compromised immune system

When I was a boy, mom and dad smoked. A lot. When you walked from room to room, you could actually see the 'clouds' part as you cut through them... sorta like a jet airplane leaving those cool swirly contrails as it knifes through fog...

Most everyone's parents smoked. It was the thing to do... I mean, think of how popular a gift the ashtray was... How would you like to own an ashtray company today?

Anyhow, a few weeks ago, my family was passing around a winter headcold... they're very thoughtful that way. and, of course, I caught it.

But because my momma and daddy smoked for all 18 of my years at home, a simple head cold descended into my compromised lungs and became bronchitis, heading toward pneumonia. And I did what I have done at least once a year for most of my adult life: I went to the doctor, got a steroid shot, started on a high-powered antibiotic and a codeine-laced cough syrup and laid in bed for a couple days while God and the medicine did their work.

It's miserable. It's not end-of-the-world miserable (though my wife will tell you I am the BIGGEST BABY on the planet... and she's right!), but it is very very unpleasant.

and it got me to thinking... how many of my peers and fellow adults are smoking around their kids and grand kids. I think I will start preaching my message to every idiot who lights up in a confined space - like a car - with a child inside... yeah, I think I will...

but it also got me to thinking something else... when we are 'surrounded' and daily bombarded with spiritual pollution, what long-term affects might that have?

I mean, if my lungs are indeed unable to defend themselves against a common head cold - like most peoples' lungs can easily do - how bout my soul? How is THAT affected by all the 'smoke' I have inhaled (wittingly or not) over the years?

That's the thing with sin. You may think you are maintaining a perfectly healthy defense system... but all the while you are letting junk into your mind that erodes and corrupts your spiritual immune system.

'minor' temptations then become not so minor. and falling into habitual sin becomes much more possible...

what antibiotic do you take then? what shot do you get? How do you undo the damage from all the garbage you have allowed to enter your soul?

here's the deal with my lungs... I asked the doc if there was anything I could do to repair whatever damage has been done. I was a little bit scared to learn that there is not. I will always have a compromised respiratory system because of what I was exposed to when I was a boy. Period.

thankfully, God does give us a salve that can heal. I pray daily that God will remove the bad things from my 'soulmemory' that I have exposed my heart to over the years... and His Word is a healing balm that WILL undo what damage we have done.

Thank God!

From Eternity to Here

My First Frank Viola book was Pagan Christianity, and it gave me a voracious appetite to read whatever else Mr Viola had to say on the subject of 'church'.

and I have not been disappointed! His books speak to my heart in a way that no other writings on the subject ever have... and I suspect I am not alone. I am 47 years old and, like most of my friends, woke up a decade or so ago to ask "is this it?"

I was 'raised in the church' like most of my peer group... but always felt like what I was 'doing' - which consisted of spending an inordinate amount of time deciding and executing what was done at a building 2 hours a week - was empty and relatively meaningless.

Mr Viola hits me right between the eyes with each of the books I have read... and 'from eternity to here' (like his other books) does not simply sit back and take potshots at organized religion, it gives terrific, real, relevant, Biblical insight to the burning question of my day: "what IS church?"

I highly recommend this book to any serious seeker of the Way!

Blessings!

the Message

So my friend Doyne introduced me to a new (to me) version of the Word... it is called the Message... many of you have heard of it.... I had.

But I hadn't read it until a few weeks ago... and I gotta admit I am hooked!

Some will argue that it is a watered down version... others, no doubt, will call it a per-version (instead of a 'version'... cute play on words, don't you think?) The latter group are the same ilk who once stated that 'NIV' would be more aptly titled the 'HIV' because it is a virus... (yeah, I know... sorta blasphemous, huh?)

anyhow, it occurred to me yesterday - during a sermon which culminated with the 'fruit of the spirit' in Galatians 5 - why this version may be so good. It certainly speaks to the heart of most seekers.... it is in plain language and is very easy to read and simple to understand (sorta like the Gospel, right?)

but the one piece of it which I believe makes 'the Message' very important is this:

it speaks about concepts instead of lists

which drives the anal retentive (like me) absolutely nuts!

I like lists! I crave them!

and my old KJV (and even, to a lesser extent, my NIV) really does an incredible job of satisfying my 'list hunger'...

but yesterday, while I was listening to the preacher - who read from the NIV while I followed in my 'message' - it hit me! Here is the difference:

NIV:
"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage; selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies and the like. I warn you, as I did before, those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

now there are some GREAT LISTS! and pretty easy to understand, no doubt.... but we like lists SO MUCH that we memorize the list... we write tunes to go with them so we can sing them in Children's Church! (and there is nothing wrong with that....) but...

I believe with all that is in me that Paul is NOT trying to provide us with an exhaustive list of 'bad things' that we must avoid... he is drawing a character sketch, describing for us the types of things unGodly people habitually DO which makes them WHO they ARE! (obviously we want to avoid becoming THAT way, so we will run away from everything on the 'list'...)

nor is he trying to give us a complete list of all good things... he is painting a masterpiece of what a Godly person looks like by listing a sampling of what Godly people DO which makes them WHO they ARE!

here is the Message's "take" on Galatians 5:19-23:
"It is obvious what kind of life develops from trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods, magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness, cut-throat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied-wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits, the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community; I could go on. This isn't the first time I've warned you, you know... If you use your freedom in this way, you will not inherit God's Kingdom.
But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard - things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. Legalism is helpless in bringing this about."

Harder to make a song out of that, I know.... but I believe it paints an accurate picture of a Godly person versus an unGodly one.

I am certain that Bible Scholars will not agree with my assessment of 'the Message'. I wouldn't expect them to.... they are paid to make lists and test students on those lists...

I am no longer certain that any of THAT matters.

I am fearful that we have replaced the Bible command to 'engraft' the word in our hearts (James 1:21) with the rote memorization of lists from a particular Bible translation... we have become those Pharisees Jesus talks about in harsh tones who 'pray to be seen by men' and 'wear their phylacteries (scripture boxes) on their heads for all to see....'

I don't know that 'the Message' will change any of that.... but this version speaks to my heart... it reads like a novel, and I cannot put it down!

Blessings!

grace growers

we've all got em'.

grace growers... you may not know it, but you've got 'em...

don't believe me?

take this test:

• Is there someone in my life that make my life more difficult?
• Does it seem like no matter where I go or what I do, THAT person is there, testing my patience?

yeah, me too....

and until last week, I looked at that person with.... well.... let's say my attitude toward that person was less than great. (OK, I wished they would move away from here and that I would NEVER have to see them again!) sorry. that's how I felt.

but last week a friend was describing a person in her life that was an absolute thorn in her side... consistently and continually.

but she did not describe this person as her nemesis or as an enemy or as the devil (all descriptions which I have used for MY thorn)... she described HER thorn as a grace grower.

yep, a grace grower.... someone who God places (and keeps) in your life to teach you grace.

wow. grace growers...

we've all got 'em... and God is using them to teach us. He's using mine to teach me... to be merciful and gracious and forgiving. and less judgemental and less harsh...

James says we should count it as pure joy when we are tried. I never made the connection between THAT and my grace grower..... til now.

it doesn't make it any more pleasant for me.... but maybe pleasant is not exactly what God has for me... perhaps pleasant is not what I need.

(you see 'em differently now, don't you? maybe you see them a little more like God does....)

blessings!

your problems may not be that big

So... while I travel along my selfish path, I become convinced that I am the center of my world.

and that everyone else is somehow orbiting me, the center... the sun.

Before long, I am certain that anyone who is not completely in tune with my vibe and in agreement with my idea is my enemy... or at the very least, ignorant and unenlightened.

how can I be so self-absorbed?

If I will look up from my arrogance for a second, it may be that I discover that people have their own lives. and their own tragedies... and their own stuff do deal with.

is it possible that when someone walks past me without saying hello, they are not being hateful, they are just burdened with their own set of circumstances?

is it possible that my ideas are not the only ideas worth considering?

Could it be that the reason some folks don't place the same importance on my important junk is that they have more important important junk of their own?

Maybe they have more on their plate than me. and maybe my important stuff just isn't.

yep, i'm pretty sure of it.

may God bless us as we elevate others above ourselves and listen... for the chance to help.


Blessings!

clouds of doubt

For the Believer, faith is vital.

"being sure of our hope and certain of the unseen"... that's what the Spirit breathed into the Hebrew writer's pen...

and here's the piece of it I am finally beginning to learn: faith not only improves our 'future vision', it brings into 20/20 focus the things that happened before! as a matter of fact, the latter is necessary to the former!

After opening the chapter with faith's definition, the writer spends a LOT of time giving examples from the past... so we can believe. So we don't forget..

But more and more, doubt clouds our faith vision. and we become less sure of anything, and suspicious of His leading. We explain away God's daily miracles... we sanitize His present activeness and rationalize His awesome power.

We use words like fate and coincidence to explain away the things God does for us every minute of every day...

and here's the devil's insidious tactic: he convinces us that what we saw - what we lived through - wasn't REALLY a miracle. he whispers to us that what we read about is a fairy tale... he leads us to find scientific explanations for the divine...

"that parting of the Sea" says the Israelite who JUST LIVED THROUGH THE MOST HARROWING CLOSE CALL IN HUMAN HISTORY!, "that was just a freakish wind pattern that caused the waters to part and allow us to walk across dry land...."

"That pillar of fire..." says the one who has been miraculously led by said pillar for months!, "really just a low-hanging constellation..."

and we have big fun at the Israelite's expense.... "oh those silly Jews... how could they NOT see something so obvious" says us...

"now if God only did THAT sorta stuff TODAY, well, THEN I would be able to really get into this faith and belief business..." says me, as I sit in the church pew beside Dawson, a perfectly beautiful and smart 6 year old little boy who I held - literally - in the palm of my hand at Children's Hospital when he was first born. 18 weeks early. the miracle. the surviving twin of an extremely premature birth.

satan is a filthy liar spewing clouds of doubt... and we - if we are not extremely careful - buy it! Hook, line and sinker! We cannot be sure of anything...

no wonder we can't trust the future..... we refuse to see the past clearly...

and the worst part, perhaps? The doubt that clouds our vision? doesn't come from CNN or Fox or MSNBC (I mean, they are the worst enemies of faith and belief, but I have long since tuned out that white noise)... MY clouds of doubt come from folks who purport to be believers!

Let's remember. Let us remember God. let's resolve not to make mundane the divine... and let's decide to believe... and to surround ourselves with believers.... and to encourage belief and faith in all those we touch every day.

I know He is in control because I have lived it. So I trust that He will continue to do His miracles in my life.

All I gotta do is clear away the clouds of doubt.

when things go wrong

I really like it when things go just like I planned.

and I really do not like it when they don't.

I mean, I reeeeeaaaallly don't like it.

but, from all I can read... in history, in the Bible, even in novels... and from all I know from 47 years of living...

it is clear that we simply don't grow without challenges.... we just can't learn unless we encounter hardship... and we absolutely won't deepen our faith in the absence of conflict.

When James exhorts us to 'count it pure joy when we face all kinds of trials', what do we think that entails?

I guess I always sorta hope it doesn't apply to me, or that I am immune somehow to the immutable rules of natural growth and education...

The only thing I know is this: God has brought me and my family through some difficult times. and He will again....

and my faith will grow and I will be a stronger witness for His Glory.

but, dang, it is really hard for me to embrace the concept...

you?

blessings!

facebookless

I deactivated my Facebook yesterday.

I have struggled with what exactly this thing called Facebook is.... and finally decided that, for me, it is an unhealthy timewaster. at least.... (at most it feels a little like voyeurism...) sorry to all you Facebookers... if it is not that for you, then cool! ...if you love your Facebook, God bless ya'!

The questions I had to ask myself surrounded the old cost/benefit analysis...

what does Facebook cost me and what does it give me?

yeah, I know it's 'free'... I mean what does it cost me in time and mental energy and, well, what does it do to me spiritually and emotionally?

and what does it benefit me?

"Oh, I can keep in touch with ALL my friends!!!"

really?

at least half my 'friends' on Facebook are people I barely know! My real life friends have my email and my cell phone number... they know where I live.

old-fashioned? maybe... but I don't think so... I am a gadget-technology freak!

OK, I'll stop preaching... every one has to do what they gotta do...

I know Facebook is not some evil communist godless plot! I understand that it, like many things on the 'net, are morally neutral...

I am just explaining that I am facebookless now....

nothing horrible happened... I wasn't abducted by kidnappers or aliens.... I didn't get my identity stolen.... and, please stop asking me why I 'de-friended' you! I didn't!

I just deactivated my Facebook account....

if, for you, it is not a timewaster.... if it is not a negative influence for you... go for it!

If you need to talk to me, call or text or email or, for crying out loud, stop by the house!!!

Blessings!

paralyzing fear

there are a lot of things fear will do for you.

God wired your body so that fear (or more specifically, immediate danger) triggers a response in your adrenal gland that we have come to call the 'fight or flight' hormone.

action is required, so your body is flooded with adrenaline to equip you to run away fast or vanquish the attacker.

But sometimes we neither fight nor flee. we freeze. I have read accounts of this phenomenon... in battle and in the wild... and in every case, the attacked becomes the victim. and usually dies.

within organizations, I have rarely seen fight or flight... I sometimes wish that were not the case...

instead, when we are afraid as a group, we become paralyzed. We do nothing.

too fearful to make a wrong move, we simply stand still.

and when churches are paralyzed by fear, they die.

I suppose I am not advocating that we be in a constant state of flux... and I don't guess I would want for us to always have adrenaline pumping through our collective veins...

but I am quite convinced that God does not wish for us to settle into rote and habit and routine, and I believe that He wants us to be unafraid... I am Biblically Certain that He did NOT give us a spirit of fear. (Rom 8:15)

God Bless us as we Claim His Promise and live up to His Expectation!

the mission?

"Actions speak louder than words"....

ya know, cliches don't become cliches without some merit. and this cliche definitely has merit....

"don't do what I do, do what I say" is a close second cousin...

If you pay attention to how we (religious folks) act, you may come up with a different mission than the one we articulate with our words.

In the realm of walking the walk as well as talking the talk, we have failed miserably... and the saddest part of THAT is this: the mission is really really vitally important!

If you listen to the words of preachers and proselytes, you hear something like this (with regard to mission statement):

• we are to be seed-spreaders
• 'to seek and save the lost'
• we must preach Jesus
• to help each other here on earth to get to heaven
• we need to Unify the body
• to speak where the Bible speaks and to be silent where it is silent
• to be about restoring the 1st century church

and on and on and on it goes.

If, however, you listen to the actions of religious leaders and their followers, you may get a different message.... I fear that our actions (which, yes, always speak louder than our words, no matter how loud we shout) may betray us. yep, the casual observer may infer something more like:

• we gotta keep score (saved and lost)
• we need to correct (usually through printed or online rags)
• we must be right and prove it
• we have to do our Sunday morning ritual correctly

what if we were at least honest about our mission? what if what others heard from us was exactly what they saw from us?

how would that smell?

My guess is it would smell a lot more real. I have a hunch it would be a lot more attractive - or at least less repulsive - to those we are trying to reach.

What if we actually spent more time preaching the unifying message of Jesus Christ than picketing and blogging and slamming other religious (or non-religious, for that matter) folks?

We fall so deeply in love with being right - and proving it at all costs by any manner - that we cannot possibly be heard about the really important things.

and we are irrelevant.

and nobody is listening.

because we are the know-it-all Pharisees.

remember them?

read the 4 gospel accounts of Jesus' dealing with these religious leaders (Matthew 23 is my personal favorite) ...and then honestly compare them to your religious group.

If we are not too scared to honestly compare us - religious people of today - to them (yeah, the group which He routinely blasted and challenged), I believe we (you, me) will earnestly repent and set about to try to act out our words...

because, let's face it: until your stated mission is supported by your overt actions, your mission is worthless.

God Bless us as we dwell in the center of His will, and truly live out His mission in our lives.

fall has fell (or is it fallen?)

don't you just love this time of year! I do... really it may be my favorite... right up there with Spring and Summer and Winter...

leaves are turning and the air is less thick... the grass has slowed down its growing - finally! football is in full swing and basketball is just around the corner!

I am blessed indeed!

get out and enjoy the beautiful Ozarks in the fall!

God Bless!

penance?

Guilt is an interesting emotion.... it is at once a dirty feeling and a great motivator... but it usually misses the point.

We love to beat ourselves up because of our failures... society almost demands it! as if self-flagellation is the path to absolution...

Dusty Rush preached a sermon a few weeks ago about Old Temple vs New Temple theology, and in it he told the story of fictional character Rodrigo Mendoza (played by Robert De Niro) in 'the Mission', a movie about 18th century slave trade in South America...

Mendoza is a ruthless mercenary slave trader who wants to turn from his evil ways, and ultimately seeks redemption from a Jesuit priest after killing his beloved brother in a duel over a woman. For his penance, Mendoza drags the heavy weapons of his former trade in a sack on a journey to accompany the Jesuits to visit the tribe which Mendoza has terrorized during his former life.

Upon meeting the son of one of the men he kidnapped and delivered to a plantation owner, Mendoza expects the native Guarani Indian to kill him. Instead, he cuts the pack of weapons off of Mendoza, effectively freeing him of the heavy burden he has carried for so long and absolving him of his sin.

To some, this is a beautiful story... many Christians believe this is an accurate picture of God and man.

To me, this is a horrible, misguided, ugly tale of man's attempt to assuage the wrath of the Living God. The reason it is so horrible is that the sacrifice has already been made, the absolution has already been granted and

the PENANCE HAS ALREADY BEEN PAID!

the longer Christians hold on to some twisted man-made model of forgiveness and penance and penalty, the further we stray from the truth!

Hallelujah! Christ paid your debt!

Praise God! you are free!

act like it!

'til the whole world hears'

another perspective

restoration movement.... what does that phrase mean to you?

well, I have harped and ranted that it certainly cannot mean restoring the church of the 1950s...

if it is a grand enough vision to aspire to a restoration plea, it's gotta be that we try to restore the church of the 0050s...

but a good friend and partner in the Way recently shared his perspective with me, and I gotta say it made sense. At the very least, it made me rethink the whole idea.

If the restoration plea is one which purports to re-establish the early 1st century church, there is a problem or two with that.

as an example, my friend revealed to me that - in order to return to that Acts 2:42-47 model, we would have to live in that time. and, simply stated, we just don't.

we wanna say that a strong sense of community is what we need, what we want. But honestly, when was the last time someone was dragged away from your small group and thrown in jail?

When was the last time you were meeting in your home church and had to get quiet all of a sudden so that you wouldn't be heard talking or singing about Jesus?

Has anyone ever asked the question 'Hey, I wonder where Jim has been... he hasn't been with us in a while?' only to find out that Jim was taken from his home in the middle of the night and tortured to death for his faith?

my friend's point is simple and powerful: unless we are pressed like the first century churches, we cannot possibly understand what 'community' meant to them.

I have friends who have lived in tough places... places where it was forbidden to worship God or talk about Jesus... but most of them come home after their relatively short, temporary visits to places like China and other hostile environs.

(this is not about missionaries or foreign travel... this is about whether we can really model that first century church. here. today.)

So we would have to move our family to the far east to duplicate the kind of persecution which forged their specific bond and community.... and that sounds kinda ridiculous, right?

I don't think it excuses us. I believe we are called to be His Hands and His Feet.... I just wonder how realistic our restoration plea really is...

it's worth rethinking.

Blessings!

the God of YES!

Friends, consider this:

But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not "Yes" and "No."

For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not "Yes" and "No," but in him it has always been "Yes."

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ.

And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

- Paul's 2nd letter to his friends in Corinth....

don't you absolutely LOVE that?!!???

yeah, me too!

Blessings!

routine is evil

I am a creature of habit. I love routine. I like sameness.

and that is anathema to spiritual growth and development...

simply put, routine is the antithesis of adventure.

and habit is the opposite of excitement.

and sameness is a spirit killer.

God calls you to a faith adventure, while routine calls you to comfortableness, rote memorization, liturgy and boredom... more often than not, I answer routine's call... and ignore God's.

and all of that leads me away from genuine, alive, 'Christ-community' living.

and THAT'S why so many of our worship assemblies are lifeless.... and our churches are dead or dying. because they are populated by people who are not on any type of faith adventure... instead they are filled with folks who, like me, are routine addicts. So we 'go to church' instead of 'being the church'. and, for a couple hours a week we act holy and sing the right words and recite the correct verses.... and punch the clock. and God is not glorified... He is sickened (see Amos 5) ...and we get emptier instead of filled.

our allergy to change will be our undoing.

our addiction to routine is the salve

that soothes while hiding the real illness.

and no, it's not about entertainment value. it's about challenge. it's about growth. it's about authentic Christ life. it's about letting God be in control and it's about letting His Spirit lead us...

and we are missing it. badly.

Every worship experience (public or private) should be alive, because it is supposed to be our response to the Giver of Life!

So how can we 'get out of the way' and let the Spirit lead? How can we remove ourselves and our habits so Jesus can work? What can we do to make sure God is glorified and Jesus is lifted up, and truly LIVE out our Faith Adventure?

surely there is a clue in our addiction to routine and allergy to change. for my part, I intend to run from routine and embrace 'newness' and change... maybe that's a step in the right direction...

Blessings!

portrait of authentic church

If we take all we can glean from the Bible picture of 1st century church, it wouldn't resemble our modern day church.

at all.

Specifically with respect to the account Dr Luke provides in the very last part of Acts 2, we don't even pretend to imitate most of his description:

"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved"

So.... how am I doin' with that? how 'bout your 'church'... let's see:

• devoted to apostles doctrine and fellowship - not devoted, really
• communal living - no
• meeting and eating in each other's homes - occasionally
• outward focus, helping others - somewhat
• meeting daily for praise - no
• favorably viewed by the people - a little bit, maybe
• daily numerical growth - no
• 'turned the world upside down' (Acts 17:6) - hardly
  

so what do we do with that? is it important?

Maybe we could say that today's church is our 21st century version of that.

maybe... but even if we scrape away what we deem to be 'cultural' or completely unreasonable for us today, there is a LOT in the last half dozen verses of Acts 2 which we better pay attention to, right?

I mean, we gotta be more devoted and committed to the Jesus story (apostles doctrine)...

and we must have an outward focus (give to those in need)...

our addiction to our church buildings probably won't let us, but we might wanna consider the meeting in homes deal, right? (probably THE most important aspect of this whole 'authentic' thing, since building-based-religion is the antithesis of authentic 'church')

When we ask ourselves why God isn't blessing our church with the 'daily numerical growth' we read about here, don't we have to consider it's because we are not doing it right?

Does anyone have the courage to truly imitate this model? Obviously I don't. Otherwise I would stop writing and start doing!

Authentic Community is real and organic and natural. It is probably best depicted by the planting of a tree or shrub. think about it... how do we do that: I mean, how do we plant a tree or shrub or flower or squash plant? well, we cultivate the ground and place a seed in that tilled soil. we water it (or God does, if you live in Northern Arkansas during the past few days!). then... well, there's a lot of waiting... God provides the sunshine. And -remember this part - God has put in place tons of natural 'plant-growing' laws which most of us don't understand.... naturally occurring events which we have NOTHING to do with... we will do a lot cultivating... and we might clear away the weeds and keep away the critters... but God does everything else! naturally! and the plant grows.

beautiful!

Our model of 'planting' a church is so foreign to the organic 'planting' of a tree or shrub, it is unrecognizable as anything approaching 'natural'.

instead, we build a building, put our sign out, hire a preacher and, like Kevin Costner in 'Field of Dreams', we wait for them to come.

but sadly, this is not a movie... and though they do come (mostly in Pavlovian response to cultural norms, and sometimes in sincere response to the Spirit's tug to seek out 'something more'), the authentic nature of true Christian Community is never realized. ...and before long we are wringing our hands over those who have disappeared from our 'attendance roles'... we form visitation teams to visit those who have stopped coming to 'church'! And we wonder why their interest and excitement waned. (or, in an evil twist, we blame them for lack of commitment!)

and all along, we have no one to blame but ourselves... because these 'disappearers' were plugged in to religion and not to Jesus; we assimilated them into our denomination but not into authentic Christian community! We completely ignore the Acts 2 example of organic church.

all because we are trying to artificially create something that MUST happen organically! imagine trying to make the tree or plant grow faster... THAT'S what most of us are doing with 'church'. We add buildings and budgets and committees and programs... and rules to govern all that; we hire preachers and youth ministers and, oh yeah, it's time to add on or renovate the building, which affects the budget and requires more committees and rules... and probably more hiring of more people.... we argue over inane things like what songs to sing (or not sing) during our assemblies... we complain about the quality of 'preachin'... and we stagnate.... of course we do! after all, how 'organic' does any of that sound to you?

and before you know it, we are like every other 'church' in every other town in every other state in every other country in the world...

and the world remains unchanged. we are not turning anything upside down... how could we? we're doing it wrong. It's almost as if we got mixed up and decided to use the Old Testament 'church' model - Physical Temple Theology - instead of the New Testament model - Spiritual Temple Theology.

what would it look like if a dozen families committed to imitate this model for one year? if 12 courageous families devoted themselves to inviting friends (natural) into their home for food and prayer and study and fellowship....

what if, each week, those 12 'home churches' attracted (organically) a few folks to their gathering on, say, a Sunday night (or Monday evening, the day doesn't matter!)...

what if those 12 'shepherd/planters' would commit to meet with each other at least once a week to discuss weighty things about how their particular gatherings were progressing?

and, what if those 12 'house churches' decided to all meet together on Sunday for their 1st-day-of-the-week gathering and worshipped and shared and broke bread (in communion AND then a meal)?

what would it be like?

(it might look like a church which began organically with small groups; it might look like our 1st Century counterparts...)

oh, well... just dreamin'

none of us (me at the top of the list) are likely to muster the courage to actually act on any of this.

so.... see you Sunday at 'church'.

leadership (cont)

...odd thing about the Bible picture of a church elder/pastor: it is an individual portrait and not a group photo... (I understand that Paul refers to appointing elders in the plural, and I happen to believe there is good reason to have several elders.....but a shepherd - by definition - is a one-man job)...

maybe there's a reason for that: I mean do you ever read of elder's meetings in the Bible? Probably doesn't prove they didn't meet as a group, right? or does it? dunno...

but if a church elder is to look like a shepherd, we gotta ask some obvious questions, right? like:

• where did we get the idea for 'elder meetings'? (think: 'shepherd meetings')
• how did we ever begin to refer to it as the 'office of an elder'? - that sounds a lot like a political position to be 'held onto', right? (think: 'office of a shepherd')
• when did we start calling the group an 'eldership'? and why? (think: shepherdship, as in a group meeting of herders of sheep)

OK, that was maybe a bit of a tangential stretch... but we gotta admit that, in today's world, we miss a lot of the meaning behind the shepherd example, right? (do you hang out with real live shepherds in your day-to-day? me neither!)

but the people who read these letters firsthand knew. they WERE shepherds, some of them... they knew actual herders of sheep! and they would likely find humor in the idea of a 'group' of shepherds leading a flock! because they KNOW shepherding is a lonely job of one....

(again, I believe the Bible model calls for a plurality of elders, with good reason! We have all seen the negative results of SOME local pastor-led efforts... and this particular post is NOT a defense of a one-man-pastor-led congregation. But we have devolved this plurality idea into an unhealthy decision-making board of directors, which is DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITE of the shepherd model)

Could it be that our secular backgrounds cause us to crave the safety of a 'board of directors' mentality? I know of one church (and have heard of several more) which actually has an elder 'boardroom' complete with leather wing back chairs and a massive, curved-edge, mahogany-looking table! I mean, you could not tell any difference between it and the one at the local bank! Could that be because one of these men also served as CEO of the local bank?

How can we expect THAT environment to produce ANYTHING REMOTELY RESEMBLING true shepherding? Of COURSE the group which meets in such an environment will necessarily act like a decision-making board of directors!

I challenge us all to challenge those leaders among us to aspire to a Bible model of true shepherding... one devoid of budgets and refereeing and building maintenance and decision-rendering and policy-making... one that looks, above all, to the Great Shepherd as THE model and example.

after all, authentic church will not survive without it.

leadership is not pretty.

may God Bless us as we find our way together and figure this thing out... with patience and love and understanding, yes! ...and with challenging and exhorting and Bible study.

leadership is not pretty

it is a difficult thing, to lead. In my life, I have seen leadership modeled beautifully and I have seen leadership butchered.

I have observed it from afar and been in the very thick of it.

I have seen 'visionaries' and 'idea men' who understood strategy but had no ability to plan nor carry out their own ideas. I watch great tacticians and managers - they can execute a plan flawlessly - who have no vision whatsoever.... I see quiet leaders who command respect and deserve it...and I have seen precious few who are gifted with the 'leadership trifecta': vision, strategy and tactical skills...

I have been a leader and I have been a follower.

Admittedly, I find the latter more difficult than the former. I would like to think that's because I have some God-lent-giftedness toward leading... but it is more likely some huge character flaw - like being a control freak! - that makes me overestimate my worth and giftedness. I am likely a weaker leader than I perceive myself to be and a worse follower than I need to be...

All that said, I believe I have a good idea what healthy leadership looks like. And with regard to leading a church, I have very strong feelings as to what a good leader is... most of my ideas in that vein derive from Peter's first letter, which paints a most beautiful portrait of what a church elder/pastor would look like (chap 5)... and, of course, from Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus (when taken in context instead of jerked out of it to create a man made checklist litmus test!)...

Lynn Anderson also penned a book 'They Smell Like Sheep' which should be a prerequisite for any person aspiring to lead a church.

I believe it was in this volume that I read something like this: "If you are leading and nobody is following, you're just taking a walk"

It occurs to me that there are several styles or methods men and women use to lead (most modeled after secular example)... here are a few that come to mind:

• consensus leadership - this leader will always try to build consensus, to do what most people agree would be right and good... there is sometimes persuasion involved, as this leader has some feelings as to direction, and this leader model seems pretty good and logical.... but it may sometimes result in this leader agreeing to things they personally disagree with...
• majority leadership - a close cousin to the 'consensus' model, this one also wants to do what most people want... but depends less upon persuading people and more upon reflecting what the majority 'votes' for.... this leader has fewer strong convictions than the consensus leader, and usually wants hard data to support the hue and cry of the masses, in case he is challenged.
• compass leadership - probably the most difficult model, and the least applied in most organizations today... it calls for the leader to have a strong compass which governs his heart and influences his decisions. This method requires a rare moral certitude and takes the most courage by far, because compass leading will always be offending someone - maybe large groups of someones... (I would note that history - Biblical and Secular - remembers these types of leaders as the very best ones!)
• squeaky wheel leadership - this one is weakest, because it has no compass and depends upon the negative.... and it relies totally upon volume: and more often than not, much greater attention is given to the volume (loudness) of complaints than the volume (number) of complaints... it also potentially ignores a very large group of 'constituents' who are neither negative nor loud

while there may be some good found in each of these models, they all smack of school boards and city councils and bank boards, and seem to completely miss the point of what true 'church leadership' is meant to be... at least with respect to the Bible picture of 'shepherd' leadership.

That's because church leadership is different than corporate leadership...

it is meant to be imitative of true shepherding, not bank boards. ...and I haven't seen this model very much, frankly. I have read about it, but it is rarely modeled in the church of today.

the Shepherd is the perfect picture of what churches desperately need... I mean, think of what a herder of sheep actually does...

• cares for, guards and feeds the sheep
• directs and leads and guides them
• operates from a selfless stance, always considering what his flock needs

and doesn't do:

• have you ever heard of a shepherd building consensus? Hardly
• and what kind of attention would a herder of sheep give to a 'squeaky wheel'?
• have you heard of a shepherd taking votes among his sheep about which pasture to visit or what food to eat?

of the worldly models, it would seem that a true shepherd most closely resembles the 'compass' leader, right? (Frank Viola wrote this about that: "a true shepherd-leader knows what the next step is" ...pretty simple yet insightful.)

but the most widely applied 'secular method' of 'eldering' that I have observed is the squeaky wheel model. …a terrible model for church leadership which guarantees terrible results.

for the true shepherd, however, the Word is his compass. and he gives proper weight to both the LOUD VOICE and the DEAD SILENCE of scripture...

and he spends more time tending the sheep than rendering decisions, doesn't he?

(to be continued...)

from the comfort of bondage to the blue jeans of chains

don't you LOVE the feel of your favorite pair of bluejeans?

You know the ones... they sorta fit you just right.... loose and tight in all the right places, but, above all, COMFORTABLE!


the children of Israel were held in torturous captivity in Egypt.

against their will, they were enslaved. Their freedom was taken from them.

they were forced to work long, hard, inhumane hours to make bricks for construction of whatever the Egyptian Pharaohs wanted to build.

what they were forced to endure - for generations - is almost unimaginable.

then they were liberated. By God through Moses.

you saw the movie, right, the Ten Commandments? yeah, you remember, don't you, how Moses presented Pharaoh with several chances to 'let my people go' only to have Pharaoh obstinately refuse to free his slave work force? ....all the while enduring epic-sized plagues too horrible to even think about today.

finally he relented, then reneged, then was thwarted by God when he attempted to recapture his slaves.

THEY WERE FINALLY FREE!!!!!

God uses this real-life story as a metaphor for us...I mean, the remainder of our Bible is replete with comparisons to our modern-day 'law-sin enslavement' and 'freedom in Christ'...

but the metaphor doesn't end with that, right?

because the real-life story doesn't end there....

I mean, we read in abject astonishment of the ungrateful Israelites who complain about the conditions of their new found liberty... the degree to which they complain is capsulized in the account of their outright rebellion as they build a golden calf to worship...

we scoff as Edward G Robinson portrays the chief complainer and incites people by saying things like 'at least we had a roof over our heads when we lived in Egypt'...

The entire old testament seems to be dominated by the story of His people falling away and God reconciling them to Himself.... over and over and over again, His people fall for the lie that is always told, convincingly, by routine and status quo: that IT (routine) is the way! and that IT (status quo, the old way) is the truth!

and, time and time again, God arrests His people's comfortableness to 'slap them back to their senses' and refocus them on His Way and His Will.

and we smirk at their ignorance and point fingers at their almost pathological habit of self-destruction... "how?" we wonder "how can they so thoroughly miss it? why do they keep making the same mistakes, reverting to type and returning to enslavement?... how can they be so blind that they don't see the obvious result of their addiction to the their comfort zones?"

but how similar are we?

as we are freed from the tyranny of Legalism, the ink on our release papers is not even dry before we are complaining about the conditions of our liberty and wishing again for the 'safety' of the jail cell of legalism.

so much so that we replicate the comfort of our old bondage by creating self-made chains of rules and laws which we bind on each other and everyone else... and we call it truth.

and before long we are miserably 'happy' again; steeped in the 'routine' of traditional legalism and resting comfortably in the blue jeans of 'what-we-know'...

and meanwhile God weeps for us as He sees what we could be. and He mounts plans to arrest our comfort to spur us on yet again to be His Church, His People.

We LOVE routine. We crave status quo. We want comfort.

and those things are the enemy of authentic Jesus life and real Christian community.

Thank God that the He is not only the God of Imagination and Lord of Creativity, but the Supreme Exemplar of Patience!

when will we learn?

we are free! He expects us to act like it!

right where he wants you

Ambition is great... goals are terrific... growth is admirable and necessary...

but never forget that God has you right where He wants you.

exactly, 100 per cent, no-doubt-about-it, precisely in the 'place' where He want you to be...

before time was time, God knew exactly what would be going on at this very second in time.... He knew what the political climate would be, He knew what the moral climate would be, He knew what the financial climate would be....He even knew what the climate climate would be!

and he plucked you out of all of eternity for just such a time as this!

and placed you - in His eternal plan - right HERE and right NOW!

so what do you DO with that?


ahh, that is THE question, isn't it?

when you feel like you are not 'where' you wanna be in this life, remember.... the God of the universe put you right here right now to live His Son in front of the people in your life.

that places the here and now in a little different light, doesn't it?


Blessings!

handling new information

I sell instructional software to public schools. I have been a sales rep for my entire adult life... it is my mission to try and learn all I can about my craft. So when I hear of a new idea or a different wrinkle in sales methodology, I try very hard to study it and decide if I can or should incorporate it into my sales habits... I love learning new ways to help people buy my product. and for me, it really is more than just 'selling' something. I gotta believe in what I have to offer...

nonetheless, I do enjoy learning about new sales tools.

What if I were still using the exact same method I used in the early 80s when I began my career? What if I had the attitude that I already had learned it all? what if I decided that there would never be a better way than my way? ....that there was no new information to apply nor knowledge to apply?

well, I would stagnate and stop learning and growing... and I would underachieve, drastically. and probably be looking for a different career!

while it is not exactly analogous, there is application which can be made to our understanding of God's Word and His Will for our lives...

for my entire upbringing, I was taught that God spoke to us only through the Bible, and the only way His Spirit 'led' us was through that written Word.

I now believe that not only did God indeed speak to us through Spirit-breathed Scripture, but that - according to that very Scripture, and my developing understanding of it - God's Holy Spirit ALSO indwells us and leads and guides us TODAY! ACTIVELY!

so, if I believe THAT... and THAT is NEW information to me...

what do I do with THIS NEW INFORMATION?

do I ignore it? Some do... frankly because it interrupts and upsets their previous understanding... new information invariably makes us uncomfortable...

but do we act as if this new information doesn't exist?

do we fight it? do we try and explain it away?

I believe we had better embrace it and try to apply it...

right?


God Bless us as we continue to learn and grow and change into His vision of us!

the cards, the hogs and the bombers

this is a great time of year! I love the fall... the air has lost its summer steam and has a crispness to it...

School is back in session and football is cranking up!

this weekend, my Hogs won handily and my Bombers beat Highland and my Cards took 2 of 3 from the Pirates.... life is good!

I know, Missouri State isn't very good, nor are the Rebels or Pirates... but my teams won!

Cannot wait for my Colts to take the field next Sunday against the Jags...

yep, I love this time of year!

Blessings!

what matters

so yesterday I got to spend the day with a very good friend.

We fished a little pond and caught some nice largemouth bass... we had some lunch - a barnbuster and a rack of fries at the Back Forty! - and then we waded the White at Shipp's Ferry and slayed some Rainbows...

wow what a day!

Stan is a far better Trout fisherman than I am.... but I am happy to report that I caught more bass than he did.... not sure what that means...

I am sure that it is one of those days I will not forget!

thanks, Stanley!

God Bless!

under assault... again

So you know I love to laugh, right? I love a good joke, and I admit that what I sometimes find really funny is maybe a little beyond the pale....

but I gotta say I am not laughing at this one:

"Minor-league baseball promotion cashes in on Tim Tebow's marketability" was the headline in the Orlando Sentinel late last week... the article told of a promotion by the Orlando Miracle (the local minor league affiliate of Minnesota Twins)... they planned to have a "What Would Tim Tebow Do?" night which was to be highlighted by a Tim Tebow double walking on water and the handing out of promise rings to each paid ticket holder, among other things.

Tebow, the Heisman trophy winning quarterback for the Florida Gators who has led them to 2 national championships in the last 3 years, is known for his outwardly Christian values; he speaks about abstinence, and says he is a virgin who is saving himself for marriage.... ESPN has even carried special stories showing Tim helping in a medical clinic in a Central American country...

and the 'Miracle' is making fun. openly.

I was a little heartened to hear a commentator on ESPN observe the following: "if this were ANY other religion but Christianity, there would be a public outcry, but it's ok to ridicule and make fun of Christians... where's the outrage now?"

and he's right. if Tebow were a Muslim or Buddhist, there's no way ANYONE would even THINK of having such a promotion...

I know, I know... I, too, get a little weary of every group under the sun claiming this right or that outrage... but I gotta say, this crossed the line for me.

I think it is a continuation of the assault on Christianity and, at the end of the day, on Jesus himself... it is persecution, plain and simple.

...humor is a funny thing (no pun intended)... it can easily cross the line, because it quietly marginalizes whatever the subject matter is... once you can laugh at something, it is hard to then take that something seriously, right?

it gets worse: These bunch of geniuses had even planned to have the same Tebow-stand-in perform a live circumcision on the pitchers' mound during the 7th inning stretch! I am not making this up! I couldn't make this up!

Thankfully the brilliant marketing minds from the Orlando Miracle were reigned in by smarter - or at least more sensitive people (probably sensitive to being sued, since they received certified letters from the University of Florida reminding them of the legal ramifications)... the promotion was toned WAY DOWN... they still had a character named 'TT' walk on water, and folks still got a TT promise ring...

some of y'all are probably thinking "can't you take a joke?"

yeah, I can... just not seeing any humor in this one...

Blessings!

more thoughts on His Church

i am passionate about His Church.

and I fear I sometimes convey a poor attitude when I speak or write about it.

I confess that it is difficult not to bring my former church 'baggage' to any conversation regarding His Body.... for that I apologize. that is on me, and I need to do much better...

(don't you hate it when someone apologizes, then goes on to 'explain away' the behavior which necessitated the apology in the first place??!?!?! well, I suppose I am about to do just that.....)

by way of 'explanation', I guess what makes it especially difficult (the leaving behind of the baggage part) is my perception that there are leaders across our fellowship (as well as in other faith groups) who are falling into the same faithless traps and godless habits that have ensnared other leaders and elders and 'would be' shepherds before them... traps like 'building-itis' and 'board-of-director-ism' and 'policy-making-sclerosis'... all of which misdirect attention from true shepherding.

do you ever feel that way? like you bring baggage? or that the baggage you bring causes you to be less than objective or downright unkind or impatient?

perhaps I need to do a better job of living the concept taught in the great unity chapter of the Bible, Ephesians 4.... I firmly believe that 'speaking the truth in love' (which is taught throughout scripture) is absolutely KEY to being a unifier instead of a divider....

furthermore, I am not sure that TRUTH matters very much at all without the SPEAKING IT IN LOVE part.... because if people can't see past my LOVELESS delivery, they will never hear the TRUTH... which makes the attaining of that truth and the gathering of that knowledge the ultimate exercise in futility.

so, for my part, loveless truth has little worth... and I certainly need to remember that as I try to communicate truth to others! When I forget it, I end up alienating the very people with whom I am trying to communicate..... what a terrible shame!


now to the body thoughts: has your group's journey stagnated a little?

I have a couple notions as to why that may be... and perhaps a couple ideas how to 'unstagnate' it.... but I must confess that my ideas are not very imaginative... as a matter of fact, as I write them in this post, they appear rather pedestrian and conventional and institutional, but here goes:

• deeper Bible study - the absence of which is probably the foundation of many congregational ills
• a 'sold-out' approach to home church or small groups - become fully invested in this very very Biblical model... do not view it as just another 'ministry' or 'program'
• adopt an "OUTWARD FOCUSED AT OUR INNER CORE" approach and mindset. nothing cures squabbles and discontent like focusing on meeting the needs of others!

ok, how bout some less traditional ideas:

• if institutionalism is becoming problematic, sell your building and rent! that immediately gets rid of a BUNCH of garbage, right? (incidentally, Rick "purpose driven dude" Warren's SaddleBack church did not own a building for a very very long time... their most explosive growth happened without building ownership... is there a lesson there?)
• are your shepherds becoming too imitative of a board of directors? then prayerfully help them divest of 'duties' like policy development and decision-making and refereeing! how? I have no ideas on this one.... probably why it is the single biggest elder issue!
• are your people too 'worship-service-at-the-building-Sunday-Sunday-night-wednesday-night' oriented? then stop 'having' the conventional offerings at these times! how 'bout only ONE OFFICIAL WORSHIP ASSEMBLY PER WEEK - ON SUNDAY MORNING! then perhaps nightly bible study and fellowship groups at the building AND in homes! (incidentally, if I were prince for a day, i would make pew-sitting and attendance-counting and score-keeping and clock-punching VERY VERY uncomfortable! not only does it miss the point... when we allow/foster/promote this old conventional model, it encourages people to engage in meaningless ritual! and usually at the expense of more meaningful activity.)

ok, that's enough wild, hair-brained ideas for one post!!!

regardless of where God leads you and your faith group in the days to come (and I have GREAT PEACE about that, by the way!), for my part: I resolve to address those round about me - especially those with whom i disagree - with respect and love.

because my voice is a loud, worthless, clanking cymbal if I fail to do that.

Blessings!

evangelism 101

what is evangelism? how do we do it?

Our model has usually included a lot of telling and convincing. we study with folks and try to convince them of the gospel... or we 'hold a gospel meeting' and invite people to come hear someone else try to convince them of the good news...

how did our 1st century forerunners 'do' it? ...well, we can assume that they didn't have Bibles to carry around and study...

can we also infer from the Biblical accounts that their main way to 'lift Him up' was more in the living and less in the telling?

at the end of the day, we are called to be seed spreaders, right?

so how can we best do that? how can we, in our quest to sow seed, imitate those who shared space and time with Jesus himself?

maybe the very best way is to actually 'be' the church.... to live in community and help each other and encourage each other...

what would happen if we did just that? ...if we lived in such a Jesus way that people were attracted?

is that not the original model?

maybe evangelism is, in its purest sense, showing Jesus more than it is talking about Him.

Maybe it is less about tracts and 'doctrine' and more about living out our faith in such a way that folks are attracted to The Way.

how better to spread seed?

Blessings!

Lyon, here we come!

another August, another adventure...

Caitlin has accepted a scholarship to play basketball for the Lady Pipers of Lyon College in Batesville, and today we are headed to Arkansas' 2nd oldest city (or so says their welcome sign) to move her in.

Her sisters began their new school year on Wednesday, and their momma began her second year of working outside the home ten days ago...

we are officially back in the swing!

back to school... there are so many analogies one could draw...

it is at once excitement and dread and anticipation and a little fear... mostly it is a time of 'new'.

new school for Caitlin, new hallway and teachers for Cassie, new challenges for Cara...

Cara... my senior... (is it really that time again? didn't we just go through this with our oldest?) a year from now, we will be likely be loading up the car to deliver her to a new place...

I am so not ready...

for now, for today, the 'deal' is Batesville... after interning at the University Church in Conway as a youth minister all summer, my oldest has been 'home' for only a couple weeks... and now she heads to Lyon...

For my part, I am excited for Cait! can't wait to see what this year holds for her!

Blessings!

what's important

I know I have written in this space about the Tyranny of the Urgent... and how our day-to-day crowds out what is truly important. The insidious nature of this 'urgent' is that, after a while, the 'important' cannot be defended as such.

I mean, how could I say or think that Bible Study, for example, is important to me when a cursory inspection of my daily walk would reveal that I rarely if ever open His Word?

How can I purport to be a 'family man' when I am rarely with my family?

how can a momma consider herself a great momma when she doesn't even know when her kiddos' activities are?

again, the 'urgent' crowds out the 'important' until it assumes its position.

so.... what's important?

1. God
2. family
3. church family
4. job
5. having fun

here's a quick test: where do you spend your time? where do you spend your money?

put another way: what if your checkbook AND your appointment book reflected EXACTLY what your 'list' conveyed?

a-ha... that's the challenge, isn't it?

I suppose our goal in life should be to make our 'books' match our 'list'.

I can guarantee this: if you don't make a daily effort to match the books to the list, the list will definitely change to match the books. I promise.

Pray right now for God's guidance and leading to make your books match your list. Without His intervention, the urgent will rule.... and the important will not be important anymore.

Blessings!

O Worship The King!

our lives are to be a reflection of Jesus.

our walk is marked by His lovingkindness.

our day-to-day is led by His Spirit.

and today we get the privilege of taking part in a group expression of our gratitude for His gift, thankfulness for His Leading...

we get to worship the great I AM.

O Worship The King!

expectations and frustrations

so, where does frustration come from?

I guess it arises from expectations.... or is it impatience?

I suppose if you set your expectations low enough, you will never be disappointed... but how fatalistic is that? how sorry a life would you lead if you simply lowered your expectations until you were never frustrated?

pretty deep thoughts for a Saturday morning...

think I'll shelf this and go play golf.... now that's a recipe for frustration! or maybe I'll go wet a hook...

in any event, I have about come to the conclusion that I need to chill.

so that's exactly what I plan to do.... at least for today...

Blessings! get out and enjoy this beautiful day God made for us...

Pure Silver

25 years ago today (it was a Friday in 1984, by the way), Kelly Crawford and I exchanged vows.

Dad presided, and a couple hundred friends attended the evening wedding.

Besides the obvious memories (I still marvel that she said 'yes' being the most remarkable memory), there are a few quirky ones that come to mind when I think back to that magical day.

• it was HOT! I mean, August 10 in Arkansas, right?
• Kelly was HOT! I mean, the most beautiful girl to ever put on a white dress - or any other-colored dress, for that matter! (some things never change) I remember how my breath actually caught in my throat when the back doors opened and she walked through. wow.
• the reception was at Ramada (because our church wouldn't allow instrumental music on the grounds anywhere) and it was an awesome affair with lots of food and music! but we didn't get any of those really really good fried stuffed mushrooms... (probably will have a couple or 10 tonight!)
• my friend who was in charge of pulling the roll of rice paper down the aisle for Kelly to walk on accidentally hit one of the glass candle holders with his shoulder... it knocked the candle against its glass holder... and about 15 minutes later, it had heated the glass to whatever temperature glass requires to shatter. and it did. all over the mother of the bride!
• the afore-mentioned mother of the bride recorded 'Agnes of God' (yes, that horrible Streisand movie) over our only copy of the wedding video... she will likely still deny she did this. but she did, no kidding.
• I sang 'Truly' by Lionel Richie to Kelly... she had forgotten I was gonna sing, and it took her by complete surprise! she and all 5 of her bridesmaids were weeping... still wondering if they were touched or if I really sang that badly!
• we drove momma and daddy's Cadillac away as people showered us with rice and such... all the way to Kelly's dad's shop, where we had hidden our 1980 VW Rabbit (my dowry), which we drove to Little Rock, then Destin for our honeymoon.

there are other more memorable thoughts which I will keep between Kelly and me... but will never forget.

25 years. wow.

still my very best friend. still my very favorite person. still the best momma ever. still takes my breath away every time I see her. still stunningly beautiful - inside AND out.

I can't believe God chose to bless me with her.

still.

the institutional church conversation... conclusions?

OK... so what am I to do with the numerous Biblical examples Mr Viola presents in support of the local church? :-) (see previous posts)

well, as my momma used to say, 'everything in moderation'... sounds like Bible, huh?

I have been studying/wrestling/praying about what value the institutional church may have today. Viola does a terrific job describing and essentially rebutting the most 'liberal' viewpoint - that of the 'postchurch' movement... and I still believe the answer must lie between the extremes...

anyhow, as Frank Viola points out, the local church has huge value!

which goes a long way toward reminding me of the answers to some questions I have been asking:

does it have a place?

is it even a Biblical model?

would it be better to just meet in homes?

and while I still struggle with how our fellowship 'treats' the institutional church (admittedly Riverside is better than most), Frank Viola's blog posts on the subject have served as a reminder to me that God DOES indeed have a place and a purpose for a 'local gathering'...

I suppose I will always struggle - hopefully in a positive and productive way - with the "organized church's" affinity for itself and its addiction to its own structure and routine...but I have been reminded by my friend Frank that God DOES place importance on the local church.

Again, I tire of people who use guilt to get people inside the church doors... and I have little patience for those who - ignorantly or purposely - misuse scriptures like Hebrews 10:25 to fill the pews... but that does not change or diminish the Biblical FACT that God's divine design definitely involves the local body.

We must never confuse the church universal (the one which Jesus died to establish) with the little exclusive gathering we attend.... and we simply CANNOT continue to further confuse the building with the Body....

but I KNOW that every Biblical example of Body Life includes 'community' and communion with a local group. Viola did an unparallelled job of expositing on the subject, and he is probably the leading 'organic church' proponent of our time!

as a dear friend used to tell me: "that's where I am right now"...

I encourage us all to continue to pray and study and 'be' the Body.


more to follow, I'm sure...

Blessings!

when God works

So just another example of God's amazing habit of amazingness.

As I listened to the Santa Marta Medical Mission Team give its report last night (yes, the mission I helped to start and was unable to 'go on'), it became clear that our plans are so small and His are so big.

Margaret recited a top 10 list of 'why you shouldn't go on a foreign mission trip', a sort of tongue-in-cheek look back at all the slings and arrows Satan hurled at this effort from its planning to its execution... Bill talked about Paul's word picture of the body in I Corinthians 12... LaJeana spoke on behalf of herself and Perry and Hannah about the unfathomable grace of God in touching people through our meager means.... Matt shared his perspective as a first-timer-pharmacist on a foreign medical mission... and Doyne talked about his most favorite memory: that of an old man accepting Jesus and putting him on in baptism...

It was refreshing to gain perspective from these partners, my heroes.

And the very primary part, the basic and amazing lesson I learned as I listened was this:

Though God works in our lives everyday, it occurs to me He REALLY LOVES to swoop in when all seems hopeless and save the day.

At several junctures in the planning and execution of the trip, Satan erected barriers. And every time, God provided a way around or through.

When we lost a vital member or two from the dream team only months before we were to leave, God provided a Doctor...

When fear of Swine Flu dominated the news, God provided calm...

When Airplane tickets were selling at double the price we had planned on, God provided... (I checked fares one day and they were about $900, and the next day they had fallen to $440... we pounced on it, and they skyrocketed back to over $900 the very next day!)

as I listened to the team members recall the trip (from planning to going and returning), it reminded me with crystal clarity that God LOVES to work through us... and He REALLY LOVES to work through us when the odds become stacked!

I think He does that to gently (or not so gently) remind us that He is at the controls.

What a faith-affirming exercise!

What a wondrous God we serve!

Blessings!

another perspective on ecclesia and the efficacy of institutional church

Frank Viola wrote a two part article on the very same subject I have been studying and praying and blogging about...

It is a Biblical view/defense/critique of the institutional/organic/post church movements, and is much better written and more well-informed than anything I have written...

and very thought-provoking...

I commend it to your reading:

http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2009/08/frank_viola_on.html

http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2009/08/frank_viola_on_1.html#more


very very good read indeed!

tm

Acts 2:47

When we read about Jesus 'adding to the church those which were being saved', I am convicted and convinced that we have forever misinterpreted that - mostly unintentionally - to fit our own 'view' of 'church'; an unhealthy view that revolves around a brand and a building.

For my entire upbringing, we have equated salvation with our brand... I would suggest that when Dr Luke recorded the events surrounding pentecost, he was not talking about a particular 'brand' nor a particular 'local church'. He was referring to a sect of believers in the new Way through the promised Savior.

My 'church experience' really wants this 'church' to which Jesus 'added the saved' to be 'my' church, 'my' brand, my local building.... to sort of imagine that all those 'saved' were added to a 'church of Christ' with a building and a little sign over the door which reads '5th and Calvary Church of Christ'... all in a neat mental package.

However, when I take a fresh look at the church Luke talks about in Acts 2 - when I leave behind all my preconceived, ingrained notions - I can't help but conclude that these new saved souls met together in houses and other 'non-institutional' venues... and I further imagine that they worried very little about buildings and budgets and battles about stupid stuff that accompanies buildings and budgets and battles...

It occurs to me that at least 90% of ALL the battles ever waged within/between 'church' groups are attached to a building....who finances it, who controls what goes on there, how do we do what we do there, how do we pay it off, how do we keep out the riff raff, and on and on and on...

and the devil is laughing.

Is it possible that we continue to miss the point?

The more I study and pray and learn about the subject, the less enamored I become of the institutional 'church'.

Can it serve a useful purpose?

I am becoming less and less certain...

God Bless!

challenge and change - are you allergic?

you've heard people say that change is good. we've read that we should not back down from challenge... and I am trying to continue my journey toward learning that I am not in control.

yet in these challenging economic times, attitudes seem to tighten.

dreams are sacrificed at the altar of safety, and imagination is replaced by routine.

Believers need to fight this urge. We should embrace challenge and welcome change...

I have friends who have lost their jobs in the past 12 months... and that is hurtful and usually stunning and shocking... one such friend called me yesterday to report that he had been 'let go'... I love his response: "oh well, I know God has something better planned for me..."

I have been let go.... most people have at one time or another been fired.

My brother Greg got me my first job at Tracy Marina... He was their general manager at 18 years old (married for 2 years at the time!), and got a summer job for his 14-years-young kid brother.

I wanted to work hard and do well... but my first job when I was hired involved 'weeding' the vegetable garden of the marina owners. still today, I remain confused about what gardening has to do with working at a marina.... but nonetheless, I went about weeding the garden... and, having no formal weed eradication training, I systematically pulled everything green out of the little 30 x 30 garden plot... when I was done, it was a beautiful 30 x 30 spot of immaculate black dirt.

Dad came and got me in his 1974 Pontiac Station wagon - at the insistence of Mrs Marina Owner - in the middle of the day, and I was officially unemployed at 14... only 6 hours into my first job. I found out later that Mrs Marina Owner had some other very creative (and illegal) ways to punish me for ruining her garden, and was convinced to simply fire me instead. I cried all afternoon... and I still owe my brother for saving his 14 year old brother's life.

I deserved to be fired that day... and, yes, I know this story does not hold a candle to an adult provider losing his means of providing... I get that... and I know that many who are losing their jobs today don't deserve to.

but every year, there are literally hundreds of opportunities to embrace change and accept challenge... and I miss so many of them because of my addiction to routine! I hold onto it like grim death, as if God won't know how to 'handle' anything different than what I have come to know...

I have a dear friend who found out a few years ago he has early onset Parkinson's... not yet 50 years old, he continues to be a pillar of faith and an incredible example to all who know him. He didn't ask for this terrible disease... he didn't want or deserve it. But his walk has become so much more than he could have ever dreamed....

another great friend has a wife who is no longer interested in being married. He is crushed. and so would I be.... I pray everyday that their union can be healed and restored. But it may be that God has something better in store. He was not looking for this tragedy... he was looking forward to celebrating their 25th anniversary this year. But he continues on and seeks God's path for his life, even in the middle of the horrible pain.

God is the God of creative. God is the God of imagination. God is not a lover of routine.

yet we are allergic to change and challenge. we gotta get over that! Pretty cavalier, I know...

but I am convinced that our allergy is growth-stunting and life-sucking and dream-killing. and it robs us of seeing the possible... and enjoying the now.

let us resolve to look for opportunity. let's try to see life's bumps in a bigger way, and embrace what God may have for us to do... even though it's not in our 'plan'.

Blessings!

where do 'ought' and 'should' belong?

Momma and Daddy used a lot of 'strategies' to teach their 4 kiddos.

I remember rewards. I remember punishment. I remember guilt.

Dad would tell you his parenting was a 'learn as you go' affair. He would admit (as most of us parents would) that there is no instruction manual... the training is definitely 'on-the-job'.

As a daddy of 3 girls, it is still a work in progress for me...

My least favorite method of motivation - both as a parent and a child - is guilt. I never have believed it was good or fair... but millions of parents use guilt to elicit desired behavior from their offspring. Because it is effective. It preys on our human desire to please... on our desire to perform to a standard and be recognized for what 'we do'...

but as I think of the 'daddy' metaphor that pervades the God story, I become more convinced that guilt has no place in motivating the Believer. none.

but for my entire life, preachers and teachers and youth leaders and, yes, parents have used words like 'ought to' and 'should' to produce behavior that they (the preacher/teacher/youthleader/parent) believe 'proves' the performers' faithfulness.

in fact, that guilt-based method causes us to perform like the Pavlovian Dog responding to a bell... and it has very little to do with Walk or Faith or Spirituality.

it has only to do with us, and how well we can perform. Sorta leaves out the CrossWork, doesn't it?

that's unhealthy. and it is unGodly.

and it causes us to forget the simple truth:

our 'works' are a result of our Salvation, NOT the cause of it.

no wonder we have such a hard time simply living in His Love and walking in Him.

so, where do 'ought' and 'should' belong?

nowhere in the life of a Believer, that's for sure!


Blessings!

what would it look like

think with me for a minute...

If we knew nothing of our 'church heritage', then discovered Jesus..... what would 'church' look like?

no matter if you're Baptist, Presbyterian, Catholic, Assembly, Church of Christ, Lutheran, Episcopal, Methodist, Christian or any other religious brand....

no matter if your parents 'took you to church' every time the doors were open or if you never 'went to church' much at all....

no matter if you were raised very 'fundamentalist arch-conservative' or very 'holy-roller'...

what would happen if we could slough that off like a snake loses its skin?

I know we are all a product of our experience. I get that. And I realize that's a huge part of who we are...

But with regard to spirituality and religion and such, it seems that THAT part of our 'make-up' is more 'who we are' than any other part of our upbringing experience.

Why do we subconsciously assign greater importance to religious tradition than other traditions?

For example, we used to visit the cemetery on Memorial Day (by we, I mean most people in my extended family). We would bring flowers and other decorative items and make the graves prettier... then we would actually take our blankets and spread them out ON TOP OF THE GRAVES of our dearly departed loved ones! Then we would eat! while sitting on top of their graves!

Here, as I sit and reflect on that, there is nothing that appears sane about that. I can think of no reason we should EVER eat in a cemetery... much less on someone's grave! Especially for believers who know the soul and body separated at death...

Anyhow, I digress. I know I may offend some of you by saying what I just said... you may still hold 'decoration day' or your version of 'dinner on the grounds' as a sacred tradition. I don't. I respect your tradition, but I choose not to participate...

and for most folks, it is ok that I don't take part in their tradition.

But when we place that tradition in a spiritual context (and, to give it weight, we attach Bible significance to it through some weird misapplied contortion), aaahhh, NOW we got a problem!

now my tradition turns into something YOU need to apply to your life.

and if you don't... well, we really can't be friends.

Ridiculous, isn't it?

So the question is still: what would it look like if we tried to 'cast off' our learned behavior and just tried to read the Bible and live in His Love?

And, by the way, I am not talking about replacing our traditions with those of our fathers or grandfathers or even the traditions of those who walked with Jesus.

I am talking about truly letting God's Word become alive in our lives and allowing it to speak to us and mold us into exactly what He wants us to be.

what would that look like?

I suggest that 'church' would look a lot less 'institutional'... and may not include things like buildings and budgets and boards of directors.

and it most certainly wouldn't be a 'place' we 'attended' once or twice a week.

Blessings!

it's not about me

I was reminded last night -again - of an important tenet to remember when discovering and uncovering God's word.

during our Wednesday night Bible study, we talked about the 5th commandment. We all turned to Deuteronomy 5:16 and read the text...

then we had a discussion about what it means to 'honor' your dad and mom.... pretty meaningful sharing and testimony, and rather lively study about how it relates to us.

The thing I was reminded of is that this passage - like every other passage - is not about us. It is about God.

in this instance, the language is of covenant relationship with the Creator. The "so that it may be well with you and that you may live long in the land which God prepared for you" phrase is used a dozen or so times in the several chapters surrounding the Deuteronomy text...

so whether He is referring to "keeping His decrees" (Deut 4:40) or "fearing Him and keeping His commands" (Deut 5:29) or "being careful to obey" (Deut 6:3) or "honoring father and mother" (5:16), the central character is God and the central theme is 'honoring' and 'obeying' and 'fearing' and 'revering' HIM! it's about maintaining that Covenant Relationship with THE FATHER.

so the foundational key to honoring mom and dad is to honor God. We cannot honor our father unless we first honor Father.

Sometimes we fail (I fail) to see God in scripture because I am (we are) studying it from our own perspective.... and with me as the story's focus, the story loses its meaning, it loses its 'aliveness'.

and that inevitably robs us of the clear and simple meaning of the story.

The Bible Story is God's story. Reading the Bible without recognizing THAT is akin to reading "the grapes of wrath" and forgetting that it's Tom Joad's story.

When we remember that the Bible must be seen from God's perspective as His story, only then will we truly begin to 'get it'.

and for most of my life, I have begun my study through the lens of 'what does this mean for me?' and I have missed it, for the most part...

back to the 5th commandment...

we can talk about respecting our parents and helping them and taking care of them when they're old and not talking back to them when we're young. and those are all be admirable ways to 'treat' our parents, to be sure.

but all that misses the point of the commandment...

because, as we discussed last night, that 'treatment' (seen through human eyes) is about us and our relationship with our earthly parents... so what happens when our parents are neglectful, abusive, disturbed, horrible parents? Well, there is no way on earth we can honor parental monsters with the same 'honor' that others 'honor' their more loving and nurturing parents.

Because that sort of 'honor' depends upon us.

Bottom line: the only way any of this works is if we stop thinking of this (or any) commandment as being 'about us'.

the thread that ties this all together, so that everyone may adhere to this - and any - commandment is God. the One about whom the story is written!

you wanna honor your parents?

Honor God. seek covenant relationship with Him.

...no matter what you mom or dad may think about that.... and no matter what kind of parents they are/were, THAT is the answer to obeying the 5th commandment.

remember, it's not about me.

Blessings

night sounds and wind machines

A friend recently commented about how the rain woke them up one night.... so I mentioned they might benefit from a wind machine...

to which he responded that they just used a fan and weren't as fancy as me...

...interestingly enough, that's where my sound addiction started...

as a small child, my mum would set up a small box fan in the hallway.... we lived by the highway under the viaduct, you see...

and over the years, I graduated from a small fan to the harder stuff... you know, high speed oscillators. then after Kelly and I were married, she said we had to do something different... she was not letting me bring my industrial 6 foot, 220v floor fan into the house.

so the compromise was the wind machine from Sears and Roebuck.

fancy you say? maybe. expedient I say. and a marriage saver.... we now have one in each bedroom, and even have a travel version for hotel rooms!

so make fun at your own peril, fanners of the world!

Windmachiners unite!

the "it'll be better when..." game

It's a dangerous game. We've all played it...

"It'll be better when ______________________ ."

When you live in that game, you are robbed of the now. It is an invention of Satan himself, and is a breath-sucking, joy-robbing, grace-stealing path. it is easy to play, even natural in some ways...

let me encourage us all to take the advice offered in this line from an obscure little song:

live in the moment,

before the moment slips away...

May God bless us as we live in His now and His Grace.