What's Wrong With the World

Can Christians be Religious?

2012-01-11T09:35:00.000-08:00

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.

2011-12-15T17:47:00.001-08:00

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

2011-11-07T23:00:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-04T09:28:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-27T10:01:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-24T09:12:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-24T06:30:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-30T12:37:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-24T07:13:00.001-07:00

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....

2011-02-03T22:33:00.001-08:00

New work coming soon.

New Beginnings

2011-01-02T08:12:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-03T11:53:00.001-08:00

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

2010-11-20T08:13:00.001-08:00

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

2010-11-11T06:54:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-06T11:43:00.001-07:00

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

2010-10-21T16:12:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-14T14:44:00.001-07:00

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

2010-09-22T22:01:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-03T13:21:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-06T20:37:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-18T09:57:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-29T14:38:00.000-07:00

7 year old imagination.

Tweet Sized Information

2010-05-10T14:53:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-20T13:24:00.001-07:00

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

2010-04-12T17:25:00.000-07:00

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?

2010-04-04T17:32:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!!!

2010 Census

2010-03-29T15:46:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-19T15:12:00.000-07:00

"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

2010-03-16T18:02:00.000-07:00

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?

2010-03-01T15:00:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-24T17:48:00.000-08:00

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

Gospel or Jesus?

2010-02-17T13:53:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-09T15:02:00.001-08:00

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

2010-01-30T14:46:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-22T13:09:00.000-08:00

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?

2010-01-18T13:20:00.000-08:00

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?

2010-01-12T16:48:00.000-08:00

"[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

2010-01-08T11:39:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-04T21:10:00.000-08:00

* 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

2010-01-01T21:22:00.000-08:00

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

Merry Christmas

2009-12-23T12:20:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-14T17:05:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-26T10:43:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-22T07:51:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-12T15:01:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-10T15:26:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-03T15:35:00.000-08:00

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

2009-10-28T22:51:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-22T15:38:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-14T15:33:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-07T11:49:00.000-07:00

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.....

2009-09-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

... 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

2009-09-09T21:17:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-06T08:58:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-09T06:09:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-26T21:16:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-16T08:58:00.001-07:00

"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

2009-06-30T14:36:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-22T13:36:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-09T09:47:00.000-07:00

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"

Photos

2009-06-03T13:50:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have updated any photos so here are some relatively recent photos of the kids.

6-1-09

2009-06-01T23:15:00.000-07:00

What's wrong with the world?

It's already June 1st.

I must be getting old because I find myself saying things like, "time sure is going by fast this year". and "I Just don't know where this has gone".

We are now in the countdown for the final days of school so this time of year is actually really fun with kids. They are excited for summer and the chance to move on to the next grade. I remember what a big deal it was to achieve these milestones growing up. Now they are just reminders that the older we get the more life all just blends together.... Okay, enough sounding like this. Happy June 1st.

Money

2009-05-22T11:44:00.000-07:00

This is me... venting.

We recently got news that if we refinance our home loans we will save about $300 per month! The problem is that we have never missed a payment, our credit scores are in the 800's, our loan to value ratio is 65-35 (which is great) but our income is too low this year to qualify for loans we already have. The banks told us that we could save a lot of money and even though we have 10 consecutive years of paying our home loans on time, we can't be trusted. We were also told that if we default on our loans we would be able to refinance for a much lower rate immediately.
In other words, because we can be trusted to make our payments, they cannot trust that we will make our payments at a lower rate.
If we prove that we can't be trusted at our current rate, they will trust us with a lower rate.

We also got news this week that several companies we deal with announced 20% rate increases. This is primarily because too many people are not paying their bills. So, those of us who sacrifice and do all we can to stay on top of all the changes are asked to pay more.

Now do you see why God wanted a year of Jubilee every 50 years? Everything resets so that greedy bastards do not get rewarded too much and so that people who work hard but have to make tough decisions to support their family don't get pushed down too low. Of course this only works in a society that all believe in this system and who do not take advantage of its weaknesses... in other words, it would never work in America.

Mother's Day

2009-05-12T12:31:00.000-07:00

It is never too late for this tribute to Mothers.

Click Here in Honor of Your Mother

Reading Update

2009-05-03T21:36:00.000-07:00

Many of you in my blog world tend to read a lot and often ask what I have been reading lately. So this time, without request I bring you my most recent reading log.
Before I give it to you I must let you know that I made a commitment to not read my usual 7 books at a time so I decided I would complete all of the books I was going through and then begin the process of reading one book at a time.... This did not last more than a week but I did have good intentions. As long as I am completing at least one book every week or two I am okay with this system.

Recently completed:
Total Church by Chester and Timnis
The Anatomy of Peace by the Arbinger Institute
The Six Day War: Shaping of the Middle East by Oren
The God Theory by "I Forgot the author"
Excavating Jesus by Crossman and Reed
The Russia House by Le Carre

Currently Reading:
House of Leaves
An Experiment in Criticism by CS Lewis
6 Prayer God Answers by ??
Unstoppable Force by Erwin Mcmannus
In the Rose Garden of Martyrs by ??
At Ease: Stories I Tell to Friends by Dwight Eisenhower
A Brief History of Everything by Bryson
The Bible

Love Muffins

2009-04-26T06:40:00.000-07:00

My wife recently posted an entry on her blog which made me laugh even though it was steeped in language and allusions meant for a female audience.
At one point she discusses the trials of removing "muffin tops" which, to a male, was a sentence lost in translation. She later informed me that "muffin tops" are the female word for "love handles".
What a great example of the power of perspective. To most women, the excess weight that forms around the waist (and then apparently spills over the pants forming a "muffin top") is seen as a blight worthy of only a pedestrian description that is best when completely eliminated. To men, this excess weight bears the inspiring title of "love handles".
The difference between the two is vast. On one hand we have a title that is descriptive but ambiguous to the outsiders (men), and on the other we have a title that transcends description and that even becomes on object of affection. For men, we tend to have a more fatalistic approach to our bodies and appearances and, perhaps as a defense mechanism, we try to make our imperfections into strengths.
Consider the fact that somehow we have convinced the world that "bald is beautiful" and that fat bellies are just "beer bellies" that can be heralded as badges of honor and pride. Our wrinkles are signs of wisdom, our gray hair is sophisticated and sexy, our fat around the waist are "love handles", and our dysfunctional limbs are acceptable deficiencies coming as a result of "old sports injuries".
Perhaps this is another injustice as it relates to the view of men and women but it is more likely a result of the differences between genders. Women are kind enough to care what men think so they try to look their best. Men care, but are lazy enough (or wise enough) to change that which we want to change and embrace the things we don't want to change. Therefore, our "muffin tops" are "love handles" that are meant to be clutched by those we love and the hair growing on our backs is so that our beloved women can run their fingers through our hair that no longer grows on our heads.
So where does this leave us? Do we want women to take on this same approach as men and they can start calling their muffin tops, "love muffins". Perhaps they can convince us that gray is beautiful, hairy legs aren't so bad, and sagging body parts are to be revered. The truth is that, as men, we could be convinced that those things are okay but something tells me that women could never quite get on board with this ideology.

For Reinhold

2009-04-17T12:17:00.001-07:00

This video is for my friend who lives and works in Sarajevo. This video has nothing to do with him (except that he is German), but I thought it would be a good segue to simply thank him for what he does.

On my first of many trips to Bosnia after the war I was driving through Sarajevo with Reinhold when all of the sudden he turned to me and said, "Where I am?" Meaning "I'm (we are) lost". It is now a phrase I often use when I am not sure "where I am".

He is an amazing person who has given up much of his life to serve the Roma people in Bosnia.
He is a picture of Jesus... but this video is not.

Click Here for your viewing pleasure

He is Risen

2009-04-12T00:25:00.000-07:00

Last year we celebrated Easter Morning with our friends in Jerusalem Israel and as we sang about Jesus I couldn't help but to think what that city would have been like nearly 2000 years ago when they found His tomb empty. For some it must have brought shear terror, for some confusion, and for many it brought hope and then joy. For each response there is a story behind it. Some thought they could use their power to suppress the message of Jesus. Some thought their hate would motivate others to steer clear of this Messiah. Still others liked the teaching but loved their life too much to live it for others.
Whatever the stories were and whatever they are today, this is a day that reminds us that things like hate, oppression, power-wielding, deceitfulness, and bitterness do not win.
Love wins. It won on that day and it wins today!. I think the first verse of this song are appropriate for today.

The greatest day in history,
Death is beaten, you have rescued me,
Sing it out, Jesus is alive!
The empty cross, the empty grave,
Life eternal, you have won the day,
Shout it out, Jesus is alive!
He's alive!

Ghosts (Angels) from the Past

2009-04-09T12:46:00.000-07:00

This past week I had the privilege of officiating a wedding for two people from my church. At this event were many people from the church that I worked at before moving to Israel, most of whom I have not seen since returning to California last Fall. At one point during the reception, I was able to sit and talk with about 10 of the students from this church and just catch up with their lives and to joke around like old times.
It felt so natural to be with them and in some ways it felt as if we were never apart. I still love the people from that church and was completely blessed to reconnect with parents and students that I spent so many years walking with through all cycles of life. I am thankful for that brief moment to remember the great years I had in that church and to see all of those amazing students growing older and hopefully wiser. Small reminders of why we do what we do are always a blessing.

Trendy Faith?

2009-04-02T14:32:00.000-07:00

I was surprised to learn that Time Magazine and ABC News both noticed a trend that my wife and I have been pondering lately. Last week, both major news sources dealt with the surprising increase of Christians who are adopting Calvanism (or Neo-Calvanism) as their theological position. One source went as far as to say that this is one of the top trends that will influence thinking in the years to come.
I have seen many friends become more and more convinced of this "reformed" theology but to this point I have not found the need to join in. I am happy to see people taking matters of the faith seriously and I love that many young people want to have a firm grip on their beliefs but I believe history proves that those who come to some opposite conclusions in regards to some "reformed" positions are just as passionate and in love with Christ.
Rather than sharing all of my thoughts, I will direct you HERE for a great post in regards to this issue with equally valuable follow up comments.

"Lenting"

2009-03-30T14:51:00.000-07:00

This year our church community is taking the Lent challenge to identify in the sufferings of Jesus as well as to have a tangible reminder to pray for each other and our community.

In addition to my usual giving up of hard liquor, tobacco, and "Gossip Girls" re-runs, I am abstaining from Mochas and Soda (pop for those of you outside of California). I did a similar fast in years past but I must confess that this year I did not add beer to my Lent list (Lord, increase my faith).

It has been fun for me to hear from others in our church community who are participating in this ancient fast and the experiences they are having. I think many who are from evangelical Christian backgrounds have never been given this challenge so it is encouraging to see them joining in so whole-hearted. Even with their ambitious spirit I have noticed that each one ends his/her Lent stories with, "I can't wait for this to be over".

Perhaps the most entertaining of all is from the kids who are a part of our church. They too have been given this challenge and they have created a new word called, "Lenting". For example, the other day one of my boys said he was "lenting" google earth and one other informed us that he was "lenting" school. He thought that was a worthy sacrifice for his LORD so I kind of feel bad that I am not supporting his passion. Now if I could just get them to "lent" fighting or waking up before 7AM, then we would be on to something.

All Glory to God?

2009-03-19T15:30:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite verses in all of the Bible is, "not to us, not to us, but to Your name be the Glory because of Your great love". I love this verse because it really emphasizes a desire for the attention to be removed from the individual and it places the attention on God. Many Christians appreciate this type of thinking and attitude but I have found that those same Christians (Myself included at times) criticize other Christians and churches for not "giving glory to God". As I recently pondered the statement, "We give all glory to God", I had to back off of any criticisms of others Christians or churches because I found it difficult to find a good measure for what it looks like to give glory to God.

Biblically speaking, giving glory to God is living out His character in this life... (Reflecting His image). This means anytime we do the things God calls us to do or follow the example Jesus left for us, we give glory to God. Reaching the lost, loving the orphans and widows, caring for the poor, and giving grace to the privileged are all qualities that Jesus demonstrated in his life. It stands to reason that when churches do these things, they are giving glory to God even if they don't express it in words.

I know people like Joel Olsteen, Rick Warren, Robert Shuller, and Mother Theressa get criticized for being "all about themselves" (okay maybe not Mother Theressa but I wanted to make sure you were paying attention). I find it difficult to believe that any of these people would actually say that they are doing the things they do for themselves. In fact, I am sure that each of them would say they believe all they do is for the kingdom of God. Since they all have seen hundreds of lives changed for the better because of their teachings, their prayers, and their service, how could we ever say that they are not giving all glory to God?

This is just a thought. I would love to hear any ideas on this matter.

Why the GOP is Dying

2009-03-12T13:36:00.000-07:00

I recently read one of those amazing emails that floats around the Internet and makes it from computer to computer.
You know... the ones that are actually written by people like Rush Limbaugh but are signed by an untraceable 8th grader who speaks as the voice of reason with uncanny intelligence and maturity for his age. Yes, I mean a email that's title begins with Fwd:...

So this one proposes that the conservatives and liberals in our country divvy up the land, the people, the possessions, and the ideals of our country. The conservative can have the things they like best and the liberals can have their things. I understand that the point of this email is to vent in such a way that the "conservatives" can feel better about the current state of our country more than to make a consistently logical argument in favor of these proposals, but I must use this opportunity to share some of my problems with the email.

The email portions are italicized:

"Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists and Obama supporters, et al:
We'll keep the capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street. You can have your beloved homeless, homeboys, hippies and illegal aliens. We'll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO's and rednecks. We'll keep the Bibles and give you NBC and Hollywood .
I have no problem with someone saying they like these things and they want them, but I wonder what the Bible has to do with this? This email implies that those who love greedy CEO's etc. are ones who love the Bible and ones who love the homeless, the hippies, etc. are ones with no Biblical, and might I assume, moral grounds for these beliefs.
It seems to me that this view should be exactly opposite. The Bible speaks against greed more than it speaks against murder. The Bible commands that we not only tolerate, but actually care for the homeless, the (illegal) aliens, and the "unlovable" (which I am substituting for 'hippies' because that is who fits here). In fact, more attention is placed on the moral command to love and care for the poor in the Bible than any other people group. The notion that those with wealth should care for those without wealth is not a Liberal viewpoint, it is God's viewpoint.

You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us. You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we'll help provide them security.
We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values.. You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism and Shirley McClain. You can also have the U.N.. but we will no longer be paying the bill.
I actually don't have a problem with the idea of defending our nation and allies and appreciate the right to use force when necessary. I don't agree with lumping all of Palestine and Iran into this mix but that is far too complex for me to explain here. Allow me to simply say, that I think Jesus is much more of a pacifist than I am and he would dispute this point more than I would. My biggest problem with this paragraph is that again, this writer seems to lack any real Judeo-Christian values that are actually found in the Bible, but rather values that are found on Fox News.
We'll keep the SUVs, pickup trucks and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Subaru station wagon you can find.
I think this line implies that the environment is not important. I have no qualms with big cars or with wisely using the resources we have (I drive the largest vehicle found on the road), but "Judeo-Christian Values" that do not respect God's creation are no values at all. Biblically speaking, we are given the privilege of "ruling" the earth, but with that privilege comes the responsibility to treat it well. God made this great creation and I cannot envision any logically thinking Christian actually believing that God does not care how poorly we treat His creation.
I have a great little vegetable garden in my backyard. If I give it to someone to use any way they like and they completely destroy because I told them they are in charge, I will be pissed off that they were so disrespectful to this thing that I carefully created.
You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any practicing doctors. We'll continue to believe healthcare is a luxury and not a right.
I too believe that healthcare is a luxury and not a right. But I also believe that Jesus said how you treat one another will be the test of whether you truly are a Christian. If Christians do not want the government to provide healthcare to those that can not afford it, then they better start providing it through their own means. THIS IS THE WAY OF JESUS. Christian doctors should volunteer services or lower their costs to the poor and wealthy Christian businessmen should set up funds to pay doctor bills for those who cannot do it on their own. Biblically speaking, the government doesn't care for the poor, because it expects the followers of God to do it.
Finally, We'll practice trickle down economics and you can give trickle up poverty your best shot. Since it often so offends you, we'll keep our history, our name and our flag. Actually, the Bible that this writer wants to keep issues a decree that the entire Nation of Israel forgives all debts and returns all land to original owners every 50 years. This was done to ensure economic equality so that the divide between the rich and the poor does not progressively widen.
.... And about keeping your history, your name and your flag... The history of this country is a beautiful history of brave people looking for better lives. It is a history of immigrants (can you believe it) who wanted a brighter future for their kids. It is a history of people seeking religious freedom (like the hundred's of Persian Christians from Iran who live in my town). It is a history of people who had nothing in common except for the desire to see a better day so they fought and died side by side. It is the history of a country that once justified slave trading by using verses from the Bible until people really began taking the Bible to heart and then they bravely changed course. It is also the history of a country who sacrificed hundreds of thousands blacks, whites, hispanics, asians, liberals, and conservatives to protect other countries from invading forces and that found a way to stand together in the face of difficult times. It has leaders who sacrificed the comforts available to them to brave the cold and snow with the less fortunate as a sign of camaraderie (George Washington).
The name of the country is "United States of America". If you want to keep the name, you must remain united. Being united does not imply that you agree, it simply means that come hell or high water, we are the USA. We will face tough times, we will have to dig a bit deeper to pull one another up, we will sacrifice some of our comfort to remain united and move ahead. But in the end the world will watch and they will follow.
-I didn't realize I would stand on that soap box so long.- I appreciate the views of this writer but I do not appreciate the fallacies in his reasoning. This is why the GOP has lost its grip on this country. They use tired arguments that are filled with passion but no punch. Their ideas are not all bad, and the ideas (ideals) of the other side are certainly not all good but a new line of reasoning must emerge if the Grand Old Party wants to avoid being the Grand Dead Party.

Why am I the only one laughing?

2009-02-21T15:52:00.000-08:00

Being a barista is much like being a bar-tender. We get to interact with hundreds of people each day as they rely on us to feed their addictions. Because this task can get a bit monotynous, I try to vary my conversations and comments with everyone and I see my job as a mix between being a source of encouragement and joy for people and, of course, as being a source of pure comedic bliss.
Because I tend to have a dry sense of humor I often find myself as the only one laughing... which is fine as long as I am still laughing.

So this week I bring you some of my own favorite jokes from this week that only drew blank stares from the coffee junkies.

Scenario: (A public bus driver comes in and asks to exchange a dollar bill for 4 quarters).
Me: "Do you need quarters for bus money?"
Bus Driver: Says nothing while staring blankly, then he walks away.

Scenario: (Uptight woman comes in and orders a coffee and asks if it is fresh).
Me: "It was fresh last night when we brewed it but it is still hot so it should be fine".
Uptight Woman: Says nothing while staring blankly. She then walks away with her FRESH coffee.

Scenario: (Woman asks why she should register her Starbucks card online).
Me: Because it activates the card's GPS and we will know when you go into competing coffee shops.
Woman: "I don't go into other shops".
Me: Good.

Scenario: (Woman comes in and asks if the Berry-Chai Infusion is good).
Me: "It is if you like the flavor of toothpaste after drinking grapefruit juice"
Woman: "I don't think I have ever done that"
Me: "Then you should have a White Mocha".

Scenario: (A Regular comes in after a long absence from our store and confesses that she has been going to other coffee shops).
Regular: " I'm sorry, I feel like I have been cheating on you guys."
Me: " As long as the stores were in a different area code it doesn't count."
Regular: Stares blankly then says, "Don't worry, it won't happen again".
Me: "That's what they all say."

Scenario: (A guest with a thick Italian accent comes in who says he was one of our first customers in our store 15 years ago).
Me: "We know, we still have your picture hanging above the toilet".
Italian Man: Laughs boisterously.
Me: "I love Italians".

Renewed Discipleship

2009-02-19T22:44:00.000-08:00

It has been too long since I posted a real post so I thought I would end my day (that began at 4AM this morning) with some coffee, a little reading, and some overdue writing. (Please beware the no forethought is going into this writing, it is simply random musings for the sake of updating my reader).

My family has now been back in America for over 6 months and we have been moving ahead with our new church community in Orange County since September. I work at a local Starbucks because they offer great benefits for the family and because I think it is a great way to live out the ways of Jesus around people who may not normally encounter these ways. In addition to my 30 hours working for "the man", I am temporarily helping out a friend in his church a few times per month (he helps me by paying me a little, and I offer him teaching for their youth). On top of all of this, my wife and I are walking with a few dozen people in trying to create a new type of local church in Orange County that focuses on going and being Jesus to the world, instead of asking the "world" to come and see Jesus in our "Sacred" spaces.

Even with all of these jobs, I have never felt so relaxed and on track in ministry than I am now. There are many things I wish could be done but I know that this is the season God has us in and my job is to trust that He has things under control. Part of our new expression is to place the focus more on living journeying together throughout the week in ways that brings the light of Jesus to the world so the need for hours of programming is not needed. A good dinner party filled with good food and good wine and with some church friends and some non-church friends is the extent of our programming (other than weekly teaching).

In fact this year, my wife and I have realized how working in the "traditional" church has ironically kept us away from the very people we should be reaching. Now that our social lives are not overbooked with Bible Studies, small groups, women's & Men's ministry events, and children's activities, we actually have the time and energy to spend time with the families at our kids' school and our neighbors who we see almost everyday. As a Barista, I encourage and pray for dozens of people who are not Christians but who are willing to share their struggles with me as I make their drink each morning. We have been able to bring food to Non-Christian friends recovering from illnesses, pray with non-Christians struggling in their marriages, serve co-workers who openly reject the existence of God, share meals with people of other faiths who are open to our hospitality, and help not-yet-believing neighbors to see how God's story is intersecting in theirs.

I am finding that for me, "Making disciples of all nations" is now more than helping people follow Jesus after they take the first step of coming to church. For me it is what I should have been doing all along, and that is to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the world so that they can see their need for a relationship with the Risen Savior. (Isn't it the kindness of God that leads us to repentance anyway ? Romans 2:4) Then it is to help them make the ways of Jesus a reality in their own lives. Again, it is not that I ever worked in a church that is against real discipleship, it is just that we can get so caught up in programming discipleship that we never actually make it into a real life thing.

I am grateful for the people who have decided to join us in our new church with a renewed emphasis on outward living and true disciple making. We are a slowly growing, diverse, personal, and fun but serious group of people who are already making positive changes in our communities. We are already hearing the very beginning of some great stories about God's work in people's lives so I hope that in the weeks to come (If I am diligent in writing) I can relate some stories of these encounters.

As I said, this is an unplanned, random sampling of some thoughts. Thanks for checking in.

Confession of a Blog-Slacker

2009-01-23T12:43:00.000-08:00

One thing about blogs is that if they are not regularly updated then people will quit checking in on them and they drop off the radar as a blog worth reading (assuming it ever was worth reading). This reality looms over me as I feel the pressure to write something and post it regularly so that my reader does not forget about me (as if a mother could forget about her son).

But the reality is that I am currently working three jobs while still trying to be available for my wife and kids and therefore finding time to write something meaningful is at times impossible. I am thankful that I even have work so that my family eats and even pays our mortgage so for this I will never complain, but some weeks this blog will lie dormant.

I just urge my reader to remain patient, check in from time to time, and when this season passes (in the next 10-20 years), then I may have time to write more frequently with thoughts worth pondering, discussing, arguing about, etc.

Thank You and Shalom.

Questions for the New Year

2009-01-07T20:24:00.001-08:00

In leu of making resolutions this year, I pose a few questions that I would like answered for the year...

1) How is it that I am strong enough to carry my 18 month old son in my arms but I am not strong enough to hold him down to change his diaper?

2) How can wearing socks often be the difference between my being warm or cold?

3) Why can I play basketball for 3 hours straight but if I go for a run I am ready to die after 2 minutes?

4) Why are 4 year olds so smart and inquizative and teenagers the opposite?

5) Why do dogs and kids listen so well unless they don't feel like it?

6) When the price of a barrel of oil doubles, why does the price of gas at the pump quadruple? When the price of a barrel of oil drops 70%, why does the price of gas at the pump go down 30%?

7) Is the sound of angels singing in heaven as good as the belly-laugh of a toddler?

8) How can beer and coffee taste so good when the first time you try them they taste so bad?

9) When did it become unsafe to put 6 kids in the backseat of a car without seat belts or unsafe to ride in the back of a pickup truck?

10) How is it that I was raised without computers, internet, cell phones, starbucks, and Chipotle burritos but I am not sure life would go on today without them?

New Year's Resolutions in Review

2008-12-31T14:40:00.000-08:00

It is my tradition (reflected in this blog) to create my New Year's Resolutions for the year when the year is completed that way I can ensure success. So without further ado... I give you my resolutions for year 2008.

X Get up at 4AM to watch the Superbowl from a foreign country (the beer and Israeli style Doritos are not recommended at this time of day).
X Travel to Egypt, see the pyramids, ride in an Egyptian taxi in Cairo
X Celebrate Palm Sunday in Jerusalem with thousands of Christians from all over the world.
X Have an "Arab-Style" BBQ outside the walls of Jerusalem with friends on Easter Day.
X Travel to Greece, walk the streets of ancient Corinth, sit with my kids on "Mars Hill" while staring at the ancient Temples, stay up all night with my son who got food poisoning from the lovely Athenian Buffet, and dream of returning someday with just my wife.
X Baptize my son in the Jordan River at the exact location that Jesus was baptized.
X Eat fish from the Sea of Galilee on the exact location where Jesus ate Galilean fish.
X Arrange a real archaeological dig for my wife and son in the ancient city of Ashkelon.
X Enjoy Arab coffee with friends in the Palestinian city of Ramallah.
X Receive all "A's" from the same University that Albert Einstein studied at in Israel.
X Fly from London to Seattle without getting up so that I could hold my sleeping one year old baby for the majority of the flight.
X Return to America and try to bring the principles of simple living back with me to the simplistic culture of Orange County, California.
X Sleep through the night with uninterrupted sleep (this of course is now ruined with 4 am shifts at the new job).
X Use all of my education and experience to get a job as a supervisor at a local Starbucks coffee shop.
X Begin a "missional" church with an entirely different emphasis on the structure. (It promises slow growth, no prestige, and difficult discipleship).
X Enjoy the time with my three awesome boys and beautiful wife.

So that pretty much sums it up for 2008. I can't wait to see what my resolutions for 2009 will end up being.

While the Nations Rage

2008-12-29T14:14:00.000-08:00

(This photo is from my campus at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In many ways I wish I were still there but I do not think it is a good time to bring that up with my wife).

We left our home in Israel several months ago to re-enter life in the comfortable and safe neighborhoods of Orange County. When we left we knew our friends who remained in Israel would one day see what is currently taking place in Gaza. Our thoughts go out to our friends as well as the people trapped inside of the Gaza strip and the Israeli soldiers who will likely have to enter those streets under orders from their government.

In times like these it is easy for people to give what they feel are all of the easy answers to this conflict but anyone who has spent time in the Middle East knows, nothing is as simple as "Western" thinkers want to believe they are.
The problem in Gaza is that 3 years ago the Israelis evacuated the region and handed full control to the Palestinian Authorities. In the summer of 2007, Hamas (a Palestinian faction) forcefully took over the leadership of Gaza through a civil war with Fatah (the Palestinian government legally in control). Since that time, Hamas has repeatedly launched rockets indiscriminately into Israel in an attempt to provoke the Israeli government. It is clear that Hamas is not interested in peace with Israel and actually wants what is currently happening. They know that when Israel finally responds like they are responding this week, the world will become sympathetic to the cause of Hamas and public opinion will go against Israel (and America just for fun).
In this case, I do not blame Israel for responding to this situation. With that said, I do blame Israel for provoking the Palestinians with their continued expansion of Settlements into the West Bank and land that has been promised to the Palestinians. Their treatment of the Palestinians in the West Bank only hurts their cause when they rightfully defend themselves against the rocket attacks from Gaza. (See what I mean when I say it is complicated).

What is the answer? The truth is that in the Middle East, both cultures in this conflict believe in justice as a fundamental guiding principle. This means that as long as you have hurt someone in my family, I cannot rest until I avenge that death. Since both sides believe this and have it deeply ingrained into their cultural make-up, the only thing that can change all of this is for one side to lay down arms, and forgive at all costs.

I think that someone from this culture once said, "turn the other cheek", and "bless when others curse". He also said "Blessed are the peacemakers". It is not that Jesus was just saying some nice sayings that make good memory verses, it is that he understood and lived in the Eastern culture where Justice takes precedence over mercy. He understood that the only way to peace is through unbelievably radical forgiveness and reliance on God's justice over man's. This is true in a conflict like the one in Israel and it is true in our daily interactions with others who may slander, gossip, or hurt us in other ways. An "eye for an eye" is more logical and pleasurable, but it adds to a never ending cycle. Now, as the whole world once again watches this conflict and when Western leaders will offer their idiotic solutions, let us remember just how radical it was for God to become man and walk with us in order to show us the ways of peace.

I now leave you with the words from a Rich Mullins song (The Nations Rage)
Why do the nations rage?
Why do they plot and scheme?
Their bullets can't stop the prayers we pray
In the name of the Prince of Peace
We walk in faith and remember long ago
How they killed Him and then how on the third day He arose
Things may look bad and things may look grim
But all these things must pass except the things that are of Him

Where are the nails that pierced His hands?
The nails have turned to rust
But behold the Man
He is risen
And He reigns
In the hearts of the children
Rising up in His name
Where are the thorns that drew His blood?
The thorns have turned to dust
But not so the love
He has given, it remains
In the hearts of the children
Who will love while the nations rage

Christmas

2008-12-24T14:05:00.000-08:00

I wish you all a Merry Christmas. I hope that you can see this season for what it is. Take some time to relax and reflect on this moment in history that changed the world. Even if you do not believe in the story of Christmas, your world has been changed by this man Jesus Christ and that is a fact that cannot be denied. For those who do believe, the challenge is to not get caught up in buying too many gifts and rushing around so much that you don't even remember the fact that God came to earth. In the words of one song, his coming to earth means that "God was in us, God is for us, and God is with us". That is the most amazing thing of all.

Cold Nights Just Got Better

2008-12-14T13:34:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while someone comes up with a great idea... telephones, flushing toilets, scotch tape, and now...

THE SNUGGIE

The Difference Between Moms and Dads

2008-12-09T09:01:00.000-08:00

A few days ago my wife went out for the night and left me at home to complete all of the normal family routines alone. To demonstrate the differences between how I go about the normal routine and how my wife does I thought I would share our checklists.

1. Feed kids dinner.
My Wife- Use the available ingredients in the house to make a healthy meal while spending less money and preventing waste.
Me- Drive to Little Caesars for Pizza for two of the boys and stop at Taco Bell for the 3rd.

2. Get kids ready for bed.
My wife- Methodically get each kid into the bath/ shower and into pajamas.
Me- They smell okay and the marker lines all over the baby's face look like they will come out by using some "baby wipes" so we can forget the baths. I put the youngest in pajamas, the middle son likes going without clothes, and the oldest sleeps in his clothes so all is good here as well.

3. Spend quality time with them before bed.
My Wife- Read stories to them, talk about their day, and discuss what they will do tomorrow.
Me- Turn on the TV to check the score of the Laker game and then just go ahead and watch the rest of the game with the baby while the other two are off playing in their rooms.

4. Get them to bed on time.
My Wife- Pray with them and turn off lights at 7:30 PM.
Me- Pray with the boys, put one in his crib around 7:30, one goes into my bed around 8:00PM because he says he sleeps better in there, and the oldest I leave in his room with his lights on because he wants to stay up reading (at least that is good for his brain).

5. Misellanious-
My Wife- Make sure all of the boys completed homework, pack their school bags for the next day, make lunches, and set out clothes for the morning.
Me- I forgot to check homework and therefore the older ones both had no homework completed for the next day, why would I need to pack school bags, I didn't realize we fed them lunch, how could I possibly know what they would want to wear the next day?

This morning I had the rare opportunity of being home with the family while they did the morning routine so I took care of all of the morning details. In order of importance... I made coffee, changed the baby's diaper, ate breakfast with the older boys, decided I should probably get clothes back onto the baby, and informed the boys that we would be leaving for school in 10 minutes so they needed to brush their teeth and put on clothes.
My wife then came downstairs, informed me that things run much more effiiciently in the morning without me, made lunches for the boys, checked to make sure they had all the school work they needed, made sure they actually put on their clothes and brushed their teeth, and kicked us out the door so we would be on time for school.... but without me she wouldn't have fresh brewed coffee.

A Post for Posting Sake

2008-11-25T16:23:00.000-08:00

I really have wanted to post lately but I just haven't had time to actually do it. So, I thought I would write this post just so that you would know that I have not quit posting, I have just struggled finding time to post something thoughtful.
I could write to say that I am now officially 4 months late on turning in my final assignment for Hebrew University. I really enjoy the subject and the few times that I have had time and energy to work on it, I feel like I have come up with some original thoughts that are interesting and I look forward to my own final project.
If that is not worthy of a post, perhaps I could write about some of the things I have been teaching on in our new gathering here in Orange County. Again, I have been excited to use the original language of the Bible to teach some different perspectives on these ancient truths. I find the original language gives us some unique insight that is refreshing (at least to me). Unfortunately I am not sure that the conservative evangelical world will whole-heartedly embrace my views and teaching... if they do I will be sure not to tell them that I often prepare talks while listening to Colin Hay, Bone Thugs, and Poison and that sometimes I work on the teaching with my friend Sam Adams.
I also could use this post to mention that I have also been teaching at another church in the area to help them out and to earn a few extra dollars. It is a true model of trust as this church uses me, another church leader in the area, and in commitment to the bigger "Kingdom of God" by the people in our gathering. They have been happy to share me with this other church and see it as an opportunity to see God's name made known. It also helps put food on the table so that is nice.
Speaking of food on the table, I continue to spend much of my time wearing my green clerical robe and handing out coffee each morning. This provides a way to give medical and dental benefits for the family and it also allows me to be in the community to provide encouragement and a place of acceptance for the hundreds of people who come to see me there each day. The free pound of coffee each week is also a nice perk.

But I guess I don't have much to say for now so I will plan on bringing a real post this week and I won't actually post anything right now. Just don't give up on checking in from time to time.

Misplaced Priorities

2008-11-08T08:14:00.000-08:00

This past week in California we saw a classic example of Christians organizing, uniting, and fighting for a cause they thought was important while at the same time ignoring a cause that is probably closer to the heart of God.
On the ballot we had a state-wide measure called Proposition 8 that amends the state constitution to define marriage as only between a man and a woman. While I agree that the Biblical design for marriage is only between a man and a woman I am disheartened by the message Christians sent around this issue. Here are a few of my concerns:

1) The campaign ads surrounding this issue were more about "homophobia" than about defining marriage. This tactic may have proved effective in getting this proposition to pass but it was also effective in driving a further wedge between Christians and those in the homosexual community.

2) Churches and pastors spent much time on organizing and rallying their people to pass this proposition. This seems okay on the surface but to be qualified as a tax-exempt organization, we agree to not attempt to influence legislation. We can share opinions and scripture that relates to a subject but telling people to vote one particular way actually violates the law and puts the integrity of these churches on the line.

3) 80 million dollars was raised and spent for this cause meanwhile relatively nothing was done to support the proposition that requires teenagers to get parental permission to have an abortion. Our kids cannot pierce their ears and they cannot take asprin from the school nurse without the parents knowing but they can have a surgical procedure performed to end the life of an unborn child.

Here is where I have the biggest problem with this year's election. Christians think that if they don't pass a law defining marriage as only between a man and a woman (which will only be overturned by the government), then God will be angry with California and unleash His judgement. Meanwhile we give no attention to a law that will protect the lives of unborn children who have no voice. Those who have no voice are continually listed in the Bible as the ones for whom we should fight. The poor, the oppressed, the orphans, and the widows are just a few that God repeatedly admonishes his people to care for. The unborn are included along with these who cannot fight for themselves.

So why is it that we consistently get worked up over the wrong issues and further alienate the very people we claim to want to reach with the love of Jesus and at the same time fail to fight for a cause that is one of the easiest things to vote for on the entire ballot? I think it is because the reality is that many religious people still fear and sometimes hate those that they are uncomfortable around. I think it is just easier for religious people to feel like they are fighting for their god by fighting against a known "enemy" and it is not so easy to have a consistent theology of caring for the "least of these".

Election Day

2008-11-04T10:30:00.000-08:00

"The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected." -GK Chesterton in the London Illustrated News, 1924.

My Radical, Hippie, Missional Cult: Enter Cautiously

2008-11-01T16:44:00.000-07:00

Being a part of of gathering of people trying to begin a new kind of church in Orange County is an eye opening experience. We are working to get to the basics of being a disciple of Christ while at the same time working against the well-oiled machine called the American church. Those of us who are choosing to join in this new movement are facing some interesting comments and challenges from other "christians". We have heard things like, "You are the ones with those radical ideas", "You don't understand how 'church' works", and, "Your group is a bunch of hippies just trying to love one another". Some have even heard jokes about this new "cult".
I really am not offended by any of these comments but I decided to look through some of our beliefs to see if we really are a bunch of radical, hippie, cult followers and here is a sampling of what I found:

1) We believe that God is in control of this whole thing and therefore we seek to be centered on Jesus and not centered on our church. Our job is to be faithful and diligent with what God has given us and leave the rest up to Him. When I teach, I must prepare and give it my best but it is not my job to "make sure" the message is heard. The Holy Spirit must do that and I know that the word does not return void. In other words, we want this whole thing to be about Jesus and not about our local gathering, our teachings, or our leaders.

2) We are "missional", meaning our gathering focuses on a "go and be" rather than a "come and see" motto. In other words, we are not trying to attract people to our building and calling it "evangelism". We are following the command in Genesis 1:28 to be fruitful, multiply, and to fill the earth, and Jesus' words that say, "Go and make disciples of all nations" (Mt 28:19), and even Acts 1:7 that says, "You will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth". We believe that we should be people who are in love with Jesus and let that passion and love flow through us in everyday life with everyday people instead of spending much of our time in church buildings and church gatherings only with other Christians or asking those who do not believe to come and join us in our sacred world. God created us as relational people and therefore we must engage in building bridges with all people and in having honest and open communication with each other.

3) We have few "formal" programs to offer. Other than some children's classes during our large group gathering, our "Christian Education" happens in homes and in rhythms of real life. We believe that our culture now views "church" like going to the mall. People want service and a product that is taylor made to "meet their needs". We choose to offer a program that says, "Fall in love with Jesus and let the radical, life-changing nature of that relationship change you." Our community groups are casual gatherings where we share meals together (with children and all!) and where our informal conversations spur one another on towards love and good deeds (Heb 10:24-25). This is also where we are asked to build one another up for the sake of building up the church (Eph 4:11-12). This takes the job away from professional pastors and places it back to the followers like it was in the Early Church.

4) We are led by overseers who commit to shared leadership. There is no Senior Pastor. We believe the Biblical model of leadership is to use people called and gifted for teaching and praying for the local gathering of followers. Elders or Overseers are the two words used in the New Testament for this level of church leadership. It is not an elected board that serves terms like a City Council and it is not a group of people who should be manipulated or persuaded. We commit to shared leadership that comes through submission to one another as we bear one another's burdens with love and grace (Eph 4:2-3). We view Jesus as our "Head Overseer" so only God has a greater share of the power than anyone else. We believe that if we can't make decisions by consensus then we need to wait for the Spirit of God to clarify the direction or to soften our hearts until we let go of our own ideas. We want our leaders to be open with shortcomings and failures but we want them to be people of integrity and people who model the ways of Jesus.

5) We believe that how we live is a reflection of what we believe about the Gospel. In other words, we believe the gospel says that God is a generous God, giving us all we need (not just physically). Because we believe this, we want to be generous and we choose as a gathering to give the first 20% of all we take in to causes outside of ourselves. We believe that the gospel says that Jesus forgave us while we were still sinners so we welcome in anyone who is a "sinner" knowing that the grace of God applies to all. We want to shower each person with such love and grace that they will experience God's love in a new way and experience the kindness that leads to repentance (Romans 2:4). Most churches say "come as you are" but make people feel so uncomfortable that they actually mean, "come as we are". By intentionally engaging with our culture, hosting parties with our neighbors, and attending our communities festivities, we actually get to know people as they are and they get to know us as we are instead of the "church game faces" that we are so good at wearing.

6) To steal one from Rob Bell, we believe that "love wins". When faced with a difficult choice of how to respond in our daily lives, we choose love. We choose love because we believe the ways of Jesus that say, "Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor". And, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you". We believe the words of Jesus that say that no greater love exists than to lay down your life for another (John 15:12). All of this means that the ways of Jesus are to default to offering love and grace. In the end, love wins.

This is just a small sampling of our beliefs and lifestyles. If wanting Jesus to be our focus more than our church name or leaders fame, than go ahead and call us a cult. If choosing to extend love to those who probably don't deserve it (including ourselves) and choosing to be generous to the poor, the oppressed, and the unwanted makes us hippies then I guess we are hippies. If sending people to the most dangerous places on earth to share the love of Jesus and if choosing to truly work to live the humble, simple, gracious, loving, integrity-filled ways of Jesus makes us a crazy group of radicals then I guess we might just finally be figuring this whole Jesus thing out.

My Brainless Dog

2008-10-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday 2 of my boys and I took our 8 month old puppy to the park to get him to run off some of his endless supply of energy. The park we chose has a huge grass field that was free of all people and only had one little dog freely running through the open space. Since the other dog was off his leash, I released mine and the two dogs happily ran laps around the field.
I entered into conversation with the other dog's owner who was sitting in the grass and enjoying herself as she watched two happy dogs stretch their urban legs.
Out of the blue my dog ran over to this kind lady who was obviously a dog lover, he walked behind her, and without warning he lifted his leg and peed on her back.

That's right. My dog peed on the back of a completely innocent person for no apparent reason.

I really never encountered this situation before so finding the appropriate words at a time like this is not an easy thing.

In a split moment, I thought through every possible explanation that would justify my dog's actions or that would at least calm the situation before I faced a lawsuit for letting my dog mark his territory on a middle-age women's back. In the end all I could do was stare speechlessly as this woman actually laughed at the situation and said how she didn't mind.

Of all the people in the world that my dog could have gone up to in order to pee on, he chose the one who loved dogs so much that she didn't even mind serving as the object of his relief. So though it seemed that he was completely brainless for mistaking a woman for a fire hydrant, he actually was brilliant for choosing the one person in the park who would not seek to have the dog destroyed.

R.I.P. Gramps

2008-10-17T12:58:00.000-07:00

Ken Peterson 1929-2008

The Missional Church: Leadership

2008-10-15T14:20:00.000-07:00

Another book that is on my list of things I will never write is a book about religious leaders called, "The Devil Inside". It is a book that, if it ever would be written, would deal with the history of the Church from the very beginning and it would look at the patterns of problems that have always existed. One point in this book that will never be written is that as culture changed and the church became more and more Western as opposed to its Eastern roots, it also became more similar to the institutions of the "world". When this happens, the leadership become more "professional" and less Spirit-Led. I don't want to give it all away in this post because then you will never purchase this book and I won't be able to keep food on the table for my family.

The point is that current issues for many "spiritual" leaders is that the people they lead don't actually want them to be spiritual. The way leaders are put on pedestals and then knocked off from those pedestals creates unhealthy patterns of behavior and it often unleashes the darkest sides of these leaders.

In the Missional Church, the leadership emphasis is on a plurality of leaders who serve through a commitment of mutual submission to one another. This form of leadership removes the pressure of being a "senior pastor" and it helps to remove the temptation of leaders to attribute the success of a local church to one individual. The shared leadership structure also models "unity among Christians" that Jesus emphasizes in John 17. It tells the world that in Christ, there is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. It says in Christ, people with different backgrounds and personalities can share a common vision as they are led by the Holy Spirit.

Shared leadership also helps us remove our own "idols of ideas". Sometimes as leaders we think that because we have experience or training, we are the ones uniquely blessed to hear from God and our ideas are the right ones. When we face opposition to our ideas we often do not want to back down because our experience tells us our ideas work or because if we are going to be criticized for our church's direction, it might as well be a direction we choose. But this comes down to the fact that we hold our own ideas as an "idol". It is something that we are unwilling to part with. In holding on tightly to our own ideas we are also saying that God cannot speak through others. With shared leadership, where multiple leaders share an equal voice, we consequently lay down the idol of our own ideas and we trust that God is able to use the collective wisdom of the group.

This leadership also eliminates the idea that we are above reproach from others. This structure actually calls for others to challenge the leaders and hold them accountable for their lifestyles. Of course problems can still occur in this system but many of the challenges of modern Western Christianity are at least diminished.

You might be saying that this system is too idealistic and that it will fail. (In fact I had a person I really respect tell me that this will fail). You are right that this system is idealistic but check the teachings of Jesus and tell me He wasn't challenging and idealistic. You are also right that this system will fail if you are comparing it to the ways of "the world". For the leadership structure of the missional church to be successful, a intentional commitment to humility, love , and grace must exist as well as the realization that only through the power of the Holy Spirit will we ever find true success.

Ephesians 4:1-3 ...Lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Current Reads

2008-10-13T13:42:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have shared my current/ recent reading list and because I want to post but I don't feel like thinking, I thought this was a perfect time to give my update:

"Same Kind of Different as Me" by Ron Hall & Denver Moore -This is a great true story that is pretty well written and has a solid message. You only need about 4 hours to read this so it is a good quick read.

"The Shack" by William Young - The concept for this book is great and the characters are completely lovable. This is a very unique way to present a picture of God. Some of the conversations were a bit too "Christiany" at times and it is not spetacular writing but overall it is worth reading.

"Palestine: Peace not Apartheid" by Jimmy Carter- If you already know the history of the Middle East you can skip this book. Apart from giving a good overview of the history, he says absolutely nothing in this book.

"Giving" by Bill Clinton- Good stories of how people are giving time, money, and talents to help others but this is not worth reading.

"Total Church" by Tim Chester & Steve Timis- It reads like a textbook but it contains great descriptions and reasoning for the "Missional Church". Don't take this one to bed with you if you actually want to read it but don't skip it.

"In a Sunburned Country" by Bill Bryson. Bill Bryson traveling in Australia... telling it like only he can.

"Tremendous Trifles" by GK Chesterton. This is always worth picking up to read a few chapters, although some with sharper minds, such as my wife, do not always agree with this assessment.

"The Bible" by God. No review needed.

The Missional Church: Programs

2008-10-03T12:01:00.000-07:00

In addition to "The Shaping of the Church" my wife requested that I regularly address issues related to the idea of the "missional" church. She requested this partly because the word, "missional" is not yet a fully recognized word and also because the concept of living as a missional church is a process that is going to take some time. So, here you go...

One major idea of the missional church is that we want to create communities where people are the "Church", meeting one another's needs and bringing the love and grace of Jesus to all they encounter. We want these communities to replace the usual routine of going to a building several times a week and expecting the paid people and super-volunteers to meet the needs of everyone and to tell people about the love and grace of Jesus. The exciting, yet difficult thing, about all of this is the fact that this means we cannot view our local church as a place that must meet all of our perceived needs. We can no longer expect the pastors to be perfect, to never give a bad sermon, to never sing out of key, to never hurt someone's feelings, to never say anything offensive, and to never go on vacation when one might encounter a crisis.

Following the missional style of church means that our smaller communities are the places where many of our needs are met and they are the places where the true power and goodness of the gospel of Jesus is lived out and seen by the watching world. If we play this out to all areas of our lives, this also means that the missional church is not a place built on "traditional" programs because in this type of church the programs must be an organic flow that comes from the rhythms of our daily lives.

Someone asked if we have a men's ministry and I responded, "Yes. It is the men in our church sharing life together and blessing the other men that they encounter in their everyday lives through our gracious living". One arm of our "Men's Ministry" might be a few guys from the church who love to play poker hosting a regular time with other guys in the community where they can play poker, enjoying some refreshing cold adult beverages, and model Jesus' values to one another.

What about Children's ministries? We do offer some things for kids during our large group gatherings but our real children's ministries happens in your own home and with the people that you are sharing life with. Just this week I had someone say that they needed to go to a larger church that can offer an exciting children's ministry and then one day when their children have left the house, they will look for a church that is "more crazy in the ways they follow Jesus". In other words, this person said that they wanted their children to learn to be consumers of church until one day the children will leave the house and then the family will try to not be consumers of church and then they will take their faith more seriously. It is disheartening to know that this is the perspective of most in our culture as we simply want to be satisfied by our churches so that we do not have to join in the difficult work of living the ways of Jesus.

In a missional church we are fighting against a culture that wants its needs met by the programs their churches run. That is why so many people get pissed off and leave when the music changes, the speaking series is too challenging, the new pastor wants to get back to basics, or when the children don't come home entertained. What we have created is a religion that is as consumer driven as the local mall (sometimes with even more options offered) while at the same time losing all sense of the uncomfortable, dangerous, life-changing message of Jesus.

At the missional church, you will not find a place that works to have the best music, flawless services, entertaining skits, and state of the art facilities. You will find men's and women's ministries that call the men and women to live the ways of Jesus in the community with other men and women. You will find Children's ministries that ask parents to follow scripture's advice to teach their children and model the image of God in everyday life. You will find youth ministries that include the youth in the life of the church as we model lasting principles of treating one another with grace and humility as we bear one another's burdens and love at all costs. You will find evangelism that happens as we join in our own culture's celebrations instead of creating our own "christian" alternatives that drive deeper wedges of separation. You will also find other "experienced" pastors standing at a distance telling everyone who will listen why this system won't work.

I know we are fighting against a culture that is as consumer driven as any place probably on this entire earth but what better place to follow the ways of a subversive revolutionary Savior? I really do not believe that when Jesus said he will build his church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it, he was not referring to a church that has perfect models for attracting people and putting them through a "discipleship" program. When he said the gates of hell will not prevail against it I believe he meant it would be a church that creates disciples in the cracks of our society and in the very face of hell itself. This cannot be done in buildings that are designed to imitate culture while at the same time creating an obvious separation from real life and "spiritual" life. Missional means to go out. Discipleship means to create imitators of Jesus. This is the program that causes those gates to shudder.

Happy New Year ( הג רוש השנה )

2008-09-30T09:56:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of the Jewish New Year which is called Rosh HaShanah (The Head/First of the Year). It is a part of a two day celebration that includes prayer and reflection as they usher in the new year. The point of this two day celebration of New Year is multi-faceted.

1. It is to remind everyone that God is sovereign and He is the creator of everything. The morning prayers and the liturgy throughout the day reinforce this idea of hamelech (המלך ) "the sovereign".

2. God is the judge. These two days are set aside with the idea that on this day God will judge the nations and the individuals. The point here is that we live in God's world which operates by God's rules. This is when the focus is on the hope that one day the whole world will acknowledge God's Kingdom.

3. The celebration of life. One Rabbi of the Masoroti Movement says, " 'Inscribe us in the book of life' is a constantly recurring motif of the Rosh Hashana liturgy. Life is valued above death. We celebrate being alive and express our appreciation of the gift of life and hope to be worthy of it."

I love the progression of first recognizing where life comes from, who is in control, and finally our response of thankfulness for life. Our markets will rise and fall, people will know will struggle through difficult issues, we will lose friends and loved ones, and we will not always feel like celebrating the gift of life. But the truth is, the goods and bads and the highs and lows are all a part of this thing and we don't really have the "right" or the need to go through life without every hurting or struggling. What we do want to do is stop periodically to recognize where we stand with God and begin a fresh new chapter.

Best Friend in the Whole World

2008-09-29T21:28:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year we posted a story about our 6 year old's best friend who was diagnosed with a rare heart disease that requires a heart transplant. I cannot even begin to imagine how this must be for the family but they have been handling things well.

This past Saturday they got a call in the afternoon telling them they found a match for their 5 year old son (Kyle) so they packed up and headed for UCLA medical center for what must have been the most horrifying series of events of their lives.

By 11:30 PM that night the surgery was complete and little Kyle had a new heart that was beating on its own. Before the surgery we told our boys and we took some time to pray for Kyle and the doctors and during the prayer our middle son prayed, "Dear God, please help Kyle be okay with his new heart. He is my best friend in the whole wide world". It was a great prayer and I am happy to say that so far all is progressing for Kyle and he is on the road to recovery.

We are grateful that Kyle is doing well and we are happy for our son and his best friend in the whole world. We are also thankful that all three of our boys appear to be healthy and strong with great minds and kind hearts. We are thankful to our God for families, our friends, and His love and grace.

Was Jesus an Idiot?

2008-09-25T14:44:00.000-07:00

I have often quoted the book, "The Idiot" by Fydor Dostoyevsky as he uses the main character, Prince Myshkin, as a Christ figure. The problem with this character is that he sees the best in people and even when he knows they will take advantage of him, he offers his love, forgiveness, and grace. He was called the "Idiot" because he refused to play by the rules of the world and he continued to stick to his own convictions of kindness and love.

The parallels to the life of Christ are obvious but I do not think many of us really understand how counter culture this kind of living is even to this day. It doesn't make sense for people to allow others to abuse our trust and take advantage of our kindness towards them. We probably should not assume the best of others and offer grace when they need justice. It is probably more wise to approach people being skeptical and wary of their motives but is this the example Jesus left?

I personally have my share of imperfections (just ask my wife). I am a "dumbist", I am impatient, and I enjoy being negative as much as the next guy. But the one thing that ends up hurting me more than I would hope is that I genuinely think highly of people and expect the best from them. In my mind I assume that others are also gracious and kind and I get hurt when I realize that is not always the case.

Just this week I received an email from someone that really bothered me. Since returning to the area to begin a new church I have come with the foolish idea that our church is just one of many in the area and there is no need to feel a sense of competition against others. Because of this I have begun the process of contacting various pastors in the area to network and just to get to know them. To this point the response was positive and encouraging as other pastors welcomed me back to the area.

But this week I received a response from one who not only didn't want to meet but said some presumptuous and flat out hurtful things to me. He went on to say that I should never talk to him again. Since I never met this person I was shocked by the response and spent an hour fuming and telling myself that my worth is not found in this person (which it is not).

I realized that what bothered me the most is that I assumed the best of this person and I was enough of an idiot to believe that my offering a friendship is not a threat but rather it is a common courtesy to extend to another person. I completely cannot fathom why this pastor who does not know me would ever say the things he said to me and why anyone (especially someone who is supposed to model Jesus' life) would ever talk to another person the way he did. Needless to say, my first response was not to offer grace or forgiveness to this person and my god complex reared its head as I wanted to help this person see the cruelty of his response.

Then I realized that the way of Jesus is to not be altered by the ways of mankind and no amount of misdirected emotion against me is worth causing me to see this person as less of a bearer of the image of God. The ways of Jesus are to forgive even when He knows we will take advantage of the forgiveness. I am certainly not comparing myself with Jesus and I am not saying that I am completely okay with the response I received. I am simply saying that I want to be an idiot like Jesus who takes these things and lets them go. I want to follow my Savior and remain committed to my own ideals rather than be affected and influenced by the ideals of others. It is not easy, it doesn't feel natural, but I know that I would rather be an idiot than follow the patterns of the world. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:25, "God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength". Pray that I have the strength to be an idiot like Jesus.

The Beautiful You

2008-09-22T15:40:00.001-07:00

I have a growing list of books that I will never write that cover a whole array of subjects. I have one on leadership, one about hidden treasures in the Bible, one that is a historical fiction, one memoirs that is completely exaggerated, a travel journal, and a self help book (hey if Rick Warren and Joel Olstein can do it, why can't I?).
My self help book that I will never write is called, "The Beautiful You" (You should always begin with a good title and catchy cover design) and it is actually mostly parody about how we will try anything to measure up in the eyes of others. In the end, my conclusion is that God created us in His image and according to Genesis 9:6, because we are in the image of God we have value.
In our new adventure of beginning a new kind of church in Orange County we feel that this concept is essential. We want to have a place where we truly seek to be like Jesus and let the gospel affect all areas of how we live, but we must begin by recognizing the reality that we all come imperfect and broken. We all fall short in our own ideas of how we should be but that is where the true beauty of Church can shine.
We want to be a place where our brokenness and imperfections are not something to hide from because we think the others in the group will think less of us, but rather they are things to display because they actually give hope to the group that God is the God who makes all things new and that nothing is out of His reach of redemption. I think that often in Christian leadership and churches we only put our "best" faces forward (best only in the eyes of the world) and we forget that the real beauty is in the fact that God our Father leads, directs, redeems, and blesses even in our times of weakness.
In Church leadership we talk about finding "strategic" people who are strong leaders and who compel others to follow a vision. It is not bad to have these people around, but I wonder if this strategy by churches and youth groups only causes the "non-strategic people" to feel that they don't measure up and therefore even fewer are empowered to join in the vision.

In our new gathering I am so excited to see a strange mix of people and many of whom are already coming with their imperfections on display. I am excited because I truly believe that this group who are joining in the call to live on "mission" to their community for the purpose of displaying the love and grace of Christ and not for the purpose of creating a bigger church are the people who will help others find hope and who will allow others to see the beauty in being created in the image of God.

So to our college students who love Jesus but struggle avoiding the "college life", to our moms of elementary aged kids who sometimes think they will not make it through the day, to our families who struggle to make ends meet, to our twenty-somethings who still don't know what they want to do with their lives, to our empty nesters who enjoy sleeping in on Sundays, to our children who have more energy than I have ever seen, to our singles who sometimes feel lonely, to our leaders who feel inadequate, to our theologians who still scratch their heads in confusion, to our couples who do not always act lovingly, and to all of us who desperately need the love and grace of Jesus... here's to the "Beautiful You", I am glad to have you with us.

The Pastor in a Green Apron

2008-09-12T15:05:00.000-07:00

Four or five days a week, my alarm sounds at 4:00 AM, I roll out of bed, and slip into my khaki pants and black button up shirt. I brush my teeth, step over our dog (who has no interest in waking up at 4:00 AM), hop on my bike, and ride to the Starbucks around the corner of the the house. Over the next 8 hours I spend my time making coffee drinks, heating up breakfast pastries, and blending frapuccinos for the High Schoolers on their way to the school located next door. In this time I interact with hundreds of people from my community everyday. I hear about their families, their jobs, and sometimes even their struggles. Sometimes I just listen, other times I offer encouragement or even advice. It may be the coffee that keeps everyone coming back day after day or maybe it is something more.
In Genesis 1 the Bible says that mankind is created in the image of God. Although the Hebrew for this phrase is a bit difficult to fully understand, it is relatively clear that this is referring to the Spiritual side of God more than the physical. This means that just as God is relational, we too are relational. This is why just one chapter later God says, "it is not good for man to be alone". As humans we have a need to be heard, to be understood, and to be connected to one another. Christians often find this need for connection fulfilled in their many church events through the week and most of the time these create healthy and fulfilling friendships.
Let us now return to Starbucks... every day hundreds of people go through those doors and most of them have no other community where they are accepted and encouraged. It is only when they walk through the doors of their local coffee shop when they are greeted by name and offered their usual drink. It is in those moments that those people experience their "church". It is these places where the local barista serves as their pastor.
One of the convictions of our new Church is that we want to be people who intentionally serve our communities and not just the Christians who come to our sacred meeting times, small groups, youth events, etc. We want to be the ones offering encouragement and hope to the people in our community who do not find that encouragement in one of the many Christian gatherings in our town. So the truth is when people ask me how many people do I serve as a pastor at Soma Church, my answer is, "hundreds", they just aren't people who come to any of our gatherings.
This is actually very encouraging to me. It helps each morning at 4:00 AM when I ride through the dark on empty streets still filled with the cold ocean air that settles during our Orange County evenings. When I put on my "priestly robe" that looks a lot like a green apron I know that my day as a pastor has begun and that I am a bit closer to living the ways of Jesus in my community.

Shaping of the Church: Steeple Envy

2008-09-02T13:51:00.000-07:00

A difficult thing in leading churches or ministries is dealing with the internal desire for large numbers of people in the gatherings. Some pastors say that we should be concerned with numbers because Jesus tells us to go and make disciples and therefore if we are doing our job, more people will come. Other pastors flat out reject the measure of numbers by saying they want quality, not quantity. No matter what the personal conviction, it is difficult to allow God to have his way and not allow numbers to affect you.

The thing that we must fight against is comparing one gathering's size to another. Don Golden uses the phrase, "How big is your steeple" when he or anyone on his staff feels the need to brag about the numbers of attendees or the need to ask how many are attending somewhere else. I think this is very telling in that it shows that these questions are about pride and about power. Somehow we think that churches with "bigger steeples" are better or more effective when it just might be that God made them to have big steeples. It might also be as one pastor of a large church says, "the skill of the pastors directly affects the size of the church". I agree with this on a purely human level but do we really just think that only churches with large numbers of people have skilled pastors or that a large size really means it is a clearer picture of the Church that Jesus dreams about?

I know that it is easy for me to say all of this at this point because we are a part of a new church and therefore have a small number of people attending. At our new church we want to be effective in reaching people and giving people a place to connect, but we don't want the steeple size to define us. So how do you think churches can effectively deal with this issue of steeple envy?.... and no viagra jokes!

A Cool Touch from the Throne

2008-08-26T12:04:00.000-07:00

I begin this post with an apology for the deceptive nature of the title. Due to my current life circumstances one could assume that a "cool touch from the throne" is a comforting metaphor for the blessings that God brings when we need them most. Although I believe that God works in those ways and always appreciate His kind interactions and love poured out on me, the nature of this post is a bit more mundane and I am sorry to say, crude. With that said, I know that all of us from countries with modern plumbing can relate so I feel compelled to let you in on my journey.

Last night I had one of those great nights when whatever food I ate the proceeding day decided to sit and stir within me for a while. In fact, it was one of those nights where the food seemed to have no interest in succumbing to the whole digestion process and it preferred to sit in the pool just at the end of my throat. After plenty of trips outside of the country and many bouts with various parasites I have grown to accept these occasions and have even learned a few methods to cope. Even with the ability to cope, when my body seems set on a process of "upheaval" it never comes soon enough. What else (at least for males) can make the option of lying on a bathroom floor at all hours of the night more comforting than lying in a bed away from the bathroom? What else can cause one to tell God to "take me now and end my misery"? In these moments awaiting the whole upheaval process I find myself trying all kinds of techniques to speed the process and clear the holding tank of whatever is causing discomfort. But sometimes, the dry mouth and out of sync breathing must come in its own timing so my best efforts to speed the process are all in vain.

So I wait, I turn, I try to sleep, I feel my body grow warm, then cold, then sweat, and I just want to get this deed done. I reach over to the "porcelain throne" and press my head against its cheek seeking comfort in the coolness of its touch. Has it been cleaned recently? I hope so but at the moment that doesn't even matter. It is as Bill Cosby said, "At that moment the toilet bowl is the only one who understands". He will patiently wait for you and grant comfort in its perpetually cool sides.

Some nights when this happens, it all happens quickly and then everything is better, other times it takes several rounds before your body is finally satisfied. Then other times, like last night for me, your body is so conflicted over what to do that it simply stirs and causes discomfort until you drift off to sleep without ever purging of the offending foods. In these cases, I wake up the next morning hoping that I feel hunger so that I know that all systems are back on track. Today I was hungry so I cautiously ate some yogurt (I always eat something sweet if I think it will not stay down... it makes the whole experience much better) and I am happy to say that I seem back on track.

I stopped by the bathroom and whispered a little thanks to my faithful friend who understood my needs and offered comfort when I needed it. I hope I don't need his help again anytime soon but if I do, I know I can always count on his cool touch.

Applying For Jobs

2008-08-20T12:03:00.000-07:00

Part of this church plant experience includes a need for me to find income outside of our young church. Because of this need, I have decided to seek employment at a large coffee chain that I seldom ever visit but that I know offers benefits for the family and therefore it is a place I would like to work.
What this means is that I have to humble myself, ask for an application and turn it in to a person 10 years younger than me in hopes that my 1 1/2 Master’s Degrees and 12 years of working with people, organizing events, managing crises, and public speaking is all enough to convince him/her that I have what it takes to make a cup of coffee.
Today as I sat in one of this organization’s thousands of stores (and not one scheduled to close) waiting to speak with a manager (who happens to be a former student of mine) I had to laugh at the whole experience. As I sat there I noticed a kid who was probably around 16 years old filling out his application and I felt a sense of competition. Would my post-graduate and pre-doctoral work stand out against his excellence during his junior year of high school? Will my years of hiring, training, and managing employees be a positive if it is set alongside his 7 months of serving as a school mascot? Does that fact that this is probably his first job make him a promising candidate with lots of potential? Could that work against an old guy who quit a well paying job to move to the Middle East and then who returned to America to begin a new church? Am I overcommitted, overqualified, or over-the-hilled?
Am I even answering these questions in a manner that they are hoping for?... “Why do you like coffee?” Should I say it is because it creates a positive emotion in me that allows me to be more focused in reading and more progressive in my studies? Should I say that it is a wonderful subject around which meaningful conversations are allowed to flow? Or like the 16 year old, should I say, “Because it tastes good with lots of sugar and milk”. I am lost over what I should do. Next question, “Where have you visited one of our stores in the past and what was your experience”. 16 year old says, “I went to one with my mom once and now I am in this one”. Should I say, “I have actually been in your stores all across the world and find that even though it is not the best coffee and you do not offer free wi-fi, I always know what I will get and the service is consistent and courteous everywhere.”
I guess I will just fill this in the best I can and in the end I know that it is probably my 4 years of working as a food server that will ultimately qualify me for this job (and the fact that I want to work the 4 AM shift). I will keep you posted as to my progress in this endeavor and know that if 16 year old gets this job and I don’t, I will be in desperate need of some counseling for my low self-esteem.

Hello Old Friends

2008-08-13T22:50:00.000-07:00

Hello old friends
There's really nothing new to say
But the old, old story bears repeating
And the plain old truth grows dearer every day
When you find something worth believing
Well, that's a joy that nothin' could take away

And so we meet again
After all these many years
Did we sow the seeds we're reaping
Now that the harvest calls us here
It seems that love blooms out of season
And much joy can blossom from many tears

So old friends you must forget what you had to forgive
And let love be stronger than the feelings
That rage and run beneath the bridge
Knowin' morning follows evening
Makes each new day come as a gift

-Rich Mullins