Exodus Bible Study

Wednesday Nights at St. Matthew (starting Sept 5; 6:30 to 8:15) we'll be doing a mass Bible Study on the book of Exodus. I want as many of you to know about this as possible. Everyone is welcome to go deeper in the Bible and particularly the incredible EXODUS account.

There is a registration form with more information HERE. Feel free to hit me up with any questions by posting a comment.

Hope you can make it!

In a Hurry

I live far too much of my life hurrying, sound familiar?

About a week ago though, there was an "incident" that a friend brought to my attention that made me stop and think about it all, especially as it relates to my hurry with God.

At St. Matthew (in our sanctuary worship services) we've got this quirk where at the end of the service people start running out the doors into the lobby, right as the final note of the closing song is being played. We don't do an "amen" or even the sacred pause like some of our more traditional counterparts do. The song is over and we run on to the next thing. Last week our new awesome Minister of Worship (aka Thomas Czinder) threw a curve ball to us, he repeated the final chorus of the closing song... and the bulletin didn't even say to do it, it was one of those free-flowing, let's get crazy and break all the rules, worship moments ;) But it didn't go over too well with the congregation. As one observer put it,

"People were stuck. They were half way out of their pews, and there was a whole other chorus to go. Some were embarrassed, set their things down quickly and started singing again. Some were confused and just stood wherever they were statue-like. And some were visibly indignant."

What's our hurry? Why is a 65 minute worship service intolerably long for so many of us? Are we really that overscheduled that we've even got important appointments at 11:57am on a Sunday? Perhaps this is part of the reason that the OT hebrews were so crazy about preserving the entire sabbath, because they were hoping for ONE DAY that people would slow down enough to not rush through the most important encounter of their week. Maybe this will help us all think a little bit more about how we approach that sacred "hour on Sunday"

It got me thinking for sure, about my own hurry. After all, Sunday is a big workday for me. When I end one worship service I'm off to the next thing. In some of our services I have to leave before one service is over to go to another part of our facility to preach at another! I am the FIRST ONE out of the sanctuary each and every week. I start the exodus from the worship area during the last verse of the closing song. So as one of the leaders, I'm going to try to slow down a bit too. Maybe that means I'll actually stay up front until the service is actually OVER before I head to the back to shake hands. Maybe that means that some weeks I won't rush to the back at all but will linger for a few moments in the richness of God's presence, love, mercy, and strength.

For those of you who go to St. Matthew (and those who don't) it's time for change, an internal change that banishes hurry from our worship experience so God can actually have his way with us. Let's not just say such things, or sing such things, but let's actually pause long enough to let God DO such things. Amen? (now you're free to run off to the next thing)

The Violence of Religion?

CAUTION: This post isn't meant to be a "rah-rah" session for Christians who want to bash the rest of the world. My goal is to get us all to think a little bit more.

Over the last few years, much has been said about bloodshed in the world being the fault of "religions" of "the religious." Most recently Richard Dawkins has blamed the violence of our modern world on those who adhere to various world faiths. He seems to imply that those who are prone to religious belief are more likely to commit atrocities (Watch a Dawkins interview )

A couple of things are VERY interesting to me about Dawkins and what he says. First note how he defines faith. He is defining it in order to deliberately bias the word. His assertion that faith is always blind or is the adherence to something in the absence of any evidence is unfair. Of all the definitions of faith listed in the dictionary (which is also not exhaustive) Dawkins narrows in on the one that best suits his own agenda. We all do this, no doubt, just calling him out.

Speaking personally, my faith is NOT totally blind. In fact to disbelieve what I now hold to be true, i would have to close my eyes to many phenomena, coincidences, and open-questions that are a part of what makes me believe.

Of course I also object to the lumping of "faiths" together in one group. To take groups that make mutually exclusive claims and treat them as something of a monolith is fool hearty and not very respectful.

Next, his focus on "evidence" is interesting. While you may be able to present evidence FOR something, how do you present evidence that something does NOT exist? To do so, you'd have to methodologically exclude every possibility of God's existence, who is by nature beyond the basic "testable" senses. You may say that you can't find a lot of evidence FOR God, but you can't logically say that evidence denies God. It's illogical.

It's also interesting because I've recently heard, (sorry i couldn't find a linked reference quickly enough) that Johns Hopkins Institute on Geopolitical studies has declared the 20th century to be the bloodiest century in human history. It numbers 130 MILLION people who have died in this century from tyranny that stems from the manifestations of HUMANISM or NATURALISM, NOT RELIGION.

But here's the "thinking point" (i may have done some rah-rah, sorry!) The thing that Dawkins ignores (and maybe some Christians too) is that PEOPLE ARE BAD. The basis of Christ's teachings are built on this truth. And it appears that in the absence of a true relationship with God, there is even less restraint to human evil. A God-less ideology has not improved our world one bit, in fact it is responsible for the Holocaust (Darwinian natural selection), for the atrocities committed under Lenin and Stalin and their purges (Atheistic zeal). Under Mao and many other bona-fide 100% Godless leaders.

The longer I live, the more I believe that the only thing empirically provable is the deep corruption of humanity, some would call it the depravity of man. And in my reading, there is only one source that is willing to stare that reality in the face and bluntly acknowledge it. Call me crazy, but that makes believing that ONE source, which corresponds to reality most fully, the most logical thing a person could do.

the world's children

Lately I've really been hit hard about the horrible conditions children are living in all over the world. Maybe it's because i'm a dad now, i dunno.

Just today I came across another incidence of this. Maybe you've never heard that in several countries children are used a soldiers, often they're pre-teens or teenagers, sometimes they are as young as 7. They are exploited physically, emotionally, and sometimes even sexually. Drugs are given to them to make them dependent and vulnerable. It's very tragic, but i just found out that some of these countries who practice this atrocity receive military support from the US government.

An organization called World Vision has a website http://www.seekjustice.org/ where you can help take legislative action against this practice. Of course legislation is tricky stuff, so go over there and take a look at all the ins and outs (i'm sure there is some junk attached to the legislation) and respond if you feel led.

But I keep wondering if we shouldn't be doing more to help. I don't know what that is, but i know it at LEAST starts with praying for kids of the world. Peace.

Youth Gathering

Late this week I'm heading off to Orlando FL (nothing like Florida in JULY!) for our denomination's National Youth Gathering. I'm serving as a Bible Study presenter for a segment of the nearly 25,000 youth who will be present down there.

I've definitely got a burden for the youth of our nation and my national church-body. So please be in prayer for the youth and those who help lead them. There is a great opportunity to make the love of Jesus Christ very REAL through this gathering, resulting in thousands of kids who stand ready to face all, even death, to follow Jesus wherever He leads.

But that kind of thing can only happen by God's Spirit, not by might, not by power... so join me in praying for God's Spirit to work in big ways through this gathering, and through saps like me :) Peace.

prosperity and responsibility

CAUTION: This blog is 100% my still-being-formed opinion. It bears no true authority, and yet I'm wondering if there is something to it.

In our household as of late, we've been contemplating the necessity of a move in the distant future. For some this may be a no-brainer, a family of four in a two-bedroom condo with no basement or storage other than a one-car garage is madness. Yet Joc and I have been struggling to know whether we should really entertain a move or whether we should dig in for the indefinite future.

* * *

Yesterday I was listening to a podcast where in passing, the speaker mentioned some of the horrible material and moral condidtions in the rest of the world that include things like sexual exploitation, hunger, awful-yet-preventable diseases. I began to meditate on the incredible disparity between what my family with our moderate means enjoys compared to the rest of the world.

"Perhaps God has blessed us because we're His people" that's an explanation I hear sometimes. It implies that God rewards those who are faithful to him with wealth. Maybe I'm ignorant but as I think back over the history of the world, there seems to be a grain of truth to this, that some followers of Jesus Christ were gifted with a level of prosperity superior to many other people (admittedly this wealth was acquired through questionable and immoral methods to be sure which calls into question the original assumption, have we really, EVER been faithful?)
Still though, in my mind, at least, there is this connection. But if such a connection is real, our rationale for its reality is totally corrupted.
I don't think God desires to make the "faithful" rich. I look around this country in which we live and I see how wealth has drawn us away from God and not brought us closer.
One thing I DO know is that throughout the Bible God blesses people with various blessings not as a reward for good behavior but because he has an expectaion, even a hope that we'll be faithful with it.

If God has blessed his western followers with wealth, he surely has done so in the hopes that we would be trustworthy with it. And I'm almost certain that we've failed him in this arena. Rather than letting his blessings flow through us, administering them with his wisdom, mercy, and justice, we've consumed them all ourselves and in our self-indulgence we've borrowed even more. We've become more self-centered and less G0d-centered and other-centered. We've turned God's blessing into an asphixiating curse because we've taken for ourselves what we were meant to manage and distribute for God's glory.

And here's where I probably sound like a total wack-job... perhaps globilization and the woes it brings to our prosperity is God removing his blessing from people who were unfaithful with it. I know it's foolishness to try to describe with certainty the movement of God in the world on matters which he has not himself spoken about clearly, so i say this with great uncertainty... but perhaps God is on the move in the world, in search of those who can be faithful with his blessing in the ways that we haven't?

It's a sobering thought, especially for my family who is thinking about taking more of what God has entrusted to us to spend on ourselves (the house issue). Frankly, I'm not sure where the balance is on this one, I'm not sure that God has a problem with us moving, but I know it calls for slow, prayerful action...

People all over the world live in squallor, my family is more than comfortable. Children every bit as intrincially-valuable as mine are made to suffer with abuse and devestating want.

In the end will God praise me for being faithful with what he entrusted to me? That's a question I hope we'll all have the guts to ask.

Vacation=Clarity

We were on vacation for the last 2 weeks (woo-hoo!)...had a great time out in the beauty of Oregon. You can always tell when it's been a really good vacation because coming back in to regular life is extra difficult!

I came away from vacation this year understanding anew why vacation (and by extension, sabbath) is so important. It's not simply about the need for rest and renewal though those are valid. But when you take a break from life as normal for an extended time, i think there is a wonderful gift of clarity that comes

It wasn't until i went on vacation that I could see how unhealthy my work schedule is. It wasn't until i didn't have 15 urgent items on my to-do list every day that i saw that i'm trying to do too much. It wasn't until i got to immerse myself in my family that i realized how cool my family is and how much more time they need from me.

Of course making all these changes is a tough thing to do, and after being back only 5 days i feel like i'm already losing the battle, but i wouldn't even know what to do if i didn't have the time away to see things as they actually are. Perhaps God knew what he was doing when he only made it light outside for so many hours each day. And maybe he wasn't being a jerk when he commanded us to take a day off after 6 of working. It just might be that all those "breaks" they talked about in the Bible weren't only because the "protestant work ethic" hadn't been invented yet to show the Old Testament people how lazy they were :)

So let me finish this by encouraging you to do a very un-american thing. Take ALL of your vacation time this year to get away from regular life. And while you're there spend extra time with God asking for clarity on how to make your life better reflect HIS design for it.

Quote on Otherness

I'm reading a book right now about character. Yesterday i came across a line that said something CLOSE to the following... sorry i don't have the book on hand.

When we make the salvation of our own souls into our life's pursuit, aren't we just spiritualizing an existence that is essentially self-seeking?

I've written about this concept before, but this said it to me in a new way. Being self-seeking is always wrong (because it is NOT loving) but we often think that if we are self-seeking in "spiritual ways" that it's okay. I'm not sure that it is.

It seems to me that the most biblical form of spirituality has loving God and loving people as it's goal... NOT the love of self, the preservation of self, or even the gain of eternity for self!

I'm not saying it's wrong to be wise enough to know that we need to be saved by God, but if that's our life's goal then it looks like maybe we're on the wrong journey, at least not the one Jesus described in the Gospels.

This one could be touchy, but what do you think?

the narrow path

My friend bob blogged recently to answer the indictment that Christian people are simply looking for a "crutch" from their faith. Read it here.

I think his entry says it well. The more I read the gospels, the more i see that Jesus is not offering some sweet, consoling religion. He promises hardship and suffering for those who follow him. He promises that we will encounter the same kinds of obstacles that he did because we follow him. He tells us not be surprised if there are literal and figurative "crosses" in our own futures. He talks about having to break ranks with family and turn away from loved ones for the sake of following him.

Is there consolation in that? Actually there is, in an ultimate sense, that by clinging to him we will find something deeper and more lasting (though also harder) than anything this world can give. But it's not the mind-numbing "opiate" that some have talked about... those people have probably never read the words of Jesus.

So i put the question to all of you whether you are a Christ-follower or not, is your picture of this pilgrimage reflective of the actual words of Christ? To find out go ahead and read the book of Mark or Luke, see if it jives with the life you're living.

call update

God has made it clear, he wants me to stay here at St. Matthew.

This has been a really neat process, mostly because i didn't know how God would make it clear, but i was trusting that he would. Last week he made it very clear and confirmed his message to me by the words of several other people.

I announced it in worship this weekend, but one of the reasons that God left me here is important. I feel strongly that i've been left here at St. Matthew to continue to help this place become a church that cares deeply about those who are not yet gathered here. I know that God wants us to make others our priority.

It feels good to know that I am where God wants me to be and to understand why he has me here. Still, please keep Christ Lutheran, Overland Park in your prayers. They are a wonderful congregation of people who is now wrestling with their next step. May God lead them!

the heart of man

In light of recent national events here is the postscript to a poem by Steve Turner entitled "Creed."

This has been rolling around in my mind for the last day and a half and i finally took the time to look it up. This part of the poem is called, "Chance."

If chance be the Father of all flesh,
disaster is his rainbow in the sky,
and when you hear, "State of Emergency!
Sniper Kills Ten!
Troops on Rampage!
Whites go Looting!
Bomb Blasts School!"
It is but the sound of man worshipping his maker.

The Call

so after the whirlwind of Easter there is another whirlwind in my life... a church called Christ Lutheran in Kansas City (overland park) has called me to be their senior pastor (i should note that i didn't intend any puns by talking about kansas and whirlwinds:) ). I got to announce it to St. Matthew this weekend and am looking forward to God giving me some serious clarity in the week(s) to come.

I realize that the concept of a "call" might not be that familiar to people today so i thought i'd explain it a little bit too.
First, i wasn't out job-hunting. The way this stuff usually works is that a church who is in search of a pastor (like Christ Lutheran) will start by gathering names. They'll get them from all kinds of sources: congregation members, church district offices, other pastors and church-workers. Then they'll go through the list and begin prayerfully removing those that don't seem to have the gift set, experience, or style to lead their church. Then many (though not all) of these churches will do phone interviews and subsequent on-site interviews. After that the team of people who is conducting the process on the congregation's behalf will prayerfully recommend a name or names to the entire congregation to prayerfully vote on. There's lots of prayer in this!

So now i've got TWO calls. God has already called me to serve at St. Matthew and that's where i've been plugging along the last (nearly) 3 years. And now I've got a call to Christ Lutheran. I think this is the place where a "call process" is pretty different than other job-change situations. I am charged with finding out what it is that God wants me to do. He's got plans for his Church and churches all over the world and his plans are best.

So instead of sitting around and matching up "pros and cons" alone, there is this other element. I believe it is possible that God could have one situation look 4x better in every facet of ministry but STILL desire a person to serve at the other.

And that's what makes this so hard. Right now i'm weighing out all the pros and cons, trying to figure out where God might be able to best use the man he's made me to be... and yet i realize that God does seemingly illogical "calls" all throughout the Bible. He does things that don't always make sense, but end up working out far better than any human imagination could've conceived.

This is the most boring post ever, i think-sorry about that.

I'll leave it at this, please pray for jocelyn and me. We want to do what will mean the most for the Reign of Jesus, Christ in the world. But we willingly admit, we might not know what that is.

An angelic messenger would sure be nice!

Theodicy

That is the theological/philosophical name given to what is called the "problem of evil." The old argument goes, "if God is all-powerful and all-loving then how can He allow evil?" I can't claim that this post will answer that age old question, but maybe i can reframe it.

Someone stuffed a copy of Biblical Archaeology Review in my office inbox and i saw a page tabbed over with an article about four Biblical Archaeolgists, two who had lost their faith and two who had not. After reading the article I wasn't convinced that any of them had a very substantial faith, still it was a very interesting read. It showed the inner workings of four brilliant minds and why they had problems with God. On the surface they all struggled with what they saw as light inconsistencies in the Bible, if taken in a strictly literal fashion. But those who had "lost faith" hadn't done so because the archaeological evidence spoke too loudly against the Biblical narrative. Instead, it was because they lost faith in the goodness of God.

I'm not sure why we pose the "theodicy" question as if it's an issue with God's character or his sovereignty. It seems that when we do that we ignore the most important issue in all of this. Namely, that God has chosen to enter into a relationship with broken humans. Being all loving and all powerful isn't a problem for God. The problem is that he's got to apply those attributes to flawed people like us and not crush us in the process.

Instead of God's love and power perhaps we should be talking about God's mercy and justice. Love and power assume God in isolation, mercy and justice (IMO) better take into consideration the fact that God has chosen to bind himself to broken people like us. And because of that reason, God now chooses to be mindful of us. In a strange sense, he is no longer free to act as he would if he were the only being in the universe (think of someone who is a bachelor, he is free to do whatever he pleases), because he's CHOSEN to wed himself to us. He now has to consider us (by an act of his own choosing).

And now as God deals with us he's driven by two different values, the first is a value for justice. When God sees the world and its evil it makes him outraged. When he sees children dying of disease it breaks his heart. When he sees people victimizing the weak and the helpless I'm sure it makes him want to come down and wipe us all out because he is JUST. Sometimes God will act according to his justice. The bible and human experience are clear that sometimes God does impart justice on those who are wicked. And the Bible teaches that God's Son, Jesus, will come again in judgment. Why will Jesus come to judge? Because God WILL NOT let evil go on forever, he is too just AND too loving to allow this defunct, broken, and sick world to go on like this forever. And that's why he says that this world is passing away, it needs to, it's totally corrupted.

But there is a complimentary part of God that is merciful. He won't annihilate evil because that would mean annihilating US. Maybe part of our problem is that we perceive evil as only a "force" out there in the world. But evil isn't as impersonal as all that, evil is really US.

Cars generally don't kill people in accidents...bad, distracted, or drunk drivers do (or auto-companies who do shoddy work in the attempt to maximize profits do). Diseases kill people-sure, but often humans are complicit in the start and the spread of disease. Not only that but humans (like those of us from the American brand) sit idly by in self-serving apathy while we could be doing things to stop disease. Maybe not every act of tragedy or evil has a direct human connection (some natural disasters, for instance), but a lot of them do. And the reason that God tolerates evil is because if he obliterated it, it would have to mean an end to us as well since we are evil to our core and most often the agents of evil in this world. Not a flattering picture, i know but it is TRUE.

But God has chosen to love us and be patient with us, in short he's chosen to be merciful as he interacts with us, wanting none of us to perish but come to eternal life. And yet he is just and he longs to re-create this world to be the place he created it to be in the first place. I don't know if this makes sense to you but when I look at these two together it makes the problem of evil less of a problem. Not only that, when i think about these things it highlights for me how Jesus, the Christ is really the healer of our broken and miserable human condition and the bridge where God's seemingly irreconcilable Mercy and Justice find their meeting place... all for our benefit.

turning 30

i woke up this morning with the puffiest eyes i've ever seen on myself. Then i remembered, tomorrow I'm 30. It's not 30's fault my eyes are puffy, it's my fault for not getting enough sleep, but that's how the puffy eyes catch up with you if you're not careful.

I went to work to find a great big foofey starbucks sitting waiting for me along with a "birthday boy" sash and the hugest letter D i've ever seen attached to a rope, i got to put it on (flava-flav style) it was mostly a show for the kids in our school, they got to have some fun seeing me be a spectacle and i got to have my birthday a day early. Very nice surprises!

people always ask you if you feel older on your birthday, i know that sometimes i ask that same dumb question. but i've never once felt older in my whole life. I've always felt like the youngin of the group, i wonder if that'll ever change when i'm 80? Then i think i won't feel old, i'll just be glad i'm still kickin it.

Someone remarked today that people don't take you seriously until you're 30. I thought that was strange of her to say being that i am not yet 30 (1 hr 38 min to go). Maybe she was trying to let me know I'm a joke... which i am, so no offense was taken.

it just occurred to me, 30 is half of a clock face. my life could be half over, it could be 3/4 over, it could be 30/31 over...

What is this post all about? Not sure, i guess i'm trying to figure out if this is a big deal, turning 30... everyone else thinks it is, but i'm not so sure. I'll be sure to tell you how it goes.

eating meat

I saw some great friends the other day, they are both vegetarians, but that is NOT what this post is about :)

Instead, the title refers to what i hear some Christians say from time to time. It's not uncommon to have a very seasoned Christ-follower say, "I NEED to GET fed!" or in critiquing their local church saying, "I need more MEAT" Ever heard it? Ever said it?

On the surface this can be quite innocent, even admirable. But even though I'm sure I've said something similar at times in my own life, the comments have always bothered me. I guess the reason is that saying those things is supposed to make you sound more "mature" or more "spiritual." You know, because while others crave things that tickle their ears, you are longing for depth...and that IS admirable. But maybe it's just the way it's said, maybe it's the way my flawed ears hear it, but these statements often sound horribly IMMATURE and unimpressive.

Maybe it's because as a grown man (or almost grown :) ), i don't go around whining to my wife that i NEED to get fed... sure I'll ask, "when is dinner ready?" but if I'm starving, or she's taking care of more pressing things, I'm fully capable of going to refrigerator or pantry and feeding myself. It makes me wonder, if you are a mature follower of Christ, shouldn't you be able to do the same?

I am NOT saying that Christ-following is a self-guided endeavor, there is a need for guidance from teachers and pastors and fellow followers. So I'm not bucking the idea that some Christ-followers can and should help feed others, but i guess I'm frustrated with the DEMAND to be fed. That just doesn't seem Christ-like at all.

Up until Monday this week, I fought against this "me-theology" in a lot of ways, but in an email I got this week from someone, I heard one new explanation that I think says it all.

This woman was referring to her desire to follow Christ with everything she is and she quoted Jesus when he said, "My MEAT is to do the will of Him who sent me" (please look here
for the full context). Jesus' disciples were urging him to take a break from the masses who were coming out to see him and feed himself (actual food), but look at what the MOST SPIRITUALLY MATURE person in the history of the world said... "my food (meat) is to do the will of Him who sent me."

The next time your feel hungry, instead of thinking the only option is to go to deeper bible studies, or listen to more substantive preaching, or to pray longer, try doing what Jesus did when he was hungry for meat... do the will of Him who sent you... and begin feeding another. (NOTE: please don't stop doing those other things Jesus fed himself in those ways too, especially in prayer!)

The more we try to fill ourselves up and satisfy our appetites through taking and demanding and insisting and asserting our preferences, the hungrier we'll feel. But when we take the deeper bible studies, the substantive preaching, the stronger prayer-life and begin to use them to pour ourselves out to feed another, strangely that's when we'll start to feel full.

Think about it the next time you are feeling hungry for more meat.

"Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it"-Matthew 10:39

why it had to be a cross

Thank God for the brilliant minds of the people in His Church. In sharing a message the other day on sexuality, a guy came up to me afterward and said, "you've answered a question for me that i've always struggled with" ...I was afraid of what he was going to say, given the topic of the weekend.

But then he said this, "i've always wondered, if God can do anything, why did he choose to send Jesus to a cross to die in order to reconcile us?"

I admit i've had that question too. I've heard a lot of answers given about why Jesus had to be a man, why he had to be the sacrifice, why it had to be on passover, etc. But all of this stuff makes it sound like the whole Bible is the nothing but an extravagant process of God painting himself into a corner and then thinking, "uh-oh how am i gonna get out of this one? oh, i know, i'll send my son!" That's always been weird for me. I don't think Jesus had to go to the cross and i don't think God had to send him, not in the way we often think about it at least because God is God he plays by his own rules. Besides all of the Old Testament sacrificial stuff, all the commandments, all of the standards that God sets and we fall short of, all of that stuff flows out of what Christ WOULD be/do rather than dictating what he had to do.... he's the thesis statement, they are the supporting points.

So at this point in the conversation, i'm riveted, because i didn't recall saying anything that would help answer this age-old question. And after a long and dramatic pause [maybe this guy should start speaking on weekends!] the man finished his statement, "God chose to go that way to show us what love really looks like."

I agree completely. God could've waved his hand and forgiven our sins, but that would not have let us see how serious God is about his love for us. It wouldn't let us see how destructive our sins are to our relationship with him. And it wouldn't give US the example of what real love looks like.

Real love is sacrifice, pouring yourself out for the sake of another, laying down your life. The cross is not the answer to some math problem that God struggled with for centuries, it's the stuff of Shakespeare or great poetry. It's a stunning display of God's over-the-top love that he had been building up to for centuries. It's also a very specific measuring-stick for any of us who desire to be lovers.

please, the next time you see a cross, don't think about all the intricacies of the atonement, not first at least. First, please think about how much God must love us to do something so cruel, yet beautiful.

love me; love my dog

my mother-in-law has a very old Maltese named barkley. He's getting senile and mean (not to mention the fact that he's even outlived his own bladder control). But she loves her dog. Now some of you may know how i feel about pets (or should i say how my eyes, nose, and throat feel about pets? i'm allergic to most) even the pets i'm not allergic to i have a hard time warming up to. But i try to be careful around my mother-in-law, because she really does love her dog.

My father-in-law is always saying that he never knew the truth of the phrase, "love me; love my dog" until now (i admit i've never knew there was such a phrase) But it's definitely a phrase that carries truth! All of us in the family try to tolerate old barkley because he's so loved by my mother-in-law and we love her.

On this Valentine's Day i got to thinking of God's greatest commandments. Jesus said there was really only one, but kinda two. "love the LORD your God with all your heart...." that one makes a lot of sense. Then he said, "love your neighbor as yourself."

I've noticed that it is very difficult for most Christ-followers to take God seriously on the second one. Loving God sounds great. Loving yourself that's not bad either. but loving others? Hear me on this

If you aren't actively "loving others," then please start questioning the sincerity of your love for God.

Because these aren't really two different commands. They are one in the same, Jesus remarks that this "second command" is just like the first one. See, it's the "love me; love my dog" principle. I CANNOT say i truly love my mother-in-law (and i do!) if I refuse to consider her love for her pup. If we want to love God then that means we don't just tell him over and over in the words of a praise song or hymn, but that means we consider who/what he loves and work our tails off trying to love those things too.

Here's the big point: though God loves it when we pray, worship, make good choices, are generous, etc., the Scriptures teach that there is ONE THING that God loves above all... people, not just "good" people or "Christian" people, but all people (look here too).

I am definitely not perfect in my love for God (and by extension those that God loves) but i am getting less tolerant of Christ-followers who can claim to love God greatly but are going through life either ignoring or outright disdaining those that God loves. I'm assuming that most of us just don't know better. But now we do! Please don't claim to love God while you're punting his loved ones across the room, you're only deceiving yourself. I ask that anyone reading this does a heart-check and a scripture-check (i've provided references above as links) and begin loving God in a new way today... after all, it IS valentine's day :)

who's the problem?

was at a conference today at a local church known for it's ability to change. I'll be back there today. There were some good talks given about the necessity of change, and also some of the keys were given to helping a church change. It wasn't about change for "change sake" which is good, i think in my life sometimes change is an idol, it's my boredom-rescuer. The change they were talking about is the good kind; changing to become more missional (even if i don't 100% agree with their outcomes).

PLEASE NOTE: by talking about change, i'm not trying to bash st. matthew, i love what God has done/is doing at st. matt. Still, change is necessary for all of us, daily being transformed and conformed into the likeness of Christ, individually and as a body. So st. matthew people, don't get ruffled that one of your pastors thinks we need to change, truth is we DO! we all do and so does every church in the world!

Throughout all the sessions yesterday i had this battle with myself, who is the problem? i'm sure you've experienced something similar. i might blame the people in the congregation for being too resistant. or i might blame our history for being too enslaving over us. i want to look at other staff people and point out their inadequacies. or i even might blame our denomination for being too confining. All of those outcomes feel good for a second because that means i'm not really a part of the problem, they fuel pride (the bad kind)- i come out smelling like a rose (or something equally nice-smelling but more manly).

But i also find that pride is damning. All of these attempts at pointing the finger make me feel good for a second, but they also make me feel totally hopeless.

Truth is, if i'm a leader worth my salt (BTW, i've noticed that you can by like 20 pounds of salt for a nickle, so that means i'm worth about 40 cents?), i should be able to bring noble change to whatever God has entrusted into my hands.

I am the problem.

and maybe that's n0t a distinction i share alone, but i'm certainly a part of it. I guess part of that is an ego killer. Perhaps i'm not the leader that i thought i was. But the surprise that comes along with this acknowledgment is hope. Godly change can happen and "i'm staring with the man in the mirror" (please read/sing the previous line with all of mr. jackson's vocal hiccups, emotion, and slick moves-go ahead it's friday!)

So now i AM talking to you who might be a part of St. Matthew, or i guess any other local church on earth. What are you doing to make sure that your heart is being won over (changed, transformed) in greater measure, day by day, by Jesus Christ? AND what are you doing to help others experience this same kind of transformation?

It really does start with any/all of us who care. You don't need a pulpit or an elected position. one thing is needful-live out the transformation that Jesus is working in you, and love others enough to invite them in on it. it sounds trite, or overdone, but (for right now at least) it's an amazingly hopeful proposition.

karma

A few weeks ago my pastor-friend Joe brought up an interesting event in the Bible. So happens that I've been reading thru this section in my daily time in the Word. It centers around King David of the Old Testament. The king before him, a guy named Saul fell out of favor with God and so God had his prophet go out and anoint David as the new king over Israel. So you get this weird situation where there is technically a new king but the old king is still here (remind me to tell you sometime about how this connects with our understanding of the end times that Jesus has brought into existence NOW and NOT YET)

Anyway, Saul starts coming unglued because he knows that God's favor has left him and he gets very jealous of David because he can see that God is with David in mighty ways. So Saul tries to kill David, a bunch of times. There are chapters of this cat and mouse game starting in 1 Samuel 18 .

But the strange part is that David won't retaliate against Saul. David gets the chance to kill Saul a few times, and it would seem that David would have the right. He's been anointed the new king, God is with him, Saul is trying to kill him (self-defense). But David refuses each time to do anything against "the LORD's anointed" It gets even crazier IMO when Saul tries to kill himself and fails to do it all the way and begs a bystander to help him finish the job. The bystander does so because Saul is mortally wounded, is suffering greatly, and is about to be overtaken by his enemies. It's a mercy killing if there ever was one, but when this bystander comes and tells David that Saul is dead and explains how it happened. David has the bystander killed! Why? because this guy showed great disrespect and rebellion by ending the life of "the LORD'S anointed."

It all seems so weird. After all, David is also God's anointed, he's more of God's anointed than Saul is, because God's Spirit has departed Saul and rests on David. All this got me wondering if David was a believer in karma.

not in a weird way. But it seems that perhaps David was motivated by the fact that if HE mistreated the anointed, that he might be mistreated as the anointed. David had one of the most peaceable reigns (internally) of any king of Israel. I kind of wonder if that's because David set such a strong example for respect and reverence for the one God put in command.

All this is to say that David could be on to something... maybe it's true that "what goes around comes around" and "what you sow is what'll you reap." for some reason this reminds me specifically of families. One thing i've been thinking about is the idea that if you want your kids to treat you well when you're old, then be very careful how you treat your elderly parents. (sort of a variation on that great Harry Chapin song, Cat's in the Cradle). I guess my thought is that David had the right to take Saul's life, but he didn't exercise that right. He seemed to recognize that it would start a pattern of disprect and bloodshed for his reign and the reign of others. David had the foresight that many of us (myself included) lack. That how he lived and the choices he made really did have a "butterfly effect" that would set a tone for a long way into the future. That's true in families, in life decisions, in priorities... you feelin' it? or have i confused and bored you?

God's purpose for discontentment

All this talk about lack of contentment has been making me think about Divine uses of discontentment. I had a conversation with someone recently that fueled this.

While i stand by the fact that i'm an ingrate when it comes to my inability to be content with the material and spiritual blessings God has given me. I DO think that there is a Divine restlessness that God can put in us on purpose to move us to some sort of action. (we bumped into this in the comments section of the previous post)

->sometimes my intangible yearnings are there to make me seek God more deeply.
->sometimes i may get frustrated with my church because God means for me to be a change agent.
->sometimes my marriage may seem really bad to me because it ISN'T all that God means it to be and he's trying to move me to make it more of what he wants.
->sometimes my heartbreak over the world's problems may be a call for me to find some small way of getting involved.

...you get the picture.

I'm curious, has anyone seen an example in their own life where a lack of contentment REALLY WAS from God, and it nudged you along to something that made you more healthy, more faithful, more trusting in God? If so please post a comment and share about it. Feel free to use the following as a guide.
1. what was the situation?
2. how did you work thru it to discover if it was just you being an ingrate or if it was something worked in you by the Spirit?
3. what action were you compelled to take?
4. what has been the result so far?

be brave... post away!

boredom

i mentioned this in a post or comment the other day, not sure which. But since then i've been thinking a lot about it....i'm referring to

the destructive power of BOREDOM.

My guess is that it might be different for different people, but i find that for me, being bored is quite dangerous. It seems to be a breeding ground for other negative things. here are a few.

1. lust/greed/gluttony (to name a few). I find that when i'm surfing the web with no point b/c I'm bored, i'm much more likely to feel tempted toward 'not so good things' on the computer. It's like there's something in my brain that is longing to be jolted into activity, no matter if it's good or bad. It's also at these times when i find myself tempted toward more "benign" but still destructive things like looking at houses on realtor.com and flipping thru the latest pottery barn catalog looking at the new sofa we NEED. And gluttony? simple. When i'm bored i find myself eating, not because i'm hungry but just because i'm bored.

I guess boredom for some reason causes me to give my appetites too much credence and it's not usually good.

2. discontentment. likely because of what happens above, i soon find myself tortured by discontentment. I guess it's the way my appetites get back at me when i shut them down. I wrote about that the other day. I'll spare you the details again here.

3. spiritual apathy. This one doesn't make sense to me, b/c when i'm bored it SHOULD mean that i'm more open to engaging in spiritual disciplines (study, prayer, mediation, fasting, you get the picture...) but i'm not. There's this line of boredom, where if i cross it, none of these things sound remotely interesting to me. Ironically these are the things that have some of the greatest promise for pulling me out of boredom, but when i'm in that state i want nothing to do with them.

4. mean-guy-ness. :) I get mean when i'm bored. I pick at my wife. I get sarcastic and grumpy. it seems that i think fighting with people passes for entertainment and some days i guess i prefer that to boredom. it's twisted, i know.

i could go on. i guess the remedy is to remember my calling that i'm saved by grace and created to do good works eph 2:8-10. to avoid apathy and stay active serving God and fulfilling His mission. But i must admit that even that sounds overly simplistic. And meanwhile i wonder if poor laborers in India get bored... or is it a curse that goes with great wealth?

this post is coming to no strong conclusion or "ta-da!" moments... sorry, i guess i'm losing interest :)

technical issues

Maybe you've noticed (hopefully you haven't) i had to change the URL of my blog. It was for internal server purposes. It messes a few things up. But i hope it hasn't been too inconvenient for you. thanks.

thoughts from a malcontent

i hate complaining and i find discontentment to be one of the ugliest AND most painful things in the world. But here i am on the 8th day of the New Year, battling against myself on this very front.

I go around like this far too often, somedays i feel so at peace in my skin, car, house, job, life. I can't imagine how i could ever want or need more. I can't believe that so many people are so unhappy.

Then a switch flips in my brain and suddenly everything is awful. And there's this acidic yearning inside of me for more, better.

Maybe it's the New Year's syndrome that so many people feel. Maybe it's boredom (i've learned not to underestimate the destructive power of boredom). Perhaps it's winter, even though this hardly has turned out to be a typical winter. Or maybe it is really that I'm an ingrate who refuses to be thankful for things that 90% of the world only dreams about having. Funny thing is, in this current state I KNOW that even if i had everything that i feel i'm lacking, i'd still not be happy. I've got my thoughts on why this is too... i'll spare you on them now.

So i wait for the switch to flip back, and meanwhile i grit my teeth and recount all of my blessings hoping that God will move my eyes to nobler things and bless my heart with gratitude... and SOON.

Comments are welcome

a new blogging leaf

I'd like to believe that this year will be different. Some of you who still might actually be reading this may have noticed that my blogging has fallen WAY off.

I guess i got busy. I felt like i was out of good things to say. I didn't wanna be a know it all. So i went idle for a while.

but i must say i've missed it. I've missed the conversation and the challenges to my perspective. I've missed being able to relate with people that i don't often get to see. I wanna do better this year

BUT i know me. I know how i am. I'll give it my best shot, but we'll see if anything really changes. I think you know the struggle that i'm talking about, if not in blogging then in something else in your life.

Still i'm not throwing the towel in. Here's to at least 10 posts in 2007! (okay hopefully i do a little better than that.)

Kids, Christmas, and Me

I talk a good game.

This time of year I am always trying to help parents and kids not forget the "real Christmas" And all year long, i'm challenging parents to be "spiritual parents" to their kids. To nurture their kids' relationships with God foremost.

But i know that as i talk about that stuff i make it sound easier than it is.

Because i'm often at a loss for HOW to do this myself with my two young girls. I often worry about my own ability to be a "Spiritual parent" and how to help my girls embrace what Christ offers to them. I guess i'm paranoid that since i'm a pastor that my kids are guaranteed to turn into godless, rotten humans. And that would break my heart.

I got a reprieve the other night though. Something happened that showed me that maybe something is getting thru.

Our 3 year old will often wake up at night and yell for me saying she's had a bad dream. I'll go in, rub her back and say a prayer with her to help her go back to sleep. This happens a lot, which makes me wonder if she's really having bad dreams or if she's just figured me out.

So, the other night she woke up with a bad dream. I was really tired so i went in and just slumped down on the floor by her bed and told her to go back to sleep. It grew quiet for about 20 seconds and then she sat straight up and said, "But Dad, you didn't pray for me!"

That was music to my ears, it's not a big thing but it was so cool for me to see her dependence on God growing. There's nothing that i'd like them to know more.

And for a moment i felt like i was off the hook on this "spiritual parenting" thing. I guess i'm not failing that miserably... it's a small start, but like so much of life, maybe it's the small things that really make a difference.

a sense of mystery, a sense of humor...

...that was a line i read out of a book on preaching this morning, it was referring to the worship service and the message that comes within it.

I like that idea, that our worship should be accompanied by awe and reverence because we are in God's presence. But also should be accompanied by a mood of absurdity, that we should be allowed even to be in the same room as God. It should be conducted in a sense of hilarity that though we are trying to be reverent and respectful, we are in fact deeply flawed, irreverent, fountains of disrespect. Worship (and the preaching) should carry a slap-stick joy that though the guy up front has been called to this task and is even wearing a white robe, he's really quite a wreck as a person, hardly qualified to be taken seriously... and the people he's talking with, though playing the part of the willing listeners are secretly doing their best to escape the weekly "time of transcendence" as un-changed as possible. This incongruity should make us laugh at ourselves openly and freely, which i think somehow is necessary for reverence (or awe or mystery)

A sense of mystery AND a sense of humor, no worship service should ever happen without both. What do you think?

equipping to share

to all my readers (all 2 of you :)) out there in blog land, especially those of you who are local, lend me your eyes for a minute.

St. Matthew has a great workshop happening here on Sat Nov 4th called "equipping to share" it's a way to help all of us speak sincerely and respectfully about our hope in Christ. It's not a method driven, obnoxious thing. it just helps you be YOU and share what is important to you in an honest, authentic, effective way.

Anyway visit the main page on this st. matthew site and click the little "equipping to share" icon in the bottom left corner of the homepage and register soon! I think you'll be glad you did! thanks :)

are you kidding me?

i've been dreading winter this year in a bad way. I'm not sure why. I think last winter was hard on my soul. Winter (for me) is the time of year that you just hunker down and work and eat all the time and miss seeing that strange yellow ball in the sky that used to make things a lot prettier...and warmer.

winter is also a season of heavy workloads for a pastor. the obvious peaks of christmas and easter bring a lot of extra work (yes it's usually STILL winter here for most easters!) and with the short daylight hours i feel like i'm working my life away. Winter makes me feel like i'm regressing phylogenically (if i believed in evolution), my back gets more hunched over and i feel the urge to let my hair grow and to grunt rather than speak in articulate syllables.

but the part that might bother me most is the loss of human contact.

People don't go outside as much in the winter- for obvious reasons. I don't ever run in to my neighbors during winter. People aren't up for a quick parkinglot conversation when it's 20 degrees outside, that's pre-windchill. there are not the lasting voices of kids playing outside. and if they are out there, i can't hear them over the roar of my furnace and the sputtering of my humidifier... the plastic i put on my windows isn't helping either. Winter is accompanied by this dull mechanistic hum that sounds a lot like the sound scores of all those weird, "the earth is a wasteland because of nuclear war", futuristic movies.

yeah, so winter is not my friend, it seems to be the enemy of humanity, the henchman of isolation and loneliness.

So i was REALLY bummed out to see that yesterday, october 12, 2006, we already had our first snowfall...

adieu humanity, see you in may- hope we make it!

the scourge of the community?

a popular question for church leaders to be asking themselves these days is

"if our church ceased to exist, just disappeared one day from our civic-community, would anyone in our community miss it?"

startling question isn't it? For many cities, the disappearance of a church might be the cause for cheering and celebration, not tears.

but i don't want this to be a post pointing out all the failures of the local church. there's enough of that in blog land :) Here's what i'd like to get from you (especially those of you who are a part of the St. Matthew family) What kinds of things do you think we could do as a church to ensure that our community here in "the lakes" WOULD miss us if we ever happened to disappear from the scene?

if these could be attainable that would be best b/c i really am interested in what might come of this. so all you silent readers, what do you think? (if you are afraid to reply, you can publish anonymously, there is a radial button that will allow you to do so after you click on the "comment" link.)
thanks!

the Gospels

there are a lot of questions people have re: the gospels (the first 4 books of the New Testament that focus on the life and work of Jesus directly)

I was talking to a guy a few weeks ago who had some of these concerns floating around in his mind.

Namely it's what scholars call the "synoptic problem"... that the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke say slightly different things and occasionally seem to contradict each other. If that were true, that would be a cause of concern, but this issue has been drastically blown out of proportion and misunderstood.

Here's what i'd like to submit... that the differences in the Gospels are stylistic not factual.

Let me tell you what i mean by that. I've often heard the explanation given that the 4 Gospels and the men who were used by God to write them are like 4 eyewitnesses of an incident. If you called the 4 people into a witness room and asked them to give a deposition, all 4 would have slightly different things they'd mention, remember, or have thought important. For the most part they would all agree on the principal parts of the account, but there would be variations from their perspectives.

I DON'T DISAGREE with that analogy, but i think it ignores an important aspect that i've already mentioned... that each Gospel writer has a different STYLISTIC concern.

Only one Gospel writer, Luke, is trying to write an "eyewitness" kind of account of all the facts. How do we know? because he tells us so but to imply that Matthew, Mark (and John) might be somehow trying to do the same thing is incorrect. Their concerns are different (the reason i put john in brackets is because most people realize this about John's gospel, that his concern and style make it a little different. but for some reason the other writers aren't afforded the same courtesy)

Instead here's what i propose as another hopelessly flawed (yet possibly helpful) analogy...Think about it this way. 4 men are big fans of former president JFK. All 4 had contact with him, watched his life and work unfold. And all 4 want to write about him.

One of them decides to write a full biography arranging facts of his life, schooling, family, etc. and does so, trying to give a complete historical picture of who JFK was.

But one of the authors is really interested in JFK as a man of faith and so writes his book focusing on his faith journey and how it shaped him and influenced his work in office.

another author is taken with the whole Kennedy family and writes his book looking at JFK as the pinnacle of the family's influence, the Kennedy of Kennedys.

the last author sees JFK as the greatest president who ever lived. And so his book is written with a mind to prove that belief.

Now would you be surprised to read through these 4 books and to find them different in content (not in accuracy)? or course not!

This, IMHO, is much closer to what we have in the 4 Gospels. We do NOT have four men all trying to give sworn depositions, we've got 1 guy doing that (luke) and the others are

- writing about Jesus as the promised Jewish Messiah but with a special eye towards how he was with the outcasts of society (matthew, the tax collector's, gospel)

- writing a heart-pumping thriller of a narrative that climaxes at the cross and leaves the resolution (the resurrection) a little up in the air to sympathize with and challenge all of us who have not seen him in Risen, bodily form (Mark, the young man who followed jesus from boyhood's, Gospel)

- writing about Jesus as a worker of miracles and signs who should be believed and trusted as the one through whom Life comes (John, "the disciple whom Jesus loved"'s, Gospel)

They aren't contradicting each other on the facts of the case, but their concerns, thematically and literarily drive them to write differently from one another.

There is more to be said, i hope i've at least given you something to think about the next time you read a Gospel (the Good News) of Jesus Christ... and for further study find a good Study Bible and read those introductions that come beforehand, i know i've found them helpful!

a solution to the struggle?

this is more of a post asking for your feedback/advice on something...

If you read the "life's greatest struggle" post you know that i'm trying to have a more balanced life taking care of family time, exercise, and all the other stuff that life forces you to try and balance...

and i think i came up with a parital but EXPENSIVE solution. Joc and I were talking about joining lifetime fitness, we do this every so often until we realize how much it costs. But it was different this time, because joc brought up that if we joined lifetime that we could work out TOGETHER.

now for some of you working out with your partner may sound awful, but joc and i have done it often before and enjoy it. Since lifetime has childcare we could drop the girls off workout and even sit for a while and talk after... it could be a date night and a workout night... or we could make a trip to lifetime everyday and workout some and drink smoothies in the cafe on others all with babysitting taken care of :)

but i guess i'm wondering if there are any lifetime members (or anyone else) out there who would be able to shed light on whether or not this is a good idea or whether i've lost touch with reality. If we do join, it IS expensive so we're talking of divesting ourselves of cell phones (or at least me getting rid of mine) to free up cash flow for it. Before we dive in we wanted some feedback on whether this might have merit or is 100% idiotic. any counsel?

life's great struggle

life's great struggle for me (at least at the moment) is working out. I've been awful at it this summer and my body knows it. I don't feel as good as i could, my stress level is higher, i could go on.

But the crux of my problem is that i've been really busy and i always think that an easier life is right around the corner. "next week will be better and i can start then. There's NO WAY i can do it this week!" but "next week" is no better.

This is not just a working out problem, it's the same with going out on dates with my wife, or calling a friend who lives out of town, or going to lunch with someone i want to go deeper with. "Now" always seems horribly inconvenient and i imagine that somehow tommorow will change all that. But it never works that way.

I guess what i'm learning is that you just have to do stuff like this NOW and not wait around. But how do you even begin?

argh! this makes me wonder if i'm bad at life-management or if i'm just struggling to fit too much in.

And hopefully this will serve as an adequate excuse for NOT blogging very often :)

proof that God is better than we deserve

I believe that so many things in my life are gifts to me...way better than anything I deserve. It keeps it all in perspective when I'm crying about life not being fair.

here's some of my joy. Ellie (3yrs) and Aria (6 mos). far more than i deserve.

white lies

i came across an interesting article on CNN.com this morning. It was all about how people say they hate lying and they find it absolutely inexcusable, but most of those same people admit to lying themselves.

(full text go here)

it reminded me of something my friend bob blogged on the other day ( go here) where he talked about the paradoxes of our faith and in the Bible.

I became very interested in our own personal capacity for paradox. We act like paradoxes in the Faith are so crazy but then we can do things ourselves like say, "lying is absolutely detestable" and then 1 min later say "yes I lie sometimes"

that's not to say i'm surprised by our own paradoxes, i'm really not. The Bible talks about the tension we live in, especially those of us who are found in Christ... we are sinners and saints at the EXACT SAME TIME. But i guess I wonder why we pretend to be so stumped by seemingly contradictory things in our faith when we live 90% (or more?) of our lives IN contradiction?

Furthermore why are we so shocked when we find out that someone else has been living in contradiction?
the conservative talk show host who likes pain meds
the preacher who talks about immorality but can't keep his own nose clean
the serial-killer who was an upstanding member of his local church, even the congregational president
the great theologian who teaches the world a lot about God's love and yet has an awful streak of hate inside
the mom who teaches her kids to stay away from drugs but who uses them herself just so she can keep up with life
etc., etc.

i'm not trying to excuse ANY of these things, they are all wrong and sad... but i think our outrage betrays the fact that these kinds of contradictions all hit way too close to home. And maybe realizing that isn't such a bad thing, because then maybe we'd be more apt to rest in God's Grace (undeserved love brought to us through Jesus Christ's death and resurrection), rather than our own public "face" (no cheesy rhyme intended)

enough for now, what do you think? (other than the people who normally comment on my blog who have probably already commented on this similar topic on bob's :)) peace.

peeling back the callous

i've been around a lot of scammers in my life. a few of them were family members or good friends of the family. Growing up with people like this around you, It gives you a kind of "intuition" about when someone is full of it and when they are being honest.

I sometimes feel like i'm getting a little too cynical about people though. You see so many abuses and you start to get all tough and callous-like...

but i keep trying to remember to peel back the callous... that doesn't mean i'm going to become a sucker. But maybe there are worse things in life than being the sucker. Maybe having a crusty, hard heart is worse.

i'm not sure of my point :) maybe just pray for me to be wise and yet "soft"
cheers.

heaven-the heavens

i said something in a message the other day that got a few people asking the same question. Jesus said "heaven and earth will pass away but my words will never pass away" a few people were puzzled that "heaven" should pass away.

It had never occurred to me before how confusing this word could be. Not only the word but the concepts that have come to stand behind the word (which is i guess is simply what "meaning" is).

The Bible talks about "the heavens" as everything that is not on earth. Sometimes it's translated as "the expanse" some have hypothesized that a better translation would be "the universe"-though meaning the universe that is beyond earth. To say "heaven and earth" is to talk about everything that is created.

Interestingly we have come to talk about the place where God lives as "Heaven" it has become a proper noun. We say that our deceased loved ones are "in Heaven" And this sounds reasonable because in the prayer Jesus taught us he started off "Our Father in Heaven" Sounds a lot like "Dion in Walled Lake" (not that i'm comparing myself to God :)) but is that what it means?

Jesus' prayer was indicating that the Father he was praying to was not someone who was bound to earth. I've got a father in Milan, Michigan... a father in law in Rochester Hills... Jesus had a father named Joseph who lived in Nazareth. But in his prayer he is talking to the father who is NOT of earth.

In the same way when people die we often say that they are in "heaven" to our ears that means they are in some far off place with God... which is true. In the Bible's language though that would mean simply that they were no longer here in the earthly, created realm. Perhaps it would be more fitting, even more Biblical to talk about those who died in faith being "with God" or "with Jesus" since that's the good part anyway... who cares about whether you are sitting face to face with God in Detroit, Ft. Wayne, San Jose, on a distant star...or beyond it all...the point is that you are with God.

When we get to be with God, there will likely be no roadsign on the way that says

now entering...HEAVEN
"a nice place to spend 10,000 years"
population billions

If the place has a name perhaps it will be called "the LORD is there." (cf. Ez 38) but again the place isn't important. The one who dwells there is. But it won't even make sense to call it heaven anymore... that indicates what is beyond us and it won't be "beyond" anymore and God's face won't be hidden.

So Heaven and Earth will pass away, everything in the created universe will...but the dwelling place of God (wherever it is and whatever it is rightly called) will not, he sits above his creation and will endure forever. Have i made any sense here?

get political?

So by now you've heard of the "religious right", right? :) A name given to conservative Christians who are very political with their views and work together to get their voices heard by the government on certain issues.

I'm not at all opposed to Christians making their voices heard in government. We could stand to do more i think.

But to put it on the table, I get pretty uncomfortable with the "religious right" and the many movements of Christians trying to exert political influence.

Again, not because i oppose the idea of Christians in politics, but really it's because i wonder about the battles we've chosen to fight.

I think a good number of the initiatives being put forward by Christian groups at present are more or less good initiatives. But I wonder why it is that we can get millions of Christians fired up about protecting marriage (which again, i tend to think is a good thing) but can't get a fraction of those same people outraged about racial divisions in our country and ongoing discrimination against whole segments of God's creation. Or what about the way we treat widows and orphans, the poor and the alien?

When i read through the Bible there are MANY things about which God consistently "beats his drum" and yet when i look around the political scene today, i see Christians beating lots of drums, but conspicuously absent are some of those that God has been most passionate about since the beginning of humanity.

Isn't that odd? Does God care MORE about protecting marriage than helping relieve extreme poverty and exploitation? Does God care MORE about praying in schools or teaching creationism than he does about the growing numbers of people cast into prison and forgotten by society? Are school vouchers closer to the heart of God than the starving people worldwide?

If you looked at the things Christians get worked up about you'd have to say Yes to all of the above. But if you read the Bible, you'd be hard pressed to make such a case [eg.].

Again, let's not quit standing on those issues we love to stand on. But what if we stood on the things that not only get us passionate, but the things about which God tells us to be passionate?

something to think about.

one of the cool things about being a pastor

i got to preach/speak at a wedding a week or so ago. I get to do this fairly often, but this one was especially cool. It was for one of jocelyn and my old college friends (laurie) and a guy that i was good friends with at seminary (greg). They were two people from two different periods in our lives who ended up meeting (without our meddling, surprisingly) and now they're married. It was a very neat to have a front row seat as these two people's lives came crashing together in marriage. God's plans are so incredible, i can't begin to understand them. Congrats Laurie and Greg!

hey there...i noticed you noticing me

my wife jocelyn and i are awful people. We don't want to be that way and are working on it and in some ways we are less awful than we used to be a few years ago. every once in a while we think back to stuff we used to do that we aren't doing so much anymore. It's scary to do this because you realize that though we thought we were pretty good back then, we were pretty disgusting. I'm sure 3 years from now we'll look back at where we are today and have new things that are revolting that we were barely aware of...thank God for grace.

Just the other day we were talking about how we used to thrive on making people jealous. If you've ever tried to do this before you'll know that it is a strange ego boost, a way to feel worth something. If others were jealous of me that meant that I was better than they were and that was a thrilling feeling for me.

so the right clothes, the right look, a nice car, a good-looking woman on my arm, it was all part of the game and instead of enjoying those things i spent most of my time looking around to make sure people were turning green all around me. When they didn't it made me really mad, "don't they know?" i'd think, "uncultured swine!". But it'd make me want to try even harder.

Thankfully it seems that God is intervening here and he has begun to show me (us) that making others jealous isn't very fun. There is a thrill that lasts a minute and then I'm quickly looking around for someone else to make jealous. The demands keep getting higher and so do the credit card bills :)

much more fulfilling is being a person who makes others feel good. I noticed that other people like me, jealousy-makers, they are pretty detestable people. And though i sometimes find myself admiring them, another part of me knows it's all repulsive. The people i find truly admirable are those who work hard to make others feel good, important, interesting... not in a patronizing sort of way, I'm not talking about those who make stuff up that isn't true or lie. But i guess i'm talking about those who can make others feel worthy because they take the time to look deep enough to notice those worth while things that God has placed in all of us...sounds like a "diversity" lesson on some kids show on PBS, i know, but it's true nevertheless.

These people who do this, the people who make you feel comfortable and confident when you're around them, they aren't always the most impressive people, they may not be the people that you notice first in a crowd, but when you get to know them you discover that their mode of existence is beautiful and admirable. I find myself wanting to be like them, not in a jealous way but in a "these are people i could learn something from" way.

I should say, please don't look to me to try to see this in action. I'm still prone to being an awful person. But my mind has been opened and i think that's a good first step.

migraine

had a migraine the other day... my vision starts going, then i feel like i'm on crazy drugs. It's rather scary when it happens. I always wonder if i'm having a stroke or something... welcome to my over-dramatized brain.

after nearly a full day of recovery i was feeling back to normal. makes me very thankful for my health. Some people live with that kind of pain and scariness daily. Bless them.

but i'm curious, are there any other migraine sufferers out there? and if so what do you do to get rid of them? I've had three already since january, this is abnormal for me and a pain in the butt, er...bottom.

not a very exciting post for all of you waiting with bated breath :) (for an interesting article about that phrase check here) i'll try harder next time. someone just help me with my headaches.

ahh...peer pressure

my nearly 3 year old daughter, ellie, has a little friend-a beautiful little girl who shall remain nameless. they play together often. the other day ellie had a stint with her "best friend" and afterward i noticed her talking differently... pronouncing thing differently, "I was wwwolling it" she says to me. i tried to correct her... like most kids her age, she's never said her Rs perfectly. But like most anal parents my age, i try to use these moments as teaching ones. "Rrrroling" i say to her, "Rr-rrr-rrr-rolling." "No daddy!" she fires back, "Www-www-www"

that's the power of influence that comes with friendship. Ellie had thrown away what we've been teaching her for months in favor of saying things the way her little friend does. Not a big deal now, but i'm dreading when the same happens at 16.

I've been writing a few entries about friends lately. And this is just one more example of the crazy power that friends have over each other.

Now don't worry, i'm not warning you against the evils of peer-pressure. I actually telling you to seize the opportunity that friendship presents you... to influence others--not in selfish or sneaky ways, but in ways that'll make you both nicer to be around and more Christ-like. That will make you both brighter lights in the world.

It may seem manipulative to talk this way, but the truth is that you WILL influence your friends anyway, i'm advocating being intentional about it, for their good, for yours, for the good of the world and the cause of Christ... okay maybe that sounds a little cheesy and hopeful, but i really believe if we don't get intentional about the influence we already exert, then before we know it the whole world will be talking about "Wwwascally Wwwabits" and things of the sort.

Holy Week

it's what the church calls "holy week", this week is. It's pretty phenomenal when you think about it.

From the "hosannas" (lit. "please save us") of Palm Sunday when the crowds cheered Jesus' coming into Jerusalem, celebrated him like a member of the 1984 Detroit Tigers... to the awe of Maundy (lit. command) Thursday where Jesus lifted up bread and wine and instituted a new Holy meal of his own Body and Blood for us to partake in (thus the reason for the word "maundy" since Jesus gave the order to "do this in remembrance of me")... and then you've got Good Friday, that sad horrible day when we are confronted with how depraived we humans really are, that we could kill God, and yet still knowing that somehow it is "good" that God would use it to take our sin... and then Easter Sunday, that great celebration where we see Jesus vindicated, brought to a new life offering the same to all who would accept it.

All of that...in one little week. And with life still going full steam ahead, maybe we miss out on the significance of this week... the experience that God wants to give us.

I'm praying that God would allow me to take it all in, to receive this week's events with open arms, eyes, mind, and heart... i pray that God would do the same for you. There's nothing like this, don't let it pass you by

not what you want to wake up to

as i stumble out in the kitchen this morning, still trying to adjust to this blasted daylight savings time, i look out the window. This is my normal practice, get a glimpse of the outdoors. this morning i strain my eyes to figure out what i'm seeing, rain? weird reflections from the outside lights? NO! SNOW.

okay so it isn't much snow, just a dusting. once the sun comes up it'll all be gone. But i'm amazed at how long and stubborn the winter season is here. I grew up in it but still...

i looked at the 10day forecast, this is POSSIBLY the last of it (though you can never count out the late april snowstorm here) I really hope it is. I'm ready for spring.

so raise your coffee mug with me... TO SPRING!

more bad news

So i'm reading all about the new layoffs at GM, reading about people who have worked there for 20 + years and who get called into a conference room and are told their job is being eliminated, to get their things and go. My heart goes out to each and every one of them. And while i'm reading this i'm also thinking of the ulcers that all the rest of the workers must have as try struggle through their workday, hoping no one from HR calls them into a conference room and gives them some news. I understand GM has to do this, their circumstances are beyond dire. And yet the new reality makes our whole metro area jittery.

I don't know what is happening with Michigan's economy. I know a lot of other states have diversified and brought in other more stable and growing industries. I'm worried that michigan has already missed that opportunity, or that our leaders will sit around and hope really hard for a turn-around of the auto industry in 2008... or something silly like that.

My hope is that through all these changes that Jesus Christ becomes more desireable to all of us. He's the Rock of Ages, the one who is always the same, always reliable, always generous, always loving. And i know, because i've seen it time and again, that he will provide for those who need provision. "do not worry about what you will eat or what you will wear...your father knows your needs" The security that GM, Ford, and Chrysler have long provided is proving to be an illusion. Maybe we're able to see things more clearly now, that long standing institutions can't protect, help, or save us. but Jesus can and does.

Through all of this upheaval in our part of the world i pray that Jesus Christ shows himself to be what each of us has always longed for. Someone stable and good...someone to build our lives on.

Let me know if you've been affected personally, [email] i'll be glad to add you to my personal prayers.

a plant of slow growth

George Washington used this term to describe friendship..."a plant of slow growth". I'm assuming that means that it takes a lot of work and feeding a friendship before you can really reap the benefits...So true, at least in my experience.

I find friendship to be much harder than i want it to be, maybe it's because i'm a difficult person and not a very good friend. But maybe it's because friendship IS hard. Maybe that's why it's so important for us to partake in, because it's hard and hard things often make us stronger, kinder, more humble humans. Don't get me wrong though, when you invest, it's also a really great thing... "a plant of slow growth."

I constantly go through cycles of wanting to just give up on all my friends (no offense to any of you) because it is harder than i want it to be. And then later realizing how "worth it" the work is. I had a friend come into town a few weeks ago just to see me. He flew in spent about 36 hours and then flew home, because that was all the time i had to spare. It was a great visit... and kinda nutty too, but that's the beauty of friendship.

I had coffee with another friend the other day. Just sat for an hour or so talking. i walk away from encounters like that baffled at how good they can be for my soul, convinced that it's worth the work.

My concern is that people are giving up on genuine friendship today in the same way that they give up on their marriages, their families, their jobs. When it gets tough they bail. I understand the tendency, but it's really sad and i'm afraid people are missing out without realizing it (again the 'disposable friend' idea from Fight Club)

Maybe think on these things the next time you're ready to throw the towel in on someone in your life and scout for an easier friendship. it just might be worth the work to hang in there.

friends and penguins

i was talking to a friend the other day about the cycle of life. I started thinking about how strange this all is. Here I am in this phase of life where my life is my family. This is evidenced by the fact that when my family is gone i feel a horrible sense of loss. They are my community, and so it is hard to sustain really deep relationships with others. As my family gets bigger, my sense of loneliness gets much greater whenever they take a vacation without me.

But i think back to college and seminary only a few years ago, and things were different. Our lives (mine and jocelyn's) were much more connected with other people's lives. We had this grander experience of community that was much larger in scope. But now here we are with our tight intimate "family" circle. With little outside intrusion.

My friend and I were reflecting on how as time goes on, and your kids grow, you reconnect in with the larger community. Suddenly your circle becomes larger. It can happen too as people age, as spouses die, suddenly the walls of "family" aren't there and so you mingle back out into the larger societal cohort and so you experience closeness with many other people, a more diverse "circle"

we chalked this up to the normal cycle of life. But then i started thinking about those crazy penguins.

If you've seen "the march of the penguins" you know what i'm talking about. Their life cycle is almost reversed. They do their own thing for a few years and then when it comes time to have baby penguins, they all come together. In the movie they kept saying how it was as if the penguins together were becoming a new collective organism. They repeat this for a number of years, year after year, coming together to populate the antarctic with penguins. And then when they're done they go off and do their own thing again.

So my question is, does it have to be this way? This cycle of life thing? Sure we're talking about creatures as different as arctic birds and humans (although those of us who live in michigan might actually relate better to penguins than to those who have no idea what even an "ice scraper" is). But do we unnecessarily cloister ourselves off from the rest of the world when kids come into the picture. And is that always healthy? Don't get me wrong i love to be cloistered off with my family. They are my life's joy, but maybe that's part of this whole problem... should i be keeping that joy to myself or might that joy be something worth sharing with others around me.

Maybe this is the loneliness talking, but might there be room to surround your kids with a loving and safe home environment while at the same time not removing yourself so greatly from community with others? could we stand to be more penguin-like?

why i give... reason #3

maybe this'll be my last one on giving... we'll see.

I give because I believe Jesus is coming back.

this one may seem like a stretch, if so, sorry, but it makes sense to me. which is all i really care about anyway ;)

I believe Jesus is coming back and I believe that it is going to be soon. That is exciting and unnerving. But here's where it gets me on giving.

First, i believe my giving can make a difference in the world. I (we) have a sponsor kid through Compassion International. Joc and i started it sponsoring right after we were married. We figured it'd be one way to love someone else, especially before we had kids of our own. I know that my giving means something to him. I also know that my giving is making a difference in the world through my local church (i won't go into detail, being that i work for the church it could sound like i'm patting myself on the back-nevertheless God IS working). This is important to me because i believe that there is only so much time to make a difference. Then Jesus will return, the timeline of history will be broken and a new existence will commence. I don't want to have regret on that day about not doing enough to prepare people for that moment. So that's why i give of myself, time, family, money... it's in the hope that by giving myself away others might live.

But here's another reason. The bible tells a story about a guy who had a bunch of wealth and he just stored it up thinking he would need it one day or something. But then shortly after he died. It isn't a sad story, its really a story that you shake your head at and say "what an idiot!" I've heard other stories (no idea if they are true) about little old ladies who eat moldy bread and canned beans day after day and then die to reveal they had a million dollars in the bank and no heirs. Seems foolish.

Now i have no reason to belive i'm going to die any time soon... but i could... or Jesus could come back, and how much of an idiot will i feel like if i have a big IRA built up with a great house, cars, and toys ... instead of using my resources to make an eternal difference. If i choose not to give, all the stuff i spend my money on is waste, stuff that will pass away... it's foolishness to put too much into that stuff because Jesus IS coming back soon and like someone said, (and a lot of people have said since) "you can't take it with you"

Just so you know i'm not a doomsday prophet or anything, by saying jesus is coming back "soon" i guess i mean that i choose to live my life with the constant expectation of his coming, so i'm not caught off guard (or i should say not caught off guard as much). There is only so much time left to make a difference, and giving sure does make a difference, eternally. I try to keep that in mind when i'm floundering in my commitment and feeling selfish, "If i spend this money on me, what might i be cheating eternity out of?" peace.