David Bryan

Successfulness versus Fruitfulness

2012-02-07T09:27:00.002-05:00

I was reading from the writings of Henri Nouwen yesterday and came across a rather remarkable paragraph. It was so good and challenging and right, that I want to share it with you (with a few of my own thoughts interjected, for better or worse). I pray that God would speak to you and into your exact life situation this week as you reflect on Nouwen's words.

"There is a difference between successfulness and fruitfulness. Success comes from strength, control and respectability. A successful person has the energy [and skill] to create something, to keep control over its development, and to make it available in large quantities. Success brings many rewards and often fame.

“Fruits, however, come from weakness and vulnerability [and trials and problems and perseverance--see James chapter 1 in the New Testament]….Community is the fruit born through shared brokenness, and intimacy is the fruit that grows through touching another's wounds. Let's remind one another that what brings us true joy is not successfulness but fruitfulness."

Lists 2011

2011-12-29T09:27:00.003-05:00

In 2008 I started what is a fun, annual post for me.

Here are my top five lists from 2011.

Top Five Movies I Saw:

1. The Help

2. The King’s Speech

3. The Next Three Days

4. The Adjustment Bureau

5. The Lincoln Lawyer

Top Five Websites I Visited:

1. Ted.com

2. AJC.com / CNN.com / USATODAY.com

3. Pandora.com

4. CBSsports.com

5. FastCompany.com

Top Five Books I Read:

1. Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapman

2. Great By Choice by Jim Collins

3. Jesus through the Centuries: His Place in the History of Culture by Jaroslav Pelikan

4. The Big Thirst by Charles Fishman

5. Signature in the Cell by Stephen C. Meyer

Top Five Restaurants I Ate At:

1. Subway

2. Sid’s Pizza (for pick-up, not dine-in)

3. California Pizza Kitchen

4. Taco Mac (more for the football than the food)

5. Starbucks (still not a restaurant, but I frequented no eating establishment more often. And my beverage of choice switched from hot chocolate to coffee and/or steam apple juice.)

Top Five Things I'm Really Glad I Spent My Time Doing:

1. Growing my relationship with my wife and children.

2. Being with my church family on Sunday mornings.

3. Tutoring kids at Esther Jackson Elementary School, helping to fund the digging of freshwater wells in Africa, and officiating at weddings at Kimball Hall.

4. Spending time with friends.

5. Reading.

Fifteen Great Memories

1. Attending my son’s basketball games and a little father-son, one-on-one game in a full court gym on Thanksgiving Day in North Carolina. Just the two of us in the entire gym. (And one not-so-great memory: spending time with him at two hospitals for surgery on his broken tibia and fibula in mid-December.)

2. Tucking my daughter in at night and driving her to school every morning, Mon-Fri.

3. Baptizing my daughter in the waters of Lake Lanier on October 22. The water was cold! The day was unforgettably wonderful!

4. The best six months in all the years of my marriage.

5. Our annual summer vacation in Hilton Head. Great again.

6. The Braves game with SteveW (about 250 phone conversations, too), tennis with Chris, Wednesday lunches over backgammon with Carlos, conversations with George and Dianne, and deepening friendships with Susie and Eddie.

7. Talking on the phone with my parents.

8. My 40^th birthday celebration(s).

9. Sunday nights at Taco Mac with friends.

10. Phone conversations with my great Aunt Gracie, who passed away in the Fall at the age of 94…still quick-witted and sharp of mind.

11. Weddings at Kimball Hall.

12. A wonderful, warm and perfect Christmas brunch with my church family at Altobelli’s

13. One new cat, Iris, that unexpectedly resulted in two kittens, three weeks after we got her (we kept one of the two kittens, who Emma named “Snowball.”)

14. Rafting the Ocoee River with McKenzie, Jack, Naum and Ethan.

15. Christmas Morning with my family. The most relaxed and fun I can remember.

GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN

2011-12-13T12:51:00.000-05:00

On behalf of Mike Nelson and the Hornheads (a man and a group I know almost nothing about—but you gotta admit that that name says a lot), I’d like to recommend their Jingle Bell JAZZ Holiday CD, which includes 20 holiday favorites arranged in classic jazz style.

I recommend it because my daughter Emma and I have been playing it and singing to it each morning on our way to her school since the first Monday after Thanksgiving.

Yesterday we turned up the volume in my car almost as loud as it would go and, we shout-sang together, “Go, Tell It on the Mountain.”

Go tell it on the mountain, Over the hills and ev’rywhere

Go tell it on the mountain, That Jesus Christ is born!

By the time it was over, we were laughing and high-fiving (at the stop light), and Emma was exclaiming, “Let’s sing it again, Dad!”

Later it struck me, that to “go tell it on the mountain” would require a decent amount of work. I mean if I wanted to go tell it on Stone Mountain I’d have to drive a good forty-five minutes and then climb the 1686 feet to the summit. If I wanted to go tell it on Brasstown Bald Mountain (the highest point in GA) I’d have to drive to the NC-GA state line and climb 4,784 feet. If I wanted to go tell it on Mount Everest…..well, you get the idea.

But then I recognized that there are many kinds of “mountains” or “platforms” in which we can “go tell it.” And there are many kinds of ways we can “tell it,” too.

The “platforms” we have to tell it from include places liked our children’s bedside at bedtime, the front door of our neighbor’s house, the classroom at a nearby school, the parking lot of a church, and a community center in need of volunteers. We can “go tell it” in phone conversations, emails, written letters, text-messages, and over a cup of coffee at a local coffee shop.

And the ways we can “go tell it” are even greater. Some of the best ways don’t even involve our mouths (although “a word aptly chosen”—and ‘aptly’ is the key—“is like apples of gold in setting of silver. Pr. 25:11). We can use our hands, our feet, our ears, our money, our time, and our talents. We can tell it with a handshake, a “thank-you,” a hug, a small gift, and a listening ear. We can shout it through acts of kindness, and working hard, and doing things with excellence, and demonstrating unconditional love.

The list, of course, is endless. But the question is a singular one: Will you “Go Tell it on the Mountain” this moment, this day, this season?

“You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “HERE IS YOUR GOD!” -Isaiah 40:9

ACTION TRUMPS EVERYTHING

2011-11-30T10:29:00.003-05:00

Over the long Thanksgiving weekend I read a great book, ACTION TRUMPS EVERYTHING, by Len Schlesinger and Charles Kiefer.

Among other great things they give 16 Reasons why Action Trumps Everything!

1. If you act, you will find out what works.

2. …and what doesn't.

3. If you never act, you will never know if you are right or wrong.

4. If you act, you will find out if you like it.

5. …or you don't.

6. Acting leads to a market reaction, which could take you in another direction.

7. As you act, you can find people to go along with you.

8. As you act, you can find ways to do things faster, cheaper, better.

9. If you act, you won't spend the rest of your life going, “I wonder what would have happened if . . .”

10. If all you do is think, you are less interesting as a person.

Who would you rather sit next to on a plane, someone who started a successful rock-climbing store (or even an unsuccessful one), or someone who only thought about it?

11. If all you do is think about stuff, you gain tons of theoretical knowledge, but none from the real world. In other words, if all you do is think . . .

12. . . . all you do is think.

13. Action always leads to evidence. Thinking doesn’t lead to proof.

14. If you act, you know what is real.

15. Talking to people is acting. . . at zero cost.

16. It seems the cost of doing more thought, before you pull the trigger, is zero. But there is a huge opportunity cost. While you are still thinking, someone else could be stealing your market or the opportunity itself may end.

IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER

2011-11-11T10:03:00.009-05:00

Saturday, October 22, I had the most amazing privilege of baptizing my daughter in the cold waters of Lake Lanier. Joined by my immediate family, grandparents, cousins and friends, Emma and I waded into the water until it surrounded her from toe to mid-chest.

Then, after a few private words between Emma and me, I raised my hand into the air and said, “Emma, because you love Jesus and want to follow him forever, and be his friend forever, and live in his grace forever, I baptize you in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

No words can describe the feeling of gratefulness I had standing next to her. No sentence can capture the joy and pride that we all felt. No paragraph will ever recount fully the emotion of the day.

And I can only imagine the Heavenly Father’s gratefulness, joy, pride and emotion!

Emma was baptized “in the name of her Heavenly Father.” And in doing so she symbolized publically what has already taken place privately inside of her—a decision to be part of God’s family and to live now and forever in the loving care and leadership of a Father who loves her unconditionally, celebrates her radically, offers her wisdom impartially, and is with her completely.

Emma came up out of the water, smiling ear-to-ear, to shouts and cheers and hugs and prayers of thanksgiving! It was a day I pray she will always remember.

I wonder, if you have been baptized, do you remember that day or that era in your life when you made the decision to follow Jesus’ example and be baptized? And if so, as you remember it, would you re-dedicate your life to following Jesus, in whom we stake our greatest hope?

If you have not been baptized, do you know why? Be honest. Because if you are not sure you want to embrace God’s grace, and if you are not sure you would like Him to guide your life, then it’s helpful to be clear on that.

But if you would like to embrace God's grace and dedicate your life to following Him, then it's helpful to be clear on that too.

Emma spoke clearly about her desire to be in a relationship with Jesus Christ a few Saturdays ago, when she happily and excitedly stepped into the chilly, Fall waters of Lake Lanier to be baptized in the presence of family, friends and the beloved Creator of all things. He loves her so much. And she would want you to know that He loves you and me so much, too!

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are!” -1 John 3:1

Knock Knock

2011-10-07T10:14:00.002-04:00

I was talking to a friend recently who lives in Seattle. And he said something so funny that I laughed out loud—for minutes—longer and harder than I had laughed in months.

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld was recently interviewed on CNN. He recounted the day when he was eight-years old and told a joke that made his friend spit up his milk and cookies. “I felt the milk, and I saw it all coming at me, and I said, ‘I would like to do this professionally.’”

Laughter. It reminds me of Solomon’s words recorded in Proverbs 17:22 – “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

Now there is a lot more to a cheerful heart than just laughter. But PART of a cheerful heart is laughter.

And science has shown us that laughter is good medicine. I read this week about researchers at the University of Maryland who found that when twenty healthy volunteers smiled and laughed out loud while watching a comedic movie, their blood flow increased by twenty-two percent, about the same increase caused by aerobic exercise. But when volunteers watched tension-filled scenes from a drama, their blood flow decreased thirty-five percent.

The researchers went on to say that “a healthy lifestyle would include thirty minutes of exercise three times a week, and fifteen minutes of hearty laughter each day."

Joel Osteen, pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, has written about this. He writes:

I know this one lady, she hadn't slept well in years and years. She was constantly taking tranquilizers. She had taken them so long it hardly even affected her anymore. She had tried everything, different diets, different doctors, different medicines. Nothing seemed to work. But this one doctor gave her a very unusual prescription. He said, "Every night before you go to bed, you need to watch something funny – a funny movie, a funny video, a funny drama – something that makes you laugh." She started doing that night after night. Month after month she got better and better. Today she is totally off her medications. She can sleep like a baby.

Much of the sickness in our world exists simply because we don't live with the joy that God created us to experience. When we live anxious and uptight lives, it leads to headaches, digestive problems, an inability to focus, short tempers, lack of energy, lack of good sleep and, I believe, fewer close friends (After all, who wants to hang out and get close to a short-tempered, frequently distracted, stressed out person?!).

Now, I’m not a medical doctor, but I believe many of these symptoms would go away if we would simply learn how to enjoy the God-given gift of laughter. So I am going to give you the following spiritual prescription this week: Every day find something funny that makes you laugh. Not an inside laugh. Not a muted chuckle. A take-your-time, life-is-good, laugh-out-loud, hooting, snorting, cackling laugh!

And when you find it, share it!

Knock, knock….

Broccoli, The Beatles and Other Superior Things

2011-09-09T12:48:00.007-04:00

Some things are superior to others.

For the last three weeks, on my way to and from work, I have been listening and re-listening and listening again to Rachmaninoff’s second piano concerto in C# minor, performed by my favorite classical pianist, Vladimir Ashkenazy (at the expense of my usual sports talk radio). This concerto has been among my very favorites since I was first introduced to it in college. And, without much argument, it is considered among the best piano concertos ever written, if not the best. Listen to it and you’ll understand why. It is simply superior to others, and listening to it elevates both mind and soul.

Here is a very short list of other “superior” things:

The music of the Beatles is superior to the music of Milli Vanilli and 95% of other pop artists.

Pop music of the 80s is superior to pop music of the 2000s (IMHO).

Broccoli is superior to Waffle House hash browns (scattered, smothered, covered and deadly) for your physical health.

Exercise is superior to lethargy.

Drinking clean water is superior to drinking dirty water.

Authentically complimenting your spouse or a friend is superior to a sarcastic dig.

Doing whatever you do with excellence, with all your heart, mind and strength, is superior to doing your job half-way.

Sitting on a porch or park bench and viewing the tress, flowers, birds and sky is superior to viewing hours and hours of TV or internet junk.

Generosity is superior to selfishness.

You get the idea. And it’s not being harsh or judgmental to make these observations about many things in life.

So today (and this week, this month, this life) are you engaging in, thinking about, and embracing the superior things?

Paul reminds us of this in his New Testament letter to the Philippians. And I want remind you of his words today:

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things” (Phil 4:8).

If you know anything about Dennis Rodman

2011-08-17T11:01:00.016-04:00

I read a great blog post today by Pete Wilson. Pete Wilson is one of the pastors of Cross Point Church in Nashville. Below I've simply copied his post. I think it's that good....

"I’ll be honest.

I’ve never been a Dennis Rodman fan.

I’ve always thought of him as a reckless, self absorbed, ego maniac. And while my assessment was probably fairly accurate, I think I forgot one thing. He’s a broken human being just like me.

His acceptance speech into the NBA Hall of Fame was unbelievably telling. If you have a moment you should watch (Warning: The language is a bit rough).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQQu-JWzBug

[note, you'll have to copy and paste this link, as just clicking on it doesn't work]

In his speech he did something that athletes (or anyone else) rarely do. Instead of focusing on his career he talked very candidly about his personal shortcomings and the pain he’s been through in life.

I almost started crying with him when he admits: “I have one regret; I wish I was a better father.” His own father abandoned him when he was five years old, and Dennis said that later in life: “He wrote a book about me and made a lot of money, but he never came and said hello to me.”

Just remember today before you judge that:

Arrogant boss

Self-absorbed friend

Angry parent

Everyone needs healing… Everyone."

Ruthless Trust

2011-08-12T08:41:00.004-04:00

I believe these two short paragraphs in Brennan Manning's book, Ruthless Trust, are worth thinking about and dwelling on and wrestling with and being comforted by and committing to memory and being deeply felt for a long time.

The words of the fifteenth-century theologian Angelus Silesius, "If God stopped thinking of me, he would cease to exist," are thoroughly orthodox. Silesius merely paraphrases the message of Jesus: "Can you not buy five sparrows for two pennies? And yet not one is forgotten in God's sight. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. There is no need to be afraid, you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows" (Luke 12:6-7.)

God, by definition, is thinking of me.

CHOOSING TO SEE

2011-08-10T09:32:00.002-04:00

This book was published in September of 2010, and I don't remember that it received much fanfare or recognition compared to other books that get released. But after reading it I have to say it may be the best book I've read in recent memory on surviving and thriving through the challenges of life, marriage and especially tragedy. A+++ book.

A Tennis Match That Came With A Powerful Reminder

2011-07-22T10:24:00.004-04:00

There is an old proverb, filled with fresh wisdom and practical application for today. You’ve heard it many times before. It goes like this: “Pride goes before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).”

I know the truth of that proverb, and so I was not prideful or even overconfident before I met my friend Chris for a tennis match Tuesday. We played in the hot sun from 10:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., and when the match was over he had beaten me (yes, beaten me) in all three sets we played (6-2, 7-5, 6-0). It was a frustrating loss.

But it leads me to another truism, my own: “Pride may go before a fall, but so does lack of preparation, inferior skill and the absence of hard work.”

Oh, I worked hard during the match. I fought for every single point. But I had no chance because I had not hit a tennis ball in about a year, and I don’t lift weights and exercise faithfully, and I drink too much Dr. Pepper. Chris, on the other hand, plays in a tennis league each Fall, Winter and Spring. He works out and jogs religiously, and he hates losing as much as I do.

And so I was beaten.

Author Jim Collins, who has studied greatness and written about it, says, in a now famous quote, “Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness is largely a matter of conscious choice and discipline.”

He echoes the counsel of Solomon who observes that “lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper.” (Proverbs 13:4).

Why did I lose the tennis match? Largely because I hadn’t made the choices necessary in the days, weeks and months prior to the match that would result in a win on the day of the match.

Read about Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. Why are they among the greatest quarterbacks to ever play football? Mostly it’s not because they are taller, faster, or physically stronger than other quarterbacks. Mostly it’s because they out-work other quarterbacks. They are more careful to guard their lifestyles—diet, sleep patterns, work-outs, words and actions in public—than other QBs. They spend more time on the practice field, arriving earlier and staying later. They devote a ridiculous number of hours to studying game film. And they intentionally nurture strong relationships with key members of their offense.

Read about the greatest musicians and music groups of the last one-hundred years. Read about the most successful business leaders of our day. Talk to great parents. Study the habits of most “A” students. Largely each of these groups live at the upper tier of their craft because they out-work, out-hustle, out-study, and out-practice others.

So what do you want to do well? Win a tennis match against a friend? Gain greater job security or even get a promotion at work? Achieve better grades at school? Develop a stronger relationship with a friend or spouse? Be a wiser parent? Meet a financial savings goal? Get in optimal physical shape? Learn a new skill? Grow your relationship with God?

If so, those things are not likely to happen by sheer luck. You will have to work hard, be disciplined and find someone that will bring you encouragement and accountability along the way.

Too many people make excuses for why they didn’t achieve some goal in life. (Now I'll admit sometimes those “excuses” aren’t just excuses. They are valid reasons. But more often, the reason probably lies in the simple truth articulated by Solomon thousands of years ago: “lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper.”) The truth is you can do more than you think you can, with the help of friends, family, and with a great God whose wisdom and power is available to each of us on a daily, hourly, minute-by-minute basis.

Today I remind you what I was reminded of so rudely on a hot, summer morning, tennis racket in hand: “Pride may go before a fall, but so does lack of preparation, inferior skill and the absence of hard work.”

Two Kittens

2011-07-13T11:23:00.001-04:00

I took our new kittens to the vet yesterday for their first vaccinations. It was actually the first time I’d taken any of our pets to the vet. And when I arrived, checked-in and sat down in the waiting area along with a dozen other pets and pet-owners, I was unprepared for what I was about to experience.

I was unprepared because I didn’t know that if you are a pet-owner you are part of a family of pet-owners. While sitting in the waiting room with Snowball and Snowflake (names given to our kittens by my daughter), people began talking to me like they’d known me for years.

“I bet your children love those kittens.”

“Our kids love our dog, Otto.”

“I remember when I first purchased our dog. Our kids were still toddlers.”

“We were just married and two weeks after our honeymoon my wife saw our dog and her heart melted.”

I learned about Lacey the cat, whose sister died of diabetes a few years ago, and I learned what danger signs I should watch for in our own kittens as they grow up. I met Kitty (an original name), the 19-year old cat whose owner found her clutched between the teeth of their dog one winter morning when he went outside to get the newspaper (interestingly the cat was fine, but the dog’s face was bloodied with multiple cat scratches). I met Otto the rescued Boxer and Chloe the Pomeranian, who gets a good shave every summer to help her stay cool.

And with every conversation I also learned a little about each owner. One owner’s husband was a youth pastor in the area. One retired couple indicated that since their children had moved out of the house, their animals were like their new children. One man had taken the day off work to bring his dog in, and had been waiting 2½ hours in the waiting room because he didn’t have an appointment that day. But he wasn’t in a hurry and didn’t mind the wait.

When customers left they said “good-bye” to other owners as if they had known them for a lot longer than thirty minutes or an hour.

And as I was driving back home, reflecting on the experience, I realized that I had learned more than just a few names and stories. I had witnessed this truth of human nature: People long to share their story and hear yours, when done so in the safety of a loving, accepting environment. We like to share our stories with people we believe are interested and can identify with them. We like to know and be known in the context of family. And in this case we were a family of pet owners.

I tell you all that, because this truth obviously applies outside the realm of pet ownership, too. We all, in life, want to know and be known, love and be loved, celebrate and be celebrated. And, in fact, this is one of the most important jobs of any Christian church, to increasingly become a place of safety and joy and acceptance and love, to truly become a family united, not by out pets, but, by our membership in the family of God.

So will you listen to another’s story this week? Give someone a call. Take someone out for coffee or lunch. Really listen.

Share your story, too. And as you do, remember that we have a heavenly father who already knows our story and who longs to be a daily part of it, bringing us love, peace, purpose and joy. The Psalmist reminds us of this in Psalm 139:

“O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.”

The Toaster Project

2011-05-13T18:10:00.002-04:00

A Fascinating Story that will put some things in perspective.

Click here:
http://www.ted.com/talks/thomas_thwaites_how_i_built_a_toaster_from_scratch.html

Reflections On This Week's Biggest News Story

2011-05-04T22:06:00.001-04:00

I stayed up late Sunday night to hear President Obama’s announcement that Osama bin Laden had been killed. Following the story that evening on multiple news outlets was a riveting and emotional experience for me.

I have continued to follow the barrage of information surrounding the death of bin Laden and the never-ending stream of pictures and videos of American celebrations. I totally understand people’s excitement over his death and share in the admiration for the men and women who acted so bravely during the course of the operation that resulted in bin Laden’s death.

I realize that while this doesn’t end terrorism, it does bring a measure of resolution to the tens of thousands of families around the world who have suffered because of bin Laden’s acts of terror. And I realize, too, that this has brought a sense of unity to many in our country and fueled hope for a different, better future.

However, I have seen a very dangerous side of the celebration. Patriotism, which is good, can quickly turn to un-Christ-like attitudes and actions.

Some people are “celebrating” because they believe that Osama Bin Laden is now in hell. One newspaper headline I saw even read, “Rot in Hell.” Others are celebrating because they believe it shows the superiority of America or at least that America is “the winner.” Several hand-made signs in New York City and around the country have simply read “WIN” or “America Wins.”

This has led me to a series of questions that I think every thoughtful person ought to ponder. I do not attempt to answer these questions, but do hope that we will each prayerfully reflect on them.

Should we ever hope for the damnation of anyone?
Should killing someone ever be a cause for celebration or joy?
How does our response to Bin Laden’s death fit in to Jesus’ command to love and forgive our enemies?
How are Christians representing Christ in their response to bin Laden’s death?
If we display such an intense hatred for our enemies that we are overjoyed at the news of their death or suffering, how will the world ever know the radical love and forgiveness of Jesus?
When, if ever, is it healthy to celebrate the death of anybody?
Does violence, even a “justified” act of violence, have the capacity to heal the wounds inflicted by violence, or to end the cycle of violence?
We, as a nation, are rightly repulsed and angered when we see others dancing and celebrating over the death of Americans. Do you think our response to bin Laden’s death might engender similar reaction among others?
How can we “rejoice with those who rejoice” and “mourn with those who mourn” and “bless those who persecute us” (Romans 12).
How can we celebrate and express gratitude for what’s good while respecting those who may not share our joy?

These are some tough questions that don’t have simple answers. But I think they are important questions for any Christ-follower to think through. So as we recognize the significance of bin Laden’s death, the heroism of the American soldiers and the healing that continues to take place for the thousands of victims of terror around the world, let us also seek to be ambassadors for our Savior in the process (2 Corinthians 5:20).

A Fish Story

2011-04-14T11:04:00.004-04:00

A few nights ago, several minutes after I had tucked my daughter into bed, I opened the door to her room to check on her and see if she had fallen asleep. She was still awake. And she was writing in her notebook.

I asked her what she was writing, and she answered, "Do you want to hear it?"

I said, "Yes."

She read it to me.

Below I have typed the story she wrote and read to me. It's a wonderful story and fuel for all kinds of analysis from psychologists, parents, friends, counselors and anyone interested in a story about life, love and lessons learned along the way. Enjoy!

A Fish
by Emma Bryan

A girl was walking by a pond. She saw a fish, and she wanted to catch it. But the fish was too fast. So she said that the fish should go home, and she stopped trying to catch it.

One day later, the fish came back. The girl said to the fish, "I am not your mother." But the fish said that it did not have a mother. (The girl did not know that. But then she found out.)

So the girl kept the fish. The fish was very pretty. The girl was so happy that her mom said "yes" to keeping the fish. Her mom was so nice to the fish.

One day the fish was dying, but the girl did not know. But she knew the fish was sick. So she took the fish to the fish doctor. She was so, so, so sad.

The doctor said the fish did not get fed because the girl had forgotten to feed it.

The girl did not want to tell, but she had to do it. So she did. She got in trouble, but she learned a lesson. The lesson was to tell her parents before playing to make sure the fish was fed.

The good news was the fish did not die. The girl fed the fish every day so the fish would not die. She loved the fish so much.

Soon it was the fish's birthday. They had a party, but just with the people in their house. They were so happy it was the fish's birthday.

The End.

Who is My Brother? (Not Who Some Think.)

2011-03-03T08:33:00.003-05:00

Compliments are GREAT THINGS. Both for the giver and the recipient. Compliments can bring life, joy, energy, confidence and blessing.

Earlier this week I took my son to a nearby medical clinic. He had been experiencing some symptoms of what turned out to be strep throat. After a decent wait in the waiting room, we finally heard those welcome words from the lady at the door which led back to the exam rooms. “Ethan Bryan.”

That meant it was our turn!

When we entered the exam room, there was only one bench to sit on. Ethan took the seat, and I stood nearby. Shortly after, noticing there was no place for me to sit, the nurse said to Ethan, “Your brother is welcome to sit next to you, too.”

That’s right. “Brother!”

It was an unintended compliment, but a compliment nonetheless. At almost-40, I have entered the age bracket where looking younger than you are is a good thing! When I told her I was Ethan’s father, she commented on how young I looked (and in that word “young” I chose to hear “good-looking,” “ripped” and “athletic”).

Ethan is feeling better now, anxious to forget how he felt and ready to hit the basketball courts again. But I will remember that “compliment” for some time.

Because it reminds me of the power of a compliment.

Proverbs 25:11 observes: “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”

This truism applies to apt words of all kinds (apt words of encouragement, rebuke, warning, celebration, and more). But it also speaks to the power of a compliment.

So how are you doing at handing out apt compliments these days?

“You look nice.”

“You are great to work for.”

“I admire your sense of humor.”

“I admire your creativity.”

“I admire your athleticism.”

“I admire your wisdom.”

“I admire the way you think, or the way you parent, or the way you handled that situation.”

“You are a wonderful friend.”

“I have great respect for your ability to ….”

“You are the best….”

“You inspire me to….”

“You are a wonderful, Godly person.”

The power of an apt compliment. It’s like apples of gold in settings of silver.

So will you aptly compliment someone today….everyday?

Keep On!

2011-02-24T10:19:00.012-05:00

Jim Collins: "Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness is largely a matter of conscious choice and discipline."

Tom Peters: "A record of 1 win and 908 de facto losses is just fine & dandy--and more than good enough for the Hall of Fame--if the cause is worth the effort and pain and personal opprobrium!"
(If you think he's crazy, read Way #103 in his book, The Little Big Things.)

Check out this article on "True Grit" from Fast Company magazine.
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/153/true-grit.html

(And visit Fast Company's website daily.)

Read chapter 2, "The 10,000 Hour Rule," in Malcolm Gladwell's sensational book Outliers. It may be the most inspirational and transformational thing you read this month....this year.

Time, Doubt and Authenticity

2011-02-10T15:35:00.008-05:00

TIME

I enjoy following the website freakonomics.com, a website that flowed out of two fun, thought-provoking and best-selling books by Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt. A recent post on that site made me ponder this question: How valuable is my time?

Here is a portion of that post (by Daniel Hameresh) and a follow-up comment from one reader.

“Minneapolis allows single-occupancy cars to use its HOV expressway lanes for a price, which is typically between $1.50 and $2.50 on I-35W during morning rush-hour between the airport and downtown. The price seems to be higher when traffic in the other lanes is heavier — the city is sensibly applying peak-load pricing.

Yesterday, it was snowing; traffic in the four regular lanes was crawling, and the city had posted a price of $8 for use of the HOV lane— but the HOV lane was nearly empty!

Apparently, the equilibrium price, even in a snowstorm, is somewhat below $8….”

And from a posted comment in response to this blog…

“I’m 74 years old. I have been offered payment to manage our condominium and I still do some short consulting travel. I don’t manage the condo, because it takes time, the most valuable commodity I have at this time of my life. I still do the consulting as an advisor to a school in Venezuela, because it is a contribution to the future of others . . . not for the money. You want to know the value of time? ? ? Think of it in terms of how much you might expect to have left and what you want to do with. NO DOLLAR SIGNS THERE.

RD”

DOUBT

I read a comment by Philip Yancey the other day. Someone asked him about living with doubts about God. His response….

“Doubt is something almost every person experiences at some point, yet something that the church does not always handle well. I’m an advocate of doubt, because that’s why I became a Christian in the first place. I started doubting some of the crazy things my church taught me when I was growing up! (This was a most unhealthy church, I must say.)

I’m also impressed that the Bible includes so many examples of doubt. Evidently God has more tolerance of doubt than most churches. I want to encourage those who doubt, and also encourage the church to be a place that rewards rather than punishes honesty.”

IS AUTHENTICITY BORING?

Sherry Turkle’s new book, “Alone Together” is great. Early in the book she addresses an interesting question. The essence of the question is this: Would people today prefer to experience something that is authentic but boring OR something that is not real but interesting?

In one case study she interviews children (including her daughter, Rebecca) who stand at the entrance to the Darwin exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

“At the exhibit’s entrance were two giant tortoises from the Galapagos Islands, the best-known inhabitants of the archipelago where Darwin did his most famous investigations. The museum had been advertising these tortoises as wonders, curiosities, and marvels….[But] one tortoise was hidden from view; the other rested in its cage, utterly still. Rebecca inspected the visible tortoise thoughtfully for a while and then said matter-of-factly, ‘They could have used a robot.’ I was taken aback and asked what she meant. She said she thought it was a shame to bring the turtle all this way from its island home in the Pacific, when it was just going to sit there in the museum, motionless, doing nothing. Rebecca was both concerned for the imprisoned turtle and unmoved by its authenticity.”

“It was Thanksgiving weekend. The line was long, the crowd frozen in place. I began to talk with some of the other parents and children. My question—‘Do you care that the turtle is alive?’….A ten-year old girl told me that she would prefer a robot turtle because aliveness comes with aesthetic inconvenience: ‘It’s water looks dirty. Gross.’….A twelve-year old girl was adamant: “For what the turtles do, you didn’t have to have the live ones. Her father looked at her, mystified: ‘But the whole point is that they are real. That’s the whole point.’”….

Turkle goes on to write:

“I believe that in our culture of simulation, the notion of authenticity is for us what sex was for the Victorians—threat and obsession, taboo and fascination…..I found the children’s position strangely unsettling. For them, in this context, aliveness seemed to have no intrinsic value. Rather, it is useful only if needed for a specific purpose. I asked the children a further question: ‘If you put a robot instead of a living turtle in the exhibit,’ do you think people should be told that the turtle is not alive?’ Not really, said many children.”

REAL LIFE

2011-02-02T10:11:00.012-05:00

(I know nothing about the organization, website or opinions of the company that sells these t-shirts. But I like the t-shirts.)

Reality TV shows aren’t real (not a news flash, I know).

Oh, they are “real shows,” but they are more “show” than “real.” The “real” part is that they film actual people. The “show” part is that these “ordinary” people are talking and interacting in front of cameras and producers and directors and a host of other people (which no doubt influences everything they do and say and how they say and do it). And that doesn’t even take into account that much of the footage gets heavily edited before being televised.

Most of us understand this.

But while we watch “non-reality shows” our REAL LIVES go on. We face financial deadlines, physical challenges, relational complexities, and a plethora of daily decisions surrounding how we will manage our time, our resources, our dreams, our passions, our pain, our words, our work, our worries, and our weekends.

That’s REAL LIFE.

And so I am excited that this month, at the weekend service of my church, we will explore REAL LIFE in a series called, well….REAL LIFE. Ann Moore, Dave Beamish, Eddie Bonds and I team up to open the scriptures and teach about the following topics:

FEB 6 – Real Life: Grief

(David) Main text: 1 Thessalonians 4:13 – “For we do not grieve as those who have no hope.”

Pain and loss is unavoidable in this world. So why is it so difficult to face? Why do people often get depressed, angry, introverted or immobilized for extended periods of time after a loss? How can we face loss and grieve in a way that leads to health and life?

FEB 13 – Real Life: Time

(Ann) Main text: Psalm 90:12 – “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.”

Today, you and I have twenty-four hours to live. No more. No less. And during those twenty-four hours, each of us will make thousands of small decisions and a few big ones. How can I learn to treat those hours more preciously? What are the best bits of counsel surrounding learning to manage my time better? What practical steps can I take so that I don’t just count my days, but make my days count?

FEB 20 – Real Life: Money

(Dave) Main text: Proverbs 27:23 – “Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds, for riches do not last forever.”

The statistics are staggering. The stories are heart-breaking. So many people wreck their lives and relationships because of how they think about, manage, and spend their money. So how can I manage my money more effectively? How can I give, save and spend my money in a way that brings me joy and peace instead of stress and worry? Please walk me through what I should do, starting today, to better handle and honor God and others with my money!

FEB 27 – Real Life: Influence

(Eddie) Main text: Proverbs 27:17 – “As iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another.”

Whether you know it or not, you influence others and are influenced by others. So have you stopped to think about how? Further, how, day-to-day, can you increasingly leverage your gifts, skills and influence in a way to positively help and grow others? And what do you do if you don't feel like you have anything to offer another?

LISTS 2010

2011-01-05T10:48:00.008-05:00

Here are my Top Five lists from 2010. If I am faithful to do this for the next fifty years, it's gonna be great fun and very meaningful to look back on these annual posts.

Top Five Movies I Saw:

(I probably only watched a dozen movies—rented and at a theater—all year, so my pool to choose from is relatively small)
1. A-Team and Star Trek (two fun movies based on 80s shows)

2. The Book of Eli

3. The Last Song and Letters to God (two movies with many similarities)

4. Lie to Me (first two seasons of this intriguing TV show…on DVD)

5. Food, Inc. and King Corn (two movies, similar hard-hitting impact)

Top Five Websites I Visited:
1. Ted.com
2. Ajc.com / CNN.com / USATODAY.com
3. Pandora.com
4. CBSsportsline.com

5. FastCompany.com

Honorable Mention: FollowTheRabbi.com

Top Five Books I Read:

1. To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World by James Davison Hunter

2. Engaging the Powers: Discernment and Resistance in a World of Domination by Walter Wink

3. Knowing Christ Today: Why We Can Trust Spiritual Knowledge by Dallas Willard

4. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

5. The Little Big Things: 163 Ways to Pursue Excellence by Tom Peters

Honorable Mentions:

What Good Is God: In Search of a Faith That Matters by Philip Yancey

Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do by Michael J. Sandel

The Power of a Whisper by Bill Hybels

Top Five Restaurants I Ate At:
1. Subway

2. Sweet Tomatoes

3. The Cheesecake Factory

4. Taco Mac (more for the football than the food)

5. Starbucks (not a restaurant and hot chocolate isn’t a meal, but I frequented no eating establishment more often)

Top Five Things I'm Really Glad I Spent My Time Doing:

1. Growing my relationship with my wife and children

2. Being with my church family on Sunday mornings.
3. Tutoring kids at Esther Jackson Elementary School and helping to fund the digging of freshwater wells in Africa
4. Spending time with friends

5. Reading

Fifteen Great Memories

1. Attending my son’s football and basketball games and playing ping pong with him in our basement

2. Tucking my daughter in at night, picking her up from school, and riding bikes with her in the neighborhood

3. Playing Yahtzee, watching movies, and times of laughter with my wife

4. Thanksgiving Day with 31 relatives in North Carolina

5. Two Hilton Head Island vacations with family and an afternoon Braves Game with my dad

6. Teaching from the scriptures on Sunday mornings and 10:30am discussions with the high school group

7. Talking on the phone with my parents

8. Dedicating my nephew, William, to God

9. Sunday nights at Taco Mac with friends

10. Early morning conversations with friends over coffee, Wednesday lunches over backgammon with Carlos, dozens of phone conversations with SteveW

11. A Wells for Africa jug filled with coins and surrounded by smiling faces of children

12. A wonderful, warm and perfect Christmas brunch with my church family at Altobelli’s

13. Conversations with George and Dianne

14. A blistering hot August Braves game with friends

15. Christmas Day Snow

Looking Back, Looking Forward

2011-01-04T11:31:00.027-05:00

Last Sunday during our teaching time at church, we took seriously the admonition of perhaps the wisest man to ever live, King Solomon. In Proverbs 4:7 he counsels, “Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.”

And so, last Sunday, we considered the wisdom of six individuals who passed away in 2010. We heard their stories, listened to their own words (courtesy of youtube), and committed that we would allow the Holy Spirit to speak into our 2011 lives through them.

Several people asked for copies of specific quotes or aspects of the teaching. So below are a few bits of the wisdom from the six individuals.

Dorothy Irene Height (March 24, 1912 – April 20, 2010) –

“If the times aren’t ripe, you have to ripen the times.”

Miep Gies (February 15, 1909 – January 11, 2010) –

“My advice is to help people who need help.”

“I don’t want to be considered a hero. I don’t want young people to grow up with the feeling that you have to be a hero to do your human duty.”

Leslie Nielsen (February 11, 1926 – November 28, 2010) –

In response to the comment, “Surely you can’t be serious!”…..“I am serious and don’t call me Shirley.”

And from the author of Ecclesiastes: “There is an appointed time for everything….a time to weep and a time to laugh.”

Manute Bol (October 16, 1962 – June 29, 2010) –

“God gave me a good job, but He also gave me a heart. And so I give.”

Elizabeth Edwards (July 3, 1949 – December 7, 2010) –

“I have been sustained throughout my life by three saving graces –my family, my friends, and a faith in the power of resilience and hope. These graces have carried me through difficult times and they have brought more joy to the good times than I ever could have imagined.”

John Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) –

“Success is the peace of mind attained from self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you are capable.”

“I take greater pride in effort than in the score.”

“Don’t whine. Don’t complain. Don’t make excuses.”

“Time spent getting even would be better spent getting ahead.”

The Deep End

2010-11-12T10:24:00.006-05:00

Over the past few weeks I've been re-reading Eugene Peterson's book, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places. It's worth a second read....and a third. When I came to page 310, I read an already heavily underlined section, with notes in the margin. It's just great, and I used the quote below to begin my teaching last Sunday at church.

“Anyone who joins a church expecting to be part of a happy and harmonious gathering of put-together people sooner or later is in for serious disappointment. We can also suspect that such a person hasn’t read the Scriptures very carefully. There are exceptions, occasionally quite glorious exceptions, but Christian communities, all of them are communities-in-progress, baptized sinners in various stages of development in the life of love.

“Men and women are not admitted to the community by presenting credentials of love skills, nor do we maintain our place in the community by passing periodic peer reviews on love. We are here to be formed over our lifetimes into a community of the beloved, God’s beloved who are being formed into a people who love God and one another in the way and on the terms in which God loves us.

“It’s slow work. We are slow learners. And though God is unendingly patient with us, we are not very patient with one another. Outsiders, observing our embarrassingly slow and erratic progress in love, wonder why we bother. Well, we bother because God is love: he created us in love; he saved us in an act of love; he commanded us to love one another.

“Love is the ocean in which we swim. So what if many of us can only wade in the shallows, and others of us can barely dog paddle for short distances? We are learning and we see the possibility of one day taking long, relaxed, easy strokes into the deep.”

I love this passage because it communicates so well what lies at the heart of a God-designed life: living as a beloved child of God and growing in that love so that we can pass it along to others.

I love Peterson’s words because they summarize our church’s (and my own) raison d'être. And even more, they describe what I actually see going on among our church....i.e. we are fulfilling our life purpose!

I am part of a phenomenal church community. And we are learning, slowly and imperfectly, but surely, to take long, relaxed strokes in the deepness of God’s kingdom of love and grace. We are learning about how to truly live the blessed life! How great it is!

Wells for Africa: Coins Edition

2010-10-28T18:49:00.004-04:00

Last weekend my church ended a four-week season of thinking about, praying for, and donating money towards the building of our 9th freshwater well in Africa. The weekend was highlighted by two events. On Saturday we invited friends and neighbors and enjoyed an outdoor benefit, "Concert in the Courtyard," with live music and tasty BBQ'd burgers with all the fixings you can imagine. And the children got a bonus of playing on an outdoor playground and zip line.

And then on Sunday our church gathered for a big Wells for Africa Celebration, highlighted by worship music, teaching and the bringing of all our coins to drop in the "Wells for Africa" water jug. Coins came from everywhere--underneath sofas, in cars, in dresser and kitchen drawers, inside Tupperware containers and piggy banks (see picture).

The Sunday celebration will undoubtedly go down as one of the most memorable weekend services in our church's history! I will never forget the joy on every child's face as we filled the large water jug full to overflowing with coins for the digging of our 9th well. (In coins alone, we raised just under $1,000.) And I will always be grateful and strengthened in my faith when I remember the moving experience of singing "How Great Is Our God" alongside so many friends, as we celebrated God's goodness and his undeniable presence among us that day.

I know Halloween is still a couple days away, but it feels like we got an early jump on the Thanksgiving season!

Richard Florida's Top Ten

2010-10-19T11:17:00.004-04:00

Richard Florida is an author, University of Toronto professor and head of a fascinating organization called the Creative Class Group. He recently polled 20,000 professionals and gave them a choice of thirty-eight factors that motivated them to do their best at work. Here are the top-ten (in order):

1. Challenge and responsibility
2. Flexibility
3. A stable work environment
4. Money
5. Professional development
6. Peer recognition
7. Stimulating colleagues and bosses
8. Exciting job content
9. Organizational culture
10. Location and community

How's your job? Does it include one, two, five, all ten of the things on the list?
Interestingly, many of the things on this list are things YOU can impact/create through your attitude, work-ethic, words, gifts and contributions. And many of the things on this list can apply even if your job is "stay/work at home mom or dad or student, or even grandparent!

I Found An Acorn

2010-09-09T12:03:00.010-04:00

I found an acorn on the ground a few days ago. It was a perfectly formed acorn, olive-green with its “hat still on,” as my daughter put it. I looked at it for a few moments and then put it in my pocket. I’ve paused to look at it many times since the day I found it. There is something about that acorn that reminds me of God’s perfection, his love of beauty and his love for me.

And it reminded me that if we’ll stop and notice, there are signs of God’s love and perfection everywhere…
• In a smile.
• A hug.
• The fresh breeze that undeniably hints of autumn’s arrival
• Two scoops of Breyer’s Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream.
• A pine cone.
• A freshly washed and waxed red sports car.
• A clear, blue sky
• The night sky
• A U.S. Open tennis match…the athletes, the New York night, the crowd
• The smell of freshly cut grass
• A firm, sweet strawberry
• A hot shower
• A glass of ice water, especially when you're really thirsty
• A bird, a squirrel, a deer, a butterfly, a dog and even a cat
• A soft pillow
• A firm handshake
• Laughter
• A campfire
• In an olive-green acorn with its “hat still on”

The list is endless. Have you stopped? Have you noticed?

4 Days, 4 Books, 1 Story

2010-08-12T10:27:00.005-04:00

I've spent time, each of the last four days, reading the Gospels—Mathew, Mark, Luke and John. Four books, one story.

But rather than critically examining each verse or dissecting the message of a particular chapter, I chose to read one gospel each day, in one sitting. In addition, I tried to do so NOT as a pastor, and NOT even as a Christian, but from the perspective of someone who knew nothing about Jesus. I wanted to meet Jesus for the first time.

After reading the last gospel, I jotted down a few conclusions from my four-day adventure. I share them with you below.

1. Salvation is more about a life lived now than about a destination in the future.

2. Jesus’ call to us, that we follow him, is crystal clear. And he wants all or nothing. For someone to call him- or herself a Christian without desiring to actually be a devoted follower of Christ in daily practice is completely ridiculous.

3. The gospels offer you and me fabulous and credible hope.

4. Jesus is smart.

5. Jesus is humble.

6. Jesus is relentless in the pursuit of his calling.

7. Jesus loves me……more than I’ll ever understand.

Would you do this? 4 Days, 4 Books, 1 Story.

Does God Exist?

2010-07-09T14:35:00.008-04:00

How can we believe in Christianity if we don’t even know whether God exists?

I, quite surprisingly, ran into an old college friend at Barnes & Noble some time ago. While catching up on the news from our lives since we had last talked (probably a decade before), my friend told me that he no longer believed in the existence of a God.

I met with a group of friends over pizza and ice cream not long ago. For whatever reason, we ended up in a discussion about science and religion and faith. Two people in that group said they could not be sure that God exists.

I met a couple at Starbucks less than a month ago. I chatted with the couple for a while, and they volunteered to me that they were atheists.

I talk to a surprising number of people these days who describe themselves as “agnostic” or “atheist.” And unless you’ve been comatose or completely AWOL from books and other media over the past twenty-five years, you are probably aware of the changing landscape of faith in America. It has seen the rise of several streams of thinking and behavior. Among them is a massive decline in church attendance, a merging of faith traditions, a more general acceptance that all religions are equally good or bad, a reinterpretation of the Christian scriptures in view of historical and archaeological discoveries (think Jesus Seminar et. al.), and a growing debate over whether God even exists.

And these streams have given life to other streams with implications for education, politics, entertainment, morality, parenting and community in America. Needless to say, there are a lot of changes afoot.

I’m not attempting, in this blog post, to give sufficient commentary to any one of these streams. I do, however, want to comment on my own experience with two questions: Does God exist? And, if so, what is he like?

My experience has been shaped by conversations with many people from religious and non-religious backgrounds, a wealth of time spent thinking and praying, and a fair amount of reading that has impacted my perspectives on God, the Bible, evolution and faith.

Below are some of the books on this topic that I’ve read during this season of my life—books that in one way or another have helped shape my thinking about God, whether he exists, and, if so, what he might be like (plenty of websites post articles that are also worth reading). Reading these books doesn’t make me an expert on the topic. Not even close. But I do think it gives me some measure of credibility to make a few “mid-season” observations.

Here is the book list (skip if you want) followed by some random thoughts:

BOOKS ARGUING FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD

The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism by Timothy Keller.
Knowing Christ Today: Why We Can Trust Spiritual Knowledge by Dallas Willard
A Fine Tuned Universe: the Quest for God in Science and Theology by Alister McGrath
Why the Universe is the Way It Is by Hugh Ross
Fabricating Jesus: How Modern Scholars Distort the Gospels by Craig Evans
The Case for the Real Jesus/Faith/Christ/Creator by Lee Strobel (four books)
Faith and Doubt by John Ortberg
The Language of God: A Scientists Presents Evidence for Belief by Francis Collins
The Privileged Planet: How Our Place in the Cosmos is Designed for Discovery by Guilermo Gonzalez
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Books not written to make the case FOR or AGAINST the existence of God, but helpful in shaping one’s view of God, Jesus and the Bible

The Genesis Question by Hugh Ross
The First Three Minutes: A Modern View of the Origins of the Universe by Steven Weinberg
The First Christmas by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan
The Last Week by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan
The Challenge of Jesus by N.T. Wright
No One Sees God: The Dark Night of Atheists and Believers by Robert Novak
God and Empire by John Dominic Crossan
Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection and the Mission of the Church by N.T. Wright
Walking the Bible by Bruce Feiler
Where God Was Born by Bruce Feiler
The Gifts of the Jews by Thomas Cahill
Desire of the Everlasting Hills by Thomas Cahill
The Rise of Christianity by Rodney Stark
Cities of God by Rodney Stark
Putting Jesus in His Place by Robert Bowman
The Last Word: Beyond Bible Wars to a New Understanding of the Authority of Scripture by N.T. Wright
Backgrounds of Early Christianity by Everett Ferguson
The Jews in the Time of Jesus by Stephen Wylen
The Resurrection of Jesus: John Dominic Crossan and N.T. Wright in Dialogue Edited by Robert Stewart
Excavating Jesus: Beneath the Stones, Behind the Texts by John Dominic Crossan
The Varieties of Scientific Experience by Carl Sagan
Called Out of Darkness by Anne Rice
Our Father Abraham: Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith by Marvin Wilson

BOOKS ARGUING AGAINST THE EXISTENCE OF GOD

The Greatest Show on Earth, by Richard Dawkins
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin
The Evolution of God by Robert Wright
Losing my Religion by William Lobdell
God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens
Evolution for Everyone: How Darwin’s Theory Can Change the Way We Think About Our Lives by David Sloan Wilson
The End of Faith by Sam Harris
Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by Daniel Dennett

Now some CONCLUSIONS that reflect my current beliefs and experiences. I do not give explanations for these conclusions, as this blog is already too long and is not written in an attempt to convince or persuade.

CONCLUSION #1 – This is a paraphrase from Dallas Willard: “Doubt your beliefs and believe your doubts, but also doubt your doubts and believe your beliefs. This is how knowledge grows.”

CONCLUSION #2 – Knowledge and intellectual discovery is a friend of faith.

CONCLUSION #3 – There was a time when the universe did not exist. (Scientists used to think the universe has just always been there, but not anymore.)

CONCLUSION #4 – In view of #3 above, one has two choices: a) There was nothing and then the universe existed or b) There was something and then the universe existed. I believe something existed prior to the creation of the universe.

CONCLUSION #5 – A non-physical being/reality existed prior to the creation of the universe, and that being/reality caused the universe to come into existence. The Bible calls that being “God.”

CONCLUSION #6 – The Big Bang is the way God brought the universe into being. (The Bible describes this as happening through the “word of God.” “God spoke and it was so,” the writer of Genesis 1 tells us.) There is A LOT we don’t know about the Big Bang—how it happened, why it happened, how something non-physical creates physical matter.

CONCLUSION #7 – Scientifically speaking, everything we know about the universe comes after the Big Bang.

CONCLUSIONS #8 – Evolutionism isn’t contrary to Creationism. They don’t answer the same questions. In order for evolution to occur, created matter had to already exist. Therefore the theory of evolution can’t argue against the existence of a God. (Interestingly, the title of Darwin’s famous book, On The Origin of Species, isn’t about their origin at all, at least in terms of the creation of matter. It’s about Darwin’s view of the origin of the contemporary species from other species.)

CONCLUSION #8 – Atheists have a self-contradicting logic. This is a paraphrase from Timothy Keller: “Atheistic evolutionists say that people believe in God not because he really exists, but because that belief has helped humans survive and thrive. Thus, they say, we are ‘hard-wired’ for belief in God. But if we cannot trust our ‘belief-forming faculties’ to tell us the truth about God, then how can we trust them to tell us the truth about anything, including evolutionary science?” For the evolutionist, the theory of evolution can only be trusted to give us the kind of mind that will help us survive, thrive and reproduce, not discover truth.

CONCLUSION #9 – Science has not shown that the essence of Christian teaching is false or baseless. For example, if the universe is 14 billion years-old and the earth is 4.5 billion years-old, that is still compatible with Biblical faith.

CONCLUSION # 10 – The traditional Judeo-Christian view of God is immensely incomplete and not without its share of errors. This should not be surprising since, as the Apostle Paul says, “We see through a glass darkly.” What is unfortunate is the arrogance and dogmatism with which too many Christians practice their faith.

CONCLUSION # 11 – The evidence points towards an incredibly great, non-physical being that has personality and then manifests himself in history in what we would call the miraculous (i.e. Jesus’ birth, life, death, resurrection).

CONCLUSION #12 – The person, life and teachings of Jesus, are the best way for us to understand the personality of God and how we can experience that God.

CONCLUSION #13 – There is an experiential dimension to knowing about God and is talked about in books like The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard and An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor.

CONCLUSION # 14 – Because there is life/existence outside of the physical world, I have great confidence that after I die physically, I will soon experience what Jesus describes as “everlasting life” (John 3:16).

CONCLUSION #15 – Although there cannot be irrefutable proof for God’s existence, I believe there are strong clues, that, when taken together, point towards God’s existence and interaction in our world. Among these are a) the Big Bang; b) cosmology and our fined-tuned universe; c) beauty (in music, art, books, movies, and nature) that evokes a real and deep interior response; d) the moral law; e) the human propensity to hope and want meaning; f) human history—my own included!; g) Jesus

Not Just Fireworks, Baseball, Hot Dogs and Apple Pie

2010-07-03T12:38:00.010-04:00

Several years ago I traveled with my family to Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and Washington D.C. We took in all the familiar sights, tracing much of the history of the American Revolution.

I was reminded of that trip this week as I read the book Patriots: The Men Who Started The American Revolution. It’s a good, fairly fast read. And this weekend I am moved and inspired, again, by the hearts and minds of our founding fathers.

I believe that when one reads about and remembers the vision and sacrifices of those who gave so much to guarantee our freedom, it does great things to that individual's heart, mind and will.

So this weekend let’s enjoy the fireworks, baseball, hot dogs and apple pie. But let’s also remember the freedom we enjoy and the sacrifices of the men and women, the Patriots, who were authors of the American Revolution and of our nation.

Don’t let the weekend pass without at least re-reading the Declaration of Independence or “google-ing” one of these names/words that evoke so much emotion and inspiration:

John Adams

Ben Franklin

Samuel Adams

Alexander Hamilton

Thomas Paine

Thomas Jefferson

Paul Revere

Patrick Henry

George Washinton

John Hancock

Richard Henry Lee

The Boston Tea Party

Lexington and Concord

Bunker Hill

Battle of Saratoga

Valley Forge

Battle of Yorktown

From our Declaration of Independence

“We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness……For the support of this Declaration with the firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

And finally, this weekend I am reminded of the words of Ronald Reagan, our 40th President…

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

Not Since Harry Potter and...I Love Vuvuzelas!

2010-06-22T14:45:00.005-04:00

Last week my family vacationed at Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. I brought several books I had recently purchased from Amazon.com, and on Tuesday night I started The Language of Life by Francis Collins. It was 10:30pm.

Francis Collins is a world-renowned geneticist and doctor. For fifteen years he was the leader of the international Human Genome Project, the project that, among other things, identified all of genes in human DNA and determined the sequences of the 3 billion chemical base pairs that make up that DNA.

And I did something last Tuesday night that I hadn’t done since the first Harry Potter book came out about a dozen years ago. I read the book in one sitting.

In college I read The Double Helix by James Watson. It’s a short book about the race to discover the structure of DNA in the 1950s. I was finishing up two degrees (in history and music) at the time, but was fascinated by this book about the science of DNA and genetics. After reading it, I actually signed up for a genetics course the following semester.

The Language of Life is similarly fascinating. It’s a book that will permanently change how I think about my body, my health, and the future of science/medicine.

It was 3:00am when I turned the light out and went to bed.

….And on another note……I’ve been watching the World Cup Football (Soccer) Tournament. I’m hooked. Serious drama, intense action.

There are many in America and around the world who are upset about the noisy Vuvuzelas—these trumpets that they have in South Africa which provide a constant, buzzing backdrop to the soccer games. Many have called for their removal or have sworn off watching the matches on TV because of the “irritating” noise.

Here’s my two cents: It’s sort of obnoxious, borderline offensive to me that people in America would say that tournament officials need to ban the Vuvuzelas. “Stop something that is traditional in South Africa,” some say, “because I don’t like it.”

How silly and arrogant…going to another country and telling them to stop behaving in a way that’s traditional for them, because it’s irritating for me to watch on TV. Ridiculous.

Satisfaction!

2010-05-14T12:25:00.004-04:00

There’s a prayer that I’ve started praying recently. It’s from Psalm 90:14.

“Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love so that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”

Now if the text started “Satisfy us in the morning with ______________”, and there was actually a blank for me to fill in, I wonder if I’d finish the prayer the same way the psalmist did? I mean, I can see myself praying, “Satisfy me in the morning with more money so that I may sing for joy and pay off my bills without stress.”

“Satisfy me in the morning with deeper friendships so I will sing for joy and have someone I can always depend on.”

“Satisfy me in the morning with more success so I will sing for joy be glad all the way until I cash out my 401K and retire in Florida.”

“Satisfy me in the morning with a stronger, leaner body so I can sing for joy and others can admire me when they see how ripped I am.”

But the text is NOT left blank. It goes on. “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love” the psalmist prays.

I’ve been praying that prayer because I believe that even though sometimes I think I’d like other things more (and much of society would have me believe I need other things more), there is truly no greater need in my life than to be filled up with and satisfied by the unfailing love of my Creator and Savior, Jesus Christ.

And I believe that the psalmist is right, too. If I am filled up with God’s unfailing love for me, then I can sing for joy and be glad all my days. If I am satisfied by God’s love for me, then I don’t have to seek approval and satisfaction elsewhere. If I allow God’s unfailing love to quench my deepest thirst, then I don’t have to spend my days managing others’ impressions of me or living up to someone else’s expectations of me. I’m already fully and satisfyingly loved.

And when that happens, there is a beautiful consequence that extends beyond me. Not only am I satisfied, but I’m able to give the best of myself to my spouse, my children, my friends, my neighbors, my co-workers, my classmates, and everyone else I encounter throughout my day. I’m able to give my best because those relationships aren’t junked up with other motives and false hopes. I’m already overflowing with God’s love for me, and so I’m free to let God’s love spill out of me and onto those around me.

I love that prayer!! And if I could give you any gift today it would be the gift of knowing and living from the satisfying joy of the Lord.

I hope it's your gift. I hope you know God's love really, really deeply. I hope you ask him for it this day--and every day.

I'd Like a Heart Like That

2010-04-14T12:17:00.004-04:00

Last Sunday we started a series at my church on the life of King David, the second king of the nation of Israel. He lived around 1000 B.C. and has since been described by scholars as “the quintessential winner” and “the first superstar…a man whose ambition always drives him to the head of the pack.” One historian remarked that “if you had to name a single renaissance man in human history it would be King David.”

David was a skilled musician, a powerful warrior, and a savvy statesman. Bestselling author Jonathan Kirsch describes him as having, “the romantic lyricism and tragic grandeur of Shakespeare, the political wile of Machiavelli, and the modern psychological insight of Freud.”

When Isaiah prophesied (Isa. 11:1) about the coming of the Messiah, he had the choice to mention any ancestor he wanted. He chose David.

The last person mentioned in the entire Bible is David. In Revelation 22:16 Jesus says, “I am the offspring of David and the bright and Morning Star.”

Outside of the Mona Lisa, arguably the best known single work of art in the world, certainly the most famous sculpture, is Michelangelo’s “David,” a seventeen-foot-high marble sculpture in Florence, Italy. To this day the flag that flies over Israel features the Star of David. David’s reign is still remembered as the golden age of Israel.

1 Samuel 13:14 and later Acts 13:22 refer to him as a “man after God’s own heart.”

He was truly a remarkable man. And yet he was remarkably human.

He was joyful on some occasions and despondent on others. He was selfish one day and generous the next. He was sinning one moment and repenting the next. He was a liar, a trickster, an extortionist, a seducer, and a murderer.

But last week we discovered that what was most remarkable about David, what really drew God to him and he to God, was not his external accomplishments or external failures. It was his heart.

David had a heart of passion, a heart that was fueled by gratitude and strengthened by plentiful times of solitude.

In a day when most people were tired, worn-out, thirsty and starving for life and joy and peace, David found a passion that fueled his daily existence.

I think we live in a similar time. Robert Capon, a retired Episcopal priest, writes in his book “The Astonished Heart,” that “we are in a war between dullness and astonishment.”

Mike Yaconelli, in his book “Dangerous Wonder,” suggests that:
“The most critical issue facing Christians is not abortion, pornography, the disintegration of the family, moral absolutes, MTV, drugs, racism, sexuality or school prayer. The critical issue today is dullness. We have lost our astonishment. The Good News is no longer good news, it is okay news. Christianity is no longer life changing, it is life enhancing. Jesus doesn’t change people into wild-eyed radicals anymore. He changes them into “nice people.”

I resonate with Yaconelli’s thoughts. And I wonder sometimes, what happened to Christians whose hearts were on fire, who once lived with a passionate love for God and everyone they met, but who now have lost that energy and life-vision? What happened to their hearts?

What about you? How is your heart doing?

One thing I know today. I don’t want to go to my grave with a heart that never reached its maximum passion quotient. And I don’t think you do either. I want to feel passion today and tomorrow morning and until my last breath on this earth.

David lived that kind of life and had that kind of heart.

That’s why we are doing this series. I believe we can learn from David.

As part of that learning, we are reading the Psalms together over the next two months. One psalm a day. I hope you’ll join me in this series and as a result we will experience the life Psalm 1 describes like this:
“Oh, the joys of those who do not
follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand around with sinners,
or join in with mockers.
But they delight in the law of the Lord,
meditating on it day and night.
They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
and they prosper in all they do.”

What a Week!

2010-03-21T22:46:00.007-04:00

This month my church community completes the funding of our 8th freshwater well in Africa (our third in Ethiopia)!

Ethiopia:

Capital – Addis Ababa

Population – 85 million

No Water – 49 million

No Sanitation – 75.9 million

Infant Mortality – 8%

Below Poverty – 38.7%

Today at church we kicked off a special week of thinking, praying, reflecting and donating for this cause. On Sunday, March 28, our entire service will be a celebration of what God has done through us to bring life-saving and life-giving fresh water to our neighbors in Ethiopia.

In preparation for that celebration, this week we invited each member of our congregation to participate in a special week of thought and celebration! Below is a brief calendar of each day’s events.

Sunday, March 21 – Communion and Church-wide Prayer Day for Africa.

Monday, March 22 – A Day of Music. We are devoting ourselves to listening to and being moved/challenged by on the following songs: (legally purchased and downloaded songs were used to make a five-song CD for everyone in our congregation)

-Where the Streets Have No Name, by U2

-Another Day in Paradise, by Phil Collins

-This Is My Father’s World, by Fernando Ortega

-My Desire, by Jeremy Camp

-How He Loves, by David Crowder

Tuesday, March 23 – A Day for Scripture Reflection. We are devoting ourselves to reading and reflecting on these passages of scripture:

-1 John 3:1; 16-18

-Micah 6:6

-Luke 6:27-36

-Deuteronomy 24:17-22

Wednesday, March 24 – A Day for Thinking. We are devoting ourselves to reading and reflecting on short, but highly challenging, paragraphs from the following books:

-The Hole in Our Gospel: What does God Expect of Us?, by Richard Stearns

-The End of Poverty, by Jeffrey Sachs.

-Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis

Thursday, March 25 – A Day of Online Exploration. We are checking out these websites:

http://www.globalissues.org/

http://www.one.org/international/

http://water.org/

Friday, March 26 – A Water Party. We gather for a church-wide, evening meal to celebrate the week and to talk about our experiences and learning.

Saturday, March 27 – A Water Fast. We are using only one gallon of water (provided at the March 21 weekend service) for the entire day. That includes hand washing, teeth brushing and food preparation. It will also mean no showers! Why?

Not because there is any extra credit points in heaven or at the church for doing this.

Not because there is any inherent value in the act of abstinence itself.

Not so we can brag or feel boastful about how much self-control we have.

WHY?

Because it gives us a wonderful opportunity to take a day to be poignantly reminded of our own blessings and of the plight of so many around the world without access to plentiful and clean water. As we submit this day to God, through the power of His Spirit, we can be physically, mentality and spiritually moved to deeper levels of love towards God and others.

Sunday, March 28 – A Water Celebration. A celebration of God’s amazing love for our world with testimonies, stories, worship, teaching and a special church-wide lunch immediately following the service.

In addition, each day a church-wide email is going out, written by different members in response to each day’s activities.

Gonna be a great week!

I'll Give You $32.61, But It Will Cost You

2010-02-23T09:59:00.004-05:00

I just finished reading a wonderful, fascinating, thought-provoking book by Harvard professor Michael J. Sandel. The book is called "Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?"

Truly a great read. I can't imagine anyone not being a better person and a better thinker after reading it.

So here's my deal. I'll give you $32.61 to meet me at any Starbucks within 20 miles of my home and talk about the book (after you've read it!).

$16.50 plus $4.99 shipping and handling for the book at Amazon.com
$5.12 for two gallons of unleaded gasoline.
$6.00 for the coffee and scone.

Offer ends March 23!

Check out Sandel's website at:

http://www.justiceharvard.org/

Several of his lectures are also available at Ted.com and on YouTube.

Haiti: When Tragedy Strikes

2010-01-14T08:56:00.000-05:00

I went to bed two nights ago with breaking news of a 7.0-magnitude earthquake devastating Haiti.

I woke up this morning to tragic reports of tens of thousands trapped, missing or dead in the aftermath of the quake.

Tragedy. What do we do about Haiti while living in Atlanta? How should we respond to a tragedy like this or any other of the dozens of tragedies that strike so often?

I believe the first response to tragedy is to pray. Pray for the victims of the quake, pray for their families, pray for rescue workers, pray for doctors, pray for those who will soon start the process of rebuilding. Pray without ceasing. The Bible is crystal clear that there is a power to prayer. How prayer “works” is sometimes a wonderful mystery and sometimes a frustrating enigma. Nevertheless we are called to devote ourselves to prayer (Colossians 4) and are promised that prayer is powerful (James 5). I hope that we are all praying for those in Haiti as well as praying for those in our family, our neighborhoods, our city and our world who are facing tragedies of their own.

The second response to tragedy is to act. For some of us that means being a shoulder to cry on. For others of us that means crying alongside the one who is experiencing tragedy. For some of us that means simply being a good listener. For others of us it means freeing up time and money to physically help those in the midst of the tragedy. For some it might mean giving up travel to a vacation destination to instead travel to the sight of a tragedy. For others it might mean giving up several evenings at home watching TV to instead spend several evenings physically serving a neighbor or a friend in need. As we submit our lives to God’s Spirit, he will lead each of us to respond differently. But you can be certain that he will lead us to act!

The third response to tragedy is to refuse to over-spiritualize or make judgments about why the tragedy occurred. In almost any tragedy there will be some who say tragedy struck because of a person’s or a nation’s sin. “God is punishing them,” they claim. A claim like this is not only irresponsible and self-righteous, it’s almost certainly false. God didn’t cause the Haiti quake. God didn’t cause your suffering. In fact he mourns alongside each of us. What caused the quake? Well, simply put, it was caused by the physics of plate tectonics. Immense plates at the surface of the Earth are in constant motion over a flow of rock beneath. The plates often rub together, pull part, collide or dive under one another. As this motion continues, the strain builds up to the point where the rock cannot withstand any more tension. Finally the rock breaks, and the two sides move. An earthquake is the shaking that radiates out from the breaking rock. That’s the truthful response to why the quake happened!

The fourth response, one that is best given only after an appropriate time has passed since the tragedy, is to acknowledge that, even though God didn’t cause the tragedy, he does desire to work through the tragedy to grow your faith and mine. God can bring good from the bad. In fact, God can bring good IN the bad. We live in a world that makes a fundamental distinction between good and bad, happy and sad, joy and sorrow. “They are always opposites. When you are happy, you can’t be sad,” we are told. And so we read articles and buy books and listen to experts that tell us how we can run from pain and towards happiness. But we are rarely told that joy can found by running in the same direction as pain. And thus death, illness, financial and relational pain all have to be overcome or ignored because they keep us from the joy for which we strive.

But that notion of happiness and joy is opposed to Jesus’ own vision. Jesus taught (and modeled) that true joy can be found amidst sorrow and that, in the words of Henri Nouwen, “the dance of life finds its beginnings in grief.” Jesus taught that “until a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it cannot bear fruit (John 12); that unless we lose our lives, we cannot find them (Matthew 10); that “a woman gives birth in pain, but soon forgets the suffering, overcome with the joy of a new life born into the world. (John 16:21).

Again Henri Nouwen:
“[Jesus] reveals a completely new way of living. It is the way in which pain can be embraced, not out of a desire to suffer, but in the knowledge that something new will be born in the pain…. The cross has become the most powerful symbol of this new vision. The cross is a symbol of death and of life, of suffering and of joy, of defeat and of victory.”

Jesus never desires or revels in pain, but he does show us that something new and good can emerge from the rubble.

And that leads to a fifth response to tragedy, which is to remember. Remember that we live in an imperfect world for which we were not made. We were made for eternity. We were made for a world of no sin, no tears and no dying. And one day we will experience that world for which we were made. Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart I have overcome the world (John 16).” Paul wrote in Romans 8:18-23:

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved.”

And so we eagerly wait for that great day. And while we wait, we pray, we act, we refuse to judge, and we cling to our faith that beauty can arise amid the ashes.

Lists 2009

2009-12-25T22:19:00.001-05:00

Last year I started what I think will be a fun, annual post for me to look back on, in a few months and in several years.

Here are my top five lists from this year.

Top Five Movies I Saw:
1. The Blind Side

2. Taken

3. Defiance

4. State of Play

5. Ratatouille (on video with my family… “anyone can cook.”)

Top Five Websites I Visited:
1. Ted.com
2. Ajc.com
3. Pandora.com
4. CBSsportsline.com

5. Tarheelblue.com

Top Five Books I Read:

1. Justification by N.T. Wright

2. Hole in the Gospel by Richard Stearns

3. The Last Week by John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg

4. The Future of Management by Gary Hammel

5. Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore

Honorable Mentions:

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

SuperFreakonomics by Levitt and Dubner

How the Mighty Fall by Jim Collins

Top Five Restaurants I Ate At:
1. Sweet Tomatoes
2. Cheesecake Factory
3. Sid's Pizza
4. Subway

5. La Parilla

Top Five Things I'm Really Glad I Spent My Time Doing:

1. Growing my relationship with my wife and children

2. Being with my church family on Sunday mornings.
3. Tutoring kids at Esther Jackson Elementary School
4. Helping fund the digging of freshwater wells in Africa
5. Spending time with friends

Ten Great Memories

1. Baptizing my son at Lake Lanier

2. A week at the beach with my wife in January

3. A summer road trip to Niagara Falls with my son

4. Tucking my daughter in at night and picking her up from school

5. Teaching from the scriptures on Sunday mornings

6. Talking on the phone with my parents

7. March Madness -- The Tarheels win it all!

8. Sunday nights at Taco Mac

9. Late night game nights with friends

10. Early morning coffee with friends

Questions for Christmas

2009-12-04T08:37:00.000-05:00

We ask and answer dozens of questions this time of year. Sometimes we pause, ponder, and even get "stressed-out" over these questions before answering them. Other times we act on them (and therefore answer them) without even giving them much thought at all.

Will I travel to see friends or family this year?
What will be the drama with that relative(s) this year?
How much time will I take off of work?
Would it be wise for me to attend the office party this year?
Should I attend the neighborhood party?
How many outdoor lights and decorations will I put up?
Should I go to a special Christmas concert/play/production this year?
How much should I spend on a tree? Real or artificial? White bulbs or bulbs of all colors?
What food will I eat? Since it's the holidays, I shouldn't worry, though, right?
How much should I spend on presents? Since it's the holidays, I shouldn't worry, though, right?
When should I do my Christmas shopping? Should I do it online or brave the traffic and the crowds?
Who do I need to buy presents for?
What should I get my spouse?
What should I get my parents?
Shouldn't I do something for those less fortunate than I am?
Do I need to do anything "special" this time of year?
Is Jesus even real?
Jesus wasn't born on December 25, anyway, right?
When do I tell my kids the truth about Santa?
Have I been naughty or nice?

And the list could go on and on and on.
We ask and answer dozens of questions this time of year.

But there is one question that I don't think gets asked and seriously, reflectively, prayerfully thought about enough. And that's this:

What are God's plans for this holiday season?

Wouldn't it be great to have God knock on your door tonight, come inside, sit down at your kitchen table and, over a glass of eggnog, let you in on His plans for the next twenty-one days? (Okay, everything but the eggnog sounds great).

I wonder, though, if God's plans for these holidays are the same as yours and mine?
And, short of God actually knocking on my door, how would I discover His plans?

Well, I want to suggest here that discovering the answer to this question is possible. Although I think it will require at least two things.

First, it will require Surrendering. Surrendering is not being passive or lazy or mad about giving in. It's saying "God, I want, I choose to surrender the next twenty-one days to you."

Surrendering means I set aside a time and a quiet place to actually get out my calendar, open it up, and ask God, through the power of His Spirit, to help me plan my time between now and December 25. Surrendering means I find a place (the Celtic Christians call it a "thin place," a place where the wall between God and you is so thin that he can break right through.) to actually get out my credit card statement and my checkbook and ask God to help me plan my spending habits between now and the 25th. Surrendering means I actually ask God to show me what people he would like me to interact with and bless between now and Christmas Day.

And then, discovering God's plans for these holidays requires Responding. It means that I take steps of trust based on promptings/thoughts I receive during those moments of surrender.

Maybe God has plans for you are to do an act of humble service in your home, your neighborhood, your church, your community or your world.
Maybe his plans for you are to take a step of courage.
Maybe his plans for you are to give a sacrificial gift.
Maybe his plans for you are to receive one.
Maybe his plans for you are to stop working so hard and start spending time with your family. Maybe his plans for you are to stop sitting around the house and start working!
Maybe he plans for you to discover again (or for the first time) his amazing love and grace.

I don't know what God's plans are for you this season. But I do believe that God has plans.

And I trust that if you and I surrender and respond to His plans, it will be one amazing Christmas season!

Philippians 3: Watch Out!

2009-11-19T09:58:00.000-05:00

In Philippians 3:2 Paul writes, “Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh.”

“Watch out!” Paul says. “Watch out!”

That two-word phrase is one we still use from time to time in our culture. And each time it’s used in the context of danger. At a baseball game you may hear something like this: “Watch out for baseballs and bats that may fly into the stands.” On vacation in Rome several years ago, a tour guide said, “Watch out for ‘tourist traps’ and ‘pick-pocketers.’” Before letting my children play outside in the front yard I remind them to “watch out (and listen, too!) for cars. No playing or running in the street.” Some parents warn their teenage daughters before going out, “Watch out for guys who are only interested in one thing” (and that thing ain’t information on your personality or your favorite Bible verse).

“Watch out!” Paul says. "There’s great danger associated with 'those evil dogs.'" (On a side note, this text is proof that God prefers cats to canines!)

That leads to three brief questions:

1. Who are “those dogs?”

2. Why are they so dangerous?

3. What’s the alternative to getting caught up with “those evil dogs?”

“Those dogs” is most likely a reference to those (often Jewish Christians) men who came to a newly established Christian church and preached a “gospel” that mixed the idea of faith in Christ for salvation with the notion that all who want to be part of God’s family must accept the burden of “keeping” the Jewish law. Gentile believers, in their view, basically had to become Jews in order to be saved.

Paul has already witnessed the danger and consequences of this (see his letter to the church in Galatia), and so he wants to warn his friends in Philippi. These “dogs” are extremely dangerous, Paul warns, because they distort the gospel that Jesus preached and lead people to trust in their own “good works” instead of in the faithfulness and grace of Jesus Christ for their hope and salvation. And this this wrong-headed invariably leads to a judgmental spirit, self-righteousness, guilt, discord and an unhealthy view of life’s purpose.

So what’s the alternative? The alternative, Paul says, is to focus on Christ and his faithfulness. Paul writes:

“If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. (verses 4a-9)”

And the result of orienting our lives around the pursuit of Christ and His faithfulness, Paul says, is the joy of a relationship with Jesus, the hope and purpose that comes with experiencing the power of His resurrection and the fellowship that ensues when we share in his sufferings.

Philippians 3 talks about two very different approaches to a relationship with God. One leads to life, hope and and faith-filled purpose and the other to frustration, finger-pointing and fearfulness.

"Watch out!"

Philippians Two and Huey Lewis (when you think about it, that's a pretty cool name)

2009-11-12T08:41:00.001-05:00

(This November our church is devoting ourselves to the letter Paul wrote to the church in Philippi. And from last Sunday to this, our congregation is studying, meditating on, and asking God to speak to us through chapter two of Paul’s letter.)

As I write this, I’m listening to a song called “Forest for the Trees” by Huey Lewis and the News. It’s from their 1986 album, Fore! (Perhaps you are tempted to stop reading this altogether now, either because of your judgment of my musical tastes or the fact that I’m gaining even a measure of inspiration for this writing from that song. But please read on!)

The song’s message is captured in these words:

“Things are never as bad as they seem.
You just gotta learn to see the forest for the trees”

It’s not their best or most popular song, by a long shot. But, ironically, its central message seems to be very similar to one of Paul’s central messages in his letter to the Philippians. Paul says that no matter our circumstances (no matter what “trees” we face in our lives), we would do well to always remember that we have an infinite God with an undying love for us and an eternal plan for our lives (that’s the forest).

That plan is one that God set in motion at creation and one that He started fighting to redeem the day Adam and Eve took a bite from the apple. That plan involves you and me.

That plan involves Jesus,
“6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2).

Two versus later Paul reminds us that that same Jesus will do a work of transformation inside of anyone who will submit his or her heart and mind to Him. It’s a transformation that brings hope amid hopelessness, peace amid problems and an ability to see the forest while standing underneath the trees.

That doesn’t mean we’ll always see life as God sees it. Often we’ll find ourselves discouraged by all the trees. But it does mean that when all we can see are obstacles, there is still reason for hope. We can hope because there is another tree in the forest, an old, rugged tree, where the God of the Forest hung for your sins and mine. We can hope because nothing can separate us from God’s love and God’s grace is still sufficient. We can hope because God is in the transformation business, and he can still make any situation we face work together for the good (Rom. 8:28).

And so that does mean, in a very real way, that “things are never as bad as they seem. You just gotta learn to see the forest for the trees.”

Philippians One

2009-11-05T19:12:00.000-05:00

This November our church is devoting ourselves to the letter Paul wrote to the church in Philippi. He wrote it while sitting in a Roman prison around 60 A.D. It's a small letter, just four chapters in the New Testament. (Paul probably only used a dozen pieces of papyrus when he wrote it). But it's filled with words of wonderful encouragement and hope. And it's a call to a next step of deeper trust, richer hope and purer love.

From last Sunday to this, our congregation is focusing on chapter one of Paul's letter. I've been particularly moved by verses 3-6 over the past couple days.

"3I thank my God every time I remember you. 4In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

I love the idea that Paul thanks God EVERY TIME he thinks of his friends in Philippi. I wonder if there is anyone in your life that you thank God for that regularly. I wonder who in your life needs to hear your words of thanks on a more consistent basis.

I also love the reasons why Paul gives thanks for his friends in Philippi. First Paul gives thanks for them because they have entered into a "partnership" with him in the work of the gospel. It's a consistent, faithful partnership, too, from the first day he preached it among them, until the present. Oh how our world needs more faithful partnerships that aren't tossed to and fro by every whim and changing circumstance!

Paul's second reason for thankfulness to God is his confidence that God will complete the good work he has begun in the Philippians. That's good news for the Philippians.

And that's good news for us, too! It's good news because God's faithfulness is not just limited to the Philippian church of 60 A.D. Throughout history God has demonstrated his faithfulness to anyone who seeks after him. And thus we can have confidence in God's ability to complete the work he's started in us.

And that's good news. It's good news for our friendships. It's good news for our marriages. It's good news for our parenting. It's good news for our neighborhood, our city and our world. It's good news for our own souls.

It's good news because we can get so bogged down with the demands of everyday life. We can so easily get discouraged by our present circumstances. And so Paul writes words worthy of remembering always: "He who began a good work in you, will be faithful to complete it." God is a keeper of promises, and if we'll let him, He will complete the good work he's begun in us.

FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA: IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT FOOTBALL!

2009-10-23T11:49:00.000-04:00

Each Sunday night NBC airs a program called “Football Night in America.” It’s the show that precedes NBC’s broadcast of the Sunday night football game.

Every other Sunday night a group of us get together at a nearby Taco Mac to celebrate. We celebrate football. We celebrate burgers and fries and sugar-filled beverages. We celebrate the Chocolate Chimi (Chocolate and caramel wrapped in flour tortillas and fried golden brown; served with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup.)

Mostly though, we celebrate friendships. There’s no agenda to "celebrate friendship." It’s just that even though we are football fans, we spend most of the time building each other up. We tell good jokes (and bad ones), we laugh a lot, we listen, and we talk about our families, our jobs, great memories from the past, the hopes for the future. It’s safe to say that we always leave feeling more encouraged than when we came.

I tell you that for two reasons.

First, anyone reading this is welcome to join us! I doubt you’ll be sitting in a rocking chair someday wishing you had gone to bed earlier when you were younger. Rather, I’d say there’s a good chance you’ll be sitting in that rocking chair telling your grandkids about the days when you used to stay up ‘til 11:30pm sharing life with friends over some football game and one darn good Chocolate Chimi.

Second, I tell you this because part of living life in the Kingdom of God involves sharing the life you are living with others. And, sure, that means gathering together on Sunday mornings for worship and teaching. Yes that means meeting during the week to study the Bible together. Of course it means praying with a friend over the phone. For sure it means digging wells in Africa together and tutoring at Esther Jackson (the nearby public school members of our church volunteer at). Of course it means bringing a meal to your neighbors when they are celebrating the birth of a child or mourning the death of a loved one. I’m 100% certain it means encouraging the discouraged (1 Thess. 5), sharpening the dull (Prov 27), and loving the unlovely (Luke 6).

But I’m also sure it means just being together, drinking coffee at Starbucks, window shopping at the mall, playing with your kids at a local playground, hiking along a mountain trail or biking along a country road, even at Taco Mac on a Sunday evening Football Night in America.

The Theology of Fun

2009-10-09T23:04:00.000-04:00

This is worth a watch and a discussion about the importance of "fun" and where we ought to find more of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw

I've Never Read "Interview With The Vampire"

2009-08-17T20:49:00.000-04:00

I’ve never read Interview with the Vampire or any other of the twenty-eight-plus books written by Anne Rice. (Her books have sold about 100 million copies, making her one of the most widely read authors in modern history.) But I was intrigued a few weeks ago when, by chance, I heard about a 2008 non-fiction, autobiographical release entitled, Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession.

Rice grew up in the Catholic church, but spent most of her adult life (thirty-eight years) as an avowed atheist. Her book recounts her story from Catholic-school girl to atheist to Christian again.

I want to quote a few chunks of the chapter where she began moving from atheist to adult Christian, because I find it most fascinating and great food for thought and discussion.

Hope you enjoy…

"My faith in atheism was cracking. I went through the motions of being a conscientious atheist, trying to live without religion, but in my heart of hearts, I was losing faith in the “nothingness….”

I’d ask a few questions here and there, but in general this aspect of things didn’t much matter. There was a storm in my heart and soul that had little to do with other people and their decisions. I held out against God and I held out against the church because I thought I was holding out for bitter truth.

But history was telling me every day there could very well be a God. The story of the survival of the Jews told me that there could very well be a God. Everything I was reading—and I was reading more than ever before—was telling me in a secret and insistent voice: Anne, you know there is a God.

Even my time among the skeptics, present and past, sang to me of God. In California, as I’d listened to the passionate stories of civil rights workers or war protestors, I’d heard the voice of conscience, the commitment to high principles, the deep-rooted need to do “good.” No one I ever met was indifferent to conscience or to acute moral responsibility. I saw no evidence even in the most strident anti-religious talk of people who didn’t believe in something, who didn’t suffer inwardly for those beliefs.

One afternoon I accosted my son, Christopher, on the staircase and demanded, “Do you believe in God?”

Here was a young man not yet twenty, brought up to believe in nothing, and in that time of life when beliefs are most easily dismissed. And Christopher, after a moment’s reflection, responded, “Yes, I believe in God…..”

The creation was talking to me of God. My visceral responses to the purple evening sky, to the canopy of oak branches that sheltered our front steps, to the flowers blooming beyond garden fences—my most cherished memories of the beauty of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, or Rio de Janeiro, or Venice, Italy—all this was speaking to me of God.

The music of a violin sang to me of God. The great painting of Giotto and Rembrandt spoke to me of God. An intense study of the lives of various composers spoke to me of God…..The world around me was filled to the brim with God.

And the person of Jesus Christ—the mystery of Jesus and how He’d started a worldwide religion—this weighed on my “rational” mind. Who was He really? Who had He been? Why was twentieth-century America so obsessed with Him?....What was the driving force here behind the Jesus who wouldn’t go away?"

Jimmy Carter and the Church

2009-07-20T20:06:00.000-04:00

I found the article below extremely interesting. Partly because my M.A. Thesis involved work at The Carter Center and an interview with Jimmy Carter himself . But more so, because it raises all kinds of wonderful questions for thoughtful discussion. Here are a few:

When should someone leave a congregation or denomination they are a part of?
Why should someone leave a congregation or denomination they are a part of?
How should someone leave a congregation or denomination they are a part of?
What does the Bible teach about the role of men, women, and children in the church?
How do you read the Bible in a way that leads to correct and not erroneously-held beliefs on issues?
Throughout history how has the church done at living out it's beliefs?

A few months ago, I read a book by William Webb, Slaves, Women & Homosexuals: Exploring the Hermeneutics of Cultural Analysis. It is a very helpful book about how we can read the Bible and apply it more responsibly.

The article, quoted below, is by Ria Misra, contributor to Inside Politics Daily. (it was posted on 7/20/09 at politicsdaily.com)

After more than 60 years together, Jimmy Carter has announced himself at odds with the Southern Baptist Church -- and he's decided it's time they go their separate ways. Via Feministing, the former president called the decision "unavoidable" after church leaders prohibited women from being ordained and insisted women be "subservient to their husbands." Said Carter in an essay in The Age:

At its most repugnant, the belief that women must be subjugated to the wishes of men excuses slavery, violence, forced prostitution, genital mutilation and national laws that omit rape as a crime. But it also costs many millions of girls and women control over their own bodies and lives, and continues to deny them fair access to education, health, employment and influence within their own communities.

And, later:

The truth is that male religious leaders have had -- and still have -- an option to interpret holy teachings either to exalt or subjugate women. They have, for their own selfish ends, overwhelmingly chosen the latter. Their continuing choice provides the foundation or justification for much of the pervasive persecution and abuse of women throughout the world.

After watching everyone from philandering politicians to Iran's president taking a sudden look heavenwards when the roof starts to come down on them, it's refreshing to see Carter calling out the role of religion in the mistreatment of women.

The question for Carter -- and for others who find themselves at odds with leadership -- is, when a group you're deeply involved in starts to move away from your own core beliefs, do you stay and try to change from within or, at some point, do you have to look for the exit? Carter did give the former a shot -- in recent years publicly criticizing and distancing himself from church leadership, while staying involved with his church. Now, he's seeing if absence might do what presence did not.

AND HERE, BELOW, is JIMMY CARTER'S WHOLE ESSAY as it appeared in theage.com.au

by Jimmy Carter

Women and girls have been discriminated against for too long in a twisted interpretation of the word of God.

I HAVE been a practicing Christian all my life and a deacon and Bible teacher for many years. My faith is a source of strength and comfort to me, as religious beliefs are to hundreds of millions of people around the world. So my decision to sever my ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, after six decades, was painful and difficult. It was, however, an unavoidable decision when the convention's leaders, quoting a few carefully selected Bible verses and claiming that Eve was created second to Adam and was responsible for original sin, ordained that women must be "subservient" to their husbands and prohibited from serving as deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military service.

This view that women are somehow inferior to men is not restricted to one religion or belief. Women are prevented from playing a full and equal role in many faiths. Nor, tragically, does its influence stop at the walls of the church, mosque, synagogue or temple. This discrimination, unjustifiably attributed to a Higher Authority, has provided a reason or excuse for the deprivation of women's equal rights across the world for centuries.

At its most repugnant, the belief that women must be subjugated to the wishes of men excuses slavery, violence, forced prostitution, genital mutilation and national laws that omit rape as a crime. But it also costs many millions of girls and women control over their own bodies and lives, and continues to deny them fair access to education, health, employment and influence within their own communities.

The impact of these religious beliefs touches every aspect of our lives. They help explain why in many countries boys are educated before girls; why girls are told when and whom they must marry; and why many face enormous and unacceptable risks in pregnancy and childbirth because their basic health needs are not met.

In some Islamic nations, women are restricted in their movements, punished for permitting the exposure of an arm or ankle, deprived of education, prohibited from driving a car or competing with men for a job. If a woman is raped, she is often most severely punished as the guilty party in the crime.

The same discriminatory thinking lies behind the continuing gender gap in pay and why there are still so few women in office in the West. The root of this prejudice lies deep in our histories, but its impact is felt every day. It is not women and girls alone who suffer. It damages all of us. The evidence shows that investing in women and girls delivers major benefits for society. An educated woman has healthier children. She is more likely to send them to school. She earns more and invests what she earns in her family.

It is simply self-defeating for any community to discriminate against half its population. We need to challenge these self-serving and outdated attitudes and practices - as we are seeing in Iran where women are at the forefront of the battle for democracy and freedom.

I understand, however, why many political leaders can be reluctant about stepping into this minefield. Religion, and tradition, are powerful and sensitive areas to challenge. But my fellow Elders and I, who come from many faiths and backgrounds, no longer need to worry about winning votes or avoiding controversy - and we are deeply committed to challenging injustice wherever we see it.

The Elders are an independent group of eminent global leaders, brought together by former South African president Nelson Mandela, who offer their influence and experience to support peace building, help address major causes of human suffering and promote the shared interests of humanity. We have decided to draw particular attention to the responsibility of religious and traditional leaders in ensuring equality and human rights and have recently published a statement that declares: "The justification of discrimination against women and girls on grounds of religion or tradition, as if it were prescribed by a Higher Authority, is unacceptable."

We are calling on all leaders to challenge and change the harmful teachings and practices, no matter how ingrained, which justify discrimination against women. We ask, in particular, that leaders of all religions have the courage to acknowledge and emphasise the positive messages of dignity and equality that all the world's major faiths share.

The carefully selected verses found in the Holy Scriptures to justify the superiority of men owe more to time and place - and the determination of male leaders to hold onto their influence - than eternal truths. Similar biblical excerpts could be found to support the approval of slavery and the timid acquiescence to oppressive rulers.

I am also familiar with vivid descriptions in the same Scriptures in which women are revered as pre-eminent leaders. During the years of the early Christian church women served as deacons, priests, bishops, apostles, teachers and prophets. It wasn't until the fourth century that dominant Christian leaders, all men, twisted and distorted Holy Scriptures to perpetuate their ascendant positions within the religious hierarchy.

The truth is that male religious leaders have had - and still have - an option to interpret holy teachings either to exalt or subjugate women. They have, for their own selfish ends, overwhelmingly chosen the latter. Their continuing choice provides the foundation or justification for much of the pervasive persecution and abuse of women throughout the world. This is in clear violation not just of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but also the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul, Moses and the prophets, Muhammad, and founders of other great religions - all of whom have called for proper and equitable treatment of all the children of God. It is time we had the courage to challenge these views.

From the Water, Moses AND Clean Water, Bono

2009-06-04T19:06:00.001-04:00

FROM THE WATER...

At my church, I'm in the last weeks of teaching an almost 10-part series on the life of Moses. It's been a blast to teach and has stirred many questions and discussions outside of Sunday morning. And today I'm more convinced than ever that, outside of Jesus, Moses might be the most influential human to ever live. The basic Judeo-Christian worldview today is still influenced by Moses. The Islamic worldview, too, is shaped by their interpretation of the life of Moses.

Several people have asked me what research/books informed my teaching during this series. So below are a few of the more significant ones...

The Bible (seriously if you want to study Moses, become a master of this text first)
The Gifts of the Jews by Thomas Cahill
Walking the Bible by Bruce Feiler
Moses: A Life by Jonathan Kirsch

CLEAN WATER...

A few years ago, led by U2's lead singer, Bono, the ONE campagin began (ONE.org). ONE is a global advocacy and campaigning organization backed by more than 2 million people from around the world dedicated to fighting extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa.

A good friend of mine, Steve, sent me this email today. The email was a forward from David Lane at ONE.org. Since the topic of the email is directly related to my passion (and the passion of many of my friends) to dig wells in Africa (our church has teamed up with our local community to help dig six so far) and the ultimate goal--to be part of bringing clean, safe water to all of Africa--I thought I'd copy/paste part of David Lane's email for you to read....

BEGIN QUOTE
In his Inaugural Address, President Obama said, "let clean waters flow." With those words, he brought recognition to the suffering of 884 million people who do not have access to clean water and 2.5 billion without adequate sanitation.

Senators Durbin and Corker introduced S. 624, The Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2009, a bipartisan bill to make clean water a reality. But with only five cosponsors, the bill isn’t getting the attention it needs for a hearing and further action by Senate leaders. It must have at least 20 cosponsors to move forward.

Now is the time to follow through on Obama’s inaugural pledge to poor countries. Ask your senators, Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, to cosponsor S. 624 now:

http://www.one.org/us/waterfortheworld/o.pl?id=982-3282311-46zd42x&t=2

The petition reads:

Please cosponsor the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2009 (S. 624), and help provide 100 million people with first-time, sustainable access to clean water and sanitation by 2015.

Together, unclean water and poor sanitation are a leading cause of child mortality: an estimated 4,100 children die every day from diarrheal diseases spread through poor sanitation and hygiene. That such conditions continue to exist demonstrates a failure on the part of all nations to provide access to the most basic life-sustaining element: clean water.

The Water for the World Act targets underdeveloped countries with focused initiatives to improve access to clean water and sanitation; fosters global cooperation on research and development; provides technical assistance and capacity-building; provides seed money for the deployment of clean water and sanitation technologies; and strengthens the human infrastructure at USAID and the State Department to implement clean water and sanitation programs.

This bill will help establish the capacity and momentum we need to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on increasing access to water and sanitation by 2015. If those MDG targets are met, the benefits will include a total annual economic return of $22 billion for Africa in saved time, increased productivity and reduced health costs. And 203,000 fewer children will die in 2015 from lack of access to clean water and sanitation.

Thank you for making a difference,

David Lane, ONE.org
END QUOTE

I'm not familiar with all the nuances and all the pros and cons of this bill, but I love the passion and vision and hope behind it.

Influence

2009-05-05T09:59:00.000-04:00

A recent issue of a popular news magazine highlighted 100 of the world’s most influential people. Each “influential” person was highlighted with a brief essay written about them, written by another individual who has witnessed this person’s influence.

I loved reading the magazine. Cover to cover. And while I did not agree with every person selected, the quality of the writing (the sheer excellence in the handling of the English language) and the emotions and ideals it evoked were inspiring, challenging and beautiful all at once.

Below are excerpts from just six of the one-hundred essays. Each excerpt below was written about a different person.

With one exception, I’ve deleted the names of the people being written about. I’ve done so for two reasons. First, it allows you to put your own name in the blank…."what if these things were being written about me and were true of me?" Second, it eliminates potential bias you might have against the person and their selection in the “Top 100” which could result in an inability to wrestle with the qualities being written about. The point isn’t whether or not you agree with each author’s analysis, but the ideals and qualities it calls out in each of us.

If I ever had to be stuck in a long line. I would like to be stuck there with _______. It wouldn’t matter what we were waiting for or how long it would take to get it. It wouldn’t even matter if it was the kind of line we had to camp out on because it went around the block. It’s nice to stand around with ______. He’s interesting because he’s interested. He asks great questions, and he waits for the answers. He has a sort of wondrous capacity for wonder.

His courage—the courage to go first, to lead, where none have gone before—is unmatched. When he speaks, he gives those who hear him confidence: not in him but in themselves. It was said of Cicero that when people heard him, they turned to on another and said, “Great speech”; but when Demosthenes spoke, people turned to one another and said, “Let’s march.” People are marching with ___________.

She is a fighter for causes that count. Whether people agree with _____________ or not, they learn quickly that it is worth paying attention to what she has to say.

I have never seen such tenacity, such ambition, such fight and such honor go into every shot as when I watch Rafael Nadal.

It has been said that after meeting with the great British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, you left feeling he was the smartest person in the world, but after meeting with his rival Benjamin Disraeli, you left thinking you were the smartest person. That latter touch is the essence of _____________.

It’s said the average human has 100,000 heartbeats a day. ________ may not have more of them than the rest of us, but each one is powered by purpose. And every year, somehow she reminds us anew of the song that plays in our best dreams.

Quitting Church

2009-03-02T12:10:00.001-05:00

The topics for our church services this March were created by our congregation. Throughout February we surveyed the congregation and asked them what they wanted us to talk about at our weekend services. They turned in many questions, and our church elders chose five to teach about.

I thought you might be interested in seeing them all. So here they are in no particular order.

Is Jesus the only way to God?

How important is Jesus to my spiritual journey?

How can I know for sure Jesus was raised from the dead?

How to deal with stress

The Bible. How do I read it and apply it.

Why is church is important?

How can I express how I feel and not be scared to do so.

How can I earn trust in a relationship?

Heaven and Hell

How can I know I’m going to heaven when I die?

Divorce

Money

Your thoughts on the economy

Stress

I’m too busy. How can I slow down without neglecting responsibilities?

More marriage topics please (we had just finished a series on marriage)

How to communicate love to someone who is very different from you

Dealing with life fatigue

How can I serve?

Loneliness

Finding meaningful friendships

Help me find passion for life

Why is the Bible so hard to read?

Out of those topics we created this series:

WHAT ABOUT THAT?: The Weekend Series You Created

March 1 — Spiritual Perspectives on the Economy

March 8 — Heaven and Hell

March 15 — Making 21st-century Sense of the 1st-century Bible

March 22 — Finding Peace and Sanity Amid Life’s Ceaseless Demands

March 29 — How Can I Know Jesus Was Raised From the Dead?

On another note, I just finished reading a very interesting, sobering book titled Quitting Church by Julia Duin, religion Editor at the Washington Times. It’s a very thought-provoking book that I’d love to discuss with anyone who wants to read it and meet me at Starbucks for some coffee. Any takers? Among her findings are that on any given weekend only 18-20% of Americans attend church. And for good reasons.

Lists

2009-01-20T07:37:00.000-05:00

Time Magazine's cover a few weeks ago was all about lists. It was called "The List Issue" and had dozens of "best of 2008" lists including things like "Top Ten TV Series," "Top 10 Crime Stories," "Top 10 Buzzwords," and "Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs."

So I thought I'd make a few 2008 lists of my own.

Top Five Movies I Saw:
1. Gran Torino
2. Charlie Wilson's War
3. Body of Lies
4. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
5. Horton Hears a Who (on a "date" with my five-year old daughter)

Top Five Websites I Visited:
1. Ted.com
2. Thunderstruck.org
3. Pandora.com
4. Tarheelblue.com
5. CNN.com & CBSsportsline.com

Top Five Books I Read:
1. Surprised By Hope by N.T. Wright
2. The Language of God by Francis Collins
3. The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs
4. God and Empire: Jesus Against Rome, Then and Now by John Dominic Crossan
5. This Is Your Brain on Music by Daniel Levitin

Top Five Restaurants I Ate At:
1. Cheesecake Factory
2. La Parilla
3. Ledo's Pizza
4. Sid's Pizza
5. Frontera's

Top Five Things I'm Really Glad I Spent My Time Doing:
1. Growing my relationship with my wife and children
2. Tutoring kids at Esther Jackson Elementary School
3. Helping fund the digging of freshwater wells in Africa
4. Being with my church family on Sunday mornings.
5. Spending time with friends (esp. watching football at Taco Mac and hanging out at Starbucks)

I'd recommend making a few lists of your own. In addition to being fun, it's a good exercise in reflecting on how/where you spent your time/energy in 2008 and where you want to focus your time/energy in 2009.

O Christmas Tree

2008-12-19T13:39:00.000-05:00

Sarah, Ethan, Emma and I drove to Home Depot to buy our Christmas tree a couple weeks ago. The day after Thanksgiving, to be exact. We waited until late afternoon because it had rained all day, and we were hoping it would stop before we went. But when we climbed into the caravan, a lazy drizzle was still falling, and it was cold (in the mid-40s). But it was the day after Thanksgiving. And ever since we’ve been married, we always get our tree on that day.

I didn’t grab a jacket (I was wearing a long sleeved shirt) because Home Depot is only a few minutes from our house, and I figured we’d only be outside for five or ten minutes while we picked the tree. Emma didn’t want to bring a jacket, either, and she was adamant about wearing flip flops. We figured we would let her since it was a minor thing and, after all, good parents “major in the majors” and “minor in the minors.”

When we arrived at Home Depot we walked to the outdoor section where the trees were being sold. Douglas Firs, Balsam Firs, Fraser Firs, Scotch Pines, White Pines, White Spruces, Norway Spruces and Blue Spruces—there are lots of varieties to choose from. We always get Fraser Firs, so that decision was easy. And we figured the selection process would be quick since we were the only customers outside and would have unhindered access to the Fraser Fir section. Easy and Quick. Quick and Easy.

We often vacillate between purchasing the 7-8 feet-tall firs or the 8-9 feet-tall firs. So we checked the prices and decided that the first option was the best for us. And about that time Emma said, “Daddy, I’m cold.”

The problem was there were only five or six Fraser Firs left (a new shipment would be arriving in the next day or two), and they had clearly been picked over by a stream of previous customers earlier in the day. Nevertheless, I stood each one up, shook it out and held it straight as Sarah stood several yards away to see how it looked. Height, girth, even distribution of branches, needle-color and overall shape are all things that must be considered.

The first tree was too short (more like 6’ 11” than 7-8 ft.). The second was too thin. The third had a gaping hole absent of branches about two thirds of the way up. The fourth had a definite yellow tint to the needles. The last one looked like the leaning tower of Pisa even when I held the trunk straight. And I promise I held the trunk as straight as I could. Emma, meanwhile, needed the shared body heat of being held. And I didn’t blame her. Fifteen minutes in the cold drizzle had me wishing I had brought a jacket.

Sarah held Emma most of the time since my shirt was getting soaked from “shaking out” the trees. But I did pick her up when Sarah walked to the entrance to ask a Home Depot employee when the next shipment of trees would be arriving. As we admired the 9-10 ft. firs, we talked about how much we wished we’d brought jackets and about the sticky sap that was all over my hands.

A few minutes later we were back in the caravan, windshield wipers wiping as we headed….to Lowe’s.

Lowe’s is only a couple miles from the Home Depot, and we turned the heat on full-blast as we sang Christmas carols at the top of our lungs with 104.7 The Fish, a local radio station that plays all Christmas music from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Unfortunately it takes a couple miles before the engine heats up enough to allow the car vents to actually blow hot air. So the hot air of our singing voices was about the only thing helping us get warm.

When we pulled into Lowe’s we parked in front of the outdoor Christmas tree section and walked through the cold drizzle towards the 7-8 ft. Fraser Firs. One other couple was already there. They were older than Sarah and I, and apparently wiser. They were both bundled up in warm coats. The woman was wearing ear muffs and the man was wearing warm gloves, no doubt sap-resistant.

Sarah and I looked at each other and our kids who were patiently huddled near us, and I said, “This is Christmas. This is not about stress, but about joy and creating memories with the family.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t forget this,” Sarah said.

A full twenty minutes later, Ethan patiently helping us pick a tree and Emma patiently snuggled in Sarah’s arms, her cold feet tucked under the bottom of Sarah’s shirt, we finally found the perfect tree. It was in the 7-8 ft. section, but measured more like 8’ 11’’. It stood straight. Its needles were green. Its branches were evenly dispersed. And its girth was not too thin and not too wide.

Now all that was left was tying it to the top of the van, driving it home, carrying it into the house, and securing it in one of those Christmas tree stands.

Memories…

I Can Love the Tarheels and Still Like "Coach K"

2008-11-18T13:11:00.000-05:00

I’m a big University of North Carolina Tarheels basketball fan.

I grew up in North Carolina, and I’ve rooted for the ‘Heels since I can remember.
I remember Michael Jordan’s championship-winning baseline jumper in 1982, and I follow who they are recruiting for the 2010-2011 incoming class.
I believe Dean Smith is the greatest college basketball coach of all time, followed, in order, by Roy Williams, John Wooden and Bobby Knight.
I’ve partied on Franklin St. in Chapel Hill after a victory.
I believe that the reason God created the sky blue is because he loves the Tarheels.
I intensely dislike (hate is such a harsh word) our arch-rival, the Duke Blue Devils.

I say all that, because several weeks ago, a friend of mine recommended that I read a book by Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski (Coach K). The book is titled, Leading With the Heart.

Now there was a day that I would have never picked up a book by Coach K, simply because he was affiliated with Duke. But I’ve discovered over the years the dangers of a life-approach that says, “I will only be taught by those whom I like and those whom already share my same basic beliefs.” It’s a narrow-minded approach that leads to intellectual stagnation, limited perspective, untested ideas, and ultimately fear.

So, as I write this, I am in the concluding chapters of Coach K’s book. And it’s good.
It’s filled with lessons, stories and counsel about ways to successfully lead yourself, your family, and any team of people who are part of your sphere of influence.

There are dozens of life tips (or as my high school friend was fond of saying, “pithy maxims”) that are worth thinking about and figuring out how to better implement—lessons on leadership, personal development, people development, administrative techniques, how to handle a crisis and much more. In fact, at the end of this, I’ll list a few of these “pithy maxims.” But there are three things I want to mention in a little more detail here, because I think they are particularly relevant these days.

(the all-caps wording of these three ideas is mine, but the concepts are straight from the book)

IDEA 1: LEARN FROM EVERYONE AND IN EVERY SITUATION.

Coach K says tells a great story about learning from the janitor who cleans out the locker room. He writes: “I’ll ask D.C., the person who cleans our locker room.”

“Are they [the players] sloppier than usual, D.C.?”
“No, Coach, they’re pretty good.”
“Do you think any of the kids are having any personal problems?”
“Not that I can tell.”
“Will you keep an eye on them for me, D.C.?”
“Sure will, Coach.”

Well, there have been times when I’ve been working in the locker room on something and D.C., who’s been cleaning in the background, will pipe up with a comment.
“Hey Coach, I think Nate might have gotten a bad grade on a test. Doesn’t seem to be himself right now..”
“Thanks, D.C. I’ll keep an eye on him in practice tomorrow.”

Coach K goes on to talk about how he listens and learns from everyone. “Good ideas can come from anywhere and everywhere,” he writes.

I love his spirit. Contrast that with this. I know Republicans who “tune out” when Hillary or Bill or Obama speak, and therefore they refuse to learn. I know Democrats who “tune out” when George W. Bush or Rush Limbaugh speak, and therefore they refuse to learn. I know of Christians who have never read a book by an atheist (or even someone outside their own religious denomination) and I know of atheists who refuse to have an open mind towards matters of God. And much of the time it leads to judgmentalism, dislike and fear toward those things and people they aren’t open to listening to or learning from. It builds walls and destroys the possibility of an honest, meaningful relationship or dialogue. Nobody wins.

IDEA 2: I MUST EMBRACE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

Coach K writes:

"[While in school at West Point], I was walking across an open area with my roommate. We were in our uniforms and we were required to walk in a straight, erect manner.

"Well, my roommate stepped in a puddle of water and splashed up a little bit of mud on my shoes. We kept on walking and suddenly I heard the worst word in the world that a plebe can hear.

“Halt!” commanded one of two upperclassmen coming toward us….
“These two guys take a look at my roommate and say, “You’re Okay.”
“Then they look at me and see my name tag. “What the **** is your name?,” one of them asked.”
“Krzyzewski, sir.”
“What kind of name is that?”

I didn’t say anything.

“Well, Mr. Alphabet, or whoever the **** you are, your shoes are cruddy. You’re a crudball. How did that happen?”

"Now, in real life, 99 percent of the people would want to explain what happened. “Look, we were walking across the area,” I wanted to say, “and my knucklehead roommate stepped in a puddle and he got the mud on my shoes. It’s not my fault.”

"But at West Point, that story’s not acceptable. So my answer was, “No excuse, sir.”
“That’s right! You have no excuses! You’re a crudball!”

"They told my roommate to get going and for the next few minutes one of these upperclassmen just reamed me out. Then he wrote me up and, of course, I received demerits for having mud on my shoes.

"So when I finally got back to the dorm, I was angry at my roommate…..

"Later I began to look at that entire incident from a different perspective.
When my roommate stepped in that puddle and splashed mud on my shoes, I had a choice to make. They were my shoes and I was responsible for them. I kept walking and took the chance that I wouldn’t be caught. I could have gone back but I didn’t. That was my choice. The truth is that I had no right to be mad at my roommate. I should have been mad at myself. And later, when I understood the reality of the situation, I was angry with myself."

I love that story because when life throws crud on your shoes, or on your face or on your home or family (and it will happen), we can choose how we will respond. Coach K says we can either
look for excuses or “reasons.” We can blame. Or we can look at our own role and “embrace the hell out of personal responsibility.” He’s right.

In my life I’ve learned that it’s fine, often wise, to evaluate the crud and learn from the crud, but it rarely leads to joy, peace or renewed purpose and confidence without a sense of personal responsibility and a game-plan for future action.

IDEA 3: IF I THINK I’VE WON, BUT THE TEAM LOSES, THEN I’VE REALLY LOST, TOO.

There is a direct connection between personal success and team success, whether that team be my family, my church, my co-workers or my community.

There are two sides to this. The first side is that I am responsible for what I contribute to the team. When I get better, we all get better.

But second, since I am part of something larger than myself, I also have to help the team succeed if I want to win.

Again Coach K tells a great story to get at this:
In our platoon, there were about thirty plebes and we were assigned three to a room. We’d all be outside the barracks dressed in our fatigues when the order would come: “Okay, you’ve got two minutes to get back here in full dress uniform.” Well, there was no way we could get from fatigues to full dress uniforms in two minutes. It was just impossible.

But when the squad leader would yell, “Dismissed!” we’d all run to our rooms and frantically start changing. One guy would be ready first and he’d head out. Then I’d be next and bolt out the door while my other buddy was still changing. We filtered out one by on, we were all late, and we had to get in the late line.

“Why are you late, mister?”
“No excuse, sir.”
“That’s right, there’s no excuse.”
But then we were asked other questions.
“Why aren’t you out here with your roommates? Why aren’t you out here together?”
“No excuse, sir.”
“Listen up, mister, if one of you is late, all of you are late. Do you understand that? It’s not about you getting out here on time, it’s about you and your roommates getting out here on time.”

And then this application from coaching his basketball team:

“I recall when freshmen Johnny Dawkins and Mark Alarie were late for a team bus. We didn’t know where they were, they had not called, and every other member of the team was on time. So we left them behind. Eventually, the two caught up to us and I remember being ready to hammer them. But after hearing that they had overslept, I began to wonder why other members of our team had not checked up on them. So I talked to the entire team about setting up buddy system where everyone looked out for one another. “If one of us is late,” I told them, “all of us are late.”

The only way I can win is if my team wins. I like this idea a lot.

I'll stop here. Being a Tarheels fan, I don’t really want to write or quote “Coach K” more than I have to! But as promised I end with a few other pithy maxims from the author.

• “Everything we do has our own personal signature on it.”
• “Whatever a leader does now sets up what he does later. And there’s always a later.”
• “Believe you CAN win it all, but don’t assume that you WILL win it all.”
• “Luck favors teams who trust one another.”
• “You hear, You forget. You See, You Remember. You Do, You Understand.”
(I want to teach a whole series on this one someday)

Vision Day at My Church

2008-09-23T13:34:00.001-04:00

Last Sunday was “Vision Day” at New Community Church. This simply means that it was the day we reflected on how God has been leading us and how he would like to continue to lead us during the next twelve months and beyond.

Below is a gently modified version of my talk. “Modified” because what you read below isn’t a word-for-word transcript of what I said, but instead large portions of my notes (as such, there will be typos, grammar and punctuation inaccuracies). It also doesn’t include the live interviews I did with Julie Paz from Esther Jackson Elementary School and Ken Dowdy from World Vision.

But I think you’ll get the gist of it…

VISION DAY 2008

If you’ve listened to radio, or watched TV or surfed the web or read a newspaper or magazine this week, I suspect you have heard the name “Barack Obama” or “John McCain” or “Joe Biden” or “Sarah Palin.”

After all, we are in a hotly contested election season.

And so I’d like to start with a question.

Imagine that we elected all the right people to all the right offices—President, Congress, state government, local government, school boards, city councils, etc.

And imagine they instituted all the right policies and legislation—zoning laws, tax structures, immigration policy, health care policy, energy policy, education policy—everything just exactly right. Imagine stocks on Wall Street never had violent fluctuations. And imagine the Georgia DOT only had to fix roads 1 time. And lanes were never shut down on weekends.

Here’s the question: If we got all that right, would that lead to perfection in our society? Would all parents now demonstrate great patience and wisdom toward their children? Would every marriage now be an example of faithfulness and love? Would corporate greed and personal pride be legislated out of existence? Would workplaces become pictures of unity and joy? Would fitness centers and grocery store lines and rush hour on GA 400 now become a place of kindness and generosity? Would human beings at last be able to control their impulses around sexuality and anger and appetite? Would you finally be the man or woman that God created you to be?

Now, to be clear, as we talked during the last two weeks, we should be involved in the political process. And we ought to do it in a way that is respectful and graceful.

But, here’s the point. No human system, no human structure, no human kingdom has the ability to change the human heart—so that pride becomes humility, judgementalism becomes grace, hate turns to love, anger to forgiveness, selfishness turns to selflessness.

No human kingdom has the ability to do that.

We need another kind of administration, one that deals with the transformation of my heart and yours.

Well…

Once there was a carpenter, a young rabbi named Jesus, and He had a single, central message. No one in history to that point had ever had a message like it. And when people heard it they left everything for it…and then they found it—a life filled with love, joy, purpose, passion and an inner peace that would allow them to willingly give up their lives for the sake of it.

It’s summarized in Mark chapter one:

Jesus went into Galilee proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” Jesus said, “the Kingdom of God is now available. Repent and believe the good news.” (Mark 1:14-15)

Jesus offers a new administration—not earthly power structures, but the Kingdom of God. Jesus says, now this has become available on earth through me.

And people wanted to know, “what’s the kingdom of God like?”

WHAT IS THIS KINGDOM LIKE? (congregation opens bags with mustard seeds in them.)

People wanted to know. So Jesus talked a lot about it.

“What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it?...It is like a grain of mustard seed, which when sown in the ground, grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants, and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its branches.” (Luke 13:18-19)

A mustard seed. It’s pretty small. But it grows up to maturity and becomes a source of nutrients, life and joy to others.

I did a little research on the mustard plant and discovered that it’s also pervasive…like kudzu….great resilience, great power, great ability to spread and grow and thrive. It was actually known, in the Roman Empire, for its vivid color and strong flavor and was viewed as a sign of power.

It’s small and yet has great effect.

Eugene Peterson wrote, “The metaphors Jesus used for life with God are frequently images of the single, the small and the quiet, which have effects far in excess of their appearance: salt, leaven and seed.” (Contemplative Pastor: p 25)

Jesus said once….The Kingdom of God is within you. We all have this seed…we all have access to power and presence and grace of God….QUESTION IS…..what are you gonna do with it? You have access to life with God….what are you gonna do with it??

Well, Jesus’ disciples had this seed, too. And they said, “We know what we are gonna do with it!”

We’re gonna come together and plant it in the kingdom of God…. ….and so they did….a politically right wing disciple, and a politically left wing disciple, a disciple who wanted to overthrow government structures and a disciple who wanted to rise within it. Richer disciples and some poor ones. A tax collectors, fisherman, and a carpenter.

They all came together, planted their seed in the Kingdom of God…and in the process they experienced a kind of love and belonging and inner joy beyond their wildest imaginations.

Later, Paul, a divorced man with a handicap, said “here’s my seed” and people from Jerusalem to Rome to Corinth and all in between begin to learn about God’s grace.

And throughout history ordinary people have said, “it’s small, but here’s my seed, here’s my seed.”

In this room, if you look around, we have republicans and democrats, those financially well-off and financially in debt, those who love the church and those who aren’t sure, people in great pain and people experiencing great joy.

And 2,000 years ago Jesus took a group like us and galvanized them behind a single vision—to spread the good news that the kingdom of God, that life under the power and presence and love and grace of God is now available to ordinary human beings.

And he says to you and me what he said to those disciples years ago…. “If you give your mustard seed to me, I will grow you and bless you and your life will be an incredible blessing.”

And now I want to talk about the vision I believe God has for our collective seeds. How he is already using them and how he would like to use them in the next 12 months and beyond in our church community.

And there are THREE VERY UNIQUE WAYS God has been moving and wants to continue moving in us in the next season of our lives….

GIVE

God has given us a vision here at New Community—a vision to give of our time and resources to those outside our immediate church community…into our greater Roswell community and world.

And God has uniquely blessed us with the ability and passion to make a significant difference in two spheres that matter deeply to God.

1^st sphere is Esther Jackson…

Almost three years ago, now, I had the privilege of going with to Esther Jackson Elementary as well as three or four other schools in our immediate area to see if and how we might be able to serve them. We went in response to promptings we felt to engage, love and serve our community. And we went with no agendas. No strings-attached. And for whatever reasons, of the several schools we approached, only one, Esther Jackson, responded.

They said, well, we have a gardens/gazebo area that needs weeds pulled, old bushes removed and new mulch laid down. And so we served.

Later that year we volunteered at a school-wide field day. Later we learned that teachers would love a greater sense that the community is loving and supporting them. So we made and delivered teacher packets (food, gum, school supplies, Starbucks gift cards). Later we learned that some families were barely able to put food on their tables, so we gave Kroger gift cards to twenty-five families. Later we learned that kids needed tutoring. So we tutored over thirty kids last year.

These were all needs that came to our attention and that we simply responded to. YOU responded with amazing hearts and generosity. And as you know we never had an agenda to “preach” or talk about Jesus to them. We never had secret hopes that we could get more people in our seats on Sunday morning. We simply wanted to be neighbors that loved and served our community….no strings attached.

And as last year ended it was clear that God had and was using us in unexpected and in significant ways to bless Esther Jackson.

And it's in this context that I want to invite Julie Paz forward. Julie is our primary contact and—from a human standpoint— the primary reason that we are able to bless all the students and teachers there.

Julie—thank you!

Tell us how things are going this year at Esther Jackson? What are your greatest excitements and greatest needs this year? Talk about how our tutoring last year impacted the school? What are your tutoring needs this year?

The second thing God is uniquely doing in and through us under this category of “GIVE” is our TRIVIA FOR WATER. This October we fund our 4^th well!!

And now I’d like to invite Ken Dowdy forward. Ken works with World Vision and is partnering with us for our Trivia for Water event.

Take us from a check we write to the well being dug

Take us from the well being dug to the impact of the well on a village…

As we look into the next year of life and beyond, these two God-visions (Esther Jackson and digging wells in Africa) are central to the day-to-day life of our church.

This doesn’t mean I don’t help you wash your car or load up your Uhaul or serve a neighbor or volunteer with Make-a-Wish or Breast Cancer walks or MS bike rides, or Project Open Hand or Roswell Firehouse or Holcomb woods parkway clean-up.

NO…..God has called some of us to do these things, too.

It means we have a unique calling to Esther Jackson and to digging wells, and together we can make a difference…one mustard seed at a time.

So I’m asking, the elders are asking, I believe God is asking everyone to do something—faithfully and consistently—to bless Esther Jackson and to dig wells.

PRAY

The second piece of vision for the coming 12-months and beyond centers on this word…PRAY.

In the next 12 months and beyond we’re gonna raise the value and vision for prayer.

So we’re gonna ask each of you to make prayer a more significant part of your life.

Cindy Gambon, an amazing member of the elder board, is going to lead us in this….

But our goal isn’t to get good at praying. It isn’t to set new records in amounts of time in prayer. It is to learn to consistently bring the real us before the real God.

So we’re gonna pray the real us…

Jesus, in fact, said, when you pray, don’t pray like hypocrites….pray the real you…

The quickest way to kill a prayer life is to pretend to care about what you don’t really care about.

So we’re gonna pray real. And that means we’re gonna pray everywhere.

Pray doesn’t need to happen only in one specific chair in your house, in front of a window that over-looks a bird feeder….although that might be a good place for daily devotions and reflection.

We’re gonna pray real and pray everywhere—every room of the house, car, work, at play, etc…— and we’re gonna pray with…real us before real God.

And I believe some of us will connect with God in the next 12 months in ways we’ve never connected with him before.

Praying is also going to allow us to connecting with each other.

It’s great that we eat together and we’re gonna keep doing that.

It’s great that we play together and we’re gonna keep doing that….

It’s very good to watch football together…and we’re gonna keep doing that!

But we can go deeper and find deeper and truer and more satisfying and lasting relationships when we begin to pray for each other.

Examples of how praying for another connects us with them….

So I’m asking, the elders are asking, I believe God is asking everyone to do something—faithfully and consistently—to make prayer—connecting with God and each other—a priority during the next 12 months and beyond.

SHARE

Finally…the word…SHARE.

This is a short point, but straight from the Bible…

You read the NT and there no sense that I keep kingdom life—love, joy, peace, purpose—to myself….there is always a sense of invitations, conversations and sharing and joining.

So in the next 12 months and beyond we are gonna commit to increasingly share our lives with others…engaging in conversations and invitations for others to join us on this journey.

This doesn’t only happen, this doesn’t primarily happen, through invitations to a Sunday morning service….this means that when I serve the poor I invite another to join me. When I go camping or hiking, I invite another to join me. When I watch a football game or go to a movie, I invite another to join me.

This means when I read a book that stretches my thinking and grows my faith, I ask another read it and then we get together over coffee or dinner to talk about it together.

This means that instead of making the focus of my conversations all about politics, sports, technology, I begin to share with people the story of my walk with God.

So I’m asking, the elders are asking, I believe God is asking everyone to do something—faithfully and consistently—to extend your life with God to others.

This is the vision we’ve seen God leading us in and the vision he wants to increasingly lead us in during the next 12 months and beyond.

WHO IS RESPONSILBE FOR SEEING TO IT THAT WE MEET OUR OBJECTIVES? GOD

WHAT DO I DO? GIVE WHAT I HAVE….Some time, some money, some priorities…. It may involve rearranging your schedule, rearranging your finances, rearranging your priorities…. We can do that!!

What do I have? My mustard seed

When you give it to God an amazing thing happens.

I GIVE, but I find myself RECEIVING

I PRAY, but I find myself experience less worry and more PEACE.

I SHARE, but discover true JOY.

There is something about a seed. It’s pretty much dead here, isn’t it? But you plant it in the soil of God....and the seed that died comes to life…

One day Jesus came to this earth and was born as a baby…he was a seed from the line of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Mary, his mother. But he was no ordinary seed. He launched this Kingdom of God.

And people joined and for a while there’s excitement and hope for this little community of Jesus followers. But then the seed is crucified. He’s dead. And they all thought that the kingdom was gone.

But they were all wrong. The seed was laid (planted) in a grave and the grave couldn’t keep him down.

And on the third day Jesus was raised again. And it turns out that it was actually your sin and mine, death and pain and despair, that was defeated on the cross, not Jesus.

Jesus is still alive and well. And what He said then He says to you and me now.

“Come to Me. The kingdom of God is now available.”

The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed and the revolution of the mustard seed is still going. It is taking place “live.”

It will take place over conversations at Starbucks, Sweet Tomatoes, Taco Mac and in our homes.
It will take place on mountain tops in British Columbia and around campfires in North Georgia and at beaches in Hilton Head, SC.
The revolution will be in classrooms at Esther Jackson, helping a kid read simple words and multiply 3x3.
The revolution will not be talking about poverty in chairs on Sunday morning. It will be in helping to eradicate pockets of poverty in our world. It will take place around Trivia tables and around newly dug wells in African villages.
The revolution will take place in Kids Community.
The revolution will be downsizing my life so I can bring my finances to bear in the greater causes of life.
The revolution will take place on our knees.

So get ready friends, God is preparing us for something really, really—small. About the size of a mustard seed.

Cause after all the kingdom of God is about small, everyday moments of radical commitment to what God wants to do in and through you and us.

And if you want to be a part of that kind of Kingdom, you can do that today. It’s available to all of us.

So let’s pray now….then we’ll eat….

the mustard seed revolution

During the next twelve months, and beyond, we believe God would love to move through us

in the following three “mustard seed” ways:

GIVE

1. Be a tutor at Esther Jackson Elementary School for the 2008-2009 school year.

2. Pray regularly for Esther Jackson Elementary School.

3. Donate money (beyond my regular giving to the church), when asked, to causes at Esther Jackson.

4. Volunteer for periodic events at Esther Jackson (clean-up days; field days, landscaping projects)

5. Attend our trivia nights for water (October 18, 2008 and January 31, 2009)

6. Donate money (beyond my regular giving to the church) for the digging of wells in Africa.

7. Donate money towards the sending of church leadership on a mission trip to Africa.

8. Alongside others in the church, read a book or attend a conference or concert that will stir my heart and mind toward issues of injustice and poverty in the world.

The revolution: Everyone doing something

____________________________

PRAY

1. Pray regularly and specifically for my church community, my neighborhood and those I work with.

2. Pray regularly with another member of our community (over the phone or in person).

3. Pray for and with my child(ren) on a daily basis.

4. Pray for and with my spouse on a daily basis.

5. Participate in a special weekend of fasting and prayer.

6. Participate in our once-a-month “People at Prayer” from 5-6am on Thursdays.

7. Alongside others in the church, read a book or attend a conference or concert that will engage my heart and life more deeply into a life of prayer.

The revolution: Everyone doing something

____________________________

SHARE

Invite a friend to participate in at least two social gatherings of our church (for example our 4^th of July party; a Braves baseball game; the Super Bowl party, ice cream nights, game nights, our Sweet Tomatoes gatherings).
Invite someone to serve with you as you serve our community and world.
Invite at least one friend to our Easter service, our Christmas service, and our trivia night for water.
Attend one Atlanta area conference/concert/event this year chosen by the church elders.
Share aspects of my spiritual journey at the weekend service.
With a friend, read a book about some aspect of the life the Jesus and talk about it together over coffee.
Join a community group and/or invite someone to join a community group.
Invite a friend to join me in a life-renewing activity like camping or hiking or a mission trip or a weekend of renewal at the beach.

The revolution: Everyone doing something.

Things Worth Staying Up 'til Midnight For

2008-08-12T10:27:00.001-04:00

Last night I stayed up ‘til midnight watching the Olympics from Beijing.

The U.S. men's 4x100m freestyle relay team won gold in what many are calling “the most exciting, most record-breaking, most amazing, thrilling, unbelievable relay anyone could ever imagine.”

And, in my judgment, these words might be understatements.

It happened around 11:45pm, while my wife and children were all asleep. Nevertheless I shouted and pumped my fists when the race was over. I was so excited that it took me another hour before I could get to sleep.

The U.S. men -- Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones and Jason Lezak -- set a world record, finishing in 3:08.24. (France took second, Australia third.) And they came from behind in unbelievable fashion to win by a fingertip.

I love what team captain Jason Lezak, who swam the anchor leg, had to say when it was all over: "People always step up and do things out of the ordinary at the Olympics."

Three things strike me as particularly important lessons from this story.

First, these athletes work incredibly hard preparing for these events. In many cases it’s a lifetime of training for one or two events. They deeply devote themselves to what they are doing. And as a result there are great rewards for them. I can’t help but think of Paul’s words in Colossians. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.”

Second, they celebrate well. This is huge. So many of us can barely celebrate our own “wins” and “blessings” because we are constantly looking ahead or worrying about what’s to come. Watch the video footage of their celebration, and it might bring tears to your eyes. Such unashamed, unhindered, unencumbered, unselfconscious celebration is rarely seen and intoxicatingly refreshing.

Third, they work hard together. And there is something special about sharing hard work and rewards with others. There is something deeply satisfying about celebrating with a team that has come together to do a great thing. Contrast that with tennis. I love tennis. But when a tennis player wins a match, he or she usually falls to the ground in isolated celebration. Sure others are cheering, but the celebration is uniquely singular. No high fives to a teammate. No hugs from another who “fought the battle” alongside him.

These three things – working with all your might, celebrating well, and doing something great together with others – are three of the most amazing and important disciplines in life. I wonder how you and I would answer these three questions:

What are you working like crazy—heart, soul, mind, strength—for these days?

What are you celebrating deeply and without holding back?

Who are you doing these things with?

If we all had clear, God-led answers to the above questions I believe we would experience increased and amazing amounts of love, joy, peace, purpose and passion in our lives.

Shifting gears now…..one other thought about staying up late to watch the Olympics…

My wife has asked me why I’m coming to bed so late this week. I told her that the Olympics are one of those things worth staying up ‘til midnight or later for. They only happen every four years, and they offer events and stories that I will remember for a lifetime.

It made me think. There are not many things worth staying up ‘til midnight for. (Sleep is usually the wiser and more preferable choice to most midnight activities.) But, from time to time, there are some things worth staying up ‘til midnight for. So I end with a short list.

A good New Year's Eve party

A great sporting event

A meaningful conversation with a friend

Watching the stars around a campfire

Reading a great book

Talking to God

Working at a needed job

Helping a friend pack boxes before a move

A date-night with your spouse

What would you add?

Matilda

2008-07-08T23:20:00.000-04:00

Our neighbors lent us one of their DVD movies a few weeks ago. It’s a children’s movie called “Matilda,” and, although the movie was made twelve years ago, our neighbors assured us that our daughter Emma would love it.

We returned the movie yesterday.

During the few weeks we had it, Emma watched “Matilda” no less than a dozen times. It stars Danny DeVito as “Harry Wormwood” and Mara Wilson as his daughter “Matilda.” Harry and his wife are the worst parents ever. At one point Harry says to Matilda, “I'm smart; you're dumb. I'm big; you're small. I'm right, you're wrong. And there's nothing you can do about it.”

Later, when Matilda is reading a book (something’s she learned to do on her own since her parents refuse to let her attend school), Harry grabs the book from her, rips it up and asks, “What do you want a book for?”

Matilda answers, “To read.”

Harry yells back, “To read? Why would you want to read when you got the television set sitting right in front of you? There's nothing you can get from a book that you can't get from a television faster.”

Needless to say, life for Matilda isn’t very joyful. And it doesn’t get any better, at least at first, when she is finally allowed to attend school under the watch of the worst principal imaginable, Ms. Trunchbull. Ms. Trunchbull’s motto is: “Use the rod, beat the child.”

Harry likes it so much that he tells Ms. Trunchbull that it is a “terrific motto!” And when she inquires about his children, he says, “I got a boy, Mikey, and one mistake, Matilda.”

“They’re all mistakes, children!” Ms. Trunchbull responds. “Filthy, nasty things. Glad I never was one.”

Now, at this point, you are probably wondering why I would let my daughter watch this.

So I’ll tell you.

The reason I let Emma watch the movie, and watched it with her, is because it has two overarching themes that are two of the greatest bits of wisdom and truth in the world.

The first bit of wisdom is this: Reading great books is a wonderful and life-changing activity. Reading can soften your heart and strengthen your mind. It can enlighten you to new possibilities where none existed before and help you understand fundamental truths about life. It can help explain things that seem too complex and demonstrate the beautiful complexity of things that seem too simple. It can introduce you to people and ideas that inspire you to action. It can lift your thoughts to higher places.

Matilda taps into all of this, and it transforms her.

The second bit of wisdom from the movie is this: There is nothing more powerful than love. Matilda’s teacher, Miss Honey, is the first person Matilda has ever met that truly loves her. You can see it in her eyes, hear it in her voice and watch it in her actions.

Miss Honey loves Matilda. In return, Matilda loves Miss Honey. And it transforms them both. Sadness turns into joy. Loneliness is replaced by fellowship. Confusion is traded for clarity. Timidity gives way to boldness. Tears turn to laughter. Despair becomes hope.

All because of love.

“Matilda” reminds me of the great gifts of reading and love. And these are two gifts I want to remind you about today.

What are you reading that is softening your heart and strengthening your mind?

And who are you loving and being loved by in a way that results in a life of fellowship and joy?

One of the great hopes for my church community is that we increasingly become the kind of place that fosters conversations surrounding the reading of great books, books that stir our thinking, melt our hearts, move us to action and draw us closer to the One whose story is told in that greatest of books, the Bible.

And more than that, I hope that our church increasingly becomes the kind of place that is characterized by great love, love for God and love for each other. 1 Corinthians 13 talks about this love. Jesus lived it.

I believe we can too.

Summer Time

2008-06-03T10:21:00.001-04:00

Summer time.

For students or parents of students it’s a big change in responsibilities and time management. For others it means the beginning of less morning traffic, or the scheduling of a vacation or two, or shifting levels of busyness at work. For still others it’s simply a perspective shift, moving to a time of longer days, outdoor BBQs, camping, baseball games, increased relaxation and fun.

But I want you to think for a moment about your life two and a half months from now. Summer will be over, school will be back in session and more normal routines will have returned. Two and a half months from now, you will come out the other side of summer and you will have changed some, potentially a lot. But however you are different or the same, it will be the product of choices you have made.

This could be the summer that your prayer life takes off like never before. Or it could be a summer where your prayer life wanes or dries up altogether.

This could be the summer you get into better physical shape—lose weight, gain muscle, strengthen your heart. Or it could be the summer of poor eating and poor exercise choices.

This could be the summer that you reduce your financial stress and debt or it could be the summer of increased financial stress and debt.

This could be the summer that you experience the joy of generous living and unleash your time and money into causes in your community and world that stir your soul. Or this could be the summer that your heart gets colder to the things of God, and you don’t grow in generosity, but instead either flat-line or see yourself intensify the pursuit of other wants and desires.

This could be the summer you read one or two great books that stretch your mind and grow your soul. Or it could be the summer of increased movie and television viewing.

This summer you can invest time in your kids that they will remember and talk for the rest of their life. Or you can watch the days pass by consumed with other tasks.

This summer you can develop deeper friendships and deeper trust.

This summer to can learn more about God and experience more of his grace.

This summer can be the best summer of your life!

But one thing is certain. Two and a half months from now, on the other side of summer, you will have changed some, potentially a lot. But however you are different or the same, it will be the product of choices you have made.

And I think God would say to you and me today: “Seize the Summer!”

In Ephesians 5:15-16, Paul writes: “Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity.”

“Seize the summer!” Paul says.

Now if you want to seize the summer, there is something you’ll want to build that will help you seize what God is calling you to seize.

That thing is an adult’s best friend, a child’s best friend, an athlete’s best friend, an employee’s best friend, a boss’s best friend, a student’s best friend. And it can be your best friend.

It’s momentum.

Momentum is sometimes the only difference between losing and winning.

It’s why in basketball games, when the opposing team scores a lot of unanswered points and starts to develop too much momentum, a good coach will call a time-out. The coach knows that if the other team’s momentum gets too strong, his team is likely to lose the game.

The value of momentum works in the world of dating, too. In dating, the first three dates can give you great momentum. If your first date is bad, you probably won’t have a second. And if your second date is bad, that might be the end, too. Same for the third date. But if your first three dates are great, and your fourth date is bad, you’ve probably got enough momentum to secure a fifth date.

Momentum can help you speak with confidence and take bold risks. It can give you energy to stick to an exercise program or finish reading a book you’ve started. It can help you get a job or get a promotion. It can enable you to more easily keep a promise to your spouse, children or friends.

Momentum can help you do things you never thought you could do on your own.

The life of David (recorded mostly in 1 and 2 Samuel) in the Bible is a great example of how to build momentum and how it can bless your life.

His entire life story is a story that can be viewed through the lens of momentum. But one series of episodes is particularly instructive to me.

One night David is tending sheep and a bear tries to attack and eat his sheep. In fact the bear grabs one and starts to carry it off. But David, despite feeling some degree of obvious fear, chases the bear down, kills it and rescues the sheep “from the bear’s mouth.”

My guess is that that event built some confidence in David, confidence in what God was able to do through him (because in the text David acknowledges that it was God’s power working through him that delivered him from the bear).

Later a lion attacks and tries to eat one of his sheep. This time David “seizes” the lion “by its hair” and kills it, rescuing the sheep. Again David credits God’s power for this rescue. And, no doubt, he’s feeling even more confident about what God can do in and through him.

Fast forward, now, to a story that we probably all know: David vs. Goliath. Goliath, a

Philistine warrior and giant, challenges any Israelite who dares to a one-on-one fight to the death. “Choose a man and have him come down to me,” Goliath yells. “If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.”

But instead of rising to the challenge, “all the Israelites are dismayed and terrified.” That is, all but David. See David has momentum. He knows the power of God and has taken down a few giants (a bear and a lion) in recent days.

So David fights Goliath and defeats him, too.

And now David’s momentum is nearly unstoppable. Later, the text says that whatever King Saul sent David to do, he “did it so successfully that Saul gave him a high rank in the army.”

And it’s not very long after that that David becomes King of Israel.

These events are instructive because they teach us some principles about seizing the summer!

First, David trusted God and relied on His strength. Paul writes to the church in Ephesus, “I pray that you may know how unbelievably great is His power to help those who believe in Him…the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead. (Ephesians 1:19-20)” David knew this power (and we can, too).

Second, David acted. He seized the moment. He didn’t shrink back from what he wanted to accomplish, he took bold steps towards fulfilling what he was called to do.

Often in life, the first step is the hardest. If you’ve ever water skied, you know that it’s harder to get up on the water than it is to steer once you’re up there. Before you get up, the boat drags you along, and you think your arms are going to give out as the water floods against your chest and into your face. For a moment, you may even believe you can’t hold on to the tow rope any longer. But then the force of the water drives your skis up onto the surface, and off you go. At that point, you are able to make a turn with only a subtle shift of weight from one foot to another.

Getting started is often hard, but once you’re moving forward, it’s easier. That’s the way the momentum works. Seize this moment and with every step you take, no matter how small, you will build greater momentum.

That's why it's so important to lose the first pound or exercise that first day. That's why it's so important to make the first deposit into that dormant savings account. That's why it's so important to take the first step towards setting aside time to build into your kids or volunteer in the community.

Third, David, despite some major hiccups along the way, never lost sight of his ultimate goal. He remained intensely focused on his overall goal. David’s words in Psalm 27:4 reflect that goal:

“One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.”

If your desire is to do great things with your summer, never overlook the power of momentum. It truly is your best friend. If you develop it, you can do almost anything.

So what area of your life might God be calling you to take action in this summer?

Trust him, take action, keep your eye on your ultimate goal.

Seize the summer!

Mr. Potato Head

2008-05-07T11:56:00.000-04:00

Some time ago I was in a children’s store purchasing a gift when I saw Mr. Potato Head. You know Mr. Potato Head, right? Mr. Potato Head is the children's toy, first sold in the early 1950s, that consists of a plastic model of a potato which can be decorated with attachable plastic parts—a mustache, hat, nose, ears and feet.

The fun thing about Mr. Potato Head is that you can make him into anything you like. You can turn the mustache right-side-up or upside-down. You can turn the nose sideways or attach an ear where the nose should be. You can make him look happy, sad, silly or normal (whatever “normal” is for a potato head). Bottom line: Mr. Potato Head is whoever you want him to be. You create Mr. Potato Head.

Now, I think we do the same thing with Jesus sometimes. We create him to think, look, act and value the things we value most. (J.B. Phillips book, Your God Is Too Small, is a great treatment of this.) For some Jesus is a stern policeman, pointing out when we do wrong. For others he’s an aloof philosopher, offering pithy maxims about the ideal life. For still others he’s the benevolent grandfather, winking at our weaknesses and content to spend time with us whenever we get around to it. To many on the Religious Right, Jesus is a pro-life, anti-gay conservative. To many on the Political Left, Jesus is a human who encourages radical equality and who refuses to make exclusive religious or spiritual claims. The New Age movement makes Jesus an example of finding the “god within.” Animal-rights activists sometimes picture a vegetarian Jesus.

And so Jesus becomes a Mr.-Potato-Head-Jesus, looking, thinking and believing how I want him to look, think and believe. And I discover that, most of the time, I’m quite happy to allow you to continue your view of Jesus from your perspective. After all, my view about him is as valid as your view.

But the problem is that, pretty soon, Jesus is multiple things to multiple people, and there is no truth in it. Jesus becomes a vague conglomeration of whatever ideas of Him suit my situation at the time. And it becomes obvious that I’m not really on a search for the real Jesus at all. Instead I’m attempting to give Jesus a makeover so he looks more like what I want him to look like.

I’ve been thinking about all of this as I have been reading a book by Robert M. Bowman Jr. and J. Ed Komoszewski called: Putting Jesus In His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ. It’s a book that examines thoroughly what the Bible teaches about Jesus, and it makes a convincing case from the Bible for regarding Jesus, first, as God. He’s lots of other things—the model human, a great teacher, a friend. But first of all, he’s God.

Because Jesus is God, he shares the honors due to God. He’s entitled to our worship, our prayers, our songs, our reverence, our service, our love, and our obedience.

Because Jesus is God, he shares the attributes of God. He’s eternal, uncreated, unchangeable, immutable, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient and incomprehensible.

Because Jesus is God, he shares the names of God. He’s the “name above all names,” he’s Yahweh, he’s Immanuel, he’s the bridegroom, he’s “friend of sinners,” he’s Savior, he’s “I Am,” he’s “Alpha and Omega,” he’s “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

Because Jesus is God, he shares the deeds of God. He created and sustains all things, he rules over the forces of nature, he speaks with divine authority, he shows mercy, he forgives sins, he sends us his Spirit, he has power over death, he’s the source of all blessings, he’s the judge of all people, he’s our greatest friend, and the source of our greatest affection.

Because Jesus is God, he shares the seat of God. He is equal with God, he rules over all things, he will one day return to this earth and make all things new, and his kingdom will endure forever and ever.

And one more thing. This God-Jesus can be known. While there will always remain some mystery (Colossians 1:27) about the wonders of God’s grace, love and power, there need not be fuzziness about his character, his status as God and his desire to know and be known by us. Jesus invites us to talk to him, listen to him, learn from him, interact with him and be transformed by him.

So, if you believe Jesus is God, and not some Mr. Potato Head version, then what do you do with that?

Do you continue to create him in your own image or do you humbly commit to getting to know the real God (a lifetime-journey with surprises and new discoveries along the way)?

Do you listen to his counsel about real-life matters (your money, your job, your relationships, your body) and then weigh it against the counsel of others or do you say, “God, the best that I can, I’m gonna trust and follow you.”

Do you continue to believe what the world says about your beauty and worth or do you listen to God’s assurance that you are of infinite value to Him and that there is nothing you can do that will separate you from his love.

I think it matters whether or not we are willing to accept a Mr. Potato Head God, made in our image, or whether we are willing to pursue a life of getting to know and respond to the real Jesus.

I hope that each of us will humbly pursue life with the real Jesus.

The Media

2008-04-01T10:41:00.001-04:00

We live in a culture driven by media and the images it sends us.

Google, satellite-cable TV, Palm Pilots, Blackberries, Movies, DVDs, High Definition, virtual environments, cell phone screens, video games, magazines, billboards, clothing labels, images of what it means to be sexy, attractive and physically desirable, t-shirts, restaurant signs, tennis shoes, flags, newspapers, spiritual symbols, You Tube, Facebook, My Space, camcorder-captured videos, internet sites, blogs, talk radio-personalities, brochures, junk mail, business logos, sports logos, automobile logos, logos imprinted on soap, cereal, chocolate, even pasta noodles.

We are inundated with media and the images it give us. In the words of author Thomas de Zengotita, we are MEDIATED!

Now I’m not here to tell you that the media is bad. In fact there is much good in the media and in our appropriate use of it.

The point I want to make is this: The media is a force. And it shapes us. And we ought to think about what this means for us.

The media forms the basis of many conversations at work. We talk about American Idol and other reality shows. We laugh as we retell scenes from The Office. We recommend movies and video games. We banter about opening day in baseball or the NCAA basketball tournament. We chat about the latest news out of Hollywood or Washington, D.C.

The media feeds us stuff to be passionate about. Talk radio and internet sites get us fired up about political or social issues, crime rates, long commutes to work, rising gas prices, racism, taxes, and fighting violence and poverty around the world.

The media influences our experiences as children and parents. Whether you are a parent or child, you’ve likely been influenced by Dr. Spock, books about birth order and keeping kids on schedules, Baby Einstein videos, sit-com episodes centered around the delivery room, Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers and Clifford the Big Red Dog.

The media shapes our view of marriage. From the time little kids read fairy tales to those evenings when adults watch movies like “The Wedding Planner” and “Runaway Bride,” from bridal websites to bride magazines, we are saturated with media-driven advice and expectations about marriage.

The media influences our preferences in clothing and the way we spend our money.

The media tells us what things we ought to fear. A few years ago many Americans feared the invasion of killer bees from Mexico. Likewise mosquito bites took on a new meaning with the West Nile virus. The flu season, terrorism, the prevalence of child molesters—all these are things we fear (sometimes wisely) because the media has brought them to our attention.

The media has shaped our understanding and view of history by giving us images and words that define almost any decade. What would the 1980s be like without “big hair” or Bon Jovi or movies like “Secret of My Success” and “Wall Street?” What would the 1960s be without Beatle Mania and Woodstock?

The media has given us a common vocabulary. We may not have a lot in common with someone born in the 1920s or 1930s, but we can connect with them if we talk about Hoovervilles, Flappers, Babe Ruth, Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino, Greta Garbo, Duke Ellington or Louis Armstrong.

The media gives us common access to all kinds of information. Television offers twenty-four hour news channels and specialty channels devoted to golf or football or movies or history or the weather. The World Wide Web provides online newspapers, Web MD, Wikipedia, MapQuest, You Tube and chat rooms.

The media also is the source of many social gatherings and parties. We gather around TV sets to watch the Super Bowl, the Academy Awards and season finales. We spend $10 on a Coke and popcorn to hook up at the movie theater. We purchase tickets to attend rock concerts with friends, and we get-together with those same friends at Starbucks to discuss a book we’ve all read.

The media makes us aware of causes at home and around the world that need our attention or charity—fighting in Afghanistan and in homes across America, poverty in Africa and in our inner-cities, child-labor in China and prostitution on our street corners.

The real question isn’t “Is the media a force that shapes us?” The real question is, “Is there anything you do that remains essentially unmediated? Anything you don’t experience through some media-altered perspective?”

And since the answer is “No” ninety-nine percent of the time, we would be wise to ponder how the media shapes us.

I will suggest, now, perhaps the biggest three ways that the media shapes us.

First, the media makes it more difficult to experience solitude. You can’t get away from its influence. In fact companies pay millions of dollars to let you know that they are always there for you. American Express encourages you: “Don’t leave home without it.” Visa spent over twenty years telling us “It’s everywhere you want to be.” Energizer will never leave you stranded ‘cause it “keeps going and going and going.” Verizon wants you to know that the answer to “Can You Hear Me Now?” will always be “yes,” no matter where you go. AT&T will make sure that you’ve got “Your World Delivered” T-Mobile’s Chief marketing officer Mike Butler sees it as his job to always be with you. “Our customers lead busy, overloaded lives,” he says. “It’s our job to do whatever we can to help make it easier for people to stay connected.”

The media is everywhere. And because it is so accessible these days, it takes a serious-minded effort to remove ourselves from it and find a place of true solitude.

Second, the media makes it more difficult to invest in community. A few years ago, Robert Putnam, a professor at Harvard University wrote a book called Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Renewal of American Community. It’s a book about the loss of community. In it, he documents the role of television in the loss of a sense of community and civic engagement in our lives. He writes:

“Dependence on television for entertainment is not merely a significant predictor of the loss of community in somebody’s life. It is the single most consistent predictor I have discovered. On the basis of quite exhaustive research—nothing, not low education, not full-time work, not long commutes, no poverty, not financial distress, nothing is more broadly or more deeply connected with the loss of community and relational disconnection than is dependence on television for entertainment.”

I read not long ago that the average child, by age six, will have invested more hours watching TV than in speaking with his or her father over an entire lifetime. SIX YEARS OLD! If I’m not mindful, by the age of six, my daughter will have heard more words coming from a TV set than from me until the day I die.

And the only thing I would add to this truth about TV robbing us of time with friends and family is that we now must pay attention to video games, I-Pods and the Internet doing the same thing.

Third, the media makes it more difficult to put others first. I read, recently, a fascinating book called Mediated: How the Media Shapes Your World and the Way You Live In It (referenced above). The author explores a now famous question that emerged in November of 1963 and the early part of 1964. The question is: “Where were you when JFK was shot.”

And he spends some time writing about the resulting “Where were you when…” phenomenon.

Ask people where they were when JFK was shot or when the OJ Verdict was read or on the morning of 9/11 and people know. They’ve even crafted a little narrative—starring them self.

But go back to Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. Ask people where they were and how they felt when they first heard the news from Pearl Harbor. Their answer? They remember the moment and maybe a story or two. But mostly they don’t talk about themselves—where they were, how they heard, what they felt. Mostly they just talk about Pearl Harbor and its consequences for America. After all, that’s what mattered.

But why don’t they tell “where I was when” stories?

Because they weren’t there. That’s why.

“People who just heard about Pearl Harbor on the radio and read about it in the papers didn’t feel inclined to tell those stories because it didn’t feel as if it had happened to them, personally, at all” de Zengotita writes.

And that’s the difference.

JFK’s assassination happened to us. 9/11 happened to us. The OJ verdict happened to us. Princess Di’s death and funeral happened to us. That’s why people in America, by the thousands were mourning and sending flowers and buying that Elton John single “Candle in the Wind.”

De Zongotita concludes, “In some ways, the media has given each of us a God’s eye view of the world. We can see what’s going on everywhere….This is a form of flattery so pervasive, so fundamental, that it has escaped notice, though it ultimately accounts for the much-remarked narcissism of our age. The flattered self is a mediated self.”

Everything the media does is for you—to win your love, approval, and ultimately your dollars. It has turned us into consumers. It has caused us to think of ourselves first and others second.

The media is a force, a force that makes it more difficult to experience solitude, more difficult to invest in community with family and friends, more difficult to put others first.

Now check out Luke 6, in the Bible.

“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles….He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. (Luke 6: 12-19)”

Henry Nouwen writes about a rhythm to Jesus’ day that’s reflected here. And he points out a pattern. The pattern to Jesus’ rhythm is first solitude, then community, then ministry. Solitude, Community, Ministry. Solitude, Community, Ministry.

In the morning Jesus goes to be alone with God, to be filled up with God’s love and grace. Then he connects with his community. He laughs with them, eats with them, prays with them and mobilizes them. Then together they go out and serve and love others. In solitude Jesus learns to love God. In community he spends time loving those who are part of this circle of friends and family. In ministry he loves and serves and prioritizes those outside his immediate circle of friends.

That’s the rhythm of Jesus’ life.

This rhythm was a pattern for Jesus. You can find this pattern over and over in the Gospels.

So why? Why this rhythm of solitude, then community, then ministry to others.

The answer, I believe, is because this rhythm resulted in a life of love towards God and others.

In Mark 12:29, the Bible records that people come up to Jesus and ask: “What should my life center around? What’s the greatest commandment for life?” Jesus’ answers them “love God and love others.” It was Jesus’ life creed. And so he engaged in solitude, then community, then ministry so that he could live out this central purpose.

Love God. Love Others. That’s our creed too.

So let’s review. The media makes it harder to be in solitude, harder to be in community, and harder to put others first. Jesus prioritized solitude, prioritized community, prioritized others.

See, the biggest danger of the media isn’t the sex, violence or bad language it sometimes offers. The biggest danger of the media is that it has the potential to keep us from those things which result in loving God and others.

The real danger doesn’t lie in what takes place on the TV or computer screen or in that magazine or book. The real danger comes from what doesn’t happen because of media. Unchecked, it will keep me from solitude, keep me from loving those in my community and keep me from loving those outside my community.

That’s why Paul writes,

“Be very careful how you live, not as unwise but as wise, redeeming the time, for the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15-16)

And now I want to get a little personal. ‘Cause there is this thing about Jesus. He’s not really into information for information’s sake. He’s always calling us to decisions…actions…steps of faith.

We often say, “I don’t have time!” “I’d love to take the time for solitude, community and serving others. But I just don’t have the time.”

And the reality is that you never have enough time.

If you said, “I’m going to get everything done that my job demands. I’m going to own our company goals, attend every meeting, network with every co-worker, complete every project, take advantage of every opportunity,” when would you leave the office?

Never. There’s not enough time.

The same is true at home. There’s more to do at home than you’ll ever have time to accomplish. Never once have I gone home and had my kids say to me, “Dad, we’ve really played enough. Why don’t you go upstairs and get some solitude.”

My wife has never said to me, “You’re coming home too early, getting too many things done around the house. Why don’t you just slow down, take some time off, and experience a little solitude?” (And, by the way, I’ve never said that to her.)

There is never enough time. There isn’t enough time to exercise like we’d like, to prepare and eat well-balanced meals, to invest in important days and evenings with your spouse and kids and friends, to work all we’d like to work, read all we’d like to read and sleep all we’d like to sleep.

Therefore we must “be very careful how we live, not as unwise but as wise, redeeming the time.”

In life we have real-time, lunch-time, part-time, full-time, crunch-time, over-time, down-time and free-time.

And the media has something for you to do during each of these times.

But there’s a more important time. One that sports coaches use a lot. It’s the TIME OUT!!

And it’s what we need. The question is, will you, will I, take a time out, find a place of solitude and meet with a God who longs to meet with us.