Time for Lent

If you observe Lent this year will it be a meaningful time where you will make a sacrifice and draw closer to God? Will it be an opportunity for you to remember your weaknesses and your utter need for a God who loves you despite yourself? Or, are you using this season as an opportunity to lose some weight, break a bad habit, or simply to impress those around you?
The reality is that many of us end up using this season to show devotion to God and to get something in return. This is the core of who we are as people. Even in our moments of well intentioned devotion we somehow find ways to make sure it benefits us. I know this is the pattern in my life. When I act humbly I hope to reap the respect of others. When I give of myself to benefit another, I hope God writes it down or at least someone mentions how great I am. When I sacrifice something for God, I secretly hope God repays me for being such a great guy.
I believe Lent is a great season and comes with many benefits that are holy and pure and I believe there is value in participating in this discipline. My hope this year is that I and all who observe Lent can truly find a time of re-connecting with God because He is good and worthy of our devotion. I pray this season is about our Creator and not about what we get from it. 

Can Christians be Religious?

A viral video clip is tearing up the Internet right now proclaiming a hatred of religion but a love of Jesus. The premise of this clip is trying to emphasize that religion without life change is meaningless and that only a transformative lifestyle of following Jesus matters. I get that and I like it but that is not really what the clip says.
What I don’t like is the other side of this clip which is naive, arrogant, and simply false. If we were to take heart the idea of hating religion what would the result be? Consider the following; Would anyone continue to gather together in buildings that we call church to learn and worship together? If not, then a huge part of our own faith journey would be missing and the very fabric of Biblical life (communities meeting together, learning together, and worshipping together) would be ignored.
 If we took this video to heart would there be any standard beliefs or practices or would it be an “anything goes” attitude because we don’t want to be religious? If a group of people who follow Jesus agree that they believe baptism is important that is religion. If no one has the right to come to consensus on beliefs than views generally accepted as heretical would be okay as long as it is considered following Jesus.
 If we hated religion then the very act of worship would go away. The very heart of religion, in fact the definition is, "the belief in and worship of a supernatural controlling power”. If you ever gather in an organized way to proclaim an agreement in the greatness of God and encourage one another with positive input rather than the negative things we hear all week, then you are involved in religion. Furthermore, this video says, “Jesus hated religion”. False. Jesus hated the thought that practicing religion made you better than others, and he hated people thinking that religion makes one clean, but he never hated religion. The Hebrew scriptures are packed full of instructions for religious worship. Jesus himself made religious pilgrimages and went through religious ritual cleansing. Did he think that made him better? No, but he did think the religious practices were important.
 Religion in and of itself does nothing to increase our spiritual status before God, but it is huge in our journey of living with one another and proclaiming the greatness of God. Religion helps us stay on the same page of what is truth and it serves as a balance to keep us from creating our own truth. Religion helps us journey with other like-minded people for encouragement. All week long we are inundated with negative ads, with foul messages, and with false promises. Religion gives us a framework to war against those lies and to see that we might not be crazy after all for believing what we believe. The bottom line is this. God encouraged religion, Jesus was religious, and our religious expression as followers of God does not make us better than others, but it does make us better than we are without it.

Why our schools still don't get it.

Four students are suspended from school for stopping in the hallway to imitate Tim Tebow's prayer stance. School officials said the kids could have started a riot by bowing to their knees in the hallway. Students can say hateful things to others, they can be bullies, they mock kids who have a visible religious faith without so much as a getting a warning. But if students bend a knee and bow their heads they get a day off from school. Once again, school administration and teachers focus on the wrong problems.... maybe they can become politicians.

Marathons and Giving Birth

Carol Burnette once said, "If you want to understand the pain of giving birth, grab your bottom lip and pull it over your head". These words of wisdom came to Bill Cosby during the birth of his first child when he recalled being supportive and encouraging to his wife. As his words of encouragement only caused agitation to his dear wife he says, "She stood up in the stirrups, grabbed my bottom lip, and waited for one final contraction...."

I guess misery loves company sometimes more than it loves empathy.

There are just some things that you have to experience to truly appreciate and if the best you can do is observe from afar, your best efforts to empathize will fall flat.

In just a week my wife will run in her first marathon. She has been extremely diligent in her training, she has improved in her ability to run long distances, and has even been able to improve her time per mile. Last week she asked me to join her as she completed a 20 mile run. By join her, that meant to hop on my bike and ride while she ran. Do you know how hard it is to ride 20 miles at runner's pace? After 10 miles I began feeling the pain in my back side, 15 miles led to sore wrists, and by the time my wife casually ran 18 miles, the sun was beating down on me and was causing great discomfort. Throughout the process I tried to keep encouraging my wife as she ran but for some reason, each mile she ran she was less interested in hearing me talk and even less interested in hearing me say something encouraging like, "You only have 5 more miles to go" or, "That first 19 miles went by like a breeze." No matter how much I tried to be encouraging, it was met with indifference. This made me recall the process of sitting with my wife while giving birth (while she gave birth). No amount of, "you are doing great", or "just a little more" can help the situation. The best I could do was to sit there in silence knowing that this is not the time for empathy, it is the time for silence. Without ever experiencing the process of giving birth, one cannot relate unless he pulls his bottom lip over his head. Running a marathon is very similar and that is why when WE completed OUR 20 mile training run I told my wife how great she did, she leaned over to me bringing her lips close to mine, and then she gently put her hands on my face, grabbed my bottom lip and pulled.

Occupy Movement on Wrong Street

They "occupy" movement that gained ground over the past month is an interesting study in human psyche. This movement contains thousands of people gathering in locations across the country (and the globe) protesting something. I use the word "something" because it is unclear what that "something" is. Some say it is about the distribution of wealth, some say it is against corrupt government, others are protesting jobless rates, and many are just looking for something to do.

The slogan used is 99% vs the 1%. At its core, the protest seems to be about the inequality of the wealthiest 1% of people vs the 99% of everyone else. The reality is that this is just fancy jargon that ignores many other percentages that, in the end, will accomplish nothing to help distribute wealth among all people.

This use of fancy jargon puts the emphasis in the wrong places. Sure it is hard to believe that some people make so much money but how many of these protesters are using their wealth to distribute to the biggest percentage of the 99%? Over 64% of the world has wealth less than $10,000. 92% of the world possesses wealth less than $100,000. This is not income, this is the entire value of assets. So if you own a car, have a little equity in a home, and an annual income that adds up to more than $100,000 you are in the elite 7% of the wealthiest people on earth.

In my family, we are in the middle of the pack for American income but we are in the elite 7% of the world's wealthiest people.

Because of this fact, we share some of our wealth to support kids in poverty, to build wells in countries with no access to safe and clean water, and to feed the hungry in our community. We never say things like, "we are broke" or , "we are poor". We do not have much compared to the rest of our community in Orange County, but we are wealthy.

I am a strong supporter of taking care of "orphans and widows", of feeding the hungry, and of defending the oppressed. I believe that those who are blessed with more should be willing to take care of those who do not have enough. If the occupy movement wants to make a difference, the protest needs to move from Wall Street to Main Street. We need to create a culture where we are content with what we have and do something good within our abilities. If we want to protest, we can tell congress to get to work or we will vote them out , we can take our business away from organizations that are greedy and unethical, and we can bring our business to those who do positive things with their wealth. (Ironically some of the most charitable companies such as Wells Fargo Bank are being protested by the occupy movement).

Created in the Image

According to the Hebrew Scriptures, the Christian Old Testament, mankind was created in the image of God. This is a unique idea to the Ancient Near East where the gods typically were thought to be completely separate from humans. In fact, in the ANE culture, humans were created so they could serve the gods. They would harvest food and offer sacrifices so the gods could be nourished without having to do the work themselves. For the Hebrews and Christians, God created humans to represent His name and His character to the rest of creation.

I always loved this unusual action by God to allow humans to represent His name but I have also always questioned it. Frankly, I think God could've chosen something more reliable than humans to represent Himself on earth but that is just me. Now, the question we have to face is "Because we represent God's image to creation, what image are we projecting?"

Do you project an image of God as a disinterested, self centered being? Do you show the world that God's image is one that is a jerk to others and unwilling to forgive? Perhaps you reflect an image that is gracious, that is loving, and that builds others up. Whatever image you project, as a follower of God you are representing His name so lets be lead lives that are mindful of the true character of the Creator.

The Aroma of Adventure

When we returned to the country less than 3 years ago, we re-entered life in our former town and in our former neighborhood. I had a new job, actually two new jobs, a new dog, and an altered view of the world. A sense of adventure encompassed me as excitement and uncertainly filled the path as far as I could see. I would be in the same town I had grown to love, but everything would be different. My schedule was different, our friends were different, even many of our neighbors were different.

One new routine I had to create was walking our dog. As many dog owners realize, this daily ritual leads to some great time of reflection, maybe some prayer, and of course some exercise. For me, I found an open space at the end of my street were the cold damp air from the ocean could creep along this valley towards the mountains. (Yes, we have mountains over 6,000 feet and cold air here in Orange County). The great thing about this open space other than the fact that it borders my backyard and that it contains a host of bunnies for my dog to chase, is that the cold moist air would mix with the pine trees and tall birches creating a refreshing scent. In fact, in the early morning if you closed your eyes you would be convinced that you were somewhere high in the mountains away from the 4 million people who live in a 20 mile radius.

This aroma of fresh air and the sense of adventure that greeted me each day created a deep impression somewhere inside that God was doing something in my midst and I did not want to be unaware. Now, less than three years have passed and my boys are on "a kick" where they like to go to this open space to dig for fossils, crystals, and artifacts. When I meet them there, the aroma of adventure fills my lungs and I am brought back to that place where much was unknown but where much was expected. It is appropriate because once again, I am at a crossroads awaiting the next step in life. I am not sure what that step will be but for now you will find me slipping away to catch some fresh scented air and a glimpse of the adventure that God has mapped out ahead.

Scattering

After less than 3 years our local gathering of followers and seekers of Christ has decided to "scatter" into the community and into other congregations. We did this at a time when our gathering was not "dying" off but at a time that seemed to be right. Due to our mix of gifts in the leadership that prevented us from accomplishing some things we deemed essential for our style of church and the fact that many of our people were moving from the area and traveling long distances to remain involved, we knew the time was now to change focus.
From the beginning our desire was to engage in scriptures in a way that was challenging and life changing. We wanted to hear the call of discipleship and to never be a gathering of people who became ingrown and useless. As Francis Chan puts it, "Christians are like manure. [When they scatter and bless others they are useful, when they all pile together they just stink]".
We never want to be people who "stink" so we worked to engage in our community and to be an organization that benefited our neighborhoods. We hoped that we would one day "multiply" into new local gatherings but this year we decided that our best plan was simply to scatter into already established places. We want to take what we have learned and the new habits we developed and influence others in the ways of Jesus.
Some would look at our church and say that we failed. We did fail at establishing a large, well funded organization but we did not fail at being a church for nearly 3 years. We worshipped our creator, we engaged in each others lives and walked beside each other when needed, and we blessed others locally and throughout the globe.
As a seed must die in order to "scatter" and bring new life to infinitely more plants, our small local gather had to "die" in order to spread life. We are launching online teachings and discussions next month and will continue to encourage the body (Soma) of Christ to live out the ways of Jesus everywhere, all of the time and we will stand beside other local gatherings in the process.

Fish and Loaves

Today the church I have been a part of held our once per month food distribution to families need. Because our church recently decided to discontinue our weekly gatherings (more on this in the next post), we are also ending our regular food distribution.

As I left the neighborhood where we distributed food the past 2 years, the finality of the event stirred unexpected emotions within me. As I drove the streets of this community I recalled the first months of this ministry when we walked the streets and knocked on every door informing people that we would be there if they ever needed help. We were a a new church community taking a step with very few resources and with little knowledge of what would come of this adventure.

I remember our first food distribution when no one came out to receive food. I told our members, "Don't worry, these things take time. God can still use us". Inside I thought, "This is a huge failure. What are we doing here?"

The next month, much to my delight and surprise, we had a line 40 families long. People needed food and heard that we were there for them!

Over the next 2 years a young couple in our church coordinated a monthly distribution and fed hundreds of people in the process. Most months our food ministry fed twice as many families than who attended our gatherings. Somehow our small experimental community found the means to do something positive and God always used the few "fish and loaves" that we could provide and multiplied them to feed a hungry community.

As we move to a purely online presence as a church we will still offer help to anyone who is in need but I must say that I am sad to see this chapter close. We set out with the mindset that "church should exist for the benefit of its non-members" and today I can look back and say we fulfilled this desire. The people of Soma Church of Orange County were able to join in a movement of living the ways of Jesus everywhere, everyday. When Jesus said, "The Kingdom of God is at hand", he was telling us the time is now to join in the order of the King and His kingdom. It is a Kingdom that gives food to the hungry even if it is just a few fish and a few loaves. The King always has, and always will, take care of the rest.

All things New

Today we celebrate the fact that Jesus lives and that his life means all things can be made new. For our church community, we remember Jesus' life, death, and resurrection and the fact that Jesus gives us second chances and hope for a new life. We commit to bringing this message of offering hope for new beginnings to all we encounter. The message of Easter is hope. Hope that says "nothing is beyond the reach of God" and comfort knowing all things are made new in Jesus.

My family enters a new chapter today and we are grateful for the work of Christ in our own lives and we celebrate knowing that new beginnings bring many great surprises and exciting things down the road.

Stand by....

New work coming soon.

New Beginnings

As cliche' as it may be to use the beginning of the year to consider the opportunities and changes we hope for, or expect, in the year to come, I find myself at a point of unknown and great expectation.
Changes are once again coming to the life of my family with new horizons and opportunities. The full extent of those changes are yet to be seen and will unfold in the weeks to come.
As for the little things:
2011 will hopefully bring.... A 6th grader, 3rd grader, and 4 yr old. A trip to Greece so my wife can run a marathon (and hopefully a quick jump over to Turkey so I can be a nerd and study some history). Yosemite and some cabin in the mountains somewhere. Different job. Wine and food nights at the house. Continue to progress with German and Hebrew. Finish cleaning my garage.... oh yeah, and win the Lotto.
What about you?

Small Price to Pay for Money

Anyone who follows college football can see the power of money over morals in our culture. Just a few months ago, USC received harsh punishments for violating recruiting rules. Actually it turned out that a football player’s dad received money from an agent in return for a promise that the agent will have the opportunity to represent the player in the NFL. USC received 2 years probation from bowl games and lost a significant amount of scholarships.

This week a star player from Auburn University had a similar situation but perhaps even more blatant. In his case, his dad “shopped” him around to various schools. As was the case with Reggie Bush from USC, the NCAA found the dad guilty of improprieties, but unlike the case with USC, the NCAA is not going to punish Auburn University.

The question is, “Why is there a double standard?” The answer is money. When USC received their punishment, Reggie Bush was already in the NFL and the outcomes of their games are largely unchanged.

For Auburn, their star player is still with them and will be an essential piece in their hopes of playing in the National Championship game. Without Cam Newton, Auburn will likely lose and then the National Title game will include a much less interesting matchup with TCU. Since TV ratings and the residual revenue is the life-blood of college football, the NCAA has no choice but to look away and pretend that no one will notice their lack of morals. In the end, for the NCAA, this is a small price to pay for more money.

Struck By Grace

To be struck by grace does not mean that we are simply making progress in our moral self-control, in our fight against special faults, and in our relationships to others. Moral progess may be a fruit of grace, but it is not grace itself.

Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness. It strikes us when we walk through the dark valley of a meaningless and empty life... grace strikes us when our disgust for our own being, our indifference, our weakness, our hostility, and our lack of direction and composure have become intolerable to us.

Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness and it is as though a voice were saying, "You are accepted. You are accepted by that which is greater than you... Do not seek for anything; do not perform anything; do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted."

If that happens to us, we experience grace. After such an experience we may not be better than before, and we may not believe more than before. But everything is transformed.

- Paul Tillich "The Shaking of the Foundations"

Veterans Day

Take time today to say "Thank You" to the men and women who serve their county and to pray for those in danger and who have lost their lives in war. You don't have to believe in war to care for our soldiers.

Swedish Authorities Didn't Know about Spies

Sweden is the latest in a list of European countries that have discovered the the US has engaged in clandestine activities in their territory without receiving prior permission.

I may seem a bit naive or perhaps I have watched too many spy movies, but isn't this how secret intelligence agencies work? We don't tell people that we are there to "observe" activities of certain people. If we did tell them ahead of time I think that might just defeat the purpose. It is the job of intelligent countries to engage in spy activity that furthers the cause of that country and it is the job of the targeted countries to discover the activity and protect it's own interests.

Sorry Sweden, Italy, and other countries who never figured out what was going on. This is how the world works... and thanks for letting the rest of the world know that you are vulnerable.


On a completely separate note... I just learned that Sweden only has one "e".

Some Things are Just Plain Stupid

I try to keep a pretty open mind about things and I have learned not to be overly critical of people and some of the things people do. I may hear a terrible song on the radio and want to say how awful it is but then I realize some mother has this song hanging on her refrigerator door (figuratively of course). In other words, one man's junk may be another man's (or mother's) treasure.

There are a few things however, that can't be accepted even by a mother. No matter how you explain it, some things are just stupid. I mean extreme things like turtleneck sweaters, Steven Segall Movies, non-fat sour cream, and Hulk Hogan. If it weren't for it's recent resurgence, I would include 1980's fashion on this list but too many may have an issue with that one.

One thing I heard today fits this category above and beyond the rest. It is an advertisement that regularly plays on sports radio. It is an ad that say's "don't let drinking and driving ruin your life.... call our law offices and we will get your conviction dropped". The ad ends with a tag phrase that says, "Friends don't let friends plead guilty to drinking and driving".

Seriously? Enough people actually think driving drunk shouldn't be a big deal? Over 40,000 people die each year in traffic accidents involving a driver with a BAC over .08%. In fact, 47% of all driving fatalities are caused from drunk driving. Somehow this ad was made in the first place and then accepted by the marketing department of the radio station and apparently not offensive to anyone. This add basically says, "It isn't fair if your state enforces the law and punishes you for breaking it. It is not right that you might face jail time, a suspended license, and even pay a fine just because you only care about yourself. Let us help you be even more self-centered and help you not learn from your mistakes."

This is just stupid.

(The photo on the top is of a DUI lawyer)

The Cost of Growth

Statistics say that new churches (or church plants) see nearly 100% turnover in the first three years of existence. Normally most of the key people who are not paid move on to new locations in this timeframe.

Several factors likely contribute to this turnover but the root of all of it comes down to a reality of any new church or business organization. In order to move from inception to a self sustaining existence, a great deal of sacrifice must be made.

In the case of new churches, the sacrifice comes in the form of hundreds of hours of volunteered time and above and beyond levels of financial commitments. Due to small sizes, those who are a part of something from the beginning are usually asked and sometimes demanded to give more and more in order to contribute to overall success. A dilemma exists that says, “if you don’t give more of yourself now, we can’t grow to the place where you won’t have to give as much”.

The question that arises is, “Should a church be built on the sacrifice of its people?” By sacrifice I do not mean a commitment to God that may lead to uncomfortable choices, but I do mean a sacrifice that is in the name of service but that comes at a price to relational and sometimes physical well-being.

We are now 2 years into our new church in Orange County and we have fought against the notion of demanding more and more from our people but we do have things that get left undone. We are committed to Christ and want our whole lives to be in service of God (and others) but we believe that God ultimately will build (or not build) our local church. I personally fight against the notion of sacrificing “workers” to build the organization but wonder if we will ever attain a self-sustaining existence with this attitude. Is it worth abandoning some of our ideals in hopes of attracting more people?

Theology of Estrangement

I've noticed a troubling trend this past year that has finally reached a point in which I must comment. It is a trend that causes relationships between people of the same faith (Christians) to part ways. Little explanation is given and one side of the the equation is usually left alone wondering what went wrong.

Two scenarios illustrate what I am speaking about:
1) A person or group of people are shunned by other Christians because of decisions they have made. These decisions are usually (but not always) poor decisions that are evidence of sin in the lives of the offending party. These sinners are then shunned for "discipline" and/ or because they are simply no longer worthy of Christian company.

We have a friend who was actually abandoned by all of her close Christian friends because she was dating a "non-Christian". She lost all touch in the church world and eventually married her boyfriend. Instead of being a source of encouragement and a picture of Jesus to her new boyfriend, her church modeled, "members only, dress code required". As a result, she never reconnected in a church community and the hurt continues to this day.

2) The second trend I see is Christian friendships ending because of different views about God. Since the differences that have been disputed over the past 2000 years do not have a clear and undisputed winner, it is strange to me that friendships should dramatically weaken and even end when these differing views are considered. Clearly our thoughts about God may cause us to find deeper connection and friendship with others who are like-minded, but should this mean other relationships end?

I personally experienced this year with one person who was close to me. We enjoyed conversations about life and God and in the past few years our views about God drifted further apart. We both believe in the Bible, we both believe that Jesus is Lord and that salvation is found by God's grace, through faith. Our differences are small and in my mind non-essentials, but that sentiment is not reciprocated.

At the end of a healthy conversation filled with questions, encouragement, and some debate, I mentioned that I would love to meet again soon. My friend said, "Well, maybe not". This "maybe not" was because of differences in our views about God and mainly how the mystery of salvation works.

Later I discovered that I was not alone in this treatment from others with similar views to my friend. Somehow the deep rooted conviction about how God works (which we will never really know until we die) is strong enough to result in estranged friendships and, at times, even estranged family relationships. This is a theology that takes lightly Jesus' ministry of reconciliation. It is a lifestyle that longs to know mysterious ways of God's grace, but does not long to extend this scandalous grace to others.

I encourage everyone on any side of theology (or lack there of) to consider the entire consequence of actions. If you believe your theology is worth more than relationships, then your theology says God is not concerned with harmonious relationships. If you do not freely offer grace, then your theology says your God does not freely offer grace. If you don't want to love those who are adverse to the message of Jesus, than your theology says Jesus does not love those who opposed him. If this fires you up and even makes you angry, I want to hear your thoughts. I truly want a better understanding of the basis for this theology of estrangement.

***** Please note that there are many who still hold to the same theological views I question in this post who DO still love, offer grace, and maintain friendships. I deeply appreciate those friends and respect their convictions and will love them and support them in their own journeys with Christ. ****

Paradox of Faith

Everyone who was great in this world will be remembered.. but everyone was great in his own way, and everyone in proportion to the greatness of what he loved. He who loved himself became great in himself, and he who loved others became great through his devotion; but he who loved God became greater than all.

They shall all be remembered, but everyone became great in proportion to his expectancy. One became great through expecting the possible, another by expecting the eternal; but he who expected the impossible became greater than all.

They shall all be remembered, but everyone was great in proportion to the magnitude of what he strove with. For he who strove with the world became great by conquering the world, he who strove with himself became greater by conquering himself; but he who strove with God became greater than all.

...There was one who relied upon himself and gained everything, and one who, secure in his own strength, sacrificed everything; but greater than all was the one who believed God. There was one who was great in his strength, and one who was great in his wisdom, and one who was great in hope, and one who was great in love; but greater than all was Abraham, great with the power whose strength is powerlessness, great in that wisdom whose secret is folly, great in that hope whose outward form is insanity, great in love which is (hatred) of self. - Soren Kierkegaard

Enemy at the Gated Community

com-fort- n. 1. State of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint.

Recently I have been thinking about all of the things that led to my leaving my previous job and moving across the world. Although I could list a whole series of events that contributed to the eventual upheaval of my whole life, it all really came down to a simple need for change.
Change is often the solution when life becomes so comfortable that the sense of purpose gets lost in routine. In Orange County, the challenge is that life is designed to be comfortable. One could argue that the very goal of life here is comfort. Planned communities, man-made lakes, manicured landscaping and perpetually updated shopping centers are the norm. The weather fluctuates between a frigid 65 and a balmy 85 degrees.
Churches contribute to this environment of comfort by striving to offer “something for everyone”. The pressure to provide “the best” drives many pastors away from ministry or away from the very reasons they begin ministry in the first place. If pastors are unable to lead a church that makes people comfortable then they are often driven away or criticized to the point of insanity.
In my previous role I did not directly face the challenge to provide comfort for everyone, but I certainly fell into the trap of being content with a comfortable setting. I was in a place that seemed unwilling to break out of the norm and to ask the question, “What if God wants more from us?” In time, I fell victim to the culture of comfort in my own church and my own level of ennui reached a climax. It was then that I realized that the only thing that could help me break free was a major change.
It has now been over 3 years since I quit my job and moved away and I am grateful for the changes that came as a result of that move. But today I must stand on guard against the enemy of comfort in my own faith and now in my new church. I must keep watch that my marriage and relationships do not suffer from comfort (in this case, comfort because we settle for things as they are and not how they could be). As Donald Miller says, “a good story is about a character who knows what he wants and overcomes obstacles to get it”. In order to overcome obstacles we must fight the urge to remain comfortable and we must seek a life of adventure and wonder. Beware, because the biggest obstacle that may stand between you and something great could be a sense of comfort.

Riots

Riot- Uncontrolled revelry; rowdy behavior.

The Lakers ended the long basketball season with another championship last night. As is tradition for NBA cities, the celebration after the game included loud cheering, fireworks in scattered neighborhoods, and small fires set to randomly selected vehicles throughout the city.

Some people criticize the fans and even the game of basketball the seems to attract crowds that riot after championship victories, but what really is the big deal? It seems perfectly logical to me to lose control of all logical behavior after paying anywhere from $500- $100,000 per ticket to watch 12 men who earn an average of $10 million dollars per year playing a game defeat 12 other equally compensated athletes.

It should be a right for the fans (short for fanatics) to be involved in a bit of uncontrolled revelry or rowdy behavior. In fact, In order to add a little more public interest this type of celebration should be extend to other sports.

Think of how much more interesting it would be if after Tiger Woods next golf championship the collared-shirted and khaki-shorted spectators ran through the club house making noise and maybe even dropping linen napkins on the floor. For a real exciting finish perhaps they could park a golf cart on the sidewalk. Besides, they just watched a man making over $100,000,000 per year hit a golf ball into a hole.

Imagine how compelling it would be if all of the people in Phil Mickelson's gated community celebrated his victory on the golf course by choosing one mansion to set ablaze. This would really catch my attention. It would also be justified because someone from their home town had a great accomplishment so uncontrolled behavior is clearly in order.

I would maybe even be interested in NASCAR if I had a chance to see a riot in Fayettville, Tennis to see some rowdy behavior in Orlando, and Hockey to see the Mounties' stables burned to the ground. Perhaps riots could further be extended to presidential elections, Academy Awards, and the American Idol Finale. If we were consistent in expecting average people to celebrate the accomplishments of out of touch millionaires think of how much more exciting things could be.

Sunday Morning in My House

7 year old imagination.

Tweet Sized Information

We can all officially say that the fad of using blogs for conversation and even as personal online journals is passed. It is not that some of us do not still appreciate this medium for sharing thoughts it is just that facebook and Twitter (both of which I also use) have shortened out attention spans even more than before.

We now want to hear thoughts in 180 characters or less and we don't really want to comment. Is this because we are too busy or is it that the blog world became so watered down that no one really liked the content anymore? WIth short status updates we can be poignant with out own thoughts and not feel like we waste time reading rants that are intended to solicit comments from like-minded readers.

What implications will this new infatuation with "Tweet-Sized" information have on the future of print communications? Dostoyevsky beware!

Heretics

I used to joke that my goal as a teacher within the Christian church is to one day be labeled as a "heretic". This anomalous aspiration is not an attestation of a peculiar pursuit of a pagan personality but rather a quirky love of being different. The truth is that I never want to be labeled a heretic because I am in disagreement with the Bible and the truth of God but I have no problem standing against interpretations of man.

The root of the word "heretic" is actually opinion. Over the years this term developed into a word representing, "a person who thinks what is contrary to what is generally accepted". The reality is that the Bible has been subject to a myriad of human interpretations from the very beginning and after filtering through cultural and personal presuppositions, the "generally accepted opinions" may still fall short in light of the perfection of God's message and character.

Over the centuries very Godly and well-intentioned men and women have come to differing opinions and understanding of what is orthodoxy (right thinking) and orthopraxy (right living). Sometimes these differences led to unfortunate results for both the individuals and for the collective reputation of God's gathering of followers (the Church).

It seems no matter what stand one makes, he or she may be labeled as a heretic from others with a different view. So with this in mind... if you were to be labeled a "heretic" for one of your beliefs, in which belief are you okay with earning this reputation?
In other words, what belief do you hold that are so sure of that the label of "heretic" would not offend you?

Cosigning Loans

My bank called me recently and offered to refy my loan. I flippantly told them if they would wrap my 1st and 2nd together then I would do it and after 20 minutes of going through all of the info they agreed.... so far.

I say so far because the way things work now is that banks don't really want to let anyone borrow money. Even though over 30% of our home is paid off and we have nearly perfect credit and no other debt, we barely make enough money on paper to qualify for a refinance that will save us $350 per month.

Even with our precarious income situation, we seem to always have everything we need. When it comes right down to it, we believe that somehow God is providing enough work and opportunities to pay all we owe. I tried to say that God is aware of our financial situation and that He can vouch for us but so far it does not look like they will let Him co-sign our loan.

I will keep you posted.

Why look for the living among the dead?

Happy Easter!!!

2010 Census

Check all that apply:

( ) Hispanic Origin
( ) Japanese
( ) Chinese
( ) Korean
( ) Vietnamese
( ) Indonesian
( ) Pacific Islander
( ) Indian
( ) A Country ending in Stan
( ) Persian
( ) Arab
( ) Egyptian
( ) Native American (Specify Tribe)
( ) African American
( ) Mediterranean European
( ) Other
( ) White-bread

I'm last again.

Jesus

"The truth of the matter is that I am motivated by scholarly interest to learn as much as I can about Jesus, but at the same time being a practicing Jew and not a Christian, I am independent of any church. I readily admit, however, that I personally identify myself with Jesus' Jewish weltanschauung, both moral and political, and I believe that the content of his teachings and the approach he embraced have always had the potential to change our world and prevent the greatest part of evil and suffering."
- David Flusser

Happy St. Urho's Day

A great thing about America is that we are so diverse that we are willing to celebrate holidays from other countries. We drink Margaritas and eat Mexican food on Cinco De Mayo, Corned Beef and Cabbage and drink Guniess for St. Pat's Day, and Hamburgers and Sam Adams for the 4th of July.
The thing that makes us great also makes us ridiculous. How many of us actually are Irish, Mexican, or American yet we still celebrate the respective holidays.
So in honor of all of the nationalities that are left out and because half of my blood is from Finland I wish you all a St. Urho's Day.
Despite the fact that over 80% of Finland is Lutheran and the other 20% is non-religious and therefore no feasts of the Saints are actually recognized, some Finnish people have created this glorious day. It is on this day that we celebrate St. Urho's feat of chasing frogs out of Finland and presumably all the way to the Vatican so that the frogs will not eat all of the mosquitos.( I made up the last part about mosquitos but judging from the upper mid-west, this must be the truth).
On this day we drink "feelia sour" which is sour whole milk (again probably taken from Minnesota dairy farmers) and we eat "kala mojaka" which is fish soup.
It is conveniently celebrated on March 16th because the food is one step better than boiled meat of the Irish Peasants. So enjoy the day and remember the Finnish people that have also brought us ice fishing, cribbage, snow, and full-bodied thermal underwear with buttons in the butt. Kippis!

Celebrate the Resurrection?

After working on church staffs for many years I have been a part of tons of worshipful Easter Sundays and tons of less worshipful ones. Something happens to church planners when we think of the possibility of more people than usual attending our services. For some reason, many churches decide that this should be a day dedicated to entertainment in order to help the less committed feel comfortable in church.

Two Questions:
Does this create a problem in light of the old theory of "how you win them is how you keep them" comes up.

When thinking of Easter Sunday, is this a day when we should cater to the masses in hopes of attracting a few new converts or is this a day for the devoted to celebrate the love the Savior has for us all?

Dogs and Their Owners

My wife said I look like our new dog. I'm not so sure... I'm the one on the left.

Gospel or Jesus?

In my local church community we are looking at the book of Philippians which is one of my favorite of Paul's writings. One thing that comes through in this letter that he wrote is that he has joy in his life because of the great news (gospel) of Jesus Christ. He has joy because the people in Philippi journeyed with him in defending and living out the ways of Jesus.

In studying this I noticed that similar language is a re-emerging trend in Christian circles. I hear a lot of talk about the gospel and love for the gospel. One thing that struck me and, quite frankly, concerns me is that I hear of "love for the gospel" and "love for theology" more than I hear "love for Jesus".

I am quite sure the people talking this way are not saying they love a theology more than God so I want to propose this question for a chance for dialogue.

Is there a difference between "loving the gospel" and "loving Jesus". If so what is the difference? If not, why use the terminology that is ambiguous and potentially misleading?

The World of Little League

There are many advantages to living where we live. Our weather is almost perfect 10 months of the year, the beach is just a few miles away, we can be snow skiing in the mountains in less than 2 hours, we have all the major sports teams in the area, our schools are fairy solid, and crime is relatively low.

The problem with all of these great things is that millions of other people have figured this out as well and, in my town,
we are unfortunate enough to share this discovery with many affluent people. I'm not against affluence; in fact I wouldn't mind experiencing some every now and then. What I am against is the attitude that comes with many who are affluent.

This year we finally entered the world of Little League Baseball in our town. This is a normal part of growing up in most places, but here in Mission Viejo Little League is where parents begin their crazed passion for making their kids into great athletes and selfish competitors. For those of us who believe that sports are intended to be fun and that they should not require all of our time and money, our kids are at a disadvantage.

My first impression with this new world we have entered came at the first week of practice. The kids were going to practice batting so each kid put on his own personal batting helmet. My son was told that he could not practice batting because he did not have a helmet. When I told the coach that we will not purchase a helmet because the league said they provide them he seemed dumbfounded. He knew that was the league policy but he and the other parents could not fathom a 7 year old baseball player not owning his own helmet. Finally one mother felt so uncomfortable with the absurdity of excluding a kid for this that she went home and got an old one for my boy to use.

We were grateful to her but disappointed that the culture I live in expects everyone to have the best of everything and to teach elitism at such a young age. What happened to the good old days of every kid in the league using the same sweaty and haggard helmets and the whole team sharing one beat up bat? Our uniforms were often recycled and our gloves all belonged to an older brother at some point. If we lost a ball in the bushes we had to look for it and if our cleats were not brand new we could still run fast.

I pray that I can help my boys know that they can be great without all the attitude and all of the newest stuff. I also pray that I can remember that most of these parents are a product of this culture as well and they can benefit as much as me in seeing true contentment and humility modeled.

The Ever Lengthening Bucket List

Five years ago my wife and I wrote our "lists for life" that I have commented on previously in this blog. These lists had their names changed to "Bucket Lists" after the movie came out several years ago.
I just found my original list and laughed that only a few items from my 80+ item list had been checked off and many more have been added. Just for fun and my own personal documentation, here is the update:

Since writing the list I have accomplished the following:
1. I have been to 6 new countries and 4 new states. I only have approximately 80 more countries and 3 more US states to visit.

2. I have eaten Alligator in the South.

3. I had communion in Israel.

4. I ate big game in Africa (elephant).

5. Learn Hebrew.

6. Visit 2 new baseball stadiums

7. Scuba Dive in the Carribbean

That's all I have done. Here are the following things that I have done that probably should have been on my list:

1. Live in Israel for about a year.
2. Eat a Gyro and Baklava in Greece
3. Drink Arabic Coffee in Ramalah.
4. Ride a Camel in the Sahara desert and look at the Ancient Pyramids.
5. Climb the pyramid in Chichen Itza (mexico)
6. Celebrate Palm Sunday, Easter, and Christmas in Israel.
7. Have a third kid.
8. Work in a coffee shop
9. Help plant a new church
10. Lose my family in London (for four hours).
11. Drive the Road to Hana and swim in a waterfall with my wife.

It goes to show that the best made plans are simply plans and we never know what other great things may come. In the year ahead I am excited to see what things I might actually check off (or add to be checked off).

Career Progress

My first job during college (other than serving tables at a restaurant) was working with JH students at a local church. It didn't pay much, but it was a great place to learn and grow in my career. I had great mentors, amazing opportunities, and I even had an office.
My office was the old kitchen from the church building that was in use from 1908- 1952. I had to gut it out and throw away 40 years of stuff that was "stored for future use" in my soon to be "state of the art" office. I nearly had to wipe the tears when I threw away Myrtle's flannel graph from 1965 that showed Jesus coming back and defeating the Communist bastard Khrushchev. I'm not sure the word bastard was on there, but any flannel graph depiction of a Russian president as the anti-Christ assumes such language. Once we gut it and cleaned it up, it got some paint and carpet and was ready to go. The problem with the office was that it was in the basement of this old church away from everyone else. The room was heated by an old boiler (covered in asbestos!). Since I was the only one down there the facilities guy refused to turn on the boiler "just so I could have heat". Did I forget to mention that this was in Washington state where it does snow from time to time and when the winter temps never go above 50. This means that the office was seldom warmer than 50 degrees.
I would use a space heater and every single day the facility guy would come into my office and tell me, "The most common cause of fires in churches is the use of space heaters". I would usually respond with something like, "The most common cause of death of youth pastors is hypothermia right in their offices". He would then say, "It beats burning to death" and then he would walk away.
Why do I tell you this story today? Here I am, one Bachelor's degree, one Master's, and some preparatory work towards a PhD later. I have worked full time in various positions for the past 12 years all to now reach the pinnacle of my career. I am in my garage, it is 50 degrees outside and raining (just like old times), and I am wearing my winter coat, my wool hat, and my Christmas snuggie. I breathe hot air into my hands when my fingers begin losing their feel. My paycheck isn't even that much higher than it was when I was 20 years old and my job entailed challenging kids to feed their friends spam while only using their feet and a rubber mallet.
And for some reason, I am content. Like a young punk who is excited to work in the job he wants, I am okay with the cold air and the plywood board resting on bricks for my desktop. I'm okay with working a second job (not unlike serving food) so that I can be a part of something I believe in.
I have all I need in life except for maybe a space heater... but I of course would hate to see the house burn down.

What is so funny about rain?

I live in Southern California where we are in the midst of a 5 year drought. I don't know the exact numbers so I will simply fabricate them but I think we have received around 5-7 inches of rain each of the last 5 years. For friends and family living in my former home in the Seattle area... that amount of rain is what you call a normal winter.

This week we are expecting 7 inches of rain in our town. As I sit in my "office" which is a local coffee shop that has huge windows down the entire wall on two sides I have an amazing view of this rain.
When living in Washington I never really just looked out the windows at the rain. It would be as futile as my looking out the window at the sun in my location. Why stare at something so common?

But today I am amused. Not that it is raining, but the fact that everyone who is getting out of their vehicle comes running through this foreign substance falling from the heavens with smiles on their faces. Surely they are not overcome with joy simply because our reservoirs are filling. (This doesn't really matter because we steal all of our water from Colorado anyway). It can't be that they are elated because the $150 Uggs finally make sense in our Sub-Saharan climate. Perhaps it is possible, but nonetheless dubious that the smiles are coming because the rain tickles.

I think we are all smiling and laughing because all nature declares the wonders of God. The majesty of jagged cliffs, the serenity of bright colors of Spring, and even the terrors of earthquakes and roaring waves. All these declare that we are just small players in a magnificent creation called earth.

In Orange County we hear this symphony declaring God's wonders everyday of the year. We hear the colors of the evening sky declare that God has a preferred palette and we listen to the waves tell us that God's might can be terrifying. But we seldom hear what the rain has to say. We are rarely reminded of the sound of the parched earth gasping with satisfaction after a nice long drink of water. I don't think many of us realize that this makes us smile, but certainly the sound of nature declaring that God is here must touch us all deep in our souls even when we are not looking. It is in these moments that even the most serious face can't help but to grin.

I'm off to splash in some puddles and to listen to the ground laugh along with me.

What Matters Most?

"[The problem for evangelicals] is that we place doctrinal purity over unity, or we place relational unity over sound doctrine. The reality is that Jesus wants us to be equally committed to both- the peace and purity of the church. When this is not the case, our disunity is a major hinderance to our evangelism and witness to the world. We fail at the final apologetic, our love for one another. If we can agree on the essential matters, the unity of the gospel, then we have a shot at rebuilding the trust and moving forward.

And

"When we become humble in our beliefs, we are willing to see that our own denominations or traditions do not have a corner on all truth, and we become more open to dialogue with other traditions. We might find that we are sometimes wrong and the different perspective will correct our error. But even where we are right, the dialogue can improve, sharpen and enliven our perspective and give nuance to our understandings."

- Jim Belcher in "Deep Church"

What lies ahead

Para mi:
1st draft.
6 schools. Hopefully 3 classes.
One new baseball stadium.
Yellowstone.
Alaska.
Hebrew Advanced.
Greek.
German.
Clay stuff.
25 books.
The Bible.
2 Camps.
Conversions.
Article.
Support.
Fewer Lattes.
3 videos.

For our community:
Multiply.
Worship.
Water.
Baptize.
Camp.
Origins.
Board.
Stained Glass.
Art.
Eph 4.

I think this is all for now. Are we clear?

2009 In Review

* Our new church began meeting in a semi-permanent location
* I baptized 4 people during our Easter Service
* Camped in the Sequoia Forest
* Traveled to Washington State with family
* Traveled to D.C. Baltimore, Virginia, N&S Carolina with Sara
* Checked off two more baseball stadiums on list (D.C. and Baltimore)
* Kids made it to 4th grade and 1st grade
* 12th wedding anniversary
* Only completed about 17 books (I think)
* Watched my dog die
* Began learning German

I did not:
* Complete about a dozen other books laying around the house
* improve my Hebrew as much as desired
* Complete my review of Basic Greek
* Complete writing goals
* Sleep

My "bucket list" for the year is coming soon. I don't make resolutions... just bucket lists in case this be my last year.

Happy New Year

2010. A New Year, a new decade... my fourth... only 6 more to go!

Merry Christmas

I'm pretty sure this is cheating because my last three blogs have simply wished you a happy "some sort of holiday". But nonetheless. Merry Christmas.
I hope that you are able to stop and reflect on the simplicity and the profoundness of this season. If you feel frantic and compelled to buy more gifts and spend more money, you just might be missing the point.
I am not advocating that you give up on gifts just slow down a bit, try to do something meaningful with your time with others, and if you are looking for the perfect gift for me, save your money or give it to someone in need.

The Servant Candle

Today is the fourth day of Chanukah- festival of lights. This commemorates a rededication of the temple during the revolt against the Greek Empire of the Selucids. Each night for eight nights a candle is lit to remember the 8 days the lampstand remained lit without replenishing the oil. It is remembered as God miraculously providing light in the temple.

The interesting fact of this holiday is that each candle is lit by an additional candle called the "servant candle". It is this servant that works to provide light to the rest of us.

Jesus, a servant of mankind, called himself the light of the world.... a servant candle.

Happy Thanksgiving

I love this day when our country that is mired in greed and discontent actually takes a day to think of all the things for which we are thankful.
I challenge each person to let this attitude of thankfulness continue in the following days when stores and consumers quickly shift back to attitudes of discontent.

Dogs

One of the ways my wife communicates her feelings about having a dog is with the hyperbolic statement, "I don't like his stinky hairy butt on my carpet". Now we know this problem can be solved.

When Missional Church Works

We are a part of a local church community that is focused on living with an "outward" focus rather than an inward focus that is only concerned with those who join us during our weekly gatherings. This is an exciting thing because it seems to resemble the early gatherings described in the Bible and post- Biblical writings but it is a difficult thing to measure in this culture. I have said before that I am consistently tempted to measure the effectiveness of this church by the number of people in a gathering but then I have to stop and consider greater indicators.

1. The fact is that we have a growing number of people who do-not-yet believe or who are struggling with faith who are engaging with Christians in our community groups. These friends of ours are asking real questions and are sharing pieces of their lives with us as we journey together. My prayer is that through this they will see Jesus lived out through us and take the next step towards faith. This is what we wanted when we began this church community so how can we not be excited?

2. Through a few faithful members of our gathering, we have a food box ministry that is growing each month and is already at a point where it has to be the work of God to provide enough food each month. It is a joy to know that a small gathering of people who want to help others can actually make a practical difference in the lives of so many families each month.

3. This Holiday Season we are adopting some families in need from a local neighborhood and extending this "adoption" to the entire year. In addition to this, our gathering is planning to spend less on ourselves and spend what we save to build a water well in an area of Northern Africa. In addition to these things, we are continuing our partnership with persecuted Christians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

4. Without any prompting, many of the people in this gathering are finding ways to spend time with neighbors and friends in order to bless them and give them a glimpse of Jesus in real life.

We believe all of these things are commanded to us from God and are all things that we are blessed to be a part of. I want to thank the people of Soma Church of Orange County for jumping in a doing all they can to life unselfishly and passionately for Jesus.

Time Travel

Life is filled with moments of great joy and great pain. Some would even argue that without one we really don't have the other. Without hate how could we know love, without dark how would we recognize light, and without pain how could we feel joy?
As for me I think I would skip the pain in life if I could but this, of course, doesn't work.

This past weekend my boys and I had the unfortunate experience of watching our idiot dog run across a busy street and then run back towards us. Just before he made it back he was struck by a car and died 2 hours later. As of 930 AM on Saturday I had three happy boys who just rode bikes with me to a donut shop and one very happy dog who ran with us the entire way. By noon, the mood was somber, our dog was gone, and the vet bill was piling up by the second. To add insult to injury the lady who hit him tracked us down two days later saying her car was damaged and she is hassling us and our insurance agent multiple times per day.

I really don't need much right now, but if any of you know someone who has a time machine I would like to borrow it. I will hold Miki's leash (that was attached to his collar as he dashed across the street) and then I will give the machine back. That's all.

Bring on the Red Cups

Today Starbucks stores across America, and perhaps across the globe, began using this year's holiday cups. Every year when these cups come out it tells everyone that we have now officially entered the Holiday Season. (These visual reminders are important for Californians because the 85 degree days fail to bring the Holiday mood). I am all for these red cups and the Holiday Season because it is still my favorite time of year. Even the fact that my wife begins playing Christmas music beginning November 1st does not lessen my love for the next two months.

My biggest problem with the Holiday Season is the cliche' issue of how commercialized everything has become. Retail stores depend on this time of year to sure up the books and even churches rely on the influx of people and giving. Somehow in all of this we have convinced ourselves that it is okay to spend more energy buying gifts and decorating our houses than on worshipping Jesus (who happens to be the subject of this season).

I do not advocate an extreme view of total separation from the cultural traditions of gifts and decorating, but this year I challenge you to consider spending less money on gifts for others and to even be so bold as to limit the quanitity of gifts given and think of giving gifts of time and relationships. Give to your community and to those who have less. Show the world that this season is about our worship of Jesus and therefore we give up the idols of self-worth and of stuff and we worship by reminding the world about the story of sacrifice and love.

Check out Rethinking Christmas for ideas of how to embrace the red cups, enjoy the season, and to make the next two months about worship and not about self. (By the way, please do not tell my employer, Howard Shultz, that I think you should spend less on retail this year).

The Year of Living Biblically

I just read A.J. Jacobs' book, "My Year of Living Biblically" and I am pleasantly surprised. I am not surprised that I enjoyed the book. How can you not enjoy reading about a guy who attempted to live one year by taking every command in the Bible literally? From not "trimming the edge of his beard" to not wearing clothes with mixed fibers, Jacobs rises to the challenge. I love the humorous ways he tells his story but I mostly love that he actually did this.

What makes it so encouraging to me is that AJ Jacobs has a normal job, a wife, and one boy with two more on the way, and he still does something so crazy. Granted, it was for a good story and something to write about but most of us do more talking and dreaming than actually "doing". Even more encouraging is that his wife goes along with this. Even when she heard that he would not sit on any chair that she sat on during her "cycle" because it was unclean, she did not get upset, she simply systematically sat on every chair in the apartment leaving Jacobs with no other options. Throughout his antics she reminded me of my wife on how she could be supportive (or tolerant?) of me while offering "eye rolls" as her only commentary.

I guess I identify with AJ Jacobs as someone who wants to experience this life to its full. Maybe reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica, like Jacobs did in his previous book "The Know it All", does not seem like living life to its full, but at least it is words put into action.

This thinking is what led me to move my family to Israel, to return and begin a new church, to jump from airplanes, ski off of cliffs, ask my wife out (before she was my wife), eat things like grasshoppers and African Crocodile, and even to apply and now work at a local Starbucks. I see life as a gift from God that is worth living and I am more interested in following where I believe God is leading me than in over-thinking each move only to remain stuck in one place.

Don't worry, I am not on the verge of selling the house on moving to Des Moines, but I do feel the urge to live a radical life where I am today. I am excited to see what will come in the next year at Soma Church of Orange County, I am eager to watch my boys continue to grow and learn how to love life, and I am happy to know that wherever this life leads my wife and me, we will experience it together. (Of course she will mock me and probably even write a book one day called, "My life of Living with a Nutcase" but even that would be a great experience). So my thoughts for all of you (or more appropriately, both of you reading this) is to take some chances, check off some bucket list items, and experience the wonders of this world.

For those of you who follow Christ, quit thinking that His leading must sound rational. Like a New Yorker trying to live Biblically for a year, our faith often is not totally rational and it doesn't have to be. The joy of following and "doing" what you know you should do is worth the effort.

This is a Bustle

This is my second week of trying the "choose a random book, open to a random sentence, and then write about it" post. This week I opened some book about American Politics and the first sentence I read said, "This is a bustle".

I can honestly say that I have never heard this word used in this way. I have heard "hustle and bustle", and the city is "bustling", but never, "This is a bustle". So I looked up "bustle" and discovered that when used as a noun it is "an excited activity or movement".

I think my life the past two and half years have been a bustle. We had our third boy, quit a good job, moved my family to Israel because I wanted to see the Western Wall, I saw the Western Wall, we moved back, began a new church, and now work 2-3 jobs. This truly has been and is "excited activity and movement".

I guess with this definition, I could say that our 2 year old is a "bustle". He is the most easy-going of our three boys, but he never stops moving. He wakes up and begins the process of exploring the world from his little 2 foot high perspective. He plays with his brothers' toys, he terrorizes the dog by chasing him with a spray bottle or by sticking things in his (the dog's) nose, and he constantly searches for candy. We literally had to purge our entire house of candy because he would search through every drawer and cupboard until he found some. He even found old Halloween candy that we hid from the older boys years ago. Because our 2 year old is a bustle, he does things the others never did but he constantly entertains us.

I don't want to "spiritualize" this too much, but I see God's work in my family's lives as a "bustle". It is exciting this year to see people move into new faith in Jesus, to see families fed through a "food box" project led by people in our church community, and to see friends work on giving up harmful addictions and turn towards Jesus. It has been amazing, and challenging, to see God provide all that we need this year even though the economy is struggling and my jobs pay less than before. It is great to see the "excited activity" of God as He gives us vision and strength for each day and the internal peace that is content to see what the future holds.

Life is often a bustle for all of us. I just hope that in those moments of "excited activity and movement" that we take time to enjoy it and breathe it all in.

These might be Interesting

I am trying something new today. Instead of writing about something I have observed, I randomly opened a book and wrote down the first sentence that fell before my eyes. I am fortunate today because the sentence is “These might be interesting”.
Think of how many things might be interesting. In order to truly appreciate the sentence we must dissect this sentence. First of all the subject “these” is plural. Then we have a modifying word “might”. This word is subtle but it might make all the difference in the world. It implies an unknown, a hope, a possibility. Finally we have the word “interesting”. A lot of things are interesting. Interesting only denotes interest, not a favorable or unfavorable opinion of that thing. So without further ado, what does this sentence mean for us today?

“These might be interesting.”
Who might we hear uttering this sentence?

A family at a movie store picking out the Godfather series.
A teenager with a six pack of beer.
A husband and wife holding handcuffs.
A teacher holding a pile of completed final exams.
A border patrol officer following a line of 1979 conversion vans with curtains covering the windows.
A child with a book of matches.
God, when He created Platypuses.
The Nobel Prize committee when they decided this year’s winners.


Today’s profound thought is free of charge.

Narcissists and MyFace

My wife told me about a story she read on the news about the dangers of "Facebook" and "mySpace" as it relates to creating a generation of people who are narcissistic. The theory is that these "social network" sites are used by millions of people who's online cultures allow them to continually post thoughts about "What they are doing" and of all of their current photos.

These web-sites are great for re-connecting with lost friends and for getting actual updates from people's lives. The issue is that these sites have become places where users almost compete for the highest number of friends and comments on status updates (of course bloggers never care about how many comments are left... if you agree make sure you at least post "likes this" so the tally goes up a bit for me) .

Are we encouraging a culture that wants to talk about themselves and that constantly takes photos of themselves so they have new user photos? Is it true that these social networking tools have caused people to lose a level of checks and balances that prevents too much arrogance or self-centered behaviors? Imagine 15 years ago if I called everyone I knew to say, "I'm watching a movie right now... and by the way, my relationship status is waiting for confirmation" and then I hoped to hear my friends respond favorably. Then imagine if every Monday morning I arrived at work or at school and handed out new photos of me and said, "this is my new profile picture... this photo represents how I want you to think of me". I'm sure my friends (and people who were friends of friends of friends) would have been fine if I tracked them down and asked them to "be my friend". I'm sure I would also think it a mistake when they choose to ignore my requests.

Okay, maybe the article might have had some good points.

But the point for me is that these tools are here and they are very much a part of our world. Although I still need my wife (and the occasional 6th grader) to help me with my Facebook account, I do use these tools and love that I have re-connected with friends from all over the world. I even love being able to share photos of my kids, my wife's and my travels, and my latest personal "head-shots".

So in an attempt to create a networking site for those of us who are not narcissistic, but just want everyone, everywhere to know who we are and what we are doing every 30 minutes, I am creating a new site that combines all the best of Facebook and of MySpace but disallows self-centered people. This site is called "MyFace". When I say "my face", that is literally what it means. Everyone's profile pictures are simply different photos of me that each person may choose for their very own. If anyone wants to share vacation photos, they can scroll through my own personal travels and substitute them for their own. You can still update your status but if you post things like, "I'm sitting at work and can't wait to get home" you lose one friend from your list.

Now that I have pissed off half of the world (okay 2 of the three people who read this), please know that I will not create a site called "MyFace"... because someone else already did. I also will continue to use Facebook and promise to log in at least once a week. I will also continue to keep up with my friends through this tool and I promise not to judge anyone who is addicted to updating his/her status, who posts all of his latest photos of himself, and who keeps asking to be my friend even though we really don't know each other.

So I now leave you because one minute ago my status changed to "I'm in the library and working on some research"..... oh, I will also leave you with a brand new profile picture to prove how hard I am working here in the library.

What's Wrong with the world.....

... In no particular order.

1. It is 101 degrees on the first day of Fall.
2. My "No-Kink" garden hose kinks more than anything I have ever seen.
3. I begin most work days at 4:15 AM.
4. Monday night football is only on ESPN.
5. I don't get ESPN.
6. Our lawmakers want to fine people for not having health care.... a free country?
7. Nascar still has high TV ratings.
8. I could fly from LA to New York right now for $179 and don't have the time or money to do so.
9. Kanye West
10. This is the extent of the time I have for updating this blog.

Warm Water

I took my older boys to the beach again today. The water is 76 degrees. It was a perfect day of body boarding (boogie boarding) and picnic dinner during sunset. A great final day of summer before we send the boys back to school and we get some freedom back!

Out of Touch Father

I love living where we live. Yesterday afternoon my middle son and I went to the ocean to play in the waves (our water is 75 degrees which is very unusual), meanwhile my older son hung out with some of his friends at our lake. The lake is a 1/2 mile from our house so it is a great incentive for living here. One added perk in the summer at the lake is a concert series of mostly "has-been" artists and "up and coming" artists.
So yesterday when we all converged back at home, my fourth grader informed us that he wanted to go to the concert at the lake. Mitchel Musso was performing and all of his friends were going. I had no idea who Mitch Musso was and after looking him up I still was not impressed at his "Disney Show" artist status. My wife informed me that I was now an "out-of-touch- dad" and had to keep up with these things. "Mitch Musso is huge", so I was told.
So, in order to become in touch with this stage in my kids' lives, we all rode our bikes to the lake to see thousands of pre-teen kids enjoying the show. I must say that I was impressed at the level of love that Mith Musso has for himself as he informed us during and after his songs that he is famous. I was also impressed that he confidently lip-synced 90% of the songs without any apparent shame.( I never saw any 80's hair bands do that.)
Although I "had to" leave early so that my 2 year old could go to sleep (and to watch the LSU vs UW game), my wife and boys had a great time ending the summer and preparing for the school year. And I got my education on what is cool for older elementary school kids. Now I am not as out of touch as I was a day earlier.

Traveling

I am officiating a wedding ceremony in South Carolina this week so my wife and I decided to take this opportunity to travel a bit. Even without much extra money, by using miles and staying in hotels with breakfast/ lunch, it is possible to still have a fun trip. On our agenda we have Washington DC, Baltimore, drive through Virginia, North Carolina, and then some time in South Carolina (Charleston).
We are so thankful to get this little "travel fix".

Racism and Faith

My wife recently talked with a friend who visited Israel and was shocked to hear this friend recall the details of her trip. First she talked about how lovely the country was and how much she enjoyed the food and the people (this is not the shocking part yet). Then something in this friend's countenance changed as she began talking about the "Arabs" and how dirty, mean, and dangerous they are.
The friend actually had a look of anger in her face as she recalled how much better the trip would be if it weren't for the "Arabs".
Then her countenance returned to normal as she concluded her thoughts and mentioned how great it is for the Jewish people and Christians to stick together.

Unfortunately this mindset among many evangelical Christians is common. Many have somehow twisted their theology enough to think that God approves of this level of racism in their faith. They somehow believe that since many Arabs are Muslim that they are all enemies of Christianity.

I wonder if these same people realize that in Israel alone, 80% of the Christians are Arab and less than one percent of the Christians are Israeli Jews? I also wonder if they believe the Bible in 1 John 3:15 that says, "anyone who hates his brother (fellow Christians... including Arabs) he is a murderer... vs 16 we should lay down our lives for our brothers... vs 18 we should not love with words and tongue but with actions and in truth".

As my wife and I talked we realized that we must be naive to think that followers of Jesus should be beyond this basic form of racism. We assumed that we were not alone in noticing that whatever the race, God wants to shower people with His love. If we are really followers of Jesus we must first of all realize how our theology affects fellow brothers and sisters in the faith (and seriously question any theology that causes hatred of these people). We must also realize that the world does change and will continue to change as people are touched with the love of God, not the hatred of man.

For all of our friends who are Arab-Christians, please accept our apologies... we are with you.

Idolatry

"If you idolize your denomination you must demonize the others. If you idolize cessationism you have to demonize charismatic theology. If you idolize reformed theology you have to demonize Arminian theology... Turning a good thing into a God thing is a bad thing." - Mark Discoll

Baby Steps

This year has been a challenge for me on many levels;
We returned to the relatively tame world of life in Orange County after living in the relatively wild world of the Middle East.
I have worked 3 different jobs in hopes of paying the bills instead of relying on one steady paycheck.
I have spent the majority of my time interacting with people who are not-yet-Christians instead of spending the majority of my time working with people who basically believe the same as me.

All of this is perhaps just a season in life that sometimes feels like it will kill me and sometimes feels like this is the only thing that makes me feel alive. Some of the experiences from this year have reminded me of what it really means to be a follower of Jesus and it has made me think that all of us who serve as pastors should probably experience some of these things from time to time.

Some of the biggest lessons/ challenges have been:
1. Humility- Someone once said, "you can't lead if you can't serve". This year has been a great challenge in humility as I put on my green robe and serve my neighbors, friends, and uptight customers. I still feel tempted at times to explain to everyone why I am working in a job normally held for college students as I see the look in the eyes of others who feel superior to this lowly barista.
Jesus rolled up his sleeves and washed feet, I guess I can handle making lattes.

2. Compassion- A group of guys who meet every morning in my store told me, "Right here, every morning... this is our church. This is spirituality to us". As a pastor I miss these people because I spend so much time in "sacred" spaces. It is amazing to spend a good amount of time in this space so that I can listen, encourage, and pray for the people who have yet to experience the love of Jesus in their lives. To grow in my compassion for the majority of people who don't have a place to connect is an invaluable lesson.

3. Unity- I am a part of a small church that absolutely needs the encouragement and support of others. We borrow a building from an amazingly gracious local church, we received sound equipment from another church community, I help out another local church from time to time with teaching their youth, and several other pastors from a network of churches (Mosaic Alliance) encourage me and keep me going. The Church is so much bigger than us, we are just one of many and joining with others with no feelings of competition is the way Jesus wants us to be.

4. Desperation- I have the privilege almost every week with interacting with people who do not-yet-believe who need to hear that there is a God who loves them and who has been pursuing them. I've been able to listen to the stories of brokenness and pain from others and I have been able to enter in to their stories. The thing with all of this is that it is far beyond my capabilities. I have to cling to God and desperately depend on His leading and guidance. When we are pushed beyond what we think we can handle, we find ourselves right where we need to be.

Father's Day

I think Father's Day was invented by mothers.

On Mother's Day, the kids spend as much time as possible with the fathers.
On Father's Day, the kids spend as much time as possible with the fathers.

On Mother's Day, the fathers attempt to cook dinner for their family.
On Father's Day, the fathers BBQ dinner for the family.

On Mother's Day, fathers use their money to try to buy something nice for the mothers.
On Father's Day, mothers use the father's money to try to do something nice for the fathers.

All in all, it probably works out this way for a reason. The mom's usually do a much better and more thorough job parenting than us fathers do and they need these breaks.

For me, I was able to sleep in ( a nice start to the day), I got to play "beat-up monster" with the boys, I got a great card from Ian and a clay heart-shaped ashtray, I went bike riding with the boys while Sara got to stay home and rest (clean), I gave the dog a bath, I relaxed for a while while Ben napped, I cleaned the garage, I BBQ'd dinner, I had a raspberry pie that Sara and Ian made, and got a back rub to end the day.... I like Father's Day.

Radical Minimum Standards

What if everyone who said they followed Jesus lived by a radical minimum standard? Could we all think like this...

"I had entered the kingdom believing that every believer lived by a radical minimum standard and lived for the expansion of the kingdom of God. The standard was no extraordinary thing, just ordinary Christianity. To hear the voice of God, to be led by God's Spirit, to be God's witness among the nations, and to see God's power translate into the transformation of the human heart- this was our one calling" - E. McMannus in "The Unstoppable Force"