3 Misconceptions about Transformation

Misconception #2 “Positive, ‘feel good’ experiences will transform my life and make me more like Christ.

Oh how I wish! A large American church recently did a poll that contained the following question. “Think about an era in your life when you felt like you were growing most spiritually. What factor most contributed to that growth?” In this simple survey the number one answer was overwhelmingly, “Pain!”

While we all enjoy “feel good” moments in life, the hardships and difficulties we experience are often the highest contributors to our transformation. Thus, the old adage “No pain, no gain” really is true. Because of the influence of our culture, many have bought into the fallacy that God’s primary function in this world is to produce as little discomfort in our life as possible. God is our God as long as things are going swell, yet when we hit some painful bumps along the journey we wonder why God has abandoned us. This type of thinking is simply not Biblical. The Bible teaches that while God is not the author of pain, He does allow us to experience pain. And, he uses the difficulties in life to help to chisel us into the kind of person that He desires us to become.

So, what is it specifically about the nature of pain that helps us to grow spiritually? Pain helps us to grow because it reminds us of two very important things in becoming like Christ. First, pain reminds us that we are vulnerable. Pain has a way of exposing the feeble, frail and finite side of life. Where there is little or no discomfort in life we can subtly begin thinking that we are invulnerable and in complete control in this world. I remember when my son Caleb was one and a half and learning to climb stairs. I still remember the little guy with pacifier in hand smiling and swaggering from the top step as if the forces of gravity had no control over him. Because he had no prior context of pain associated with falling, he actually thought he was invincible near the edge of those steps. The reality was that he was flirting with disaster. So, despite our constant warnings, our little blond-haired, blue-eyed Humpty Dumpty had his great fall. Fortunately for him, it was only from the third step, not the thirteenth! Of course, this painful incident reminded him that he’s only human after all. The painful bruises and bumps of life remind us that we are not ultimately in control. The pain that we experience in life helps us to grow in ways we never would without it. C.S. Lewis once penned that “God whispers in our pleasure and screams in our pain.”

Second, pain reminds us that we need outside assistance in order to become whole again. From the irritating toothache, to the crumbling marriage, painful experiences create within us a desire to seek outside help like nothing else. We've all heard the phrase, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Well, that proverb is has overly simplistic view of life. The reality is that much of life is broken, but we choose to live in denial of this reality. However, pain is like a slap in the face that wakes us up to the fact that all is not well. Pain is a reminder that we are broken and need of divine intervention to be made whole again.

As I write I think of my good friend Tim Young who suffers from chronic back problems that include constant surges of shooting pain that explode through his lower back down into his legs resulting in agonizing days and restless nights. The doctors prognosis is that little can be done to alleviate his discomfort. He recently shared with me that it is precisely his pain that has taught him to seek harder after God and to be sustained by Him on a moment by moment basis. Tim’s pain and discomfort in his life force Him to rely on God in ways he never would have dreamed before his accident. Tim reminds me of another man who was very familiar with pain: the apostle Paul. Paul talks openly about a “thorn in his flesh” that he struggled with in life (II Corinthians 12). In II Corinthians 12:10 Paul comes to the conclusion that “when I am weak, then I am strong”. In other words, through the weakness of our painful predicament we are reminded that we have the outside assistance of a God that’s promised to grant us what we need in our time of trouble and the grace to weather whatever difficulty life may throw at us.

Like it or not, pain has a big part to play in our spiritual transformation. St. Peter concurs. “Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God is not on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner” (I Peter 4:12-13 The Message). The pain you are experiencing today could very well be God's loving wake-up call for you to rouse you from your independence and wake you from your spiritual slumber, and ultimately to refine you into the person He has intended you to be.

3 Misconceptions about Transformation

I posted this on a spiritual formation blog a while back. In the next few days, we'll talk about something I believe highly relevant and highly troubling to most people. Authentic life change. How in God's name does it happen? Well, we must first realize that apart from God's name, and apart from his grace and power, it ain't never gonna happen. We desperately need His Spirit at work in us if any authentic change is to take place within the core of our being.

But, I've found that even those who do love God and desire His life to permeate our own lives. . . change is still difficult. We are creatures of habit and have settled into ways of being in the world and patterns of thinking that keep us stagnant.

Paul's names this stuff "the flesh". At whatever else the flesh does, it kills us. Our flesh wars with God's Spirit who wants to breed and reproduce new life, transformation in us.

The good news is that transformation is possible and more than a pipe-dream. But, there are a few misconceptions that I have noticed that keep people from experiencing all that God wants for their lives. And, over the next few days I'd like to address three specific misconceptions that people have about transformation in the way of Jesus.


Misconception #1 “The right knowledge and information will transform my life and make me more like Christ”.

While Bible knowledge is pertinent to us actually knowing who God is and understanding who we are, knowledge alone cannot transform. We have often confused knowing more about Jesus with becoming like Jesus. When I was working with college students, each year we’d tackle a ropes course. Now, before beginning the course each student would receive adequate knowledge about how to traverse the course and assured that course was safe and equipped with certified technicians and working equipment to ensure safety and success. Despite all of this solid information from experienced and trustworthy guides, and despite having being dunned in all the right climbing equipment. . . all this assuring information flew out the window as the students, paralyzed in fear, left the safety of hugging a tree on a sturdy platform and took that first step onto a two inch wire tight-rope swaying 50 feet in the air. You see, the knowledge and information informed their heads, could not transform their terrified hearts. The cerebral part of the self was whispering “this is safe, you'll be fine”, while the terrified heart screamed “Get me off of this thing! This is insane!”

Information has the power to inform, but is powerless to transform. The only way to achieve success on a ropes course is through the experience of actually traversing the course. In many ways experience itself is the primary teacher. You'll not learn a think about a ropes course unless you take that first step.

In the same way, there’s always an experiential element to God’s shaping us into His image. He calls us not only to know, but to trust, to risk, to routinely act upon that which we know in our heads to be true. One area that we are continually building into our lives here at Hayward Wesleyan is the experiential element. As teachers we’re no longer only asking, “what do I want people to know”? But also, we’re asking “how can we provide experiences that help people apply what they have just learned to everyday life experiences? How can we encourage people to take that risky first step?" Rick Warren probably summed it up most vividly. He says, “Information without application is abortion.”

As the life-giving seeds of God's Word is sown into our hearts and minds, we are responsibilt to God to cultivate these seeds of knowledge by putting them into practice in our everyday life. Failure to do so results in an aborted mission. Of course, life-change in Christ sounds real good as we "theorize" about it on Sunday mornings. But, when Monday arrives and we're back dangling 40 feet over our heads in fear and anxiety, it's a different story. The powerful words of Jesus that we gave mental assent to yesterday, seem far more dangerous and risky to listen to when we are being asked to step out in faith and apply them today.

Perhaps it's at these junctures in life where Jesus lovingly smiles and whispers "O ye of little faith." You see, if we do believe in Christ and we intend to become like Him, we must go where he bids us to go. And, like being on the starting platform of an insanely scary ropes course, there are really only two directions to head in. We either back down and retreat to where we once were (and most of us know that there's no future in that), or we step out in our knowledge of Him and take that first step He's calling us to take today.

Instead of making a life out of hovering on platforms and hugging trees for one another day, week, month, year or decade. . .may we remind ourselves that the only knowledge leads to transformation is knowledge that is applied in real-time and real-life. So, just do it. Quit thinking it's going to get easier or less fearful to take that first step. It never will. We must embrace the elements of fear and risk as part of the Jesus journey.

May we each, in some quiet unexpected moment, step into fear and out in faith and take that first step. And, at that moment, may we discover the joy of being one step closer to becoming our truest selves. . . .one step closer to becoming what God has intended us to become.

On Memorial Day

Each Memorial Day I think of Grandpa LeBright. Aside from being my grandfather, much of what marked his life was his service to his country. He was a Hellcat, a tank Sergent in the 12th Armored Division. Wounded in battle in Dillingen, Germany, grandpa was just an ordinary World War II veteran whose extraordinary acts of courage and bravery were often left unspoken and shrugged off as just doing his duty. He simply did his job and like thousands of other WWII veterans came back, choosing to put the horror of war aside to build a life for his family.

I like this picture of he and mom. It's behind their small (I mean small) bungalow on New Street in Milford, DE. Here stands a man I respect so much because although he had much to cry over, chose to smile. And, though he had seen much hate and encountered much brokenness, choose to laugh and love instead.

The daily effort to put the horror of war aside must have been tremendous for grandpa. I'm sure a bottle of Scotch at time helped to anesthetize some of his inner agony. And, who could blame Him? But, my memories of Grandpa are neither of an angry, war-torn man or of a man in a drunken stupor escaping his pain.

No, my memories of Grandpa are memories of loving kindness and generosity. They are the stuff of shuffling slippers across the floor of his house at the crack of dawn on nights that I slept over and preparing a special serving of hot tea with heaping spoonfuls of sugar and a fantastic breakfast. As a casualty of war, he could of given up on life, yet he found joy in the small things in life. . .like serving his grandson. Some of the most special moments we shared took place before the birds began their mornings calls and people were roused out of bed. Those moments with just Grandpa and I are so special to me.

I also have memories of playing catch in the yard. Grandpa was a good teacher and knew much about the game of baseball. He taught my Uncle Danny, who played professionally. And, Uncle Dan attributed his success to grandpa's teaching and loving encouragement. Perhaps grandpa picked up his good instructional skills by giving orders in the war. In any event, I feel so blessed that he always took time for me as a youngster..."even though you are a south paw", he'd say with a wink.

I didn't realize it at the time, but I am so lucky that grandpa was who he was. I sit here writing on the eve of Memorial Day in tearful gratitude for a grandpa like no other. He helped shape my understanding of what it means to be a man. He experienced death and pain and loss in the war... but purposefully choose to keep smiling.

Sure, grandpa was victorious in Europe. But, perhaps Grandpa's greatest victory is seen in this picture. Head kicked-back and laughing from the gut. The pain and grief he suffered from war I will never understand or know. I think much of it went with him to his grave. What we get in Grandpa is a man choosing to meet a new day with a smile while pouring out his generous embrace to those he loved most. Yes, victory indeed.

We all love and miss you Grandpa!

Organic Multiplication

My good friend and children's pastor here at Hayward Wesleyan, Pastor Jeremy, introduced me to a movement of God going on today in Eastern Europe called Global Youth Initiative. Dave Patty, one of the leaders of this movement has penned an excellent, thought-provoking article entitled "Organic Multiplication" that I suggest is a must read (click the title above).

Churches today talk extensively about multiplication. But, too often behind the language of multiplication is a highly engineered and programmatic effort that seems to require the administrative skills of an accountant and the leadership skills of a CEO to produce. Deep down it feels like a lot of human engineering, rather than an organic act of God.

But, Patty offers a different kind of church multiplication called "organic multiplication" or "organic reproduction". And, it does not have the smell of synthetic systems and programs to reproduce life. No, it has all the smell of real life. Perhaps organic multiplication is a post-modern way of saying "revival" which interestingly, has connotations to fresh life as well. He speaks of a movement of God in people's lives that naturally and organically reproduces life in others. This sort of movement is dependent upon the power and life of God so infused in his people, that that life reproduces itself in others.

I've learned that we cannot control or create such movements. All we can do is prepare ourselves by removing obstacles that keep the life of God from pulsing in and through us. May we live to see the kingdom organically multiplied in powerful ways here in America in our own lifetime. And, may our faithfulness to organic multiplication be seen in the ways that the life of God in us is constantly breathing fresh and new life upon all who we encounter. Only living things have the power to impart life to others. Things cannot reproduce life. Only God and people can. Reproduce His life this week in someone else. And, read this article!

The Indispensible role of Teaching

We all need teaching in order to become who we currently are not. My son Caleb is a perfect example. A few years back, my two sons and I were at a public pool. Suddenly, amidst our wet and wild water fight Caleb immediately got this urgent look on his face and did that all too familiar squirm that all parents immediately recognize. “DADDY, I GOTTA GO POTTY” he blurted out. I knew right away that the situation was marked URGENT, so I quickly reached up and picked him out of the pool and set him next to the lifeguard stand. As he danced around, I took a moment to locate my other to my other son and briefly explained to him that Caleb and I need to make a quick pit-stop at the rest room and that we’d be back soon. Within that short moment, this squirmy three year old decided not to wait for dad, but to take matters into his own hands. And, quite literally, he did. Before I could get out of the pool, he already had dropped his drawers and relieved himself about two inches from the lifeguard's right foot. It was embarrassing and funny at the same time. Oh, to be three again.

As I reflected later on this rather funny experience, I was reminded of how much learning/teaching is required in growing up. Be it talking, walking, tying our shoes, blowing our nose, reading, writing, brushing our teeth, or knowing where to go potty. . . all most all things that we do naturally (and appropriately now) were taught to us. Each of us were dependent on teachers who instructed us in various ways and taught us "how grow up". Unfortunately, Caleb’s main instructor that day was his brimming bladder. Obviously, he still needed some more instruction from dad that day. Like how to apologize to a lifeguard after peeing on his flip-flop.

The New Testament refers to those new in their walk with Christ as "newborn babes". Like babies in diapers, those young in their faith need ample instruction in life and in God in order to grow up in Christ. Think about it. Jesus came to help re-posture people’s hearts, minds, wills, emotions and bodies in a Godward way. In his attempt to do this he could have come as a great military general, or a charismatic politician, or even a conquering king. But, the most transformative and influential person in human history chose none of these grand roles to bring about global transformation. He chose to become a teacher! Yes, Jesus is the savior of the world. But, at the same time He is also the teacher of the world. As such, may we be followers who are intentional about teaching what he taught.

Like Caleb, we all make messes along the way. But, many of the mistakes of life can be avoided when we have loving and wise guides who are intentional about teaching in the way of Jesus.

Lay down the ax, Take up the cross

Sometimes those of us who are deeply committed to the body of Christ can also become the church's harshest critics. In my own journey I've found myself wanting more for the Church. That longing for more has often led to frustration and sometimes cynicism.

A while back I wrote an e-mail to a friend, confessing to him that I'm way too harsh on my indictment of the Church. Perhaps you've struggled with being too harsh on Jesus' body too. If so, I hope this challenge nourishes you today:


"I've been guilty recently of being too harsh and cynical of the church. Sometimes, I wonder if it hurts Jesus when I am so frustrated and sick of his Church. It is HIS body after all. And he still loves her...with all her quirks, failures, imperfections and ugliness. It's easy to be critical of the church and its problems, until I realize that one of her problems is . . . me!

I want to look at broad brush strokes and sweeping trends in the culture of the American church and criticize her accordingly. But rarely want to do put my own life through such a candid analysis! As I look in the mirror I am mindful of how little I spend time in prayer and fasting and weeping on behalf of Christ's body, and am floored at the realization that this is precisely what I condemn the universal church for not doing.

One of the verses of Scripture that has provoked me deeply is Paul's mysterious words in Colossians 1:24. He writes, 'Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, which is the church'.

Instead of throwing rocks through at a glass church that is feeble and frail and such an easy target of criticism, Paul realizes that his own life is no way divorced from the life of the church. So instead of analyzing the gaps in the church as a whole, he looks at his own life. He concludes that his own blood, sweat and tears are somehow helping to fill in the gaps of what's still lacking in this suffering, struggling gatherings of people that God has named 'the body of Christ'. Instead of dishing out blows towards the church, he is willing to receive blows on her behalf, realizing that the weight of his own suffering is in some mysterious way being used by God to make the church stronger and more whole.

Perhaps God is calling me to lay down the ax I have to grind and pick up the cross I'm called to bear. In this text, Paul seems to be responsible for Paul. The responsibility of the Church at large. . .well, Paul leaves that in the hands of Jesus.

So, throughout my day today, I'll continue to wrestle with a church flooded with American consumerism, entertainment-based faith and individualistic Christianity. I'll deal with people with deep pockets but shallow hearts, believers who are apathetic towards things that break Christ's heart and saints who are lost in their cynicism. Yes, this is the American church at her worst...and perhaps in some cases at her best. But, I don't want my life's legacy to be a cranky critic who played a good game of arm-chair theology about all that's wrong with the church today.

Rather, I aspire to be like Paul. A man able to respond to a church still lacking, by believing that IF I give my all, Jesus will use my life towards the greater good of his Church...even if tangible results are not seen in my own lifetime".

Jesus gave His body for our lives. May we give the best of our lives for His Body."

A Summer's Resolution

Several years ago I remember taking Jackson, who was about 3 at the time, down to Minneapolis. Destination: Camp Snoopy in the Mall of America.

We arrived Friday night at my in-laws house in Minneapolis around twilight. During the last hour of daylight Jackson and I decided to explore a small playground down the road from the house. As we made castles in the sand, discovered ant hills together and played on an old swing I couldn't help but think how much more fun tomorrow would hold at the amusement park. As we headed in for the evening, hand in hand, I remember thinking, "If you thought this night was fun buddy, just wait till tomorrow. You'll be in heaven."

Hell might have been a closer metaphor. All those rides. All that junk food. All those people. And to top it all off a three-story statue of snoopy. None of it seemed to satisfy my son that day. Over-stimulation. Over-saturation. Over-kill. And he was overcome. So was I!

As I carried my tear-filled, snotty-nosed, fatigued son through the mall towards the car that day I thought about the simplicity of the playground the night prior. How much more fun we had playing in the sand than conquering lego-land. On the drive home, I thought a lot about MORE and LESS and how they relate to our contentment as people.

Then it occurred to me. It's simplicity, not saturation that's the gateway to gratitude.

Whether kids or adults, we get duped into this lie that the more we have the more content and more grateful we will be. Actually, just the opposite is true. It's in simplicity that we become more grateful. Often when we have less, we learn to appreciate and to be content with the Father's gifts. Simplicity, not saturation is the gateway to gratitude.

During this summer season, I encourage you to be done with the saturated life of MORE. Stop attempting to quench your thirst by drinking out of a fire hydrant! Look for fresh splashes of the clean and refreshing water of God's gifts. And, those droplets of living water are usually organic and ordinary, appear in the mundane aspects of everyday life and come to us free of admission. They might look like a deep soul-talk with a friend, enjoying the juicy taste of a fresh cantelope, sharing a belly laugh with family member or enjoying God as he paints a sunset at the end your tiresome day.

One author expressed a key truth when he confessed, "Contentment is not having all you want. Contentment is wanting all that you have." As we move from saturation back to simplicity, we'll discover that we already have all we need and find deeper contentment and abundance in our lives. For many the thought of living more simply equates to living with less. And, in one sense, that's true. Sure, simplicity means less stuff jammed into your life. But within simplicity we also discover a great Biblical paradox that less is more.

Lord, in these next few months of summer let me release saturation and embrace the simplicity of a child. In that simplicity, allow me to see your world afresh by loving deeper and living richer. Help me to truly want those precious gifts that you have already given to me. Teach me to lean into all that I have at my disposal. And, guard my heart from the lie that I need more to be content. As I inhale the practice of simplicity this summer, may I exhale a heart of abundant gratitude. Amen.

Why safe isn't enough

On my way into work this morning I was listening to a local Christian radio station. Within a five minute period I heard two advertisement for the station. In both of these short marketing jingles, the primary word used to describe the distinctive element of this particular station was "safe". Safe? Songs invoking our great God to act and fulfill His will with His people and remake this world over. . .Safe? I think not.

Okay. Okay. Of course, on one level, I understand that for marketing purposes words like "safe" and "kid friendly" are very appealing in light of the overall decadence of our culture today. And, I'm sure that Christian radio is trying to attract new listeners, and people today are looking for safe, kid friendly, family-oriented things to listen to. That makes sense and is practical. I get all that.

But, let's think about this on another level. Maybe using the word "safe" when referring to Christian worship is actually very, very dangerous. Dangerous because people begin to equate songs that invoke worship of the God as primarily safe, tame, nice, kid-friendly stuff. If we dare to take time to meditate upon the God whom we serve and the name we invoke when we casually sing tunes about our holy God on our way home from work. . .well, there is nothing safe about this God or our worship of this God. "Let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:28-29).

Christian songs that invoke worship are not merely safe alternatives to bad music. Songs written about God are not great because no curse words or sexual inuendos appear in the lyrics. No. God-music is great because the One to whom we sing is great. It is never safe, because the One we give homage to cannot be tamed, managed or ever safe. Consider a loyal subject approaching the royal chamber of a king. As he approaches the throne, he may feel many things as he bows before His Lord. Reverence. Honor. Loyalty. Joy. Fear. Respect. But, safe? What would a King be like whose greatest adjective is "safe". Not much of one I suppose.

After the second jingle this morning, promoting the safeness of the station, the DJ ironically played Chris Tomlin's thought-provoking song aptly title "Indescribable". The lyrics go like this:

Indescribable, uncontainable,

You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.

You are amazing God

All powerful, untameable,

Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim

You are amazing God

Certainly no safe God is presented here. Oh, that our hearts would connect with a God that is indescribable and untamable and powerful! Not simply a God whose essentially a nice alternative to sex, drugs and rock n' roll. No, there's nothing tame or safe about our God or our worship of Him.

I'll end this muse with one of Annie Dillard's famous quotes dealing with how we have tamed God and over-sentamentalized His church.

"Why do people in church seem like cheerful, brainless tourists on a packaged tour of the Absolute? … Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping god may wake someday and take offense, or the waking god may draw us to where we can never return.”

—Annie Dillard, Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters (New York: Harper & Row, 1982), pp. 40-41.

Jesus' World

“Jesus’ good news about the kingdom can be an effective guide for our lives only if we share his view of the world in which we live. To his eyes this is a God-bathed and God-permeated world. It is a world filled with a glorious reality, where every component is within the range of God’s direct knowledge and control—though he obviously permits some of it, for good reason, to be for a while otherwise than as he wishes. It is a world that is inconceivably beautiful and good because of God and because God is always in it. It is a world in which God is continually at play and over which he constantly rejoices. Until our thoughts of God have found every visible thing and event glorious with his presence, the word of Jesus has not fully seized us.” (Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy).

Our apprenticeship to Jesus goes deeper than simply mimicking Jesus’ actions. WWJD (what would Jesus do) is incomplete. You see, discipleship goes deeper than behaviors. Discipleship is sharing Jesus’ worldview. It is all about altering our sin drenched reality and embracing the reality that “in Him we live and move and have our being”. Jesus view of life and reality is counter-cultural simply because where God is juxtaposed. To Jesus, the Father lies at the center of all things. However, we are not prone to putting God in the center. He often lies within our reality, albeit at the outskirts of our self-saturated worlds. But to Jesus, the good and glorious presence of the Father lie at the core of all reality. Jesus’ world was a world where the Father was central to all going on in this big universe. . .and central to Jesu's own life. The Father is at the source, all else lies in the periphery.

As I reflect on this, I’m thinking that worship must have exuded out of Jesus’ heart and his mind continually. His life must have been wave upon wave of joy, peace, goodness and gratitude towards the Father each and every moment of his existence. What an uplifting person Jesus must have been to be around. To have talked to Jesus and spent the day with him must have left people with a feeling of unspeakable pleasure and delight. Oh, to have spent the day with Jesus. . .it would have been like spending the day with the Father himself.

Today the world is in need for that God-bathed presence that Jesus brought to the world. And, we are called to be that Jesus for the world. As his apprentices we were dubbed “Christians” in the book of Acts . . .a term that simply means “little Christs”. Oh, that when people spend time with you and I they walk away as though they have immersed themselves in a different sort of reality. . .a reality saturated by the very presence of the living Trinitarian community! Bathed in the presence of the Father, Son and Spirit. These thoughts convict me, because sometimes my mind and heart are so disjointed from “my Father’s world” and His reality.

His presence is within His creation. And, his presence is within us through the great gift of His son. Yes, indeed, God’s redemptive activity and loving presence is all over this world defaced by sin. He is everywhere. If only we are able to see what Jesus saw and embrace the God Jesus embraced. I’ve been praying to see the world through fresh lenses. .through the eyes of Jesus.

I’m guessing that Jesus himself whispered in His own way and to his own tune the lyrics of Maltbie Babcock’s glorious hymn “This is my Father’s World”. It would do us well, as we walk the dark realities of a seemingly godless world, to remember what Jesus continually knew and mouth these lyrics as we go on our way:

“This is my Father’s world, O let me ne’er forget
that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the Ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world: The battle is not done;
Jesus who died shall be satisfied, And earth and heav’n be one!”

Discipleship at Turtle Pace

As the pastor of discipleship at Hayward Wesleyan, I am mindful at how painfully slow people's pilgrimages to the cross are! It seems that we are a people who are perpetually in a hurry. Yet the one destination that cannot be rushed, manipulated or short-cutted is the cross. People must take up their own cross in their own time. There are no programs, curriculum, sermon series, or other well-intended ideas that can do it for people. Perhaps the fact that there are no quick-fixes to become like Christ is what makes the journey so undesirable to so many. Whatever the case, I know one thing. . . what we have been given from God, we MUST offer to others! As disciplers we cannot force anyone to become like Jesus. But, you can take up your own cross and encourage those in your sphere of influence to take up theirs too. You can call people to the journey, and offer them pathways towards transformation. You can let your light shine, and invite others to let their lights shine too. Yes, discipleship is a painfully slow process, and often pretty messy too. It was no different for Jesus as he invested in the twelve. Yet, it's out of this slow, messy process that sons and daughter of God are born and real transformation in Christlikeness becomes possible. So, I invite you to reevaluate the progression of discipleship in terms of decades instead of days. Decades? Yes, decades. Think about a person whom you have invested in, prayed for and wished God's best for. Where are they today compared to ten years ago? Sometimes looking at a soul's long haul provides proof that transformation IS indeed happening. But, it is a process...and we are impatient people. The simple reality is that discipleship is a painfully slow process. Eugene Peterson dubbs discipleship "a long obedience in the same direction". It's all about putting one step in front of another one mundane and ordinary day at a time.

Often transformation is subtle and seemingly invisible. It's like a turtle's pace. Is that discouraging? For me it often is. But, I'm reminded that there is no other way to do it than Jesus way. Believe me, I've tried short-cuts. They don't work. We'll have to trust that the path He laid out, albiet slow, is the only one worth walking. In the event of discouragement remember the tortoise and the hare. Moral of the story? The slow and steady pace wins the race.

Upcoming Class

I will be jumping into a conversation on the book of Ephesians on the 23rd of May during our Sunday spiritual formation class at 9.40a.m. So, there's my plug Hayward folks.

My recent research on Paul's visit to Ephesus reminds me of the direction that the gospel desires to take us as we journey through life.

Ephesus was one of the top three cities in the Roman empire. And, presence of the gospel in this city can be attributed to a few humble, yet gutsy men who didn't side-skirt the city and stay on the safe peripheral edges frequenting tame religious gatherings and sipping tea with church basement ladies. Rather, Paul and his entourage, who were not ashamed of the gospel went straight for city-center. Acts 19 gives us a virtual tour of Paul's travels in Ephesus. We might think of it as a Spirit-guided GPS. Let's see where he is led.

The text says Paul took the "interior road" that went directly into this great city. Notice, he doesn't take the exterior road, skirting the outside of this city of close to a half million inhabitants. He takes the interior road and goes straight for the juggler. He enters the mess. And, I don't even like driving on Main St. in Hayward (population 2,028 .5 in the summer!)

Once he hits the city, he moves straight to the synagogue. Which is the equivalent to walking bare-backed into a angry hornets nest. And, Paul knew this since one of his former past-time kicks was to tracking down Christians and throwing rocks at them.

After getting booted from there, Paul ends up in the public square conversing about Jesus for two years in "the lecture hall of Tyrannus". The lecture hall of Tyrannus would have been like the Greenwich Village of Ephesus. An eclectic marketplace of art, philosophy, ideas and religion. They had it all when it came to art, eduction, philosophy and culture. And, Paul brings the gospel here. He discussed and devoted himself to the message of the cross. And, in so doing reminds us that the gospel of Jesus is not preserved by being packed away in a sacred container we call "church". Rather, is to be preserved by his Church (a people, not a place) who daily take Jesus with us into the marketplace of ideas as we discuss and devote ourselves to the message of the cross.

Later in the chapter we find Paul at a public bon-fire held in the name of Jesus where converts were burning their idolatrous paraphernalia and sacred scrolls...which, by the way, doesn't' help Paul make any new friends in a city whose economy was based on the sale and purchasing of religious relics to false gods.

By the end of the chapter we get this amazing finale'. We find that the presence of Paul and his friends at a riot in the theatre of Ephesus...the riot was based on the fact that Paul had "led astray large numbers of people" which had disrupted the economy of the temple cult to the great goddess Artemis, known by the Romans as the goddess Diana, whose temple was one of the seven great wonders of the ancient world!

Image it. A few homeless guys walk into this city with no power, no money, no prestige...nothing. Knowing nothing as Paul puts it, "but Christ crucified". And, by the end of three years, arguably the most religious and most powerful city in the Roman Empire is up in arms over a Jewish rabbi named Jesus whom they had never even heard tell of three years prior! That's power of the gospel. And, the courage to be a conduit of that power by moving into the place that sometimes we fear the most.

Yes, Paul left his mark. The Spirit-guided GPS does not lead Paul outside the metropolis. No, that's not Jesus' style. The way of Jesus is to penetrate deep into the middle of godless confusion. And, the truth of Jesus is to bring His message to places that deem it irrelevant, uncool and unfashionable. And, the life of Jesus is a life that is unmistakably seen. It is a life that has the power to transform and turn entire cities inside out.

The Grandeur of God

In light of yesterday's post, this old poem came to my mind. One of my favorites because in this small prose is the big story of creation, fall, redemption and renewal. Despite all the toxins, pollutants and sewage in our world today, He still is remaking this world. God will not be mocked. What God accomplished on the cross is coming to fruition. It is that deep down reality that He is active within this world, making all things new. That might seem like a long-shot to the faithless, but to we lovers of God it is a present reality. He who has eyes to see, let him see.
Enjoy.


“God’s Grandeur” (1877)
Gerald Manley Hopkins

The world is charged with the grandeur of God. It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil Crushed.

Why do men then now not reck his rod? Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent; There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs— Because the Holy Ghost over the bent World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

And We Groan

One of the inescapable realities of being sons of Adam and daughters of Eve is that we perpetually pollute this world that God created and called "good". We point fingers at one another and shake our heads in disgust at the ways and means that others pollute this beautiful planet...and all the while justify the ways in which we bring our own trash into this world. All have sinned. Which is a theological way of saying that we all pollute. We all bring garbage into this world, albeit, in different ways. Yes, we trash this world daily. It is just a matter of what poison we choose to pollute this earth with. Choose your poison. We may dispense our poison through power, money, sex, security, materialism, self-ambition, apathy towards others or indifference towards the created world. And, don't think for a second that your contamination is just "personal" as if you are only trashing your life. Nothing in this world is merely "personal". Personal pollutants have universal implications. The poison of our lives has a way of emerging beyond valves of our hearts and moving outwards, bringing untold damage to people and things we could have never foreseen. . .even those we love.

Human life alienated from the life of God is a life that will continue to regurgitate toxins of its own making creating disaster on ourselves and one another and the world we live in even when we, ironically, have good intentions. As a result, the apostle Paul reminds us that both we humans and the creation itself, as we see in the picture above, groan. We groan over a world full of toxins called sin...recognizing at the same time, that these toxins are not only contaminating the world, but us as well. The Romans text reads, "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. No 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." All of God's creatures and creation knows intuitively that all is not right. And, we live unified by this truth. Beneath the surface, we are all together on this...this world is not at all is not the way it is supposed to be.

Lord willing, BP and the gang will find a solution to the gulf oil crisis. And, hopefully, their patch-up efforts will prove effective in the end. And, in these situations, Christians, I believe, should reach out with good-will towards those impacted (the people, creatures and environment) by this tragedy because we should seek to honor and protect "Our Father's world".

Yet, situations like this also give us ample time to reflect that outside a relationship with our Creator God, we are a people of pollutants. And, no simplistic patch-up job (be it technology, more education, world peace, etc.) will clean up the mess we are in. Our mess goes much deeper than that. Like a disastrous oil leak deep down, humanity will keep spewing and erupting hazardous waste until we latch on to a remedy that goes deep enough. We are in need of One whose rescue-mission that is powerful enough to rescue us from our contamination without being contaminated in the process. That one is Jesus Christ.

The Biblical text tells us that our Creator incarnated Himself in the person of Jesus Christ and sought to rescue us from ourselves and to turn these toxic souls into life-giving fruits that feed the stomachs and quench the thirst of a world groaning and grasping for life. This clean-up mission is accomplished not by our power or efforts, but by the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel message is clear: We are more polluted than we ever dared to believe. And, simultaneously more loved and cherished than we ever dared to hope or dream.

I actually believe that today. I believe it with all my heart. He has been the only relief worker that has ever gone deep enough into my polluted world to save me from this world...and from myself.

For Thy Pleasure

In eighth grade my class took a field trip to the Baltimore Aquarium. Growing up near the shore, I thought that I had a pretty good idea of the plethora of aquatic life that pulsed upon the ocean floor. But, I had no idea. As I walked from one aquarium to the next on eye level with these beautiful and sometimes bizarre looking creatures, I found myself captivated by a submersed symphony of sea-creatures who seemingly were putting on a show just for me.

I specifically remember this one part of the aquarium that was completely in the dark. I was told that some oceanic creatures live at such depths that they have never seen the light of day. In fact, exposure to any amount of light would do them harm. So, as I entered into their dark domain, I felt as though I was walking into a dark room in a photography class. Not an ounce of light anywhere. I wondered momentarily how we would see whatever was in this room. And, then they came alive. One of the most fantastic displays of movement, color and creativity that my eyes have ever gazed upon. These small fish began illuminating like light-bulbs as they swam. The vast array of iridescent colors darting around, lighting up at will, made any 4th of July grand finale' pale in comparison. The scene was nothing less than brilliant.

I sat mesmerized, subconsciously praising God for the privilege of seeing something so spectacular. Then, I stopped mid-thought. I wondered, why would God create something so beautiful and set it loose in a dark and lonely abyss? Why place such a rich concoction of color and creativity so far down and so far removed from human human enjoyment? As I left the aquarium that day,these thoughts went with me.

Many years later I sit here having grown in my understanding of God. I used to think that God created good things entirely for our pleasure. That is, He created the world simply for us to enjoy it and to explore it. But, I've gradually have come to recognize that God has not created primarily for MY good pleasure, but for HIS good pleasure. Revelation 4:11 states this. It says, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."

I was so confused on why a Creator would create amazing fish that no eye could enjoy, and all the while failed to realize that these fish never escape the eyes of our God. He has been enjoying them since the day He created them! These little flickering pixels of blue and green neon that glow in the dark bring great delight to the One who created them. They dance and flutter for His delight.

Dallas Willard, contemplating on the created world writes some insightful words from his own experience of being "overcome" on a breath-taking beach in South Africa. "Gradually there crept into my mind the realization that God sees this [His creation] all the time. He sees it, experiences it, knows it from every possible point of view, this and billions of other scenes like and unlike it, in this and billions of other worlds. Great tidal waves of joy must constantly wash through His being. It is strange to say, but suddenly I was extremely happy for God and thought I had some sense of that an infinitely joyous [life that He leads] and of what it might have meant for Him to look at His creation and find it 'very good.' We pay a lot of money to get a tank with a few tropical fish in it and never tire of looking at their brilliant iridescence and marvelous forms and movements. But God has seas full of them, which He constantly enjoys" (Divine Conspiracy, 63).

"Undoubtedly, [God] is the most joyous being in the universe. The abundance of His love and generosity is inseparable from His infinite joy. All of the good and beautiful things from which we occasionally drink tiny droplets of soul-exhilarating joy, God continuously experiences in all their breadth and depth and richness" ( Divine Conspiracy, 62).

In Honor of Mom

Most who know me, know that I'm rarely at a loss for words. I find ways to articulate the deepest things inside of me...and it usually comes to me without effort...and flows like a waterfall...or a leaky faucet. Either way, words and I go together fairly well.

But, when it comes to finding the right thing to say about my own mother, I'm speechless. Very few things in my life have made such a profound impact that I'm at a loss for words. But, with mom, the right word never seems to do her justice. And, those of you who know and love my mom, simply know that to be the case.
The only word that comes to me this moment is. . .blessed. I'm blessed to be her son. I'm blessed to have been nurtured and love by such a wonderful person.

Some things transcend words. Most of those things are divine. . .one is entirely human. That one is my Mother. Thanks mom for all that you are to me. I love you!

Aleah's poem

Hanging out with my friends the Heyworths today. Aleah (11),Josh and Jessica's oldest daugther is going to post a poem she wrote about God. Thanks Aleah!

KING OF ALL CREATURES

The snake is the king of the deserts and sand,
Where mice and rat meals are always at hand.
He slithers around saying “I’m the king here,”
“Feel the sting of my poison if you come too near”

The elephant's the king of the grasslands and fields,
He eats vegetarian for all of his meals.
By lifting his trunk up high in the air,
He’s telling the animals “you'd better beware.”

The lion's the king of the jungle green,
He’ll always lick the platter clean.
His mighty roar gives it away…
It is never time to play.

So the bee might be king of the flowers,
The ant the king of the hill.
But God is king of all creatures
And he loves us still.

Redefining Sin

Growing up there was a phrase thrown around "Don't drink, smoke or chew, or go with girls who do." A moralistic view of sin believes sin is simply bad things that we choose to do with our lives. This view is fundamentally flawed. One of the reasons it is flawed is because "badness" is usually erected and defined by our specific culture. For the conservative, fundamentalist badness is smoking and taking on an Aerosmith concert. For the liberal it might be littering that cigarette and judging rockbands by their cover. Both sides religiously have erected standards that categorize and thereby minimize a true nature of sin. Neither conservative or liberal definitions and categories of sin go deep enough to actually get at what is wrong with the world.

Sin in the Scripture is not simply an arbitrary list of things rendered "bad" by God or anyone else. In the Scripture sin is defined as anything that seeks to decoy itself and/or substitute itself for the Creator God. Pastor Tim Keller puts it like this. . ."Sin isn't only doing bad things. it is more fundamentally making good things into ultimate things. Sin is building your life and meaning on anything, even a very good thing, more than on God. Whatever we build our life on will drive us and enslave us. Sin is primarily idolatry" (excerpt from "Talking about Idolatry in a Postmodern Age" ).

If we want to find out where sin is in our lives, we have to look at our idols. An idol is anythingthat we seek to find ultimate security, satisfaction or significance in other than God. We tend to think of Baal or Aphrodite when we think of an idol. But, with this working definition of idolatry, an idol can be really bad things like Meth, illicit sex or greed...or very, very good things like the United States, a Mocha, a spouse or even ministry!

If we desire to grow in our spiritual lives, we begin to dismantle our personal idols and in so doing, will uncover the fact that our sin is not primarily about breaking rules. It is about broken relationship. In toppling our idols we will recognize how these idols held out the promise of security, significance and satisfaction apart from our loving and gracious Creator. And, often we will discover that the "sins" that emerge from beneath the idols of our heart were actually really good things that subtly became ultimate things.

But, keep in mind that the fruit from the tree in the garden was also a creation of God rendered "good". God himself declared it so. But, that goodness was never meant to replace the Creator Himself. And, that's precisely what happened in the garden that day. A simple act led to a monstrous substitution and the created world has never been the same. Adam and Eve are a lot like you and I. They tried to get something ultimate out of something good, and in the process led the human race in a place it was never intended to go.

Your sin and my sin...probably isn't sinister and evil. Truthfully, most of my sins are lathered in good intentions. But, good things are not ultimate things. Means never replace the End. The created order was never intended to replace the Creator. Any attempt to do so. . .whether intentionally or unintentionally. . .whether for good or for evil. . .is ultimately sin.

Chewing with our Hearts Open

"And, on His Law he meditates day and night."

Meditation gets a bad rap in contemporary Christian culture. We have been so thorough in our repudiation of any word, concept or idea that might be confused with another religion, that we have done great harm to the commandments of God in the Scriptures. I have read Christian authors who are so phobic of being "new age" that they have killed every Biblical practice that incidentally uses the same verbiage.

We must keep in mind that much that is written about meditation is not new age, but old age. It dates back three thousand years to a man name David who wrote much about the importance of setting the mind on the LORD and his Word. As Christians, we may need to re-define and refine terms we use so as to be thoroughly Biblical and not be confused with the practices of other religions. However, to repudiate these terms simply because they have been borrowed by other religious traditions is ridiculous.

In my reading of the Psalms the word meditate pops off the page often. The Hebrew word for meditate has connotations of "ruminating" or "chewing on" God's law. The word picture here might be one of letting God's Word sink inside the mouth of the mind and not simply taking a quick taste, but chewing on it. Sucking the flavor, the significance, the meaning and the personal application out of it. And, keeping that God-food in our mouths long enough for it to begin to digest deep down inside our person bringing life, wholeness and direction into our lives. If we are feasting on the Word in this way, I believe we've begun to learn how to meditate.

In a fast food culture where our own tasting, chewing and eating habits leave something to be desired, I assume that our meditative habits need some reformation to.

How do you meditate? When do you meditate? Do you see this as a counter-cultural practice in an "eat and run" society? I'm interested to hear your reply.

Disbelief, Doubt and Mystery

I'd like for you to chime in on some musings I've been pondering.

What's the relationship between disbelief and doubt? Are they one and the same? Or are they separate entities?

What kind of doubt is appropriate/part of the human condition and what is not? For instance, if I am doubting God's goodness or his love, is that the same as not doubting that he will give me the new car that I have prayed to him for? Is one kind of doubt worse than the other?

Is simply the acceptance of the way things are (i.e. I have cancer and am dying)a faithless act and a form of doubt? Some believe so. I know of a family whose mother died of cancer and there was a consensus amongst some friends and family members that even attending her funeral was a form of doubting. They had faith that she would be resurrected. So, why attend the funeral? Needless to say, her resurrection has yet to come. Although we have hope that in the last day it will.

Then there is mystery. Sometimes people want to exercise faith by naming it and claiming it (whatever the "it" may be....could be faith in a healing, a new car, a better job or the healing of a relationship). Of course, God wants us to come to Him in faith for our concerns. But, he wants us to come to Him like children. No pretence. No pride. Without a desire to control or coerce His goodness. But, faith saturated with unfiltered naming and claiming seems. . .well, it seems like a really spiritual way of controlling God to get what you want. Sort of like using faith as a crow-bar that we use to pry and gain leverage over God. What ever happened to the mystery of God? If God is simply a cosmic candy dispenser that gives ME what I put in (assuming that what I put in is the the right thing)?

We may ask then, where does His sovereign will fit into my faithful prayers? I would argue that they do fit. But, any human attempt to figure out how this fits is futile. The bottom line is that we must trust God. We have faith. We pray, but ultimately God ways are still a mystery to man.

Sometimes it seems that people lose faith when they claim that they do not see nor understand God and are frustrated because they cannot nail him down. Yet, should not a large part of our faith assume that I will not see or understand the ways of the Creator? Shouldn't faith remind us that even in such confusing moments where there is no trace of Him, that He still is. That he still loves. And, He still is working to renew all things. . .including my present reality. Is our faith big enough to live within the mystery that is God?

As Friedrich Buechner put it, "To say that god is a mystery is to say that you can never nail him down. Even on Christ the nails proved ultimately ineffective".

If God cannot be nailed down either physically or spiritually, perhaps our faith should not be as much about mastery over Him, as humbly embracing the divine mystery that is Him.

Lost: A Tale of Two Sons

About a year ago I picked up Tim Keller's book entitled "Prodigal God" and haven't been able to put it down. I'm three weeks into a four week sermon entitled "Lost" which is a series highlighting the two kinds of lost-ness that we see in the elder and younger brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son. And, I'm highly thankful for Keller's contributions and exegesis of this text. Keller pulled some of his material together with the help of middle-eastern and Biblical scholar Ken Bailey. Bailey's book "The Cross and the Prodigal" is both powerful and enlightening.

Some people suggest that Biblical scholarship is the stuff of ivory towers and college auditoriums. But, I continually find that good Biblical scholarship helps me to unpack in a deeper and more real sense who Jesus is. So, I'm thankful for the ways these two texts combined with dozens of readings of the parable itself have opened my eyes up to Jesus' radical message within this parable that challenges me daily.

Check out either of these two books. Both are well worth the read.

Your Smiling Face

There's this amazing four year old in my life who can melt my heart with her smile. After posting yesterday about my boys, I was reminded while exercising last night how this song below just makes me think of Kate and smile. A true smiling face is ultimately birthed in love.

And, no matter how challenging my day is, Kate's smile does something to my world to turn my frown upsidedown. This song reminds me that sacred music is not simply religious music. Here's an irreligious tune that serves as an instant pipeline into the sacred. A sacred glance that only can exist between a Father and his daughter. This song, like Kate's smile puts me in a grateful mood.

Think of a loved one whose soul makes you smile as you listen. . .and praise God for the wondrous gift of family and friends.

Parenthood and the Ticking Clock

(I jotted these thoughts down a while back. But they are as true today as when I penned them.)

It’s 9:17p.m.

I just got home from a meeting and have to get my boys down, return a phone call, look over some mail and hopefully catch a few minutes of TV to unwind from a hectic day.



Already 17 minutes past the boys bed time and I haven’t even begun reading yet. As they recognize my familiar footsteps nearing their bedroom, I hear the all too familiar mantra: “Daddy, Daddy, read to us!” Tonight, reading is the last thing I want to do, and I’m racing against time. I’ve got more stuff to do tonight, so I better get right down to business.


As I enter their room I’m greeted with simultaneous bear hugs. Instead of returning the hugs and meeting them eye to eye, my gaze is fixed elsewhere. The bookshelf. “Hmm, what’s the shortest book in here” I wonder. “If I pull this off right”, I think to myself, “I can have the lights out in 13 minutes”. Within seconds I’ve yanked the skinniest book in sight off the shelf and have begun reading. To meet my goal I realize that I’ve got to pick up the pace of the reading and give them an edited version (which of course, they never fall for). As I continue my speed reading, I throw in a monotone voice hoping that if the confusion doesn’t get them more tired, the sheer boredom will certainly cause them to doze off to sleep. “With some luck, maybe I’ll be out of here before 9:30”, I internally scheme.


The clock is still ticking, and I’m reading like a man possessed. “As I flip to page 12”, I think to myself. “Only 24 pages more to go. Haven’t we read Go Dogs Go about 786 times anyway?” The boys interest begins to wane and their eager eyes turn to blank stares. My strategy is working. “Maybe if I skip a few pages, the boys won’t notice.” With each page I become more and more emotionally detached from their little souls and am seemingly unaware of the fact that I am missing a golden opportunity to be their dad tonight.


As, I reach the final stretch, the boys too have become uninterested in the story, and truth be told, uninterested in their dad as well. Needless to say, I'm secretly glad when they doze off before our prayer time because it leaves more time for me to unwind tonight. I turn off the lights and quickly scurry out of their room without a hug or a kiss (after all, why risk waking them, right?) Mission accomplished. And all of this before 9:30. Well, I got want I wanted tonight. I beat the clock. . .and loss something sacred in the process.


I’ve found in my own life that saturated-living often robs me of sacred-living. Saturated-living is a life driven by the stuff of life, overcrowded schedules, random events and the thousand miscellaneous things to get done.
These days I must often remind myself, that my kids are not just another "thing" to get done...they are little, unformed beings created in the very image of God. My highest calling is to love them, nurture them in Christ, and to simply be present with them in and through the ordinary events of everyday life. This is sacred-living.


The clock is ticking. And, soon the day will be gone when I have this wonderful opportunity to lie alongside my boys in bed (do you realize this is a sacred privilege?), read to them about the Lord and pray for them as they cuddle with their dad. Today my oldest son Jackson, if he reaches with his tip-toes, can almost touch the foot-board of his bed from where he lies at night. It seems as though just yesterday he could barely climb into that big bed. God has entrusted parents with an appointed amount of time to pour into their little lives. The grow up too fast.
Very soon our kids will be lying in their children’s beds reading stories to their own boys and girls. And, they will have become a certain kind of person because of us. Their life will either resemble a saturated-lifestyle marked by its tendency of being filled and flooded with stuff, or a sacred-lifestyle characterized by intentional investments in deep relationship with God and others.


Time is fleeting. So, I am attempting to become more and more the kind of person who embraces the sacred life by intentionally nurturing my kids hearts in the way of Jesus. For me, this begins in the bedroom at night where I have the opportunity to look into bright eyes and open hearts and to tell ancient and modern stories about good and evil. . .to kid around and to laugh. . to share my day with them. . .and to whisper strength into their open, attentive hearts.
This is the stuff of parenthood and of embracing sacred-living. So, my encouragement as a fellow parent and a pastor is to be committed to becoming this kind of person to your kids. It’s a big responsibility, but is fleshed out in small ways like simply reading and praying with your children. And, the time to begin is tonight. After all, the clock is ticking.

A Must Read Article

Last night in our Embracing the Story class, Mark Jalovick read a stirring article that convicted me deeply. It's a quick, yet powerful read serves as an wake-up call for our American, over-consumerized faith and allure us back into the reality of the person and work of God Almighty within "the cruel edges of the world".

The Rabbi in the Room

"We are all members of one another, and one of us is Jesus Christ."

-Austin Farrer

There is one who attends your group. He sits and listens and makes himself available each week in your small group community. His name is Jesus Christ. He wants to take your small group some where. He's always led communities. And, he wants to lead your community too.

Too often leaders mistakenly think THEY must take the people of God some place. So as leaders we panic or fret over issues, needs or the direction of the group. We convince ourselves that unless we "run things" correctly things may fall apart. I remember one small group gathering several years ago that could only be described in one word: grueling. It was one of those nights where I would have just as soon stayed home at watched a PBS documentary on scrap metal than have gone to group. Driving home from group, I looked over at Ann and bluntly said, referring to the night, "What was that???" Annoyed by the shallow responses, the lifeless stares, and the luke-warm coffee, I felt frustrated and alone. Where is the sense of God's presence? Where is discipleship? Isn't this supposed to be the community of God's redeemed? I remember crying out to God, "Lord, if I don't hold this community together, who else is going to?" In the moments of silence that followed over the next few days I gently recall the Lord reminding me, "I will hold it together. I will."

It is Jesus who holds the community of God together. Jesus teaches that where two or three are gathered together in his name, he is there, right in their midst. Ultimately, our small group leadership is really about follower-ship. We must remind ourselves that the Rabbi is in the room. He is always in communion with the Father, and he desires communion with us. He wants to lead our groups into a deeper, more spiritually minded, unified awareness of the Father. But, in order for this to happen, we must follow His prompting.

Leaders must learn to follow before they can truly lead. Learning to follow Him can come in many forms. However, for those of you who are leading this week, I suggest this simple prayer to prepare yourself for your small group:

Jesus, remind me that you are a member of our group.
You want us to follow you and to experience all that you experienced with the Father.
Help our group to follow where you want to take us.
Protect my heart from anxiety, frustration, agendas and expectations.
Prepare my heart for your leading
And open my eyes that I might see You in our midst tonight.

Amen

The Peace of Wild Things

"When despair grows in me and I wake in the middle of the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with fore thought of grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting for their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free".

~Wendell Berry~


Wendell Berry has been significant source of encouragement for me in recent years. He's a poet, a prophet and a philosopher. Most of all, I find in him in a kindred spirit. The stress of last week brought to mind this simple poem. It's reminiscent of Jesus' teachings on the lilies of the field and the birds of the air. I was reminded that there is a "grace of the world" crafted in creation. If only we have eyes to see and the hunger to embrace it.

What Solitude Accomplishes 3

Solitude teaches me to listen to my body.

Great athletes listen to their bodies. They know when to work the body and when to let it recover. They realize that over-usage often leads to under-performance. In the same way, solitude allows us to flip our “on” switch to “off” for a while so that we can learn to sit and listen to what we really need. In I Kings 19 Elijah is so juiced up that he believes he needs a coffin. “I have had enough LORD, let me die.” But, in solitude God reminded him of what he really needed. A nap and supper. Often I have no idea what ails me until I permit myself to do nothing and waste time with the Lord.

Are you panting uncontrollably? What are you it need of? Rest? Laughter? Friendship? Silence? Hearing God’s voice? Without solitude you might never know.

What Solitude Accomplishes-2

Solitude helps me maintain a proper perspective on life.

The faster we move the blurrier life becomes. Remember those rides at the state fair that were essentially merry-go-rounds on steroids? Round and round faster and faster. In such moments reality quickly becomes blurred and we lose perspective of where we are and what’s going on around us. All you can do is simply hold on and pray for the ride to end! For many of us life is just spinning way too fast. We think we have perspective, but in reality do not. Recently, after a few long days of non-stop activity I was hit by what I thought was a tidal wave situation. The following day I spent some time alone in prayer and got a full night of sleep that evening. Much to my surprise, the next day that tidal wave situation became a mere ripple. The situation had not changed, but my perspective had. Solitude benefits our lives by placing our body in a posture of stillness and refreshment long enough to get a clearer, healthier perspective on life.

What solitude accomplishes

We've been discussing the great need in our world today to combat busyness and hurry through the spiritual discipline of solitude. So, what does solitude accomplish? While this is by no means exhaustive, when I go into solitude with the Spirit leading me here's what it has taught me:

I am NOT the sum of my relationships or achievements.

Henri Noewen writes, “We remove our scaffolding in solitude”. That is, I no longer allow the things of this world to “prop” me up giving me a distorted view of who I really am. In solitude, I let everything down. I go into a quiet place with nothing other than, well, . . .ME. And, in doing so, I am reminded I am God’s child, not by way of merit, popularity or charm, but because I am his created work. Because Jesus accepts even me. I learn as I still my soul, to differentiate myself from my achievements. I am liberated from the notion that we are the sum of my to-do lists and the sum of my relationships. I embrace the ME that Jesus has already embraced. And, on most days, that's not easy. But it is freeing. And, solitude will impress this kind of freedom upon you.

The "Driven" Life

A few years back we went through a series called “The Purpose Driven Life”. And, while the focus of the series was all about discovering our purpose, I couldn't help but notice the word “driven”. . According to Webster, the word driven means to “keep in perpetual motion” or to “forcibly move onward”. The word driven is language of the modern era. It speaks to us of mechanization. Of rapid velocity and high octane performance.

Fortunately, people are not machines. But, the era in which we live breathes the oxygen of movement, performance and velocity. And, the technology that promised to make life easier, leaving more time for relationships, has strangely and paradoxically made us less human and more mechanized than ever before in human history. Think about it. If we are nothing else today, at least we are in motion, right? When we ask someone how they are, the typical answer. . . "I'm Busy." Busy has become synonymous with importance, competence and efficiency in our time. And, we value busyness. Perhaps we should actually sit back and assess to what end in all this busyness and drivenness is leading us?

Is the abundant life that Jesus speaks of compatible with the busy life that we give so much homage to? It does not seem so. Too often, a body charged with driven-ness and busyness is a body that is continually fighting stress, fatigue and dissatisfaction with life. Certainly, a driven body is one who resists God’s commandments of Sabbath; rest and be still. Moreover, there are a plethora of emotional and physical symptoms that serve as reminders that our body's have become too driven-oriented. Richard A. Swenson M.D., author of “Margin”, points out that the psyche is the point of entry for the insidious stress virus. A few of the symptoms include: depression, withdrawal, mental fatigue, anxiety, negative thinking, paranoia, impatience, apathy, confusion and anger and hostility. And, they told me H1-N1 was bad...

Well, if two or more of these symptoms are characteristic of your life, chances are you got the virus! And, the pain you are experiencing are God's internal indicators that something is off kilter. Listen to what you body.

Solitude, ample time spent alone doing “nothing”, is a great remedy for the driven-virus. Now, right away us driven folks will utter, “I’d love to get away alone, but I have so many things to do!” If you find yourself nodding your head right now and completely agreeing with this statement. . . you got the bug. It's pulsing through your veins.

Remember, Jesus found ample time to be alone. Solitude was his immunity to hurry-sickness. And, remember his mission and task was exponentially greater and more stressful than yours. So, there’s no good reason you can give for not getting time away. It can be done. The important key to remember is that solitude teaches a hyped-up, driven body lessons that it cannot learn elsewhere. We all need down-time. It is a gift from God to our body and our soul.

In tomorrow post we'll muse over three things we learn in solitude that cannot be learned elsewhere.

Down Time

Several years ago I purchased my first hunting dog. She was a bird dog. An English Setter, sired by Havelock Blacksmith a national champion pointer out of North Dakota. I named her Maggie, but called her a lots of other things in the three years we had her (things I better not put into writing here). She could have been the poster canine for a magazine entitled “Gun- Dogs Gone Wild”.

I quickly realized that pointers as a breed, and particularly English Setters, are unique dogs. Their insatiable desire to find birds combined with their unending desire to please their owners create a powerful hunting concoction that often results in great days of hunting, yet at the same time, can be disastrous to the animal. Believe it or not, in some cases, these dogs are so driven they will literally run themselves to death in hot weather.

Consequently, many a gun dog owner set limits on their dogs and build in ample “down time” during the hunt because these animals strangely seem unable to set a healthy, sustainable pace. Can you imagine being so “on”, so hyped up, and so driven that you lead to your own demise?

I can. I have a feeling that English Setters aren’t the only breed that struggles with exhausted bodies that are left gasping for breath at the end of the day. I can say with certainty that the need to achieve in my own life and has left me panting and licking my wounds on multiple occasions.

I encourage those of you who are out in the field of life running and panting far more than you should to build in some much needed “down time” in your life. Most likely your body, conditioned for activity, may initially resist and even detest the stillness of solitude. You might feel the way Maggie felt when I locked her in the kennel for her own good. That’s okay. Lots of good remedies taste bad going down the pipe, but given time and patience, do their work well.

Take my advice. Practice solitude. Just do it. Find time to get away. Bring with you no projects, no to-do lists, no i-pods, Cd's or Sudoku puzzles. Most of all, bring no agenda for what you are supposed to "get" out of this time. Simply go with God. Alone. Still. Together. As your life slowly ceases from activity, you soul will begging to uncover itself to you.

My next few posts will focus on why solitude is God's primary means of grace, ever at our disposal, to restore health and sanity back into our lives.

Have you experienced the power and potency of being alone with God? If so, I would love to hear what you have personally learned in solitude.

Cash on Resurrection

I like what, my Pastor, Mark Wilson posted today. If you like Johnny Cash and follow Christ, you're in for a treat. Enjoy.

http://revitalizeyourchurch.blogspot.com/2010/04/aint-no.html

A Good Friday Meditation

I was pondering today Jesus’ second to last words. “It is finished.” Jesus went all the way to completion. These words convicted me of when I would have called it quits.

Tonight at our Good Friday service, I asked our congregation to meditate on this prayer that I wrote as I thought of my failures and his completion. Picture yourself in Jesus’ situation and be reminded that what Christ accomplished and went through went he uttered these words..

Lord, you were sold and betrayed by your close friend, and deserted by all your disciples in your hour of need. You were cut to the core by those closest to you. I would have given up. But, in solitude you pressed on

Because all was not yet finished.


Lord, you were given a mock trial where injustice ruled the hearts of treacherous men in the night. I would have screamed “unfair” and lost heart. But you did not utter a word to your accusers

Because all was not yet finished.

Lord, soldiers took you and had their way with you. They whipped you, slapped you and spat upon you. Worse yet, they mocked your royalty by dressing you in a crown of thorns that they violently pressed upon your bleeding brow.

I would have sought revenge in that moment to crush them and render them impotent. But, you. You willingly received their torment. Instead of retaliating you endured the pain of rejected love

Because all was not yet finished.


Lord, they placed a heavy wooden beam on your bruised back. They herded you, like an animal, to the place they had assigned for you. The insults and murmurings of the crowds. The soldiers insults…roughly goading you onwards. You stumbled and fell and rose again.

I would have given in. I would have given up. But you, You got back up and pressed on to the place of the skull

Because all was not yet finished.

Lord, they stripped you naked. You were stripped of your dignity, stripped of your honor, stipped of your diety…They stripped you too of your clothing. Any act of decency and humanity gone. Must they take everything? You layed bear before the world.

Had they taken everything from me. I would have given them something in return. I would have offered insults at all the on-lookers, I would have cursed and screamed damnation on them. But, you, you forgave your oppressors further leaving yourself vulnerable to those who would strip the King of Kings

Because all was not yet finished.

I would not have made it to where you did Lord. I would have said “It is finished” long before you. I would have said it in defeat, in disguist, in disappointment, in despondency. But you O Lord, went all the way to the end. In that last sacred moment, when all had been given Lord and nothing more could be expended as you gave your life you uttered

It is finished.

You are Jesus the Christ. You God’s servant.
You are the one who accomplishes what I could not and can not
You complete what is lacking in me…you complete what is lacking in us.
You have finished what we started.
And, brought resolution to our calamity.
We praise you Christ!

Because of you our faith begins not with a big DO, but a big DONE.

You have done what we could not do for ourselves. You became sin for us. Once and for all our sins are atoned for and we are reminded today that it is not what we do Lord, but what you have done and what you accomplished on our behalf when you cried the words,“It is finished”.

Amen.

Why? The Question of the Passion

The first time I heard this song was at Eastern University as a freshman college student. I had myself always pondered the many "why" questions related to the inhumane treatment of Christ. Michael Card's song doesn't unravel all the mysteries related to the atonement...that's not his intention. What he does do in this song is help us understand that the mystery of Christ's passion makes sense only within the context of a larger mystery called LOVE.

Meditate and associate yourself with His sufferings as you take in this song.