches. Picture yourself as an assistant coach dutifully performing your role game after game. You've been doing it for years. The coach is great but you just have this sense that you're ready to take a team of your own. It's a good change. It doesn't come out of anything negative. It comes from preparation and vision.

That's how I feel. Ready.

Ready for what? I have no idea! Maybe 2010 will be when we sell everything and head for the mission field. Maybe God will lead us to a group of hurting people who are facing their church closing and use us to reignite vision for their community. Maybe we'll buy a farmhouse and minister to unwed moms and use the barn for worship space. College ministry? Campus pastor? Planter? Whatever it is, we're excited about it.

I'm antsy. I'm about to burst with a desire to share what I have been learning in Scripture. I don't want to preach at people as much as I want to invite them to explore Jesus with me. I am anxious to build a team and lead others into discovering how to follow Christ. I'm ready, willing and waiting for direction.

Things change in life. My perception is that the teens I work with would go further with someone younger. They need the community-building energy of lock-ins and retreats. They are ready to be challenged by whoever it is that the Lord has been preparing to begin a ministry with them. How many teenagers want to hang out with someone who is older than their dads? I love them enough to see that I am probably limiting them. They deserve more than a maintenance mindset.

Will 2010 will be when the Lord moves us? Maybe He has more prep work to do in our hearts before He sends us. Will you pray that we learn what we must and that He sends us with clarity? Be excited with us.

And I double-dog-dare you to pray, "Lord, here I am, use me however and wherever you wish." He is showing me that amazing adventures lie ahead if we will just drop our nets and follow Him.

Is. 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

What would you do if God showed up?

2009-12-24T11:38:00.000-05:00

I run into a lot of people who are waiting to hear from God. I meet people who want to know God's Will for this and that decision. "What car does God want me to buy? Where does God want me to go to college? What's God got lined up for me in the area of love and romance?"

It's kinda like God is an American fortune cookie. We want to crack something open, take out a slip of paper and read, "Hey, God here. My Will is for you to buy the three bedroom house on Elm Street."

I want to hear from God. You want to hear from God. We've got questions for Him to answer. We want to know why bad things happen. We want to ask Him why He let the axel on our car rust out when He supposedly loves us. We shoot little prayers skyward saying, "God, I don't get it."

And then, over on the shelf near the decorative snowmen, there's a book that's different from the other books. We've grown up hearing it called "God's Word." We've heard that it tells us about God and is full of God stuff. But, truth is, we've read books on glistening, moody, romantic vampires and mysteries about who killed who in the library with a candlestick while that God book just sat there.

Heck, we've even read books by authors writing about that book. But, that book? We can't remember the last time we read it. We read about the secret code of the book and even went to see a movie or two about it. That was cool. Things blew up and conspiracies built up into exciting chase scenes.

We sit around and say things like, "I feel like God would feel this way" and "My God isn't like that." The book sits.

How would your life be different if you really believed that book was the actual words of God? That book written over 1400 years on three different continents by more than 40 authors is different than other books. It is inspired by God. It communicates His heart and shows us what He does.

That book is difficult. It cuts me, scares me, encourages me and educates me. If it were a movie, it would be rated R. Sometimes it helps me sleep well and other times it leaves me tossing and turning all night. It is alive.

Want to know God? Grab that book. Before you "feel" this or "think" that about God, what have His very words told you?

I am learning to love this disturbing, defining, direction-giving book. I am learning that this Holy God is so much bigger than my fortune cookie approach. I am learning that His opinion is often different than mine. And while I still await His direction for the next steps in life, I am learning to be content right where I am now. His book is teaching me that godly men were not as concerned with comfort as I am; they wrote letters from prison cells, hung on a cross upside down or were persecuted.

God showed up. His words are over there on your shelf in that bible with its books of history, poetry, prophecy, songs and biography. I dare you to take it down and turn to Matthew to start reading of Jesus and what made Him tick.

Before I speak for God and use Him to elevate my personal agenda, I want to be sure to I know what His Word says. I want to know His Word.

Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another - showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God's way. 2 Timothy 3:16

I met Scrooge. So young and so angry.

2009-12-23T15:41:00.000-05:00

Scrooge is a girl and she's madder than a wet hornet. She hates Christmas. She's a self-proclaimed hater of consumerism and is a fan of what she calls "social justice." Her causes range from hunger to war to sexual orientation to diet.

She's mostly mad at fellow Christians. She often spouts off all that is wrong with the church and wags her finger at its lack of action for her causes. Jesus would support the causes she supports; she has no doubt. The facts of more than 200 billion dollars given by individuals to fight hunger, oppression, provide clean water and medicine and educate are of little concern even when compared with only 26 billion in aid given by the US government.

She's mad at Christians who dare offend others with a wish of "Merry Christmas" and is angry that the holiday is far from representing Jesus. She's mad at consumerism though she texts, blogs, surfs the internet, loves YOUtube and has several hundred dollars worth of gadgets she needs. "How can Christians spend so much on their toys while 53 percent of the world lives on less than $2 per day," is her cry. Meanwhile she'll drop another $15-$20 this weekend to bang her head to the latest band that comes through town.

I agree with much of what she says but am amazed that she can't see herself in any of her criticisms. Those darn Christians! How can they say they love Christ when they support this American economy of excess?

If she believed in Christmas I know just what I'd get her. I'd get her a mirror.

My mom always told me to be careful pointing at others. She showed me that whenever I pointed the one finger I had three other fingers pointing back at me.

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" Matthew 7:3

Who's afraid of barns?

2009-12-15T12:38:00.000-05:00

Why do we work so hard to make Jesus unapproachable when God put so much effort into tearing down barriers? Why do we build ornate cathedrals, invest in expensive garments and commission intricate stained glass? Each gold-plated decoration puts more distance between God and the common man.

I understand where it comes from. God is holy and fully deserving of the best. The Old Testament tabernacle, the dwelling place of God, was breathtaking and perfect. But that changed with Jesus. Man became the dwelling place of the Spirit of God. No building is God's house today.

I've been looking at the Christmas story and am overwhelmed by how underwhelming it is. It's simple and ordinary except for angels and wisemen.

First, God announced the birth of Jesus to shepherds. Few people were lower on the caste ladder than shepherds. Theirs was a position of no status or noteriety. When making decisions or seeking advice, no one went looking for shepherds.

Second, Jesus was in a feeding trough. It makes sense since there was a feeding trough that his birthplace was in a livestock setting. Do you get that? No one feels intimidated in barns. No one puts on their fancy shoes to go feed the livestock. I can't think of a simpler, less ornate, less religious setting.

Why did God choose such a humble setting? Maybe the key is in John 3:16 in the word "whoever." Whoever would believe would receive. Simple.

So many people stay away from Jesus because they aren't religious, don't have good enough clothes, have no money or feel like they won't fit in with the church crowd. Maybe you're one of them. Would you feel the same if I invited you to come tour a barn with me?

I think that's the simplicity that God had in mind. From shepherds to kings, from criminals to humanitarians, from poor to rich, from uneducated to matriculated, from plain to fancy ... everyone is welcome to approach the manger. As the Christchild grew, that never changed. Everyone is welcome.

Let's stop lining up hurdles for people to jump before we invite them to begin a relationship with Jesus.

What Not to Wear; Church Edition

2009-12-01T13:49:00.000-05:00

Maybe, we should all worship naked.

Now before you get all offended on me, hear my rationale. This past Sunday I had the privilege of preaching. I always love it when I get the opportunity to share what the Lord has been doing in this messy life of mine and I think it occasionally even encourages a few folks to draw closer to Jesus.

At FBC, the first service bears the label "traditional." What that means is we get to hear a dapper-looking choir in matching robes, we sing hymns and listen to organ music mixed with piano. Neckties are important, suit coats are pressed and hairdos are puffy. It's a good-looking crowd.

The second service is labeled "contemporary." Praise bands play guitars, bass and drummers drum while we sing the latest in Christian music. More than a few coffee cups can be spotted sporting their Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts logos and older people wonder if younger people are experiencing a shortage of combs because their hair has purposely been made to look somewhat chaotic. Neckties are few and far between and jeans are more the norm for the men.

The same message is preached to each crowd.

I play dress-up for the first service. I put on a suit and tie even though it makes me feel somewhat like a poser. For the second service I change into my comfortable clothes and feel more at home and able to breath. What puzzles me is the way people react.

I had one woman pretty upset with me when she saw that I had changed out of my suit and tie after the first service. "Don't you want to give God your best?" she asked. For her, my suit was "my best" and my jeans and argyle sweater were dumpy.

I didn't get drawn into debating clothing but I did toss her question around in my head a little. The reality was my suit outfit cost me less than $150 at an S&K Warehouse sale while the jeans, shirt, sweater, belt combo cost more than that. By her standards, I think I gave God my best in the second service ... if clothing has anything at all to do with it.

"Good to see you in a tie," one guy told me before the first service. I asked him why ties were important to him. He linked it to respect. We are good enough friends that I challenged him to do a little tie research in the coming week. Historically ties have been a sign of wealth, power and status. I wonder when they made the leap to being a sign of godliness for so many.

After the second worship service one woman was very upset that one of the guitar players had a tattoo. Her view was that he should have covered it up during the service. I don't even know where to go with that.

Adam and Eve were naked. Then they did what we all do; they went their own way and pushed God's way aside. As soon as they took the bite, the first thing that changed was their attitude about clothing. From fig leaves to togas to suits and ties, it has been a big deal ever since.

No, we can't worship naked. No matter what we wear or do not wear, it will always be an issue to some in this family of ours. I wonder if anyone heard what I said Sunday? I think it was good stuff.

What does God want us to wear? I think it's pretty clear in Colossians 3:12-14

So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.(The Message)

When is a gym not a gym?

2009-11-23T15:27:00.000-05:00

I don't speak Japanese. I don't speak Spanish. I speak enough French to ask where the library is and to ask someone their name. Je'mapelle Scott? Language is important.

My oldest son is a bio-chemist. He talks about things like amino acids, replication and proteins doing this and that. He's writing a thesis paper and has told me what it's about but I really have no idea what he was talking about.

My youngest son is studying to be a chef. He talks about sauces and cuts and uses a whole set of jargon that I don't understand. When he's talking to other chef types they enjoy the banter but I'm lost.

How much Jesus jargon do we have? How much church jargon?

In our church we have something we call a "Family Life Center." It's a place that has a sweet glass basketball backboard at each end and lines painted into a nice vinyl floor for basketball and for volleyball. We have posts that slide into recessed holes in the floor and then a nice volleyball net stretches across from pole to pole. It's awesome. There are also a couple of basketball backboards mounted to the side wall. It's a "Family Life Center" but it looks exactly like what everyone who is visiting us would call a "gym."

"Join us for coffee in the Family Life Center," we announce to our visitors. But like me listening to my son talking about piepettes I wonder if our visitors say, "Hmmm, I wonder where that is? Is it down near the gym?"

We have a room we call a "parlor" and we have a "chapel" and we have a "sanctuary." We hand out "bulletins." What do you have for jargon? If you were visiting your church and had no idea what was going on, would the language help you or make you feel even more out of place.

If it were up to me, I'd call a gym a gym and replace the signs to the "sanctuary" with signs to the "main auditorium." It might make things sound less spiritual but it would certainly help people find their way around better.

What would you do to make newcomers feel more comfortable?

Buttery fingers can't grasp anything

2009-11-20T14:36:00.001-05:00

I give it one thumb up and one thumb down ...

Critics are everywhere. Have you ever noticed that no matter what you do some people are ready to sit back in their chair and give you a free evaluation of everything that is weak or could use improvement? It's like the movie reviewers on television. One guy likes the cinematography but the other guy doesn't like the costumes.

Critics sit there munching on their yellow, buttery popcorn giving their rationale of why things suck so bad. You put your efforts into your story, your event, your plans and they shred it like it's their calling.

I wish continual critics who believe they have a gift of critiquing would announce their intentions before they get hold of my ear. Sometimes I get sucked in pretty deep before I realize, "Woah, wait. This endless barrage is coming from a barrager." (If that's not a word it should be.) They are the machine guns of criticism. Machine guns never really surprise me by the number of bullets they pump out but the barrager gets me off guard pretty often. By the time I recognize their deal, I'm full of holes and bleeding profusely. If I knew their plans and saw them coming I would have taken time to put on a flack jacket.

I remember interacting with Tim at a summer camp. I was speaking and Tim made sure to let me know his every thought of improving the camp. He talked to me about the food, the lights, the band and even the waterfront. He told me what was wrong with the games and told me how he would do things different. He critiqued every service. It wasn't long before I recognized the pattern. I am pretty sure that after Jesus returns, Tim will fold his arms and say, "Yeah, that was good but here's what I would have done ..."

On day three I spotted Tim making his way across the field headed straight for me. When he reached me and started to speak I stopped him and said, "Tim, before you say anything critical I want to hear you tell me two things that you are pumped about." He frowned, folded his arms and walked away. He couldn't do it! It made me sad ... and glad that I didn't have to listen to more complaints.

The rest of the week, each time Tim approached me, I gave him the same request. Each time he walked away silent. In a camp of 300 people where everyone was well fed and safe, where kids where growing in faith, where the worship was sweet and fellowship deep, Tim could find nothing to be excited about. Wow.

What's your deal? Sometimes I slip into the critic role and find myself grading worship services, speakers and music. I critique lighting, costs and settings. During those times, I normally miss the value of whatever it is I am critiquing. I totally miss it.

When I choose the role of critic rather than encourager, servant, participant, worshipper, I am left only with greasy, slimy, cheap butter-coated fingers that can't grip anything.

When I choose to allow a barrager to riddle me with bullets time and again, I cannot help but get discouraged from what the Lord has called me to. We can only bleed for so long.

Psalm 119:36-39
Give me a bent for your words of wisdom, and not for piling up loot. Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets, invigorate me on the pilgrim way. Affirm your promises to me - promises made to all who fear you. Deflect the harsh words of my critics - but what you say is always so good.

Hello CEO - life in the corporate church

2009-11-17T22:48:00.000-05:00

Win/Win: Is it possible?

Imagine a system where we dared trust God enough to put the needs of others above our own. Imagine a church where we dared rejoice when others did well rather than choose bitterness and envy.

My dad told me that my being a pastor was payback for all the years he sat on church boards vocally opposing every benefit his pastor might receive. He fought against them having too much vacation, repairs to a parsonage or increases to match cost of living. "I was the guy who made their lives hell and now my son is a pastor."

Dad worked hard to make sure his pastors didn't receive more vacation than he did. He opposed training and conferences because his job didn't allow him additional training. Whatever he was stuck with he made sure his pastor could share his misery.

Ministry is odd. We juggle between idealism and providing for our families. We teach that God will supply all our needs while we pray that our cars will last another thousand miles and school loan payments are deferred again. (I remember those days very well. They were much different than my today.)

I cannot count all the guys I know who could not afford to stay in ministry. The young ministry couples I have counselled over the years who were at each other's throats over financial stresses is disheartening. I bet most of those situations were the result of influential people in congregations who were more concerned with limiting than they were with blessing. Their mindset is, "It's not fair for you to have something I don't have."

During my time in ministry I have heard, "that's not how it works in the corporporate world" too many times. I always am tempted to ask which corporate model the limiter is referring to. Is it Hewlett Packard, a company known for generously taking care of employees or is it AIG? Is it a corporation that dumps faithful employees just a year short of retirement benefits? No. I think it usually refers to the limiter's own corporate experience.

Do we really want to follow the model of corporate America? Wouldn't we instead want to represent Jesus well since we are His church?

I believe there should be no better place to work than the church of Jesus Christ. If you're hating working for your church it could be time to ask who the CEO is. If you don't see much evidence of the love and care of Christ, He's probably not the CEO.

I was called to work for Jesus, not a corporation.

I can't seem to find God

2009-11-09T09:24:00.003-05:00

"Where do you find God?"

Simple question but I had no simple answer. Actually I had no answer. That bugged me. What kind of Christ follower can't even tell you where he finds God?

I've never had God speak to me. He doesn't talk to me. Honestly, I'm glad He doesn't. I'm pretty sure I'll have a heart attack if I wake up to the voice of God. Will He sound like the booming echo in the Ten Commandments or will He have the English accent fresh from Monty Python? Either way I am pretty sure I'd drop dead from fear. I read of a televangelist saying Jesus appears to him while he shaves and they chat it up. If that happens to me I will be unconscious from the moment my forehead bounces off the rim of the toilet on my way to instantly being on my face before God.

Where do I find God since He's not handing me a towel in the morning? My friend's question nagged me for a couple days until the "ah hah!" moment hit.

It's a little bit gross but stick with me. The answer came when I was riding a local trail by the city sewer plant. The stench was as awful as ever from the giant mixers churning the lumpy brown water in huge, outdoor, cement pools. When i was riding past, trying to hold my breath, a bunch of little birds decided to play with me. When I approached them in their spot on the chainlink fence, they darted out in front of me to the berry bushes on the other side of the path. Looking for them I had to also see the view of the Maine coast with a rusty train tressel stretching across the bay. Not seeing the birds, I started noticing the stench again. Woosh! The birds were back on the fence making a racket. I think they were laughing at me.

A few of them almost hit me when they darted back to the oceanside. The clouds were piled on top of each other like cotton and the water was a vibrant blue. The sewer plant was behind me now.

And that's where it hit me. My friend's question was a mystery to me because I don't have to "find" God at all. Instead I just have to see Him in every setting and every circumstance. He saturates everything.

I think we all tend to focus on the sewage too much. Maybe those birds were laughing at me because I was so busy complaining about how bad things smelled that I was missing God's handiwork. I was missing the mystery of the divine.

Maybe God used those birds to speak to me? Naah, that's crazy talk, right?

"By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse." Romans 1:20, The Message

NYWC Big Room 3 - Donald Miller notes

2009-10-31T10:26:00.000-04:00

Donald Miller

STORY
Character who wants someting and overcomes conflict to get it

A sense-making device

The best way to teach Anything is thru narrative. The bible is narrative after narative. Not a point by point formula.

Friend telling fishing story. Wait can I ask you something? What do the fish represent? What do I get out of this story?

What if life isn't meaningless? What if just YOUR life is meaningless?

Good story. Imperfect protaganist is key. Good story requires protaganist sacrificing for benefit of another. Success doesn't matter in life. In good story there is connection with sacrificing character. Character is defined by action. What you want is a maningful story.

Character who does not want something meaningful is not a good story. Donald: What are my goals?

- resource the church to father the fatherless

Scarey. Raises conflict. Triggers emotion. Conflict is the only way character changes - strenghtens, changes, learns.

Act 3 climax. Make conflict seem to go away. Frodo throws the ring into the fire.

God-shaped whole filled by Jesus completes us and is Act 3 climax promises end to conflict? Not true. Not biblical. Conflict remains. Imagine Paul doing info-mmercial???

Act 3 climax takes place at wedding feast of the Lamb in our lives. We are in Act 2 slogging through "naming the animals" like Adam before Eve.

Danish people happiest because they have low expectations - according to 60 minutes.

If we expect conflict we will not be surprised and devestated by it - Act 3 climax comes at the wedding feast of the lamb

By sharing Story, we share life and support. We strenghten. We walk together and navigate conflict of Act 2.

What STORY am I living? Sharing?

Parenting in the Real World

2009-10-30T09:26:00.001-04:00

www.realworldparents.com

Listen to the news, read the papers and it's easy to come to the conclusion that the adolescent world is in steady decline. We think that more teens are having sex, more are committing violent crimes, more are committing suicide, more are using drugs, smoking or binge drinking. Right? Wrong, according to Mark Matlock of Real World Parents.

It's no wonder that parents are discouraged! Because media has to sell papers or boost viewership they must provide stories that attract attention. The YOUtube video of teenagers pummeling each other plays at the top of every 15 minute segment. The story of the eighth grader carrying a knife in his backpack is on page one of the local paper while the news of 16 National Merit Scholars is buried on page 5 in 9 point type.

Real World Parents provides a summary of stats showing that while things are bad they are really no worse than they were 30 years ago. That's not great news but at least it is better news than what we perceive to be true.

RWP provides parents with training and resources that help them build stronger families. Visit www.realworldparents.com .

If you are at the NYWC, be sure to look for Mark Matlock and plug into RWP seminars. You'll be glad you did.

Who do you say that I am?

2009-10-29T11:14:00.002-04:00

Youth worker, who do you say that I am?

You are Christ, the filler of my weekends.

You are Jesus, compelling me to attend meeting upon meeting.

You are Jesus who keeps me from taking vacations with my family because of the next mission trip, camp or event.

You are the Christ who presses me to get the newsletter done.

You are Jesus who demands the buzzwords of "excellence" and "leadership."

You are Christ who returns me to my home day after day with barely enough energy to find the remote and flop on my couch.

You are Jesus who puts me in positions where parents blame me whenever their kids screw up.

You are the Christ who causes my mind to race from worry to worry each night while sleep evades me.

You are Jesus who keeps me from exercise and play by making me too busy working for you.

You are the Christ who keeps me from deep relationships.

Somehow, somewhere we know these things are not Jesus, but our daily planners reveal our true beliefs.

What does your life say about how you answer Jesus when he asks, "Who do you say that I am?"

Slow down, be quiet and rest with Jesus for your strength.

Shhhhhh...

A trip to the well at NYWC

2009-10-28T16:09:00.007-04:00

I've been doing my best sucking this straw with everything I have trying get every last drop from a cup that has not been refilled in a few years. Maybe you know the feeling? The slurping is loud and pretty gross. My cup has been bone dry for awhile.

I've been doing my best to take some drinks here and there. Books. Podcasts. Flipping the pages of my bible echoes my dryness with each crinkle of the paper. But, it's been awhile since I've been able to go to the well.

The National Youth Workers Convention has been a great well for me over these past 25 years in youth work. It has gone through significant changes and, truthfully, I do miss the old days of several hundred of us eating around tables and listening to a couple wild rebels; Wayne Rice and Mike Yaconelli. Yac made me cry year after year. They were soul-watering tears that washed away the negative attitudes and reminded me of my calling to reach teenagers to introduce them to Jesus. I wept when Mike died.

But the Lord was not done with us. In stepped Tic and Marko. They weren't my rabbis like Mike was but they carried a vision for student ministry. The tears revisited each year I saw additional growth and more and more youth workers gathering to drink from the well. Hotel ballrooms were replaced by giant convention centers, multiple cities and more and more resources.

Here I sit at the edge of the well again. Things will begin tomorrow. Tic and Marko are gone and I am an old timer now and won't know many people beyond Duffy, Chap, Tony ... but with me are three guys who work with our students back home. I've brought them to the well and can't wait to see them drink their fill. They'll come back to our room with bags of resources and new excitement for our students. They don't know what this well used to mean to me. It is brand new for them.

Breathe deep ... drink to excess ... return to ministry reminded of who you work for and revell in the fact that He really doesn't care where you parked the church van.

Need to save some money?

Who doesn't? The Elm St. Deli across form the Hyatt has giant salads and good sandwiches that won't sink your budget.

Look for CVS and Walgreens on Race Street at the 6th Street intersection. Water, Soda, snacks.

Dominos delivery - 513-471-3733 says it will deliver to Convention Center area.

Campanello's Italian Restaurant - 414 Central AvenueCincinnati, Ohio 45202 (513) 721-9833 - we ate lunch there and the food was good. Main dishes in the $6-$9 range for lunch. http://www.campanellos.com/

Quiznos, Chik-fil-a, Subway on West 4th Street between Vine and Elm.

I ain't no bible scholar but I do like the author

2009-10-26T11:22:00.004-04:00

"I know the Bible and all that it says..."

Wow. Really? That's awesome. I'm far from that.

I read the comment on my iPhone screen in the midst of a couple Christians smacking each other around with the bible on Facebook. One of them is convinced she is voting with God and the other is convinced that she is the one voting with God even though their votes and opinions are opposite on the same issue. One was tossing around words like "judging" and doing the familiar "by voting against this you are judging people" argument. The other was sticking to "sacred" things and speaking for God. Whack! Smack! Bam! Pow! (like the old Batman and Robin series)

I dared venture into the debate on philosophical grounds. Why not take a stab at this "judgment" viewpoint? Does voting against something equal judgement? Are there different levels of judgement? Where are we headed with this topic? If I vote against something does it mean I instantly hate all those who support it?

If it does I must confess that if you use a cellphone when you drive, I hate you. I know you see it as your right and like a New Hampshirite you want to "live free or die" but I just don't want it impacting me. Go ahead, live free, just don't kill me in the process! Yeah, selfish, I know. So, if I can vote that you get a steep fine for blabbing on your phone while driving, I'm gonna do it. Sorry. It's the way I think. I'm a cellphone bigot. I'm also a cellphone hypocrite ... because I have one and have used it while driving. I'm a bigot, hypocrite who is going to vote to pass judgement on you! Eek. Harsh, huh?

Well, the truth is, I can't judge you. I'm not a judge. In fact, my friend who knows the Bible and all it says should know that it says there is only one judge between God and man. We could all get together and vote people outta heaven if that weren't true. We can vote however we want but it doesn't change a thing where "The Judge" is concerned.

We do make numerous judgements every day but they have no impact on Judgement. When we go into the voting booth we make decisions about candidates, taxes, policy and people. We also make judgments about what to eat, where to work out, what to wear and what to watch.

When we judge someone to be a deceived God-hater and bigot because they disagree with us, we cannot disallow them the same right to judge us as God-hating, sinners who have been deceived. Judgement is messy business. Frankly, I'm glad it's not my job.

To be honest, goverments and politics fascinate me. Our American system lets us vote. Most of the world doesn't have that luxury. God is still God regardless of the crazed dictator, the corrupt politician and the religious extremist. In some parts of the world women have to have their faces covered and are forbidden from education. Some parts of the world kill people for sleeping around. Yeah, that's harsh. But, God is still God regardless of what people do.

When I pull the curtain and step into the voting booth, I have judgements to make. Choices. Decisions. Every oval I fill in, if it were to become public knowlege, would make people angry with me. If I vote against healthcare I hate poor people, if I vote for gay marriage I hate Jesus, if I vote against gay marriage I hate gays and Jesus, if I vote for limiting taxes I hate children and our schools. Wow. I'm glad there's a curtain behind me.

I'm not telling you how I am going to vote. If you call my house and take a poll to try to get me to tell you, I promise you only that I am going to make up all kinds of strange answers for you that will make you scratch your head. "So you're a gay, asian, high school dropout making $250,000 a year voting against gay marriage?" Yupp, that's me.

The Bible tells me about this guy named David. The king, an evil guy, wanted him dead and tried to hunt him down. At one point David was cowering in a cave when the king, hot on his trail, came in to relieve himself. While the king was there squatting in the dark, David had the perfect chance to kill him but he didn't. Instead he said, "Who am I to raise a hand against God's annointed (or, the guy God allowed to be in this position)?"

I'll vote doing my best to make what I think is the right choice. I'll do my best to make decisions that are in line what I believe the Bible teaches, if it has anything to say that relates to the question at hand.

But, I confess, even though I am a pastor who has spent my life learning from scripture, I cannot pretend to be like my friend who says she "knows the bible and all it teaches." If I knew it all, I'd have no further use for it. Instead, I still find strength and wisdom for life in its pages every single day.

Regardless of the outcome of any vote I will continue to value people and do my best to show them love by inviting them to follow Christ. Why? I think it's what Jesus would do.

Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin." John 8:10-11

My magic discipleship wand is broken ...

2009-10-19T11:15:00.005-04:00

You've seen the bulletin announcements. They go like this, "Sign up for our exciting discipleship classes today at the information center in the foyer." Hmmm ...

Discipleship classes? I almost think that's almost an oxymoron. Classes, in the form we are all used to, spoon out information. I've taken plenty of classes in my life. Most of them consisted of someone lecturing while I scribbled notes to prepare to pass a test. I've taken online classes, college classes, DVD classes and some hands-on classes. Most of them have been pretty helpful. Some have been as painful as eating glass. I remember felt-covered boards in Sunday school classes long ago and getting yelled at for turning a fair-skinned, glowing Jesus upside down like he was standing on his head on the water instead of walking on it. I thought it was funny but my teacher thought it was blasphemous and she let me know. At length. Loudly.

But then there's this word "discipleship." A disciple is more than a learner. A disciple is a follower who puts teachings into practice. It is a relationship-based term. When you read scripture you quickly see that Jesus' disciples were not copious note-takers stressing about upcoming exams. They wanted to know Jesus, not just know about Him.

If you've been going to church for a long time, I bet you know a lot about Jesus. I bet you excel in bible trivia games and always get the bible questions right when you watch jeopardy. Me too. It feels pretty good. That is, it feels good until someone else knows the name of the high priest servant who got his ear sliced off in the garden and I don't. Man, then I feel like a loser when my Christian friends give me that down-the-nose look that says, "you should know that!" (It's Malchus, by the way.)

Classes are good. Bible study is good. But, apart from relationship and sharing life with others, we risk missing the point of what Jesus came to say. Boiled down to its very simplest form - God loves us, God gave us Jesus, we trust and we get a whole new view of what life is meant to be. It's called "Good News." A new beginning. Life.

This path of following Jesus is not meant to be walked alone. I dare you to plug in with a group of Christ-followers who are more concerned with becoming like Jesus than they are with filling in all the blanks in their workbooks.

Get together outside of Sunday service, eat, laugh loud, praise, worship, enjoy the kids, relax and talk about what God is doing. Share life. Share resources. Share struggles and pray. Do it and I bet the same thing will happen as happened in Acts 2:46-47 - people will like what they see and people will be changed.

Discipleship takes time. There's no magic wand that will speed up the process. If there is, it's broken.

It's the people, stupid!

2009-10-15T13:05:00.001-04:00

In 1992, as Bill Clinton campaigned for the presidency, his focus statement was drilled into the staff members at every campaign office to ensure that everyone stayed on target; “It’s the economy, stupid.”

In ministry we would do well to hang a similar banner on the wall of every church office. Our biblical message should remind each of us that “it’s the people, stupid!” Unfortunately that message is often pushed out by long task lists, conflicts, endless meetings and the demands of facilities. More and more pastors are adopting a CEO model of leadership to accomplish their goals and meet their increasing responsibilities while people move in and out of their churches without making meaningful, discipling relationships.

I don't like the terminology of leadership books that label people as “assets.” I get the point but it just seems like friends we love change into something else when we see them as assets that help us meet our goals. It's impersonal.

Several years ago a local celebrity in our area came through the front doors of our church. On Monday morning every person in the outer office mentioned his presence to me before I reached my office. At staff meeting the senior pastor talked of what a great thing it would be for the church if we could get he and his family plugged in. The next night he was mentioned at the deacons’ meeting. He was a definite “asset” as a public figure. The other 6 visitors we had that same morning were never even mentioned. They got the standard welcome letter and information packet in the mail that week. Our TV celebrity stayed two or three weeks and then left as quickly as he came. We later found out that he went to every local church and attended a few weeks to connect with his audience. Our attenders were his assets.

Jesus paints a clear picture of interacting with people. We should value them, commit to them, model integrity and honesty and invite them to follow Jesus with us.

I love the people on my team. People never care how much I know unless they know how much I care. After they have gone through some leadership orientation sessions, completed the church-required paperwork and begin getting involved, I love developing relationships with each of them. It's a challenge with 35 people. I only wish I could dedicate more of my time to being with them. But you know how it goes ... there's a meeting at 3:00 to choose the color of the new chairs and I've got to be there.

Who do you have on your "team?" Each of them, like you and me, love encouragement and praise. Little things like text messages asking how they are or telling them you prayed for them today go a long way. Sharing meals together, watching ballgames, having family game nights all help us truly connect.

A group of us just returned from our annual retreat where we do nothing but play and pray in a gorgeous Maine foliage setting. It is a weekend of rest, playing golf, breaking bread and building relationships. The spontaneous conversations we have are always much more on target than the planned sessions that consume our other meetings. We lean on each other, guide each other, speak truth and share what God is teaching us. It's my favorite weekend of the year.

I don't have "assets" but I am sharpened and refreshed by a group of partners in the gospel (Phil. 1). We know we can share our weaknesses as easily as our strengths. We value each other and are open to creative new ideas because we continuously reevaluate and put sacred cows to death. We support each other knowing we are safe and loved. We share in ministry together. We're friends.

And the cool thing is, each of these friends of mine are taking what we do together and putting it into action with groups of their own. That's multiplication.

"I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." - Jesus, John 15:15

The Holy Spirit Procrastinates?

2009-10-07T08:48:00.002-04:00

I'm confused again. Yeah, I know that it happens a lot. Here's the deal today...

I've got some "spirit-filled" friends. They call themselves that anyway. It's usually said with a hint of "we-got-something-you-don't" tone that makes it clear that I've not arrived. I'm just a little bit short of them. I'm like the kid in the remedial reading group in elementary school; I think I read fine but all the other kids smirk that I'm not on the same books as they are. I don't care for it.

But that's another topic for another day. Today's confusion is the result of my "spirit-led" brothers operating in what I call "wing-it mode." They are allergic to planning and preparation and lean heavily on doing whatever the Spirit leads them to do. Um, okay.

I wonder why the Spirit can't show up in the planning process. Can't he help us put messages together or design programs? My wing-it friends don't seem to think so. They accuse me of being controlling and not open to the Spirit's leading.

My experience has put me right in the middle of some weird stuff. Once the Spirit led the pastor to stop in his sermon and tell the crowd, "God wants to heal someone of a pain in their wrist today." Hmmm

I saw another occassion when a guy told his congregation they were not worthy of receiving communion. Then there are the times when I've seen guys toss their notes aside to preach a message that God just gave them at the last minute. Those messages, in my experience, were all scattered, disjointed and tough to follow.

At one service I attended, a man stood up and announced that he had a message from the Lord. He went on a verbal rant about women until the pastor stopped him after several minutes. Weird.

I'm pretty sure that the Holy Spirit can and does show up in planning. I think the "Spirit-led" mentality is often an excuse for laziness.

I'm polluted

2009-10-03T02:21:00.008-04:00

It's late ... or early. It all depends on your perspective I suppose. For me, it's very late. I've normally been asleep for about 2 and a half hours by now. Not tonight. Stuffy nose. Scratchy throat. Pesky cough. Some little bug found its way into my body and is now having a party making more and more bug buddies. Like upstairs neighbors hootin' and hollerin' with the resounding thump of hip-hoppery, this little virus that moved into my sinuses sometime around Wednesday and is keeping me from sleep.

I ain't no high-falutin' scientist or biology guy, but from what I understand, some germ is now waging war with my imune system. It's something about cell division and white blood cells and ... blah, blah, blah. I'm simple. I understand it like Alien. My body, the ship, has been invaded by outsiders who want to take it down. So, the crew is running around like crazy, screaming and yelling and firing their lazers at the pests. No wonder my head aches ... it's all that yelling and it's the lazers bouncing off the walls of my sinuses. When the good guys hit the bad guys the bad guys go down in explosions and bursts of flame. Yeah, that's exactly what's going on. Darn pollutants.

Pollutants ruin things. It seems like a simple concept to grasp. You aren't going to pull up to a bar and say, "Pollutants. Shaken, not stirred." And I bet that you wouldn't reach into the cooler at the grocery store avoiding pure spring water for the gray tinted water advertising, "Now with 20% more pollutants."

Okay, here's the pitch, the skinny, the lowdown, the point ...

There was this guy named James who lived about 2000 years ago. His brother was a big deal. He hung out with him a lot; they were very close. James was into the same stuff his brother was. In fact his brother gave him purpose and changed his life. His brother was Jesus.

If you don't really know much of Jesus outside of the freak show you've seen while flipping through cable stations, you will probably be surprised by reading about his life in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I like His style. He had a lot to say about organized religion and what God is really like.

Jesus brought an entirely new paradigm onto the scene. He pointed out God's love, His heart and His motivation. He welcomed the poor in spirit and loved people that society didn't love. He changed their lives and invited them to trust His father who really was for them.

Society thought one way and Jesus offered another. It was entirely different from what the guys in the fancy robes where demanding allegiance to. It was a different mindset - one that said, "Hey, God is for you regardless of who you are or what you've done."

There have always been a lot of things that have polluted that message and complicated it. Some pollutants have obscured it totally and kept people from seeing God's heart. James recognized that tons of things get in the way so he summed up the message of his brother again:

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

The germs, the pollutants, I have partying in my body right now are robbing my energy and keeping me from health. The pollutants James talks about party it up and keep us from recognizing God and his heart. They drag us down and take us out. They make us lose sight of the fact that God is for us.

God is for you.

Hey girly butt! I hope you run over a nail!

2009-09-24T01:33:00.006-04:00

I think we've complicated things. Like the woman who packs 4 bags for a 5 day trip, we've added too much and made this too heavy to carry. She packs open-toed shoes, heels, walking shoes, flip-flops, running shoes and several colors to match a variety of outfits. She loads in a few outfits for warm days, cool days and cold days. There are casual clothes, lounging clothes, business casual and dressy outfits. It's all good stuff but it just doesn't fit in the car. She can't carry it. You can't carry it. Bellmen, cab drivers and baggage handlers give a groan when they see it coming. It's just not necessary.

I think we've made the message of Christ too heavy to handle. We've taken it from simple to complex. It just doesn't look to me like what Jesus intended when he said, "Come to me if you're tired and weighed down and I will give you rest. Be about what I am about; I'm not going to go all crazy on you. I'm not about weighing you down." (Mt. 11:28-30)

Maybe I'm simple-minded but when I read John 3:16-17, I see that God loved, God gave and we believe and it's a done deal. I see that Jesus didn't come because he's ticked off and wants to point out how screwed up we are. He didn't come to condemn but to rescue and give hope. (Listen to Andy Stanley: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/npm/~3/8DV1ypJml1E/part5.mp3 )

Can faith in Christ really be that simple? Yeah, it can.

But we keep adding things to the salvation bag. It works like this, "Saved people don't ________. Saved people do ____________." I bet you can fill in the blanks. There are a ton of things we add while claiming that we really do believe that you can't earn salvation.

Saved people don't drink, they don't cuss, they don't look at porn on their computers, they don't laugh at dirty jokes, they don't fight with their spouses, they don't listen to pop music. Saved people are regular attenders at church, they give 10 percent of their income, vote republican ...

The atmosphere we create demands that people hide their struggles or risk looking like they are not "saved." I've spent the last 25 years working with teenagers in local churches. I think their biggest frustration is that their individual families at church are nothing like the families they are outside. They just don't get it. They hate the act. They know life is messy.

"I was so tired of reading religious books and hearing religious speakers tell me how perfect they were, and I would end up hearing a sermon or reading a book or going to some religious meeting, and at the end of the meeting I felt worse than when I got there because they had it all together." Mike Yaconelli on his book Messy Sprituality.

Me too, Mike. Me too.

I was riding my bike about a week ago trying to drop more pounds off this 270 pound mass. I was feeling good about myself. Hey, when I started riding in May I could barely handle riding a mile. Now I'm up to 60-70 miles a week. I was pumping up a hill wearing my bright crossing guard style yellow vest and my sporty helmet thinking, "Okay, I got this." I felt pretty pumped and hopeful. Then I heard, "Coming on your left!" Like I was not moving, this tights-wearing guy with his fancy clip-in shoes, bright Corona biking shirt, sleek helmet with little mirror thingy attached to the side went flying by me."

I think if there had been a pub at the top of that hill I might have pulled in, tossed my helmet in the trash and ordered a Corona and the largest order of breaded hot wings or cheese fries they had on the menu. This guy with his little girly butt flying by me made me forget my progress and hope and trade it in for total discouragment.

Is that what we do to people in church? By adding so many conditions to the rescue Jesus brought, have we made the good news just too heavy and too complicated to handle? Do we lighten the load and encourage or do we present a false reality of perfection that discourages? By pretended that no one struggles do we miss the opportunity to help each other overcome the hills we face?

God loved. God gave. When we believe we receive. That's it. That's all. It's good news.

Some days I want to be a mail carrier

2009-09-10T13:51:00.002-04:00

I rarely know what my day will look like when I roll out of bed. Some days I think being an accountant, a tolltaker, an umpire, mail carrier or bagger would be better. But then again, I bet they get bored with routine.

I had four notable interactions Wednesday:

Interaction #1:
I spoke with Jim by phone. He started off telling me that he had just prayed to Satan and that I had a chance to make it so he wouldn't do it again. All I needed to do was pay a bill for him and that would prove to him that God was real. If I didn't, he was heading back to chat it up some more with the Prince of Darkness and make a deal with him. Jim was clearly desperate. He had run out of options and was willing to "sell his soul" for a couple hundred dollars. I wasn't really sure what to do for Jim. I told him that from what I know about Satan is that he would be glad to make a deal. And what I know of God is that He's not into making deals; He's into giving gifts. Jim had to run so our conversation got cut short. It was a strange call.

Interaction #2:
"How do you get someone to see that what she perceives as her strengths are really her largest weaknesses?" The topic was leadership. Her boss had been treating her with no respect and simply using her as an employee. I had no answers.

Interaction #3:
"The pastor's daughter got pregnant and had an abortion. He's being told to resign and leave quietly because of it." Woah! What? I felt myself getting angry at yet another church that was about to spit out their pastor and his family because they didn't measure up. The young pastor on the phone was looking to me, a mentor, for guidance. Initially he was angry that the church was not being told why. He was leaning toward the judgmental side saying, "How can he just get away with this and go to another church without them knowing about him?" My heart broke for this pastor and ached for his daughter who undoubtedly was bearing the weight of her dad getting fired in addition to the scars she already wore. "Is anyone talking about Jesus in this mess?" My question set my young friend on his heels. "Is anyone talking about forgiveness and loving this family; this girl?" No, they were too busy swinging their selfrighteous swords. Why is it, in the Christian faith, we tend to shoot our wounded?

Interation #4:
I spent about an hour online talking to a man I had had as a student about 20 years ago. It was nice to reconnect. After talking about sports, weather, jobs and all the regular topics I dropped the bomb. "What do you think about church? Do you go anymore?" He had brought up the topic by talking about my current ministry and reminiscing about the youth program he was in. I stared at the screen. Nothing. I worked to soften the blow by telling him about my coursework and my study of why people give up on church and asked for his opinion. His story was familiar. He had no interest in a religious code and was tired of not being accepted in churches unless he "played the game." I thanked him, apologized for the games and reminded him that Jesus was more interested in a relationship with him than he was of taking attendance at religious services. I hope we will talk again soon.

I listened to Perry Noble by podcast yesterday as I rode my bike. His challenge to pray, "Lord, make us dangerous," struck a chord with me. When I am more passionate about Jesus than I am about church systems, I begin to discover what it means to be the church of Jesus Christ.

Yellow-haired monkeys in the yard

2009-08-31T13:36:00.004-04:00

What am I leading people to? Am I leading people into programs at the expense of relationship? I wonder.

Some programs are cool. I like the ones that invite me in as a participant. I'm not too crazy about the ones that invite me in to sit on my butt and watch. I get antsy.

I confess that if you tell me the Next Big Thing is coming to town and I can go listen to him for several hours, I'm probably going to try to think of something else to do. It's weird. I'll read the Next Big Thing's book and I might even watch his sweet new high def DVD but I don't really get jazzed to go somewhere to sit around. Unless I can go with you.

You can tell me you scored some free tickets to the Patriots game and I'll be pumped about going with you. But give me one ticket so I can go alone? I'm going to skip the live experience and fall asleep on my couch while I watch it on TV. World series alone? Nah. With you? Definitely!

I like some alone time to recharge but too much alone time and I get lonely fast. I like the word "with." I had some alone time in Phoenix a couple weeks ago. I wandered around a little and snapped some pictures but I would have rather been with my wife or with my kids or with my family.

Invite me to live life with you and I'm pumped. Invite me to hear the Next Big Thing tell me how to live? Not so much. I think there are programs that promote crowds of individuals coming alone, listening alone and then leaving alone. You listen. I talk. You leave.

I think Jesus is about "with." As a leader I want to lead people, or walk with people, to discover life with Jesus.

If it were up to me, I'd vote for skipping the Next Big Thing Ministries program to hang out with you and the people you love. We can grill some sausage, snack on fresh watermelon and share life hanging out with Jesus. Let's let the yellow-haired monkeys laugh and run under the hose while we break bread together.

I wish I could recognize His hands

2009-08-25T00:32:00.000-04:00

(written 8/17/09)
I tried feeding some sparrows today. In the midday Phoenix heat of 106 degrees, I sat at a downtown outdoor table eating a Cold Stone Creamery waffle cone. A nearby sparrow caught my eye. He had his beak open and was panting to cool himself. I snapped off a tiny piece of my waffle cone and tossed it in his direction. He quickly hopped over and scooped it up and flew into a nearby tree.

It was maybe 5 seconds later when he returned with three friends all carefully eyeing me with beaks open for panting. They were maybe 8 feet away from me. I wondered how their friend had communicated with them to bring them my way. If it had been me I probably would have tried to keep my relationship a secret. Having received such a small crumb, I doubt I would immediately invite friends to join me in a second attempt.

I broke off a few more pieces and tossed them toward the sparrows. Cautiously, they hopped forward to get their morsels. They kept a nervous eye on me the whole time. I felt a strange sort of compassion for them. They all looked so hot with beaks open panting continuously. I tossed some more crumbs their way but only 5 feet from me. I wanted them to come closer.

Their stress level went up. Some hopped back and forth not daring to come so close to me. Finally one of them risked it and hopped closer for another crumb. When he made his move the others followed. I wanted to bring them even closer. I wanted them to eat at my table. Maybe even eat from my hand.

I could not get them to come closer than maybe 4 feet away. I spent 30 minutes trying. I fed them time after time hoping to build their trust but they just would not come closer. Their lack of trust was frustrating. Why wouldn’t they trust me? Hadn’t I proved myself faithful? Why couldn’t they sense that my only goal was to develop a relationship with them and feed them?
Experience must have taught them to be cautious. Maybe they had learned that you don’t get anything free. Maybe they figured I was trying to lure them in and trap them. Maybe they trusted before and got hurt.

I think that’s how some of us approach God. I’ve been hurt by men flinging tasty crumbs and claiming to represent God. Now, I flit about nervously getting close enough to eat the crumbs while wondering if they come with strings attached.

My desire is jump confidently into the hands of my God to eat without worry. I just wish I was better at recognizing His hands.

Over light with two pieces of wheat toast

2009-08-25T00:15:00.002-04:00

I have breakfast with my friend Stan most Wednesday mornings at Kathy and Dave’s diner. I normally get a bowl of oatmeal and a grilled muffin while Stan orders two eggs “over light” and wheat toast. We’re an odd pair, Stan and I. Stan is a tall weathered veteran of World War II and the Korean War. He walks with a cane and has wirey white eyebrows and hairs growing from his ears. I, by contrast, have fought no wars and am 40 years younger. Random hairs have just started sprouting … it’s a new and disturbing facet of my life.

We sit at the same table every week. Kathy knows our orders before we give them. In fact, Stan just laughs and smiles at her with a shrug and says, “the usual.” Stan bows his head every week and thanks the Lord for our food and our time together. He never asks me to pray. With me being a professional prayer, a pastor, I love that Stan just prays and that he always prays for me.

For two years I listened to Stan tell me about his precious Carol and the life they built together. For two years I had no answer when he would ask me why the Lord would not just take his wife home. Every day Stan would arrive at the nursing at 3 pm to feed his bride. With a tear in his eye he would tell me, “she doesn’t even know who I am.” Still, he went. The staff at the nursing home told him that Carol would refuse to eat anything until Stan arrived. Somehow she knew.

Carol finally went to be with Jesus just a few months ago. When Stan and I had breakfast the week after her funeral, he had a noticeable joy about him. When I asked him how he was he looked me straight in the eye with a smile that surprised me. “The next time I see Carol, she’ll know who I am.”

Indeed she will … and she’ll know how he likes his eggs – over light with two pieces of wheat toast.

My Daily Bread is a bit moldy

2009-08-10T11:04:00.004-04:00

I've heard my share of plugs for the latest "devotional." I've heard speakers tell me that true followers of Jesus spend an hour in prayer every day. Some have said, "if you are not spending quality time in the Word every day, you cannot be growing." Still others have said things like, "the secret to my marriage is that we pray together every day." Most of them have just left me feeling guilty, inadequate or a bit off in my faith life.

I've had times when each of those things were part of my routine. I've had times when none of them were present. Christians like to call stretches of time "seasons." So, I've had seasons.

To be honest, when I hear a speaker tell me about his "daily, personal, quiet time" I wonder if he's telling the truth. I think, "Man, is anyone really like that?" Because I'm not, I assume no one is.

Saturday morning, while preparing for speaking Sunday morning, I put my earbuds in and hit the road on my hybrid bike. It was sunny and maybe 75 degrees. As I rode, God refreshed my soul. Sometimes I sang along, sometimes I prayed and sometimes I just took in the scenery rolling by. The stress I felt was swallowed up in an exercise adrenaline rush. It was a sweet quiet time despite not fitting into any of the formulas.

Some of my best quiet times of connecting with God have come on my bike or during a walk with camera gear on my back. I've had times I've listened to Scripture readings on my iPOD, times when I allow my mind to drift here and there and times of simple prayer. At other times I have been silent and refreshed.

I'm all for "My Daily Bread" and other devotional materials. They just don't work for me. I'm finally learning, in this relationship with Jesus, that that's okay with Him.

Doug likes green eggs and ham

2009-07-21T13:00:00.004-04:00

My four-year-old friend Elizabeth and I recently came to a conclusion. "Bizzle" (as I call her) and I were reading through the classic Dr. Seuss tale of the critter who had never tried green eggs and ham much to the dismay of a much smaller "Sam-I-Am." We noticed that while "Sam-I-Am" was identified on most every page, the green egg hating, furry thing had no name. We paused and I asked, "Hey, what is this guy's name?" Eliza-Bizzle just shrugged. The thought had never crossed her mind. I suggested we call him "Doug" and we continued reading.

I wonder how many people walk namelessly in and out of our lives every day? They take our food orders, collect our tolls and deliver our pizzas. We might give them pseudo names based on what they do ... toll guy, pizza man and paper boy ... but we rarely think of them as people with names.

I remember a woman who walked all over our town talking to herself. She would have animated conversations with invisible people. Everyone knew her as "Crazy Mary." Then there's "Stinky Pete." He wears a wool hat all summer and rides an old bike loaded down with returnable bottles and cans he has dug out of trash barrels. "Fast Eddy" looks to be about 85. He walks up and down the same street all day long at a snail's pace wearing a woman's leather coat. At least he used to walk. I haven't seen Fast Eddy in quite some time.

Like our "Doug" none of these people have names known to me. They are just part of my daily story; part of the supporting cast.

Last week I took an afternoon and headed for our local park with a few Arby's roast beef sandwiches in a sack. My goal was simple. I wanted to find a park bench, share some lunch and hear the story of one of the homeless guys who sleep on the grass. I sat next to a weathered man who was doing his best to get every last bit of taste out of his cigarette. The ash was down to the filter.

He didn't want a sandwich at first so I just asked him where he was from. We talked about the weather. He complained about the seagulls and we laughed a little. As I crumpled up my wrapper and got ready to leave, I extended my hand and said, "My name's Scott, what's your name?" He looked puzzled for a second and then shook my hand with, "I'm Roger." I told him I had enjoyed talking with him and then asked, "You sure you don't want one of these sandwiches, Roger? I don't need the extra calories." He nodded and laughed and told me I was definitely a "big boy" and then took a sandwich.

Elizabeth and I now routinely notice "Doug" when we read Green Eggs and Ham. And now I find myself looking for Roger each time I drive by Deering Oaks Park. Names are important. That's why Jesus calls us by name.

He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. John 10:3

Fasting from church music

2009-07-19T11:04:00.005-04:00

When the music fades
All is stripped away
And I simply come ...
(Matt Redman)

I love music. I wonder if I love it too much? Like St. Augustine in chapter 10 of Confessions, I have a tendency to get wrapped up in the artist, the vocalist, the compilation and the performance. I begin to think, "Wow, these guys are really good," or "I love this song!" Augustine wrote,"I fluctuate between the danger of pleasure and the experience of the beneficent effect...."

The danger of pleasure is that it is self-focused. We can become so focused on seeking the experience, the pleasure, that we miss God Himself. When Redman's pastor, Mike Pilavachi, saw this problem in their church in Waterford, England he literally pulled the plug. The church removed the sound system, packed the instruments away and song leaders took a seat with everyone else. Redman penned "The Heart of Worship" as instruments and PA were reintroduced six months later. "I'll bring you more than a song, for a song in itself, is not what you have required ... I'm coming back the the heart of worship ... it's all about you, Jesus."

I have friends who are worship leaders. I love these guys. I know their hearts. I know they want to point people to Jesus and see their music serve as a bridge connecting people with the heart of God. I appreciate their humility and their desire to be real. I also know what a struggle it is for them when sound equipment malfunctions or things do not go as planned. I know their desire for excellence. But, if I could give them a gift, I would give them freedom to grasp that the Lord is more concerned with their desire to make a joyful noise rather than a perfect noise. I would invite them to unwrap the truth that the Holy Spirit will take their offering and do His job. All they need do is lay it on the table, give it to Jesus and walk away.

I have never been much of a fan of Chris Tomlin's music. I mean, it's good but it wasn't on my iPOD. Then I attended one of his concerts at a sumer festival. Chris led a crowd of 10,000 or so people in worship music. I was a surprised worshipper having expected just another show. Chris became invisible. The Lord moved me to tears. I went from singing loudly to not being able to sing at all. Chris is now on my iPOD. Each time I listen I am not transported back to thinking about what a talented musician he is. I am brought to worship.

Lately I've become a music critic. Regardless of the format, traditional or contemporary, I have fallen into evaluating the performance, the sound, the song selection and the delivery. I even notice the font size and backgrounds used in Powerpoint slides. But, I don't notice Jesus. To be clear, this is entirely MY issue and not a representation of the leaders or participants. It is my heart issue. I am distracted.

This morning I decided to fast for a bit. I am fasting from music. It was strange showing up halfway through the service but I adjusted. My first impression was that I was better focused and enjoyed paging through Scripture on my Blackberry.

Shalom

2009-07-12T11:19:00.001-04:00

Shalom. A greeting but more. More than hello. More than goodbye.

Shalom. Peace in the complete security of God who holds everything.
Shalom. It is a well-wish that says, "May you live in the complete, consistent, grace-filled reality of Yaweh.

The world is anti-peace. Jesus Christ is peace. In fact, Jesus tells us that He brings us perfect peace. Being such a stranger to His holiness, I wonder what "perfect peace" looks like.

I think some of us attach peace to a setting. Some say peace is attached to sitting by a lake at sunset. Or peace is watching a sleeping infant. Or peace is the emotion that comes when Christ followers join together in singing.

But, is peace an emotion? If I feel it, I've got it? I think it's more than that.

Where legalism begins, grace ends. Where grace ends, peace ends.
Peace is a faith-filled confidence in who God is. It is complete. In the face of struggle it is calm and assured. It is based in trust. It is the fruit of relationship with God that teaches us that He is for us. He is fond of us.

When we say, "Shalom" we say, "May you know the peace of the completing love of God."

I wonder what anti-peace principles I have promoted in ministry.

If your peace has been undermined by me, my demands, please forgive me.

I am learning peace for myself. I wish I learned it sooner.

I don't like altar calls. Does that make me bad?

2009-06-29T03:54:00.009-04:00

Get out your sharpened number two pencils, it's time for a short quiz.

1) The customary altar call familiar to evangelical churches first appeared
a.) In the last 200 years
b.) When Noah's ark came to rest on dry ground
c.) When a song leader stroked and kept repeating "we're gonna sing just one more chorus."

The altar call came onto the scene around 1820. Somehow since then it has been elevated to a required God thing. If you don't do it you must certainly be ashamed of the gospel and ashamed of God. As a pastor, other pastors say you've watered down biblical teaching and are a liberal. In Pastor World those are major slams.

Okay, I'll just come out and say it. I don't like altar calls.

Why not? Most of the altar calls I see border more on manipulation than they do a move of the Holy Spirit. I see some different styles.

1) Work 'em up. This one is a favorite in youth camps. The key is to stir the emotions and work the people into a frenzy. Get a few teenage girls crying and you are guaranteed results. Please don't misunderstand me. Spontaneous tears happen but when we set out to trigger the tears, we manipulate. I remember a youth setting where an adult wept while introducing a drama I had seen before. The adult went on at length talking through tears about how emotional the drama was calling it "powerful." Numerous teens in the audience were crying before it even started. As the actors came out one by one with poster boards explaining a painful time on side one and then flipped it to reveal how God blessed brought victory, the weeping became louder and louder. The kids in the performance clung tightly to each other weeping outside the auditorium. It was a mess. The interesting thing to me was that I had seen the same skit performed at other conferences with an entirely different spin. The kids were pumped and excited about sharing God's victory over trials. In the other settings the performers brought the audience to applause. The only difference was the introduction.

2) Make 'em doubt. If you have been around evangelical churches for any length of time you have probably run into this one. The evangelist works hard to precede his call to commitment by getting his audience to question if they are truly saved. "If you were to die right this minute, are you 100% sure you would go to heaven?!?!" he booms. "Do you know the day when you came to Christ? If not, how can you be sure you are saved?" I've followed Jesus for 30 years and these guys can get me wondering.

3) Sneak 'em in. "With every head bowed and every eye closed, if you want to accept Jesus would you just raise your hand right now?" This one always puzzles me. First, I want to know why they have to raise their hands if not to give validation to the speaker? Can't they just pray right where they are without the hand in the air thing? The second thing I can't figure out is why we would call people to hide their decision from anyone else. It just doesn't make sense to me. I can't picture Jesus telling His disciples in a whisper, "Hey, follow me. No one will know. No one's looking."

4) Lie a little. I've heard the rationale for this but it just doesn't add up for me. I remember being trained as a counselor for an evangelist rolling through town. We were to come to the front immediately when he gave the invitation. As others saw us coming they would be more likely to say, "Hey, look at all those people going forward. I'm going to do it too." It seemed deceptive to me. The other one goes along with #3 above. I'm bad. I tend to keep looking around even when a speaker tells me to bow my head and close my eyes. The guys who start counting hands baffle me because I just don't count the same way. They are up to 12 or 15 and I've only seen one. "Yes, I see that hand. Yes, young man, thank you. Yes, there's another." I asked a guy at a coffee house about his count one time and after he cooled down he told me he just does it to encourage other people to put their hands up too. He does it so they don't think they are alone. Hmmm ...

5) Scare them. Skip abundant life with Jesus and go straight to telling them that they are going to die on their way home. Make it clear that they could get hit by a bus, have a heart attack or brain aneurysm or get shot. It's true, they might not make it another day. Without faith in Christ the bible tells us we will spend eternity in hell. But why do we abandon the prospect of a relationship with God right here on earth so quickly? I remember being at an all-night youth event when the speaker scolded some guys who were goofing around and not paying attention. He told them that he spoke at an event just like this one the year before and some kids were laughing like they were. Then he dropped the bomb on them telling them those kids' bus crashed on the way home and several died without knowing Jesus. They sat up and paid attention. Me? I didn't believe him. I had heard nothing of this bus crash and found no trace of it on the Internet. Bus crashes where kids die make the news. Maybe they missed this one.

6) Attract a crowd. The speaker starts off inviting people who don't know Jesus to come forward. Then he expands that to include people who want to recommit their lives to him. Next, he invites people who need prayer about anything. Then it's the "fresh touch." Then he moves to people who want someone to pray with them for someone else. Before you know it, it's down to, "If you're breathing, come forward." Well, at least it seems that way.

I'm curious about the whole "come forward" thing. I know that there are times in church history when it was about logistics and giving people a place to meet for prayer or to talk further. But over the last two hundred years it appears that some sort of power is associated with "coming to the altar."

I know there are lots of evangelists who don't manipulate and I know there are many who decided to trust Christ by going forward at an invitation. I'm among them. I'm also sure that I would have committed to follow Him right where I sat, if that had been the invitation.

The other problem I have with altar calls is that I think they convince the average believer that she can't introduce a friend to Christ. For many, evangelism has become the act of inviting someone to attend a special presentation rather than a process of loving, serving sharing life with epeople who don't know Christ.

For me, the potential value in going to the front is the opportunity to help connect someone who wants to follow Christ with someone who says, "I will be your friend and help you build your relationship with Him."

Evangelism is the act of one hungry beggar showing another where he found bread. (paraphrasing N.T. Niles)

My label is smudged

2009-06-24T11:42:00.005-04:00

What am I? Am I "emergent?" A "re-envisionist?" I know that I am not a traditionalist though I do hold to a number of traditions. Where's my T.U.L.I.P. school of thought? Am I Augustinian? Reformed?

As I surf from blog to blog I see so many people in search of labels. Like the label on a soup can, we're looking for labels that will help us decide either to buy in or to put people back on the shelf. Take 'em or toss 'em, that's the goal.

A couple years back I had a parent pull her kids from our youth programs because we were using Rob Bell's Nooma videos to spark discussion. This mom had read about Rob's label on some website and decided he was a heretic endangering the spiritual well-being of her kids. Really? Yeah, really.

We have a group of students in Romania right now. Reading their blog posts I see that they are blown away by a couple of very significant differences from here at home. First, they are amazed at how kind the people are. People welcome them into their homes, smile and bring piles and piles of food to their guests even though they have limited resources. Second, when they walked into a local orphanage children immediately grabbed their hands and wrapped their arms tightly around their necks. No one cares about their labels - they just accept them and love them. When they returned to the orphanage the next night the kids ran to the cars to meet them with outstretched arms. They carried drawings and treasures for their new friends. They called them by name.

Our team is humbled by how much the people value them. The love of the locals is shaking them to the core. There is no care of the labels of Baptist or Orthodox - just acceptance.

From what I can see, the church of Jesus Christ is in a constant state of emergence. It is a living, breathing organism that responds to people. Its heart is rescue in Jesus Christ alone. Its character is Grace. Its conviction is that sin is a poison that destroys life. Its purpose is in loving and building people. It is the body of Christ.

Followers of Jesus entrenched in unchanging, dogmatic, legalistic systems that do not bring freedom find themselves having exchanged an external focus for an internal, self-preservationist one. And still, Jesus loves.

Big-tent followers who have dismissed the deity of Jesus Christ in the name of becoming a great "One," have torn out the heart of the gospel. And still, Jesus loves.

Followers who have dismissed sin and the destruction it brings for more comfortable messages have forgotten the loving purpose of God in defining sin. They have removed the warning labels on the poison bottles and placed them on the shelves next to the soda. And still, Jesus loves.

What am I? Emergent? Traditionalist? Modern? Postmodern? I feel like a pot of stone soup, of late. It seems everyone has something to throw in my pot. Some of it looks great while other things are falling apart and have a rotten stench.

That woman is looking at me with her one eyebrow hiked a bit higher than the other. I can see that she's trying to read my label. It's smudged and she's not getting a good enough look to decide if I am worthy of interaction.

I like it that way.

That's an ugly baby!

2009-06-20T11:50:00.005-04:00

We've all been in the same awkward position. Someone hands us a picture of a baby or holds out their little bundle of joy and says, "Isn't she the cutest baby you've ever seen?" It's one of those times when we all lie rather than give our true opinion. Their little bundle of joy looks like a cross between some alien species, an old man and a prune. You're thinking, "when she was born, the doctor most likely slapped her mother."

I always wonder if the parents are deluded or if they truly think their little critter is cute. Maybe they are just playing a joke on us? The best man in my wedding used to carry a picture of an ugly girl in his wallet to pull out whenever people would ask about his girlfriend. He loved to watch their reaction. Is that it?

My three kids were all very cute babies. At least, I think they were. They certainly were adorable to me. But how do I know they weren't "breath-taking" like the baby on Seinfeld? Nah ... they were definitely cute.

It has to be the love that parents have for their kids that make them so beautiful in their eyes. The perspective of the viewer is what brings beauty.

That has to be what's at work when Jesus looks at the church and sees it as a beautiful bride. It's His love that makes the church beautiful to Him. He sees it as precious.

I look at the church, myself, my friends and see all the imperfections. I see the squabbles, the insecurity, the legalism and selfishness and think, "Ick. We're a mess!" But, because of God's Grace, He looks at the same picture and smiles and His heart explodes with fondness.

I see the church fighting about being emergent, conservative, fundamental or liberal and wonder what we're doing. We fight about when Jesus is going to return (even though he told us no one knows when). We fight about speaking in tongues and being "spirit-filled." We fight about music, what version of the bible is acceptable, predestination and how long it took God to make the universe. We fight about politics and appoint certain candidates as God's choice while others, if elected, are the anti-Christ. We gather in tight societies of people who think just like us and then, when something eventually divides us, we start church shopping again for a better group of people where we claim we "can be fed."

And Jesus looks on us as a beautiful bride while the Father calls us the apple of His eye. God's grace is a mystery. It takes the ugly and makes it beautiful.

We're an ugly baby but our Father sees us as truly beautiful.

Smack them with a good dose of God?

2009-06-15T20:45:00.003-04:00

My mom used to threaten to spank me with a yardstick. I didn't like the yardstick. When I'd see it come out of its cupboard home I'd change my behavior to avoid its sting.

What did your parents use to punish you? A paddle? Isolation? Losing a priviledge? I bet you didn't like whatever it was. Maybe it was the simple words, "Just wait until your father gets home!" Gee, that sure made us excited to see Daddy!

Getting kids to change their behavior is not an easy task. It would be easier if we could get God on our side. What would they do then?

Picture a five year old little cutie in her pretty church dress spinning around and enjoying the freedom of the big church hallway. There she is dancing and spinning with a smile from ear to ear ... until some other little kid dares to invade her space. The princess is peeved and gives him a shove to make it clear that he should bug off. But mom was watching her do it. Even worse, apparently Jesus was bummed about her behavior too.

"Do you know who saw you do that?" the mom said in frustration. "Jesus saw you do that and that does not make him happy!"

Ouch. Poor kid. Her head dropped and the expression on her face changed to sadness. It was bad enough to make mom mad but Jesus too? He was so disappointed with her.

It's tough being a parent. We all react out of anger sometimes. It's tempting to use God to give us the support we want. If our kids won't listen to us then surely they'll listen to God. Our kids grow up learning of God and discovering that he is apparently a lot like us. His voice even sounds like ours.

I remember the parent who punished her preadolescent son by sending him to his room to read his bible and write a summary of what God told him. By the time he reached the teen years he wanted nothing at all to do with bible study. It was like the yardstick was for me. The bible came to be associated with the negative.

When we use God or his Word to punish our kids we risk robbing them of the fullness of relationship with their Creator. That's not what any of us wants.

No one wants to hang out with instruments of punishment, pain or discomfort. I want my children to grow knowing the boundless love of the Savior. I want them to bathe in his grace and love. I want them to know that he will not turn his back on them or foresake them. And when they know that, they will want to reflect His character.

But first, I have to set my sights on reflecting His character in my own life so that they see Jesus in me. I must be less concerned about punishment and more concerned about discipline.

Punishment seeks payment whereas discipline seeks growth.

I felt like a big ole creeper

2009-06-13T22:13:00.006-04:00

I went to a church softball game today. It's a church league actually. The fields are crawling with Christians. It was a bit surreal. Every "church" sat by itself cheering on only its players. There was no mixing.

I decided to try some experiments and wandered into the territory of other "churches." First, I tried just hanging out to see if anyone would talk to me. Nope, not a word. In fact, when I sat on the bleachers with one group of folks I had the very distinct feeling that I was not welcome in their space.

Next, I got a couple of ice-cold bottles of water out of the cooler and headed to mingle with another group. I offered a few people a cold drink. They all politely refused until one little girl told her mom she was thirsty. Her mom tried to put her off but I said, "Here, have some water. I don't want to walk away knowing this little girl told me she was thirsty and I gave her nothing to drink." I smiled at my ability to weave a bit of bible into the conversation but no one else smiled. Strike two! I headed off again leaving the bottle on the end of a row.

In my "church's" second game I decided to give it one more try while the teams were on the field. I walked over with my camera and offered to send the other team the digital shots if they wanted them. He looked at me like I had three eyes, but it was close so I'm going to say I fouled this one off. I would take one more hack at it. I spotted a lady with a boxer dog who was trying to pull her all over the place. I took a stab at some small talk with, "Man, he's pretty strong, huh? What's his name?" She told me he was strong but offered no name. Maybe she hadn't heard me. "What's his name? Is he friendly?" She turned her back on me and talked to some of her friends. Ouch. Strike three!

I again headed back to our "church's" spot where it was safe and people like me - or at least pretend to like me. Feeling like a big ole creeper as the result of my sociological experiment, my ego wounded and my ideals for the church of Jesus Christ dashed, I needed some comfort among my own people.

I think the church is bigger than these little buildings on every other street corner. I wish we felt more confident to be the church when we exit the front doors and leave the parking lot. I wonder what this softball league would look like if it went from churches playing against each other to the church enjoying each other and fellowshipping while playing softball.

I have a feeling it would be pretty attractive.

Church is for girls

2009-05-27T20:00:00.003-04:00

"My husband hates going to church," she said with her face buried in her hands, tears flowing down her cheeks.

I wonder why this surprises women. How many men do you see wanting to head out to hang with people they don't know to sing songs they don't know while listening to some guy they don't know lecturing them from behind a desk? Church looks like a pretty feminine institution to me. "Let's all get together to share our hearts." Um, no thanks.

Women, on the whole, not all, love stuff like this. They go out of their way to take walks together or catch up while sipping coffee from giant mugs. They plan "play dates" for their kids and go to "mom's group" meetings mostly to connect with other women. Their notebooks fill up at bible studies while most men look to their watches wondering how long it will be before they are free.

About a year ago I heard of a church with a men's service. They met in the gym for no more than an hour. The pastor promised there would be no singing but lots of humor. When he got up to preach he would ask that 20 minutes be put up on the scoreboard. He crafted his messages to be fast-paced and relevant and done by the time the final buzzer sounded when the board hit zero. After the message ended the guys either watched a game together on large screens or cleared the tables to play floor hockey or shoot hoops. The service was growing each month and guys started developing friendships. Some of those friendships even spilled over into Sunday morning services, golf courses and workplaces.

As you can imagine, the keepers of "sound doctrine" and "deeper teaching" went on the attack with "that's not real church" and "it's compromising the gospel." Blah, blah, blah ... Why does the established church always seem to be compelled to undermine anything new or any attempt to penetrate the culture with something that just might work?

I bet the majority of women would hate that type of service. Maybe a husband would end up it my office asking, "Why does my wife hate going to church?"

Let's dare to do something different.

Michael doesn't want to be a wizard

2009-05-19T09:08:00.007-04:00

"Church is all about rules," 14 year old Michael said. His body language and expression told me that, to him, it was a bad thing.

Michael has been going to church since he was born. His mom and dad love him. His church has active children and youth programs. His church is big - nice gym, classrooms with flatscreens and lots of places for him to get involved. The worship band rocks.

After 14 years of sitting in classrooms and pews week after week he's reached a conclusion. Christianity is all about what God wants him to do or not do and that's it. Case closed.

I wonder if Michael is right. Is it really all about rules? Or, is it just that my young friend does not have the cognitive depth to understand what is really going on? Maybe he just can't understand grace so he defaults to the rules. That sounds weak. I think he can understand grace.

Michael gets A's. He's a bright kid and an athlete. Why is he missing the grace piece? I think it's probably because of what he sees around him. He knows he can't go to certain movies because his parents are Christians. He knows he can't read Harry Potter books because they will somehow make him want to be a wizard. He knows he can't listen to Kanye West on his iPOD because Jesus wouldn't like it. In Michael's eyes, church is responsible for making him stick out like a sore thumb at school. Church is the reason his parents lay down rules that his friends don't have to live by.

Michael knows the Sunday school song below and has learned he needs to be careful about everything but he's not sure why. In his mind he needs to be careful because God is watching him. He's not really sure of what happens when he hears, sees, thinks or does something "bad." He's pretty sure what happens to "bad" people.

Oh, be careful little ears, what you hear
For the Father Up above,
Is looking down in love,
So be careful little ears what you hear.

And then it goes on for six more verses...
Oh, be careful little eyes, what you see,
Oh, be careful little mouth, what you say,
Oh, be careful little hands, what you do
Oh, be careful little feet where you go
Oh, be careful little mind what you think
Oh, be careful little heart what you love

I can't blame Michael. I think it's easy to see where he learned that church is all about rules. We churches tend to press on to "deeper" things once we think we've got salvation covered. For us, those deeper things focus on the practical "how to live" teachings. We say, "Now that you are a Christian you will ..."

Michael has not found church to be a freeing place. For him, it is a place of condemnation that continuously points out that he is a screw-up. He is not empowered to live life and doesn't understand the freedom he has in Jesus. He doesn't know that the Father sees him as perfect, holy and spotless. He doesn't know that God is fond of him and loves him regardless of Harry Potter movies or Jamie Foxx playing on his iPOD. He has not discovered the boundless love of Jesus which has compelled millions to shape their lives around Him.

Michael has gone to church for 14 years and has not encountered Jesus.

Conversations, Debates, Walls and Bridges

2009-05-15T13:51:00.004-04:00

It takes at least two people to have a conversation. Conversations include giving and receiving; talking and listening.

Debates are different than conversations. The goal of a debate is to verbally beat down the opponent and be crowned the winner. Debate focuses on sound arguments, timing, intonation and careful presentation. The ebb and flow of volume and pitch are carefully orchestrated to bring about the goal of a win.

I like to debate. Some people hate debates. I like conversations. Most everyone enjoys conversation. Why the difference?

In debating I listen to my opponents' arguments while searching for the crack which will allow me a way in to cause their foundation to crumble. But, I'm not really interested in hearing them, identifying with them or considering their words. Debate is not about understanding, it is about winning.

Conversations happen. You say what you think and feel. I hear it and respond. Conversation is connection. It is sharing and valuing. Conversations lead to discoveries and understanding.

I think faith is a conversation that too often gets bumped by debate. My fellow Christians and I get training to become better debaters. We talk about worldview and defending God. (Can the Sovereign be defended? Does the Sovereign need defending?) Don't get me wrong ... it's good training and will come in handy when we find ourselves in the middle of debates.

I'd rather defuse debates and turn them to conversations. I'd rather hear what my Muslim neighbor believes and understand why he believes it. I'd rather talk with my gay friend and hear his heart and try to understand him instead of bringing out my "Three Ways to Convert Gays" pamphlet. I've learned that when I truly work to listen and understand others that they give me the same privilege of sharing what makes me who I am. Conversations lead to understanding. Debates usually just reinforce walls.

As a follower of Christ, I believe it's the Holy Spirit who brings about the result He desires. From what I see in Christ, my job is to love God and love others. In that love I will be ready to give an answer for the Hope that lives within me and will do that with gentleness and respect.

Conversations build relational bridges.

What's the point?

2009-05-09T20:01:00.003-04:00

What's the point of checking into Christ? Why look at the way he lived life? Why consider the things he said?

Most people I talk to have no major issues with Jesus. I hear things like, "He was a good man," and "He was revolutionary," and "He did a lot of good things." But the attitude turns negative pretty quickly when I ask what people think of church. I hear complaints of judgmental attitudes, self-righteous superiority and meaningless tradition. It sounds like the church and Christ are not even related in their eyes.

I'm a pastor. People outside our comfy walls make me sad but I'm not sure what is at the root of that sadness. Am I sad that that say bad things or am I sad that the bad things they say are true?

I went to a church once where the pastor became some sort of surrogate for God in the eyes of many of the people. They would seek his input in every decision and were paralyzed when he wasn't around to tell them what to do. He seemed to like the arrangement on people growing more and more dependent on him being God's anointed. He used warfare terminology and set outsiders up as pawns of the enemy. It was us verses them. Cable TV was a channel for demons to enter our homes and the key to keeping demons out was to have him come to our homes and put oil on window sills while praying against Satan. Some people really got into it. Me? I just couldn't find it in the teachings of Jesus.

I flip through the channels on television and see people wearing big gold rings, blowing on people who then fall over and promising blessings for whoever sends in money. They all talk about Jesus. I see news shows with clips of people yelling and holding up big signs with "Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve" block printed on poster-board. I think, "Wow, so that's the slogan? That's the best you've got." I look for all of these folks' attitudes in the teachings of Jesus and I can't find them.

Maybe we're missing the point. Jesus said the point was to love God about all and then love others. Shouldn't that be what we're known for?

I apologize if a church hurt you. I apologize for the people who, without even knowing you, have gotten into your face to tell you you're going to hell. I apologize that you've not seen the life-changing, course-changing, defining love of Jesus in me. If we are the obstacles that keep you from considering Jesus, that makes me sad.

I encourage you to look past me and all the others who have blown it and go directly to the book of Luke to check out Jesus for yourself (and then flip to John). He really did change the world. It's worth finding out how and why.

Repelling others in the name of Christ

2009-04-29T22:06:00.005-04:00

Have you ever heard about the woman who was following the Apostle Paul around and yelling, "Yo, listen up, these guys speak for God and know the way to live forever! Listen up!"

Like the pimped up car with the tinted windows sitting next to me at the light, her "boom, boom, boom" was constant and loud. It turned heads. The cranked sound system starts annoying me after maybe 30 seconds. This girl went on for days.

It sounds to me like she's really into promoting Paul and the cause of Christ. She's definitely not ashamed to draw attention to them. She's vocal and persistent. She's got a sketchy past but now she definitely seems to be pretty motivated by Paul's message.

And then something bizarre happens ... Paul gets tired of the endless noise and turns to her and shuts her up by casting an evil spirit out of her.

This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved." She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!" At that moment the spirit left her. Acts 16:17-18

The account in Acts 16 really isn't about the girl at all. It's about corrupt people making money off oppression and then making Paul pay for ruining their business by freeing her.

But, I'm drawn to the girl. Why would an evil spirit push her to keep calling attention to Paul and telling everyone to listen? That doesn't make sense to me ... unless she was actually repelling people by her actions. Maybe that was the case. The whole of Scripture shows us that demons were not in the habit of boldly pestering the Lord's agents. Or maybe Paul just felt bad for her because of her condition and decided to heal her.

Have you ever met someone who is incredibly vocal, zealous and looks totally committed to Christ but they repel people like classical music repels teenagers? Let me be clear, I'm not suggesting they are possessed. What I am wondering is if we do more harm than good when we take on the role of the obnoxiously vocal girl.

Most of my Christian brothers and sisters who fit this mold wear their "persecution" like a badge and are actually fueled by resistance and objections. When they get no result or face objection they become even louder and more aggressive. Gentleness and respect are far from view. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness ... nowhere to be seen as loud voices and passionate pleas ring out.

I cringe when my loud brother steps up to the microphone and I think, "Oh man, what's coming now?" When that passionate man scolds and wags his finger against whatever the cause for the day, I ask that the Lord might soften his words. I look around the room and see eyes roll and arms fold across chests in defensive postures.

I remember a young woman in one of the groups I directed who presented herself as super spiritual. She wanted more times to pray, more worship and frequently lectured the others about what it meant to be serious about God. She was vocal and passionate and repelling. Others just felt like they didn't make the grade when she was around. Until a weekend retreat that flipped everything upside down.

As 20 of us spent time away seeking God's direction, she spent most of the weekend dominating our discussions. But then, one of the young women found lice in her own hair. The super spiritual one flipped. She reacted angrily, called the girl "disgusting" and refused to be in the same room or even ride in a car with the embarrassed girl. While she threw her fit, another young woman who was known for having some visible struggles and making some poor choices, stayed up putting lice treatment in the infected girl's hair. She then patiently and lovingly combed out dead lice and eggs until the girl was clean. All the while she assured the young woman that it was okay and could happen to anyone. It was very clear who represented Christ that weekend.

The next weekend the super-spiritual girl shared her testimony and went on at length about what it means to love God and love others. Unfortunately, no one could hear her because her actions were still screaming so loudly in their ears. Several girls confronted her after her message but she would not receive them. She was not about to take any advice from anyone who she saw as being lower on the spiritual maturity ladder. She still saw them as far below her.

Repellent. Missing the point of Jesus. Twisting arms. Judging. Pointing fingers. Comparing. How can we be so blind to think that we are calling people to Christ when we see them running for cover when they see us coming?

Jesus didn't repel. In fact, crowds followed Him. He had to slip away to manage some alone time. He listened to people. He heard them, he called them by name, he ate dinner at their houses. He challenged the status quo religion and invited relationships.

The pharisees were all about lifting themselves up and drawing attention to how holy they were. Jesus didn't even make their cut.

When the pharisees are happy with me it is time for me to re-evaluate my witness.

I got, got, got no time ...

2009-04-25T15:20:00.001-04:00

How would your perspective change if you had an unlimited supply of time and resources? Let that sink in for just a minute. I'm thinking that my usual annoyance with the slow teenager working the drive-thru might just evaporate.

We Americans are slaves to the clock. Some cultures operate with little thought of time. When my African friends say we will meet "tonight" I have learned that they might show up anytime after 3 pm and stay for as long as it takes until it just seems appropriate to call it a night. Time is irrelevant.

We like to have our agendas, our planners and schedules. But, we also like to fantasize about time travel and being able to manipulate time.

Enter God. Time is not an issue for God. He's timeless. Can I admit to being baffled by that fact? Timeless. All of time has happened at once. God exists in what has been called the "external present." It is occurring and finished. In fact, God created time and before He created it, there was no human measure. What time is it right now?

I look in Genesis and see a 7 day account. But then I notice that our time pieces don't even get hung in the sky until day four. Were there 7 days or not? I think there were but I also think that God includes time type stuff for our benefit because He's timeless. Our days our numbered, God's days are not.

We move to close the deal, wrap up the loose ends and then move on. But God is willing to take a lifetime or more to accomplish His purposes. In some portions of Scripture He stays silent for hundreds of years. We "drive-thru Christians" get nervous and start laying on the horn when He doesn't quickly greet us with "May I take your order." Or worse, we give up and speed away angrily.

Isaiah 40::31 Those who wait on Him get strength. They go further and higher.

If I had an eternal perspective I bet it would effect my relationships the most. I bet I'd play more games of Monopoly and Risk. Most of us value time more than we value people. We just don't have time to "waste." For most of us, time is money. It's a commodity to be spent.

I believe that God created us, trees, seeds, animals and all. Much of His creation consists of things I can wrap my mind around and, at least superficially, comprehend. They are things I can see and touch. But time? Time is not something I can produce or contain. I can't store it up for future use and cannot give my extra hours to someone else nor borrow from them when I'm in need. I have absolutely no control over time itself.

My time budget is limited. I have a very finite number of minutes to spend. I wonder why I have such a tough time recognizing that the best place to spend those minutes is in relationships? I wonder why my daily calendar shows that I live in a Christian bubble, interacting almost entirely with Christians doing Christian things. If I would just spend my minutes loving others outside the bubble, hearing them and building relationships, surely God would open hearts to eternity with Him.

That is the clear message of the gospel that Jesus preached and lived.

Where can I find a pin to pop this bubble?

From Holy Hal to Cow-killing Kevin

2009-04-22T10:44:00.009-04:00

I disagree. You disagree. People have been disagreeing nearly as long as there have been people. People react different ways in the face of disagreements. I've worked with a number of different profiles in ministry.

Holy Hal moves quickly to point out that God Himself has brought him to the point of view he champions. It's tough to disagree with Hal since he sees imself as the mouthpiece of God on the every matter at hand. "God is telling us to ..."

Dicing Debbie chooses to slice and dice those who disagree by bringing their many faults to the forefront. Her attacks can be vicious and bloody.She moves up and gets her way by assassinating others.

Sensitive Sam perceives any disagreement to be a personal attack and is wounded by the person who disagrees. He wonders why the person disagreeing with him doesn't like him.

Politicking Pete hears the disagreement, presents his side and then, if not on the winning end, hits the campaign trail enlisting others to join his cause. He approaches the same disagreement from seemingly limitless directions. It's never over for Pete. No decision is final until it is the decision he endorses.

Fleeing Freddy avoids conflict at all costs. In the face of disagreement he leaves. He doesn't want to fight. He's been bruised too many times.

Defensive Dave perceives disagreements as attacks and immediately sets out to defend his opinion without much effort to consider the opposing viewpoints. He begins working diligently to put together a bulletproof defense.

Grudging Gary carries the weight of past disagreement and adds new weights continuously. He carries a lengthy list of wrongs which he will not give up.

Doormat Doreen won't disagree or offer her thoughts even though her team may need them. She doesn't want to offend anyone. She stays silent and goes along.

No-compromise Nancy routinely disagrees with anything new or different. She elevates her position by spiritualizing and attaching it to something she calls, "the gospel." She proudly stands on her commitment to "never compromise the gospel."

Complaining Cal. You know if his name is on your schedule, you're in for an earful of all the ways you disappoint. Cal always has some issue to discuss and something with which he is unhappy.

Negotiating Ned looks for common ground and works to bring things together for the best interest of the team and the advancement of the cause. His efforts often get people onto the same page.

Peacemaker Patty is concerned with relationships. She is unafraid to disagree or hear disagreements. As far as it is possible for her, she works to be at peace with all. But, if peace cannot be found, she is able to stand her ground.

Straight Stan is honest and direct. He will state his opinion and has a reputation for being a plain talker. He clearly states his disagreements attaching no other incidentals or emotions to them. Sometimes the truth hurts but the team knows Stan's motives are pure. Stan boils it down to the issue at hand.

Cow Killing Kevin isn't afraid to challenge the system or process and ask if it is time to kill a sacred cow. He is unafraid to disagree with man-made traditions or existing policy and ask "why?" He'll just as easily end an existing program as begin a new one. He recognizes his own biases and offers them to the same evaluation.

Captain Carole is charged with steering the team. She's at the helm with steering wheel in hand. She must make the best decision she can taking input from her crew. She has her own ways of dealing with disagreement from the list above.

I'm in Carole's position. I see my own strengths and shortcomings as a leader. I know my natural inclination to become defensive and, when burned out, would rather flee conflict altogether. But I also see negotiating skills, cow killing and straight talk bearing fruit.

I've had numerous crews over the years and have had each of the people above serve at one time or another. Today I work harder to assemble the most balanced team I can.

Holy Hal is passionate but he silences others since he claims to speak for God. Dicing Debbie leaves a pile of hurt people in her wake. Complaining Cal is a bummer draining all who listen. Politicking Pete is exhausting and makes the team feel like it is wasting its time by always revisiting the same issues. Grudging Gary gets angry fast and triggers emotions. No-compromise Nancy works well maintaining existing programs but stalls innovative teams.

I've found Doormat Doreen to be an asset when separate from the personalities above. She brings a new perspective when she feels safe. I've also seen Defensive Dave and Sensitive Sam either grow stronger or worsen depending on the makeup of the team.

My dream teams, and I have had a few, have included a balance of peacemakers, negotiators, straight talkers and cow killers. It's no coincidence that they fit the description of leaders in Titus.

Titus 1:7-9- It's important that a church leader, responsible for the affairs in God's house, be looked up to - not pushy, not short-tempered, not a drunk, not a bully, not money-hungry. He must welcome people, be helpful, wise, fair, reverent, have a good grip on himself, and have a good grip on the Message, knowing how to use the truth to either spur people on in knowledge or stop them in their tracks if they oppose it.

I'm curious ... what personality profiles have you seen on leadership teams? What has been their effect on the vision, mission and ability of the team as a whole? Pushy Pam? Monopolizing Mandy? Bully Brad? Welcoming Will? Fair Frank?

Where can I ride my bike?

2009-04-10T16:57:00.012-04:00

Be in the world but not of it. Come out and be separate. Don't be friends with the world. Love others. But, how do I love others when I can't hang out with them? How do I serve others when it looks like I'm not even supposed to ride my bike on their side of the street? Should I ring my bell and let them know I'm coming so they can straighten out?

There's Jesus again, sitting at a well with a promiscuous Samaritan woman. He's talking with her. And there He is having dinner with a short, little tax collector. Woah, that lady is pouring perfume on His feet! What's the deal with that? It looks like He's definitely a friend. He's pretty comfortable!

Over there, in the corner, I see a group gathering around a table. They look like they are ticked-off about something. They're mumbling under their breath and looking toward Jesus with scowls on their faces. I can hear snippets of their conversations.

"What's He doing with them?"

"Have you heard the way she talks?"

"They don't even go to church. What's he doing hanging around those people?"

Jesus notices their conversations but doesn't change anything. Instead He looks like they've punched him in the heart again. They just don't get it. They still want to focus on religion and are missing the relationship news he is living.

Do you think when He had dinner at Matthew's house (Matthew 9) that all the people who got together changed the way they talked, the things they joked about and their normal courses of life so they wouldn't offend Jesus? I doubt it. Rough crowds aren't known for towing the line.

I know that some people say Jesus didn't miraculously create fermented wine at the wedding feast. They tell me He created grape juice and it's silly to think otherwise because fermentation "takes time." I guess it's an easy way to credit Jesus with a miracle without allowing Him to take any part in people drinking wine. Apparently Jesus is powerful enough to make grape juice from water but He comes up a little short in his ability to affect fermentation. So close ...

The mumbling masses mumble on. Jesus tells them that He came for people like these and that He's going to hang out with them and share life with them. While the holy huddle sits in a corner complaining about how unholy He is, questioning His motives and grumbling about He and His disciples not following the rules, Jesus keeps loving people. He tells His complaining friends that they need a lesson in kindness (Mt 9:13) and that He'd rather have that than all their self-elevating sacrifices.

Jesus was altogether separate. He hung out with people altogether in life-transforming ways. His mindset was entirely different and separate from the secular and Hebrew mindset. He revealed the life and heart of God in the same Scriptures they had. It's possible to study the Scriptures and miss the One. Do you know what I mean?

The grumblers are still off to the side. They meet together to discuss ways to reach out to others but then set boundaries that make honesty and comfort impossible. They create surreal experiences. They list random rules. They schedule spontaneity and chance right out of the picture. The people they attract, if any, are the same systems types that they are. They program programs that they will like.

How many times have I heard a well-meaning brother or sister say the key to reaching others for Christ is to have more worship services? More studies? More prayer times? How many times have we rushed in to serve some soup to the hungry and then rushed out before things got uncomfortable?"Uncomfortable" happens when life occurs. Schedules and programs with tightly-packed agendas help us stay in control and make sure nothing awkward happens. Smokers won't smoke, swearers won't swear and no one will tell an off-color joke if we make sure to eliminate time for joking. It will be perfect if they all just sit and listen and then go right to their cars and leave. We'll feel good. They'll wonder what the heck just happened.

I can see Jesus reclining at the table at Matthew's house. Most houses were a couple rooms with dirt floors. The theme was multi-purpose functionality. Rolled mats for reclining. Finger bowls for dipping. Cheese, wine, vegetables and fruits, and eggs. The main course was most likely fish but may have been red meat if Matthew was pulling out all the stops. The smells of a boiling stew pot - salt, onions, garlic, cumin, coriander, mint, dill, and mustard fill the house. Some sweet honey or date syrup take the bitter edge off. Conversation flows, laughs erupt and life happens.

Belong. Believe. Become. I love you, you love me, you love others. Rinse and repeat.

The mumblers espouse an entirely different approach; become and then belong and then believe. Actually, believing isn't really all that important as long as one becomes (changes behavior) and then finds that he belongs (is accepted based on that change.) You can make the grade without believing anything different at all. Just do the right stuff and say the right things and you belong.

Jesus demonstrates love and extends belonging first. People react to his unconditional love by replacing their belief system with a grace-based paradigm and then desire to become like Him. Remember Zaccheus? Because Jesus loves and accepts me, I will determine to love and accept others. Because He forgives me I will forgive others.

Being separate is not about going through a cloudy behavioral checklist determining worth, value or status. It's not about a random list of ever-changing cuss words and it's not about making sure your iPOD is filled only with the hippest of Christian worship music and absolutely no U2 .(Bono swore on television, remember?) Being separate means renewing our minds with a system that allows for people to be welcomed, heard and treated with kindness. Being separate appears to me to be less positional than it is attitudinal.

I refuse to let your can of beer or the fact that you just said a naughty word put distance between us. I refuse to turn you away or discount or devalue you. I refuse to reduce the kingdom of heaven to matters of eating or drinking and the daily trivium of life (Rom. 14). I refuse to look down my nose and pass judgement on you. I refuse to join that table in the corner.

I choose to truly be separate.

Breathe Deep (The Breath of God) 1996

Lost Dogs from the album "Green Room Serenade, Part One"(Terry Taylor)

Politicians, morticians, Philistines, homophobes
Skinheads, Dead heads, tax evaders, street kids
Alcoholics, workaholics, wise guys, dim wits
Blue collars, white collars, war mongers, peace nicks

Breathe deep
Breathe deep the Breath of God
Breathe deep
Breathe deep the Breath of God

Suicidals, rock idols, shut-ins, drop outs
Friendless, homeless, penniless and depressed
Presidents, residents, foreigners and aliens
Dissidents, feminists, xenophobes and chauvinists

Evolutionists, creationists, perverts, slum lords
Dead-beats, athletes, Protestants and Catholics
Housewives, neophytes, pro-choice, pro-life
Misogynists, monogamists, philanthropists, blacks and whites

Police, obese, lawyers, and government
Sex offenders, tax collectors, war vets, rejects
Atheists, Scientists, racists, sadists
Photographers, biographers, artists, pornographers

Gays and lesbians, demagogues and thespians
The disabled, preachers, doctors and teachers
Meat eaters, wife beaters, judges and juries
Long hair, no hair, everybody everywhere!

Good Friday

2009-04-10T11:26:00.003-04:00

Silence.

What do you say???

Silence.

Who are you???

Silence.

Don't you understand that I have the power to execute you???

The only power you have is that which has been given to you.

Liars lie. They swear and lie. "Crucify him! Release Barabbas!"

"What crime has he committed? What has he done?"

The politician succumbs and does what politicians so often do. He sacrifices values and morals to give the loudest what they demand. Pilate handed them Jesus.

Soldiers. Purple robe. Mocking insults. Tearing flesh. Blood and pain.

Stumbling. Weak. "You there! You come carry his cross!" they said to Simon.

Golgotha. Lifted high on rough lumber. Gambling for His clothes. Vinegar on a sponge. Laughs.

"Forgive them Father. They don't realize what they are doing." He prays for his enemies even while hanging on the cross.

"Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom."

"Today you shall be with me in paradise."

It is finished!

I am reborn, spotless, a new creation ...

Feet are gross...

2009-04-09T10:05:00.007-04:00

Maundy Thursday. It sounds like someone got confused. Is it Maunday or is it Thursday? What's it all about?

Here's the scene. Jesus and His disciples are getting together to celebrate Passover with a meal. We refer to it as the "Last Supper" because it was the night before Jesus went to the cross.

The normal custom was for a servant to use a basin to wash the feet of all who came in for the supper. But on this night something was very different. The servant was Jesus! The Jesus the disciples had been traipsing around with over the past few years, the man they had seen heal people, feed thousands and spend His time telling them about His Father's kingdom, knelt before them with towel in hand ready to wash their feet.

It wasn't the first time He did something that baffled them. He was full of surprises. But this one, this one was just too much to handle without someone taking exception. It was Peter. Peter had a history of speaking up.

"You don't plan to wash my feet, Lord? No way," Peter said.

Jesus was patient with him. "You don't get it right now, Peter, but you'll understand this later."

"This is not okay. I won't let you do it, " Peter protests.

"If you don't get into this foot washing thing, Peter, you have missed the entire point of my being with you and you have no part of me," Jesus said.

"Well if that's the case, then wash all of me - my head, my heart, my feet!" Peter said.

When Jesus finished He sat back down at the table and told them that He had set the example for them and that they were now charged to serve one another and love others. He commanded them again to love. Wash feet. Serve. Do the lowly job. Set status and position aside.

John 13:34-35 "Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples - when they see the love you have for each other."

Maundy is from the Latin word to "command." When we gather on Maundy Thursday we remember that Jesus commanded us to love and serve.

Maybe it's just me but it seems like that "command" of Maundy Thursday services has taken a back seat to remembering the Last Supper sadly and reverently. The purpose of this last gathering was to sum it all up again; to explain it all one more time with a powerful display of love. Jesus took the place of the servant and washed feet knowing full well that His Father had given Him charge of everything (v.3). The most powerful man on the planet chose to wash feet to leave one last point of what He had been saying for three years.

Be challenged today, Maundy Thursday, to fulfill the command. Love one another. Wash feet.

Drawing lines while love goes out the window

2009-04-07T20:30:00.011-04:00

"Come sit with me, my child, I have something for you." With a beaming grin, my Father reached into his pocket and took out a a shimmering cross. He gently he placed it over my heart. I watched it become part of me.

"You are mine," he said in a reassuring voice that somehow gave me freedom instead of servitude. It instantly removed performance and insecurity weights that had been accumulating for decades. I can still hear them;

"Jesus doesn't like it when you watch bad shows and we'll tell you what they are. God is dissapointed in you when you laugh at things that we tell you are inappropriate. Always leave room for Jesus to walk or sit between you and that girl you like. Be careful little eyes what you see." I got the message that I was a big disappointment to God.

"I did not send my Son to condemn you but to rescue you. It's about love ... love that allows you to be declared innocent even when you know you are guilty. It's my gift to you, my son." (John 3:17)

My Father showed me through His Word that he used to have a system that was based on law. He showed me how people failed time after time to live up to His holiness. He showed me some laws that seemed pretty silly to me and chuckled when he saw the puzzled look on my face. "Do you know anyone who could pass these tests?" He asked knowing that I did not. "It's impossible unless you receive the Gift of Grace I give you." (Eph. 2:8)

"This cross that I have burned on your heart is a reminder of my love for you. Get ready for people to try to add to it." I asked what could they possibily add. A sad look took over His face and betrayed the hurt He felt.

"Some will work to add regulations. Circumsicions are not a big deal in your world now like they were after my son walked the earth. But, there will be different standards added. People will tell you that you have to act a certain way to be truly saved. Some will spiritualize it and tell you have to speak in tongues, others will tell you you can't watch television or movies. Some won't want you to dance or drink wine or eat meat. And all are convinced they speak for me."

I nodded silently.

"My child, be about the majors. Love others. Please don't ever reduce my love to a simple series of do's and don'ts. When you become one who draws lines in the sand, you become judge and jury. Walk over lines to love."

"Sit with me for awhile ..."

Take the Pharisee-Legalist quiz.
1)Do you act as if you essentially have a monopoly on God's word, the knowledge of God's will, sound doctrine, and truth? ("God told me that...")
2) Are you often a "hyper-seperationists" in your attitude toward others? (Good Christians and bad Christians.)
3) Do you smugly denounce and ridicule believers who do not believe or behave exactly as you do? (John 9:34).
4) Do you have an outward show of "humility" and "consecration" while inwardly you are proud and self-righteous?
5) Do you want the praise of men; are you looking for honor as "the spiritual one" in the group?
6) Do you present your man-made traditions or codes as God's irrefutable eternal laws?
7) Do you idolize certain leaders of your group?
8) Do you fail to "practice what you preach?" (one standard for church things and another for "real life.")
9) Do you keep others from having or seeking true godliness by judging them inferior and making them feel inferior?
10) Do you act as if you are "favored" by God more than anyone else?"

(adapted from http://www.biblebelievers.com/ - an interesting variety of readings across the spectrum)

One thing is sure about legalists ... they tend not to attract people with the love of Jesus. Or, if they do attract people to their systems, it is not long before they become weighed down and discouraged.

Good Christians and Bad Christians

2009-03-24T16:08:00.007-04:00

I wonder why we, as a people, are just so bad at extending grace when we should be experts at it? As followers of Christ, we've accepted grace and experienced it firsthand. But when it comes to showing grace to our brothers and sisters it sometimes seems like we have no idea what grace even is at all.

I've spent my life in churches. My mom and dad always took me to church when I was a kid. I heard all about Jesus and heaven and peace. I learned the beatitudes and got a shiny plaque. The church people stood up and clapped for me. That was nice.

Somewhere along the way I started learning the difference between "good people" and "bad people." Good people were people who went to church on Sunday. They didn't swear or smoke or go to dances and they never wore bikinis. Bad people had weird hair, dressed funny, smoked and swore. They were bad and we were good. It was our job to make them good. Somehow, somewhere Jesus was involved with the whole equation but I wasn't quite sure how. The most important thing was that people needed to be straightened out.

As I grew and moved from one church to another I learned different definitions for bad people. I met people who told me that other people who I thought were good were really bad because they read the wrong translation of the bible or listened to Christian rock and roll or wore the wrong clothes. That threw me for a loop because I thought that we were all on the same footing because we all believed in Jesus. They told me that some Christians were "being deceived." Apparently there were "good Christians" and "bad Christians." The standards change from place to place.

By time I was in my late teens I had several opportunities to sit on the front lines of some good ole' church brouhahas. Most were in the context of something the adults called "church business meetings." I remember one in particular where a woman did something in the church kitchen that ticked some of the other women off. The fireworks sent sparks everywhere. Man, they were really going at it, calling each other names and using charged words like "corruption", "integrity" and "character." I remember wondering how Jesus fit into the mess.

College hit and, frankly, I was glad to be free of "church." But, by senior year, I decided "church" was probably the right thing to do so my wife and I wandered into a large baptist church near campus. By the next night we had three people in our little living room welcoming us and telling us all about their pastor. I remember one guy telling me, "He's a man's man, He's no pantywaist." That was odd.

We stayed at that church a few weeks and had another visit from some fellas telling Robin and I that we needed to be "re-baptized" in their church and "step up" to membership. I guess we got baptized wrong the first time? It didn't count. We didn't return.

Somehow I knew that Jesus was real in the midst of all the messiness. I had enough brushes with people of grace, people who let things slide and smiled a lot, that I knew I wanted to be like them. They had a peace that comes only through receiving and then giving Grace. They were ambassadors of Jesus. Ambassadors tend not to scream much or forcefully make people submit to their agendas, plans and goals. They represent.

2 Corinthians 5:20 (The Message)
We're Christ's representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them. We're speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you.

I committed my life to being an ambassador and working in ministry. In these past 25 years I have witnessed some terrible carnage in churches. I've seen people fight about rugs and nurseries, soda machines and guitars, street signs and paint. I watched people leave a church body because of the style selected for new auditorium chairs. I've sat in budget meetings where brothers and sisters have fought for an hour about a $250 mission expense and then voted to pass a $5,000 line item for new choir robes without a word of discussion. I often wonder why we fight about the things we fight about. Why do we bear our fangs about so many things that really don't seem to matter much?

Grace is undeserved favor. Grace is about putting others above ourselves. It is about walking the extra mile, turning the other cheek and stepping back from our agendas to consider others. It is about giving the benefit of the doubt. It is about seeing every part's value and even paying special honor to the "less presentable" parts.

Where grace subsides, conflict abounds. Our tongue betrays the true condition of our hearts with hurtful, self-elevating words directed at our brothers and sisters. That rudder steers our ship on the wrong course when it promotes us as "good Christians" and denounces others as "bad Christians."

Where grace fades pharisaism intensifies and fissures multiply.

Represent.

What to do, What to do? (Part 4 - the end)

2009-03-09T12:54:00.004-04:00

First and foremost - love God and love others. Love others with an active, you-before-me love. See a need and meet a need.

Second - do what you do and be what you are. Huh???

Paul puts an awesome word picture together in 1 Corinthians 12. He tells us to look at things like we look at our own bodies. It's pretty funny actually. Can you picture if you were just a giant eyeball? Sure, you could see pretty well but you couldn't hear anything or even communicate what you've seen. Or say you're just a big ole mouth ... blah, blah blah. You could talk a lot and hear no one and see nothing. Picture yourself just a hand. Sure, you could give someone a hand but chances are that you would never know that anyone needed a hand in the first place.

I like how he even gets into the parts we can't see. How's your liver? No one even thinks about their liver until it's not doing its job and then everything shutst down.

Are you a good listener? Find a way to listen! Good at teaching? Teach! Feel compelled to pray for people? Dare to pray! Like to organize and make checklists? Do it! Hate being in front of people and prefer to lend a hand behind the scenes? I love you like I love my liver!

Do you get the gist? See what Paul is saying? Let's stop worrying about what we can't do and instead offer what we can. If you're like me, operating in areas where you are not gifted can burn you out fast.

Third, replace yourself.
As a pastor, I have a challenge in front of me. I am supposed to be equipping and training people to do what they do and help them find places to do it. If I do everything myself I am missing the boat and limiting ministry and maybe even missing the point of ministry altogether.

That makes me ask, "Am I replacing myself?" I should be. If I do not offer the people I am discipling the very real opportunity to lead, I am doing little more than filling their gas tanks. When will I hand over the keys and say, "Here, you drive."

Out of love we go.
In going we disciple.
In discipling we equip.
In equipping we prepare.
In preparing we transfer.
In transferring we set free.
In setting free we multiply.
In multiplying we impact more lives.

Teacher, are you replacing yourself by preparing someone to take over?
Pastor, are you training and trusting God enough to hand over the keys?
Worship leader, are you bringing someone alongside to step in and take the reins?
Servant, are you helping someone else learn to serve and stepping aside to let them?

The best (leader) is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.

Theodore Roosevelt

A leader is great, not because of his or her power, but because of his or her ability to empower others. John Maxwell

For many of us, releasing control is the toughest part of leadership. When we do not, our young leaders, feeling like they are not really needed, eventually lose interest and move on leaving us with the ironic exhaustion we've created by never letting them lead or serve. We stunt their growth!

Multiplication is an amazing thing. If you don't believe me try giving me a penny tomorrow and then double it every day for a month. 1 cent, 2 cents, 4 cents and so on. It will be a great lesson using only a bunch of pennies, right?

Go ahead. I double dag dare you.

Love that compells (part 3 of being and doing)

2009-03-05T13:03:00.007-05:00

You speak of signs and wonders
I need something other
I would believe if I was able
But I'm waiting on the crumbs from your table
- U2

"What does God want us to do? Just sit around and do nothing?"

Love God. Love your neighbor. Love one another. Love the hurting.

Love is more than a greeting card. It's more than a mushy feeling of infatuation. In biblical context love is usually presented as a verb. Even when presented as a noun, love is the result of action. We have a difficult time comprehending biblical love because we tend to restrict it to the emotional dynamic. We give a hug, smile and say, "I love you."

The movie "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" with Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey portrays how our society sees love and it makes us laugh at ourselves. But, did you catch the underlying current in that movie? The "l" word is scary. If you want to push someone away in a relationship talk about love, the future and life together. That will send them running!

Parts of our society tries to lessen love. Grandma rocker Tina Turner even calls it a "second hand emotion" and nothing more than an "old fashioned notion." At the same time, shows like The Bachelor parade dozens of attractive women for an eligible male while steeping romance with food, champagne, limousines and luxury all for voyeuristic television audiences who root for true love.

It's clear that we're confused.

The Greek uses a some distinct words for love. I'm not a Greek scholar by any stretch but I do see eros (romantic), phileo (brotherly) and agape (compelling and doing) love. The New Testament uses agape when discussing God's love and our love for Him. Agape is the love of God that compels us to act. It's a deep, deep love that is more about doing than feeling.

In the Hebrew language of the Old Testament we see ahabah (ahav) as a description of the love of God. When referring to God it's an action-based, community, relationship type of meaning that is bathed in commitment, faithfulness and responsibility. It is an identity-swallowing, consuming love that thrills God and benefits others simultaneously. (I invite my linguist readers to help me out with my understanding.)

When Jesus speaks of love it is not just a second-hand emotion. The whole of scripture paints love as a shaping, defining, faithful, protecting, consuming phenomenon. It colors everything about God and everything about His children. The Hebrew presentation of love connects with agape seamlessly.

Godly love compels us to love others. It compels us to see His concern when we look into the eyes of the hungry, the orphan and the single mom. It is the law of God written on every man's heart and the reason the world outside the church looks in with skeptical eyes. They have a sense of what the people of God should be about. It is the reason the jobless man, down on his luck and facing financial disaster, comes through the front doors humbly seeking help.

If we are immersed in discussions of signs and wonders or too busy running from bible study to bible study or chasing after the next adrenaline-pushing worship experience at the expense of the people Jesus lovingly came to rescue, we must step back and look in the James' mirror.

James said that the person who lets the life-changing message of Jesus go in one ear and out the other without acting on it is like a guy who looks in a mirror and walks away forgetting what he looks like. (James 1:22-27) Can you see it? It's like we smile in the mirror, see a big chunk of spinach in our teeth and walk out doing nothing about it. It just doesn't make sense! We can go through the day smiling big and pretty as though there's nothing there but we're kidding ourselves. We can fill our days with religious activities, we can read all the Christian authors, we can journal our daily study of scripture and fill our iPODs with great Christian music but the measure of our understanding of Jesus is seen in our loving others.

What if I really don't love others? What if, truthfully, I really don't care? Should I go out and start doing good things? Please don't. Instead, clear your schedule and rest with God. (Matthew 11:28-30) Hang out with Jesus and let Him teach you. Let your doing come from your loving and being loved by God.

"We cannot work for God without love. It is the only tree that can produce fruit on this sin-cursed earth, that is acceptable to God. If I have no love for God nor for my fellow man, then I cannot work acceptably." - DL Moody

Being and Doing (part 2)

2009-03-02T14:23:00.010-05:00

My last post on the foundational importance of being rather than doing has brought some interesting questions. Thinking is a good thing.

Doers have been offended. As a doer, I understand that. We perfectionists place a lot of value in our commitments to excellence. We like our Daytimers and empty calendars present a challenge to be filled. A full calendar, we believe, shows that we are busy and important people. I confess, I like lists. I like to check tasks off my list. I will even add an already completed task to my list for the joy of drawing a line through it to mark it completed. Being a doer puts me in control. I like measurable goals. It's the way I work.

The trouble comes when I start placing more value in my doing stuff for God than I put on spending time with God. God created me and you to be in relationship with Him. It's His priority. It's His love. It's what we see in the famous Mary verses Martha conflict when Jesus came to visit (Luke 10:40-42).

I can identify with Martha. I can really feel for her. While she's busy doing things to make her guests comfortable, Mary plops down on the floor to hang out with Jesus. I can picture Mary making herself comfortable, smiling and listening to Jesus. Martha is getting more and more steamed by the minute. I can imagine her possible thought process, "What does she think she's doing? She knows there is stuff to do? How can she just be sitting there?"

It's important to understand the historical context of the time period. Women were not welcomed to sit at the feet of a rabbi. In most circles it was forbidden. Women were servants who worked hard. Sadly, they were often seen more as property than people. And here we see Mary sitting at Jesus's feet! Martha knows that her sister is well aware of what is allowable and what is not. This whole situation is just not allowable!

The revolutionary Jesus who routinely upset the religious leaders welcomed women and children and Samaritans and Gentiles is at it again. He touched lepers. He went to tax collectors' houses. He valued people not for status, position, education, wealth or bloodline. He valued all people because, as I said in the last post, they are created in the image of God and He is very, very fond of them. Jesus comes to Mary's defense saying she has chosen better to sit with Jesus. (He is not saying Martha should have dropped everything but that she is more than likely going overboard at the expense of what is truly important.)

Remember the criminals hanging on crosses? One mocked Jesus hanging near him and the other defended Jesus. He told the first criminal to back off (Luke 23:39-43) and admitted that both he and the other deserved to die but insisted that Jesus was innocent. Then, this guy who has absolutely nothing to offer, this guy who will be dead in a matter of hours asks Jesus to remember Him in Heaven. And Jesus says yes!

Why, on earth, would Jesus say yes to this guy? Why would He tell him that he would be in paradise with Him? The truth is, on earth, there is no rationale to explain this. The rationale is supernatural and beyond our earth system. Our earthly system says you are valuable because of what you do and what you contribute. God's system of grace says you are valuable because He created you in His image and has a gift that you cannot earn. You cannot do enough. It is the reason an unworthy criminal hanging on a cross, about to die, is valued the same as the missionary, a worship leader or pastor. Our value is not in our doing, it is in our being.

Does that make you mad? Sometimes it bugs me that the person I determine "scum" is not scum to my Father. Of course, God must see me as better than that scum, right? The Truth is without Jesus, I'm in no better shape.

It's like couterfeit money. If you take a really good counterfeit $100 bill into a shop and an ugly, cheap, counterfeit $100 bill made on a color copier, it will be clear that one bill looks better than the other. Both are worthless. Someone might even admire the better counterfeit. The value of each bill is the same. Zero. The value in currency is the treasury that backs it.

Placing our value in anything other than the unshakeable truth that we are loved by God, having been created in His image and then restored to relationship with Him through the price paid by Jesus, is a mistake. Pointing to all our doings is a mistake.

Does that mean we drop out of everything? Does it mean it is useless to do anything? Yes and no. Yes, if we are overloading ourselves and burning out because we believe that it somehow changes our value in God's eyes. No, if you are operating out of a place of peace and rest where you serve from a place of relationship with your Father. If we are serving at the expense of relationships in our lives or are so busy doing "God things " that we have no time left to love our neighbors, we are missing it. If we are too busy to sit by the lake and enjoy His creation, too busy to laugh with an old friend in an overpriced coffee shop and too busy to paint a sunset, our lives are filled with too much noise to hear His still small voice.

"Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything." (Ps. 46:10 The Message)

If our churches fill our schedules so much that we do not have time to coach a Little League team, serve on the school board or host a cookout for our neighbors, they cut us off from the very people with whom we should be building relationships. Since we have no time to love the people next door we expand the definition of loving our neighbors to all those who are in our church. Are are missing the point? I believe we are.

Our value is our in our being - created in God's image with a desire that we be in relationship with Him. His desire is that we talk with Him, sit with Him and walk with Him and enjoy His company. When we begin here we become more like Him, our hearts and character reflect Him and then ... we find ourselves doing.

We'll discuss the doing in the next entry. I bet you can hardly wait, right?

"Humble yourself and cease to care what men think. A meek man is not a human mouse afflicted with a sense of his own inferiority. Rather,... he has stopped being fooled about himself. He knows well that the world will never see him as God sees him and he has stopped caring. He has obtained a place of soul rest. The old struggle to defend himself is over. - A. W. Tozer

We were created for ...

2009-02-28T13:44:00.004-05:00

What were we created for? I sit in some church services and hear worship leaders saying we were made to worship. Others will say man was created to simply love God and enjoy Him forever. Still others claim we were made to go and make Christians out of the world. It's apparent that there are a lot of different views of what we were created to do.

I wonder if we were created to really "do" anything? Did God just create us because He needed servants? Does God really need anything? In this American society with its emphasis on doing we tend not to give much value to being. We even do worship by selling cases of books and DVD's on how to do it right. Some focus some on liturgy, some on music, some on instruments and some on format. We even create new practices like teaching people how to channel the Holy Spirit, as though it was taught anywhere in Scripture, to crank up our "worship" in some way.

In Genesis 1 I read the creation story and get to day six when God is crafting mankind. A word jumps out at me. "IMAGE!" I see that God creates in His image which means His nature, His character, His being. It seems to me that image is everything. That definitely is true of our image-driven society. But then I also know that fallen man dims God's image in my life. My image is messed up. Sometimes I feel God's heart inside me and I ache for others. Other times I am so focused on myself or being right that God's character isn't reflected in me at all. During those times I am like a bathroom mirror fogged by a hot shower; God is still there but His reflection is blurred in proportion to the amount of steam.

I also see that God created me for His pleasure in Rev 4:11. We were created just because God wanted to create us. Colossians 1:16 tells us we were created by Him and for Him. God created us simply because He is God and that's what He wanted to do. Period.

I think we start getting weighed down when we attach strings to that truth. We attach a string of worship, a string of social justice, a string of evangelism, a string of attendance, a string of service and declare each string the very reason we were created. As each string is added we weave a pretty heavy rope. Do you know what I mean? Worship leaders promote their string, evangelists lift their string and Sunday school superintendents present their string. They are all good strings, I suppose, but together, they can become more of a weight than a lifeline.

No doubt there is a lot to do in scripture. Singers sing, teachers teach, servers serve. We are commanded to go and make disciples, feed the hungry, clothe the naked and meet needs. We are to sing praises, clap hands and dance for joy. We are to learn and to study. Scripture has lots of things that will more than fill our time.

Though it is confusing, all of the do's are meant to be more the result of being than doing. They are the fruit of what we are. They are a byproduct of being created in the image of God and being about what He is about. When we focus on the doing and lose touch with the being. I wonder if ,by trying so hard to do, we compromise what we are created to be?

Consider God. He introduces Himself as "I Am" and not as "I do." The Lord my God is "One" meaning everything or all. We're not His peers and He would be no different if He had not created mankind. Still, we are created in His image. When we become entirely about the doing we forget the totality of God. How can we define the indefinable?

I long for my children not because I am supposed to be fond of them. I yearn for them because of what I am, their father. From the moment I first laid eyes on my newly born Joshua Abram, I was redefined. Acting certain ways did not make me a father but being a father impacted the way I acted. It was my being that motivated my doing.

It seems like far too many of my friends are weighed down by a heavy rope of doing God things so that God will be pleased with them. I am not alone. It as though we hear a nagging voice saying, "If you really were spiritual you would do ..." We would be at every church meeting and service, we would take every class, we would work in nursery and teach the children and then we would spend our weekends working with teenagers. We would serve on that committee, sing in the choir and be there for every work day. We would sign up for every mission trip, work the yardsale, bake cookies for shut-ins and serve at the soup kitchen. And we would definitely belt out those tunes on Sunday mornings and be in our seats on time and give a hearty "Amen!" at the appropriate times. And then ... God would be pleased. Right? And, of course, if we could do even more than that He would be even more pleased. It would stand to reason.

But it does not measure up to Scripture no matter how much we would like. Our comfortable competition communicates that some are more valuable, more holy, and more spiritual than others. Doing does that. Doing has tangible rewards. Doing brings praise. Doing brings position and status.

When all the sap burns off, to use a New England maple metaphor, it all comes down to the sweet, sweet syrup of truth that God created us simply because He wants a relationship with us. He is more concerned with our being than He is with our doing. It is a life-altering relationship, no doubt, but it is first and foremost a relationship.

"We need to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend
of silence." - Mother Teresa

"Then he was told, 'Go, stand on the mountain at attention before God. God will pass by.'
and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn't in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper." 1 Kings 19:11-12

I think we were created to live in the whisper.

Teachers or lovers?

2009-02-19T16:09:00.008-05:00

I was reading a George Barna report today (read the report ). A couple of stats jumped out at me. Apparently, we evangelicals think we have spiritual gifts of teaching (28%) but not many of us have the gift of hospitality (3%).

Hospitality means that people feel welcome and at ease around us. They sense that they can be real with us. You know people who have the gift of hospitality. They invite you in quickly and you feel oddly at ease.

I'm not a big believer in spiritual gifts assessment tests. I've taken several. My experience indicates that they are more an assessment of how you view yourself and what you like. I think the people around you can give you a better sense for your gifts than a fifty question test. Friends know you.

I recently gave one of these tests to a group in a bible study. Two individuals in the group scored very high in leadership. It was awkward when we shared our results. I sensed tension in the room and saw others look down at their papers or stare at the floor when each of these people shared their results. I quickly moved on and redirected the group knowing that no one was ready to confirm leadership gifts in these two. In fact, had we done an exercise to indentify who, out of this group, was the least likely to score high in leadership, I am confident that these two would have been the top vote getters. Each of them has other evident gifts but we don't see any evidence of leadership. Both are definite followers.

Barna's report can be read in a number of different ways. We can argue the results reflect the direction and focus of the American church which clearly values teaching. Or, we can argue that the Lord is preparing his church to teach. The second is an exciting possibility.

The thing that bothers me is that most of us don't pay much attention to teachers that fail to connect with us on a personal level. We're less likely to listen to someone who doesn't connect. We hear, "Blah, blah, blah..."

The world outside our doors looks on Christians with a skeptical eye. It feels like we look down long noses and point fingers and pass judgement. It knows we are ready for a fight because fights are usually the only place they see us. The world outside our doors is pretty sure that we don't care. It hears, "Blah, blah, blah."

Barna's report disturbs me. It makes me think we have focused so much on teaching and guarding our doctrines that we've turned away from relationships. When someone reports a gift of hospitality in our churches, it's pretty unlikely that we get very excited. In fact, we're not even sure what to do with them or how to get them involved. Gift of helps? Stuff these envelopes. Mercy? Hand out some food. Hospitality? Uhhhhh ... we'll get back to you.

The Bible is pretty clear that the defining characteristic for followers of Christ is that people looking in will know we are Christians by our love. Acts speaks of believers gathering together in each other's homes, having meals together and even selling their stuff to meet the urgent needs that came up for people in their group. Is that what defines us today?

Jesus called people by name and valued the tax collector and prostitute as much as the educated and wealthy. He welcomed children and offered hope to women. He touched the diseased. People from all walks of life followed Him and tuned in to what He had to say. He loved.

Think of how the world will change when more of us adopt a Jesus-style of living. I like His style.

In Mark 12 we see Jesus getting into some philisophical fun with one of the religious scholars. The scholar asks Him to boil everything down. He's like an accountant looking for the bottom line. The balance.

Jesus tells Him that God is everything ("The Lord is one") and thus worthy of all his prayer, passion, intelligence and energy. And then he gives the second part and tells the guy, "Love others as you love yourself."

The scholar praises Jesus for His direct answer and the way He communicates but Jesus tells him that he is "almost" there; that he's right on the edge of getting it. It's like Jesus sees that the scholar can connect intellectually but still doesn't get the bottom line. It's as though the scholar dances around the things of God but just doesn't hear the music. He can't feel the beat. He's out of rhythm.

In Mark 12:38-39 Jesus tells the people to "Watch out for the religion scholars. They love to walk around in academic gowns, preening in the radiance of public flattery, basking in prominent positions, sitting at the head table at every church function."

When we put up walls of status, position, wealth and education and see ourselves at a higher level than others, we miss the Jesus style I spoke of earlier. When we adopt an "us vs. them" mentality we fail to love others as we love ourselves. When we treat others as less, we do not represent Jesus.

We evangelicals apparently see ourselves as teachers. Imagine how our communities would change if we valued being lovers of God and others more than anything else.

Lord, make me a lover.

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http://tinyurl.com/dx7yla
Survey Describes the Spiritual Gifts That Christians Say They Have

Wallow in the Dust

2009-02-16T11:45:00.005-05:00

Three professors. Three approaches.

One professor is focused on details of format. He looks for mistakes in punctuation and subtracts points for margins not being set to the standard he wants though the college requires another. It keeps me from perfection. He seems to wield his red pen with joy.

A second professor requires rote memorization. It is important to him that I am able to demonstrate that I have ingested the writings of various authors. He wants detailed footnotes and requires very little original thought. It is actually easy to attain perfection in his class. All I need do is recite the answers he seeks. Some students don't like his approach at all. I suspect it's because they do not want to do the work required.

A third professor likes to have his students wrestle with concepts. His style encourages independent thought and personal discovery. He likes healthy debate and even goes to the point of making personal contacts. His grading style rewards conclusions, transparency and learning. His style compels me to go beyond the course syllabus and think about the concepts we discuss. My most significant challenge in his class is to limit my writings. I want to go deeper.

The first teacher frustrates me and makes me dread completing assignments. The second spoon-feeds me good information and gives me knowledge that will be helpful. The third shapes me and prepares me to apply knowledge. I make the A grade for each but the third has me seeing performance as a secondary issue at best. He ignites me. He is, in my estimation, a rabbi.

"Let your house be a gathering place for sages. And wallow in the dust of their feet. And drink in their words with gusto."
- Mishnah

Popular speaker/teacher Rob Bell says that a common well-wishing for someone in Jesus' day was to say, "May you be covered in the dust of your rabbi." While some debate if Bell is accurate, it is clear to me that there is historic validity for some dust-covering whether following or sitting at the feet of the teacher.

My third professor is a man I want to be around. I would like to hang with him, share time with him and talk with him in his car on a trip to the mall. I look forward to his contacts. When he recommends a book or podcast, I immediately set out to find it. If it were a dusty time I could see myself getting a good dose of his dust on my clothes.

The core of our interaction is predictable to anyone who knows how Jesus works. He has built a relationship with me. Beyond the education is a sense of care and concern. His words are supported by his actions. I would have no hesitation calling him about any issue I face whereas I would approach the other two only during business hours and only within the scopes of their courses.

It has been said that people will never care how much you know until they know how much you care. That is true of me.

I want to be like my professor-friend as I teach, as I pastor and as I lead. I want to reflect the heart of Christ which lets people know they are safe with me regardless of their questions or how much or little they know.

I want to be covered by the dust of my rabbi, the dust of Jesus Christ, and I pray that those in my ministries will find me to be a rabbi whose dust they desire.

Lord, make me such a man.

Standing at the Crossroads

2009-02-14T22:41:00.007-05:00

Jer. 6:16 "God's Message yet again: "Go stand at the crossroads and look around. Ask for directions to the old road, The tried and true road. Then take it. Discover the right route for your souls. But they said, 'Nothing doing. We aren't going that way." (The Message)

The flashing light above my head is yellow. I see three roads ahead of me and one road in my rearview mirror. Left? Right? Straight across? Do I turn around and head back to the road I know? The light flashes its yellow cautioning glow. Which way do I go?

The message is the same as it has been since humanity's clock took its very first ticks. It's the same old road, the ancient road, the road that is tried and true. It's the path that I was created to travel. It's the path that makes my soul complete when I faithfully follow.

Go on the ancient path; the path that reflects God's heart. I must walk the path not to build towers to bring myself fame and make my name known. I must travel the path not to advance my goals and my plans. The ancient road is a road that leads men to encounter God. It is a path that directs men to offer everything. It is a road that requires relinquishing life to discover Life. The ancient, tried and true road, brings men into relationship with God and shapes them in his image.

The road I live on is comfortable. My house is warm. My days are predictable. The Lord has blessed me. Yet, like Abram, I feel compelled to travel up the steep side of the mountain of the Lord to lay it all on the altar. My steps have grown more and more heavy as I have climbed. I wonder why the Lord would give me all that I have only to ask that I give it back. I have been trudging up this mountain path trusting in God but somewhat fearful of what may be required. Trust and fear appear oppositional. Faith wipes out fear. Yet, here I walk a path of faith with fear. My fear is that I will choose the wrong path - the path that is not the right route for my soul. The ancient road has no sign marking its entrance.

As it says in Jeremiah, I have to ask for directions. But, who do I ask? Perhaps I need to ask the friends who know me best. They know my pace, they are familiar with my stride and they know what keeps me moving forward. They know my strengths and my weaknesses. Will they confirm the right route for me?

The light clicks on and off overhead. I stand at the crossroads.

Disqualified from ministry

2009-02-09T12:57:00.002-05:00

My friend has been disqualified from ministry. His church deacons met and voted, at the insistence of parents in the congregation, to put him on the shelf. The pastor met with him and confronted him with the disqualifying findings. He sadly told my friend that while his passion for God was contagious and his vocal stand for his faith admirable, he would no longer be allowed to work with students.

Disqualified. Condemned. Thanks, but no thanks. Hit the road, Jack.

I think it broke the Father's heart. But, I am sure it's not my friend's "disqualifying" action that causes pain to the heart of God. I think it is the process - airing the charges, debating his worth and value and then directing the pastor to deliver the news.

My friend sat stunned. What had he done to deserve this? He had two piercings to his left ear.

No infidelity. No abuse. No embezzlement. No crime committed. Just two simple piercings. The month before he was fully qualified to lead. Now, two needle holes later, he was removed.

The pastor was in a tough spot. Faced with angry, influential, regular tithers demanding that this leader be removed, he was left with a choice. He could either side with the sandal-footed, twenty-something with his spiked hair and suffer a potential hit to the bottom line. Or he could side with the parent, remove the pierced one and risk only having a few kids upset.

From a business stance, it looks like a no-brainer. But what about from a Kingdom stance? I suspect the damage was much more substantial to the Kingdom and has the potential of sending another set of teenagers away shaking their heads in disbelief once the true reasons for dismissal work their way down to them.

What would I do as a pastor and leader in the same situation? I believe that grace-based, godly leadership requires us to do the right thing even when it leaves us unpopular. I would see myself working with the dad to help him see that his judgemental attitude was more cultural and subjective than scriptural. It would take some patient but firm direction. If it turned to Levitical proof texting, contextual discussion would be in order.

If that brought about no change, I am confident that I would stand in defense of the pierced man even if it meant my being unpopular with a set of parents or board members. If he and his family were to threaten to leave the church, I would express my regret at hearing the news but be clear that our church would not be in the position of choosing one brother over another in the family of God. We will bear with one another in love.

Lastly, as a pastor and leader, I think I would lose some sleep over this conflict not because I would worry about the outcome but instead because I would question how well I had been equipping those in my flock to truly love one another and put one anothers needs above our own. I suspect some sermons about living as the family of God would be sure to follow.

My friend is pretty disenfranchised with the church of Jesus at the moment. He is very hurt and wondering if there truly is something wrong with him that makes him unacceptable to God. Intellectually he knows the truth but spiritually, his soul is wounded.

I'm thinking that the next time we meet I will buy him lunch at the foodcourt in the mall. While we walk to the restaurants I may stop in at a store for a quick errand with him, without warning, and get my ear pierced with him standing by.

It's just an ear.

Mr. Social Justice, you confuse me

2009-01-26T16:57:00.006-05:00

"It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key." Winston Churchill

Mr. Social Justice, you confuse me. You talk of loving like Jesus. You turn your back on the church in disgust and throw up your hands judging it hypocritical. You blog about children trapped in human trafficking and you are quick to write "LOVE" on your arms in indelible ink. You adopt vegan lifestyles and march in front of chicken restaurants bringing attention to the inhumane treatment of animals.

I admire your convictions, Mr. Social Justice, but you do have me confused. You are angry at consumerism and the lavish lifestyles of Americans but you drop $20 on concert tickets and drive 200 miles to bang your head to the riffs of one band after another. You drop twenties for t-shirts, burlap patches and buttons that carry the slogans of your causes.

But all that is okay, Mr. Social Justice. That isn't what confuses me most. What confuses me most is that 1.3 million children have their lives ended each year in this country. More than 4,000 are terminated every day. Where is your outcry, Mr. Social Justice? Why do you consistently vote for candidates who promise to move to expand the practice of terminating life? Do you somehow believe the answer to our social ills is actually to kill human beings before they might be born into poverty? Why will you defend chickens and battle fishermen saying that all life is equal but you are surprisingly silent when it comes to defending the voiceless child in its mother's womb?

I truly do admire your determination, Mr. Social Justice. I admire your commitment to your causes. I join you in your fight to end human trafficking. I stand beside you in your efforts to bring clean water and mosquito nets to Africa. I am angry at evil men who put guns into the arms of children and march them into war.

But, you are a mystery to me, Mr. Social Justice. Why have you turned your backs on the voiceless in support of something called a "woman's right to choose?" Why do you fight greenhouse gasses and remain silent on abortion? Do you truly believe that the problem is that we have too many people on this planet and that the solution is to limit the population by ending human life?

Please, Mr. Social Justice, could you spare these children some room on your blog or a place on your bumper to speak up about ending abortion? Could you maybe write their names on your arms?

Please, Mr. Social Justice. Please be outraged.

http://rockforlife.org/

Hi Ho, Silver! Away!

2009-01-23T12:42:00.004-05:00

Is team leadership biblical?

Consider Moses. We see in Exodus that he was hesitant about leading. He recognized his human limitations and was wise to ask the Lord for companions to compensate in the areas where he saw shortcomings. And the Lord, rather than respond harshly and tell him to go it alone, provided leaders like Joshua and Caleb to help carry the load.

In Exodus 18, we see Moses' father-in-law, spending some time with him and concluding he is on burnout pace.

Allow me license to move pastor Moses forward to our present time. I picture his father-in-law meeting him at 6:30 am where Pastor Moses leads a study for men. Without much time given to conversation and sharing life with these men, Moses moves on at the prompting of his PDA to make his 9 am breakfast meeting with a local businessman who is considering membership in his church. By 10:30 AM Pastor Moses walks past his secretary into his office and sits behind his desk with its Post-It notes and to-do lists scattered about. It is not a minute later when his secretary walks in carrying her black book of deadlines and details asking if he has a moment. Thirty minutes later she finishes reminding him of appointments, meetings and people in hospital and heads back to her spot in the outter office.

"Is this a normal da-" Jethro's question is interupted by a beep on the phone and the secretary telling Moses that a deacon would like to know if he has "a moment" to discuss "an issue." He can't well turn away a deacon so he welcomes him in.

The moment turns into a half an hour in which his friend tells him of "a lot" of people who are considering leaving the church because "they" don't like the style of the new worship leader. He knew that Moses would want to know.

He has time to return two quick calls before the monthly lunch meeting with area pastors. Moses and Jethro head out the door running late. By 1:00 they sneak out the back of the room to head to the hospital to make three quick visits and then are back at the church by 2:30. As they walk through the office the secretary reminds Pastor Moses that his monthly letter for the newsletter has to be to her by 3:30 because she leaves at 4:00.

Moses sits at his keyboard and begins typing his article. He isn't fifteen minutes into the process when the beep on the phone brings the familiar voice telling him that the new worship leader is on the phone and would like to talk to him. Moses knows his worship leader has most likely gotten wind of "people" being unhappy with changes. He sighs and picks up the phone.

As he hangs up having one more fire put out, his secretary pokes her head in the door to tell him she is leaving for the day and tells him that the newsletter is on hold until he gets his letter done.

"Honey, I'm going to grab supper here tonight," he tells his wife on the phone. "I have to finish this article and then go to the deacons meeting tonight. Kiss the kids."

I can imagine Jethro calling timeout and being firm with his son in law. He sees that his work load is out of balance. In fact, while it is holding things together right now, his solo approach is limiting ministry and not allowing others to grow by leading. Jethro helps his son-in-law share the load by showing him how to delegate tasks and develop team systems to share leadership.

Here today, too many of us enjoy the ego-stoking thrill of being THE ONE who calls all the shots and makes all decisions. But, our human limits are far below what God desires to bring about through team leadership. Team leadership allows us time to connect, time to breathe, time to commune with God. Team leadership ensures that others share the load and have the opportunity to grow in their relationships with the Lord.

Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto.

Unplugged

2009-01-15T15:01:00.002-05:00

Several years ago, MTV experimented with inviting artists to appear "unplugged." No amps, no distortion, no giant productions ... all trappings were set aside in favor of simplicity. People were struck by the beauty of talent.

I just went unplugged for almost a month. I purposely disconnected my email, set away messages on my phone and broke my computer ties with the work world. It was beautiful. The electronic noise in my life faded away.

The electronic noise was replaced by other noises. Draining electronic noise gave way to rejuvenating conversations, relaxed schedules and laughter. The click of keyboards gone, my hands were freed for other things; human touch, board games and play.

Anxiety and racing heartbeats were put to death by afternoon naps. Wrestless nights were gone by day four and replaced by deep, renewing sleep.

I am a techie. I love gadgets. But I have gradually become a slave to electronic devices. Initially, they kept me connected to people. I love people. But somehow, these little connecting devices became tools of details and deadlines and grew into barriers that kept me from people. Instead of helping me in building relationships, these devices have become little more than pipelines for additional demands, administration and scheduling.

My unplugged experiment brought a major unexpected bonus. I found myself having running conversations with God. He surprised me by showing up beside me on amusement park benches in Orlando. I felt His arm around me while I walked around the pool and I shared numerous moments with Him where I sensed Him saying, "Breath deep, enjoy, look what I have given you."

Sabbath rest.

Unplug, my friend. Please don't answer my call. Feel free not to respond to my email immediately. Set aside times to unplug and sense God hanging with you.

Do you want to plant a church?

2008-12-16T11:06:00.006-05:00

"Do you want to plant a church?"

It's an odd question. It's akin to, "Do you want to open a McDonald's?" Or maybe, "Would you like to start a local chapter of The Lions Club?"

A friend and mentor lobbed the question my way. It came floating over my salad and struck me between the eyes. I had considered the question and wrestled with what God is planning for me but had not yet put my thoughts into words.

"Well, I know I don't want to build a building and raise up an organization that ends up adding responsibilities to burned out, overloaded people," I responded.

My mind bounced to the Scripture that says, "What does it benefit a man to gain the whole world and yet lose his soul?" I remembered reading that passage just a few days earlier and thinking, "What does it profit a man to build a giant church while losing intimacy with God? What does it profit a woman to be at church four nights a week doing God things while sacrificing sabbath rest with God."

My friend knows me well enough to recognize that my mind was processing. He remained silent and sipped his water while looking me straight in the eye.

"But it bugs me that the American 'church' (I made the quotation marks with my fingers as though I was Chris Farley on Saturday Night Live) has not even kept pace with population growth over the past three decades. It's like we sit in our comfortable pews and point a judgemental finger at the people who stay away and say, 'They have a problem. They are blind. They are selfish.'"

"Um hmmm," came the response as he took another bite of his sandwich.

My words were not able to keep up with my thoughts but I managed, "I think we have a problem, we are blind and we are selfish."

His smile made it clear that he saw right through me. Good friends have the ability to do that. "So, you've been thinking about this a lot, huh?"

He was right. Sleep has not come easy. Books and articles have been devoured. My prayers are constant and my eyes have become sensitive to those "outsiders." It is though God is giving me the ability to see us as they see us. And it hurts my heart.

I've been tossing and turning wondering how to love people as Christ would. How did he hang out with people and chat? How did he live that caused people to ask him questions? How do I live? How do we live?

"You still with me?"

My friend's voice made me snap back to our spot in our window booth. I laughed, apologized and looked at my untouched salad. "Yeah, barely," I chuckled.

"So, you don't want to plant a church?"

"No, I don't want to start another place that takes people from somewhere else. But, I do want
to build the church, if that makes any sense. I do want to do something that sets people free. I don't want to be a recruiter, ya know?"

I could see from my friend's puzzled expression that more was needed.

"It seems like we spend a lot of time recruiting people to come to this, come to that or join this group or that. We've got to recruit them because if numbers go down that makes giving go down and then when giving goes down, budgets get cut. Then you can't pay bills and people lose their jobs so you recruit harder to get the people to do what you need. It's like a vicious cycle. I don't want to be a recruiter. "

"Then what do you propose?"

I don't have the answer to that question yet. Now, two weeks past our lunch meeting, I have no answers of how to do what I want to do. Last night, I glanced at the clock at 12:59 AM and then returned to staring at the ceiling praying, "Lord, what are you doing with me? What do you want? What should I do? How do I do this? Where do I start?"

No booming voice ... no still small voice ... no direction-bringing dream... only an ache in my heart that "outsiders" come to see how very fond my Father is of all of us.

I looked at the clock again.

1:52 ...

The Christmas story ... at least what we've made of it

2008-12-15T10:39:00.003-05:00

Imagine that first Christmas ...

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

Future generations will add two to three family parties, two staff parties, three to four church programs, one school performance and days of shopping at crowded malls, fifty greeting cards, and at least one night of wrapping. Your children will go to practice upon practice to prepare for performances and you will watch them at school, at church and at civic events. You will sew costumes and rehearse lines. Your friends will host a dinner party or two to add to the festivities. And there will be lots of baking to do.

You'll cut down trees and hang pretty bobbles on the branches. You'll put giant, inflatables of a jolly bearded man in a red suit on your lawns. Also there will be a green, monsterish creature people will call a "grinch." And, much will be made of a deer with an illuminating nose.

People will sing songs about a "Silent Night" and a "Holy Night" and sing about peace while having no idea what true Peace is.

It will all be so much fun! People will borrow money to make it all happen. People will work as hard as they can to provide something called, "the perfect Christmas."

Elves, reindeer, snowmen, a baby in some straw, boughs with red berries and fa la la la lah. Yes! That is the miraculous "Good News" we've come out here to tell you about tonight. Pretty exciting, don't you think? People will even be rude to each other and God's people will get ticked at people who wish them "Happy Holidays." Most won't really care much if people know this Savior born today but it will be very important to them that people say, "Merry Christmas."

Now hurry off, you shepherds. Get down there to Bethlehem and find that baby. If you don't you're going to be messing up nativity scene pictures for all eternity! We can't even imagine Christmas plays without those little kids in bathrobes with towels over their heads! Go, go now.

We're burning out at a record pace

2008-12-01T19:56:00.007-05:00

I looked at the digital clock on my desk and saw the red numbers reading 12:04. My day had been backed up from the start when my stress level increased with each passing train car making me an additional ten seconds late for my nine o’clock appointment. My earlier breakfast meeting had been difficult to draw to a close despite having set two different audible alarms on my PDA. I arrived at my office at 9:10 apologizing for being tardy. In the middle of trying to get caught up on correspondence before an 11:00 commitment, an interuption came - someone's printer wasn't working. If technology is not doing what is promised, I am the first call in my office. In fact, I am the first call when my extended family sees the 'fatal error' screen. (Chances are, since you are online reading this blog, you are the resident computer guru in your circle too, right?) After a reboot, all is back on track and I try to get my train of thought back to where it was. Soon I notice the 12:04 signaling that I am late for our weekly staff lunch appointment. I look at my PDA with disappointment wondering where the customary reminder tone went.

Halfway to the restaurant I became painfully aware that I had spent yet another morning too busy to take care of even the most basic of physical needs. As we entered the restaurant I hurried to the restroom.

Dr. Richard A. Swenson, in his book Margin describes margin as “the space that once existed between ourselves and our limits.” I am operating outside the bounds of the personal constitution I wrote a number of years ago at a Franklin/Covey personal coaching seminar. My Christian values of desiring time with God, Sabbath rest, prayer and relationships with others have been pushed aside by what Covey calls the “urgent but unimportant” in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. The space between myself and my limits has disappeared. Has yours?

Swenson notes past generations’ bravery in the face of challenge and is careful to point out some key differences existing today that increase our stress levels. We travel faster, we tote computers and PDA’s to remain connected wherever we go, specialization drives us to achieve, debt and materialism undermine security, crowds surround us most everywhere we go and the exponential speed of change forces us to try to keep up.

I have had a few pivotal moments in life when I have had to face the fact that burnout is not God's plan, it is man's. Man is impressed by packed schedules and even elevates the insanely busy and declares them "hard-working" and "dedicated." We Christians outwardly scowl at the workaholic ideal but then hand out the accolades to those around us who work non-stop. We admire them. The man who says, "I am sorry, I just can't do any more" is seen as weak. Others gather to encourage him to press on, tell him how valuable he is and then say, "Hey, we've all got it tough."

Swenson echos the same counsel that doctors have been preaching for years. He demonstrates the consistent result of high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke and points out the weakened relationships in the marginless life. The institution gathers briefly to offer a few words and then quickly moves to fill the gaps and find the next person who will give their very lives for the cause. That cause can be anything from selling widgets to preaching the gospel of Jesus.

What? The church? Surely if any organization had the idea of the importance of Sabbath rest, balance and time for meaningful relationship, it would be the church, right? Wrong. Consider James Dobsons' newsletter article of 1998 where he wrote,

"Our surveys indicated that 80 percent of pastors and 84 percent of their spouses are discouraged or are dealing with depression. More than 40 percent of pastors and 47 percent of their spouses report that they are suffering from burnout, frantic schedules and unrealistic expectations. We estimate that approximately 1,500 pastors leave their assignments each month..."

Shouldn't we know better? In The Church You’ve Always Wanted by Wagner and Halliday, the authors devote a large portion of their work to encouraging leaders to buildchurch environments where believers are not exhausted by demands but instead find rest, peace and are re-energized. It is the same principle of margin that Swenson presents. The number of Christian books written on the topic would easily fill several bookshelves.

Swenson indentifies three major costs of progress saying we have suffered relationally, emotionally and spiritually. That is true of my life. Is it true of yours? The hectic pace of our days and the unrealistic demands of our jobs leave us angry and exhausted not wanting to spend time with people. Deadlines squeeze out exercise, bible study and prayer. Hobbies are shelved and relationships are stunted as we look at people as appointments and blocks of time.

What do we do? I am thanking God for pointing out the cause of my pain and am planning change (repentance) by trimming the time commitments that are standing in the way of relationships. We must trust the Lord to take care of us as we begin scheduling down time for life and relationship to happen. We have to budget our time and let our employers know our limits. When the piles continue to be pushed to our desks, we've got to leave them behind at the end of the day. If it doesn't get done in the 40 hours we have committed to working, we've got to let the chips fall where they may. If that's a pink slip, perhaps we need to trust our Father enough to thank Him. A termination is not terminal but burning out can be.

We've never heard tell of the man who, on his deathbed, says, "My only regret is that I did not spend more time at the office." Instead, we've all heard the wishes of our elders saying had they had everything to do over again, they would have spent more time in relationship. In fact, isn't that what Jesus is all about too?

When we don’t even have time to use the bathroom, something is very, very wrong.

Of splinters and logs, dust and planks

2008-11-21T13:02:00.005-05:00

This morning a follower of Christ told me of another follower of Christ who told her matter-of-factly, "I will be praying for your salvation." That sounded odd to me since I knew her salvation had already been purchased and that nothing could seperate her from the love of God. Apparently my sister was making some choices that my other sister did not approve of so she nonchalantly judged her "unsaved."

Why do we do that to each other? Why do we judge? Why can't we see the heart and character of God in the words of Jesus who gave us a hilarious word picture about judging each other? Jesus told his listeners that before they worried about picking a speck or splinter out of a friend's eye that they first should consider the "log" or "beam" in their own eye and deal with it. (Mt. 7:3)

Can you picture that? I can. Logs are big. Beams are heavy. They are bigger than splinters, bigger than branches, bigger than limbs. When you trip over a log, you know it. If someone asks you to pile up a bunch of logs you know it's a task that is going to require more than you can provide without help. I picture it as a guy spinning around with a 10 foot beam sticking straight out of his eyeball saying, "Woah, look at you, Loser! You've got a piece of sawdust in your eye. How can you not see that and do something about it!"

Why can't we see God's heart in this? Why can't we see that it hurts His heart when we pass judgement on our brothers and sisters? Why can't we trust the Holy Spirit to do His work and be there for our brothers and sisters and love them through the messy times of life? We tend to hang our shingles on Matthew 18 and want to speed right toward booting our brothers and sisters out of the family. We miss the heart of even that process which implies time and a goal of restoration. Think about it ... "if your brother sins..." What does that mean?

I've got to measure it and evaluate it against all of Scripture. Does it mean any sin? If someone speeds, tells an ugly woman she looks beautiful, smokes or eats too much do we form a brigade and go after all the sinners to get them to comply and then throw them out if the don't submit to our code? Maybe God's talking about "the biggies" here? What are "the biggies?" Why would Jesus say this and also give us the beam and speck analogy? I believe it's a concern thing. The process of Mt. 18 should be soaked with loving care and not be a cold, hard code of enforcement.

When I am tempted to start focusing on the choices of others and inflate them to disqualifing events that cost them their very salvation, I sin. I minimize the breadth and scope of my Rescuer's rescuing. I say that it's good but not good enough to cover this one. Not good enough. Not enough.

Life is messy. We all make bad choices. We all are fragile beings who choose sin. It's not helpful at all for me to start whacking my sister with the beam sticking out of my own eye to get her to see the speck, beam, or log in her own. The process is noisy and the result is a bloody mess where everyone ends up hurt.

Humility does not puff up and say curtly, "I will pray for your salvation!" Humility says, "I love you, I worry about you and I'm praying that you seek and trust our Father in this. I have no stones to throw."

In John 8 Jesus comes to the defense of a woman caught having sex with a guy who was not her husband. (That's probably "a biggie," huh?) Against all the religious leaders, he takes her side and tells them to consider their own sin. And then, when they all wander away speechless, he turns back to the woman who is probably stairing at the ground waiting to die and he says, "Who condemns you?" She looks around and see that all the guys with the beams sticking out of their eyes are gone. She's amazed. She's rescued. She's been saved. I think she leaves changed as Jesus tells her to go and live life differently.

"I will pray for your salvation."

"Please don't. Jesus already took care of that."

The language we use

2008-11-15T14:44:00.007-05:00

We go to the "sanctuary" to meet with God. We go to "church." We talk about "God's house" and tell children to be quiet and respectful in "God's house."

Those who stumble onto this blog hoping for answers will instead find lots of struggles and will probably leave with more questions than answers. My questions and struggles here reflect the process of my pursuing a graduate degree in Christian leadership. I find my Father allowing a good shaking that is going down to my roots.

Most recently I've been working on what seems to be a simple question, "What is the church?" I've been listening to the Psalms on my iPOD using The Bible Experience. I've been reading books about character, leadership, time management, integrity and marriage. I'm discovering my definitions are off. I'm discovering that my foundation has some pretty week stones that the Lord is gently crumbling and replacing. Some of those stones are represented in the language I have grown up with having spent my entire life in "church."

I realize it may sound like symantics, but bear with me for a moment. Jesus never talked about church as a destination. He never talked about it as a place. Instead he talked about church as something we are. It's a significant difference. It changes the way I think. I have spent thousands of hours in buildings that I have called "churches" over these last 45 years. Christians go to church, nonchristians don't. That was my conclusion. People will know we are Christians by our attendance at church, right?

Scriptures that stressed loving one another were all interpreted through my church lens. If Jesus told us to love one another that meant we were to love each other at church. The commandment to love God was to be fleshed out at church first and foremost. Even the commandment to remember a Sabbath rest was a cloaked directive to go to church. In fact, it seems to me that most of us in the church have reshaped Jesus' command to make disciples. Now it includes a general understanding that our greater goal to get them to come to church. "Lost sheep" now refers to people who have walked away from the church because to walk away from the church is to walk away from Jesus. Even the statistic that 90% of kids who grow up in the church walk away from it when they are in college betrays our bias. Are they walking away from Jesus or the institution?

Scripture teaches us that when we come to Christ we become part of the church regardless of whether we invest in an institution or not. The church is believers. The Lord is present in the church wherever believers happen to be.

Am I saying we should stop going to "church?" Yes. Instead the church (believers) should not give up gathering together to live life, share and discover the width and breadth of God's love. If an organization is filling our lives with more and more demands, adding to our burdens and making us weighed down so much that it zaps our energy and makes it impossible for us to live in the peace and rest that Jesus promised, we need to do whatever we can to get free to pursue Jesus. If an institution is using guilt or manipulation to get us to serve it, we need to step away. If we are using an institution to build ourselves up and convince others how much we are worth and how important we are, we need to recognize prideful motives and step away.

As a pastor, how often have I berated the people who show up, because of the people who don't? Do you know what I mean? I am guilty of spending time and effort in a bible study where the attendance was not large enough for me, sharply grilling those who came with, "Where is everybody?!?" I am guilty of attaching a higher level of significance and spiritual maturity to those who are "truly committed" enough to show up week after week. Maybe the truth was that some of those who stayed away were actually spiritually mature enough to recognize that their position in Christ did not hinge on getting to my study.

As a pastor, have I promoted the organism that feeds my needs, pays me and keeps me busy to a place where it is an idol? Do I serve the organization or Jesus? Do I equip people to operate as the church or do I promote a system that limits them and invites them into a codependant relationship? Do I work to convince them that they will fail away from our organization so that they will not leave? If they leave it will weaken our organization which needs their time and money to exist.

I want to do all I can to build the church, which is the people of God. I want the organizations I lead to free people and help them discover true community that exists outside the two hours we meet each Sunday. I want to provide a place where the church can gather, a place where the church can find resources and be refreshed. I want to provide a structure that is not much of a structure at all.

We have no sanctuary or holy of holies where God hangs out. Our building is not "God's house" and is no more special than the storefront on the corner or the corner table at Panera's.

I am the Eggman. I am the Walrus.Coo coo kachoo

2008-11-03T11:19:00.004-05:00

Nonsensical lyrics penned by John Lennon left people grappling for his message. What is the eggman? Who is the walrus? Is it "coo coo kachoo" or "goo goo ga jube," Humpty Dumpty's last line before he fell off the wall to his death?

I've always, right or wrong, interpretted the eggman and walrus to be the center of attention and the final authority in the song. The Eggman and Walrus were, in my mind, the key players that really mattered.

In my continuing studies of biblical leadership I've been given much to wrestle with. What is a true leader by biblical standards?

I've read the books advising pastors to take control and exercise "pastoral authority" in leading their congregation. I've read the advice to make sure my name is printed boldly and large across the top of my letterhead. I've scratched my head hearing advice to place my desk between myself and those who come into my office and to make sure that my chair is just a bit higher up than those who enter into my dwelling. Afterall, I am the Eggman, right?

Eugene Peterson, tongue in cheek, wrote in "Working the Angles" that he is convinced that he could take any high school graduate and make him an accepted pastor in today's church by providing a six-month intensive with a four course curriculum. Course 1, he says, would focus on creative plagiarism supplying the tools for speaking with wit an wisdom simply by following the outlines found in books or through online resources. Course 2 would focus on voice control for prayer and counseling to provide a "holy Joe intonation." Course 3 would provide tools for efficient office management to give the appearance of a tight ship. Lastly, course 4 would present image projection focusing on a half-dozen devices to create the impression that we are "terrifically busy and widely sought after for counsel by influential people."

Biblical leadership is very different from secular leadership. It has nothing to do with self-elevation techniques and everything to do with reputation. When Paul warmly greeted the Thessalonians in the first three chapters of his first letter we see intimacy, integrity, sincerity and a reputation that cause people to want to follow his leadership. When we read Psalm 15 we discover that God desires authenticity that is shown in action. He desires men and women who reflect His heart and character.

Peterson believes in what he calls "angles" of ministry. Preaching, teaching and administration are the visible lines to a triangle and the angles are prayer, study of Scripture and then spiritual direction that we give to others.

My spiritual gifts, according to a variety of assessments are leadership and administration followed by preaching and teaching and hospitality. That gift mix, I am told, is a solid mix for pastoral ministry. Honestly I wonder why things feel so frantic if I do have this supposed "right mix" for ministry?

I suspect Peterson is accurate when he explains the stress that comes in church climates that seem to, "do their best to fill our schedules with meetings and appointments so that there is time neither for solitude nor leisure to be before God, to ponder Scripture, to be unhurried with another person."

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