A blog I will probably delete tomorrow

It's been a tough year for the "American Gospel Enterprise".  Richard Roberts and ORU have been rocked by scandal, Randy and Paula White have seen their marriage implode, Juanita Bynum and Thomas Weeks had a very public separation, Ted Haggard's private behavior was exposed, and most recently "healing evangelist" Todd Bentley has confessed to an improper relationship with a female staffer and excessive drinking (that's called alcoholism by the way), and Mike Guglielmucci lied about having cancer to promote his hit song, 'Healer'.  Even as I write this I know I'm leaving out dozens of recent scandals that have exposed serious inconsistencies within the church community and its leaders.

It forces me to ask, "What the hell is wrong with us?"  (Sorry for the language mom.)  I'm getting weary of carrying the shame of being associated with these "men and women of God" who couldn't pass the simplest character test.  We buy their books, support them monthly, watch them on TV, preach their messages, sing their songs, and follow them like Jr High schoolers crying out for Hannah Montana and the Jonas Bro's.  Somebody said, and they were right, "We'd rather follow a man of God, then follow God for ourselves."

The only thing worse than the plastic-personality ministry superhero and us for blindly following them, is the pompous preacher telling us to stop criticizing and critiquing these men and women of God.  We're accused of being Pharisees, faithless sinners, having divisive spirits, or "looking through the eyes of flesh", when after all the hoopla, parade, and charade we find out that maybe we should have been a little more critical.

So I think it's time for some extreme accountability in the church.  It's time for every pastor, church, and ministry to open their doors to outrageous examination and review.  Criticism should be seen as one of our greatest tools, not an evil stumbling block, and critique should be embraced as wisdom from people with greater clarity than ourselves.

Let's stop allowing brainwashing phonies to become stage-dancing celebrities and start  embracing and promoting ministries with solid biblical teaching and discipleship.  It won't be as flashy, it won't help the sales at your neighborhood Christian bookstore, and it won't help fill the airtime on the Christian TV station, but it won't blowup in our face, expose us as shallow and hypocritical, and disgrace the message of the cross.

So I bless you to give up following the mindless mantras of the media hungry Christian celebrities and to embrace following... Christ.  Appreciate the fact that God forgives and his mercy is available to all, but good hair and a charismatic personality do not equal quality leadership in the Kingdom of God.

Nice Wheels

One of the students in our ministry, Kirk, bought his 1st car yesterday.  You should have seen how excited he was to bring it to church last night, it was priceless!!!  A friend was riding with him (who had to get out through the window because the passenger door doesn't open) and they were smiling and laughing as they pulled into the parking lot.  It was so much fun celebrating with those guys last night.  Unfortunately, his truck broke down in the parking lot, and it's in the same place this morning.

Remember the first time you bought something and it was 100% yours?  

First Day

Jace had his first day of school yesterday, but he was most interested in riding the school bus.  Armed with his new Buzz Lightyear bookbag, (which cost more, holds more, and is way cooler than my Eddie Bauer messenger bag), he bravely navigated his first day of kindergarten.  Ronnin and I greeted him as soon as he got off the bus, and I took him out for a celebratory ice cream, which turned into cotton candy and 3 movie rentals as well.  Later that night, we met friends and went out to a Japanese steakhouse.  Jace took a shrimp thrown by our cook to the eye and one landed right on top of Justus's head.  Alas, good times.

Monday, Ronnin and I also took the boys to the zoo for a final fun day before the school year.  The boys rode in their wagon most of the day while I dragged them up and down Everest-like hills as we smelled the elephants, walked alongside kangeroos, got splashed by the sea lions, and scared by the snakes.

Are we taking things way too far?  Are Ronnin and I making a big deal out of nothing?  Maybe trying to relive our childhood through our kids?  

No, it was my parents who taught me how to celebrate the small things in life.  I'll always remember going out to eat with my parents and how they would "oh" and "ah" as the waiter would put our plates in front of us.  My dad would  lead us loudly in celebrating as each member of the family was served their food.  Other tables would stop and turn to see what the commotion was, the waiter would laugh nervously along with us, and we would take turns rolling our eyes as we became the next victim being served our plate.  (Even today, we still perform this ritual, and we're handing it down to our kids as well.)

Growing up, our birthday would include presents, birthday cake and ice cream, and possible a party.  But what would cause us to jump out of bed on the morning of our birthday, rush out of our bedroom, and run throughout the house in excitement, was the birthday chair.  We would run to the dining room to see our chair that mom had decorated the night before.  it would have colored streamers, balloons, a banner with our name on it, and whatever else mom thought of the night before.  It was the highlight of our birthday!  Again, this is a ritual that I'm passing down to my kids.

My parents taught me to celebrate life.  They made me appreciate the importance of creating lasting memories by going out of their way to recognize achievement.  When I received the same trophy ever other kid did in football, they made me feel like I just won the Heisman, when I passed the second grade, they made me feel like Einstein.

So I bless you to go overboard celebrating life.  Recognize, appreciate, and take time to reward the people in your life that you are closest to.  Live life to to its fullest, for it's the best way to respond to God's love for us.