Invest

I was very surprised to read that 49.5 percent of all U.S. households own individual stocks or stock mutual funds.  At first I was very proud to hear that in spite of Dave Ramsey's robust rantings about our financial foolishness, we have been saving and investing and not blowing our money on the latest installment of Guitar Hero.  

I was about to give the "Great Ramsey" a call, exposing him as a false prophet of our moronic money handling, when the next sentence in the article caused me to put the phone down.  The article stated that the majority of investments made by Americans were not voluntary and were instead made by their company as part of a salary package, 401K contribution, or other benefits package.  The actual percentage of Americans who voluntarily invest is 14 - 20 percent.

(In the spirit of George Barna, I was first tempted to manipulate this raw data to position myself as a radical rebuker of the "church" and its influence on culture, while capitalizing on the opportunity by selling books and going on speaking tours.  But that seems a little too apathetic and arrogant for a simple man like myself.)

I'm not sure what the numbers mean, but it did cause me to ask myself some questions.  How much of my life is preparation for the future?  How many opportunities do I take to invest time and resources into the relationships that mean the most to me?  Do I consider investing as an integral part of being a "whole" person?

The Hebrew word gemilt khasadim seems to more accurately paint a picture of the true spirit of investing.  It's where we get the word lovingkindness from and it means to exert oneself on behalf of others, whenever possible.  

I'm not sure how much I live like this.  I guess I'm more of a casual investor.  It would be a stretch to say that I exert myself for the betterment of mankind on a consistent basis.  I care, pray, and take opportunity to bless those around me but it seems to come more naturally, and not a disciplined act of exertion.  But I'm not ok with this.  As much as I want to live life in the moment, I also want those moments to enrich the lives of others around me.

So this Christmas, and throughout the new year, I'm deciding to become more intentional and deliberate to love others as I love myself... simple humanity.  I bless you to enjoy life, live it the full, and to invest in the lives of others around you.

YOUR sacred journey

I just returned from my local bookstore and was inspired by a new book.  I started picturing my ministry following the footsteps of this successful person and quickly imagined the impact my team could make by putting his principles into action.

I asked myself... Why bleed in the dense foliage of undiscovered truth when I can just follow someone else's highway to success?  Thanks los for your article reminding me that the only person we're called to emulate isn't found in the christian book store, but instead on the fearful and frightening journey towards truth and authenticity.

I'm still committed to reading of the rise, fall, and revival of great leaders and innovators of today, but I'm just as interested in packing my first-aid kit and continuing on my own sacred journey.  

Embracing Your Community

I bought a Mac earlier this year, and along with it I received a free subscription to Macworld.  I don't read it much, it's 90% advertisement for mac products (because everyone needs a pink carrying case for their new iphone) and 10% informational, but way too informational for a novice Mac user like myself.

Anyway, I started flipping through the pages to look at the pretty pages, which is pretty much how I read everything (yes, I do still use my childhood picture bible) when I actually ran into an interesting article.  It was in the very back, between advertisements for things called 8-core, quadxeon memory and mercury elite-al dual drive hubs, and I was just content to find an article that contained real words.

It was titled, Embracing Our Community and was written by Paul Kent.  After reading the article several times, I found myself very ashamed that this guy and the management team at Mac are better motivated and focused at creating a sense of community then every pastor I've ever met, including myself.

The article was describing how the Mac community has evolved from small user groups in the 80s, to a community today bonded together as strong as any family.  Okay, so maybe a little hyperbole was at work, but an still interesting an article.  According to Kent, here's how to do it:

1. Gather the Tribe

- Create opportunities for people from various backgrounds to network with 

each other through real-world interaction.

- Create a community with shared passion, commitment, and love

- Become a community of zealots, invested in the rise and fall of the 

organization

2. Expand the Tent

- Understand that new members to your community bring fresh perspective.

- New members drive the best thinkers, commentators, and leaders in the 

community to stay ahead of the curve.

- New members force you to find something for every segment of your 

potential community.

Too simple? Well the Mac community has used this simple formula to expand 

from a few users to a mainstream market in the millions. Maybe we should 

stop selling sermon series for bloated profits to bloated church members, stop 

spending money to make the building prettier while our neighborhoods are 

getting uglier, and stop talking about God like He's only concerned about gays 

and abortionist, and blind to hypocrites and phonies. Instead, what if we 

attempted to build and be an authentic community of people, recklessly 

pursuing the cause of Christ?

So I bless you to become an architect of a better way to live, a way that

embraces your community.

You and 'Your People'

One of my best friends was born in Brazil, grew up there, and has been to more countries than I can identify on a map.  His wife is Brazilian as well, and has several different races mixed in her blood.  They help lead an awesome ministry to Brazilian families in Kansas City, and use our church facilities as a missions/ministry base.

Last Sunday, someone walked up to my friend before church and said, "You and 'your people' can't use the church next week because we're using it for something else."  My friend has more grace than I do because he found their comments more humorous than offensive.  I wasn't at church on Sunday and I just found out about this last night.  Had I heard them say it, I swear I would have physically removed them from the premises, in the process reminding them that their Saviour isn't white, didn't grow up in the suburbs, and died on a cross so that people who are stupid and ignorant like them, can be healed.

I guess I don't understand how or why the church became so homogenized and Sunday became the most segregated day of the week.  It doesn't feel right, sure doesn't look right, and I hope isn't a fair representation of the Kingdom of God.  

So what's the cause?  Is it simply a difference in worship style, musical expression, and cultural surroundings?  On some level, but I'm afraid there is a little more at work here.  Let's be honest... if your church members are all one color, run and led by a group of men, and governed by old people, you aren't a church as much as you are a special interest group.

An honest pursuit of God should compose of an eclectic community of races, ages, sexes, and ideas.  Anything else is a collection of people with preconceived ideologies, worshipping under the guise of passion for God, while rejecting His great plan for humanity.

So today I'm glad to follow God alongside my friends from Brazil who consider English their second language and America their second home, but me their best friend even though my skin is different, my accent is not the same, and my background and ideas are quite a bit different.  I consider them 'my people'.

I bless you to no longer be stigmatized by your race, religion, and age, but by your ability to listen, learn, and love those who aren't just like you.

Proof of Forgiveness

The other day as I was leaving for work, I promised Jace I would take him for a bike ride as soon as I got home.  Normally I love going on bike rides with Jace.  The weather this fall has been perfect, the trees are beautiful shades of reds and oranges, and we have some great trails in our neighborhood.

Unfortunately, that afternoon the weather made a dramatic change, dropping 30 degrees with a light rain.  As I pulled in the driveway and Jace ran outside to greet me, I remembered my earlier promise.

I let Jace down as easy as possible, and told him that there was no way we were going for a bike ride in that weather.  He was obviously disappointed and didn't understand why we couldn't just wear a jacket and 'be tough'.  After confessing that I wasn't as tough or brave as him, and explaining how sorry I was that I wouldn't be able to fulfill my promise, a funny thing happened.  He said, "Daddy, that's okay I forgive you."  Just like that.  Simple forgiveness.  No strings attached.  No blackmailing involved.  Just instant forgiveness.

It made me wonder, how come I can't forgive as quickly and completely as a six year old?  Why am I more interested in restitution, retribution, and retaliation and not so concerned with forgiveness?

I'm a justice guy.  I want wrongs fixed, evil banished, poverty eliminated, class structures dissolved, and equality for all.  I like to think this was what Jesus was all about, but I'm only half right.  The truth is justice oftentimes becomes misdirected and perverted into boycotting companies, preaching against people who have never and will never attend your church, and putting distance between people who don't think like you.

Justice only works within the framework of forgiveness.  I don't want to become 'that guy' with the cheap suit, a safe cocoon of empty faith but lofty idealism, and little effect on real people who aren't programmed to think just like me.  I want to get my hands dirty, my faith stretched and tested, and see people transformed by truth and forgiveness.  

So I'm making a new commitment to follow Paul's instructions to Timothy, "to be strong in grace".  For every person I don't get along with, who thinks differently than me, or has hurt me in some way, here are 5 ways that I'm going to to start walking in forgiveness and truth.

1. Celebrate their successes

2. Cover their weaknesses

3. Seek peace

4. Ask for amnesia

5. Walk in a deeper intimacy with the Holy Spirit

I bless you to embrace relationships that force you to grow, think, and pursue Christ in a more authentic way.

O vs Mac

Don’t know and don’t care who you’re voting for in a few days, but I recommend you watch this video… http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/choice2008/

PBS did it, it seems pretty balanced, and I was totally inspired listening to the stories of these two guys.  I have great respect for Obama and McCain, and I’m stirred after hearing how they’ve overcome prejudice, hatred, violence, and their own ‘demons’ to serve our country.

613 Ways to Get in Trouble

In kindergarten, my best friend was Daniel.  It’s odd that I remember his name.  I can’t remember any of my teacher’s names from elementary school, although I think there was a Mrs. Smith (No, not Angelina Jolie, more like a Mrs. Doubtfire) or a Mrs. Johnson.  Daniel and I were best friends, and as boys do, at times we were best enemies.

One time at recess, we had our most memorable fight.  We got in an argument, a crowd gathered, I picked up a stick, and in a Roger Clemens moment, nailed him right in his face.  He fell to the ground, acting like he’d just lost an eye.  I should have aimed for his mouth because he went on and on about how he was now blind and injured for life.  As teachers came running to his aide, I told him if he’d move his stupid hand from his face, he’d miraculously be able to see again.

Well Daniel regained his eyesight, but not until after I was sent to the principal’s office.  (Now I do remember my principal’s name, maybe I spent more time there than in my classroom.)  He asked me the same moronic question asked by every law enforcer.  You know the question, “Why did you do it?”  What do you tell the friendly police officer who just pulled you over for speeding through a school zone?  “Uh, I wanted to get home in time to catch Sportscenter.”  “I wanted to see what celeb Dr Phil is fixing today.”  No matter what you say, you’re caught, and you’re going to be punished.

Well, I was six and didn’t understand this.  So as he waited patiently for my remorseful confession, my mind worked hard on a viable story.  And this is what I came up with…

  I have a stick collection in my room, and I was picking up sticks to examine if I wanted to add any of these to my collection.  I picked up a large one, and to my dismay, realized that I already had this species in my collection.  I simply threw the stick aside and continued on my quest for the next great stick discovery.

  Seconds later I heard the exaggerated crying and moaning from my best friend who apparently walked right in the direction of the tossed stick.  I quickly ran over to him, offering my aid and assistance.

I was pretty proud of myself, my principal not so much.  I got punished at school, which involved a big round block of wood, and then punished again at home, which involved a big strong hand.

To this day, whenever I do something wrong, I get caught.  Sometimes I own up to it, apologize, and then move on.  And sometimes I digress to that six year-old boy making up stories about stick collections.

Ask someone how many commandments are in the bible and they’ll probably tell you, “ten”.  The truth is, in the first five books of the bible, there are 613 commandments given by God.  Makes me think that the people who feel that the bible is just a strict rulebook might have a point.  There are 365 negative commandments – “Thou shalt not” and 248 positive commandments – “Thou shalt”

As followers of Christ, we believe that we are created in the image of God, thus we should behave in the manner of God; in a way that honors Him. 

Martin Buber said it like this, “The fact that it has been revealed to us that we are made in God’s image gives us the incentive to unfold the image and in so doing to imitate God.”

Sounds good, but the reality is God isn’t addicted to pornography like us, He doesn’t lie like us, He doesn’t cheat, steal, covet, or the other 600 ways we consistently misrepresent Him.

I’m sober to the fact that I fail hundreds of times every day.  One of the writers of the bible said, “Follow me as I follow Christ.”  I’m not so bold. 

But I’ve got some good news.  It’s interesting to me that the 365 negative commandments equal the 365 blood vessels in the human body.  The 248 positive commandments equal the 248 organs in the human bible.  It gives new perspective to when Jesus told his followers to “Eat His flesh and drink His blood.”

Maybe the key isn’t getting it right, but instead walking with Him.  The bible might have a long list of requirements, but following Jesus only has one… Come.

So I bless you to no longer keep score, but instead to simply walk the journey.  A prophet named Jeremiah understood it when he said, “God loves with an everlasting love, and he draws you in with loving-kindness.”

Dynamic Environment

The Christian faith was birthed by a small tribe of shepherd people called Jews.  They were the bearers of a radical new concept, and this concept became the basis for not only a new form of religion, but of a better way to live.

 In that day, the dominant theology was pagan religion.  They believed that divine creatures predated creation and humanity, but the gods themselves had been created by some mystical force.  Supreme deity was not imposed on these gods, as each tribe and people group worshipped their own gods and followed their own set of morals and laws.

In this landscape, Hebrews spoke out of a personal relationship with their God.  They declared that not only was their God good (James 1:17, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”) but that he was also all-powerful; the one true God (John14:6, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life”.)

Jewish ideas celebrated not only the supremacy of their God, but also described a bold, new relationship between God and humanity.  They spoke of an intimate and personal relationship with God, and His desire to engage the heart of people groups from all tribes and nations.  The Jewish people were not describing a new form of “religion” or attempting to destroy the religious ideology of their day.  Instead they were speaking out of the context of their own personal relationship with Creator God.  The entire Jewish community, every man, women, and child had a personal encounter with God.

But where did that leave people groups who were entrenched in pagan theology and skeptical of rejecting the “truth” that had been handed down from previous generations?  Were they condemned, marginalized, left out of God’s design and plan for humanity?  Joel 2:32 describes God’s definitive plan for mankind, a way to bridge economic, racial, religious, and political divides; “And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved…”

So today we continue to celebrate our unique and personal relationship with God.  And just as important, we reach out of our own “family” with the passion to share the truth that Jesus has a plan and destiny for all of humanity.  Our faith can be expressed in corporate weekly worship services,  but is more accurately demonstrated through the love and assimilation of eclectic people groups from all backgrounds.

Joel understood this as he proclaimed, "He knows the way that I take and when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold."  So I bless you to engage your task not in fixing people, but bringing out the gold that God has deposited in each of us.

Connection Teams

I can finally come back up for air.  I've been hiding out, working on our fall small group manual and study guides for the past few weeks.  After dozens of meetings, hours of collaboration, and working my mac to the max, we're done.  The manual ended up being about 75 pages long.  We started training our new leaders this week and really expect things to explode. (in a good way)

The biggest problem we ran into was renaming our small group ministry.  We went with "Connection Teams".  It's actually a good alternative to some of our other ideas... "Mix and Mingle", "Band of Brothers, and Sisters", "People Not in a Box" (an ode to Petra), "Like a Good Neighbor", "Homemade Goodness", and "Rapture-Ready Radicals".  Some of you are laughing, some are rolling your eyes, but most of you are probably crying.   

Give me some feedback on what your small group ministry is called or what you wish it was called.

Pro-Life?

Sobriety for my Pro-Life Peps

• 4000 babies are aborted daily
  
• 75% of women have abortions because of financial pressure
• Planned Parenthood is funded mainly through state/federal government
• Your Pastor preaches and your church believes that abortion is homicide, abortion doctors are murderers, and women who get abortions are accomplices
• Your church building/land is worth hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars
• Your church invests thousands of dollars on websites, video projection systems, and TV/radio airtime
• Women pass at least 12 churches on the trip from their house to the abortion clinic
• 99.9% of those churches have never offered financial, spiritual, or counseling services to encourage, educate, or equip pregnant women with a way out of the financial pressure resulting from their pregnancy

75% of abortions could be eliminated if the church would stop building "crystal cathedrals", buying the newest choir robes, remodeling their foyer to "remain relevant", hiring additional staff to "minister" to an already saved age group, etc. and instead invest (not politically) in the lives of women in their community by supporting them in any way necessary to eliminate their "need" for abortion.

But I'm a realist.  These things will never happen.  The truth is the church isn't really pro-life.  Because pro-life only happens at a cost (ask Jesus) and for the most part the American church is not willing to invest in people, we'd rather elect someone else to do it for us.  So we'll continue to criticize Donald Miller for praying at the DNC but have no problem spending more on Christian books and CD's then we invest in people struggling to decide between homelessness and parenthood.  It's the American Gospel Enterprise.

We'd rather go through prayer lines than to minister to people in bread lines.  So keep on voting pro-life, but call it something else.  Oh yeah, and remember...  Jesus beat the crap out of half-baked hallelujah phonies who we're using the Gospel for personal gain, because they were making it difficult for hungry people to enter the synagogue to encounter Him. 

Vote for whoever you want, but don't be so naive as to think that your saviour will come dressed in a tailored suit (or pantsuit) on election day.  Instead remember the words of a true Saviour, who was less interested in voting for life and more interested in dying for life "This is the best way to love, put your life on the line for others."

Success

Self-evaluation is pretty scary if you're sober to reality, and most times success gets replaced by survival.  Recently I've felt drawn to redefine what success really is, and not just because my old definition wasn't working out.

Success is being true to yourself, living a life that is consistent with that truth, and influencing others to pursue truth in their own lives.  

Enough said.

Three Amigos and the Gift of Awe

I rented the Three Amigos from our neighborhood movie rental store (No, not Blockbuster).  Jace loved it and Ronnin hated it, proving that it's the perfect guy movie but probably not a good selection for date night.

The next morning Jace said he wanted to dress up as his favorite amigo, Dusty Bottoms.  Here's the pic.  I love sharing great memories from my childhood with Ronnin and the boys.  Jace is at an age where he appreciates it, maybe too much.  Every time we watch a movie, go out to eat, or do something new, he'll ask me, "Joe, did you do this when you were a kid?"

I have an insatiable desire (okay, maybe that's stretching it a bit) to share new things with people, and I bet you're the same way.  Ever time I meet someone who hasn't seen The Prestige, I invite them over and watch it with them for the hundreth time.  It's great to witness their shock, awe, confusion, and then realization that they may have just seen the best movie ever made. 

And that's the fun for me, their awe;  showing someone the unknown and then see them totally blown away by it.  Ronnin and I intentionally and deliberately create memories like this for our kids, but almost every time we have to overcome one obstacle... fear.

The first time I took Jace off a diving board, he was scared to death.  The first time Justus rode down a slide, you would have thought the Spanish Inquisition was experiencing a revival in our backyard.  But something happens at the bottom of the slide and the surface of the water.  Fear is completely overcome in a beautiful display of laughter and excitement.  Inevitably Jace screams out, "Let's do that again!" and Justus giggles uncontrollably.  That's the gift of awe; the death of fear at the hand of great discovery.

So I bless you to know that whatever you're going through, is not greater than the faith of a child in the presence of its father.  Maybe He's trying to show you something you've never seen before, you know, sharing the gift of awe with one of His kids.

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.

The Call DC

 

Summer's last hurray is here and I have one more trip before the school year starts.  This week I'm headed to D.C. for THECALL, a worship, prayer, and fasting gathering of up to one million people on the National Mall.  Ronnin and I are dropping the boys off at her parents place in St Louis, and then we're flying to DC.  We scored super-cheap tickets at a five-star hotel in DC, thanks Priceline.com, and we plan on hitting the usual tourist hotspots while we're there.

I purposefully booked a flight late on Sunday so that we can visit one of Batterson's churches.  I'm also looking forward to the time alone with Ronnin.  We've had a busy summer and she has been very busy with the boys, so this will be a great time for her to truly 'get away'.

Just read this from the website of THECALL and thought it might interest you.  These are the values and goals of the organization.  I especially like the sentence following the header, a simplistic statement of unity.  It makes me dream of a day when denominations, races, and ethnic groups unite for the demonstration of the Kingdom of God.

THE CALL HAS DEFINITIVE VALUES 

The Call supports and endorses all Christian organizations that espouse its values: 

·    Worship 

·    Unity 

·    Prayer 

·    Fasting 

·    Follow Up 

·    Transformation 

·    Repentance 

·    Reconciliation 

·    Impartation 

·    Equipping 

·    Revival 

·    Revolution 

If you had to write an honest summary up your life, ministry, or focus, what would it look like?

Clueless

You ever walk out of a meeting and feel like, "That person just doesn't get it!"  It could be your boss, spouse, kids, coworkers, or whoever you rub shoulders with that at times you'd prefer to rub away.  You go into the meeting hoping to help, teach, or convince the other person to do things a better way.  You know, your way.

A pastor once told me that the key to leading a meeting is be in constant control.  Talk louder and longer, know more than the other person and let them know that you know more, control the subject matter, identify and manipulate the other person's weaknesses to your advantage, and move the conversation to your predetermined outcome.  Yeah, this guy's a pastor!  

I've been in meetings with him and seen him at work on his unknowing prey.  He has the ability to make you feel guilty for things that aren't your fault, can get you to commit to things you don't have time to do, and force you to give in and compromise against your principles.  This guy gave me a better understanding of why Nehemiah and posse wouldn't leave their work to meet with their enemies.  

Now I'm sitting here at my mac wondering if I ever went into a meeting trying to straighten someone out and it actually worked... I'm coming up with nothing.  People I work for, people who work for me, volunteers, even my two sons, do not respond well to manipulation and control!!!

I'm going to let you in a little secret that my wife Ronnin (and Rob Bell) is (are) teaching me - Love Wins.  The more I listen, understand, serve, give, and love, the more God pulls up my tent pegs and expands my borders. (Ok that sounded weird and a little gross, but you get the point.)   I'm exhausted with conversation competitions, boardroom banter, and heckling hoedowns.  I'd rather be the guy that speaks only when he's spoken to, uses words to exhort and not extort, and learns and not lectures.

So I bless you to remember that Jesus saved the world not by words, but but dying and he commands us walk out the same path in our lives.  

Love, Listen, Liberate

Thanks for the comments to my previous post, several of you told me that you had trouble posting a comment and I've corrected the problem.

A few weeks ago we received a letter from a homosexual in our community looking for a church home.  This person stated that they are an openly gay person, and were looking for a congregation that would accept him, challenge him, and help him grow in his pursuit of God.  He ended the letter by asking if I thought that our church would be able to provide those things for him.

Obviously, we could dissect his letter and bring out a few errors in his theology and motivation.   Kudos (yes, I did just use that word) to my readers who commented on the deeper issue, the man himself, because last time I checked, all of our theology is a little fuzzy at times.

With this email still on my mind, I took our students to a conference last week. The second night featured a youth pastor with one of the largest ministries in the country. (If you didn't know, for some reason we (ministers) judge success by how many people follow us.  So Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, and the latest nutjob from American Idol would all be excellent candidates for the protestant pop-bandwagon with book deals, TV spots, and a full conference calendar, if they would just carry around a black book.)

Well this bright-eyed, optimistic messenger of the Gospel and his latest products, got off to a great start.  He took the stage with confidence and lifted his voice with immense bravado and fanfare.  We had our notebooks out, were seated erect, and tuned our ears to receive the latest download from heaven from this man of God.  He went right into his message about catching the next wave of God and he had 4 points to prove it. Apparently God always speaks to us with 3-5 points that most time start with the same letter of the alphabet, and we were halfway through point 2, or d for deliverance, when things got messy.

The speaker referenced point 1, or d for discipleship, and talked about how every teenager in his youth group must be discipled and delivered.  A loud applause and a chorus of amens were quickly interrupted by his next comment when he said,  "And we don't allow limp-wristed boys in our youth ministry."  Nervous laughter was the audiences response but dead silence would soon follow.  Next he explained with Pentecostal-fervor, that faggots and dykes were not welcomed either, they would be delivered or ran off by his ministry-gestapo units.  Not wanting to leave anyone out, he next railed against people with tattoos, tight jeans, long hair, and pretty much everything else Hitler said six decades ago to demonize people who were different than himself.  I was so mad I wanted to scream, but I wimped out and stayed for the entire message. On the way home though, I kept wondering if kids doing drugs, having sex, and skipping church were the problem or if stiff suits horribly representing Jesus and the cross might be to blame.

I have absolutely no problem with homosexuals coming to my church!  I have no problem with people with tattoos, tight jeans, or different ethnic background as well.  In fact, I believe the church should be the most eclectic gathering on the face of the earth.  Every meeting should be a smattering of races, political parties, belief systems, and even religious backgrounds.  We should all gather and worship under the banner of love for Christ.

Does this mean I am tolerant of homosexual behavior?  Have I pulled a Jim Baker Jr and decided to edit the Gospel to please the homosexual community?  Of course not, homosexuality is sin.  But do you know what the bigger problem is?  Church people don't like, and in many times hate homosexual people.  Like a five year old in fear of cooties, we want them out of our church, our political party, coffee house, etc.  I think the entire American Gospel Enterprise (Christian radio, TV, amusement parks, businesses) was started as a way to keep homosexuals out.  

And yet Jesus died on a cross and tore a big veil, to welcome people in.  No gestapo at the door, no Hitler-like suit stirring the crowd to hate, and no utopia free from the people not like us.  You see the man with messy theology who told me he's looking for a church, is a person.  And Jesus told us very clearly that we must focus on two things, loving God and loving people.

So I bless you to leave the dividing dialogue to the political pundits, blowhard radio celebrities, and dead-head theologians.  Take up the greater task to love, listen, and liberate.