Sermon Prep

Today I am starting to dig deeper into the passage of scripture that I will preaching from this Sunday. In Process (our church plant) is currently going through the last seven words of Jesus as He hung from the cross leading up to His death. Last night Brian spoke on Luke 23:34, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

My passage is Luke 23:42, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." So I was reading and praying through the passage and I found this interesting take on Jesus' 2nd word from the cross.

Is it possible that the passage could the comma have been placed in the wrong place?

Our reading again:

I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.

Another possibility:

I tell you the truth today, you will be with me in paradise.


What do you think?

Lent 2010

I have been praying and thinking through Lent on ways to reconnect myself more fully with Jesus and other around me.

In the past I have given up one thing or another. One year I gave up coffee. That was a good idea and it was a bad idea. Yes, coffee is a huge distraction in my life that I need to have each and every morning. But eliminating coffee totally out of my diet caused incredible headaches and made me very cranky.

One year I gave up TV. I spent the entire Lenten season not watching TV. I love TV! Seriously! And TV demands too much of my time. When I cut TV time my reading time increased. It also increased my prayer time. But all I did was record all of my favorite shows so that I could catch up, for hours and hours, on Easter Sunday.

This year I decided to change the approach a bit and take Lent out of the box. I decided that I waste too much at Starbucks, so I will not shop at Starbucks for my favorite vente mocha and breakfast sandwich for the entire 40+ days. Each day during the week I will also eliminate another item, of the many, that are distractions and time wasters. My hope is that by doing these things I will better manage my time personally and my time with God.

Mondays are going to be Coffee Free Days. No coffee all day. I figure one day won’t kill me.

Tuesdays are going to be Internet Free Days. I will not be hanging out on the internet the entire day. No Facebook, no Twitter, No Google, No Amazon. The only thing I will do is periodically check my email.

Wednesdays are going to be Project Days. I will be devoting quality time to finish and start some project around the house. I have a ton of projects that I need to get moving on.

Thursdays are going to be TV Free Days. I am at work most of the day but instead of sitting in front of the TV, I will find some time to read and pray and just hang out with Monica.

Fridays are going to be Fast Food Free Days. I am seriously considering cutting fast food totally out of my diet like I doing with Starbucks for 40+ days. I spend too much and I am eating junk.

Saturdays are going to be Text Free Days. Simple enough, but I might include another social media fast day to go with it.

Sundays are days that are devoted to others and to God currently. I really don’t want to take away from the day and the enjoyment I am presently experiencing on Sundays.


What are you planning on doing for Lent this year?

T. S. Eliot wrote a poem about the journey of the Magi from the perspective of one the travelers. It describes the physical peril they faced but it clearly describes the testing and strengthening of their faith along the way. T.S. Eliot was on his own spiritual journey and had become a Christian. This was a man with a strong Buddhist and Hindu philosophical education.

Symbolism litters the poem and the imagery should remind us of Biblical references. The three trees that are mentioned represent Calvary and Jesus’ death on a cross. The white horse represents death. And with the tree, or cross of Calvary, death is sent galloping away. The vine leaves over the lintel represent the blood of the Passover lamb on the doorposts of as they escaped the angel of death. The vine represents Jesus, the true vine.

The Journey of the Magi

"A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter."
And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times we regretted
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
And running away, and wanting their liquor and women,
And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters,
And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly
And the villages dirty, and charging high prices.
A hard time we had of it.
At the end we preferred to travel all night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With the voices singing in our ears, saying
That this was all folly.

Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley,
Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation;
With a running stream and a water-mill beating the darkness,
And three trees on the low sky,
And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow.
Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel,
Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver,
And feet kicking the empty wine-skins.
But there was no information, and so we continued
And arrived at evening, not a moment too soon
Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory.

All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again,
but set down this
set down this:
were we lead all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I have seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.

I would love to hear what you think of the poem. What other symbolism you find and what it means to you.

Mary: Full of Grace

Last night I was given the honor of preaching to a group of people gathered at our church plant, In Process. My message centered on the message of Joy. I am not sure if it was the sermon of the century, truthfully I seriously doubt it. But it has made me stop in retrospect to contemplate the season of Advent.


The first week of Advent we listened to a message concerning Hope. And that despite the situation we may find ourselves in God hears His peoples’ cries. The problem is it requires us to wait on God. It is centered on God’s timing. I am not upset about the waiting, but I am thankful that God is listening and He will respond.


The second week of Advent we listened to a message concerning Peace. And that to truly know Peace, or Shalom requires a Divine Presence. Men and women throughout the scriptures sent by God with that special something, maybe the Spirit, answering God’s calling. They were the ones that brought Peace.


And that on some special day that no ones when exactly, a baby came into existence. This baby was the Divine and this baby was humanity. This baby came to save the world. The heavens opened and angels appeared to a group of hardworking migrant workers declaring, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”


Last night I spoke on Joy. For me a real joy comes with a smile and laughter. Real joy can bring a tear to our eye. Real joy changes the way we move, the way we walk or run, and even puts a skip in our step. Real joy causes us to sing and rejoice, remember the angels rejoicing to the shepherds? And real joy should make us dance. King David cries out to God, and when God responds David with a song and a dance (Psalm 5).


And I spoke on Mary and her virginal conception. How did it all happen? It is part of the mystery of a God bigger than me. I pray no one will ever be able to explain it. But what was Mary’s life after the birth of her son?


Did Mary ever get to experience Peace or Joy?


This baby boy represents the Hope people had been crying out for since the Fall of Adam and Eve. God promised that One would come. The angels rejoiced that Peace would now be on earth. God had come to save us.


Did Mary ever get to experience Peace or Joy?


When the angel Gabriel visits Mary and explains God’s plans to her Gabriel calls her “highly favored” or “full of grace.” I contemplated why Mary was given this title or new name. Maybe it was not because of something she did but because of something she was going to have to endure.


Poor Mary, I am sure, suffered ridicule. Everyone in her small village knew about her condition. They knew about this baby, conceived and born out of wedlock. But she loved this baby boy as any mother would.


And the toughest situation in Mary’s life was when she was an eye witness to the execution of her son. She was there as he breathed his last breathe. And as they laid his body to rest, she mourned as any mother would.


So, did Mary ever get to experience Peace or Joy? Truly this was a grace filled woman.

The Drum Major Instinct

Last Saturday our new church plant met under the new name of In Process. We decided on the name first because the church plant needed an identity, a name. Secondly, the name In Process was chosen because we are in the process of discovering how God will use this church. The name was also chosen because aren’t we all in the process of change, transformation into something new?

As we met last Saturday we spent some time reading through Acts 4:1-22. We were drawn to these verses because something new was happening. And as Peter and John were explaining the something new they were doing so in a familiar setting, The Temple. They were not discounting the old, they embraced the old while welcoming in the new.

But we discovered about Peter and John was that they were bold. Verse 13 reads, “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” These were ordinary, common men speaking in a way that commanded an audience.

The question asked to the group was, “When does someone qualify for the priesthood? What are the current qualifications?”

In the liturgical calendar this week is an important passage of scripture: Mark 10:35-45. It is the passage where James and John, the sons of Zebedee ask to sit at the powerful positions of Jesus’ left and right.

I was reading a sermon done by Dr Martin Luther King Jr called The Drum Major Instinct where he preaches from this passage.

I want you to see what Jesus was really saying. What was the answer that Jesus gave these men? It's very interesting. One would have thought that Jesus would have condemned them. One would have thought that Jesus would have said, "You are out of your place. You are selfish. Why would you raise such a question?"

But that isn't what Jesus did; he did something altogether different. He said in substance, "Oh, I see, you want to be first. You want to be great. You want to be important. You want to be significant. Well, you ought to be. If you're going to be my disciple, you must be." But he reordered priorities. And he said, "Yes, don't give up this instinct. It's a good instinct if you use it right. (Yes) It's a good instinct if you don't distort it and pervert it. Don't give it up. Keep feeling the need for being important. Keep feeling the need for being first. But I want you to be first in love. (Amen) I want you to be first in moral excellence. I want you to be first in generosity. That is what I want you to do."

And he transformed the situation by giving a new definition of greatness. And you know how he said it? He said, "Now brethren, I can't give you greatness. And really, I can't make you first." This is what Jesus said to James and John. "You must earn it. True greatness comes not by favoritism, but by fitness. And the right hand and the left are not mine to give, they belong to those who are prepared." (Amen)

And so Jesus gave us a new norm of greatness. If you want to be important—wonderful. If you want to be recognized—wonderful. If you want to be great—wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. (Amen) That's a new definition of greatness.

And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, (Everybody) because everybody can serve. (Amen) You don't have to have a college degree to serve. (All right) You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. (Amen) You only need a heart full of grace, (Yes, sir, Amen) a soul generated by love. (Yes) And you can be that servant.

I know a man—and I just want to talk about him a minute, and maybe you will discover who I'm talking about as I go down the way (Yeah) because he was a great one. And he just went about serving. He was born in an obscure village, (Yes, sir) the child of a poor peasant woman. And then he grew up in still another obscure village, where he worked as a carpenter until he was thirty years old. (Amen) Then for three years, he just got on his feet, and he was an itinerant preacher. And he went about doing some things. He didn't have much. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family. (Yes) He never owned a house. He never went to college. He never visited a big city. He never went two hundred miles from where he was born. He did none of the usual things that the world would associate with greatness. He had no credentials but himself.

He was only thirty-three when the tide of public opinion turned against him. They called him a rabble-rouser. They called him a troublemaker. They said he was an agitator. (Glory to God) He practiced civil disobedience; he broke injunctions. And so he was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. And the irony of it all is that his friends turned him over to them. (Amen) One of his closest friends denied him. Another of his friends turned him over to his enemies. And while he was dying, the people who killed him gambled for his clothing, the only possession that he had in the world. (Lord help him) When he was dead he was buried in a borrowed tomb, through the pity of a friend.

Nineteen centuries have come and gone and today he stands as the most influential figure that ever entered human history. All of the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned put together (Yes) have not affected the life of man on this earth (Amen) as much as that one solitary life. His name may be a familiar one. (Jesus) But today I can hear them talking about him. Every now and then somebody says, "He's King of Kings." (Yes) And again I can hear somebody saying, "He's Lord of Lords." Somewhere else I can hear somebody saying, "In Christ there is no East nor West." (Yes) And then they go on and talk about, "In Him there's no North and South, but one great Fellowship of Love throughout the whole wide world." He didn't have anything. (Amen) He just went around serving and doing good.

So the questions return to me as I consider Dr King’s sermon: “When does someone qualify for the priesthood? What are the current qualifications?”


Dr King finished his sermon with these words: Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. (Amen) Say that I was a drum major for peace. (Yes) I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. (Yes) I won't have any money to leave behind. I won't have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. (Amen) And that's all I want to say.

Scouting the Divine

Reading the Bible can be hard; rather understanding what the Bible says can be hard. There are so many obstacles to fully comprehending what we are reading. The Bible was translated into English but sometimes translating the words from Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek loses the meaning of the words. The Bible was written at a time when moral and cultural standards of living were vastly different than the ways we live our lives today. And then there is the metaphor. The Bible was written to a group of people that understood the various metaphors used throughout the scriptures. If the Paul would have written his epistles with football or baseball metaphors I would have been able to pick up quicker the message he was trying to communicate. If the parables of Jesus talked about computers or traffic on the freeway I would have had a deeper clarity of the stories.

But the Bible requires us to do a little bit of digging. We get a deeper understanding when we learn what the moral and cultural standards were. We understand more clearly when we know that there were different words for love in Greek but only one word in English. And what does it mean to be a sheep or a shepherd? What does a harvest look like? What is a land of milk and honey? Where does wine come from?

I have just completed Margaret Feinberg’s book “Scouting the Divine.” Margaret explores the language used in the Bible by visiting people who still raise sheep, farm, grow grapes and keep bees. Through her interactions with these people she gets a better comprehension of the stories found in the Bible. Margaret asks great questions and shares some amazing answers.

For me a land of milk and honey would be found in the grocery store that I manage or shop. If the milk box is stocked it is full and all the jars of honey can be found on aisle four.

Margaret shares her encounters in a series of chapters that allow us to listen in on the conversation. It is easy for us to be drawn into the setting and hear the voices and sounds surrounding her. We know what a lamb looks like and are pulled into the compassion she shares as a shepherdess calls her flock. We get a better understanding of a missing lamb. We learn that this a dirty but rewarding profession. Rather for the shepherdess is a way of life.

But Margaret does not just look at the metaphor for clarity she also looks for clarity on the message on how it should shape the ways we live. Even though she gets answers it leaves her, and the reader with more questions. What does it mean to give first fruits? What are my first fruits? Why allow the poor to glean? How should I look at the poor? How does pruning make us more fruitful? Why does it have to hurt?

I appreciate this book and know that it will be a gift that I share with many people.

The Great Banquet

Yesterday I had the opportunity to preach to the congregation. I really enjoy these times up front. I enjoy researching the passages I am preaching from and hopefully teaching something the congregation has never heard or considered. I work hard to not to be the pastor that starts a message with a story from a Chicken Soup book or a quirky joke. I share my personal experiences that relate to the passage or I bring people up front to share their experiences.


Yesterday I spoke on the Great Banquet (Luke 14:15-24). This is a very difficult passage to preach, especially if you share the parallel passage in Matthew 22 or share that there is a similar passage in the Gospel of Thomas. My emphasis was not on those that turned down the invitation, although it was necessary to demonstrate that it appears that everyone turned down the invitation, rather the emphasis was on inviting in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. It was not about inviting the “in crowd but the message is about inviting those that are on the outside.


Before Jesus told the parable he shared this bit of information on who to invite to your parties:

Luke 14:12-15 “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Here is where I think I dropped the ball.

I asked the congregation to look at all the empty chairs in the room and to visually pick a chair. I wanted them to notice that there was plenty of room, and as we gather to celebrate and worship God, who should we be inviting in. (My hope is that they remembered verse 12 and would not just invite friends and family)


I was criticized for presenting a self serving message that was only concerned with filling the place (church) with people. Now I know that I did present the idea that Jesus is relational, and that throughout the Gospel of Luke Jesus enjoys table fellowship with the religious folks and with sinners. I also shared that this same idea is communicated through the Old Testament. But as I am trying to reach people without a relationship with Jesus, let alone other Christians, I am going to have to choose my words more carefully. What got lost in translation?


The servant is told to go out into the streets and make people come in to the party, the word here in Greek is anagkazo or better translated compel. Unfortunately this translation and phrase helped the Inquisition to forcefully compel others into the faith, or risk losing their lives. My hope is that I communicated well that there is a sense of urgency but we must be able to communicate to others, in love, that Jesus desires to invite everyone into a relationship with Him and to enjoy His incredible party.

The Curse of 3?

First let me say that I love Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon and Michael Jackson. I loved Farrah’s poster as a boy in the 70’s. My brother had a poster on his wall that I thought she was pretty HOT! Ed had that great laugh every time Johnny Carson would tell a joke. He was the perfect sidekick. And Michael was pretty cool in the 70’s and 80’s. I even went to a Jackson concert with my wife Monica early on in our relationship.


But the purpose of this quick post is to ponder the Curse of 3. Do celebrities get freaked out when one of their own dies? There is this legend that celebrities die in threes. I personally think this is crazy talk. If that were true who picks which three die? Why were the three chosen, is there a merit system? Did God cause the Angel of Death or the Grim Reaper to swoop down and pluck three celebrities?


What are your thoughts and feelings of the Curse of 3? Is it real or not?

Top 10 Reasons Why Men Shouldn't Be Ordained

My partner in ministry, Tara Healy posted this on her Facebook. As we have been considering planting a church together it is funny, to the point of frustration, how many are against women in ministry. I hope you enjoy the list as much as I did.



I receive this in an email and thought "How darkly funny!" Although this list we may consider absurd, we however do not apply that same absurdity to the list of restrictions to the ordination of women, when often reasons such as this exist as reasons to exclude women from ordination. Perhaps someday the list that is given about the exclusion of women will be just as "darkly funny" as this list. Enjoy and discuss!


Top 10 Reasons Why Men Shouldn't Be Ordained:

10. A man's place is in the army.

9. For men who have children, their duties might distract them from the responsibilities of being a parent.

8. Their physical build indicates that men are more suited to tasks such as chopping down trees and wrestling mountain lions. It would be "unnatural" for them to do other forms of work.

7. Man was created before woman. It is therefore obvious that man was a prototype. Thus, they represent an experiment, rather than the crowning achievement of creation.

6. Men are too emotional to be priests or pastors. This is easily demonstrated by their conduct at football games and watching basketball tournaments.

5. Some men are handsome; they will distract women worshipers.

4. To be ordained pastor is to nurture the congregation. But this is not a traditional male role. Rather, throughout history, women have been considered to be not only more skilled than men at nurturing, but also more frequently attracted to it. This makes them the obvious choice for ordination.

3. Men are overly prone to violence. No really manly man wants to settle disputes by any means other than by fighting about it. Thus, they would be poor role models, as well as being dangerously unstable in positions of leadership.

2. Men can still be involved in church activities, even without being ordained. They can sweep paths, repair the church roof, change the oil in the church vans, and maybe even lead the singing on Father's Day. By confining themselves to such traditional male roles, they can still be vitally important in the life of the Church.

1. In the New Testament account, the person who betrayed Jesus was a man. Thus, his lack of faith and ensuing punishment stands as a symbol of the subordinated position that all men should take.

Kings

I am sure I have mentioned this numerous times but I love TV! Really! I love sitcoms, dramas, reality shows, games shows and even info-commercials. I cannot get enough TV! I thank God for allowing us the ability to create the DVR; my DVR can record four shows at any one time.

A new show was introduced to me last night: Kings. I was unsure what the show was about and really didn’t want to be sucked into another show, I watch too much TV already. I am thinking about seeking medical attention for this disorder. I saw the commercials for the show but didn’t pay much attention, who wants to watch a show about a modern king of a country similar to the USA? Not me!

But then I heard it was based on the Biblical narrative of King David. Really?

King Silas (Saul), whose last name is Benjamin is the current leader of the unified country of Gilboa. King Saul, a Benjamite, was the first king of the unified Israel, before Israel and Judah split.

The capital city of Gilboa is Shiloh. Gilboa is the mountain where Saul and his sons were killed, rather Saul committed suicide and fell on his own sword there.

Shiloh is mentioned throughout Joshua as the meeting and worshiping place of the Israelites. It was at this place where Samuel the prophet was raised.

The religious leader of Gilboa is a Reverend Samuels, think Samuel the prophet.

David Shepherd is the hero of the story, think King David, who was a shepherd. His father’s name is Jesse but he died in the unification war.

Reverend Samuels stopped by David’s family home with car problem. David fixed the problem and Rev. Samuels anointed David’s forehead.

King Silas’ son is Jack Benjamin. I am waiting to see the parallels to Jonathan. David saved Jack Benjamin, who was captured by the army of Gath, by destroying Goliath, a military tank. He used a rocket launcher rather than using a sling.

David didn’t wear his military uniform with the country’s insignia (a butterfly) because he couldn’t run it. This is very similar to David refusing to wear Saul’s armor into battle.

David falls in love with Michelle Benjamin, King Silas’ daughter. King Saul’s daughter’s name was Michal.

The butterfly is the national image of Gilboa. We are told that a group of butterflies encircled King Silas’ head and made a crown, signifying that he was to be king. At the end of last night’s show butterflies encircle David’s head and make a crown as King Silas watches.

Ok I am sucked into another show, I hope I have enough room on my DVR. If you don’t want to know what happens next, don’t read your Bible. But if you want to understand the story better I would suggest you read your Bible.

Lent 2009

Lent started this past Wednesday and as in years past I was contemplating what I should “give up” as I prepared my heart for Easter. In the past I have given up coffee, soda and even TV for the entire period of Lent. These items had a grip on me and it was good to acknowledge the grip they had on me, the problem was I focused on the grip and not on Jesus. As soon as Easter came I was quick to jump back into my old ways, I still drink coffee to excess. I still watch too much TV, is DVR of the devil? So this year I decided to approach Lent from a different angle.


This year for Lent I wanted to give things up but not so radically that I miss the focus: the death and resurrection of Jesus. So my plan is as follows.

During Lent I will be reading through the Gospels. Do you know that more is written in the Gospels about the resurrection of Jesus than His birth? Bible Gateway has a great reading plan that I am using.

On Tuesdays I am fasting. I am not a fan of fasting but I hoping to do some quality research on the benefits of fasting and focusing that day on how God supplies my daily needs. This day will also be a day devoted to a more intense prayer time.

Fridays I am not eating meat of any kind except fish. Now that may sound simple but think of all the ways that meat pops up in your daily life. Last night I enjoyed a grilled swordfish!

I will keep you updated on how I am progressing and what I am learning in the process. I am excited to see how God communicates this Lent. But maybe even more, I am excited to see how well I hear God this Lenten season. What are some things you doing or giving up for Lent?

Give it Away

Just got done watching the news and saw the video below. Imagine a church giving it all away.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Dr. Dobson Steps Aside

According to the Associated Press– Conservative evangelical leader James Dobson has resigned as chairman of Focus on the Family but will continue to play a prominent role at the organization he founded more than three decades ago.

Dobson notified the board of his decision Wednesday, and the 950 employees of the Colorado Springs, Colo.-based ministry were informed Friday morning at a monthly worship service, said Jim Daly, the group's president and chief executive officer.

Dobson, 72, will continue to host Focus on the Family's flagship radio program, write a monthly newsletter and speak out on moral issues, Daly said.

Now I know a lot of my conservative friends are grieving this announcement while many of my liberal friends are rejoicing. What do you think, is this the start of the end of this organization? Will their voice be heard (or listened to) in the future?

Legacy or Destiny

For some life is about leaving something behind, a way to be remembered by family and friends. For others it is about insuring that they will have lived the right life and maybe prayed the prayer to reach the pearly gates. But which is most important: the legacy or the destiny?


Legacy

Have you ever considered what people will say about you once you have died? Will I have done the things that God wanted me to do? Will I have been good to others around me? Will I be missed, or just forgotten? Will I leave anything that will help make my kid’s lives easier?

What about in the future, will I be remembered? Will there be a plaque commemorating some contribution I gave to society? Will I have a building named after me? Or will I just be another name in the Ellis book of genealogy on a family tree?

I have a great uncle, Rube Ellis who played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1909 to 1912. He also played for the some minor league teams before and after his major league career. I have a couple of his baseball cards and a large poster of one of his cards hanging in my office. One significant piece of history I know about my great uncle is that he played a game against Babe Ruth in Brea, California. The ball field was located where the Ralph’s on Imperial and Brea Blvd. is located today. Besides that ball game, his career stats and some family information I know little about my great uncle. But Rube’s memory lives on in some baseball books and web sites.


Destiny

Have you ever considered life after death? What happens next? Does your body just become worm food? What happens to your soul?

I have been considering the “what next” question. Maybe I should start with the “what first” question. Are we only living our lives in expectation of life after death? Is it just about getting to heaven? And if heaven is the goal why should I be concerned about the here and the now?

When I consider reaching a destination I think of the journey we find ourselves on. Half the fun of a road trip is the car ride. Reaching the destination is sometimes anticlimactic (consider the movie National Lampoon’s Vacation). But for the journey of “what next” I do not know if that is a destination we will see in our lifetime. But it should be a great road trip! Do not get me wrong there is a destination but it may be different than we have thought (read Revelation 21).


So, which is most important the legacy or the destiny?

Help Wanted?

This morning I saw this great picture on Brad Ruggles’ blog as he talked about the tensions that we are facing in this crazy economic time. Many churches and nonprofits (which I now can say I have worked for both) are cutting jobs or not replacing open positions. I have been out of work for the past four months and have been busy trying to land the right job in youth ministry. They have been very few openings that were right for me. It has been frustrating.


So today I have an interview with a retail grocery story. I spent almost 30 years in the grocery industry, and most all of those years in a management position. I really enjoyed those years in the store working with others and serving the needs of those that shopped in my store. Even though it is not a ministry job I looking forward to the possibility of returning to my former career.


This might not be a job where I plan all-nighters or pizza parties. This might not be the job where I create messy games or play egg blow. But this job is an opportunity to meet people, where they are, living out their daily lives. Working in a church sometimes limits our connection with those outside Christianity. It is my hope that I can land this job and connect with people inside and outside Christianity.


Please consider praying with me that God opens just the right door to just the right career.

Wish I was fitter

How you feeling today?

We ain’t seen anything yet!

Next Wednesday night Lost returns to TV and I am very excited. The past seasons have been the attempts of the castaways to get off the island. This season the Oceanic 6 are attempting to return to the Island. But the Island has disappeared and all that left the Island must return, but who does that really include? What about dead Locke?

In the Orange County Register today a columnist wrote that he has solved the mystery of Lost.

For me, the light bulb finally went on when Ben climbed down a ladder at Jacob's behest.

In Genesis, Jacob had a dream of a ladder that reached between heaven and Earth. The "Lost" island is a Jacob's Ladder for the post-Einstein world.

Rather than a ladder to heaven, it is a gateway to other dimensions, including the afterlife. Hence, the appearances of many dead people to the passengers, as well as the resurrections of Locke and others.

Jacob, as the ruling being of the Island, holds the key to the link between Earth and the extra-dimensional worlds.


Another thought I read was that the survivors are stuck between Heaven and Hell, with Jacob’s ladder being blocked somehow by Ben. Consider that Richard and the Others do not age, and no babies are born on the island.

It’s all amazing and who knows what will be the actual truth! All I know is that this season of Lost will be great! We ain’t seen anything yet!


In the Bible we read the story of Jacob’s dream and a vision of a ladder that reaches to Heaven.

Genesis 28:12 He (Jacob) had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

God appears to Jacob and gives Jacob a promise that includes land, descendants and continuing protection through all the wanderings that will follow and all peoples of the earth will be blessed through his descendants.

In the New Testament Philip encounters Jesus and he believes immediately that the Messiah has arrived. Philip tells Nathanael to come see Jesus of Nazareth. Nathanael responds, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”(John 1:46)

Later Jesus tells Nathanael "You shall see greater things than that. I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." (John 1:50c-51)

Encountering Jesus is life changing. We have an idea of what is in store for us but I really think that “We ain’t seen anything yet!”

Chastity, Marriage and Babies

In Mark Driscoll’s Blog today he talks about the Spiritual Discipline of Chastity. Now I will admit being married has helped me not worry too much about this topic. But there is a phenomenon happening in our culture (you know I love exploring cultural things) that has been shaping marriage, or rather when individuals get married.

Driscoll shares some interesting statistics:

Statistically in the U.S., the number of unmarried adults has continually increased, with 36 percent in 1970, 39 percent in 1980, 41 percent in 1990, and 44 percent in 2000. In 2006, for the first time in history, the number of unmarried people exceeded 50 percent of the adult population. Both men and women are waiting longer to marry for the first time; the median age for men went from 23 in 1950 to 27 in 2003, and the median age for women jumped from 20 to 25 in that same period.

But the other bit of information that Driscoll shares is that individuals are more sexually active at a younger age.

A 2006 report on NPR said that 80 percent of Americans are sexually active by the age of 20, and only 20 percent of women marry as virgins. Furthermore, cohabitation has increased 72 percent between 1990 and 2000, and the cohabitation rate increased ten-fold between 1960 and 2000. Fully 41 percent of Americans will cohabitate at some point during their life.

From a Reuters article in 2004 fewer teens were getting pregnant but more unwed women were having babies. 45% of all pregnancies were to unwed mothers. 12% of all pregnancies were to teenagers (compared to 15%in 1990).

So what does this all mean? Chap Clark in his book Hurt shares that adolescence continues longer in life than in past generations. For my generation you were fully out of adolescence by the time you reached 18. Today Clark states that there is a stage of life called post- adolescence which lasts for some individuals until they are 28. Is it an unwillingness to commit the issue? How does maturity play into this?

I am seeing more and more young people getting married later in life. I have had to encourage those that are living together and enjoying all the benefits of marriage to consider getting married. It was hard enough for my generation to attempt to stay virgins until 18, imagine the added difficulty to stay a virgin until 22, 25 or even 28. There are so many outside influences that work to destroy whatever foundation we have built into the lives of our sons and daughters. As a youth pastor it requires a renewed effort, filled with creativity, each year to share again the benefits of living a chaste life.

The Wind of Change

Yesterday I was reminded of the movie “Mary Poppins.” Now I know that you may be thinking “Why and how does Mary Poppins come up in everyday conversation?” In the story two children decide to write up their ideas on what would make a perfect nanny for them only to have their stern father tear up their list and throw it into the fireplace where a strange wind carries it up the chimney. The next day there is a change in the weather, the wind changes direction and blows all the unqualified nannies away. But the wind of change also brings in the most qualified nanny: Mary Poppins.

We live in a world that is changing, and for some this change is happening rapidly and is an unwelcome intruder threatening to take away safety and security. Many have been saving and investing in various money market accounts: CD’s, T Bills, property, stocks, and numerous others ways to grow their money. But many have lost the wealth they have stored up for themselves, money that would ensure a simpler life during retirement. The questions become, “Who do you trust, the bank or God?” and “Where are you storing your treasure?”


We live in a world that is changing, and getting smaller. We can connect with people around the world and talk to them in real time. Social media (Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and others) have created a world where our neighbor can be another continent away. We hear about the evils happening to people groups, sometimes even before the world’s media pick it up (example Dafur, Somli Pirates and the attacks in India). We can connect with our favorite author or musician and discover they are people with hopes and dreams, just like us. And we get to read, discover and share ideas and thoughts. How will we deal with the injustices around the world?


We live in a world that is changing. Next week Barrack Obama will be sworn in as our 44th president. 140 years ago the Civil War was ending and through the leadership of Abraham Lincoln, slavery was abolished. 100 years later our country faced civil unrest as African Americans fought for equal rights. That was 40 years ago. 40 years ago African Americans were given the right to vote. 40 years, a generation later, Barrack Obama is president. Isn’t it ironic that Inauguration Day is the day after Martin Luther King Day?


We live in a changing world. We can fight it, and sometimes we should, or we can support it.


Over 2,000 years ago a man was executed on a Roman cross, this in itself was not unusual and many in the Roman Empire faced a similar punishment. But this man was thought to be the savior of the world, but then he died. For his followers this death was unexpected, they believed he was the son of God, indestructible. But he died.


Most all of you know the story but three days after he was laid to rest in a tomb where he rose from the dead and was physically alive again. He beat death! This is the resurrection. I have been reading through N.T. Wright’s book “Surprised by Hope” and Wright explains that this unexpected resurrection was a culturally changing event. It changed history. Consider that in a very short period of time the day of worship changed from Saturday to Sunday.


Change is not new, we have all read our history books on movements and culture shifts, some have been good and some have been bad. But God is in charge of the wind and the wave, he is in control and he is allowing the winds of change to happen in our world.

Real Chicken Soup for the Soul, and the body!

The weather is cool and last night I made an amazing pot of homemade chicken soup. What I love about making this soup is that it is sooooo easy! And it costs so little to make so much. I bought a whole body chicken at Stater Bros for 49 cents a pound (around $3.50 for one chicken!). I had left over celery and carrots in my fridge but that would have cost me less than $2. I bought a bag of frozen carrots, $1.50 and 2 bags of frozen grandma noodles (taste homemade) for $2.99 a bag, this was my most expensive purchase. So for around $11 I made enough soup for two meals and I had extra chicken for sandwiches or whatever strikes our fancy.

The recipe:

Put one whole chicken in crock pot and fill to the top with water, add a couple stalks of celery and a couple carrots and one quartered brown onion, cook on high for about 5 or 6 hours (till done). Also add seasonings: salt, pepper bay leaf, etc.

Remove chicken and let cool. Once cool enough to handle remove chicken from bones. Throw away those bones! Store in fridge.

Strain the broth through a cheese cloth and a strainer

Store broth over night in fridge. Next day remove fat from the top of the broth and discard.

Heat broth, add chicken cut into pieces, carrots (I used frozen carrots), and grandma noodles (found in the freezer section of the store). Bring to boil then simmer till noodles are cooked and enjoy!

Tip: taste the broth if it doesn't have enough chicken flavor, add chicken bouillon and maybe more salt. If you do not have enough liquid add canned chicken broth.

enjoy!

New Book!

I have just started reading a new book I got for Christmas (thanks Michele!): Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church by N.T. Wright. Amazing book!

The book is filled with great insight into the hope we should focus on as we consider the resurrection. Are we just going to a better place? Where are we going and when will we get there? What is the impact of the Jesus' resurrection? What was the reaction of the disciples? What should my reaction be? How should it affect my life today, tomorrow?

What we say about death and resurrection gives shape and color to everything else. If we are not careful, we will offer merely a "hope" that is no longer a surprise, no longer able to transform lives and communities in the present, no longer generated by the resurrection of Jesus himself and looking forward to the promised new heaven and new earth.

Therefore Wright says it matters what we do in the present. It is not a future expectation but rather a life lived fully now.

Easter was when Hope in person surprised the world by coming forward into the present.

Peace Thought

I am nearly finished reading "Three Cups of Tea" and have been praying and thinking about Advent when I came across this incredible statement:

In times of war, you often hear leaders--Christian, Jewish and Muslim--saying, "God is on our side." But that isn't true. In war, God is on the side of the refugees, widows and orphans.

This kinda sums up my messages the past two weeks, God hears the cries of the oppressed, and He responds because God is active.

Books I am Reading

Lately I have had some free time to read, being unemployed affords you the time to read. It is funny that I heard on the news last night that more and more people are re-discovering the library. I know as my own economic situation worsens I will be buying less books and checking out more books from the library. APU Grad library here I come!

I just wanted to share what books I currently have been actively reading

Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace…One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson. This is an amazing story of a former mountain climber’s compassion for people. By accident he got lost on the trail down a mountain and ended up in a village here he warmly received and nourished. While spending time with the villagers he sees the need for education in this community, especially among the girls. So his story involves building schools in a country, Pakistan, where many would stay clear of.

The Wounded Healer by Henri M. Nouwen. This book is rocking me! I was encouraged to read it as I continue to deal with my own personal and spiritual healing. As I am reading through this book, which has now become my morning devotional, I see insight into our world today through the eyes of the writer written over 35 years ago.

Reimaging Church by Frank Viola. I am about half way through this book but it is getting increasingly harder and harder to read. I will finish it! The author believes that the church structure, including the building, has been lost through time. The first century church should be the model of the church today as we build community. I do not discount the home church model but wonder if we that model is the predominant choice. Is it too late? But what can we pull from the first century church and incorporate into our “traditional” churches today?

Planting Missional Churches: Planting a Church That’s Biblically Sound and Reaching People in Culture by Ed Stetzer. I have just started reading this book and I am very excited about it. It is a “how to” book but it is so much more, Stetzer discusses the need for church plants and why we should plant churches. Stetzer identifies problems in the church and gives solutions. Financial support, discipleship, denominational influences and other issues are all explored. I am looking forward to reading through this book.

As we are exploring the possibility of starting a church I am also revisiting some of my seminary books. Two of these books on my desk right now are:

The Open Church: How to Bring Back the Exciting Life of the First Century Church by James H. Ruiz

Shaped by God’s Heart: The Passion and Practices of Missional Churches by Milfred Minatrea

Peace Prayer

From the Common Book of Prayer
A Prayer for Social Justice

Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit
may so move every human heart,
that barriers which divide us may crumble,
suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease;
that our divisions being healed,
we may live in justice and peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

One Example of Peace on Earth

One definition of peace is an absence of war or conflict. I am not sure if I will ever see our world in a time without conflict, there always seems to be a war somewhere. But I do know that when Jesus came to earth as a man He brought peace. John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Peace on earth can be experienced, maybe not in the fullest sense we see in Isaiah 11:6-9 where predator will live peacefully with the prey.

As you consider aspects of peace read through the amazing story of a time of peace experienced on a battlefield many years ago. I am praying that a time of peace, regardless of how short, can be experienced on our many battlefields this Christmas.

The Christmas Truce

The truce began on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1914, when German troops began decorating the area around their trenches in the region of Ypres, Belgium, for Christmas. They began by placing candles on trees, then continued the celebration by singing Christmas carols, most notably Stille Nacht (Silent Night). The Scottish troops in the trenches across from them responded by singing English carols.

The two sides continued by shouting Christmas greetings to each other. Soon thereafter, there were calls for visits across the "No Man's Land" where small gifts were exchanged — whisky, jam, cigars, chocolate, and the like. The soldiers exchanged gifts, sometimes addresses, and drank together. The artillery in the region fell silent that night. The truce also allowed a breathing spell where recently-fallen soldiers could be brought back behind their lines by burial parties. Proper burials took place as soldiers from both sides mourned the dead together and paid their respects. At one funeral in No Man's Land, soldiers from both sides gathered and read a passage from the 23rd Psalm:

The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.




Article on The Christmas Truce came from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce

Another Nouwen Jem

He is confronted with not only with the elaborate and expense to save the life of one man through a heart transplantation, but also with the powerlessness of the world to help when thousands of people die from the lack of food.

Great Henri Nouwen Quote

I just started reading another amazing book by Henri Houwen, The Wounded Healer. I only on page 8 and came across this great quote:

When man's historical consciousness is broken the whole Christian message seems like a lecture about the great pioneers to a boy on an acid trip.

I am excited to get deeper into the book. Thanks Anne Jackson for recommending this book. Please check out Anne's new book Mad Church Disease coming out soon, there is a free chapter available to read.

Hope vs Hopelessness

The message of the first week of Advent is HOPE. Hope is the desire for something with the possibility of, or belief in, its realization. Hope must have a goal. Hope is foundational and based in truth; otherwise, our hopes are just daydreams or fantasies. Hope involves our belief that what we hope for can be accomplished.


But maybe the best way to understand hope is to compare it to hopelessness.


We live in a world filled with guilt, shame, fear, loneliness, anger, sadness and oppression. Hopelessness is suicide, abortion and divorce. Hopelessness is bigotry, hatred, violence and murder. Hopelessness is hunger, poverty, sickness and death.


Feelings of hopelessness overcome us as we lose all out material objects. Sometimes this happens through natural disasters like floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados and fire. I have a friend that is sifting through the ashes of his home that burned to the ground looking for anything of value, any memory, or any heirloom. Hope comes from the ashes.


To take residence in hopelessness is to live without Christ. The sign above the entrance to Dante’s hell says, “Abandon hope all you who enter here.” For Dante, hell is a place with no hope. Enter hell and give up hope. Hell is the place of hopelessness.


Hope has history. If we look at our Bible we see a story, a history of God trying to reconnect with His people. Creation could have just rolled over and died by living in hopelessness. But it didn’t, there has always been hope.


Hope and faith are cousins, they are related.
Jesus Christ is our hope, and we place our faith in Jesus

Hope has a past
Hope is present
Hope has a future


"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness" (Lam. 3:21-23).

Advent Week 1 Hope

While preparing for my message on hope this past Sunday I happened upon an incredible article titled "African American Advent and Christmas Spirituals" by Melva Wilson Costen. Although Melva was writing to an African American situtation, the opening paragraph speaks volume to conditions throughout the world today.



Waiting, expectantly and patiently waiting, for one who has already come. Waiting, hopefully waiting, in anticipation of the promised peace and justice in a world overwhelmed with injustices of all kinds. Longing, waiting, yearning, and simultaneously rejoicing that the Prince of Peace has appeared and is to be remembered in a special way. Preparing to receive again the ultimate gift from God - Emmanuel -God with us. This is Advent.


The four weeks leading up to Christmas is called Advent. Advent means coming or arrival. Advent is marked by a spirit of expectation, of anticipation, of preparation, of longing. There is a yearning for deliverance from the evils of the world, first expressed by Israelite slaves in Egypt as they cried out from their bitter oppression. It is the cry of those who have experienced the tyranny of injustice in a world under the curse of sin, and yet who have hope of deliverance by a God who has heard the cries of oppressed slaves and brought deliverance! Jesus’ coming to earth was a history changing and a life changing event for a group of oppressed people 2000 years ago. But it is just as significant for our culture today as we continue to be prepared for the day when Jesus comes again. This is Advent.


"Christ has come! Christ has risen! Christ will come again!"

Isaiah 61:1-4 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion--to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.

Light of The World

I was doing a little exploring on the internet and I found this amazing light switch plate. I think I have something to add to my Christmas list (ebay doesn't have one!).

Christ and a Coke

Product placement is important. Because of the economic situation this year many churches have had to look for corporate sponsorship.

What if Starbucks Marketed Like a Church-A Parable

Check out this great video. Maybe your church is like this.




Thanks Len Sweet and Rick Chromey for video!

I Have a Dream

Let me repeat the last words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's amazing speech

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Hope

I am a child of the 60’s, I have seen change. I have seen people struggling to be heard. I have seen people oppressed. I have seen walls of division. I have seen triumphs and victories, and I have seen tears and loss. But along the way I have seen visions of hope.


I have seen a Catholic man become President and give a nation hope

I have seen his brother run for President along side of people of color to give hope

I have seen an African American with a dream give millions of people with color hope

I have seen the right to vote given to all people to have a voice and a hope

I have seen an African American woman refuse to give her seat on a bus and give others hope

I have seen women gain equality and have given their sisters hope

I have seen a Hispanic man rally to give farm workers hope

I have seen a man walk on the moon and give a world a sense of hope

I saw history last night as an African American became President with the promise of hope to all people. May we all come together as brothers and sisters with a common dream and a common hope.

Ron Howard Campaigns for Obama

Check out this video of Ron Howard showing his support for Barrack Obama

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

Halloween Thoughts

When I was younger I looked forward to Halloween. Mom always made our costumes, although there were a few years when we bought costumes. I remember being a clown, a ghost, a hobo or even Batman. It was great to dress up. When I became a dad I remember taking my daughters out in their own costumes. They would dress up as princesses and cheerleaders. Like I did many years before, we would go door to door collecting candy from our neighbors. The neighbors got such a big kick out of seeing the girls in their costumes. Our closest neighbors gave them extra candy or a special gift purchased just for them.

As I am considering Halloween I am wondering if our Christian attempt to take over Halloween has done it a disservice. Churches open up their campuses on Halloween night to offer a safe alternative; some call it Harvest Festival or a Pumpkin Party. But consider for a moment if Halloween has ever really been unsafe.

How many news reports have we seen or read about tainted candy given to kids by some crazy? How many kids have become followers of Satan because of Halloween?

Now I have had many good times at Harvest Festivals and Pumpkin Parties at many churches. We open this night to the community to come and enjoy a safe night of Trick or Treat at church. We desire that this night would be an outreach event to a lost world. But I wonder if most of the people coming to our Harvest Festivals and Pumpkin Parties are not just other Christians. Have churches missed the mark?

Here is my thought, for what it is worth: cancel church sponsored Halloween. Instead, encourage the congregation to go door to door with their kids and meet their neighbors. Get excited to greet every kid that Trick or Treats at your door. Don’t give out tracks! Spend some money on candy and be generous! Think about it, your neighbors are coming to your door, it is a natural ice breaker. This is a night to build relationships.

Fear Filled Election

I know we probably don’t need another response to the election but I have some thoughts. There is a letter being circulated throughout the web predicting what the US will look like in 2012 (Letter from 2012 in Obama’s America) if Barack Obama is elected president. There are many people who are seriously fearful of the outcome of this coming election. Negative campaigning suggests there is only one choice, the right choice. If that wrong individual or proposition gets elected or passed the world is going to fall apart and you will lose your freedoms because of your wrong choice. You were warned!

Please do not let fear dictate who you vote for. Be intelligent, research the candidates and their running mates.

Do you know there are good Christian Republicans and good Christian Democrats? Maybe you have been told Christians only vote for Republicans. Therefore if you vote for a Democrat you must not be a Christian.

Do you know we have had bad Republican Presidents and bad Democratic Presidents and we have had great Republican and great Democratic Presidents? Some of these bad presidents also claimed to be Christians.

Bottom line: when we consider the teachings of Jesus where does love play out in the political process. Isn’t love Christ’s vision statement? If so, every issue and every candidate should be measured by their capacity to love and to share that love with neighbor. Our neighbors are poor and rich, black and white. Our neighbor can be across the street or across the world. Maybe 1 Corinthians 13 needs to be read again.

Institution or Relationship

When I think of the word institution I think of a building or an organization. It is a place or a set of beliefs that are governed safely from inside. If you are not following the rules of the institution you can be considered unsafe and risk expulsion. Institutions have rules and regulations that help the members know what is expected from the members of the organization. Institutions protect, sometimes forcefully, those on the inside from those on the outside.

Institutions have a hierarchy that puts individuals in roles of leadership over others. Institutions are concerned with the membership of the organization from the top down with little resources for those outside the institution. The rules of the institution are generally established and enforced by those in leadership of the institution.

Occasionally institutions may feel attacked. These attacks can come from its own organization but most time these attacks come from outside the walls of the institution. In answer to these attacks strategies must be implemented to shore up the institution to demonstrate stability and strength.

As I was reading the book The Shack, Mack asks Jesus for his thoughts on the institution of marriage. Jesus responds, “Marriage is not an institution. It is a relationship.” So what is a relationship?

A relationship is the connectedness of two or more people. We are related to others through blood, like interests, affections, race, religion and nationality. For some this relationship involves a deep affection for another that leads to marriage. For some their relationship with God compels them to love others, outside themselves. A relationship is alive. It is not bound by hierarchy or rules. It should be impossible to expel one from the relationship because of infractions.

At the core of all relationships is love. At the core of all institutions is survival.

So when I consider my life and all the shortcomings that I bring into the world, I desire to be surrounded by individuals in a relationship who love me in spite of my sinfulness. Jesus tore down many walls to bring us into a relationship with Him. Walls keep people out, relationships allow people in. Maybe that is why Jesus knocks at a door and calls Himself a gate.

So the bigger question; “Is church an institution or a relationship?”

Reflections from Mr. Blue Jay

In our busy lives we sometimes miss the little things and it is wild how these little things are so easily missed, especially if we are so busy being spun by the world. Every morning, around 8 or 9 a Blue Jay comes and visits us. Mr. Blue Jay (Monica named him) will land on my patio furniture and help himself to some peanuts we have put out for him. I am not sure if he loves salted and roasted peanuts better than raw peanuts or unsalted peanuts, I happen to like salted and roasted peanuts so that is what I buy. On some mornings we will forget to put out the peanuts and Mr. Blue Jay has no problem letting us know. If I am reading I will hear his squawking and I must get up or if Monica is watching the news she must get up, but Mr. Blue Jay needs his peanuts. Life stops for Mr. Blue Jay until we meet his needs. Some mornings Mr. Blue Jay will come and watch me put the peanuts out for him, but from a safe distance, he doesn’t like to get too close. I am hoping that some day he will allow me to drink coffee in the backyard as he gets his peanuts. He doesn’t eat the peanuts right away but rather goes and hides them throughout the yard storing them for another day. I think he likes them soft and mushy, gross. In a world that seems to be spinning faster and faster everyday it is great to be able to stop. And just because we stop, the spinning and the spinning of the world and everything in it doesn’t end, life continues even when we take a time out. I pray that God allows you the opportunity to stop and connect with His creation and to spend less time being endlessly spun.

The Better Debate

My buddy Robert Gonzalez found this awesome video!

24 Hours of TBN?

I found this interesting, 24 hours straight of TBN! Can you imagine? I am not sure even Jack Bauer could handle it.

On a weekend in last November Nadia Bolz-Weber (and 28 of her friends who signed up for an hour each) watched 24 consecutive hours of Trinity Broadcasting Network, the cable network which broadcasts the likes of Benny Hinn, Crefllo Dollar, Joyce Meyer and other prosperity preachers. To read an excerpt from her upcoming book on the experience—Salvation on the Small Screen? 24 Hours of Christian Television (Seabury, 2008), go to the Emergent Village.

I'd love to hear how you would do watching 24 hours of TBN

Student vs Youth

I have taken the past month off from writing anything on this blog, but amazingly it still gets some significant hits everyday. That encourages me to continue to write more about how God is using me and what I am learning through His word, through my relationships and through our intimate times of prayer.

Yesterday I received an email newsletter from Group Magazine. I appreciate Group Magazine and the folks who put it all together for youth workers around the world. It is a great resource. In the editoral column Rick Lawrence allowed Christian Smith (author of the book Soul Searching, which I strongly recommend that all youth pastors have on their book shelves) to write the column. In the column Christian Smith asks that student ministry return the label of youth ministry. Along with that students would be called youth and student pastors would be youth pastors.

His arguments in favor of this are that some of the students we work with are no longer in fact students, there may be teenagers in our high school groups that have dropped out of school, therefore they are not students. Another point he makes is what about home-schoolers who are not students in the traditional sense where do they fall?

He concludes with a plea to "Christian youth workers all over the country (you!) to change your “shaping” language—to use language that honors teenagers as whole human persons in God’s kingdom. Please stop calling teenagers students, and ask everyone around you to do the same."

I understand Christian Smith’s concern about how we address our groups. For years I rallied the adults in my church to consider changing their labeling of the kids (their language) to students (my language). These individuals were in the midst of life change as they left children’s ministry and entered into student ministry, especially in light of middle school ministry. Considering what Christian Smith says, our youth groups of middle school and high school are groups of students, they all attend school. For me I see little need to change the language for these groups.

But as I look at college ministries I understand that the language falls short. In college and career groups we do need to examine the language we use to call our groups. Calling this group “youth” falls short, similar to the change we see as an individual moves from children’s ministry into middle school ministry. I agree that calling this group “students” falls short too since many may not be attending school any longer. I also have concerns with labeling this group as “young adults” because this seems to convey a sense of less than a “real” adult. Isn’t that some of the same issues many are feeling in their churches currently?

I do not profess to have the answer. But what I do know is that as we lay out these arguments for and against a specific label we are showing that there are divisions in our churches. If you are at a certain age you are here or there, but few churches move beyond this to encourage all groups to come together in worship. While the children’s ministry and the student ministry are having their group time, adults are gathered for their group time. There is disconnect. Many college and career groups meet separately on Saturday or Sunday night, these individuals may help with student ministry but they do not meet with congregation. There is still disconnect from the gathered body of the church.

I am reminded of Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 12:14; 24-25 the body is not made up of one part but of many. (24-25) But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

Let’s consider ways to unite the many parts of the church into one body.

Women in Leadership?

One of my favorite authors is Margaret Feinberg. last year I read her book "Organic God" and fell in love with the words she wrote. I strongly recommend it, I am looking forward to reading her latest book, "The Sacred Echo."

Margaret lives in Alaska and has given some insight on Sarah Palin from her Facebook page. It is probably because of this insight that she was asked to be interviewed on CNN along with Rev. Voddie Baucham. The interview turned to the role of women in leadership in the church. Watch this video and tell me your thoughts.

How to be a Man: Pee on a Wall

I found this amazing video on Youtube, I know sometimes I am there way too much! But it is fun! I am preaching in Oklahoma for Father's Day, maybe this is my message.

Tell me what you think!

Tony Jones Video

I hope all my pastoral friends will take the time to watch this incredible video by Tony Jones, one of my favorite bloggers and an amazing author. I would love to hear your thoughts...

The Shape of Things to Come

I am excited! Lost is back next Thursday night! I have been enjoying my Thursday nights watching Lost with a group of friends. It is fun to watch others reactions to the twists that each episode brings. Thank God for DVR! We can rewind to see if we missed something, especially when the group screams.

The next episode is called "The Shape of Things to Come." Great title! But I found out it the name of an H.G. Wells book. And you know how the writers love to use books in the plot lines. This novel was based around the prophetic dreams of a doctor that come true. In the novel these visions were written down in 1930 and the book later found in 2010. Kinda like a flash back!

Guess I have some time to do some more research on this book and maybe find the movie.

I can't wait!!!!!!!

The Sound of Silence

I was looking for a video to go with the Simon and Garfunkel song, "The Sound of Silence" and found this great video. Enjoy!

Sunday Mornings

One of my pleasures each Sunday morning is to watch CBS News Sunday Morning. It is a fresh show that has been on for many, many years. This is not a show that is going to give you the latest dirt on celebrities but rather we see the good in people. If you want to wake up and start a day feeling good about the world and the people that inhabit it I highly recommend this show.

This past Sunday two topics were discussed: The Peace Sign and Lenny Kravitz.

I did not realize that the Peace Sign is 50 years old this year. It has always been a symbol that I have been familiar with growing up along with the raising of two fingers. The hippie movement helped display this non-copy righted symbol for everyone to see in the art, their clothing and their desired ay of life.

I remember growing up during the Cold War when people were afraid of The Bomb. A movement started to disarm the world of their nuclear bombs. The Peace Sign is the combination of two symbols for N and D: Nuclear Disarmament. During the 60’s we would hold monthly bomb drills in our school classrooms. We would get under our desks and wait for the all clear sound. Thinking back I wonder how much protection my desk offered in case of a real nuclear bomb being dropped nearby.

I do not know if we will ever see, in our lifetime, a time where the world is free from conflict or war. But I do know that we can experience a time of personal inner peace, or shalom, through our relationship with Jesus. It is through this relationship that we can rely fully on Him to guide and leads us because He is our King.

May the movement to achieve peace never die. And many those seeking peace discover it.

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.


I always liked Lenny Kravitz’s music. But Sunday I got to see another side to this man, I like him even more.

Through the interview process we learn that he is the son of a very mixed marriage. His mom is black and his dad is white. His mom is Christian and his dad is Jewish. He says that he identifies himself as a follower of Jesus, but he did not discount his Jewishness. The diversity of growing up in this household must have been rich. In his homes he displays a large portrait of his late mother.

But then the topic of celibacy was mentioned. It turns out that Lenny is 3 years into a promised celibacy until he finds his perfect mate. Wow! This sex symbol is celibate, my wife thinks he is even hotter now. It is my hope that others will ear about this celibacy and embrace it and not belittle it. I can imagine a future marriage for Lenny Kravitz that is based on love and not on a physical feeling.

Christvertising: Selling in the Name of the Lord

I was cruising the web and catching up on my blog readings when I found this amazing link posted by Robin Dugall to Christvertising. This “unique” web site uses the power of prayer to help you sell your brand, they call it Brand-Targeted Prayer (BTP).

It makes me laugh and cry. I hope it is the best prank ever produced. And if it is a prank what does that say about Christian marketing? If you happen upon the site please look through Who, What, Why, How and Where sections.



Some of the sales slogans from their web site include:

Christvertising takes a whole new approach to marketing your brand. We skip the strategic deliverables. We pass on the matrixes, the payoffs and the metrics. We ignore any viral functionality. We focus on the ultimate end-user: God…

…If God loves your brand, it will become stronger and more successful.

We skip the strategic deliverables. We pass on the matrices, the payoffs and the metrics. We ignore any viral functionality. We focus on the ultimate end-user: God

But the company does offer a wide variety of refreshments.

And just when I thought I saw enough I find this video on YouTube informing us of a new service with Christvertising they are offering in light of Easter called TBR: Targeted Brand Resurrection.