awanderingaramean

10 Keys to an Exceptional Children’s Ministry

2012-01-09T09:44:00.000-08:00

Today and tomorrow the Elementary and Preschool are devoting ourselves to taking our ministries to Mountaintop kids and families to a next level. This morning we reviewed 10 Keys to an Exceptional Children’s Ministry.

Love Jesus. This is non-negotiable whether you are a volunteer or on staff, upfront or working behind the scenes. Team members without a passionate love for Christ will dilute your ministry.

Love Kids. Liking kids isn’t enough. Loving “the idea of kids” isn’t enough. Your team has to be sold out in love with kids. Loving kids means you are there for the kids and not to meet a need in yourself.

Recognize that there is a direct correlation between Children and Family Ministries. You can’t minister to kids if you aren’t resourcing and equipping the parents. Resources (time, energy, programming) should be spilt equally between ministering to the kids and the family. Think ORANGE!

Know the “center of your target.” Once you know the target, become an “expert” in the life and culture of your target. What are they watching on tv, where do they shop, what’s important to them? What are your “targets” developmental stages and how are the changes?

Pass the Baton Without Dropping. Take a “long-view” in planning the “scope and sequence” of the development of a “disciple.” Pay attention to the handoff between ministries. Set the goal for what the “final product” is supposed to look like.

Spend Money Intentionally. Everything we do conveys both explicit messages and implicit messages. Environment is important and first impressions can only be made once. Remember the medium is the message and people are paying attention.

Sprinkle Pixie Dust Whenever You Can. Regularly and unapologetically spread a little “magic.” The gospel message deserves our very best. Engage the childlike sense of wonder and awe. (Glitter helps)

Customize Everything You Do. Just because it works at Northpoint or Willow Creek doesn’t mean it works for you. Make it your own. Ask the “Cinderella Question:” Does the shoe really fit? Relentlessly pursue finding the “shoe that fits.”

Clear Expectations, Accountability, Teamwork. Communication are Non-Negotiable. One of my most defining leadership moments came when two trusted team members shared with me that they felt as if they were failing to meet the expectations I was poorly communicating! Ouch! Teamwork means investing in each other’s lives. Expectations, Teamwork and Accountabilty can’t happen without open, honest and consistent communication.

a. Make no assumptions

b. Par is not your friend – the gospel business deserves better

c. Look for opportunities to coach toward expectations

Bump the Lamp. Make an internal decision that you won’t settle for “good enough” but will always do one extra step, even if it takes more time and energy and even if no one ever notices. ( if you don’t know the phrase “Bump the Lamp: its a Disney creation – look it up – you will be glad you did)

Sharing Good Advice

2012-01-04T05:28:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite bloggers is Carey Nieuwhof. Today he posted a great blog for starting 2012 that I’ve “cut and paste” to share here. I love what he’s suggesting and I love that he has 21 items. 21 is my favorite number. It’s 3 times 7 and the number of my favorite NASCAR driver from the 70’s (NASCAR fan was a phase I went through in middle school). Anyone know the driver’s name?

Anyway, here are Carey’s 21 Random Ways to Make 2012 a Better Year:

1. Believe the best about people. Make trust your default, not suspicion.

2. Be on time. Great leaders are rarely late.

3. Under promise and over deliver. Our tendency is to do the opposite.  4. Stop blaming people. Just stop. Your will start taking responsibility for yourself as a result.

5. Pray for your enemies. You will forgive them…and they will not be your enemies for long.

6. Review the week ahead on Sunday night for ten minutes. Monday won’t seem nearly as intimidating

7. Get up earlier. The early bird actually usually does get the worm.

8. Go to bed earlier. Stop falling asleep on the couch.

9. Read the bible. Read at least 3 verses of scripture every morning, more if you’re up to it.

10. Never say “I don’t have the time.” Instead, say “I’m not going to make the time.” It will change how you see time…and priorities.

11. Smile. Most people look moderately unhappy most of the time.

12. Clean your personal space. A clean desk, car or office makes you feel better about yourself.

13. Give 10%. Give away the first tenth of everything you make. You’ll be surprised at how liberating this is.

14. Pay cash (as in bills in your wallet) for discretionary items. You will spend less and save more.

15. Exercise. Enough said. Just get moving.

16. Do something for yourself everyday. People who care for themselves are better at caring for others.

17. Read outside your area of interest. Apps like Zite and Flipboard even make this so easy.

18. Automate what’s important. Schedule appointments with yourself for what matters. Automatically take savings and givings out of your bank accounts.

19. Serve somewhere. People who serve others live longer and are happier.

20. Show up prepared. Whether it’s a meeting or simply coming home, prepare yourself before you show up.

21. Play. Most of us have forgotten how to play. Rediscover it.

What would you add to this list? What’s helped you the most?

Twas the night... Christmas Card

2011-12-27T13:59:00.000-08:00

Twas the night before Christmas, when deep beneath our house

A drainpipe was cracking as quietly as a mouse.

The stockings were hung by the hung by the chimney with care

But pressure was building of which we were unaware.

The children were busy getting dressed for the Eve,

The events to unfold would be hard to believe.

And Kim’s in the kitchen, and Doug’s gone to church,

Both settling down and completing their work.

When from the drain in the bathroom there arose such a…

(there are some images best left to the imagination),

Kim sprang from the kitchen to see what’s causing “it.”

Away grabbing towels she flew like a flash,

As the drainpipes keep gurgling and spewing up “trash.”

Up the drainpipes “it” ran then flowed down through the floor vents

Filling the basement with other than sweet holiday scents.

A quick Google search and a few phone calls placed

Then the plumber arrived a broad grin on his face

(they charge more for Christmas Eve calls).

He wasn’t dressed in red or carrying a sack

But wrenches and snakes were his plan of attack.

When he came back at midnight to try once again

He still was maintaining his Christmas Day grin.

Five days (and three plumbers) later everything’s flowing again

And now we’re the ones sporting broad Christmas grins.

The 29^th brought our postponed Christmas dinner

And everyone agreed that smoked turkey’s a winner.

Our first Christmas in ‘Bama is one we’ll remember

And we’ll look back and laugh – maybe by next December

So we know this card’s late but to our friends far and near

Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year!

Six Word Memoirs

2011-11-15T12:35:00.000-08:00

Last year I posted a blog about a literary phenomena that's been around for a couple of years known as Six Word Memoirs. Several volumes of six word memoirs have been published and there are web sites devoted to sharing the stories.

Here’s the basic idea – using a minimum and a maximum of six words, tell your life’s story. A classic example would be:

For sale: wedding dress, never worn.

The imagination can run with that one, but you get the picture – a lot can be conveyed with just six words. Here are a few other examples:

Voted most likely to succeed. Didn’t.

I’ll follow you anywhere, even Kansas

Fell seven times. Stood up eight.

Not quite what I was planning

It all changed in an instant

Dancing through life in sensible shoes

So, if you were to write your own six word story – what six words would you chose?

For those who missed the news

2011-10-30T19:21:00.000-07:00

Watching the comments on facebook it became quickly apparent that not everyone had heard the news of the Ferguson family’s transitions from Houston, Texas to Birmingham, Alabama and from Grace Presbyterian to Mountaintop Community Church.

The short version is that today was my last day at Grace. Tomorrow I load up my pickup and a U-Haul trailer, drive to Birmingham and on Tuesday begin a new season of ministry. Between now and Thanksgiving we will be back and forth a bit between Birmingham and Houston as we tackle all the logistics of a move.

For a little more detail here's a slightly updated repost from September:

  Since last spring I have been diligently and prayerfully engaged in what I can only describe as a season of intense wrestling with God as I’ve sought to discern what He is saying to me and to His church. I’ve sought the counsel of family, friends and mentors and devoted myself to hearing His voice amidst what at times seems like a cacophony of voices. The wrestling has been painful but it has brought me closer to Jesus and better able to discern His voice and call.   

Ultimately it became clear that God is calling me to a future beyond Grace Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church (USA). Today was my last day as Pastor of Grace and, after 18 years, my last day as a Pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA). It’s a decision that comes with lots of emotions, but Kim and I are convinced that this is God’s calling and fully trust that it is part of His plan for our lives.

Although we are leaving the PC(USA) and Grace I still love and I am called to serve the church, therefore I am excited that God has called me to serve as Senior Pastor at Mountaintop Community Church in Birmingham, Alabama.   

  I am convinced that there are greater things ahead as we remain committed to His vision to introduce Jesus Christ and His love and life to the world wherever we are serving in His Kingdom..   

Handwritten inside the cover of my Bible is this promise from Isaiah 43: 19 –

See I am doing a new thing. Now it springs up. Do you not perceive it?

I look forward to living into His new things. To the glory of God!

Shmita

2011-10-29T08:47:00.000-07:00

It’s my last Saturday in Houston (as a resident) and last weekend as the pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church (or any Presbyterian church). The final message is ready for tomorrow and we are heading out in a bit for Ryan Kuykendall’s soccer game, lunch, errand running and a great evening watching the Clemson – Ga. Tech game with the Simpsons and other friends. And thhank you Houston weather for a perfect last Saturday!

Like much of the last few weeks I am continuing to reflect on both my time at Grace and my years in the Presbyterian Church.

Reflections usually prompt a blog post so here’s another:

In the Old Testament there was a pattern established that every seventh year would be a year of release – in Hebrew it was known as the Shmita. The specific requirements for the Shmita are found mostly in the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy (with brief mentions in Jeremiah and Nehemiah). The basic idea is to cancel debts and loans and give the land an opportunity to rest. The rest requirement is why the Shmita is sometimes referred to as the Sabbatical Year. The commands are very clear, work hard and harvest for six years and then set aside the seventh as the Shmita.

In August I completed six years as the Senior Pastor of Grace. It has been six years of hard work, heart work and an abundant harvest of love of joy. Over the last six years:

We weathered storms, Katrina, Rita, Ike and the stock market of 2008. Through those storms we grew closer and we grew stronger.

We introduced new words to our vocabulary: Project 180, Grace Quarterly, Kingdom Assignments, The Backyard, Women in the Word, Kid’s Christmas Musical and Prime Time.

We renovated the courtyard and the Grace School classrooms. We purchased a bus, recovered from hurricane damage and made improvements and repairs to roofs, mechanical, lighting and audio visual systems.

Along the way there have been the continued ministries of weddings, baptisms, memorial services, retreats, classes and mission trips all around the nation and the world (for me that’s included Hungary, Romania, Ecuador, Kenya and Mongolia).

We fully embraced Jesus’ command to love the Lord our God and to love our neighbors as we actively pursued a vision to introduce our neighbors to Jesus Christ. Our neighbors took notice and we even made the front page of the Chronicle on Christmas Day!

We took risks and learned lessons and discovered again and again God’s faithfulness. It really has been an amazing six years of God’s Grace.

Again, the seventh year – the Shmita – is the year of release. In the surprising ways that God works it turns out this is a year God is releasing me to follow Him to new places that He has prepared for us to continue His Kingdom work. I am excited about the possibilities that await us in Birmingham, Alabama as Kim and I join Mountaintop Community Church in the work of turning fans into players.

I am also convinced that this will be a year of release for Grace Presbyterian Church. During the Shmita any fruit or crop that grew was considered to be hefker, common property, and was shared with everyone. My hope and prayer is that in this coming year of release we may all discover even greater freedom to share the fruit of God’s kingdom with our neighbors as we introduce them to Jesus in Houston, in Birmingham and all around the world.

For All the Joy

2011-10-27T14:57:00.000-07:00

A little over six years ago – in the weeks following Hurricane Katrina - I began a weekly email at Grace. At first the intent was simply to help coordinate our relief efforts but over the years it became another place to share thoughts and heart. Earlier today we sent my last weekly email to the Grace family – which I’ve reposted below:

How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all His holy ones.

1 Thessalonians 3: 9, 12 & 12

Dear Friends,

I started and restarted and edited and reedited this email more times than you can imagine. It is difficult to find the words to express the profound gratitude that Kim and I feel as we reflect on our years at Grace. As I often do when I can't find the words to say, I've turned to Scripture and Paul's words to the church in Thessalonica capture much of what is in our hearts.

Our partnership with you in the gospel has above more than anything else been a source of great joy. Together we have loved the Lord our God with heart, soul, mind and strength. Together we have loved our neighbors as we love ourselves. And together we have discovered the power of Christ's love to bind us all together in perfect unity as the family of God.

Those bonds of love are too strong to break and are knit together in countless memories of moments that we will always treasure in our hearts.

We love you, we will continue to pray for you and we will always be grateful for the privilege God entrusted to us to allow me to serve as your pastor. We simply can't thank God enough for all the joy we have because of you.

I close most services with the benediction that my home church pastor used. Each time I do it is a reminder of where I've come from, where I am going and most importantly, Who is going with me. I will close with that benediction one last time this Sunday morning (and remember there's just one service at 10:00 a.m. in the Sanctuary). But since so many of you have asked for a copy of the benediction I will also use it to close this final email.

May the Living Lord Jesus Christ go with you

May He go above you to watch over you

Behind you to encourage you,

Beside you to befriend you

Within you to give you peace and

Before you to show you His way

Now and forevermore

Amen

To the glory of God!

Doug Ferguson

Senior Pastor

Ambassadors for Christ

2011-10-25T21:31:00.000-07:00

Today I had lunch with one of the Grace elders and trustee Fred Blake. Over the past few years Fred and I have made somewhat regular trips for lunch out at the Brookwood Community. If you don’t know about Brookwood stop reading right now and check out this link: The Brookwood Community.

Okay now that you have the picture let me tell you about today. Whenever Fred and I go to Brookwood we have lunch with Wilson, a Brookwood citizen whose grandmother founded the place and whose mom now heads the ministry. We will meet Wilson and his dad Neal in the café and it is always an entertaining and uplifting lunch.

Today was a little sad because Wilson had learned that I am “retiring” to Alabama and he was very concerned about who is going to preach and more importantly make the announcements at Grace.

After lunch as we were saying goodbye Neal prompted Wilson to go ahead and ask me a question (actually a request) that obviously they had been discussing. Wilson very loudly and boldly asked me if he could be “promoted” and become an Ambassador of Grace to Brookwood.

I told him that since Fred was an elder and I’m the pastor we could do that right now! Fred and I laid hands on Wilson and prayed that God would use him as an Ambassador for Christ and of Grace Presbyterian Church to the Brookwood Community (tonight the Grace Session made that “official” with a resolution).

When we finished I reminded Wilson that Fred would be checking up on him and that it was his responsibility to share the love and the good news of Jesus Christ with everyone at Brookwood. Wilson said he would and then asked me if he could now preach on Christmas Eve! (I encouraged him to let the pastors preach but perhaps he could hold a candle).

I hardly needed to give Wilson that reminder. Each and every day he and the other citizens of Brookwood, as well as the staff that serve there, are shining stars for Jesus Christ. Their lives and the love are reflections of His life and love as they share with one another generously and even sacrificially.

God gave me a precious gift today as Wilson humbly bowed his head and allowed Fred and I to lay our hands on his shoulders and pray that God would use him as His ambassador. What a great reminder of the humility with which we should accept God’s call upon all of us to serve as Ambassadors for Christ.

Do Not Be Anxious

2011-10-05T15:03:00.000-07:00

In the New Testament letter to the church in Philippi we find this encouragement:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Philippians 4: 6

Over the years I have found this to be one of the most challenging and frustrating verses in the Bible. I have a tendency to be anxious about everything; big things and small things. I started to make a list of all the things I’m anxious about and it got too long for this email! As I watch and listen to people around me it seems as if I’m not alone in my anxiety. We are an anxious people living in an anxious world.

I know that my anxious worrying is useless. Jesus once asked:  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? (Matthew 6: 27) In case you missed it the answer is “no!” But worry does more than waste time. What I am discovering is that anxiety is exhausting and takes a toll on me mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. I love the way Charles Spurgeon puts it:

Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength.

So how do people, like me (and maybe you), who have a tendency to be anxious about everything learn how to not be anxious about anything? I’m convinced (and daily discovering) that the closer I walk with Jesus the less anxious I become. The further I am from Him the more my anxiety grows. So when I am feeling anxious the first question I ask myself is: Have I drifted away from Jesus?

The words of Psalm 139 help draw me back to Him:

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 

Psalm 139: 23

The anxiety producing challenges you may find yourself facing this week don’t have to empty you of your strength. Ask God to test your anxious thoughts and then with thanksgiving – because He’s a big enough God to handle your challenges – present those anxious thoughts to Him. Then, just maybe and with enough practice, you can begin to live free of worry and not anxious about anything.

Lessons Learned

2011-10-03T23:14:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I shared with some of Grace leadership that as part of my processing this summer I spent time reading through the journals I’ve kept over the years. When I was a freshman architectural student I was required to carry a sketch journal around with me at all times and the habit has stuck for 30+ years. Anyone who has ever been in a meeting with me has likely noticed that I am constantly doodling or note-taking and mostly processing my thoughts.

Back in March I posted two blog entries with a collection of some of the wisdom and insights that found their way into my journal notes over the years. As I am preparing for a new season of ministry I’ve been re-reading journals and thought I’d also repost a few of the collected thoughts:

People are more interested in what you are learning than in what you know.
Clay experiences the greatest joy when it doesn’t attempt to be the potter…
Its better to have a light in the tunnel than a light at the end of the tunnel…
We serve a God who comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable…
The questions you ask will determine the ministry you do…
If there are no tears in the writer there will be no tears in the reader…
Janis Joplin was right - “freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose…”
We are defined by our cure – not our disease…
Failures aren’t fatal – they’re directional…
If we keep doing what we’ve always done then we will get what we’ve always got…(or at least we won’t get what we want)
The only thing I contribute to my redemption is my sin…
God is attracted to weakness and humility…
Inefficient structures may be necessary for effective ministry…
Success is best measured by the stories we tell, the people we honor and the language we use…
Abounding in God’s work can distract me from abiding in God’s love…
Parthenogenesis never leads to progress…
Its best to quit being clever and look people in the eyes and tell the truth…
If you hang in longer than your friends think you should – you give God more room to work…
We all live just one day at a time – but often we are living the wrong day…
What we call normalcy might just be massive denial and illusion…
A jewel needs the proper setting for light to show its brilliance…
You come to recognize someone’s voice through familiarity…
If you are bored with your devotional life there’s a good chance that Jesus is even more bored than you are…
Give up certainty and be satisfied with clarity…
Sin happens…
If we can’t be holy we can at least be weird…
No one is meant to be a cloud without rain…
The first task of leadership is to define reality, the second to say thank you and in between to be a servant…
Jesus invites rather than dictates…
Only God can make it rain...
We are simul justus et peccata…
It is the revelation of God that forms us…
Joy is one of the most powerful connections to the nature and presence of God…
Don’t move any faster than you can on your knees…
It’s all good!
The power of prayer is in the One who hears, not the one who prays…
If you want more people to eat carrots, then change the color of the carrots…
Leadership is a role and not a title….
Don’t try to describe the ocean if you’ve never seen it….
Purity of heart is to will one thing…
We were created to swim in the deep end….
What you do thunders so loudly I can hardly hear what you are saying…
We judge ourselves on our intentions – We judge others on their actions…
Once upon a time is now…
Sometimes it’s hard to find the pixie dust…
Always bump the lamp…
The task is to clean the room – the purpose is to make you happy….
Leadership begins in the mirror….
Prayer is the common language of the Jesus community…
Only through prayer can the prosperity of a church be increased or even maintain…
Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered…
You are only as deep as the last person you served….
Jesus does not call the world to go to church, He calls the church to go to world…
Life begins when your youngest child’s pet dies….
Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up…
A story is not a story until you tell someone….
Episcobaptispresbgatonalist….
The opposite of poverty is enough…
Talent is cheaper than table salt – what separates the talented individual from the successful one is hard work…
Captain Kirk wasn’t the smartest guy on the Enterprise…
When you are screwing up and no one says anything, it means they’ve given up…
Brick walls are opportunities to discover how badly we want something…
If you wait long enough people will surprise and impress you…
The first penguin takes the biggest risk…
If you put people in open systems they will want to contribute and contribute well…
Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshipping what’s right with God…
We are exactly where we've been led...

A New Thing

2011-09-27T05:27:00.000-07:00

There’s been a lot going on in my life – enough to change the title of this blog – and as a result I haven’t posted a blog in over a month. At the conclusion of last Tuesday evening’s Session meeting one of our elders asked me, “What are you hearing from God?“ I wasn’t ready to answer and “not so artfully” tried to dodge his question with my response. But here’s a version of the “answer” that I began to share yesterday.

  For the last six months I have been diligently and prayerfully engaged in what I can only describe as a season of intense wrestling with God as I’ve sought to discern what He is saying to me and to His church. I’ve sought the counsel of family, friends and mentors and devoted myself to hearing His voice amidst what at times seems like a cacophony of voices. The wrestling has been painful but it has brought me closer to Jesus and better able to discern His voice and call.   

Ultimately it became clear that God is calling me to a future beyond Grace Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church (USA). So yesterday I resigned from my position as Pastor of Grace and, after 18 years, set aside my ordination in the PC (USA). It’s a decision that comes with lots of emotions, but I am convinced that this is God’s calling and fully trust that it is part of His plan for me. I still love and I am called to serve the church, therefore I’ve accepted an invitation as Senior Pastor of a non-denominational church in Birmingham, Alabama.   

  The last six years at Grace have been among the most significant in my life. The friendship, faithfulness, support and encouragement that so many have so generously offered have been blessings that are impossible to describe. Together we have laughed and cried, faced hurricanes and weathered countless other “storms.” I am grateful for the privilege of serving as the pastor of Grace. I love this church and I am thankful for every experience we shared.   

I leave confident that God has blessed Grace with an amazingly gifted staff and extraordinary elders and deacons and I know that their wisdom and faithfulness will provide exceptional leadership in the days ahead.

  In moments when we are not sure of all that is ahead we place our confidence in God’s promises. He will continue the good work that He has begun in Grace and in me. I am convinced that there are greater things ahead as we remain committed to His vision to introduce Jesus Christ and His love and life to the world wherever we are serving in His Kingdom..   

Handwritten inside the cover of my Bible is this promise from Isaiah 43: 19 –

See I am doing a new thing. Now it springs up. Do you not perceive it?

I look forward to living into His new things. To the glory of God!

The Downgrade

2011-08-16T21:37:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week my brother-in-law shared with me excerpts from the book Ashamed of the Gospel by John MacArthur. MacArthur addressed a series of articles published in 1887 by Charles Spurgeon in his monthly magazine, The Sword and the Trowel. The articles, published under the title The Downgrade, suggested that the church was “going down hill at breakneck speed” and as the down hill plunge continued the evangelicals sought compromise to maintain peace and unity.

It is almost uncanny how relevant what Spurgeon wrote in 1887 is to the church in 2011. So without any additional commentary (for those who find this sort of thing as fascinating as I do) here’s a bit (actually a lot) of what Spurgeon (and his close friend Robert Shindler) had to say to the church then and today:

The downward slide usually began slowly, almost imperceptibly. [D]enominations often "got on the down-grade" when they abandoned Calvinism (which emphasizes God's sovereignty in salvation) in favor of Arminianism (which makes human will the decisive factor). Other groups embraced Arianism (which denies the full deity of Christ). Still others simply became enamored with scholarship and worldly wisdom; consequently they lost their zeal for truth.

The Presbyterians were the first to get on the down line. They took the route of worldly wisdom: They paid more attention to classical attainments and other branches of learning. . . . It [was therefore] an easy step in the wrong direction to pay increased attention to academical attainments in their ministers, and less to spiritual qualifications; and to set a higher value on scholarship and oratory, than on evangelical zeal and ability to rightly divide the word of truth.

As is usual with people on an incline, some who got on "the down grade" went further than they intended, showing that it is easier to get on than to get off, and that where there is no brake it is very difficult to stop. Those who turned from Calvinism may not have dreamed of denying the proper deity of the Son of God, renouncing faith in his atoning death and justifying righteousness, and denouncing the doctrine of human depravity, the need of Divine renewal, and the necessity for the Holy Spirit's gracious work, in order that men might become new creatures; but, dreaming or not dreaming, this result became a reality.

These men deepened their own condemnation, and promoted the everlasting ruin of many of their followers by their hypocrisy and deceit; professing to be the ambassadors of Christ, and the heralds of his glorious gospel, their aim was to ignore his claims, deny him his rights, lower his character, rend the glorious vesture of his salvation, and trample his crown in the dust.

Many of those who remained true to the faith were nevertheless reluctant to fight for what they believed in. Evangelical preaching was often cold and lifeless, and even those who held to sound doctrine were careless about where they drew the line in their associations with others: "Those who were really orthodox in their sentiments were too often lax and unfaithful as to the introduction of heretical ministers into their pulpits, either as assistants or occasional preachers. In this way the Arian and Socinian heresies were introduced into the Presbyterian congregations…

The first step astray is a want of adequate faith in the divine inspiration of the sacred Scriptures. All the while a man bows to the authority of God's Word, he will not entertain any sentiment contrary to its teaching. "To the law and to the testimony," is his appeal concerning every doctrine. He esteems that holy Book, concerning all things, to be right, and therefore he hates every false way. But let a man question, or entertain low views of the inspiration and authority of the Bible, and he is without chart to guide him, and without anchor to hold him.

Our solemn conviction is that things are much worse in many churches than they seem to be, and are rapidly tending downward. Read those newspapers which represent the Broad School of Dissent, and ask yourself, How much farther could they go? What doctrine remains to be abandoned? What other truth to be the object of contempt? A new religion has been initiated, which is no more Christianity than chalk is cheese; and this religion, being destitute of moral honesty, palms itself off as the old faith with slight improvements, and on this plea usurps pulpits which were erected for gospel preaching.

It now becomes a serious question how far those who abide by the faith once delivered to the saints should fraternize with those who have turned aside to another gospel. Christian love has its claims, and divisions are to be shunned as grievous evils; but how far are we justified in being in confederacy with those who are departing from the truth? It is a difficult question to answer so as to keep the balance of the duties. For the present it behooves believers to be cautious, lest they lend their support and countenance to the betrayers of the Lord. It is one thing to overleap all boundaries of denominational restriction for the truth's sake: this we hope all godly men will do more and more. It is quite another policy which would urge us to subordinate the maintenance of truth to denominational prosperity and unity. Numbers of easy-minded people wink at error so long as it is committed by a clever man and a good-natured brother, who has so many fine points about him. Let each believer judge for himself; but, for our part, we have put on a few fresh bolts to our door, and we have given orders to keep the chain up; for, under colour of begging the friendship of the servant, there are those about who aim at robbing the Master.

We fear it is hopeless ever to form a society which can keep out men base enough to profess one thing and believe another; but it might be possible to make an informal alliance among all who hold the Christianity of their fathers. Little as they might be able to do, they could at least protest, and as far as possible free themselves of that complicity which will be involved in a conspiracy of silence.

The house is being robbed, its very walls are being digged down, but the good people who are in bed are too fond of the warmth, and too much afraid of getting broken heads, to go downstairs and meet the burglars; they are even half vexed that a certain noisy fellow will spring his rattle, or cry, 'Thieves!'

The divergence is every day becoming more manifest. A chasm is opening between the men who believe their Bibles and the men who are prepared for an advance upon Scripture. Inspiration and speculation cannot long abide in peace. Compromise there can be none. We cannot hold the inspiration of the Word, and yet reject it; we cannot believe in the atonement and deny it; we cannot hold the doctrine of the fall and yet talk of the evolution of spiritual life from human nature; we cannot recognise the punishment of the impenitent and yet indulge the "larger hope." One way or the other we must go. Decision is the virtue of the hour. Neither when we have chosen our way can we keep company with those who go the other way.

Let those who will keep the narrow way keep it, and suffer for their choice; but to hope to follow the broad road at the same time is an absurdity. What communion hath Christ with Belial?

Thus far we come, and pause. Let us, as many as are of one mind, wait upon the Lord to know what Israel ought to do. With steadfast faith let us take our places; not in anger, not in the spirit of suspicion or division, but in watchfulness and resolve. Let us not pretend to a fellowship which we do not feel, nor hide convictions which are burning in our hearts. The times are perilous, and the responsibility of every individual believer is a burden which he must bear, or prove a traitor. What each man's place and course should be the Lord will make clear unto him.

What action is to be taken we leave to those who can see more plainly than we do what Israel ought to do. One thing is clear to us: we cannot be expected to meet in any Union which comprehends those whose teaching is upon fundamental points exactly the reverse of that which we hold dear. . . . To us it appears that there are many things upon which compromise is possible, but there are others in which it would be an act of treason to pretend to fellowship. With deep regret we abstain from assembling with those whom we dearly love and heartily respect, since it would involve us in a confederacy with those with whom we can have no communion in the Lord.

During the past month many have put to us the anxious question, 'What shall we do?' To these we have had no answer to give except that each one must act for himself after seeking direction of the Lord. In our own case we intimated our course of action in last month's paper. We retire at once and distinctly from the Baptist Union.

Whether others do so or not, I have felt the power of the text, 'Come out from among them, and be ye separate," and have quitted both Union and Association once for all. . . This is forced upon me, not only by my convictions, but also by the experience of the utter uselessness of attempting to deal with the evil except by personally coming out from it.

Nothing has ever more largely promoted the union of the true than the break with the false.

The Graciousness of Uncertainity

2011-08-08T13:49:00.000-07:00

"Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One who is leading." Oswald Chambers

My very favorite Oswald Chambers’ reflection is his April 29th devotion in My Utmost for His Highest. It felt good to read today and so I thought I’d post it as well. Under the title The Graciousness of Uncertainity, Chambers writes:

"It doth not yet appear what we shall be." 1 John 3:2

Naturally, we are inclined to be so mathematical and calculating that we look upon uncertainty as a bad thing. We imagine that we have to reach some end, but that is not the nature of spiritual life. The nature of spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty, consequently we do not make our nests anywhere. Common sense says - "Well, supposing I were in that condition . . ." We cannot suppose ourselves in any condition we have never been in. Certainty is the mark of the common-sense life: gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, we do not know what a day may bring forth. This is generally said with a sigh of sadness, it should be rather an expression of breathless expectation. We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God. Immediately we abandon to God, and do the duty that lies nearest, He packs our life with surprises all the time. When we become advocates of a creed, something dies; we do not believe God, we only believe our belief about Him. Jesus said, "Except ye become as little children." Spiritual life is the life of a child. We are not uncertain of God, but uncertain of what He is going to do next. If we are only certain in our beliefs, we get dignified and severe and have the ban of finality about our views; but when we are rightly related to God, life is full of spontaneous, joyful uncertainty and expectancy.

"Believe also in Me," said Jesus, not - "Believe certain things about Me." Leave the whole thing to Him, it is gloriously uncertain how He will come in, but He will come. Remain loyal to Him.

Blood, Thunder and Lacunae

2011-07-21T11:53:00.000-07:00

Last night our daughter Jennifer (the History major at USC) recommended a great book by Hampton Sides, Blood and Thunder (Blood and Thunder is also the title of a sports magazine devoted to coverage of contemporary women's roller derby – but this blog is about the book). Through the complex life of Kit Carson Blood and Thunder tells the story of the decimation of the Navajo nation. It’s a great read and (thanks to iPad and continued jetlag) I made it through the first few chapters last night.

I loved this description of one of the characteristics of the Navajo nation:

Navajos hated to complete anything – whether it was a basket, a blanket, a song, or a story. They never wanted their artifacts to be too perfect, or too close-ended, for a definitive ending cramped the spirit of the creator and sapped the life from the art. So they left little gaps and imperfections, deliberate lacunae that kept things alive for another day.

Even today Navajo blankets often have a faint imperfection designed to let the creation breathe – a thin line that originates from the center and extends all the way to the edge, sometimes with a single thread dangling from its border, tellingly, the Navajos call the intentional flaw the “spirit outlet.”

Most of the imperfections in my life are unintentional but the gaps and dangling threads always provide an outlet where God is at work. I'm learning that its good news that our stories are incomplete. Our stories are written in both intentional and unintentional lacunae. And often it’s in the ways that God fills those gaps that we find life. Instead of worrying about my incompleteness and imperfections I am grateful for the outlets they provide to experience God’s grace.

Promise Keeper

2011-07-20T16:50:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago I was traveling across the steppes of Mongolia with N.E.T. Vet missionaries. And as I posted yesterday, I’m still working on getting back on Houston time and continuing to process the experience.

Christianity was first introduced to Mongolians just 20 years ago. Think about that for a moment. Everyone you meet is a first generation Christian. It was as close to the first-century church as I’ve ever experienced and at times I felt as if we were traveling through the book of Acts.

Two weeks ago today we were invited to a couple of “barbeques” in local gers (think sheepskin igloo). “Barbeque” usually consists of various parts of a variety of animals boiled in a pot. The first was delicious. The second unfortunately had too many parts that I recalled from high school biology classes on the digestive system. It was the only meal along the way that I politely declined (others I politely “tasted”).

Following the second barbeque we all crowed into our van for a prayer service and the most pressing topic was a drought the region has been enduring (just like here Texas). We prayed that God would move the way He did when Elijah prayed for rain and then we drove back across the steppe to our own ger for the night.

The next morning we awoke to the sound of raindrops on the ger! The joy of the 7 of us sleeping inside was contagious and beautiful. We prayed and then celebrated when God answered. I was reminded that we don’t stop and do that nearly enough in our busy, scheduled and practical lives. It continued to rain off and on the next fews days and late one afternoon we were blessed by an amazing complete double rainbow. Our leader, Tsendee, said it quietly, simply and best: God keeps His promises.

I’ve needed that reminder today. As sometimes happens a “barrel of pastoral care concerns” overturned and I’ve found myself in conversations with individuals and families whose lives have been turned upside down. As I’ve sat and listened and prayed with them I’ve been listening for the sound of raindrops, trusting that God does indeed keep His promises.

Mongolia - for all the joy!

2011-07-19T15:32:00.000-07:00

I am one week back from my trip to Mongolia and still trying to find the right time zone and still processing an amazing journey. I returned with both my head and heart filled with wonder at what God is doing.

In the coming days I’m going to attempt to post a few reflections on the trip (try in part because I’ve been such a reluctant blogger of late).

Perhaps the most lasting impression (beside the taste of airag – fermented mare’s milk) was the beautiful hearts of the V.E.T. NET staff. I was humbled as I watched them care for some of the least of God’s children and inspirited by how boldly and naturally they shared the gospel.

On our last night in the countryside I chose a section from 1 Thessalonians as a final devotion together and as I return home this has become my prayer for our Mongolians ministry partners:

How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.

Now may our God and Father Himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all His holy ones.

My journey to Mongolia was a witness to God answering that prayer as His love increases and overflows to touch hearts – even mine!

Advice

2011-06-28T13:01:00.000-07:00

Last night a friend invited a group of men to j a dinner to celebrate his son’s 13th birthday. Each of us was encouraged to share our experiences, wisdom and advice with his son as he continues the journey into manhood. It was a fantastic evening and I suspect that those of us who received the invitation were blessed as much (if not more) than my friend and his son.

Here’s the advice and wisdom I shared with him – some of which comes from my dad to me.

1. Never buy cheap shoes. Dad’s theory was that you spend a lot of your day on your feet so you want good shoes.

2. Never buy a cheap mattress. Dad continued that you spent the rest of your day in bed so you want a good night’s sleep.

I added the following to Dad’s wisdom.

3. Whenever you get a chance to travel – travel. We live in an amazing world and we should take every opportunity to go out and see it. It doesn’t matter if you are sleeping on the floor or on a train – travel.

4. Take more risks. Study after study and life after life confirm that our deepest regrets are always the risks we didn’t take. Ask out someone way out of your league. Apply for a job way over your head. Try out for a team you have no hope of making. Run for an office you can’t win. You never know what might happen. The girl way out of my league said “yes” and “I do!”

5. Don’t wait. Back in 1981 we traveled to the Orange Bowl to watch Clemson play Nebraska for the National Championship. We were broke – so we slept of the floor at a hotel room provided for the band and I have no idea how we ate (I think by crashing tailgaters). If we had waited until we could afford it to attend a National Championship Game for Clemson – we would still be waiting (though I have hope hopes based on our last couple of recruiting classes)!

6. Live generously. More and more I am discovering that wealthy people don’t become generous. Generous people become wealthy. Start living generously with whatever you have now.

7. Make loving God and loving our neighbors more than just a phrase. A life built on love is the only kind of life worth living and Jesus meant it when He promised that when we get loving God and loving our neighbors right everything else falls into place.

Tigger or Eeyore?

2011-06-20T08:40:00.000-07:00

If you know Winnie the Pooh then you likely know the difference between Eeyore and Tigger. Eeyore is pessimistic, depressed, and deflated. He has no self confidence and doesn’t think he does anything right. Tigger is energetic, joyful, enthusiastic, and positive. For Tigger everyday is a new adventure filled with promise, potential, possibility and fun!

Eeyore’s favorite book of the Bible is Lamentations:

People have heard my groaning,  

but there is no one to comfort me.

Lamentations 1: 21

Tigger loves passages like those in Psalm 66:

Shout for joy to God, all the earth!  

Sing the glory of His name;  

make His praise glorious.

Come and see what God has done,  

His awesome deeds for mankind!

Psalm 66: 1, 2 and 5

What’s your approach to life? Tigger or Eeyore?

Something Beautiful

2011-06-14T15:36:00.000-07:00

We are just about an hour away from Day Two of Prime Time. The theme is Boom: Hearing God’s Voice in a Big Way and in the midst of teaching this week I’ve been trying to do just that and listen to what God may be saying to me.

Our virtue is Obedience and our theme verse is James 1: 22. We don’t want to be just hearers – we want to be obedient doers of God’s Word.

This afternoon I attempted to grab a quick energy nap before a high-energy evening. I put on Needtobreathe to help me relax and as I listened God spoke through their song Something Beautiful especially in these lines:

Hey now, this is my desire

Consume me like a fire, 'cause I just want something beautiful

To touch me, I know that I'm in reach

'Cause I am down on my knees.

I'm waiting for something beautiful

Oh, something beautiful

Last night I was given lost of glimpses of something beautiful as I watched generations laugh and love and learn together. So my prayer tonight is to let that beauty consume me like a fire and touch my heart.

We are on with the Prime Time version of Boom Boom (and yes I was in the recording studio this afternoon doing my best Doug I Am drop the beat now…_). A bit nervous about the wake up video (and I know Hezekiah is not a book in the Old Testament….) so better head downstairs.

Here are the entire lyrics to Something Beautiful. If you haven’t discovered Needtobreathe…. You need to….

In your ocean, I'm ankle deep

I feel the waves crashin' on my feet

It's like I know where I need to be

But I can't figure out, yeah I can't figure out

Just how much air I will need to breathe

When your tide rushes over me

There's only one way to figure out

Will you let me drown, will you let me drown?

Hey now, this is my desire

Consume me like a fire, 'cause I just want something beautiful

To touch me, I know that I'm in reach

'Cause I am down on my knees.

I'm waiting for something beautiful

Oh, something beautiful

And the water is rising quick

And for years I was scared of it

We can't be sure when it will subside

So I won't leave your side, no I can't leave your side.

Hey now, this is my desire

Consume me like a fire, 'cause I just want something beautiful

To touch me, I know that I'm in reach

'Cause I am down on my knees.

I'm waiting for something beautiful

Oh, something beautiful

In a daydream, I couldn't live like this.

I wouldn't stop until I found something beautiful.

When I wake up, I know I will have

No, I still won't have what I need.

Something Beautiful

Hey now this is my desire

Consume me like a fire, 'cause I just want something beautiful

To touch me, I know that I'm in reach

Cause I am down on my knees

I'm waiting for something beautiful

Oh, something beautiful

Fool With A Fancy Lyre

2011-05-04T15:44:00.000-07:00

I love the way song writers can capture exactly what I’m feeling and how God often uses music to soothe my heart – sort of the way in the Old Testament that David would take up the lyre and play and in the music would bring relief to Saul.

Anyway, Andrew Peterson’s Fool With a Fancy Guitar has brought relief to me this afternoon – so why not post the lyrics - but it’s even better to listen to – so right now go download Counting Stars!

It's so easy to cash in these chips on my shoulders

So easy to loose this old tongue like a tiger

It's easy to let all this bitterness smolder

Just to hide it away like a cigarette lighter

It's easy to curse and to hurt and to hinder

It's easy to not have the heart to remember

That I am a priest and a prince in the Kingdom of God

I've got voices that scream in my head like a siren

Fears that I feel in the night when I sleep

Stupid choices I made when I played in the mire

Like a kid in the mud on some dirty blind street

I've got sorrow to spare, I've got loneliness too

I've got blood on these hands that hold on to the truth

That I am a priest and a prince in the Kingdom of God

I swore on the Bible not to tell a lie

But I've lied and lied

And I crossed my heart and I hoped to die

And I've died and died

But if it's true that you gathered my sin in your hand

And you cast it as far as the east is from the west

If it's true that you put on the flesh of a man

And you walked in my shoes through the shadow of death

If it's true that you dwell in the halls of my heart

Then I'm not just a fool with a fancy guitar

No, I am a priest and a prince in the Kingdom of God

Alive Again

2011-04-24T20:49:00.000-07:00

The highlight moment of Easter morning for me was the opening of our 9:30 worship service. We used an awesome video by Igniter Media.

Instead of the audio track on the video our band played a live version of Matt Maher’s Christ is Risen. Just as on Thursday night the lyrics overwhelmed me:

Christ is risen from the dead

Trampling over death by death

Come awake, come awake

Come and rise up from the grave

Christ is risen from the dead

We are one with Him again

Come awake, come awake

Come and rise up from the grave

I am reminded again of how blessed I am to serve with a group of musicians who love Jesus more than they do worship. That love lifts music into worship and made this Easter come alive!

In the Night

2011-04-22T10:23:00.000-07:00

At last night’s Life of Christ our team closed with Andrew Peterson’s In The Night followed by Be Still My Soul with readings from Matthew’s version of the Garden of Gethsemane and ending with:

…may Your will be done….

There’s a verse in Peterson’s song (and all the lyrics and the video are below) that goes like this:

I remember how they scorned the son of Mary 

He was gentle as a lamb,

gentle as a lamb 

He was beaten, he was crucified, and buried 

And in the night, my hope was gone  

My part was to give a few last words and then blow out the last candle. Inspired by that verse I had thought through exactly what I wanted to say:

And then after He prayed

He was betrayed and arrested and denied

He was beaten and ridiculed and spat upon

And the next day they nailed Him to a cross

Where He hung in shame and humiliation

And from noon until three there was darkness across the land

But even in the darkness hope lived on

Until Jesus cried out:

Eloi, Eloi,

Lama sabahthani!

And gave up His spirit and our Hope was gone

(at which point I blew out the last candle)

That’s what I planned to say – and mostly what I said – but when I got to “they nailed Him to a cross” the weight and the reality of it all (that we’d been building toward all evening) got to me and I could barely get the words out.

I drove home (and I’ve spent a good bit of this Good Friday) thinking about the reality of it all. So often I am consumed with white papers and staffing strategies and budgets and all the “stuff” of ministry. It’s easy to lose that which is of first importance:

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried [and] that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…

1 Corinthians 15: 3 - 4

On this Good Friday – in the midst of white papers and budgets and staffing strategies I am reminded again of what is of first importance.

The rulers of earth could not control Him 

They did not take his life

He laid it down 

All the chains of death could never hope to hold Him 

So in the night my hope lives on  

In the night my Hope lives on.

I am weary with the pain of Jacob's wrestling 

In the darkness with the Fear,

in the darkness with the Fear 

But he met the morning wounded with a blessing 

So in the night my hope lives on  

When Elisha woke surrounded by the forces 

Of the enemies of God,

the enemies of God 

He saw the hills aflame with angels on their horses 

So in the night my hope lives on  

I see the slave that toils beneath the yoke unyielding 

And I can hear the captive groan,

hear the captive groan 

For some hand to stay the whip his foe is wielding 

Still in the night my hope lives on  

I see the armies of the enemy approaching 

And the people driven, trembling, to the shore 

But a doorway through the waters now is opening 

So in the night my hope lives on  

Like the son who thought he'd gone beyond forgiveness, 

Too ashamed to lift his head

but if he could lift his head 

He would see his father running from a distance 

In the night my hope lives on  

I can see the crowd of men retreating 

As he stands between the woman and their stones 

And if mercy in his holy heart is beating 

Then in the night my hope lives on  

I remember how they scorned the son of Mary 

He was gentle as a lamb,

gentle as a lamb 

He was beaten, he was crucified, and buried 

And in the night, my hope was gone  

But the rulers of earth could not control Him 

They did not take his life

He laid it down 

All the chains of death could never hope to hold Him 

So in the night my hope lives on  

I can see the Son of Man descending 

And the sword He swings is brighter than the dawn 

And the gates of Hell will never stand against Him 

So in the night my hope lives on.

Journal Notes: Part Two

2011-03-22T09:31:00.000-07:00

Okay so here’s Part Two of random notes I’ve made in my journals over the last few years. I’ve not attributed the authors of the quotes but they range from Thomas Merton to Thomas Edison.

·      The power of prayer is in the One who hears, not the one who prays…
·      If you want more people to eat carrots, then change the color of the carrots…
·      Leadership is a role and not a title….
·      Don’t try to describe the ocean if you’ve never seen it….
·      Purity of heart is to will one thing…
·      We were created to swim in the deep end….
·      What you do thunders so loudly I can hardly hear what you are saying…
·      We judge ourselves on our intentions – We judge others on their actions…
·      Once upon a time is now…
·      Sometimes it’s hard to find the pixie dust…
·      Always bump the lamp…
·      The task is to clean the room – the purpose is to make you happy….
·      Leadership begins in the mirror….
·      Prayer is the common language of the Jesus community…
·      Only through prayer can the prosperity of a church be increased or even maintain…
·      Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered…
·      You are only as deep as the last person you served….
·      Jesus does not call the world to go to church, He calls the church to go to world…
·      Life begins when your youngest child’s pet dies….
·      Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up…
·      A story is not a story until you tell someone….
·      Episcobaptispresbgatonalist….
·      The opposite of poverty is enough…
·      Talent is cheaper than table salt – what separates the talented individual from the successful one is hard work…
·      Captain Kirk wasn’t the smartest guy on the Enterprise…
·      When you are screwing up and no one says anything, it means they’ve given up…
·      Brick walls are opportunities to discover how badly we want something…
·      If you wait long enough people will surprise and impress you…
·      The first penguin takes the biggest risk…
·      If you put people in open systems they will want to contribute and contribute well…
·      Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshipping what’s right with God…

Journal Notes: Part One

2011-03-21T19:56:00.000-07:00

So far in 2011 I’ve been a reluctant blogger. I’ve spent more time processing in my journal with pen and paper than posting online. But I’m entering into a week with a different sort of rhythm (since I’m not preaching this Sunday and don’t have a message to prepare) and so I spent part of the day looking back through my journals as some of the notes I’ve made over the years. I stated jotting down a list of some of the ministry lessons I’ve learned from a variety of voices. Even though it comes across a bit as “bumper sticker theology,” it seems worth sharing (and posting). So here’s Part 1 of Journal Notes:

People are more interested in what you are learning than in what you know.
Clay experiences the greatest joy when it doesn’t attempt to be the potter…
Its better to have a light in the tunnel than a light at the end of the tunnel…
We serve a God who comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable…
The questions you ask will determine the ministry you do…
If there are no tears in the writer there will be no tears in the reader…
Janis Joplin was right - “freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose…”
We are defined by our cure – not our disease…
Failures aren’t fatal – they’re directional…
If we keep doing what we’ve always done then we will get what we’ve always got…(or at least we won’t get what we want)
The only thing I contribute to my redemption is my sin…
God is attracted to weakness and humility…
Inefficient structures may be necessary for effective ministry…
Success is best measured by the stories we tell, the people we honor and the language we use…
Abounding in God’s work can distract me from abiding in God’s love…
Parthenogenesis never leads to progress…
Its best to quit being clever and look people in the eyes and tell the truth…
If you hang in longer than your friends think you should – you give God more room to work…
We all live just one day at a time – but often we are living the wrong day…
What we call normalcy might just be massive denial and illusion…
A jewel needs the proper setting for light to show its brilliance…
You come to recognize someone’s voice through familiarity…
If you are bored with your devotional life there’s a good chance that Jesus is even more bored than you are…
Give up certainty and be satisfied with clarity…
Sin happens…
If we can’t be holy we can at least be weird…
No one is meant to be a cloud without rain…
Jesus invites rather than dictates…
Only God can make it rain…
We are simul justus et peccata…
It is the revelation of God that forms us…
Joy is one of the most powerful connections to the nature and presence of God…
Don’t move any faster than you can on your knees…
It’s all good!

Saving the Church

2011-01-28T08:08:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week I had lunch with a 69-year-old elder of our church who is part of a small group that’s been studying Brian McLaren’s, A New Kind of Christianity. It was so much fun to listen as he talked about his passion for belonging to an “emergent” (I know that word is way over used) church. Our lunch prompted me to go back and reread parts of McLaren’s book. As mainline churches find themselves in seasons of transition I find his observations encouraging. In one section McLaren writes:

…local churches and denominations, we must acknowledge, play a vital role in the lives of millions of people around the world – very literally, churches save lives.

Simple churches save people from complexity, and complex churches save people from simplicity. Political churches save people from an overly personal religiosity, and personal churches save people from overly politicized religiosity. Exciting churches save people from boredom, and quiet churches save people from hoopla and hype.

The folks who are successfully saved from something by a certain type of church or denomination generally stay in it, along with some others who get stuck there by birth or marriage or inertia or duty. (As a pastor, I always felt sorry for these poor people and wished for their sake – and sometimes mine – they could go elsewhere.) The folks who don’t find any particularly helpful kind of salvation from a church or denomination eventually leave, sometimes stomping out mad, but more often just drifting away bored. Sometimes they find a church that saves them from whatever their previous churches afflicted them with or disappointed them over, but increasingly they just drop out entirely, often swelling the hospitable ranks of the “spiritual but not religious.” Younger generations especially have been choosing the latter option lately; they just can’t figure out what they’re being saved from, or for, enough to stay. When enough church leaders wake up and smell the Ben-Gay, when they realize that their faith communities are shrinking and wrinkling and stiffening, they start to ask the church questions very urgently: What are we going to do about the church? Behind their question is the very real fear that their beloved congregation or denomination could soon find itself on the red side of a spreadsheet and they could find themselves seeking to save the beloved church that has saved them.

A few pages later McLaren offers a great and simple understanding of why the church exists:

…simple to understand but also embarrassingly challenging to do: the church exists to form Christlike people, people of Christlike love. It exists to save them from the great danger of wasting their lives, becoming something less than and other than they were intended to be, gaining the world but losing their souls.

No one wants to waste their life or become less than what they were intended to be. I’m 48 (49 in August) and lots of my friends are hitting 50 this year. I am finding myself increasingly looking toward the next decade and asking: How can I best be a part of forming Christlike people of Christlike love? I’m convinced the answer lies in letting go of our desire to “save the church” and instead focus on following Jesus.

Preaching With Passion

2011-01-24T09:39:00.000-08:00

Last week I (along with a few others from Grace) "sat at the feet" of Lloyd Ogilvie as he shared from his experiences (most notably as Pastor or Hollywood Presbyterian Church and Chaplain of the US Senate) on what it means to preach with passion. Mark Labberton (Fuller Seminary) also shared his heart and wisdom.

  There have been some great reminders of the lessons I've learned from the wisdom and friendship of voices that have shaped and sharpened my preaching over the year (especially Walt Gerber, Scott Dudley, John Ortberg and Doug Lawrence). I loved the quote from Richard Baxter shared the first day of the seminar:

  I preach as a dying man

 To dying men and women 

As though never to preach again  

As I preach each week here's what I'm constantly trying to remember.   

I can only share what's in me. Scott loved to quote Robert Frost: "No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.". When I preach out of my head or out of theory I share information. When I preach from my heart and life experiences I share convictions. Walt liked to encourage young preachers not to tell people what we know (most aren't that interested) but instead share with them what we are learning as we walk with Jesus. Lloyd has hammered that point home over and over again these past few days - we can't proclaim grace we've never experienced for ourselves.   

I am preparing messages for the real people with real problems and questions. I've been called to "go and tell the full message of new life" (Acts 5: 20) in a specific context. To help me remember this I'm spending more time preparing messages in coffee shops than behind the closed door of my study. There's time I need to spend where I have easy access to my library, but when I spend all my time in my study I am tempted to write academic papers. By simply being in the real world as I write, I keep my messages more grounded in the real lives of people. Some homiletic classes are even doing this as an exercise for students - sending them out into the city to prepare their message.   

Another great reminder has been to be in at least one intentional weekly discipleship relationship with a new believer or unbeliever. I began such a relationship last fall and it has dramatically changed my message preparation. It challenges my assumptions about what people know (and don't know) it reminds me of the questions people are asking and most of all inspires me by providing me a "front row seat" as Jesus transforms a life into a new creation.   

The more I pray the better I preach. I am grateful that over the last couple of years God has blessed me with a deeper prayer life - a genuine hunger for prayer and for God's word. The time I spend satisfying that hunger has a direct impact on my preaching. I’ve also been blessed by some faithful “prayer warriors” who have been praying specifically for my preaching. I can feel the difference it is making.

And I’ve found that the more I pray the more I am immune to criticism and attempting to please the congregation. Time spent with God means that I am more and more only seeking His approval.

I need to remove any barriers between the congregation and me. Small group gurus for years have told us not to sit around tables when we meet together. Management gurus tell us not to sit behind desks. The well accepted principle is that tables and desks separate us a create barriers for connection. A little over a year ago I got rid of the lectern (at our contemporary service) and stepped out (permanently) from the pulpit (at our traditional). I learned from the "architectural wisdom" of John and had a thrust built out from the chancel so that I could be lower and closer to the congregation.

  Losing the lectern and pulpit meant that I had to let go what I have (finally) come to realize has been the greatest barrier between me and the congregation - my notes. For 16 years I argued that preaching with notes was not only acceptable but also preferable - notes, even manuscripts, keep us on track and prevent rambling. I learned not to rely on my notes and taught myself to maintain good eye contact instead of reading.

  Two event changed my thinking. I read Andy Stanley's "Communicating for a Change" and couldn't get his observation out of my head that "if after working on the message all week I couldn't remember it - what makes me think my hearers can. Secondly a trusted elder (thanks Bob) challenged me (in a way that only Bob can) to try. So on Christmas Eve 2009 I left my manuscript behind and I haven't used one since. Here's what I've learned: I have a much greater capacity for memorization that I realized (and it gets easier with repetition).  It doesn't matter if I get something out of place or leave out something entirely. No one knows but me and if I forget it, it likely wasn't that important anyway.

Bottom line, the more barriers I remove the more I feel a connection with the congregation. Right now I am asking myself what other barriers might I need to remove.

Practice makes perfect. When I decided to put down my notes I made a commitment to spend more time practicing delivering the message. It begins on Monday, which I set aside for writing. On Thursday afternoons I do a message “run-through” with our worship leaders (Ben, Dave and Brian). Doug L. taught me years ago that gifted worship leaders have great insights into message delivery and today the Grace worship leaders always have good suggestions. I try to go to bed early on Saturday night and the last things I do before bed are to 1) read the message one more time (so I can think it through as I am falling asleep) and 2) have Kim pray over me. There is nothing more powerful than having your spouse pray over you and your message. On Sunday mornings I get in early enough to spend at least an hour in the chapel going over the sermon – aloud – again and again and again. By the time I step up to preach at the first sermon the message is inside me.

That's some of what I learned and was reminded of at last week's seminar. Most of all I was reminded that I love to preach! When 2011 began I experienced a renewed passion for preaching. It is both a joy and burden and I am more aware than ever how much I can still grow as a preacher. What a gift and a responsibility to Sunday after Sunday get to:

  Preach as a dying man

 To dying men and women 

As though never to preach again  

the loveliest night of the year

2010-12-23T16:05:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow night, Christmas Eve, with candles and carols we will celebrate the gift that changed the world, Jesus Christ. Walt Gerber, who for 28 years was the Senior Pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church and was a mentor to scores of pastors including me, always referred to it as the loveliest night of the year. If you'd like to join us and see why, you can find all the details at Christmas@Grace.

Tomorrow promises to be amazing, and tonight, on Christmas Eve Eve, as I sit in my study looking over the services I am profoundly grateful for everyone who helps to make it the loveliest of nights.

I am humbled by the talents of people like Brian Mann, Angela Simpson, Santry and Ivy Rush, Ben and Jenna Kuykendall, Dave Leestma and Aaron Wilson.

I am blessed to serve alongside gifted pastors, Melissa Brown, Katie Cummings, Chris French, Mike Fry and Jane Pettit.

I am grateful for the amazing support of Hardie Morgan, Mike Krocak, Michael Elliot, Tami Snell, John Sutherland, Ann Stewart and most of all my assistant Charlotte Tait.

I am indebted to people who over the years invested their lives into shaping me for ministry: Russ Stevenson, Walt Gerber, Doug Lawrence, Scott Dudley and John Ortberg.

There are too many people to name (and even by starting to I’m sure I’ve left too many off – Doug G., Laura M.. Narda W., Mayda M., Terry L., Wally H.. Howard E. and scores of others come quickly to mind – not to mention Kim, Kelli, Jennifer and Jamie – there I just did).

Most of all I am simply amazed by the truth we will celebrate and Jenna will sing about tomorrow evening.

It’s true. There’s a God who came down to find us. So angels on high sing alleluias throughout the loveliest night of the year.

As we prepare to join the angels singing you might find the following prayer by Kenneth Phifer helpful in preparing our hearts to worship our newborn King.

Merry Christmas!

Eternal God, I wait now for Christmas

I want the Christ to be born anew in my heart.

I hope it will all mean more to me than ever before.

Do not let it slip away into the night

after the songs have all been sung

and the stories told once more.

I know we cannot keep the expectancy alive the year round,

but can I not keep the meaning warm?

Knowing myself, I ask now

that the Christ Child may be real to me,

tot only in the days immediately ahead,

but in the days that follow the celebration of His birth.

Let me so receive Him that I may believe

in His continuing Presence.

Le me not let love go.

Let me not let faith fade.

Let me not let hope slip away.

May the openheartedness be my way of life,

and an abiding joy be an aspect of my very being.

So involve me in the Coming this year

that the going will not be quite as complete

as it has been in the past.

Help me to remember what it is all about.

Keep my life from being so crowded with things

that there is no room for Him.

Keep me from pushing Him aside and from being so busy

that I lose Him in the clutter and the clamor

of these hectic days.

I am glad that Christmas means parties and decorated trees,

wassail bowls and candles in the windows.

But let me remain aware that it also means

generosity and forgiveness,

openness and renewal

It means commitment and restoration,

worship and wonder.

It means the birth of our Lord

and the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory

of Your love for all people everywhere.

So make me ready now,

and then when the candles have been extinguished,

and the trees taken down,

and the wreathes put away,

May the memory of the Lord Jesus remain

a present and transforming reality in my life.

For His sake I pray. Amen.

23rd Annual Dad and Daughters Christmas Shopping Day

2010-12-20T06:52:00.000-08:00

In 1988, when Kelli was eight months old, I took her with me to the mall to shop for Kim’s Christmas presents. I discovered that nothing in the world attracts shopping assistance than a cute little baby so the next year I did the same. The following year, 1990, Jennifer (at ten months) joined us and two years later so did nine-month-old Jamie. That year I had two in a double stroller and one in backpack but I was determined to take all three because by then it was a five-year tradition of Dad and Daughter Christmas Shopping Day.

The tradition began in Orlando when I was still practicing architecture. It continued in Atlanta while I was in seminary and most of the shopping was done at a Dollar Store. We’ve spent the day in Baton Rouge, Charleston, San Francisco (Union Square is a great place to shop) and since 2005 right here in Houston.

Today will be our 23^rd consecutive year to shop together. There are important tasks to accomplish. Stocking stuffers for Kim (since we began practicing an Advent Conspiracy shopping is much easier) and the all-important “Sister Gifts.” Over the years the gifts our daughters give each other, “Sister Gifts,” have become the highlight of Christmas morning, far surpassing anything the Santa or Mom and Dad may have placed beneath the tree.

But shopping really isn’t the purpose of the day. Today is less about the gifts of presents and more about the gift of presence. Today we will remember that the first gift of Christmas was God's presence with us.

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.

John 1: 14

It was the gift of a relationship built on love and it reminds us that the best gift we can give to those we love is time spent together. You can’t purchase that gift at the mall – though you can experience it there – and it’s about time to head out and enjoy that gift!

Come and See a Simple Christmas

2010-12-13T08:31:00.000-08:00

Though I am constantly surrounded by some of the most amazingly talented people that I know, the Christmas Season provides a great reminder. David Leestma, Ben and Jenna Kuykendall, Brian Mann, Aaron Wilson and so many others are making the entire season at Grace the loveliest of the year.

Year’s ago I recognized that the number one requirement for a worship leader was a relationship with Jesus Christ. Other talented musicians can present good music, often really good music. But when there is a relationship with Jesus the music comes from the heart and that makes all the difference in the world.

Two great examples are Christmas projects that Grace had a part in over the last couple of years. Come and See by Matt and Cameron Hammon (Olivette) is incredible (and if you are in Houston you really ought to come and hear them live this Wednesday night at Ecclessia). Brian Mann’s Simple Christmas is simply beautiful (and I’m pretty sure I heard it being played as the prelude at First Baptist last Thursday night). Though both projects are amazing musically they are even more testimonies to hearts that know and love Jesus Christ and are offering their gifts to His glory.

If you don’t have them – here’s a shameless plug – you really need to download them right now. Both are available at iTunes (Olivette, Come and See – Brian Mann, Simple Christmas). I promise these projects will add a little more of heaven’s gift of great joy to your Christmas!

Stranger in the Manger

2010-12-11T14:12:00.000-08:00

December 12, 9:00 and 11:15 a.m., Sanctuary
Don’t miss an exciting morning as our Grace family experiences Stranger in the Manger performed by our Grace Kids Music choirs. Our kindergarten through fifth graders have been working hard all fall to present an unforgettable musical that is fun for the whole family! Dress in your favorite Christmas casual attire and prepare to be blessed by our fantastic kids! Invite your friends, family, and neighbors; they won’t want to miss it! We will not hold our 9:00 a.m. Chapel service this day; please join us in the Sanctuary.

Waiting for Isaac

2010-11-23T08:25:00.001-08:00

This week our family is enjoying a Thanksgiving week in my favorite city, Charleston SC (and I’m writing this blog from my favorite coffee shop – Baked). I am thankful for this “down time” for the 5 of us. This morning I’ve been reflecting on how thankful I am or the times I’ve waited for Isaac.

Year’s ago, as I was wrestling with a decision, a very wise friend suggested that maybe “Hagar and I should quit trying to have a baby” and just wait on Isaac. If you don’t catch the reference (it’s not Isaac from the Love Boat), in the Old Testament God promises give a son to Abraham and Sarai from whom a great nation would emerge. God’s timing doesn’t exactly match Abraham’s – Abe get’s tired of waiting and decides to take control of the situation. He has a son, Ishmael, by Sarai servant, Hagar, and ultimately makes a complete mess of things. Then another 14 years of waiting go by before Isaac is born and God’s promise fulfilled.

In a world of instant results it’s hard to wait on Isaac. Too often we anxiously and impatiently attempt to take control and solve things on our own. It’s a temptation in our relationships, careers, finances and almost aspect of life. Sometimes we need a carpe diem attitude to stop hesitating and seize the day. But sometimes the wiser course is to wait for Isaac.

Giver of All Good Things

2010-11-20T19:22:00.000-08:00

As part of our We Are Grace generosity campaign, Jenna Kuykendall was inspired to write a song – Giver of All Good Things. The music and the lyrics are testimonies to Jenna’s amazing gifts but even more testify to a heart that loves Jesus and His church. So for the final blog for We Are Grace I thought I’d share Jenna’s lyrics. They are a beautiful glimpse into a heart and knows and trusts the One who gives all good things:

Giver of All Good Things

by Jenna Kuykendall  

From the first breath of creation

 You have not stopped giving 

You've lavished gifts of life and love on us 

Daily bread to meet our needs and teach us how to trust You 

And grace that is greater than all our sin

  What do we have that's not already Yours? 

What do we know that Your wisdom did not provide? 

What can we give that Your grace did not supply? 

You are good, You're the giver of all good things  

Humbled as we seek Your face 

You've called us to this time and place

 Our only choice, surrender to Your plan 

So hear us now with open hearts and hands  

What do we have that's not already Yours? 

What do we know that Your wisdom did not provide? 

What can we give that Your grace did not supply?

 You are good, You're the giver of all good things

  Even pain we did not want to know,
You used it to help us grow 

And sorrow we wouldn't choose to bear,
we see now You were always there 

You work everything according to Your plan and purpose

 For our good, so...  What do we have that's not already Yours? 

What do we know that Your wisdom did not provide? 

What can we give that Your grace did not supply? 

You are good and we are Grace 

You are good, You're the giver of all good things

My Own Little World

2010-11-12T14:18:00.000-08:00

For the last couple of weeks I’ve been posting a daily blog on our church web site as a part of our We Are Grace Generosity Campaign – and not posting here. But the lyrics of Matthew West’s song My Own Little World made pause to consider what’s the population of my own little world and seemed worth posting twice.

In my own little world it hardly ever rains

I’ve never gone hungry, always felt safe

I got some money in my pocket, shoes on my feet

In my own little world

Population: me

I try to stay awake during Sunday morning church

I throw a twenty in the plate, but I never give ’til it hurts

I turn off the news when I don’t like what I see

It’s easy to do when it’s

Population: me

What if there’s a bigger picture?

What if I’m missing out?

What if there’s a greater purpose

I could be living right now

Outside my own little world

When I stopped at a red light, looked out my window

I saw a cardboard sign, said “Help this homeless widow”

And above that sign was the face of a human

and I thought to myself, “God, what have I been doing?”

So I rolled down the window and I looked her in the eye

I thought how many times have I just passed her by?

I gave her some money then I drove on through

And my own little world reached

Population: two

Father break my heart for what breaks Yours

Give me open hands and open doors

and Put Your light in my eyes and let me see

That my own little world is not about me

I know theres a bigger picture

I dont wanna miss it now

I know theres a plan and a purpose

I can be living right now

Outside my own little world

Take a moment and pray that God would bless us all with hearts that break for the things that break His heart and to ask yourself: What’s the population of your own little world?

Bronze Shields

2010-10-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak, king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. He carried off the treasures of the temple and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made. So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them…

1 Kings 14: 25 - 27

During the glory days of Israel, Rehoboam’s father, Solomon, had made two hundred large shield of hammered gold. About seven and a half pounds of gold went into each shield. At today’s prices that’s about thirty-two million dollars in golden shields. Even then it was an impressive display of prosperity.

By Rehoboam’s reign the glory days had passed them by (and now I have that Bruce Springsteen song in my head). But image was still important and so when Shishak ransacks and loots the temple and the palace Rehoboam has the shields replaced. He can’t afford gold so he uses bronze instead. Perhaps he thought if no one looked too closely then everything would appear as glorious as ever.

Rehobaom’s story has me thinking a lot about the ways people, and churches, try to hold on to our glory days. We replace golden shields with bronze (which is what we can afford) and tell ourselves that everything is just as good as it’s always been. As long as no one looks too closely everything appears fine. But the truth is things aren’t the way they were and trying to hold on can be exhausting. And the danger in holding on to the past is that we might miss the new things God has springing up all around us.

In Isaiah 43, God tell us to:

Forget the former things;  

do not dwell on the past.

See, I am doing a new thing!  

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  

I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

Isaiah 43: 18, 19

We can’t hold on to the golden shields forever and bronze replacement shields really just aren’t the same. But God is still doing new things and there are glory days ahead – if we can only let go to the former things so that we might embrace them.

Four Amazing Stories of Grace

2010-10-12T14:40:00.000-07:00

Over the last four weeks we’ve shared four amazing stories of grace – they are also stories of Grace Presbyterian Church. They are stories of healing and forgiveness, looking beyond ourselves to serve others, inviting and welcoming people to God’s family. Last week’s story of Amelia’s new heart was an amazing testimony to the love of a community that is seeking to be faithful to Jesus’ command to love one another.

Today I sat down and watched the four stories again (and if you want you can watch them too, they are at the bottom of this post). I am humbled to part of a place where these stories are being written and I’m excited by all the stories of grace that are still waiting to be written and told!

Comforting the Disturbed and Disturbing the Comfortable

2010-09-23T17:13:00.000-07:00

My friend Scott likes to say that while Jesus comforted the disturbed He also disturbed the comfortable. I needed to make sure I attributed hearing that phrase to him since his wife is one of the six people who read this blog. Though it seems the line was first used by Cesar Cruz (onward children of the sun) and in 2006 was the title of a UK movie about a team of international telephone fraudsters - I'm waiting for International Telephone Fraudsters 3-D.

Last Sunday in worship we disturbed some people’s comfort as we shared a very honest testimony. Stephanie and Mickey Peters have faced a marriage crisis that far too many couples share – infidelity. Thankfully, that was only the beginning of their story. They discovered that Jesus really did come to save sinners, forgiveness is possible and grace always abounds. In amazing ways Jesus brought healing, new life and comfort to the places sin disturbed and even threatened to destroy in their marriage. Today they are open and honest about their story. Even more with bold courage they want share it with the hope that God might use their experience to bring redemption and restoration to someone else.

We put together a video testimony (which you can watch below or at GracePresMedia) and shared it in worship. It’s a very real testimony that acknowledges one of the consequences of Mickey’s sexual addiction and infidelity was a pregnancy with another woman.

We received lots of positive feedback and encouragement. Throughout the week I’ve heard of how God is already using the Peters’ story to bring healing to other marriages. People have stopped me to thank us for having the courage to share this story of God’s grace.

We have also received some criticism. For some the testimony was too real, too graphic and inappropriate for worship. It made some people uncomfortable and they shared with me that it was disturbing.

I’ve tried to listen carefully to the criticism. I’m a dad of three daughters. Sometimes we will be watching television or a movie together and a particularly suggestive scene makes all of us a little uncomfortable. Even commercials can leave us awkwardly wondering what to say to one another. I understand that some topics are uncomfortable to hear about sitting next to your kids. I also appreciate that parents need to make the decisions about what, how and when their children are exposed to sensitive topics. The criticism we've received has been constructive and helping us to better think about how we share sensitive stories.

But I’m also convinced that being uncomfortable is okay.

Even more I’m convinced that church is a place where it’s okay to be real, confess our failures and most of all to experience grace. Grace can make us uncomfortable because to really experience it we have to be willing to admit that we need it.

Stephanie says that they are not afraid to be the face of this terrible thing that happens in marriage. My hope is that the church (not just Grace but the church around the world) will have the same sort of courage. We need to be sensitive to our audience (we really do think carefully about that). We never want to be offensive simply for the sake of offending. We also want to acknowledge the reality and consequences of sin. Sin is messy and disturbing. The good news is that God has a plan for comforting us when we are disturbed and more importantly dealing with our sin - Jesus.

And there will be times when He just might disturb the comfortable.

Family Feud

2010-09-16T12:56:00.000-07:00

With two of our daughters attending “rival” universities football season presents us with opportunities for some friendly family competition. This weekend is round one as our Clemson Tigers play Kelli’s Auburn Tigers. Later in the season we will have to face Jennifer’s Gamecocks (at least we get them at home). Thankfully we have our common dislike of the University of Georgia to hold our family together (and Jamie’s Samford Bulldogs play in the FCS division).

So here’s the simple question for a Thursday afternoon – which Tiger is better: the fierce and intelligent one or Aubie who looks like he has mumps and a flattened head?

Unitasking

2010-09-06T19:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at the airport (as we were returning to Houston) I picked up the latest book by one of my favorite authors, A. J. Jacobs. Jacobs' first two books, The Know-It-All and The Year of Living Biblically are fantastic and so I couldn’t resist when I saw in the terminal bookstore My Life as an Experiment.

Jacobs is am immersion writer, which simply means he immerses himself in various situations and then writes about his experience. My Life as an Experiment is a collection of essays on 10 different immersions such as living as George Washington for a month. The first essay is based on a experiment in unitasking.

We all understand multitasking. Some of us were introduced to the idea as kids as smiling housewives in commercials told us that they were cleaning their ovens as they played bridge or polo or cliff dived - my memory of the commercials is fuzzy but I remember the punchline: "I'm cleaning my oven!" Easy Off brilliantly marketed the value of multitasking and we were sold. In his book Dancing the Soul Salsa, Leonard Sweet nearly makes multitasking (killing two birds with one stone) a spiritual gift. But its more than a couple of birds that are getting killed. Multitasking is killing us. Here’s some of what Jacob learned:

Driving Under the Influence of Text Messages causes 630,000 accidents a year.
In her book Distracted: The Eroision of Attention and the Coming Dark Age. Maggie Johnson warns that distractions are changing the way we think, rewiring our brains and making it harder to solve complex problems.
Multitasking increases the levels of stress-related hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, prematurely aging us. Distracted brains make us more depressed, less able to connect with people or form a conscience.
And mulittasking makes us dumber (just imagine how much better a sentence that might have been if I haven’t spent so many years multitasking). Researchers at UCLA found that multitasking shortchanges the higher regions of the brain, the ones devoted to learning and memory. And the sad truth is we really aren’t multitasking, the brain can’t handle more than one higher cognitive function at a time. We are switch-tasking – bouncing between one task to another.

And as Jacobs simply puts it: Multitasking is rotting our skulls.

I read this first chapter uncomfortably. Do I check my email and facebook status while on the phone? Ouch! Do I fall to the distraction of web surfing when I am trying to finish a writing assignment? It starts by trying to look up quote from Plato which leads to a You Tube animation of The Cave and the next thing you know I’m watching videos of the Annoying Orange. Ouch! Do I watch TV with my laptop open while listening to Kim tell me about something going on with someone somewhere? Ouch! I am addicted to multitasking. The idea of trying to stay focused on one task at a time actually frightens me.

But Jacob’s article has convinced me to try. So for the rest of September I am going to attempt to be a Unitasker (which sounds somehow like a Unibomber and maybe just as dangerous). When I am writing I won’t bounce from document to document, go online or constantly check my email (it’s been killing me not to do either as I write this post – I especially want to check to see if there’s any new Annoying Orange uploads). When I am driving, I will drive and the iPhone (which is a must-have tool for multitaskers) will stay in my messenger bag. When I talk on the phone I will shut my eyes (one of Jacob’s suggestions) so that I won’t be tempted to accomplish another task while on the phone. I won’t text or surf the web during meetings. I won’t play Words with Friends (words for nerds) while walking from place to place. I won’t even text or facebook (is facebook a verb?) while watching tv and I won’t look up interesting trivia about the actors we are watching on IMDb (I love doing that). For the rest of the month I will focus on one task at a time.

Starting right now – I am a unitasker! Let’s see what happens.

Devote yourself to prayer… and to football

2010-09-04T10:56:00.000-07:00

Devote yourself to prayer…

Colossians 4: 1

Yesterday afternoon Kim and I sat down and put together a prayer list for the fall. We had a great setting, overlooking the beauty of the Colorado mountains. We talked about the specific things we wanted to pray about for our family, friends and church. Where we could, we added specific scripture to pray for individuals. Then we knelt and prayed together. It was the highlight of this week in the mountains.

In recent months I’ve often quoted Jim Cymbala, “prayer is the engine that will drive the church.” That’s true, and this fall we are taking steps toward making Grace an even more prayer saturated church. But prayer is also the engine that drives our lives and so we are called to devote ourselves to prayer.

I’m heading back from vacation with a renewed passion to pray for my family, friends and church. I’d love to pray for you and welcome your prayers for me (Kim is praying 2 Corinthians 3: 4 – 6 for me).

And my passion for football is also renewed and although it is another beautiful day here in Colorado I am tuned into the opening weekend of college football. Here’s a great video to get ready for game time - Go Tigers!

Generosity

2010-09-03T10:48:00.000-07:00

Over the years Kim and I have been blessed by wonderful gifts of generosity. That’s been especially true over the past week.

A week ago today we moved our youngest daughter to college (quite an experience) but “we moved” doesn’t tell the full story. One of the traditions at Samford University is for upperclassmen to move the freshmen into their dorms. We pulled up to the front of the dorm and our cars were immediately surrounded by students – most notably members of the Samford football team – and before we knew what happened the entire contents were in her dorm room. That was a generous gift!

Years ago, maybe twenty, Kim and I heard a speaker suggest that after you take your last child to college don’t return immediately to the “empty nest.” So for twenty years we’ve been planning to be away this week. Of course, two kids in college and one just out means that the budget for a week away was somewhat limited. But thanks to the generosity of friends we’ve been able to spend a week in the Colorado Rockies (in fact I’m writing this blog sitting on a deck overlooking the mountains). This week is an amazing gift of generosity!

Yesterday we drove over to the Rocky Mountain National Park and had a fantastic day. Along the way a Colorado Highway Patrolman stopped me to let me know that I was slightly (just ever so slightly) exceeding the posted speed limit (I was spending too much time looking at the scenery and not enough paying attention to the speed limit signs). Then he informed me that it was my lucky day and he was letting me go with just a warning. THAT was a greatly appreciated gift of generosity!

The Apostle Paul reminded the elders in Ephesus that Jesus taught:

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

I trust that Samford football payers and friends and one very nice Colorado Highway Patrolman are experiencing those blessings today – each has blessed us with generosity this week.

Where have you recently received a gift of generosity?

Who might you be generous toward today?

Buying Green Bananas

2010-08-24T08:28:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Jesus’ promise that His followers will not only do what He had been doing but would do even greater things. The Apostle Paul captured some of that thought when he wrote that God is:

able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.

It’s a promise that believes in a bright future, confident that the things to come will be immeasurably greater than the things that have been.

Lately I’ve noticed that confidence in the future doesn’t come easy for everyone. Perhaps it’s an uncertain economy or a world that seems to be in constant motion and change. We start to imagine a future filled with lesser things and our confidence wavers. Last week I overhead one church leader remark:

I don’t even buy green bananas!

If you don’t believe tomorrow is coming there’s not much point in having a bunch of green bananas around. Only people with confidence in the future buy green bananas.

I am convinced that its time for the church to buy green bananas. Its time to not only believe but to proclaim that that the promise God made through the Prophet Jeremiah is true:

I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

A hope and a future – that sounds like a good time to buy green bananas!

What are the green bananas you might confidently buy?

The Law of the Spill

2010-08-09T08:38:00.000-07:00

When you are bumped you spill whatever is inside you….

Jim Herrington, who is the Team Director for Mission Houston, shared that wisdom with me recently (and I promised to give him credit the first time I used it).

When you are bumped you spill whatever is inside you…

I get bumped a lot – most of us do. Some of the bumps are intentional; many are unintentional. Criticism, suggestions, criticism disguised as suggestions – they all bump me. Interruptions, changes to plans, poor communication and misunderstandings are other ways that I get bumped. And when I’m bumped I spill what’s inside me – it isn’t always pretty. Sometimes what spills out of me makes quite a mess and my “spills” almost always seem to splash on others.

Think of it as the Law of the Bump or the Law of the Spill (can’t decide which one I like better). We will always spill whatever is inside.

So I’ve been paying attention to what spills out of me when I get bumped. It’s lead me to work on what’s inside. I’m discovering that just by being aware of my “spills” I am filling myself with better things. The Apostle Paul called them those things that are pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8).

You will probably get “bumped” today. Pay attention to what spills.

Scars

2010-08-05T12:12:00.000-07:00

It’s been an unusual summer for our family – one daughter moving back home after graduation, another getting ready to leave for college and the third working at a camp in Alabama. Then we tossed into the mix two more recent college graduates creating a very full house (I’ve suggested putting Greek letters over the front door and creating a sorority). One of the impacts has been less time for reflection and blogging – but summer is nearing a close and I am writing again.

It’s also been a summer in which is seems that the lives of so many of our closest friends (all across the country) are in turmoil. Words such as cancer, death, adultery, affair, unemployment, addiction, rape, drugs and depression have been a part of far too many conversations. God continues to write stories of restoration and redemption but it seems as if too many of the people we love are in seasons of too many wounds.

Many of those wounds are leaving scars.

And I’m reminded that God has scars.

After His resurrection, when Jesus appeared to His disciples

He showed them His hands and feet

Luke 20: 40

In John’s revelation of heaven he describes the Lamb as:

looking as if it had been slain…

Revelation 5: 6

Our God has scars.

I can engage in theological debate on the persistence of evil. I can find encouragement in the promise of a future glory that far surpasses our present suffering. I can even understand how trials develop perseverance that leads to completeness. I don’t have a lot of easy answers for cancer, death, adultery, affairs, unemployment, addiction, rape, drugs, depression, wounds and scars.

But I know that our God has scars too – and for today, that’s more than enough.

Failure to Thrive

2010-07-21T14:45:00.000-07:00

Failure to Thrive (FTT) is a condition most often associated with infants, simply defined as inadequate growth. A variety of factors from medical to environmental can contribute to FTT. One of the most common contributing factors is a lack of touch, stimulation and love.

We were created for relationship; for touch and love. When love and touch are absent we won’t grow. We might survive but we certainly won’t thrive and that’s unacceptable because we were created to thrive.

Jesus said that He came so that we might:

may have life, and have it to the full.

John 10:10

Too often we miss out on that abundant life. We survive, but we fail to thrive.

In happens to individuals, in friendships, in marriages and even to churches. It happens because touch and love are absent.

Too many churches today are experiencing inadequate growth – they are failing to thrive. Just as with infants there are a range of factors but perhaps most simply it’s the result of a lack of touch, stimulation and love.

We spend a lot of time and energy devoted to church growth. I recently pulled together from my bookshelves all the books I’ve acquired over the years. It’s quite a stack. They have great titles (and many are great books). My favorite title (and one first and best books I’ve read on church growth) is Bill Easum’s Sacred Cows Make Gourmet Burgers. Each author offers great wisdom and insights and practical things we might try, but there’s no “silver bullet” answer (though a few will try to sell some). Perhaps, its because churches, like the rest of us, thrive when there is touch, stimulation and love.

What would happen if we focused our time and energy of sharing Jesus’ love with touches of grace – not just with the world around us but also with one another? It just might lead to life in the fullest!

The work of the critic is easy

2010-07-13T16:34:00.000-07:00

There’s this great monologue at the end of Disney’s Ratatouille. Anton Ego, the food critic, thinks about criticism:

In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. The world is often unkind to new talents, new creations. The new needs friends…. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.

Ego is right, it really is easy to criticize and I fall to that temptation far too often. I’m guilty of criticizing directly, discreet and most often through my “suggestions” for improvement.

The work of the critic is easy… the new needs friends.

Those are good thoughts as I continue into this week.

Wicked

2010-07-12T12:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my daughter Kelli and I attended the matinee performance of Wicked. It was the fourth time for me (over a few years) but the first time for Kelli (and it was really fun to see it again for the first time through her eyes).

I love the story on so many levels.

I love the friendship between Elphaba and Glinda. I love the way “loathing” is transformed to “for good.”

I love how Elphaba evolves from wounded to hopeful to defiant to wicked and finally to peaceful.

I love how Glinda eventually finds herself.

I love the music and the costumes and the set design.

Every time I see Wicked I leave a little more inspired to defy gravity!

Train Wreck

2010-07-10T09:29:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I made my facebook status:

Train Wreck: a metaphor to describe something disastrous yet inevitable or distasteful yet morbidly fascinating and possibly taking place in Minneapolis this week...

The “train wreck” is a reference to the 219th meeting of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). As the meting of the General Assembly closes this morning I can remove the word “possibility.”

In a variety of actions this week commissioners recommended changes that if approved by a majority of our 173 Presbyteries would:

Remove the “fidelity (within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman) or chastity (in singleness)” requirement for those seeking to be ordained as deacons, elders or pastors. The intent of this action is to make it possible for sessions and presbyteries to ordain individuals who define themselves as part of the GLBT community. This recommendation narrowly passed 373-323-4.

This will be the 5th time in the last 15 years the GA has asked the church to remove this requirement. It's not that they haven’t heard our answer on the previous occasions – they simply haven’t liked our answer, so they keep asking.

Approve a new Form of Government (nFOG) that is intended to be more flexible than our current Book of Order. The commissioners overwhelmingly approved the nFOG 468 – 204 – 6.

Add to our Book of Confessions the Belhar Confession written in South Africa in 1986 as a call to resist injustice, specifically racism.

The commissioners also took actions that do not require the approval of our Presbyteries. Of particular interest they:

Asked the Board of Pensions to extend health benefits to same-gender domestic partners and their children. The commissioners also rejected a proposal that the Board of Pensions no longer provide coverage for abortions (expect when necessary to protect the life of the mother).

Asked for a retranslation of the Heidelberg Catechism specifically to address a condemnation of homosexuality, which appears in the current translation but apparently not in the original German.

Approved a controversial Middle East Report after lot of changes to remove what many consider to be a pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli bias. The report did retain language denouncing Caterpillar for continuing to sell products (i.e. bulldozers) to Israel. The commissioners always stop short of divesting from Caterpillar – perhaps because the denomination has $12M invested in Caterpillar stock. Commissioners also aren’t pleased with Motorola, ITT, United Technologies and Hewlett-Packard but Caterpillar always gets singled out (probably because bulldozers knocking things over makes better video that checking email on a HP laptop). Maybe we should also denounce 3M because the Taliban uses Post-It notes… just saying.

Some of the most troubling actions surrounded the work of a committee on civil union and marriage. After rejecting three overtures that asked to reaffirm a Biblical and historic understanding of marriage the commissioners voted to send us two reports expressing differing views on marriage. Essentially one report holds marriage as a covenant between a man and a woman, the other as a covenant between two people.

By approving both reports and commending them to the church for study the commissioners “side-stepped” debates on:

Changing the definition of marriage from “between a woman and a man” to “two people”
Allowing pastors to perform and sessions to approve same-gender unions in states where they are permitted.

It was a brilliant parliamentarian move – but it wasn’t easy. The vote to set aside debate on redefining marriage was extremely close (348-324). The result is, as of today our constitution still defines marriage as a between “a woman and a man” but we are split on whether or not that “works for us” so we are studying.

Bottom line:

We will again be voting on removing standards for ordination that were placed in our constitution in 1996 and affirmed four times.
We will continue to provide health coverage for induced abortions.
We will extend health coverage (for non-ordained staff covered by the Board of Pensions) to same-gender domestic partners and
We are gong to spend some time thinking about what it means to be married.

That’s what happened in Minneapolis this week.

It was disastrous yet probably inevitable.

It was distasteful yet somehow morbidly fascinating.

It was a train wreck.

btw – The PC (USA)’s GA web site is a great place to read details about each of these items. Another good source is the Presbyterian Outlook.

If you want a slightly irreverent but hilarious perspective check out the blog by Grace elder and GA Commissioner Doug Gleditsch, Chief Among Sinners or his Twitter feed presbyoptic.

Praying for Amelia

2010-07-01T18:49:00.000-07:00

On New Year’s Eve 2009 I received a call that a young couple at Grace had taken their 10 week daughter, Amelia, to the emergency room. Amelia was diagnosed with acute myocarditis/dilated cardiomyopathy – bottom line: she needed a new heart.

Last March, at Texas Children’s Hospital, Amelia was given a Berlin Heart – an absolutely amazing device that has sustained her as she waited for the donation of a new heart.

That is happening as I type this post. Just a little after 8:00 this evening surgeons at Texas Children’s began a 12+ hour heart transplant.

The gift of this new heart required a donor and I love what Amelia’s parents posted on their Caring Bridge page:

Please be in prayer for the precious family who is selflessly giving Amelia and our family the best possible gift. We pray that God give them comfort and peace in this most difficult of times. My heart aches for them, and I am just so humbled that we can give Amelia a second chance at a life because of this gift.

Tonight I am praying for Amelia and for the family that gave this gift. As I do, I am reminded that every gift we receive comes at a price to someone.

Thinking about that makes grace all the more amazing.

You can follow Amelia's story and join us in praying for her at Caring Bridge Amelia.

One of the mistakes I made last year….

2010-06-30T15:53:00.000-07:00

One of the mistakes I made last year….

Lately, I’ve noticed that I’m using that phrase a lot in conversations. I guess I've made a lot of mistakes.

One of the mistakes I made last year was (just fill in the blank) and there are plenty of answers to fill in the blank when I think about the last year (I wont be including those answers in this blog).

What I’m more and more discovering is how freeing it is to admit my mistakes. So I’ve been admitting my mistakes – without justification or blame shifting or denial. I made mistakes last year. I wasn’t the only one. People make mistakes, it’s part of being human – and I’m certainly human. Admitting helps me to learn important lessons and helps others know that I am learning. And when people know you are learning they are quick to forgive and encourage and support.

Admitting my mistakes also makes it easier to stand firm when I know I’m not mistaken. I also got some things exactly right last year. Saying “I know I’m right” is heard much more readily when I’m not afraid to say, “I know I was wrong.” Somehow it’s all more genuine and authentic.

Lately, I’ve started listening for other voices telling me about the mistakes they made last year. I don’t hear many. It’s really not surprising. No one really wants to admit that their mistake led to oil spills in the gulf, stock market crashes, the Twilight movie series or losing the LeBron sweepstakes. But if they did, I suspect we’d be quicker to forgive and encourage and support.

No one can really resist authentic humility.

So think for a moment – how would you fill in the blank: One of the mistakes I made last year was….

like butter scraped over too much bread

2010-05-26T10:44:00.000-07:00

There’s a great line in The Fellowship of the Ring (I’m a big LOTR fan) where Bilbo tells Gandalf that he feels:

All thin, sort of stretched… like butter that has been scraped over too much bread.

Life can sometimes leave us feeling that way. Our calendars are too full. Our budgets are too tight. Our bodies are exhausted. We feel like butter scraped over too much bread!

That was never God’s intention.

Jesus said:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11: 28

In the familiar words of Psalm 23 we are reminded that:

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

He leads me beside quiet waters,

He restores my soul.  

He guides me in paths of righteousness  

for His name's sake.

Psalm 23: 1 – 3

Where are the places where you “lie in green pastures” and sit “beside quiet waters.” When you feel like butter scraped too thin what restores your soul!

What’s working and how can we do more of it?

2010-05-24T09:08:00.000-07:00

When facing challenges we often begin by asking:

What’s broken, and how do we fix it?

We have a problem-seeking mindset that psychologists suggest fits with a predilection for the negative. We might not think of ourselves as negative people but study after study affirms that we tend to focus on problems rather than "bright spots."

For example a “learn English at home” website lists twenty-four of the most common words used to describe our emotions:

Angry, Annoyed, Appalled, Apprehensive, Ashamed, Bewildered, Betrayed, Confused, Confident, Cheated, Cross, Depressed, Delighted, Disappointed, Ecstatic, Excited, Emotional, Envious, Embarrassed, Furious, Frightened, Great, Happy, Horrified.

Notice anything about the list?

Only 6 of the 24 most commonly used words to describe our emotions are positive.

One psychologist did a more exhaustive survey and found 558 emotion words – 62% of them were negative.

It shows up in study after study:

When people are shown photos of bad and good events – they spend longer looking at the bad.
When people learn bad things about others – it sticks more than the good stuff.
Customers are more likely to share a bad experience with others.

So when we face challenges our first response is:

What’s broken and how do we fix it?

But what if we began from a different starting point:

What’s working and how can we do more of it?

In a letter to the church in Philippi, Paul wrote:

whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Philippians 4: 8

What in your life is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy?

Take a moment today to consider what’s working and how you can experience more of it!

If you want a revolution

2010-05-22T18:43:00.000-07:00

It’s that time of year when the NBA playoffs have my full attention –I actually do “love this game” (my Orlando Magic started the playoffs 8 – 0 before collapsing to the Celtics – who I have to admit and admire are playing great ball).

Anyway, this year’s playoffs are heavily sponsored by Gatorade and their new evolve commercial seems to air at almost every timeout. It sounds like old school R&B – sort of an Otis Redding feel – but it’s a new song by a vocalist named Kermit Quinn. It’s an effective commercial – the lyrics stick in your head:

If you want a revolution, the only solution: evolve….

Many would suggest that today’s church is in the midst of a revolution – one that takes places about every 500 years (and it’s been 500 years since the Protestant Reformation). In her book The Great Emergence: How Christianity is Changing and Why, Phyllis Tickle puts it this way:

Every 500 years the Church holds a giant rummage sale and casts off the things that restrict its growth.

That doesn’t sound easy – and those of living in the midst of an evolving church know that it isn’t.

But lately, as I see more and more signs of the ways God is on the move, I’m convinced the church will emerge from a season of change ready to embrace a world in desperate need of a revolution.

PS – The Celtics are blowing out the Magic again in Game 3 – the Magic offense needs to evolve!!!

Time for a Do Over

2010-05-18T05:36:00.000-07:00

There’s a great scene in the 1991 movie City Slickers. Three friends Mitch (Billy Crystal), Phil (Daniel Stern) and Ed (Bruno Kirby) go on a cattle drive in response to each one’s version of a mid-life crisis.

One night along the trail Phil confesses that he feels as if he’s wasted his life. Mitch reminds him of when they were playing as kids and a ball would get stuck in a tree, they would call a “do over.” Mitch tells Phil that if he wants, his life can be a “do over.”

I love Phil’s response:

You know you were right, Mitch. My life is a "do-over". It's time to get started.

In Psalm 51 (our text for this weekend) David cries to God for a “do-over:”

Have mercy on me, O God,

according to Your unfailing love;

according to Your great compassion

blot out my transgressions.

Wash away all my iniquity  

and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions,  

and my sin is always before me.

Against You, You only, have I sinned  

and done what is evil in Your sight,  

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;  

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness;  

let the bones You have crushed rejoice.

Hide Your face from my sins  

and blot out all my iniquity.

Create in me a pure heart, O God,  

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

That’s a cry most of us could echo and it’s a cry answered loudly through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We will celebrate that answer as we celebrate communion in worship this Sunday.

Because of Jesus our life can be a do-over. It’s time to get started.

Kelli's Graduation

2010-05-14T07:42:00.000-07:00

I was in Clemson yesterday, where it seems like Kim and I just graduated so its a bit surreal that this morning I am getting ready for my daughter’s college graduation. Later today our eldest daughter Kelli will graduate from Auburn University.

It’s been an amazing four years for Kelli (and yes she made it through in four – and without any summer school). I’ve watched her faith, leadership and calling grow through her experiences and friendships. She will graduate today a confident young woman, eager and prepared for the next chapters of life that await her.

Way to go Auburn and even more congratulations Kelli. War Eagle! (Clemson begin an home and home series with Auburn next year so that might be my last War Eagle for a while).

Graduations are the sort of occasions that tend to make me reflective. This morning I’ve been reflecting on all the changes that have taken place in Kelli’s life and how those changes have shaped her.

Kelli was born in my hometown – Mt. Pleasant, SC – but since her father was a wandering Aramean (Deuteronomy 26: 5) a hometown beginning wasn’t a hint at her journey. Along my career as an architect and pastor she’s lived in Columbia, Orlando, Atlanta, Baton Rouge, back to Mt. Pleasant, Menlo Park and Houston. She attended 3 different elementary schools, 2 middle schools and 2 high schools.

At each stop she’s made friends, faced challenges (some at far too young an age) and grown into a remarkable young woman that I am proud to call my daughter.

I can vividly remember when we dropped her off her in Auburn 4 years ago. Kim and I wept as we drove back to Houston. I’m anticipating more tears today (I can already feel them beginning to well up) – this time they will be tears of pride and joy.

Kelli’s final semester at Auburn was back in Orlando where she was a Child Life Specialist Intern at Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital. That experience was a vivid reminder to me of just how much she has grown and thrived during her Auburn years. Next week she will get back to the job interviewing process (pray for open positions at Children’s Hospitals) but today is all about celebrating Kelli and God’s faithfulness in her life.

So time to go get dressed and head to the graduation and celebration.

Congratulations Kelli!

Abounding and Abiding

2010-05-13T09:05:00.000-07:00

I’m in Clemson, South Carolina where I am spending a day of rest, reflection, shopping for all things orange and perhaps getting in a little golf before picking up Kim and Jamie this evening in Atlanta (and heading - along with Jennifer - to Auburn for Kelli’s graduation - War Eagle).

After a busy weeks of abounding it’s a good day to stop and abide.

When I was at Menlo Park we used to talk about the tension between abounding and abiding. 1 Corinthians 15:58 tells us to devote ourselves to God’s work:

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast and immovable; always abounding fully in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

We are commanded to abound.

Abounding in God’s work is important – and for many of us driven work-focused people this is an easy command to obey.

But though we are called to abound, Jesus also challenged us to abide. In John 15:4, He said:

Abide in Me and I will abide in you. No branch can fruit by itself; it must abide. Neither can you bear fruit by yourself. You must abide.

We are commanded to abide.

Abiding doesn’t come nearly as easy to many of us driven work-focused people this is difficult command to obey.

We convince ourselves that abiding is lazy even decadent – we’d rather abound.

But if we want to abound we have to learn to abide – to stop and rest and rather than “do” simply “be.”

Here’s are some ways that help me (when I let them) find balance between abounding and abiding:

1. Focus on what matters most.

2. Be fully present to God’s call in the moment.

3. Build in rhythm of abiding and abounding..

4. Plan for things that are life-giving and joy-producing.

5. Seek to abound where God has gifted and placed you.

We spend lots and lots of time abounding - what would it look like for you to spend time today abiding?

Words with Nerds

2010-05-09T18:56:00.000-07:00

Recently my daughter Kelli introduced me to an iPhone game app – Words With Friends. Basically it’s the game of Scrabble played between two people over their iPhones. Since players alternate turns – and since you only play during the free moments of your day – a typical game can go on for days. I’m actually in a game with Khartis, which we began on April 20 at 10:47 p.m. (and it’s her turn to play a word)! You can also have multiple games going on at the same time. Right now I am in a game with one daughter KMFerg, three staff members Khartis plus Aaaaasmith, and awadesimpson a few friends, Mhands, Mrichterweagle! CoolDadRichter, Merebear41 and LilRicher (you can tell this is big in the Richter home since 4 of my games are with their family).

Scoring is just like Scrabble – various points for different letters (vowels are 1 point – special consonants like J, Z and Q are with 10 points). There are double and triple letter and word squares and so the game requires both strategy and vocabulary.

Most of all its an highly addictive game – especially if you are just a little competitive. I find that "free moments of the day" might include - time at traffic lights, standing in line at Starbucks or even riding the elevator three floors (I said it's addictive)!

I didn’t realize how addictive until I played a word at 1:30 a.m. and almost instantly received a response from CoolDadRichter. It was that moment that I became convinced the game isn’t Words With Friends – its Words With Nerds - and I'm one!

I wonder if it’s improving my vocabulary?

Let us pray

2010-05-06T08:22:00.000-07:00

In his wonderful book Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire Jim Cymbala writes:

If we call upon the Lord, He has promised in His Word to answer, to bring the unsaved to Himself, to pour our His Spirit among us. If we don’t call upon the Lord, He has promised nothing – nothing at all. It’s as simple as that. No matter what I preach or what we claim to believe in our heads, the future will depend upon our times of prayer. This is the engine that will drive the church.

Prayer is the engine that will drive the church.

· That’s why our staff at Grace begins and ends each weekday praying together.
· It’s why our elders gather at 6:30 each Tuesday morning to pray.
· It’s why we are committed to expanding our prayer ministries so that Grace will be a house of prayer.

The future depends upon our times of prayer. Prayer is the engine that will drive the church.

Today our nation is called to a National Day of Prayer. That’s a great reminder that we are all called to pray (and as some of our adult classes have been discovering, we are too busy not to pray)!

Take time today to pray for our nation. You might visit National Day of Prayer to find resources to help guide your prayers.

Take time every day to continue to pray for our nation and the world, our city and our neighborhoods and for Grace Presbyterian Church.

Specifically I ask people to pray 5 things for Grace:

Provision: we put our trust in God who richly provides us with everything (1 Timothy 6: 12). Ask God to provide the resources needed for the ministries of Grace.

Protection: the psalmist reminds us that the LORD is our strength and our shield (Psalm 28: 7). Ask for God to guard our hearts, minds and bodies.

Vision: in the Old Testament God led His people in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire (Exodus: 13: 21). Pray that as God continues to lead us we will have eyes to see and ears to hear.

Courage: God told Joshua to be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go (Joshua 1: 9). Pray that we will follow where God leads with that same boldness and courage.

Unity; The Apostle Paul prayed that the church in Colosse might be encouraged in heart and united in love (Colossians 2: 2). Jesus prayed that we might be brought to complete unity (John 17: 23). Pray for the unity of God’s church.

Prayer is the engine that will drive God’s church. On this National Day of Prayer (and in the days to come) - let us pray!

The Runaway Bunny

2010-05-03T08:49:00.000-07:00

In 1942 Margaret Wise Brown wrote what has become a children’s classic – The Runaway Bunny. The amazing illustrations of Clement Hurd (together they also produced Goodnight Moon) help tell the story of a mother’s relentless love for her little bunny.

I’m working this morning on this Sunday’s Mother’s Day message on Psalm 139:

Where can I go from Your Spirit?  

Where can I flee from Your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, You are there;  

if I make my bed in the depths, You are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,  

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there Your hand will guide me,  

Your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me  

and the light become night around me,"

even the darkness will not be dark to You;  

the night will shine like the day,  

for darkness is as light to You.

I can’t read those words without thinking about the Runaway Bunny and the Mother Bunny who will follow him to the heavens, the depths and the far side of the sea.

It makes all the difference in the world knowing that no matter how far we run there is someone – and more importantly Someone (read God) who will never leave us alone.

How can I get the Elephant and the Rider moving together?

2010-04-28T06:37:00.000-07:00

Most of us are familiar with the concept of left brain / right brain. One side is emotional and the other rational. In their latest book Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, Dan and Chip Heath use the metaphor of an Elephant and a Rider to describe our thinking. The Rider is our rational side who can either direct or find himself at the mercy of the emotional Elephant. Here’s the way they describe it:

“The conventional wisdom in psychology, in fact, is that the brain has two independent systems at work at all times. First, there’s what we call the emotional side. It’s the part of you that is instinctive, that feels pain and pleasure. Second, there’s the rational side, also known as the reflective or conscious system. It’s the part of you that deliberates and analyzes and looks into the future.”

“Plato said that in our heads we have a rational charioteer who has to rein in an unruly horse that “barely yields to horsewhip and goad combined.” Freud wrote about the selfish id and the conscientious superego (and also about the ego, which mediates between them). More recently behavior economists dubbed the two systems, the Planner and the Doer.”

“But to us, the duo’s tension is captured best by an analogy used by University of Virginia psychologist, Jonathan Haidt in his wonderful book The Happiness Hypothesis. Haidt syas that our emotional side is the Elephant and our rational side is the rider. Perched atop the Elephant, the Rider holds the reins and seems to be the leader. But the Rider’s control is precarious because the Rider is so small relative to the Elephant. Anytime the six-ton Elephant and the Rider disagree about which direction to go, the Rider is going to lose. He’s completely overmatched.”

We all know what happens when the Elephant takes over:

“Most of us are all too familiar with situations in which our Elephant overpowers our Rider. You’ve experienced this if you’ve ever slept in, overeaten, dialed up your ex at midnight, procrastinated, tried to quit smoking and failed, skipped the gym, gotten angry and said something you regretted, abandoned your Spanish or piano lessons, refused to speak up in a meeting because you were scared, and so on.”

Here’s the big take away:

Change Can Come Easily When Elephants and Riders Move Together 

Dan and Chip write:

“Changes often fail because the Rider simply can’t keep the Elephant on the road long enough to reach the destination. The Elephant’s hunger for instant gratification is the opposite of the Rider’s strength, which is the ability to think long-term, to plan, to think beyond the moment (all those things that your pet can’t do.) … To make progress toward a goal, whether it’s noble or crass, requires the energy and drive of the Elephant. And this strength is the mirror image of the Rider’s great weakness: spinning his wheels. The Rider tends to overanalyze and over think things. … A reluctant Elephant and a wheel-spinning Rider can both ensure nothing changes. But when Elephants and Riders move together, change can come easily.”

Switch is filled with examples of how to get the Rider and Elephant on the same path:

First you have to Direct the Rider:

Follow the Bright Spots - Investigate what's working and clone it.
Script the Critical Moves - Don't think big picture, think in terms of specific behaviors
Point to the Destination - Chang is easier when you known where you're going and why it's worth it.

At the same time you must Motivate the Elephant:

Find the Feeling - Knowing something isn't enough to cause change. Make people feel something.
Shrink the Change - Break down the change, until it no longer spooks the Elephant.
Grow Your People - Cultivate a sense of identity and instill the growth mindset.

And both Rider and Elephant move better when we Shape the Path:

Tweak the Environment - When the situation changes, the behavior changes. So change the situation.
Build Habits - When behavior is habitual, it's "free" -it doesn't tax the Rider. Look for ways to encourage habits.
Rally The Herd - Behavior is contagious. Help spread.

So if you are facing change - in your church or in your life - here's the big question:

“How can I get the Elephant and the Rider moving together?”

MS 168.7 - completed!

2010-04-19T08:52:00.001-07:00

Achilles, the Greek hero of the Trojan War, was killed by a well-guided arrow to his heel (hence the prhase Achilles Heel). I thought about Achilles a lot yesterday and again this morning – after completing my first entire MS 150 - my Achilles tendon is killing me! (last year's ride was shortened due to weather)

For the record I completed an MS 168.7 – that’s what my odometer read. There was a moment yesterday when I recognized I had ridden exactly 150 miles – I could have stopped then – but there was still another 18.7 miles to Austin.

Saturday was the longer day – 98 miles with a few tough stretches of long rolling hills. But we had the wind at our back, overcast skies and cool temps – a perfect day for riding.

Sunday the hills got tougher – I did the “challenge route” through the state park and after lunch the wind seemed to be in our face every direction we turned - - but I finished.

I’m actually a little proud of the accomplishment.

A few things I learned along the way:

Some people simply should not wear bike wear. There are very good reasons for skin tight cycling jerseys and shorts – wind resistance and padding most importantly. They actually do make a difference – but only one person in about every 2,000 looks good in bike wear and some people simply should say "no." I’ve decided either they have an incredible healthy self body image or are completely fashion clueless. But they do serve an important purpose. Every time I start to think there too much of me to squeeze into my bike gear I see someone that makes me think – “If they can do it, I certainly can.”

People love being part of a community. The MS 150 is in a sense a two day ride with 12,000 friends. People stop to help one another along the way – fall down and or have a flat tire (gratefully I had zero flats or falls this year) and you are instantly surrounded with assistance. Spot someone squeezed into the same Clemson cycling jersey you are wearing (Ken from The Woodlands) and the next thing you know you are taking pictures together. Conversations come easily.

Part of what makes community easy is the sense that we were all accomplishing something together – raising support to create a world without MS. Communities form around common purposes.

Encouragement is essential. Part of what makes the ride from Houston to Austin possible is the constant encouragement you get along the way. I rode with a friend, Hardie, and riding with friends is the only way to go.

All along the route are people on the side of the rode – waving and cheering and blowing horns and shouting words of thanks and encouragement. Some are battling MS, others are their family members, some are friends and family of riders and sometimes its an entire community.

A highlight of this year’s ride was through downtown Fayetteville, Texas. Fayetteville is an amazing little community with 340 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. The town has a population of just around 300 and they must have invited friends because every street was lined with people shouting encouragement to the riders. I especially loved the number of bubble machines next to white picket fences. We entered Fayetteville after an especially challenging part of the ride – it was just what was needed to spur us on to La Grange.

In both a smaller and larger way I had a similar experience along the challenge route on Sunday. The “challenge” is the hills in the Bastrop and Buescher State Parks – 3 very steep hills in particular. As I neared the top of the second another rider started encouraging us all with shouts of “Keep pedaling! We can do this!” I’m convinced that got me to the top.

Both in Fayetteville and along the challenge route the encouragement came from “strangers.” It was a reminder that anyone (and therefore everyone) can encourage someone.

Accomplishments need to be celebrated. As you approach the finish line in Austin (and at the halfway point in La Grange) the streets are again lined with shouts of encouragement. The last turn of the ride finds the finish line a hundred yards ahead with the state capital as backdrop and cheering crowds on either side. At that moment you know you’ve accomplished something significant and are ready to ride another 150 (well maybe not at that exact moment).

This week I’m going to focus on:

Celebrating accomplishments
Offering encouragement and
Living in community

And I won’t be wearing my cycling clothes – at least not for a few weeks. Then I’ll start thinking again about next year’s MS 168.7.

Anybody want to join me?

Salome

2010-04-03T15:12:00.000-07:00

In 1891 the Irish writer and poet Oscar Wilde published a one act tragedy, Salome. It’s based on the Biblical story of Salome, the niece of the tetrarch Herod Antipas who danced for the head of John the Baptist.

There’s a moment in Wilde’s story when Herod overhears Nazarenes talking about a Messiah who is raising the dead. Herod is filled with fear and protests:

I do not wish Him to do that. I forbid Him to do that. I allow no man to raise the dead. This Man must be found and told that I forbid Him to raise the dead. Where is this Man at present?

I love the answer from the Nazarene

He is in every place, sire, but it is hard to find Him.

Tomorrow morning we celebrate that He is every place and He’s still raising the dead no matter how much the Herod’s of the world protest.