The Permanence of Change

I think I've posted something like this before, but indulge an aging guy's wandering mind...

Some people believe that permanence is the core of reality. Human beings need to seek and depend on those things that do not change. A rock will always be a rock. (We even use the word "rock" as a metaphor for that which stands firm and never changes.) In such thinking, life's goal is stasis or equilibrium - maintaining that which is or should be immutable in the midst of flux. This is how traditions come to matter as much as they do. Certainly the quality of life depends on seeing permanence as the foundation and goal of life - to a point.

However, the more I learn and experience, the more I realize that permanence isn't the core of life at all. Change is the core of reality. The rock is only permanent in our limited view. It is being smoothed and turned slowly into sand even as we speak. Atomic science helped us see that solid matter isn't the foundation of the universe. Atomic particles in constant motion in fields of energy make up what we perceive to be solid and unchangeable.

This latter view, true as I believe it to be, scares most people. I find it unsettling as well, and beyond my ability to comprehend or control. However, the reality of constant flux can lead us in one of two directions. It can take us to despair, realizing that nothing is permanent and unchangeable, including us. Or it can lead us to seek that which is beyond all of it, yet present, active, passionate, and real in the midst of constant change. And in this seeking, we can come to realize that we are sought by this One who is constant when nothing else is - God, revealed fully to us in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.

I choose the latter. What about you? I'll see you around the next bend in the river. (A kayak is finally close - maybe by the end of January.)

The Gift of Encouragement

I received a nice Christmas gift just a few hours ago. I was coming to the end of a morning run, when I saw three runners coming from the other directions. They were teenagers from the local high school cross country team, in the midst of their morning workout. I kind of dreaded our passing each other, as they would be striding at youthful competition speed, and I would be plodding by at an old man's sluggish pace. However, as they approached me, they each looked at me and smiled. To a kid, each one of them said, "Good job!" I could have run another two miles on that unexpected fuel!

How simple was that? They could have ignored me or just nodded a greeting and run on by. Instead they made a choice to encourage a stranger. I'll have the same kind of choices before me today. So will you. There will be any number of people and circumstances that will irritate us, create barriers for us, slow us down, or fail to reach the perimeter of our attention or interest. It will be easy to discourage or dismiss. It will take a conscious decision to say or do something that will encourage someone.

Early followers of Jesus took seriously the ministry of encouragement. They believed they had received the ultimate encouragement from God in the one born in the Bethlehem stable. That's a Christmas gift we can all give. Goodness knows there are plenty of people who need it. So what will you do with your encouragement opportunity today?

A Domesticated Faith

One of the knocks against organized, mainline churches in North America has been that we're "boring." I'm learning that there may be better terminology to express the same issue. More specifically, too often we are tame or domesticated. Too often we have taken a gospel that was revolutionary and high risk and turned it into something manageable and safe. First century followers of Jesus were ready to die for their Savior and their mission. Too many twenty-first century Christians just want the same Savior to keep their bankbook solvents and their bodies healthy.

Here's the difference, as Erwin McManus shares it in The Barbarian Way: "The civilized build shelters and invite God to stay with them; barbarians move with God wherever He chooses to go. The civilized Christian has a routine; the barbarian disciple has a mission. The civilized leader knows the letter of the law; the barbarian disciple knows the spirit of the law. The religiously civilized love tradition; the barbarian spirit loves challenges..." (pages 78-79.)

Bold and risky verses tame and predictable. There's a reason that some gatherings of Jesus followers flourish and others drift away. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Where the Streets Have No Name

I grew up on a street called "Alice Avenue." (When I was really little I thought it was named after my Aunt Alice!) It was a very short north and south lane, entered by a T-intersection with an east and west street, and ending at a dead end at the Missouri Pacific Railroad tracks. I have good memories of Alice Avenue. I also remember that 447 Alice Avenue was more than a street address. Our street said something about us as a family. For one thing, it said we didn't live on certain streets in our town where the homes were larger, where the back yards butted up against a private golf club, and where dads had incomes a lot higher than mine did. On the other hand, Alice Avenue also meant we didn't live on other streets where tiny houses of the very poor crowded together in the shadow of factories, track side warehouses, and alleys. People found out a lot about a person in my hometown just by knowing on what street that person lived.

On what street do you live? From what street did you come? What does your street say in the eyes of the world around you? The band U2 once did a song called, "Where the Streets Have No Name." In part the lyrics are as follows:

I wanna run, I wanna hide,
I wanna tear down the walls,
That hold me inside.
I wanna reach out and touch the flame
Where the streets have no name.

I'm not sure what Bono intended by those words, but it sounds like a human hunger to not be defined and confined by where we come from and where he are right now. For me, I think that, when God rules, the streets have no name. The streets of our lives don't define us. Only God does.

I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

A Domesticated Gospel

My latest book of impact is Erwin McManus' The Barbarian Way. (Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 2005 - Seems I'm always about a half a decade behind!) McManus and John Eldredge are two faith leaders and writers who really give voice to my own hunger for the vibrancy, courage, and focus I too often find lacking in current, Western organized Christian expressions. Here's a sample of what fuels my jets:

"So what is this good news? The refined and civilized version goes something like this: Jesus died and rose from the dead so you can live a life of endless comfort, security, and indulgence. But really this is a bit too developed. Usually it's more like this: if you simply confess that you're a sinner and believe in Jesus, you'll be saved from the torment of eternal hellfire, then go to heaven when you die. Either case results in our domestication. One holds out for life to begin in eternity, and the other makes a mockery out of life.

The call of Jesus is far more barbaric than either of these. It is a call to live in this world as a citizen of an entirely different kingdom. In its primitive state, the good news could never be separated from the invitation of Jesus to, 'Come, follow Me.'" (page 32)

So what do you think? Is McManus right? Have we so domesticated Jesus and the gospel that it bears no resemblance to who Jesus is, who we should be in Him, and what we are commissioned to do?

I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Getting it Right or Loving Fully?

And here comes the holidays season again...a fun and meaningful time. Yet it can also be a stressful time for many people. For folks who have trouble making financial ends meet, the constant December advertising demand to "buy, buy, buy," accentuates what they will NOT be able to do on Christmas morning. For people going through life pains, such as loss, death of a loved one, divorce, critical illness, or terminal illness, the constant pressure to "be merry" just adds guilt to already broken hearts.

But what of us who are not facing these things, but still make the month of December the most pressured, stressful month of the year? In part I think it is because we are so driven to get the holidays right - to have the right parties, to put up the right decorations, to send cards or e-greetings to the right people, to make the right meals, to have the right family gatherings, to observe the right traditions, etc. etc.

There's nothing wrong with "getting it right." There's everything right with it. The problem comes when "getting it right" becomes the goal instead of the means. The object of Christmas isn't to "get it right." There's no "getting it right" at Christmas on our part. God already got it right, becoming one of us in a baby born to a poor couple out on the road. "Getting it right" in the last month of the year or at any time of the year is not about our endless Christmas season "to-do" lists. It's in people seeing the Bethlehem baby so alive and at work in us that they also know that this same God loves them to. Everything else either supports this aim or works against it.

Not an easy thing in this busy, pressured time of the year. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Blindingly Simple

Sometimes God reminds me that it is just so blindingly simple.

Acknowledged or not, the goal of all groups of Jesus-followers (churches) is to make disciples for Jesus. (In our Bible this command is found in the 19th verse of Matthew's 28th chapter.) Being a disciple doesn't just mean someone who learns certain things, believes certain things, and practices certain things. A disciple is one who becomes like the teacher. So, as Jesus lived, died, and rose to something new, so we are to become like that.

The vast majority of organized churches in North America are static or declining. Bluntly, they are not making new disciples, and thus not obeying the command of the very one whose name they claim. To the credit of many, they recognize this and attempt a variety of strategies to turn the tide. Outreach programs, worship services more sensitive to newcomers, marketing campaigns, staffing for growth, and other complex efforts have been added to the arsenal of many congregations. All of this is good, as it shows that many church folks recognize the crisis and want to do something about it.

However, we must be careful not to over-complicate the matter. Jesus didn't do so. As recorded in John's account of Jesus, in his 13th chapter (35th verse) Jesus said simply this: The way I have loved you, that's how you should love each other. When you do that, people will know that you are my disciples. Norman Shawchuck put it this way: "O my God, I long to reflect your image throughout the world so that others might observe your doing in me and themselves be convinced that you love them also."

As Jesus loves people as they are, stands with them as they become what God wants them to be, sacrifices even to the point of death that they may have life...that's when people will see and know.

It's not as much a matter of technique as it is a matter of heart. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

30 Days to Live: LIVE BOLDLY!

What would I do if I only had 30 days to live? First, I would live boldly. This might mean that I would do things I always wanted to do, but didn't have the time, resources, or gumption. I would go deep sea fishing. My wife and I would finally get that trip to the Canadian Rockies. I would kayak from the headwaters of the Current River to the Gulf of Mexico, or something like that.

More than this, though, I would live boldly what I believe. Too often we hesitate to act with assertiveness and courage because we're afraid of the cost: I might lose friends. I might lose financial assets. I might lose position and prestige. My actions might not be popular. I remember a time in my childhood when I saw a child of another race being picked-on and demeaned in our church's Sunday School. I knew it was wrong, especially in the house of God, but I didn't do anything to stop it. Maybe I was afraid of the bullies, maybe I didn't want to get involved, or maybe I just didn't care enough. I remember that event, though, and I still have remorse about that 50 years later.

As a follower of Jesus I'm expected to act as though my time is limited. More than that, those who are outsiders, outcasts, or just living far from God have limited time as well. I am expected to act with the urgency that having only 30 days to live would bring?

What would you do with only 30 days left? How would you live boldly? I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Hell As a Motivator

Occasionally people ask me why I don't preach and teach about hell more than I do. I take very seriously the danger of an eternity separated from God. I believe and I proclaim that there's nothing we can do of our own effort to avoid what John Wesley referred to as "the wrath to come." By our own pride and idolatry, we are the architects of our own peril. Designed for the primary purpose of bonding with God and each other, we consistently act as though we are the potter rather than the clay. Leaders in my denominational tradition tend to soft-peddle the reality of a heaven to gain and hell to avoid. I'm aware of the danger in that, and I admit that I am part of that tendency.

However, faith motivated by fear alone stands on shaky ground. This week a wise friend of mine observed that way too much in life, including life in relationship with Jesus (God with us), is driven by fear. Fear divides and entrenches. It breeds self-preservation and suspicion. We are told that God's love, which is perfect love, casts out fear. I believe that a stronger basis of faith is coming to God because of what we are moving toward, rather than do so only because of what we will avoid. It should be, "a response to the one who claims each one of us, not because we deserve it, but simply because we are cherished." (Grace Adolphson Brame) Love builds a stronger faith than does fear.

Just my thoughts for the day. Next post: What I would do with 30 days to live: LIVE BOLDLY! I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Thirty Days to Live

What would you do if you knew you only had thirty days left to live? No cures, no reprieves - thirty days, period.

In my line of work, I see many people who are near the end of this life. I have yet to hear people say things like, "Man, I wish I had more time to work harder." "I'm going to spend these thirty days making as much money as I can." "I'm going to buy the biggest house possible in which to spend this last month." In most cases, they don't talk about stuff, or achievements, or recognition, or accomplishments. Mostly, they talk about people. They make peace where they can. They say things they've never had the courage to say. They talk about love. In short, they realize what was really supposed to matter all along.

What would it be like if we all spent the next month living like we knew we were going to die at the end of it? How would that shift our priorities? How would we be different? How would our country be different? How would a church be different?

Being one who keeps an eye on Jesus of Nazareth, I noticed the record of the last 5-7 days of his life. (In a Bible it will be in the 11th and 12th chapter of the book of Mark.) Here's what he did with his last days: He lived boldly. He left much. He loved fully. More on this in upcoming posts...

Why would we have to actually be short-timers to do this? Why don't we live as if we only had 30 days all the time? What's stopping us?

What would you do if you only had 30 days to live? I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Fed Up With Politics As Is

I've had it. As an American voter, I've hit the limit. I've passed some dark point of no return. I am officially at the stage of being ready for election day next Tuesday, not because I'm anxious to vote and to see election results, but because I want relief from the endless sewage of ugly, mean-spirited campaign ads. It is a complete affront and embarrassment. It makes me ashamed to be a part of this political system.

I hear people say that it has to be this way just because it's the nature of politics. That's pure unadulterated horse manure. Lack of statesmanship exists because we are willing to tolerate the alternative and we're willing to elect people who have no moral compass when it comes to the end justifies the means. There's no "that's just the way it is" about this gutter level mess. It is the way it is because we've allowed it to get to this point.

I am voting for one candidate in our region with any level of enthusiasm. This is not a person I would otherwise support based on politics alone. (I'm an independent voter, so that's a pretty wide range.) However, this individual has waged a campaign, as far as I can tell, without negativity or any comment at all about the person's opponent. Ads have been focused on the candidates record, background, and basic philosophy of government alone. I am casting a vote for this candidate based on the integrity of advertising alone. Beyond this individual, I have no enthusiasm for any race at all, regardless of political party. Based on the character exemplified in what they're willing to put on the airways with their name on it, do we really want ANY of them representing us for ANYTHING?!? I'm tempted to just start writing in names of people I know. I'm aware of plenty of people in our region who have character, solid values, compassion, commitment, leadership skills, and even Christ-centeredness; way more than I see most present candidates exemplifying.

And if I'm one of those whose default position is, "This is all George W. Bush's fault," or "This is all Barack Obama's fault," I need to get a grip on reality. It's the fault of all of us. If I really believe either of those simplistic fantasies, then I'm more part of the problem than I am part of the solution.

From the political curmudgeon of the day, I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Grace Comes First

Name something in your life that doesn't have some sort of conditions attached to it. To read this blog right now, you have to pay someone for Internet access. If you are employed, you have to fulfill your duties according to your contract in order to receive pay. If you have an educational degree of any kind, you had to measure up to the conditions necessary to receive that degree. Most of life is conditional. In most cases, that's necessary.

However, it's not hard to become overwhelmed with the demands all around us to measure up to conditions. Even places of worship often have spoken or unspoken conditions required for belonging..."To measure up, you must look like us, act like us, speak like us, think like us, worship like us, etc. etc." I don't know of any place of worship that intends any ill will in this. Still, when we who are church people put conditions on those who might become a part of us, how are we any different than any other demand in their lives? Why would they want to add one more conditional demand to measure up to already stressed lives?

I don't think many people really realize how radically different Jesus is than all this. Jesus' love, which is known as "grace," comes first, without conditions. It's not, "Get your act together, measure up, then you get grace." Rather, it's, "Grace comes first!" Check it out. Google or do some kind of search of Bible stories for things like, "Zaccheus," or "The Woman Caught in Adultery." Jesus did not withhold grace until these people cleaned up their acts. Rather, his grace came first and life transformation followed.

If it's really true that grace comes first, how would that change how you think, what you believe, and how you live?

I'll see you around the next bend in the river. (Been on several rivers in the last couple of weeks!)

Judgemental

Through a message series at our church we are facing the perceptions unchurched people have of organized Christianity. (See the Barna group research results compiled in David Kinnamon's UnChristian. ) Some of those perceptions are not positive. Right or wrong, perception is reality until proven otherwise. Among those perceptions in play, people who are not connected with churches tend to see Christian people as judgemental; intolerant of other people's beliefs and presenting an air of superiority.

This perception poses a particular problem for followers of Jesus. On one hand, there is a particularity to our faith. We do believe that God is fully revealed in a particular person, who lived at a particular time in history, in a specific place, among a unique kind of people. We proclaim that all humanity's hope and destiny is found in this individual's death and resurrection, which is a matter of history record. We affirm that no one comes to God except through this particular individual. At root, we do not accept that all faiths are equally valid.

On the other hand, Jesus himself disallows a posture of superiority and judgement. Evidence for this abound in our own Bible. We are not to judge, lest we be judged. We are to esteem others a better than ourselves. With his dying breaths, Jesus forgave the very people who did not believe in him and who engineered his execution. We do not have the right or leeway to judge and attack those who don't believe the way we believe. In fact, Jesus makes clear that they are our mission field.

So what are we to do? I believe we've received a clue in the way a follower of Jesus called Paul handled being surrounded by the challenge of other faiths. Find a Bible and locate the book of Acts, the 17th chapter, verses 16 through 23. What do you think of the way Paul handles the situation?

I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Which Comes First - Repentance or Forgiveness?

On Facebook and Twitter recently I asked the following: Is repentance a prerequisite for forgiveness or the result of forgiveness? Followers of Jesus are not of one mind on this.

Here's part of the reason I ask. In the Christian Bible there is a story about the one called Jesus of Nazareth traveling through a particular Judean town - Jericho. Passing through a crowd of people who have gathered around him, Jesus picks out a particular man and invites himself to be a guest for dinner at that man's home. What Jesus did was scandalous in his culture at that time, for two basic reasons. First, the man was Jew working for officials of the Roman Empire to collect revenue for Rome. He had become rich by way of bleeding money out of his own people to feed the demands of their occupiers. Tax-collectors represented betrayal and idolatry. No one wanted association with them. Second, table fellowship carried a strong social message at that time, in that place. To dine with someone signalled approval and acceptance of that person. A collective gasp would have accompanied Jesus' public desire to share a meal with this worst kind of a sinner.

Notice, Jesus' gesture to the man came first. The tax-collector's remorse and repentance followed, as a reaction to the uncommon grace extended by Jesus, and the forgiveness implied therein. If we who follow Jesus are to be like Jesus, what does that say about the conditions and the sequence with which we offer forgiveness to others?

I'll see you around the next bend in the river. Plan to be on an actual river for an early autumn float this Friday.

Hypocrites or Genuine Followers?

The research of David Kinnamon (Barna Group) gives ample evidence that people outside of Christian faith and organized churches view Christians as hypocritical. This especially applies to younger generations. They don't necessarily mean this in a judgmental way. It's simply an observation. They hear us talk about certain things we believe. However, they don't observe us acting as if we believe those things. In fact, they don't see us acting much different than anyone else.

For example, most churches say they believe in forgiveness. As Jesus has forgiven us of our sin and our separation from God, so we should forgive others. For those of us who use the words of the "Lord's Prayer" every week, we say we believe this. Do we actually practice it? Most churches like the concept of redemption. This is to say that a life that is lost can be reclaimed by God and found. Do we believe this, or do we in fact decide that certain people do not and cannot change or be changed? Most fellowships of Jesus-followers speak of hope. We believe that, in spite of all contrary evidence, God give uncommon hope to the hopeless. If the carnage of an executioner's cross of wood gives way to the hope of victory in the risen Jesus, then hope is real and receivable. Do we give evidence of hope to others, or do we just join in with the many voices of despair.

This Sunday in the worship services in which I participate I will interview of man who earlier this year was released from prison after serving 27 years for dealing drugs. Once an athlete, honor student, and a respected teacher, he created untold wreckage in the lives of many, including his own. And yet, at the pit of his own existence, he experienced real forgiveness, genuine redemption, and uncommon hope against all odds. We could just talk about forgiveness, redemption, and hope in some abstract way. With this man's presence and testimony, however, we will all have the chance to see if we really believe these things and practice them.

Every day God gives us the opportunity to live what we say we believe. What am I doing today to change the perceptions the Barna research identified? I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

From Here to There

Anyone who explores what it means to follow the one called Jesus soon discovers that Jesus doesn't embody a God who allows much standing still. Quite the contrary, you see a whole lot of moving people from here to there.

• Don't stay here in your comfortable homeland Abram and Sarai. I need you to go there - to a land you've never seen before.
• Don't stay here in the comfort of a king's palace, Moses. Run off to Midian for a while, then get your keester back to Egypt to lead your people there, to a promised land.
• Don't stay here on this side of the Jordan River, Joshua. Go there - to Jericho - and make the walls fall down.
• Don't stay here tending sheep, David. Go there - into the valley where a giant wants to humiliate you, then kill you.
• Don't stay here in Galilee, Jesus. Go to there to Jerusalem and die there.
• Don't stay here in this tomb, Jesus. Get up and smack sin and death in the face.
• Don't just stay here on the ground outside of Damascus, blind and shocked, Saul of Tarsus. Get up and go there - to the entire empire, and tell them about the One who knocked you down and picked you back up!

So, I guess if you're looking for a faith that will just let you stay here, (whatever "here" is for you), and remain comfortable and unchallenged, don't pick this one. Who knows what kind of there God might have in store for you.

From the river, which is all about not staying here, but floating and paddling on to the next there...I'll see you around the next bend.

The Living Body of Christ

Recently I witnessed several men from the same worshipping fellowship gather for prayer, hearing the Word of God, and mutual encouragement; this group being in the practice of doing this regularly. On this particular occasion two other men where present who were not from the same worshipping congregation. These two men had come at the invitation of the on-going group. The two new individuals were each facing different but equally difficult challenges in their lives; challenges that could leave them drained of hope. One by one each of the men in the group shared with the newcomers how they also had faced or were facing circumstances that left them defeated or discouraged. The group promised the newcomers their support through their circumstances and their active presence. Group members gathered around their beleaguered new brothers, laid hands on them and prayed for protection for their hearts and their hope. Basically members of the group said, "We've got your back. We will be the presence of Jesus for you. You will not be alone through this."

There's a word for what I saw.

It's called "Church."

I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Islam and Freedom of Religion

This post is in response to the growing hysteria over Islam in our country. I will not win any friends here on any side of the political spectrum. Some good and well-intentioned people believe that we should live and let live as far as Islam is concerned. All faith systems are equally good, they say. I believe Islam is misguided in its understanding of God. I believe that God is fully revealed in the person, the life, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus. Theirs is a faith of works-righteousness; earning your way into the favor of God. Mine is a faith of grace; recognizing that our only hope is the intervention of a loving God. Some people of Islamic faith, driven by acute and extreme hatred, have used the tenants of their faith to excuse an uncommon level of violence and terrorism. I recognize this and take it seriously as a real and immediate threat. (Uncommon violence and terror has been perpetrated throughout history under the cloak of Christianity as well, but that's a subject for a different post.) So, I am not going to be among those who take a more laissez-faire, liberal attitude toward Islam.

Nor am I jumping on the Muslim-bashing bandwagon. For many good, well-intentioned people, Islam is the new communism, as far as having somewhere to land our collective fear and hate. All people of Islamic faith are being demonized as the enemy. Language used, caricatures presented, negative imagery fostered all have the distinctly familiar scent of things like anti-Semitic propaganda in Europe in the 1930's or the witch-hunting days of McCarthyism in this country in the 1950's. As a follower of Jesus I have abdicated any right to a blanket labelling and dismiss whole groups of people. I am under command to love my enemies and to pray for those who persecute. So I won't win friends among those in a frenzy to gather pitchforks and torches and to go after the "monster" which is Islam.

Having said all that, I want to leave religion and politics for a bit. I want to ask a question from a civics standpoint. One of the values of our nation is freedom of religion. I have embraced this since my childhood as a citizen of the United States. How does this apply to concerns around Islam? This is not rhetorical; I'm not setting up to make a point of some kind. I really want to know how this applies in this setting today.

Sometimes I have more questions than I have answers. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

When All Hope Is Gone

Increasingly I find myself interested in people who found ways to tap into hope when the circumstances around them offered no hope. Yesterday I spent over an hour visiting with a man who earlier this year was released from prison after 27 years behind bars. In many ways his story is a story of hope shattered, by his own doing and by the doing of those around him. He was a successful high school athlete and student, and a respected teacher. In spite of this, he gravitated into drug use and eventually into drug dealing. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. He received no hope of freedom from the consequences he created, freedom from dirty deeds done to him, or freedom from a lifetime of despair. Despair was a constant parasite on his existence. Yet he tapped into a source of focus and hope that kept him going and hoping for deliverance, when every avenue of hope was closed off. By a legal anomaly he walked away from prison a free man earlier this year at the age of 62, with almost half his life taken away by his own mistakes and the mistakes of others. And yet he is not bitter. Quite the contrary, he is a man of uncommon faith and uncommon trust in God and the future.

Many people I know who have never and will never spend time in prison long for the freedom of heart, the forgiving and forgiven spirit, and the exuberance of living he has. I want people in our worshipping fellowship to hear his story.

To often we tie hope to circumstances. If things are good, then we have hope. If things are not good, we yield to anger, bitterness, blame, and despair. Maybe hope is really hope only when we cling to it regardless of the circumstances.

How would you feel if your best friends abandoned you? What if one of them set you up for a fall? When given a chance, no one stepped up on your behalf. The world around you was willing to let you die and not think anything of it. That was Jesus' experience, as the spikes drove into his body to pin him to a cross. Nothing in the circumstances around him spoke of hope - quite the opposite! He came within a hair's breadth of despair. ("My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?") Yet, in spite of it all, he chose hope. ("Into your hands I commend my spirit.")

Those are the people who catch my attention - relentless "hopers" when all hope is gone. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Complicity and Participation in the Mystery of Evil

In previous posts I've commented on the tendency to demonize those with whom we do not agree. Many of us must confess to this from time to time. Here are some intriguing words written on the subject:

"We have to train ourselves to recognize how we're giving an 'affective charge' to an offense, how we are getting energy from mulling over someone else's mistakes. We can build a case with no effort at all. We wrap and embellish and by the time our twenty minutes of 'prayer' are over, we have a complete case. The verdict is in: the other person is guilty. And wrong besides. And because the other is wrong, we are right. 'Scapegoating' is when we displace the issue and project it over there instead of owning it here, too. Only the contemplative mind can recognize its own complicity and participation in this great mystery of evil. The contemplative mind holds the tension and refuses to ease itself by projecting evil elsewhere." (Richard Rohr)

As one who recognizes that I am the recipient of unfathomable forgiveness from the Great Forgiver (Jesus), I find this both convicting and challenging. Just some food for thought. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Out of the Loop

The world around us has no shortage of ways to make us fell left out - any age, any circumstance. It can sting us in not making the cut for the team, not being in the loop at work, not being invited to the party, not being included in automatic conversation before a worship service or whatever. I have to confess that I've had a number of occasions in 57 years when I was either made to feel that way, or I made others feel that way.

When it happens to me I have one of two choices. On the one hand, I can stew in my pain of being left out. I can feel sorry for myself and/or feel bad about myself. I can sink into negativity or plan elaborate schemes to strike back. I can even compensate by making sure that someone else experiences that same marginalizing that I feel. Or I can make darn sure that I do everything to the best of my ability so that nobody else within my horizon of life experiences the same thing. The former is easy; latter is challenging.

I don't think the one called Jesus attracted so many diverse people because of sound theology, good morals, or admirable behavior. I think the biggest draw was his steadfast refusal to leave anyone out. Just my opinion...I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

How Goes It With Your Heart?

How goes it with your heart?

I don't mean the organ that pumps blood through your body. And I don't mean the sentimental, emotional center of you.

I mean the core of who you are. Everything that makes you tick. The sum of what you love and what you fear. The essence of the you God designed. The center of what you believe, what you value, what brings you joy, what stirs your passion...that's your heart.

How goes it with your heart? Are you taking care of your heart?

"Well, sure, I guess...I go to church, I work out, I eat bran, I watch "Oprah," I listen to Kenny Chesney, I..."

No. Are you stopping the madness, pulling away, resting your frazzled mind, stepping away from the demands, and refueling your heart?

In my faith world we worship someone called Jesus. We believe he healed the sick, calmed the storms, raised the dead, and sent evil spirits running for cover. However, on a regular basis he pulled away from it all, and spent time with his God. He spent time taking care of his heart.

A heart filled to overflowing is better equipped to help care for other hearts.

So how goes it with your heart? I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Good and Bad Church Signs

I'm not usually a fan of messages on church signs. Too often I find them sappy, trying to be uber-cute, and preoccupied with making all of us be well behaved little boys and girls. For example, if I see "CH_ _ CH - What's missing? U R!" one more time I'll just puke. However, every now and again someone puts words on a church sign that have impact, that are thought-provoking, that challenge us, and that make us uncomfortable. For example, I once saw a church sign message that said, "There are only two things you need to know. 1) There is a God. 2) You're not Him!" Now that's a church sign!

Anyway, I just saw one of those impact church signs not more than an hour ago. "Don't tell God how big your storm is. Tell the storm how big your God is." That's a great church sign, I think. There are a lot of ways to unpack this. Is God just our go-to when life gets stormy? In that case, God isn't much more than a 911 system; helpful, but not an entity whose power we so day by day or moment by moment. Or do we see God first before we even see the storm, in such a way that the storm is defined subservience to God before it even does its damage. If you believe in a God, how big and potent is your God? My God drags the dead carcasses of executed, unemployed carpenters and turns them into saviors. I'm just saying...

That's church sign doing its job. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Ninety-Two Year Old Fisherman

I saw something on Friday which I suppose is painfully simple and even stereotypical, yet no less impacting. I spent the day float-fishing on an Ozark stream. Along with our boats, a couple of older gentleman worked the stream in an old square-backed aluminum canoe. It was a pretty good day for those of us who were fishing. At one point on the float I watched the older of the two men pull about four or five goggle-eye out of a small hole alongside a bluff. Our group and their group ended our day on the river at about the same time, and pulled off the water at the same point. We all got a chance to visit a little bit then. Turns out the goggle-eye catcher is 92 years old. He had decided to take his 85 year old nephew out for a day fishing on the river!

And here I am sometimes feeling sorry for myself for showing signs of aging at 57. Granted, growing older can be no picnic. The challenges of the second half of life are real. Yet here's a guy who gets up on a July Friday morning and decides to take his 85 year old nephew fishing on the river with him. Sometimes the state of life comes at us beyond our control. Sometimes, though, we really do have some choices over how we will approach it.

And, who knows, we may find ourselves fishing with an octogenarian nephew some day. River floating and fishing at 92 - that's my dream, anyway! I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Relationships and Resources

Last Tuesday I had the opportunity to hear an amazing teacher speak to a statewide gathering of career and technical education teachers. (Our daughter-in-law received an award at this convention.) The speaker was Rita Pierson. She's apparently a much-sought-after educational motivator. She spoke around this theme - "No significant learning occurs without a significant relationship." (Dr. James Comer) Building on this, Dr. Pierson believes that a child, youth, or adult must have a certain set of resources acquired through significant relationships in order to survive, thrive, and succeed. These include financial resources, emotional resources, mental resources, spiritual resources (the sense of being valued by something/someone greater than themselves), physical resources/health, support systems, relational and role model resources, and awareness of hidden rules (knowing the expectations everyone else knows.)

This makes simple and incredible sense. Sometimes people on the so-called "left wing" in our country assume that all we need to do is throw money at under-resourced people, when that's only one of several resource areas in which such people need help. Some of those on the so-called "right wing" assume that people should pull themselves up, when the absence of any of these key resource areas makes that expectation completely unreasonable. In our movement, that of those who follow Jesus, our mission is about building relationships with people designed to enable them to thrive. It's our DNA. (For any who have Bibles, see Acts 4:32-47) It makes no sense to offer a new spiritual life in Jesus, without addressing the other resource needs. And it makes no sense to deal with the other resource areas, and ignore the anchor which is spirituality.

Good stuff. Sometimes we who are church people need to get outside the church walls more often. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Praise

I heard something this evening which I think is brilliant. I was talking with some friends about the subject of "praise." In our particular faith system - following Jesus - many of us believe that praise should anchor our communication with our God, which we call prayer. By praise we don't mean stroking God's ego. God doesn't need or seek any brown-nosing from us. Praise means acknowledging who and what God is, apart from any particular effect that has on us or anyone. It is to recognize the nature of a creating, loving, life-giving God, and to stand in awe of this God. It's a hard concept to grasp for Jesus-followers, much less to actually practice it.

One of my friends noted that there are times when he offers words of praise in prayer, but isn't really feeling in a praise-focused mood. There are times, he said, in which he mostly goes through the motions, kind of like covering a checklist. At such times, he noted, he feels it would be best just to offer God what's in his heart, good, bad or indifferent - simply and honestly sharing with God exactly what is at the center of our will, the center of our God given identity, the locus of our allegiances, and the pulse of our passions...exactly as we are.

It occurs to me that God seeks to inhabit our hearts. To offer the real state of our hearts to a God who seeks us unconditionally might be the most genuine praise of all. This may be what matters, over and above our mood, our feelings, our style of praise, or whatever.

Good thought. I'm always learning from fellow travellers on the journey. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Paul's Coming This Weekend!

I am the pastor of a church in our community. On several occasions I've told our church a story that I've shared with all four churches I've served since I received my first full-time assignment 32 years ago. One Sunday in that first setting a woman came to worship with her children. She was a single woman, having suffered through an unfortunate and unanticipated divorce. In seeking a place to worship she and her children had felt ignored or even ostracized in the congregations they had visited. When she brought her kids to our church for the first time, she sat them down in a pew that had been occupied by one of our veteran saints and his wife since about two years before the invention of baseball. However, in spite of pronouncing, "That's my pew!" this old gentleman willingly and graciously yielded his seat and row to the newcomers.

One of the children the young lady brought to worship that day was a boy named Paul. Paul is now a dedicated, gifted, and talented follower of Jesus. He is on the ministry team of one of the most dynamic, growing congregations of our particular denomination in our state. This weekend our church will have the unique gift of having Paul present in our worship services to help lead us God-ward. This is a real blessed moment for me. Paul and his story are an inspiration to me, and I can't wait to put a face and a person to one of the testimonies that has helped shaped my faith journey and that has given me great joy to share.

You never know when a moment and an unplanned act can plant a seed, set a direction, or even change a life. It can be the difference between, "That's my pew," and "That's all right; you're just welcome to sit there.

Next Generation?

How do you feel about the next generation - those who are in their teens and early- to mid-twenties now? Do you have trust in the next generation, or are you more fearful of the next generation?

There's a tendency for each generation to assume that the next generation will bring us all to ruin. Either their morals are all screwed up, or their priorities are all wrong, or they are endangering sacred traditions or something. Parents in the twenties feared that civilization as they knew it would crumble, as their children discovered motor cars and flapper dresses. Parents in the thirties and forties were certain that Frank Sinatra would lead the next generation to perdition. Then there were those of the World War II generation and the Korean War generation were horrified by we who were their hippie children. Whereas the latter generation sought to protect all their parents had built and believed in, we baby boomers set out to challenge all that. Now our generation has children and grandchildren. It's hilarious to me to listen to my fellow aging hippies. We who once chanted, "Up the system," and "Hell, no - we won't go!" are now saying things like, "These kids today!!"

I must be an oddball, I guess. I'm not worried about the next generation. I don't think they're taking us to hell in hand basket. Quite the opposite. I'm excited by the next generation. In my particular faith - that of being a Jesus-follower - I see people in their teens and twenties who are on-fire for Jesus in ways of which I have never thought. I am learning from them more than they could ever learn from me. I look at them and I have no worries for the future of our movement. Sure, there's a lot about them that I don't understand and will never understand. They don't like to music to which I'm drawn, and they don't do worship they way I may be accustomed. But they know what it means to be in a relationship with Jesus.

So I have no worries. I'm more excited by the next generation than I am uneasy about them. How about you? I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Certain Inalienable Rights

One of our nation's founding documents speaks of human beings as having "certain inalienable rights" given by God. Among those rights are "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Here's an area in which I believe our nation is struggling now - what is included in "life"? Specifically, is health care among those inalienable rights?

Early this year my wife went through a major health crisis. She got through it, with very good health care. Now we're in the crunch of paying for that, even after insurance has covered the bulk of it. It's a strain for us, yet we both have jobs and will find a way to eek out covering the last of the billings. I think of the thousands; no - millions of Americans for whom a major health crisis would crush them, economically.

Granted, the baseline of health care keeps changing. Advancements mean that my wife is alive now, whereas 100 years ago she would have died, as would everyone else with her condition. Still, with techno-medical advancements, does everyone have a right to the benefit of those advancements, or are those just for the people of means?

Just for argument I'm going to say that health care is an inalienable right. That is NOT to say that I think the government should run it. (If you like the idea of government running health care, how did you feel about the government running railroads?) This is not a statement supporting "Obamacare" or opposing it. I'm just saying that quality health care should be afforded to everyone, if we are in line with our national values. And, for me, it goes beyond national values to a greater value - the way God sees each one of us.

Maybe I'm saying that churches and not-for-profits need to cowboy-up and get back in the game in a more central way. Haven't thought that far ahead. But, this is just me, and what do I know. What do you think? I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Second Chances

What's the best second chance you ever received in life? Maybe you did something bad or stupid to your boyfriend or girlfriend, but he or she forgave you and took you back. Perhaps you wrecked the family car, but your mom or dad eventually let you drive again. Maybe you were laid off at work, but eventually the company put you back on. Or the medical diagnosis was dire, but your last check up yielded a clean bill of health. What was your best do-over?

The first summer after my wife and I started dating in college, we fought all the time, it seems. We couldn't get along, and she just seemed constantly irritated with me. (Of course, I was perfectly charming - I don't know what her problem was...not!!) Anyway, it looked as they we just weren't going to make it, and the relationship had run its course. Somehow, though, when we returned to campus that fall, we decided to give it a second chance. Needless to say, I am very thankful and blessed that we did.

Second chances are life-savers. We long for them and need them. In our particular faith expression, we have a story about a great flood and a person named Noah. What the story says about our God is vital. It's there that we learn about a God who is a God of second chances.

I hope you get the second chance you need. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

"Can do" and "Can't do"

Have you ever been in a house wherein you were overwhelmed by all that you could not do? You can't sit in this or that chair, you can't have shoes on the carpet, you can't take food or drinks into the living room, don't go in there or the cat will get out, etc. etc. Remember how uneasy that made you feel? Contrast that with homes that say, "Just come on it; sit anywhere. Make yourself at home. Can I bring you something to drink?" Recall how relaxed that atmosphere felt.

Here's a simple, no-brainer principle regarding people feeling welcome as newcomers to anything - homes, businesses, restaurants, theaters, or churches. If the "can't do's" are more clear and numerous than the "can do's," people will not feel welcome. I've seem dozens and dozens of churches of all sizes, settings, and brand names all through my adult lives. Way too many of them have more "can't do's" than "can do's." You can't come here unless you're dressed a certain way. You can't come here if you have trouble with steps. You can't come here and find the childcare room with ease. You can't come here unless you are literate. You can't come here and worship comfortably unless you know the Lord's Prayer by heart. You can't come here and join in any of the conversations that are already happening. Yet church people wonder, "Why won't new people come?" Sometimes we get so familiar with our own landscape that we don't even see the "can't do's" that are glaring and obvious to people who are new.

Just as when we're guests in a comfortable and welcoming home, people make note of places where the "can-do's" outweigh the "can't do's." Maybe that's why I like creeks and rivers so much. Water always moving, landscape changing all the time, multiple opportunities - lots of "can do" moments. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Back from the Big Easy

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted anything. Sorry about that. That's what a short vacation back-to-back with a mission trip will do to you.

I've just returned from a week in the New Orleans area, serving as one of the adult leader for a high school age mission work trip. Specifically, we lived and worked in the Slidell, Louisiana area. A half a decade after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 the need for recovery work continues, particularly among the poor. Slidell alone had 18,000 houses lost or severely damaged. The day before the hurricane hit, Slidell had 3% unemployment. Twenty-four hours later unemployment was at 69%.

Our faith system has certain values. Among those is the belief that Jesus (who we believe to be God in human form) may be encountered in those who society tends to regard as the "least" among us. It's always refreshing to me to see how people under 20 years old get this without the hindrances and barriers that seem to afflict those of us who are older. Our little group worked to finish the house of a woman who hasn't had her own home since 2005. Clearly our church's kids saw Jesus in their service and in the gracious lady who allowed us to work on her house.

It's not rocket science, this thing we call serving Jesus by serving others. Whenever I need to be reminded of that, a youth mission work trip always restores my faith. I'll see you around the next bend in the river - sooner this time!

What's Stopping You?

What do you really want to do in your life? Think about your relationships, your vocation, your hobbies and interests, your faith life - whatever? What's a burning desire of your heart? Then ask yourself, "What's preventing me from doing that?"

As a pre-teen and teen, I wanted to be a sprinter in track and field. I really wasn't very good as a sprinter. Coaches told me I should be a distance runner. I tried that, and the first run over a mile nearly killed me, I thought. I envied those who could run long distances without stopping, but I decided that would never happen for me. In my late thirties I took up power walking as a form of exercise. I was fairly good at that. I won a couple of walk races, and even placed second in my age group at a state level walk race. (It was a distant and fairly slow second at that level!) Then someone said to me, "As fast as you walk, you should just go ahead and break into a run." Again, I never saw myself as a distance runner, and couldn't imagine it.

Then for reasons I don't remember, I tried it. The first time I ran five minutes in one direction, then five minutes back. I lived to tell about it. Before long I was running ten minutes in one direction, then ten back. Long story short, I am now a hopelessly addicted distance runner. I'm pretty slow, but I love doing it. I've even entered a few 5K races, and won my age group in the last race in which I ran. (Granted, there may have been a grand total of three in my age group!)

What kept me from running all these years? I did! I know many of us are blocked from the things we'd like to do or feel called to do because of external circumstances. Still, I believe we're often hindered by ourselves, our own presumed limitations, our view of ourselves, and our view of the world around us. In the case of those who share my faith, we often limit ourselves by failing to believe that all things are possible for our God, and where we are weak, God is strong?

So what's the desire and/or calling of your heart? What's keeping you from it?

Safety or Life?

Many people have weighed in with their reactions to 16 year old Abby Sunderland's attempt to sail solo around the world. (She had to abandon her quest after three days adrift and disconnected after a storm in the Indian Ocean.) Apparently most of the reaction is negative against Abby's parents. How could they let a 16 year old do such a thing? That's way too young! Her parents should have been more responsible; a 16 year old doesn't have the maturity and capability to take on something so daunting. It amounts to child endangerment! (I could say something here about parents who dress their elementary aged daughters up like high class hookers and throw them in "Miss Whatever" pageants and suggest that this is also child endangerment, but I won't go there right now.)

I'm all for safety and parental responsibility. I don't think I could have let my 16 year old child sail around the world. Yet I'm getting just old enough that I wonder if we aren't sometimes a little too over-sanitized and over-protected. When I was a kid (that phrase was a sure sign of an old codger) we'd bound out after a summer's breakfast, hop on our bikes, and head out who knows where for the day. We were sure to come back home for supper with skinned knees and a few bruises, but those are the days we now sit around and talk about with other old duffers. Today, the kid doesn't get on his or her bike without a thorough going over with sunscreen, a pocket container of hand sanitizer, a helmet, a cell phone, a GPS guide to acceptable routes, and a police escort.

Okay, okay...I exaggerate. Yes, I know - we live in a different world now. Believe me, I am grateful for all the safety developments that have blessed and benefited my children and grandchildren. Here's the thing, though...is the real, ultimate object of life to be safe, or to live? Life itself has risk. Risk is as integral to life as breathing, eating, working, playing, and loving. In some ways, risks and all, I think Abby Sunderland has decided to live. She wants to tackle an around the world attempt again. At some level, I admire her.

My faith system and community rallies around someone named Jesus. He took lots of risks. In fact, he took the ultimate risk - willingly facing death with the faith that something was on the other side. Those who followed him initially did so at great risk to themselves. Yet somehow living for and with him far outweighed the risks, or at least re-prioritized them. Reportedly Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance." I haven't found any place where he said, "I have come to keep them safe from any risks."

So, do you think life is about staying safe or about living it fully? Or have I oversimplified this? Do you think Abby should sail again? I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Back to the River

I spent last Thursday kayaking on a southwest Missouri Ozark creek. As always, it brought me back to where I started this blog journey two or three years ago.

A river is what life is. Canoeing or kayaking a rapid stream experiences life as it really is. Life is moving. There's no such thing as status quo, maintaining, or keeping everything just as it is. A river can run slow and feel like a small lake. Then the river can shoot you through rapids. The mainstream can take you right into a brush pile. You may or may not know what's around the next bend. A familiar shoot and known barriers one year can look totally different the next year. The skills that got your canoe or kayak through the last set of rapids may be useless on the next set. No one plan of action works for a whole trip. Your plan has to change and adapt every stoke of the paddle. The water may be high or it may be low. The only certain thing is the river's steady, relentless flow to join the next river, to join the next river, to join the Mississippi, to join the sea.

If you like the predictability of a lake or a canal or something, more power to you. If you want a life that's under control, I really wish more power to you. Personally, I think you're living in an illusion. Life flows; the sooner we accept that, the better. For me, a very real and very involved God is the author of the flow and the guide. And the guide is known as the one called Jesus of Nazareth.

I'm probably making too much of a four hour float trip. Whatever...I just feel more energized to keep paddling. Hope you'll join me. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Caring to Learn the Language

I'm still thinking about all the hoopla about shutting down our borders, illegal aliens, etc. (See a few posts back.) Many raise legitimate economic concerns around having so many people within the borders of the United States who are not legal residents. Some say that legal immigration itself should be slowed, especially from Central American countries. There are those who make a big issue over language, as it relates to Hispanic people in our country, saying, "If they are going to live here and benefit from being here, they need to learn our language!" (So, did we Caucasians learn the native American languages we found when we landed here five centuries ago, or did we make them learn ours? Sorry....couldn't resist! Different blog entry for a different time...)

Anyway, here's the deal about language. We a granddaughter who is about a year and a half old. She is starting to use words, which is very exciting to parents and grandparents. However, as much as we make a big deal about toddlers learning to speak as we do, we in fact learn their language along the way as well. With our granddaughter, I know what her sounds and gestures mean. I know how she signals "yes" and "no," I know how she communicates, "I'm excited!" and I know how she says, "I'm scared," or "I'm uneasy." She knows how to tell me she wants to do something, without using words that are in my vocabulary. I take the time and trouble to know her language because I care about her and her well being is a very high priority.

If we care about someone and/or if we have something important to communicate to someone, we will find out how to do that in a way that makes sense in that person's language. If we don't do that, we send a message that we don't care, like it or not. In the world of organized Christian religion, our greatest desire is that persons meet, know, and experience the life-changing presence of the one known as Jesus of Nazareth. However, we are too often guilty of not learning the "language" of those whom we want to introduce to Jesus. We expect them to learn our language to find out about Jesus. And we church people do have a language. How many of you have a clue as the meaning of the following words: narthex, chancel, nave, baptistry, vestibule, hymnody, offertory? (Frankly, I don't know the meaning of half of them, and I've been in church most of my life!) This is a language the world around us does not know, but we expect them to pick it up on their own. Intended or not, basically that sends a message that says, "We don't want you!"

So, back to the southern border of the USA...Is that what we want to say - "We don't want you!" Did we punt that, "Give me your tired, your poor," things somewhere along the way and I missed that memo? Still just thinking out loud. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

I'm not going to jump into the partisan camps battling over who is responsible for the British Petroleum off-shore oil well leak and spill in the Gulf of Mexico. I'm just among those who are stunned over the amount of time it's taking for BP, the EPA, the White House or someone get on a fast-track to stop it and get it cleaned up. We keep hearing how complicated it all is. Most things are. Someone on a radio program observed how the Apollo 13 crew was rescued in their aborted moon landing attempt. Mission control personnel in Houston had precious little time and limited resources to engineer a make-shift air-filtration system, make sure it worked, and communicate the instructions to the crew in space. Taking their time was not an option, nor was failure. Yet a multi-billion dollar industry can't find a way to plug a hole in the bottom of the Gulf.

I noted this discrepancy to my wife. Wise woman that she is, she suggested the difference. NASA personnel in Houston had a personal investment in bringing Apollo 13 home. They knew the crew members. They felt themselves to be an extension of the mission. They experienced a sense of urgency that put all other agenda on the back burner. Unless you're in the shrimping or fishing or tourism industries on the Gulf coast, or you live on the Gulf coast, there doesn't seem to be too much of a sense of urgency. BP seems to see this as a public relations urgency, more than an environmental crisis. They can count on America's continuing glutinous addiction to non-renewable fossil fuel. (In three decades computers have gone from bulky expensive items to things you can hold in the palm of your hand. In a century the technology of the petroleum based internal combustion engine has barely budged.) BP is still making in profit nearly three times more than they're spending on the spill. There's no urgency or personal connection.

The core of the faith to which I adhere demands urgency and personal investment of followers. We are to see people as creatures who urgently need to meet a God who loves them enough to die for them. If we fail to act with urgency, passion, and compassion we fail the very mission of our movement itself. We are to be like the Houston crew.

I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Give Them Everything! That'll Kill Their Faith!

I have some brilliant friends, I really do. One of them made an insightful observation a couple of days ago. In our faith tradition we have an ancient story about a man named Job. (His name is pronounced "jobe" not "job." He actually lost his job, along with everything else in his life!) We don't know much about Job's historic setting, but we do know that he's presented as a man of abundance who lost everyone and everything close to him. In a sort of a cosmic wager, Satan (the enemy of our God) bets God that Job will lose his faith and curse his God if life turns that bad for him. It's quite a story, really, and I commend it to you.

Anyway, my friend and several of our other friends were talking about how much we have in middle class America - comfort, ease of travel, absence of military conflict, high technology, unlimited entertainment, etc. We noted that this seems to be going alongside commitment to the one called Jesus that can run very shallow, very ego-centric ("What have you done for me lately, Jesus?"), and very easily distracted. Too many of us complain about what isn't just right in our worlds, and are more prone to fuss over what we think we lack than rejoice over what we have. My friend said, "It almost seems like this...Satan bet God he could weaken Job's faith by taking everything away from him. Satan seems to have bet God that he could weaken our faith by giving us everything!"

Brilliant observation! In our comfortable world, many organized churches and denominations are on the decline. In some of the most poverty-stricken and war-torn areas of the world people can't organize churches fast enough to accommodate the new followers who are coming to Jesus. Something to think about. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Confessions of a Complainer and a Worshipper

We see what we choose to see. I've talked about this before. In their book, Crucial Confrontations, authors Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler say that whenever we see another person and/or another person's actions, we immediately tell ourselves a "story" which determines how we see that individual. I may see a news report of a person of another ethnic origin arrested for armed robbery. Consciously or unconsciously I tell myself a quick story, maybe, "Someone of that ethnic once took something from me." I then leap to a conclusion that determines how I see the next person of that ethnicity - "All people like that tend to be thieves. He should be put behind bars forever." Or, perhaps I see that a young woman with an Islamic background has won the Miss USA title. I quickly rehearse a known story - every terrorist I've noticed on the news has an Islamic background. My conclusion? The new Miss USA is part of a Muslim plot. We see what we tell ourselves we want to see.

That's true about almost anything in life. People who believe the best in other people, usually find that in those people or draw it out of them. People who look for the worst will have no trouble finding the worst. A good friend of mine shared this great quote about my world - the world of Jesus-followers and churches: "I think there are two types of people in the world: complainers and worshippers. And there isn't much circumstantial difference between the two. Complainers will always find something to complain about. Worshippers will always find something to praise God about. They simply have different default settings." (From In A Pit With A Lion by Mark Batterson. Multnomah Books, 2006 - pp. 69-70.)

I've been a complainer more often than I care to admit, and that has determined what I see. By the grace of God alone I have also been a worshipper, and that opens my eyes to something entirely different.

What will we chose to see in this next stretch of the river? I'll see you around the next bend.

Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor

It seems that immigration and border regulation matters comprise an on-going push button issue these days. It's a complex matter, I know, involving social services, economics, politics, potential terror threats, etc. Lots of people on all sides of the discussion stand ready to explode with passion about it. (I listened a little bit to Rush Limbaugh yesterday, and I thought he was going to have a coronary on the air, he was so upset about administration immigration policy.) I don't pretend to understand it all or have any answers. However, there is something that confuses me some.

As a child, I was taught to value the sentiment associated with the Statue of Liberty: "Give me your tired, your poor; your huddled masses learning to breathe free..." My parents and my teachers told me that was an important part of our country's identity and the ideal of freedom. (My dad would point at that, at one time or another, all of our ancestors were those "huddled masses.") I learned that the anti-Irish-immigration sentiment of the 1800's was a negative and bigoted thing; contrary to the values that make our country great. Every four years I watched with pride as Olympic athletes from the United States came in all colors, ethnicity, and national origins. I grew up believing that part of being American was living in a country that would find a way to absorb and value those who came here, for whatever reason. Therefore, I don't get the rhetoric of some of the extreme voices.

I'm not trying to land in any camp, and there are good arguments on all sides. It's just that in my faith system, that of being a Jesus-follower, we have a long-standing belief in extending hospitality to strangers. Recognized or not, it is deep in our value system demanded by our God. As such, even if for sensible reasons, I guess I'm always going to have trouble with posting, "We don't want you," messages where there should be welcome signs.

I'm not trying to make a big point; I'm just wondering out loud. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Get Happy

During the great depression of the 1930's many songs designed to brighten the nation's mood became popular. I heard by parents and grandparents sing one that had the line, "Gray skies are gonna clear up; put on a happy face!" Those of us of the iconoclastic, somewhat cynical baby-boomer generation tended to regard these pie-in-the-sky-by-and-by tunes as sappy and unrealistic. However, that was easy for us, because we didn't live through those lean and hard days. Against job loss, home loss, hunger, dust storms, government corruption and a myriad of widespread, depressing problems, many people just found ways to get happy. They sang sappy songs. They went to cheap, cooperative meals and dances. The invented roller derby. They raced horses. Without the outward trappings to make them happy, some of them just decided to be happy.

Real problems exist now. War, famine, and disaster take lives. While there are some signs of rebound, the economy still struggles. Cancer, heart disease, HIV, and other conditions still take their toll. I don't want to minimize or deny any of this. As I look around at many folks in our society, though (particularly among people like me who live materially comfortable lives), I wonder if we have developed the habit of (please pardon the crude and tasteless term) "bitchiness." (Sorry, sometimes the best words for the occasion are the ones we aren't supposed to use!) I would submit that there's no shortage of reasons to complain, if we're looking for them. It's not hard to blame someone for something, and get frustrated or angry about any number of things. I've been as guilty of this as anyone. Maybe some of us ought to just get happy!

In my world of organized churches, we'd better get happy. We serve a mighty God like no other. We have a good news that no other news can touch! We have been given the greatest gift and the greatest task imaginable. If we don't get happy it's our fault; not God's or anyone else's.

So, get happy. Sing a sappy song and splash someone in the canoe nearest yours. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Sometimes I Feel like a Motherless Child

A half century ago I have a vague memory of a public service ad on television. I don't remember what was the cause. I do recall one line of a song that ran in the background, though. A mournful female singer sand, "Sometimes I feel like a motherless child." For whatever reason, that made a big impression on me as a kid. I guess I had "poor-me" moments wherein I did feel like a motherless child. However, I had a mom, and those feelings would pass. It disturbed me that there were people in the world who really felt like that all the time.

There are people all around us who feel like motherless children, regardless of their age, and aside from having biological mothers. They may feel like motherless children because they are older now, and the world keeps getting more and more confusing to them at a geometric rate. Or, they may feel that way because they are young, living in the dog-eat-dog world of accelerated pressure on youth, wondering, "Is this all there is? Am I just supposed to survive this endless competition of who has the highest ACT score, who gets the starting spot on the team, who wins the pageant, who sets the social pace?" Some people may feel like motherless children because of in illness; an unseen but powerful demon damaging their bodies. Some may feel orphaned by life do to rising mortgage payments and shrinking paychecks. Others may feel like motherless children because of relationships gone south, and they're wondering if anyone will ever really know them and really love them.

Emotional, relational, physical, spiritual orphans are everywhere. They are all around us. They are among us. They are in our social networks, on-line and face-to-face. They are in our groups, our offices, our churches. Sometimes they are us. In my world - that of organized churches - such people aren't turning to us and looking for dynamic music, inspirational speakers, slick programs, and impressive facilities. Essentially, if they are turning to us at all, they are asking, "Will someone please adopt me?"

I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

What Women Really Want?

This post has nothing to do with anything, really. I just find the phenomenon amusing. Without getting too stereotyped, many men I know shop in a significantly different way than the women in their lives. Much of this is culturally conditioned for middle-income Americans, I know. Many men are like I am. "Shopping" consists of knowing what you want to get, going to the store that has the item, finding the item, paying for it, and going home. That's a successful shopping outing. Many women are like my wife. Shopping is a prolonged experience. It involves moving purposefully and slowly through a multitude of stores. Testing, comparing, trying on items, going back to stores to re-look; these are all integral to the shopping event. Elaine, my wife, can "shop" by this latter definition for an entire day, come home having purchased absolutely nothing, yet be happy as a clam for the experience.

Many women are particularly fond of taking the men in their lives with them on a shopping outing. I'm not sure why, but it's important to them. I guess it's a way that we can show we are interested in the things that interest them. Looking over stores and malls over the years, I've rarely known this effort to be successful, at least judging from the men I see in the shopping centers. You've seen them; the guys sitting on the benches looking forlorn and fatigued, holding a bunch of bags, wishing for all the world she'd just run out of steam and he could go home and watch baseball like he wanted to today. Again, I'm not sure why women want us to go with them on these hunt and gather excursions. Some women say it's because they want our opinions on items they they consider, particularly with clothing. I guess that's true in my case, in a reverse sort of a way. Whatever outfit I suggest my wife should buy, she eliminates that and looks at something else. (I really thought the sheer number with the plunging neckline would look good on her!)

Then came the creation of mobile Internet. With an iPhone a man can go shopping with his wife, and still satisfy what he wants. Instead of drifting to the video electronics section at J.C. Penney, he can now carry the game with him in the palm of his hand, check e-mail, and text his buddies, all the while being right at his lady-love's side. Perfect scenario, right? No, I'm told. According to many who claim to know, and according to the disgruntled looks I see on woman's faces while their men poke the keyboard right along side her in stores, it's not just that she wants you physically with her on the shopping trip. She wants you attentive to her, as well. That's the point and apparently has been the point all along.

And that's just the guys' side. Probably a whole different spin from the gals. Human beings...frustrating and exciting, mysterious and wonderful, never done with surprising new things to learn. Maybe that's how God wants it. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

I Hate Change?

I have finally joined the 21st century. For a week now I've been the owner of an iPhone. I find it amazing what all it will do. With the right apps an iPhone can eliminate the need for a personal computer, a land-line phone, a camera, a video cam, a calendar, a television, a home security system, and someone to love you. (Okay, so I'm totally kidding about that last one...I think...) Change. Wow. Less than a decade ago I was just happy to have a laptop, along with every other high-tech wannabee in an airport terminal.

Change comes at us fast and furious, with no mercy. And we seem to be in an era of accelerated change. Some are enthralled with change, and some hate it with a passion. For example, "change" was a buzzword for the Barack Obama presidential campaign. In opposition, I've seen signs around that say, "You can keep the CHANGE!" Changing times have had an impact in my world - the world of Jesus-followers and churches. With rapid changes all around, some want God and the church to be the one place that never changes. Others believe that God is demanding changes in churches so that we may better fulfill our mission of growing new followers of Jesus.

I'm a runner, running 4-6 miles every other day. I run on roadways and sidewalks. I love to go out and follow a different route every day. However, for the last seven years my running has created a repeated injury in my groin area. A doctor told me the only way to keep running and to heal it is to start running on high school tracks or treadmills. The constant pounding on concrete and uneven hard surfaces will keep me injured. I hate the thought of that. Giving up running on the open road sounds like giving up running itself. Why would I want to run around and around a high school track and see the same scenery over and over? And running on a treadmill?!?...I might as well be a gerbil or a hamster! So, if my goal is to keep running the way I've always run and to not change, then I'll probably stay injured and frustrated. However, if the original goal of running was to stay healthy and keep my heart strong, then, to reach that goal, I'll need to change.

I guess it depends on the goal. What do you think? I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

We See What We Want to See

I am a part of an organization that hands out printed material to hundreds of people every weekend. These hand-outs say a great deal about what our congregation of people believes and promotes. So, we take great care to put out the very best product we can. Last weekend we did our usual procedure for proof-reading the brochure. I gave a rough copy to someone in our office. The office person finalized the copy and sent it back to me. I did final tweaking and sent i back to the office. The office brought in another pair of eyes to look it over before final print. Everything was done according the procedure.

Only on Sunday did someone note that the cover of the hand-out had the title for the weekend before, not for last weekend. All of us who looked at the document with critical eyes ended up seeing what we assumed was there and what we wanted to be there, not in fact what was there!

To a large extent we see what we want to see. If we assume that human beings are basically self-centered, bad creatures, that's what we will tend to see in people. If we assume that people, faults and all, are creatures worthy of value, respect, and love, then that's what our sight will note. Some people of faith say we no longer live in a age of miracles, and that God just isn't active in the same way God was active once before. Yet there are other cultures on the face of the earth, even high-tech cultures, in which reports of the miraculous are almost commonplace, and people of faith contend that God is very deeply involved and active.

Could that be a matter of what we choose to see? What do you think? I'll see you around the next bend in the river. I see a great run through the rapids ahead!

The Burden Is Not on the Newcomer

Not long ago I attended a fundraising event for a very worthy cause. I went at the invitation of some friends. The event took place in a town with which I was not familiar. The only publicity for the event said that it would take place in a public building in the community. No address was given, it was merely said to be at the "XYZ Building." Now, in this particular town, I have no doubt that 95% of the people interesting in attending this particular show knew where the "XYZ Building" was located. However, if anyone new to the community wanted to participate, nothing in printed or on-air community would have guided them to it. In my own case, without a GPS and the help of some locals, I would have driven all that way for nothing.

This is too often the case for the best of causes and organizations. We assume that, if someone wants to join us and participate, the burden is on them to locate us and get involved. Maybe that worked once in American culture overall. In any case, it doesn't work now. We live in a consumer culture. If people can't find something easily and get to it without trouble, they'll just invest themselves somewhere else. I think of my own world - that of organized churches. Many, many churches want new people to come to them, but they leave it to those same prospective folks to find out times, directions, and locations on their own. On the other hand, a few congregations assume the burden is on them to make it easy on the individuals who are most unfamiliar with them. They get out to invite people face-to-face, to pick them up and bring them as guests, to stay with the newcomers and explain to them the nuances of their congregation, and to do a debrief on how the experience was for them. Those churches who do not assume the burden is on the newcomer tend to be the ones that are growing, are changing lives, and are impacting their communities.

Do something welcoming for someone tomorrow. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Keep the Fight In You

Have you ever just felt like the joy in life has been wrung out of you, like someone squeezing the water out of a sponge? You vaguely remember having enthusiasm and drive about something, but that seems like a long time ago. Maybe you've come to a point where you just sort of plod through the days in hopes that something will spark a fire in your guts again sometime. It's like the fight has been beaten out of you.

For whatever reasons, I see a lot of people everywhere I go who look like they are at or near that point. I'm something of a naive optimist, so I don't think very many people are on an active campaign to pummel the passionate commitment out of other people. Life is complicated, demands are many, and our energy can be drained in more ways than we imagine. (In my particular belief system we also accept that a negative power beyond the limits of our three-dimensional experience attacks us as well)

Without being able to identify a particular cause, my spirits seemed to be dragging early this week. The particular cause that drives me is Jesus' desire to reach and transform the lives of all people, and Jesus' command that we who are Jesus-followers join with him in this mission. When I get in these little valleys I let myself wonder if the focus and effort I'm putting into this is worth it. We had a number of pretty Spring days in our area, so I decided to ride by bike to a noon meeting. As I rode, put in my ear phones and turned on my MP3 player. It came to some live songs done by one of my favorite groups - Sonic Flood. (They're a heavy metal group that shares my particular cause, mentioned above.) I'm an aging rocker, so screaming guitar and blaring amps get my blood going anyway. Plus the driving, passionate, no-apology message of their songs reminded me of the worthiness of our cause. By the time I arrived at the meeting location, the fight in me had been restored.

Stay close to the passion that has been placed in your heart. When you feel distant from it - go back to whatever would rekindle the flame...a song, a place, a person, a book, an activity, whatever. Keep the fight in you. It's worth it. I'll see you around the next bend in the river. Paddle hard.

Is God Falling Down on the Job? - Part 2

(Yeah, I know - it's not Sunday...)

In the last post I talked about Arnold Prater, a dynamic leader in our denominational tradition a half century ago. Pastor Prater and his wife went through the horrible experience of being robbed in their home once. At gunpoint they were forced to lie face down on the floor of their house while thieves ransacked their home. Never had they felt more vulnerable or fearful. Everything precious to them - memories, a future with children and grandchildren, continued ministry, their lives together - could be snuffed out in an instant. If God's job is to keep faithful people safe and protected, God was certainly falling down on the job.

However, Mr. and Mrs. Prater did not believe God's job is to keep from tough circumstances in life. God's job (and God's passionate pleasure) is to offer love, presence, and power even in the midst of tough circumstances. Even with the cold steel of a gun at his neck, Arnold felt God say to him, "You're mine. You belong to me, no matter what. I gave you my son (Jesus) to seal that deal. Nothing can take you away from me, not even death itself. This that's happening now? The worst they can do is kill you! And even then, you'll still be mine." And at the lowest moment of their lives, Arnold Prater and his wife experienced peace, assurance, joy, and even power.

That, I believe, is God doing God's job. What do you think? I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

God Falling Down on the Job?

What would you say God's job description is? Think less of the answer you think you ought to give and pay more attention to what you really believe. If there is a God, what is God supposed to be doing? Lots of people would say that God's job is to make our lives safe, happy, and prosperous. If that's the case, God's falling down on the job a lot, with a lot of people and in a lot of places. So does God just do God's job with those he favors?

I remember a man who deserved blessing from God if anyone did. He was something of a hero among United Methodist pastors in the western portion of our state a half a century ago. His name was Arnold Prater. Where most United Methodist preachers are assigned to a particular church, Arnold's job was to be something called a "Conference Evangelist." He travelled to different churches and communities, leading a week long series of evening gatherings called a "revival." Arnold Prater did this really well. He was a passionate, motivating speaker. He was also a prolific writer. Arnold authored many books, including a book that helped me during a rough time in my life, entitled How to be Happy in an Unhappy World. If anyone deserved a happy, safe, and prosperous life it was Arnold Prater. Surely he would gain God's favor and God would do God's job well for him.

However, in the aforementioned book, Arnold didn't talk about a shower of blessings from God - good health, ministry success, a safe and happy life. His primary vehicle for the book was an account of the very worst, most devastating moment of his existence. He and his wife were robbed at gunpoint in their own home. They were forced to lay face down on the floor, under threat of death, while thieves ransacked their home. They were never more vulnerable. Arnold and his wife were on the brink of losing everything they cherished: precious memorabilia, a future with children and grandchildren, and even their very lives. For as good and faithful a couple as they were, how was this a safe and happy life. How was this hellish moment anything close to enjoying God's protection and blessing? Why wasn't God doing God's job?!?

What do you think? More thoughts on this on Sunday. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.