Paddling On

Less Sacrifice Than We Think

2012-01-24T08:12:00.002-06:00

Dollar figures can be overwhelming, especially in hard economic times. Many non-profit organizations struggle in these days, as Americans tighten their discretionary giving. Against things like skyrocketing fuel costs and a deflated housing market, people battle to maintain their lifestyle. It makes be thankful to be a part of church of so many people who have been heroic in giving to the mission field and the cause of leading people in new life with Jesus in the midst of economic uncertainty.

Still, dollar figures make us gasp. Think of $100,ooo. To the average person, especially the person teetering on the edge of the lower middle class/poverty line, that's a staggering amount. Or is it...

Several Jesus-followers in our area have accepted the radical challenge to sacrifice money, over and above what we already give to the cause of Jesus Christ, to put toward life-changing mission and ministry. My first thought was to fast one meal a week, call that a $10 expense I am foregoing, and set aside that money as my "over-and-above" what I already commit. If just 200 of us did this throughout 2012, that would be over $100,000 extra to be put into the mission field. And suddenly that number doesn't seem so big! In fact, in these first few weeks of fasting a meal a week, I'm starting to think, "This isn't that big a sacrifice at all. What else might Jesus being inviting me to sacrifice so lives will be changed?"

Maybe these aren't the scarcity days we seem to believe they are. What if God has placed in us all the resources needed to do God-sized things for people in need in 2012? Maybe there is really no lid on what God can do.

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

Pray for the Whole World

2012-01-12T10:02:00.002-06:00

Many followers of Jesus in our particular congregation have accepted the challenge to pray for the whole world in 2012. We are encouraged to pick a particular global region each week and focus our prayers of what God is doing and what the needs are in that area. We seek to gain the heart of God for the entire world.

I recommend that praying people simply start with a particular continent, aiming at specific regions in that continent. Do a "Google" search or use some kind of search engine to find out about the nations and peoples of that area. What is life like for them? What has been their story? Where are their successes; what do they celebrate? Where is there pain and need in their midst. What does God want us to know about that area, and how does God want us to participate in what God is doing in that area?

For example, take a look at the west African coast. One of the nations there is Mozambique. Mozambique, whose capital is Maputo, has a long and rich history. For much of the nation's history it was a colonial territory controlled by Portugal. Mozambique gained independence in 1975. However, the nation was plunged into a fierce and bloody civil war from 1977-1992, fueled largely by the politics of nations surrounding Mozambique. Over 1.5 million Mozambique residents fled to neighboring areas during that time. Most of those who have survived have returned. In the years since the civil war, much of the region has been ravaged by floods and famine from time to time. Many of the people of Mozambique are desperately poor and hounded by diseases often brought on by limited access to safe drinking water. Still, the followers of Jesus in this nation are strong and growing.

Begin today to work through a global map, praying for the whole world through 2012. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Old Man River

2012-01-04T15:25:00.002-06:00

On Monday I took my monthly day apart for prayer and time away with God, at an area retreat center. At noontime on those days I treat myself to lunch at a favorite restaurant of mine that has a second story overlooking the Mississippi River. I spend a good bit of the noon hour watching the river, then usually go stroll along the levee before I return to the retreat center. As I did so, I was reminded powerfully again how much a river evokes truth about God.

Standing alongside this great North American flow I realize how powerful it really is. From a distance it might seem slow, but up close you realize how much resolute force is in Old Man River. I have no clue how this massive movement originates, and I cannot wrap my mind around the vastness of how it ends. Its level might rise or it might fall, but it never stops. It might be blocked or re-routed, but it will not be denied in reaching its destination. You can see the river in front of you, and you can see as far upstream or downstream as you're able, but your eyes can't take in all of it. Sometimes it may seem raging and dangerous; other times it might seem calm, cooling, and inviting. All of it is the same river, with the same determination and focus. If you fight its flow, you're in for a battle. If you get in the mainstream of its flow, it will carry you all the way.

A lot of those characteristics describe God as I have experienced God and as God reveals God's own self to me. I wish you good travels on the river which is your life. I'll see you around the next bend.

A Birthday Gift

2011-12-28T09:37:00.002-06:00

This year our church participated in two dynamic, outwardly focused events in our community. One occurred the Saturday after Easter, sending an eclectic gathering of over 1,000 volunteers into the community to perform a variety of acts of kindness, support, caring, and grace. The afternoon and evening continued this ministry effort around a continuous celebration of praise music and faith testimony. The second event occurred on Christmas Eve, gathering over 800 people in a local convention center for a worship celebration and to distribute Christmas gifts and food to over 600 children in need and their families. Both events came about through God's vision impressed on our church's skilled and gifted Worship Coordinator, Brad Aycock, and hundreds of willing leaders and volunteers. And each event united people of several churches, various religious affiliations and no religious allegiance, all ages, and all racial background. (We live in a wonderful town, but it is a community, like many, that has had some painful moments of division between Caucasians citizens and African-American citizens.) It has been a joy and blessing to watch events like this unfold, to see God's mighty hand at work, and to join with others in humble obedience to the mainstream of God's heart.

For most of my adult life I have kept prayer journals. Most of my prayer life, both listening for God and speaking to God, is expressed in writing. Lately I've been glossing through some journals, just to be reminded of God's faithfulness and action in the past. Yesterday, my 59th birthday, I saw these words that I wrote about dreams I'd had on August 9, 2009 while on a sabbatical retreat. In light of the paragraph above, note this entry:

" I usually forget dreams in the morning, and these two (from last night) are fading. Still, I recall enough of the sense of them. The first was a grand, positive, outdoor worship experience in Sikeston. Several things I recall about it. First, it was multi-ethnic. Second, it had the energetic and happy involvement of children. Also, I felt excited about it; eager to do my part without the constant, simmering anxiety of failure, opposition or whatever..."

I know now that God gave me a glimpse of what was to come. This was a great birthday gift. Sometimes the road can seem long, and any of us can wonder if our passion for a God-sized vision is worth it. Simply put, what God seeks, God will bring about, some way, some time.

Everything You Need to Know about the End of Time

2011-08-14T19:04:00.002-05:00

Today I told our congregation that I could tell them everything we need to know about the end of time in five words. (Kept them in suspense about the specific five words until the very end. Occupational hazard. Preachers and politicians have the same affliction - We take twenty minutes to say what could be said in five minutes.)

So here's what I told them. (SPOILER ALERT: If you don't want to know what you need to know about the end of it all, log off now.) Here's everything you need to know about the end times in five words: JESUS WINS IN THE END.

Now, I admit that I thought this was pretty spot-on, but some other folks came up with five word formulas that were right on the money! Here they are, with credit given - everything we need to hear about believe about the end of time:

DO NOT WORRY ABOUT IT! (Mark Deane)

IT'S NOT UP TO US! (Mike Marsh)

BEST DAY OF OUR LIVES! (Danny Kuykendall)

This is great. I'm sure there are others. What's your five word summation of the end from a faith perspective? I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Preferential Treatment

2011-08-07T15:19:00.002-05:00

Though I had a happy childhood, I was a shy child. In addition, I did not come from a prominent family, nor did I live in an upscale neighborhood. I became very cognizant of those around me who received preferential treatment. I noticed the ones who went to the front of the line, who got the most attention from teachers and coaches, who were picked first for anything, or who received the the inside track on almost anything. At an early age I came to accept the truth that I would have to work doubly hard to warrant preferential treatment, as it would not come to me naturally. In many facets of my life, preferential treatments stayed and remains elusive. In some arenas of my existence, I have eked out preferential status, if only for a time. Oddly, though, I can't say that I've enjoyed it when I've achieved it. Attaining preferential treatment just seems to accentuate all the more those who are denied it. That's been frustrating, as life has tended to teach me that preferential treatment measures value and success.

Compounding the irony is that I have surrendered my existence to a very odd individual, who claims that the opposite of preferential treatment is not only what I should seek, but the very identity for which I was designed. This person is one who called his followers to actively seek the non-privileged positions in life, and demonstrated this by giving up his unity with God to become human, to take the form of a slave, and to be obedient even to submitting to a criminal's death.

The exact opposite of the path that has been dangled before me since childhood...I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

A History-Changing Also-Ran

2011-07-17T15:18:00.003-05:00

She was a seamstress in a department store in a southern town. At 42, she was like thousands of women in the mid 1950's; working menial labor to get by. She wasn't likely to garner much attention either on the job, in the business streets of her city on in the neighborhood. Not renowned for anything of which I'm aware, she was, by all accounts, an "also-ran" in life.

Until December 1 of 1955...Reflective of her existence, and joining with others who examined what was and what could be, this lady decided that enough was enough. Expected to sit in the back of a Montgomery, Alabama city bus, as she had been thousands of times before, Rosa Parks refused to do so. And the rest is history.

Much of the history of God's love and justice is not written by those in power. It is forged in the courage of the "also-rans."

Just finished two great days of kayaking. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Joseph, the Also-Ran

2011-07-09T15:36:00.002-05:00

His name was Joseph. He was a Jew from a priestly family, who lived outside of Palestine; from the island of Cyprus, specifically. Apparently others who followed Jesus in first century referred to him as "barnabus" meaning, "son of encouragement." Maybe he was an uplifting person to be around. We don't know. The sum total recorded of Joseph is that he owned a piece of property somewhere in the region, he sold it, and gave the money from the sale to the early work of meeting human need among in the ministry of introducing people to Jesus of Nazareth, the one they claimed was "lord" above all. (Acts 4:36-37) Preachers seldom preach about him. I can't remember ever hearing anything taught about him in a Bible study, nor teaching anything myself. Biblical commentaries tend to treat him as an example of sacrificial sharing in the early Church, or as a set up for the dismal story of Ananias and Sapphira that follows. Joseph, by the world's standards, was an "also ran."

However, we don't know the results of the sale of that field. Did a hungry person get fed because of Joseph's acts, and thus see the sacrificing love of Jesus in flesh-and-blood action? Did that person come to know Jesus and feel welcomed in the believing community? Did that story become the vehicle through which other people turned God-ward? Could my faith or yours be not that many degrees separated from what Joseph started?

Be careful assuming anyone is an "also ran" or making that assumption about yourself. We don't know the monumental things God has done through those who don't happen to have been or to be in the limelight.

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

Also Ran

2011-07-02T14:30:00.003-05:00

I know next to nothing about horse racing. I read Seabiscuit, and saw the movie; enjoyed them both. That's about it. From hanging around the Illinois State Fair as a kid, though, I remember that the first three places in any race's finish were called win, place, and show. Any other horse in the field was listed as also ran... Any horse that ran in the race, and didn't get one of the first three spots was an "also ran."

Nobody remembers the "also rans." We remember the team that won the world series, but not the team that finished over .500, yet failed to make the playoffs. We recall the president of the company, but not the guy who retired as a department head, but never made it into the inner circle of company officers. I my professional world, we'll all remember the likes of Charles Swindoll, Bill Hybels, Rob Bell, and Francis Chan. And well we should - their impact on the mission of changing lives in the name of Jesus is immeasurable. No one will recall the pastor of the little church of thirty people, who lead them into genuine discipleship, growth, and impact in their small town, thus keeping the church from closing its doors. Our world assumes a hierarchy of influence, and "also rans" are low in that worldview.

Biblically, we remember Simon Peter, who lead the first gathering of Jesus-followers in Jerusalem. We remember Stephen, the first recorded martyr; surrendering his life for allegiance to Jesus. We recall Saul/Paul, the unlikely ambassador for Jesus throughout the Roman empire. Few people remember or know a follower of Jesus named Joseph, who was nicknamed Barnabus. I've never heard a sermon about him. He warranted only two verses in the Bible. I wonder why the Holy Spirit wanted us to know about this "also ran"?

More on Joseph, the "son of exhortation" in the next post. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Humility and Also-Rans

2011-06-22T09:14:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the long hiatus. No real reason...probably too sidetracked by Facebook, Twitter, some great fishing, and other distractions.

There are two subjects I want to pursue for a while by way of these postings. First, there's a dimension of leadership that seems to be capturing some attention right now; at least it's grabbing mine. Many needed facets of leadership have been promoted for the last couple of decades: the need for vision, the need for courage, the need for flexibility, the need for assertiveness, the need for drive and momentum, the need for people skills, the need to get tough when required, etc. I now see a leadership trait rising to the top of discussion, which kind of torques all the other "out there" kind of characteristics. It's humility. How is humility defined in leadership? Among our most effective leaders, in and out of gatherings of Jesus-followers, we often see fairly strong egos in play, or at least high levels of personal confidence. How does that square with mandates on Jesus-followers such as those found in the Bible in Philippians, chapter 2? What's the difference between a leader such as Donald Trump, who functions with an unrestrained ego, and a leader such as former professional football coach Tony Dungy, who almost completely avoids the limelight?

The second matter has to do with those who are not found in the limelight, with or without the trait of humility. In old horse-racing language, these are the ones who do not get listed in "win", "place" or "show." They are the "also-rans." More on this with the next post.

I'll see you around the next bend in the river. (It's great to be able to say that now, finally as an owner of a kayak!)

The Well Is In!

2011-05-23T05:49:00.002-05:00

Six weeks before Easter our congregation learned that a remote village in the poverty-stricken nation of Mozambique needed a well. People had to walk a twelve-mile round trip to the nearest source of any fresh water. Illness and death from use of tainted water sources happened all the time. The followers of Jesus in this town appealed for help to raise funds to secure the movement of heavy equipment into this area to sink a well. The total cost was right around $10,000. The cost seemed daunting, but folks in our church accepted the challenge. We felt that if enough of us sacrificed a meal a week and put aside the money we would have spent for a special love offering on Easter, we might make a dent in this need. On Easter Sunday, $11,335 came in to put toward the well in Mozambique. Giving glory and thank to God, I am happy to report that as of last week the well is completed. Fresh water is now available to the people of this village. Lives are being saved. Great things can happen when we set aside our agenda, sacrifice, and align with the heart of God for the people God loves.

This week many people in our congregation are involved in several challenges to bring the hope of Jesus to the world...a five day food challenge, drinking only water and eating only a cup of rice, beans, or vegetables at each meal...preparing a sacrificial "Project Hope" offering for meeting needs both locally and globally...accepting a challenge to collect 5000 cans of food for a local food bank and 5000 packets of vegetable seeds to address hunger globally. We invite your prayerful support. Humbled hearts, bathed in prayer, aligned with the heart and passion of Jesus, provide the stage for God to do great things.

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

"If My People..."

2011-05-10T08:30:00.003-05:00

The first Thursday of May each year has been designated as a "National Day of Prayer." Virtually every year Christian churches and leaders focus on this verse from the Bible on that day: "If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and heal their land." (II Corinthians 7:14.) The context of this section is God's message to Solomon on the occasion of the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem. It is a hope or command for people to turn God-ward, in hopes of having all pain, division, and threat lifted.

Whose job is it to lead people in turning God-ward in this way? Is this something the President should do? Is this the responsibility of elected government officials? Should the courts be leading the way in this? Do we hold public schools accountable to make this happen? To hear some church folks and church leaders cry out against these entities, one might assume that the answer is "yes" to all of the above.

The real responsibility rests with we who have yielded to God, who is made known in the crucified and risen Jesus. We are to be the Body of Jesus the Christ, and the hope of the world. It is our responsibility to have impact - changing lives, changing communities, and changing the world. Our nation will not turn God-ward simply by allowing the ten commandments to be posted in courthouses, by having "In God We Trust" on our currency, having "under God" in our pledge of allegiance, or allowing prayer at public school functions. It will happen because followers of Jesus live their lives in ways that draw others to Jesus, that meet the needs of the least among us, and that change lives, communities, and nations for the good. Our land will heal as churches "leave the building," get out in the mission field, and be the hope of the world.

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

Impact

2011-04-25T07:23:00.002-05:00

IMPACT...Easter wasn't just a nice idea to give us warm religious feelings. Raising Jesus from death had impact. Lives changed, futures changed, the world changed. Throughout the history of the last two millenia, where the Jesus-following movement surged forward in Spirit and power, it had transformed impact.

The sobering truth is that 8 out of 10 North American churches are stagnant or dying. Among other things, this means that these churches are no longer having impact. If they closed their doors, the communities (mission fields) in which they are located might not notice their absence. I am a blessed person. I am a part of a congregation that has chosen not to be one of the eight! I want to say a public and heartfelt thank-you for the courage, faithfulness, and persistence of the Jesus-followers where I worship. Choosing to be impact-church is not always easy, but it is always the fulfillment of Jesus' charge to us to make and grow followers of Jesus, to be the Body of the risen Jesus in the world, and to be the hope of the world.

This Saturday our congregation will take a lead role in an event called "The Hope Epidemic." Over 1,000 volunteers will be sent into the community and region to do various acts of love, service, and grace. Our aim is to pronounce a hands-on message of hope in Jesus in a world struggling to cling to hope. I invite your prayers that even just one person might see and know Jesus because of this event.

I also invite followers of Jesus to be on stand-by to assist the many whose property and lives have been damaged by rampaging storms across the Midwest and mid-south this past weekend. The need for impact never rests. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Spiritual Pride

2011-04-07T14:21:00.002-05:00

Humility matters for followers of Jesus. It is a Jesus-attribute. (See Philippians 2.) In that regard, here's one of the best messages I've ever heard: "We have an inborn persisting tendency to attribute to ourselves the successes of our spiritual life, the resistance we offer to temptation, the devotion we achieve, the discipline we keep and the good works we do. Surely we thank God for all that, but in our heart of hearts we congratulate ourselves on our exploits, and secretly worship our sword and our bow. We take as done by us what is done by God in us; even obvious graces from heaven stick to the soul and seem after some time to be connatural to us and springing from us. That is spiritual pride of the worst kind, and it really takes hold of a soul. It is enough to stop any spiritual progress at all. The disease is as dangerous as it is common." (From FAITH FOR JUSTICE by Carlos G. Valles.) I'll see you around the next bend in the river. The shadow of the cross is looming nearer.

Give Me All

2011-03-26T14:17:00.002-05:00

The journey to the cross evokes awareness of sacrifice; the complete, total sacrifice of Jesus. Followers of Jesus, committed to leading people in new life with Jesus, accept the call to give up life as we presume it should be - life as we think it would most benefit us - for something that is greater, more purposeful, and more in line with who and what God designed us to be.

C. S. Lewis said, it better than I ever could: "The Christian way is different: harder and easier. Christ says, 'Give me All. I don't want so much of your time, so much of your money, so much of your work. I want You. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don't want to cut off a branch here and a branch there. I want to have the whole tree down...Hand over the whole natural self, all of the desires which you think innocent and all the ones you think wicked - the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours.'" (From MERE CHRISTIANITY.)

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

End of the "Worship Wars"!

2011-03-20T17:05:00.004-05:00

Sometimes God speaks by the simplest of means. Something we happen to see around us just becomes vivid, clear evidence of the heart of God. I saw such a thing a couple of weeks ago. Through this seemingly innocuous vision, God seemed to be saying to me, "I really don't care about the 'worship wars.'"

For those of you unfamiliar with the "worship wars" that refers to a battle that has been raging in various Protestant congregations throughout North America for the better part the last quarter century. It is the conflict between those who want "traditional" elements of worship and those pushing for "contemporary" styles of worship. Depending on denominational affiliation, "traditional" worshippers want songs/hymns that have been around for many decades and elements of worship (styles of dress, types of prayers, organ and piano accompaniment, orders of worship, creeds, etc.) that have remained in use and unchanged for whole lifetimes. "Contemporary" worshippers push for newer music, usually involving electric and string accompaniment, percussion, use of video technology, etc. Congregations will divide into virtual armed camps around this, and thousands of churches have fought or are fighting this mission-distracting war...this despite the fact that all "traditional" worship was "contemporary" at some point in history, and most of what passes for "contemporary" really isn't! (Ask any worshipper under 25 years old!)

Anyway, a few weeks ago, while worshipping in a service I will not label, I happened to look to my right to a little girl in the same service. She is new to faith and to Christian worship, having come to our congregation on the invitation of a neighbor. She was singing praise with absolute exuberance and gratitude for the chance to do so. She understands little about faith and church at this point, but she gets the fact that Jesus is someone real and someone who seeks her and invites her. I realized looking at her, that she is the goal. It doesn't matter what style of worship is used, as long as that little girl and people like her experience what she was experiencing. (And, no - I'm not going to tell you which style of worship she was in.)

So, best wishes to all my brother and sister Jesus-followers who think the most important thing is to keep fighting the worship wars. I'm out. It's not the main thing. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

A Meal A Week For Mozambique

2011-03-14T10:43:00.002-05:00

I often hear people ask, "How do I know if God is speaking to me?" That's a good question, and God speaks in multiple ways. Sometimes God speaks when factors converge.

As with many congregations of Jesus-followers, our church is observing the season known as Lent. Lent is a period of roughly 40 days leading up to the observance of the death of Jesus of Nazareth, and our belief that God raised Jesus from death. Followers of Jesus often use Lent as a time of reflection, penitence for our distance from God, and sacrifice. Some are in the habit of making specific sacrifices, such as giving up certain food or practices, or maybe giving up a meal a week.

In a community called Mucocane in the poverty-stricken African nation of Mozambique, there is a church community of our particular denomination. Against widespread disease, hunger, and want, this church is growing with vibrancy in reaching people for Jesus. Like many places in Mozambique, the absence of fresh water in Mucocane is a constant battle. People have to make a 6 kilometer walk one way to get any fresh water at all. Reliance on tainted water results in constant disease and death. In addition to what the church people in Mucacane can scrape together, $10,000 given through our denomination's Mozambique Initiative would facilitate the digging and operating of a well.

If 200 people in our church gave up a meal a week, named $10 as the cost that would go into that meal each week, set aside that $10 a week, then brought the accumulated money on Easter weekend, the well would be bought! For the price of sacrificing a meal a week, lives would be saved for generations to come.

Where the need of people God loves intersects with our ability to meet that need, that's God speaking! I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

A Kayak!

2011-03-05T12:16:00.003-06:00

I began this blog on February 23, 2008. In that post I explained that I spend a lot of time canoeing Missouri Ozark streams. At the time, I was dreaming about a kayak as my next vessel of choice for rivers. Last Thursday - March 3, 2011, I brought home a ten foot fishing kayak, a little over three years after first posting my future hope.

It took longer than I expected to get it. At times over the last three years I came near amassing the right amount of funds to get it done, only to have some other financial need in our household put be back to square one. Sometimes I thought it would just be better to give up on the idea of owning a kayak. Now I can hardly believe that it is actually sitting out on our back porch.

Similarly, God's vision for our future rarely happens according to a time line or project plan that we would select and prefer. It would be easy at times to give up on it. When it finally arrives it may not be as we would have pictured it. Yet God's future most certainly will unfold.

I'll see you around the next bend in the river - in a kayak...finally!

What Is Your "Something"?

2011-02-25T16:27:00.003-06:00

Helen Keller was a brilliant, passionate advocate for physically challenged people of all kinds. She herself was both blind and deaf, yet she had unrivaled impact on how we regard and treat one another. Here's a quote from this exceptional lady:

"I am only one, but I still am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do."

Each of us must ask ourselves, "What is my something?" For followers of Jesus, we know that God has called and equipped each one of us to contribute to God's vision of changed lives and a transformed world. Do we each know our own something? Are we each pursuing it. As with Helen Keller, are we steadfastly refusing to let the world convince us that we should not be doing the something for which God has called and equipped us?

2011-02-12T15:13:00.002-06:00

I can't remember from whom I heard this, but it has stuck with me for years: Maintenance pastors measure success by their personal sense of fulfillment in ministry. Missional pastors measure success by changed lives and changed communities.

I believe this to be true, not just about pastors, but with reference to individual followers of Jesus and congregations of believers as well. And I belief this applies to followers of Jesus who go by all different brand names. Many Christians and churches measure success according to individual satisfaction. The pastor feels comfortable in how he/she is spending time in ministry. People who come to worship have a sense of spiritual warmth and peace. The entire congregation and its leaders becomes content with doing things in certain ways that signal a message of predictability and equilibrium in the congregation. If everyone personally "feels good," then that means success.

Pastors, church leaders, and congregations who choose to be driven by making disciples of Jesus measure success differently. They are looking lives changed by Jesus. These persons and ministries gauge effectiveness as they see people baptized and beginning a relationship with Jesus, growing with other followers in commitment to Jesus, and engaging the ministries to which the Holy Spirit has called them and for which the Holy Spirit has equipped them. As Jesus followers take their new life into their homes, families, friendships, and workplaces, the change becomes exponential. Relationships change, marriages change, families change, friendships change, work lives change, the way people do business and deal with each other changes - and whole communities begin to change. This is what it means to succeed in fulfilling the Great Commission. (See Matthew 28:19 in the Bible.)

Which kind of church would most likely draw you? Think about that, and I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

What a "Kingdom Win" Looks Like

2011-01-31T17:09:00.003-06:00

Here's what leading people in new life with Jesus looks like:

Because of personal invitation, an individual with no church connection, whose feels the tug of turning God-ward, comes to worship. In the course of getting to know this individual, followers of Jesus discover a little bit about his life, his work, and the things that are important to him. He is an educator, with a passion for transforming young lives. He is concerned in particular for under-resourced children who start their public education pathway several steps behind children who happen to enter kindergarten with more resources and preparation available to them. From these conversations people begin to talk and pray and vision about how followers of Jesus could come alongside school systems and close that gap. A specific concept and vision for a ministry is born, and many church folks line up to provide hands on work, to provide funding, and to provide organization and resources. And new relationships are formed outside of the church walls through which Jesus may be experienced and known.

All because of one person welcomed into a worshipping gathering of Jesus-followers. This is happening right now in the congregation of which I am a part. Similar things are happening everywhere in congregations that are moving past just going through the motions of being "church," and are moving into the mainstream of God's heart for a lost and hurting world.

This is what a "win" for the Kingdom looks like. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Preparing to Meet the Real Me

2011-01-12T16:42:00.002-06:00

People in our community will soon be discovering "the real me" in the eyes of God, via a resource called The Me I Want to Be by John Ortberg. In preparation for that, the following prayer by Thomas Merton seemed appropriate:

"My Lord God, I do not know where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you actually does please you. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone."

In the name of Jesus, amen. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

An Adventure, Not A Safety-Net

2011-01-03T13:10:00.004-06:00

I heard a really good question this morning. "If being a Christian doesn't solve all my problems and make my life perfect, why would I want to be one?" First, this is a good observation. As much as the faith is sometimes marketed as nothing more than a quick fix for what ails you, that's not what it was for the first Jesus followers. Many of them faced unbelievable hardships while staying true to their commitment to Jesus.

Second, though, what is our motivation? Jesus does offer the relationship for which we are designed. All that separates us from God is forgiven and erased, and we look to an eternity with God. We get the strength and encouragement to deal with the ups and downs of life, anchored in the One who died and rose for us. All of this is true.

There's another motivation, though, that gets overlooked. We get to be a part of the adventure of a lifetime! I believe God has placed a hunger in us for quest, challenge, and epic journeys. Unfortunately, we've domesticated all that. We too often decide that the goal of life is sheltered safety, and we've boxed in and redefined faith in Jesus to support that. However, ours is a tale of great adventurers and risk-takers, from Paul to St. Francis of Assisi, to Martin Luther, to John Wesley, to Dietrich Bonhoeffer and more. Following Jesus is not about safety. It's about joining God in the adventure of a lifetime - the battle for the heart and soul of humanity.

What adventure will you and I pursue for and with God in 2011?

(Recommended reading on this, especially for men: Wild at Heart and Waking the Dead - both by John Eldridge, and The Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus)

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

The Permanence of Change

2010-12-30T11:11:00.003-06:00

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

2010-12-20T10:11:00.002-06:00

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

2010-12-14T12:50:00.004-06:00

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

2010-12-06T19:52:00.003-06:00

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

2010-12-01T20:21:00.002-06:00

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?

2010-11-22T13:25:00.002-06:00

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

2010-11-19T07:12:00.002-06:00

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!

2010-11-08T14:51:00.004-06:00

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

2010-11-05T11:23:00.004-05:00

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

2010-11-02T15:39:00.002-05:00

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

2010-10-29T09:18:00.004-05:00

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

2010-10-14T13:52:00.002-05:00

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

2010-09-28T07:31:00.002-05:00

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?

2010-09-22T05:38:00.003-05:00

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?

2010-09-13T10:20:00.002-05:00

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

2010-09-07T17:09:00.002-05:00

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

2010-09-02T16:46:00.002-05:00

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

2010-08-27T08:24:00.003-05:00

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

2010-08-25T16:43:00.002-05:00

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

2010-08-22T20:22:00.002-05:00

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

2010-08-20T20:00:00.002-05:00

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?

2010-08-17T16:36:00.003-05:00

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

2010-08-08T14:55:00.002-05:00

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

2010-08-01T14:44:00.002-05:00

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

2010-07-29T10:13:00.003-05:00

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

2010-07-25T21:31:00.002-05:00

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!

2010-07-20T20:32:00.002-05:00

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?

2010-07-18T15:19:00.002-05:00

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

2010-07-14T19:01:00.002-05:00

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

2010-07-10T12:54:00.003-05:00

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"

2010-07-07T20:26:00.003-05:00

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

2010-07-05T11:37:00.003-05:00

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?

2010-06-16T11:10:00.002-05:00

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?

2010-06-12T19:05:00.002-05:00

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

2010-06-08T20:10:00.003-05:00

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

2010-06-01T17:00:00.003-05:00

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.

2010-05-26T21:32:00.002-05:00

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!

2010-05-20T15:37:00.003-05:00

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

2010-05-18T15:39:00.002-05:00

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

2010-05-14T08:02:00.002-05:00

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

2010-05-11T09:54:00.003-05:00

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

2010-05-08T16:23:00.002-05:00

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?

2010-05-02T15:09:00.003-05:00

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?

2010-04-30T12:41:00.002-05:00

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

2010-04-26T15:25:00.004-05:00

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

2010-04-24T20:19:00.002-05:00

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

2010-04-22T14:33:00.002-05:00

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

2010-04-19T14:51:00.003-05:00

(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?

2010-04-16T15:45:00.003-05:00

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.

The Main Thing or the Gimmicks?

2010-04-12T20:16:00.002-05:00

I remember when major league baseball had a players strike a couple of decades ago. Baseball was in dire straights. Fan turned against both players and team owners. Some say that had Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals not closed in on and surpassed Roger Maris' single season home run record the nation would not have returned its interest to the supposed national pastime.

I think that was when owners and stadiums started to ramp up the entertainment value of what can be a slow sport. Jumbotrons became standard equipment in stadiums. Various contests and mini-shows filled the time between innings. At the stadium where I follow my favorite team, you can text messages that will show up for all the fans and God to see all around the infield. League officials assumed that if the entertaining add-ons were attractive enough, people would show up to games. That was the desired goal - get as many people as possible through the gates.

Now, closing out the first decade of a new millennium, the same rule has proven true that has governed baseball forever. People will follow a team that consistently wins. The goal is to win baseball games, playoffs, and World Series pennants. I am a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals. Across the state the Royals baseball club calls the Kansas City area home. Both teams do the same cheesy stuff between innings to entertain the fans - hot dog shoots, kiss-cams, guess the attendance, etc. One team packs their stadium on a regular basis. The other struggles to keep their stadium even half full. What's the difference? One team gets into the playoffs consistently and has ten World Series pennants in the outfield. That team doesn't depend on the attractive bait of entertainment draws. It depends on the main goal of baseball - winning games. Once that's in place, people will come.

It isn't much different in my world - the world of churches. Many, many churches and church leaders sweat and strain over the right combination of advertising, slick programming, entertainment value, and whatever will get people in the buildings. Not that there's anything wrong with this, but sometimes it can take the place of the main goal; connecting with the real Presence of a living, dynamic, life-transforming God. United Methodist pastor, author, and teacher Terry Teykl says, "While other churches are seeking more people, the Presence based church is seeking more of God." Such churches focus on the latter as the main thing, and, as a result, don't have to worry about the former.

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

In Defense of Shy People

2010-04-09T10:18:00.002-05:00

In my childhood years, back in the Jurassic era, shyness was regarded as some kind of a character flaw or at least a social hurdle to be leaped. Role models, heroes, leaders, and popular people were obvious extroverts. We presumed that life was easier for them. For the rest of us, we would have the added challenge of overcoming our natural inclination to not assert ourselves. For example, I attended a very large high school where a person could become relatively unknown easily. As a conscious choice I went to a small college where I would have better mathematics odds to become more socially involved and to be a campus leader.

I have no doubt that for some people shyness is some kind of interpersonal pathology. For most introverts, however, who and what they are is not some dysfunctional characteristic that needs correcting. It is, in fact, a personality type. Personality types are neither innately good or innately bad; they just are. (See instruments such as the Myers-Briggs assessment, the DISC, etc.) Some of us are designed to draw energy in life from within rather than outside of us. It doesn't mean we don't like people, nor does it mean that we should not push ourselves outside of our comfort zone from time to time in order to be more gregarious. However, nor does it mean that something is wrong with us when we are quiet for an extended time or perfectly content with our own company. There are advantages and challenges to every personality type. Introverted people have the disadvantage of not having the natural comfort in groups of people which is the blessing of extroverted people. Yet introverted people tend to not be a approval-needy as some extroverts can be, and a few deeper relationships comes more naturally to them than they do to extroverts.

Still, in many groups, processes, and organizations, we tend to presume an extrovert's world. Take my world, for example - the world of weekly worship in a church. If, for whatever reason, a person chooses to attend a worship service for the very first time, he or she is likely to enter a world that seems, on the surface, to be an extroversion extravaganza. (It isn't, really; but it will seem that way to someone who is new.) People are greeting one another like they've known each other all their lives. Familiar faces beam at the sight of familiar faces. Conversations seem to be continuations of familiar topics, as people clump together in their regular, weekly, interpersonal groups. In contrast to this, in many churches, the "guest" gets a smile, a bulletin or handout, a "thank you for coming; here's your seat" and that's it. An extrovert might get past all this, and push her or his way into the life of the congregation. For an introvert, you might as well put Mt. Everest in front of him/her and say, "Climb it alone. Good luck."

Just something about which to think. I'll see you around the next bend in the river. Or I might just paddle for while by myself. Don't take it personally, extroverts.

Saturday

2010-04-03T14:55:00.003-05:00

Followers of Jesus call the week before Easter Sunday "Holy Week." Depending on what tradition a person follows, every day of this week can have some meaning attached to it. Thursday commemorates Jesus' last meal before his execution, far as we know. Friday acknowledges the execution itself. Sunday is the day that Jesus-followers make the ridiculous, subversive claim that Jesus overpowered all earthly powers and his own death.

So, today is Saturday. What do we do with Saturday?!?

It's kind of a nothing day. Jesus death has happened and nothing that hints at his rising has taken place. What was that first Saturday like?

In some ways, Saturday is kind of a decision day. Most people in Jerusalem just went back to life as they knew it, after the brief fuss over Jesus' trial, punishment, and death ended. Even those who heard Jesus predict all that had happened pretty much gave up. And when the rumor went around that Jesus wasn't in his temporary burial place, only a few bought the unlikely story. Each Saturday before Easter is a decision day. I can decide to just go on with life as is. Even if I end up in a worship service tomorrow morning (out of guilt, duty, or the desire to see what everyone else is wearing for Spring), I'll just put in my time. "Jesus is risen...yeah, yeah - whatever." And I'll go home and have a nice dinner and maybe mow the lawn. Or, I can decide that if Jesus really pulled off the completely unexpected, then Jesus might just pull of the completely unexpected in me and in all the world. And, if the latter is what I decide, then nothing will be the same from this Easter on.

I wonder what I'll do? The Saturday before Easter...maybe a decision day. I'll see you around the next bend in the river...I guess.

Last Meal

2010-04-01T15:50:00.002-05:00

By tradition in some areas, imprisoned persons on death row receive a last meal of their request prior to their executions. What would you chose for a meal, if it was your last one? I guess I pick one with red meat and lots of fried stuff. I'm at the age where I have to watch my cholesterol level constantly, and I don't imagine that would matter, with only hours to live anyway. Who would you want to be present with you at your last meal? If you could pick a special occasion for your last meal, what would it be? Christmas? Thanksgiving? Superbowl Sunday?

This particular day (the Thursday before Easter Sunday) is a day when some Jesus-followers remember what was Jesus' last meal, as far as we know. Supposedly Jesus knew it was his last meal. Having already eaten a formal meal, Jesus chose broken up bread and a little wine for his last meal. He gathered an interesting crowd to share the meal with him; among them a revolutionary terrorist, several unemployed commercial fishermen, an unpopular tax man, and someone who swore allegiance to Jesus, but who would deny ever having met him within hours. In addition Jesus invited the man who would set up Jesus' arrest, and Jesus knew it was already a done deal. Jesus shared his last meal with the man who would set the stage for Jesus' execution. Jesus chose a holiday meal setting for his last dinner. This particular meal celebrated a liberation of Jesus' ethnic group centuries before. It was a liberation that would come at great cost. Jesus was hours away from paying a great price himself.

The peculiar thing about Jesus' last meal is that it's not done yet. People keep gathering for it, and they've done it continually for twenty centuries. Some have the meal every day, some have it once a week, some once a month, and some a couple of times a year - but they all keep having it. Some use wine and little wafers, the consistency of cake ice cream cones. Some us grape juice and bread. Imprisoned people have been known to use colored water and cracker crumbs. But they still continue this meal. Some believe the day will come when the meal finally comes to a culmination. On that day, all who have had the humility, the audacity, the insanity, the courage, or whatever to stake their existence on Jesus will finish the meal at a great victory banquet. Jesus himself will be the host.

That's what they say, anyway. Interesting concept for a last meal. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

What Do You Expect This Sunday?

2010-03-29T15:16:00.003-05:00

A woman named Mary went to a grave site early one morning. She wanted to see the temporary burial site of a dear friend. Her friend had been executed for a capital crime. Mary's friend's body had been stored in an available space for a time while everyone had a couple of days off because of a religious holiday. Reports vary regarding what Mary expected to do there. Some say she went there that morning with a couple of other women; other's think maybe she was alone. A couple of people said she went there to offer help in getting her friend's body ready for a permanent burial. Maybe she just went there to cry for a while.

In any event, Mary expected certain things. She expected that she'd need help if she wanted to see her friend's body one last time. She expected she'd have to cower to get help, especially from any men that might be there. (Mary had something of a bad reputation according to some people.) She expected that good people are often forgotten in spite of the good they do. And she expected that dead people stay dead. And after they die, life just plods on as usual.

Nothing that Mary expected happened that morning.

If you've already decided that Easter 2010 will be pretty much like Easter 2009, whether you make your way to some place of worship or just spend the day helping kids find chocolate eggs, then you really haven't done Easter. Sorry. If, however, you are one of the few who approach this Sunday with the realization that everything you expected is about to be turned upside down, then you will be closer to Mary's experience and the impact of the resurrection day than you know.

Jesus Died and Rose to make us Bored and Tired?

2010-03-27T07:52:00.003-05:00

When I started this blog, 224 posts ago, I said it was for people who see faith as an adventure. I realize that many people believe adventure has nothing to do with faith. Rather, they see faith as a kind of dependability and predictability; a safe port when life becomes a raging sea. I get that, and I respect it. Certainly faith has an anchoring dimension.

However, I believe that faith as a safe haven alone risks becoming lifeless, routine, and stale. I believe we have within us a natural desire for adventure, the unknown, or a journey that has something that will take our breath away. I know people who will pay money to be terrified and thrilled by some kind of virtual-terror ride at a Six Flags park, yet who would not be motivated to attend a church worship service for free. I know folks who will stand in a football stadium for three hours in the freezing rain to watch their favorite team, yet a drizzle will keep them away from the nearest Christian place of worship. Why is that? I don't think it has much to do with believing or not believing, being "saved" or being a "pagan," or anything having to do with the beliefs of those who claim to be Jesus-followers. I think it has more to do with a hunger for excitement, for some level of risk that will challenge us, for joining with others in an adventure that has purpose.

I'm finally reading John Eldredge's 2001 book, Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul. Eldredge has observed many different Christian congregations with many different brand names. He notes that he sees many churches filled with nice guys, but guys who seem...well, frankly - bored. He also observes churches filled with woman who work hard in the church, and should be admired for that. However, most of them seem, frankly, tired. Eldredge says that someone outside the faith might look at most worshippers in churches and conclude that Jesus died and rose again to make us bored and tired. If that's the case, no wonder most denominations are declining.

This is the week before Easter Sunday. It should be anything but boring and tiring. This is about the greatest of adventures...a man who willingly wades into the environment that will make him face greater pain than he can imagine in the insane hope that there is something more powerful on the other side. We who say we follow Jesus must stop trying to domesticate this event and we must let it be the run-wild adventure it is.

Rapids ahead. Think we'll make it through? I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Health Care Reform

2010-03-23T18:02:00.002-05:00

Contrary to what both sides of the aisle in Washington claim, health care reform in the United States is not a simple "either/or" matter. It's complex, as evidenced by the bill itself, which is so impossibly long that virtually no one has read it. The right wing has legitimate concerns about an increasingly powerful and over-bearing role played by the Federal government. How did we feel when the government tried to take over rail transportation? How do we feel about the management and operation of the Postal Service or the Internal Revenue Service, or anything else the government runs? However, the right wing makes a false presumption; that the free market process will govern itself and create health care opportunities. A free market does not guarantee a level playing field. For us it has guaranteed a market "middle-man" (HMO's, etc.). The free market has allowed a situation in which insurance companies and other economic interests are making health-care decisions, rather than physicians, hospitals, and patients.

The left wing has noted rightly the disparities that exist. However, I really don't see any plan other than the old, tired, liberal tax-and-spend approach. The solution needs to be deeper than "throw made-up money at it!" It's a systemic matter, the needs of which far outstretch just another government mandate. Frankly, I'm tired of watching the childish back-and-forth in congress. I see better, more respectful human behavior in the first grade classes our daughter teaches. (The two party is a dinosaur, in my opinion, anyway. What this country needs is a new, genuine populist movement, but that's a subject for another post.)

Anyway, I remember from history classes that at one time in this country health care for those who could not provide it was offered by faith-based groups. For example, the nationally renowned research facility, Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis began as a Methodist mission. Maybe part of the problem is that we of the faith community have abdicated part of our responsibility and calling. Jesus, the one whom many of us follow, said something about, "As you did it to the least of these..."

For what it's worth (which is next to nothing), my thoughts on health care reform. Next post: Did Jesus die on a cross just to make us nice?!? I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Original Sin - Last Word

2010-03-21T20:54:00.002-05:00

So what about children in talking about this concept of "original sin"? That's a good question. How could anybody look at a newborn child and think of anything "sinful" being associated with such an innocent creature? We were recently blessed with newborn twin grandsons. I don't look at these two little boys and think anything about "original sin."

Someone once described original sin as being born without an immunity to a disease with which we will ultimately be afflicted. Such a condition doesn't make a person innately "bad" as much as it makes a person susceptible in some inevitable way.

My wife and I thought about our granddaughters, 3 1/2 years old and fifteen months old. Both are sweet creatures, filled with love and testimonies to the goodness of God. At some point both girls have been taught about things they are not to do...mess with the buttons on the TV or computer, touch something hot, climb on to something dangerous, etc. Inevitably they both have defied such directions, knowing fully that they are doing so. I know all the explanations of self-differentiation, boundary testing, and so on. Still, at some level and to varying degrees, something bubbles up in the best of children that pushes them to do even what they know is not in their best interest to do. Where does this, "all the rules are determined by me," phenomenon surface in the humans species in ways that it does not in other creatures of the earth? Some would say that if this does not define original sin, it at least points us in its direction. What begins as reaching for a forbidden knob with a sly look toward one's parents just gets more sophisticated as we age. It can become self-centeredness or it can become altruism which masks a secret addiction to praise. It can become violent, or it can become a controlling approach to relationships. It can become apathy, bigotry, deceit, duplicity or despair. None of us, not even the "best" of us, fully escape it in one form or another. Rescue can only come from beyond.

That's my thought. What's yours? I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Original Sin Continued

2010-03-16T16:56:00.003-05:00

Take a piece of paper and draw a vertical line down the middle. At the top of the line write "God," however and whatever you imagine God to be. At the bottom write the name of the worst, most evil person of whom you know in human history...Adolf Hitler, Pol Pot, Osama bin Laden...whoever would represent that to you. On that continuum, with God at the top of the line and human evil personified at the bottom, where would you put a serial killer or a child molester? Probably close to the bottom. Where would you put Tiger Woods? That depends on how you view the disclosure of Tiger's personal indiscretions. Probably not as low as the serial killer or child molester, but maybe not in the top half. Where would you put yourself? Many people would put themselves around halfway between or a little above. Where would you put someone of demonstrated Christian faith, like evangelist Billy Graham, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, or Rick Warren who wrote The Purpose Driven Life? Many might put any of them closer to the top, though not at the top of the line. Those very Jesus-followers would say that there is a huge gap between them and where God is. So even the most faithful followers would say there is still a gap between where they are and where God is, on a continuum representing God at one end and evil at the other.

Original sin is a way of trying to describe that gap, and the realization that even the very best of us can't close that gap. Only the One at the top can do that. Followers of Jesus believe that's what Jesus did and does.

How does that strike you? I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Original Sin?

2010-03-14T14:41:00.003-05:00

Recently someone said to me that she was uncomfortable with the idea of original sin. Now there's a phrase you don't hear much in everyday conversation. Seminary students and church pastors may throw it at each other, and if you attend a Christian worship service you might hear it mentioned once in a while. In general, original sin is meaningless pair of words to most people in North American cultures.

Without getting into detail, original sin is a way of explaining or describing why we are the way we are. Some people of faith believe that human beings are evil, inherently. Just because we are born homo sapien, we are creatures who seek constantly that which is self-serving to us and destructive to others. If that's the case, how do you explain selfless people such as Mother Teresa of Calcutta? Other faithful people claim that human beings are inherently good, even reflecting the image of God. All we need to do to overcome evil and destruction is just to be better people. If that's the case, why do our best efforts at Utopian existence always collapse into conflict and devastation?

For me, neither of the previous explanations suffice. The upcoming metaphor breaks down quickly, but the overall concept helps me. We are like creatures who are created good, but who have some kind of deficiency within us, which we have brought upon ourselves, which we do not have the power to overcome. For example, just by being born human we are susceptible, among other things, to polio. No amount of good deeds, good behavior, good intentions, or good feelings will overcome this inability. Without outside intervention, polio could get us. We need someone with power and skills beyond us to get us the vaccine. Similarly, just by being born human we are susceptible, inevitably, to all that would separate us from the One who made us, who loves us, and who have a plan for our lives. We cannot overcome that gap on our own. No amount of good deeds, good behavior, good intentions, and good feelings will do. It will take an intervention from beyond.

That's one weak attempt at describing original sin. In my next post (probably Tuesday) I will show you a simple exercise that will do a better job of demonstrating it. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Ruthless Trust

2010-03-11T10:46:00.002-06:00

When our daughter was nine years old, we found out quite suddenly that we had to move to a new location, and we had to be relocated in two weeks. She was devastated by the news, and flew into a hysterical, tear-filled rage. "Why are you doing this to me?!?" "I don't want to leave my friends! I don't want to go to a new school!" "This is ruining my life! I don't understand why we have to go!" No explanation of the nature of my work would help her. As far as she was concerned, the worst had happened, and there was no viable explanation for it.

Maybe you've had experience like that...I don't mean moving suddenly, necessarily; rather any situation that hit you like the worst possible scenario, and no reasonable explanation was available. You were faithful to a relationship, and still you got burned. You were loyal to a good cause, and you got shunned. You were dedicated and diligent, and still you failed.

Whatever you believe or don't believe about the man called Jesus of Nazareth, he faced the worst. He was betrayed by one of his own. Those who claimed loyalty to him abandoned him. One who said he would be Jesus' best friend forever ended up saying, "Jesus? I don't know any stinking Jesus!" He was humiliated and beaten, and eventually executed. All the while he spoke about and tried to practice trust in the outcome. A favorite author of mine, Brennan Manning calls this "ruthless trust." It is trust that refuses to be dissuaded by the slithering voices and forces around it; trust that holds firm in spite of every impulse to abandon it.

I guess somewhere in our family's transition years ago, our daughter found some reason to trust the pathway, in spite of her loss and grief. We lived 12 years in our new location. Our daughter made friends she has kept for life. She graduated from high school there. She has returned to this town to live and work there. She met her husband there. They've had their three children there. Sometimes ruthless trust works out, it seems.

What's the source for that kind of trust? Think about that. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Who Has Your Back?

2010-03-09T08:29:00.002-06:00

If you saw the popular film Forrest Gump many years ago, you'll remember the scene in which Forrest is serving in Vietnam, and his platoon comes under sudden sniper fire. "Lieutenant Dan" orders the unit to fall back immediately, as many GI's drop by Viet Cong fire. Being a prolific runner, Forrest makes it to a clearing and helicopter landing zone before anyone else. He then realizes his friend Bubba isn't with him. Forrest then races back into the jungle looking for his buddy. En route he finds several fellow soldiers on the ground and wounded. One by one he hoists them on his back and runs them to safety. Included among those rescued is their leader, Lieutenant Dan, who orders Gump to stay put and not run back into enemy fire. Nevertheless, Forrest takes off running, shouting, "I got to save Bubba!!" He does find Bubba and carries him to safety, only to have Bubba die in his arms.

When you come under fire in life, who would do that for you? Who has your back when the world around you delivers its worst? Who would be the one who would make sure you don't die alone? For whom would you race into the jungle, with bullets whizzing by all around you?

Some say that the one called Jesus made the ultimate rescue run under fire. They say he did it for each of us. According to the story, it cost him his life. In my observation people don't become followers of Jesus because of doctrines, church styles, the preaching skills of church leaders, music, etc. All of that stuff matters, but it's not the deal-maker or deal-breaker. Lives change because people experience what Jesus did in other people. They meet folks who have their back, and who would run into the jungle under fire for them, no matter what.

Who has your back? I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Is It Worth It?

2010-03-06T10:40:00.003-06:00

Many of us come to points of life wherein we wonder, "Is it worth it?" Athletes drive themselves to exhaustion to accomplish goals that few will realize, wondering if it is worth it all. People in vocations that serve other people give of the best of caring hearts, only to get kicked in the teeth and discouraged over and over again. Folks trying to exercise and lose weight try to make all kinds of lifestyle changes, only to lose a pound or two. Parents do all they can to shape their children's character and values, and the kids still wander down dangerous paths. Students try to get their ACT scores up to a number that will impress good colleges, they take the test over and over, and the score doesn't budge. Is it worth it?

The man known as Jesus of Nazareth had a goal in his life. It was not a goal for his personal benefit. It was a goal that would change the destiny of all humanity. Consider some of the things he had to face to get the task accomplished. He had to work his way out of the constrictions of a lower class hometown. He had to survive a forty day period in a barren desert region. When he went back to visit his hometown, they threw him out. Some people were threatened by him everywhere he went. One of his best friends betrayed him. He was arrested on trumped up charged. He was beaten and whipped within and inch of his life. At the moment of his execution, everyone but his mother and a couple of his closest friends abandoned him. Surely along the way he wondered, "Is it worth it?"

Yet with every barrier and discouragement in his way, including his own grisly death, Jesus aimed at his goal anyway. He did so even if it would make no difference to anyone. What would drive a person to do such a think. Think about that. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Muslim-hating

2010-02-28T16:41:00.003-06:00

I will probably get myself in a great deal of trouble with this post. I won't make anyone happy, I don't imagine. People who want all religions to coexist as equals will not be pleased with what follows. Neither will those who see Islam as the next great scourge of our planet. I apologize for that in advance. I have to speak as the Holy Spirit leads my heart. I see the elements of a gathering storm that I find ominous.

The storm is the rise of Muslim-hating by the largely Caucasian west. People of Islamic faith are being seen as the new deadly threat to life as we know it. (I guess we've been struggling to find a bogey-man for our cultural fears since Communism fell apart.) Seriously, I am well aware that violence seems endemic to many people who embrace Islamic faith. The threats resulting from this fanaticism are quite real, and I know that. It's important, though, that we realize that Islam as a whole is as diverse as those who slap the label "Christian" on themselves. The various sects of Islam can't even agree on the meaning of the word jihad, which we presume means "holy war" or "death to infidels." (As best I can tell, the root meaning of the word seems to be "to persevere.")

Followers of Jesus do not have the luxury of either a universalist approach to those of the Muslim faith or a blanket judgement of them. We too conveniently forget scriptures that command us to pray for our enemies and to bless those who persecute us. In our checkered history, true evangelization has been weakest and most shallow when "Christians" are motivated primarily by fear and hate. Witness the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the Salem Witch Trials, etc. Conversely, we are strongest when we stand faithfully and lovingly in the face of opposition, even if it means our martyrdom, as in the first two centuries of the movement's existence.

I once played coed church volleyball in a YMCA league. One of our regular referees was an Iranian expatriot with an Islamic background. He once asked members of our team if we could explain this Jesus to him. Had we dismissed him as a faceless part of a monolithic threat, we would have never had the chance to do so.

Worldwide, Islam is a rapidly growing movement. Instead of jumping to a defensive posture in the face of threat, maybe we who follow Jesus should be asking why this is the case? To what are people drawn and what kind of people are drawn? How have we not offered the living Jesus in a compelling way that could counter the works-righteousness approach of Muslim faith?

I never trust collective demonizing. It usually says less about a presumed enemy and more about where we as the followers of Jesus are coming up short. Just my thoughts...I accept and respect varying opinions. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Cheap, Plentiful Labor

2010-02-24T08:45:00.003-06:00

Again, I apologize for not posting in a while. See my Facebook page for an explanation.

Sometimes when I'm running early in the morning I listen to "The Big Show" on the radio. "The Big Show" is a redneck-leaning, humorous, classic rock* format, originating in Charlotte, North Carolina. Each day the show features commentary by their curmudgeon-in-residence, Robert D. Raiford. I just caught the last half of Raiford's rant today. He talked about cheap, plentiful labor, and how dominant economic powers have sought this all throughout history. Raiford noticed that this effort always seems to sew the seeds of its own destruction. As a case in point, he noted the Old South in our country's history. The southern, hierarchical social structure and economy needed a cheap, plentiful labor force to make sure that cotton stayed king. Slaves provided that. The system worked to keep the labor force uneducated, docile, and prolific in procreation. External and internal forces, though, created the collapse of this system.

I've thought about this all morning. What Raiford observed is true. No dominant power dependent on a controlled, contained, plentiful labor force lasts. History proves it time after time: Egypt and Hebrew slaves, the Roman empire and conquered populations, the era of British colonialism, the French Revolution, the Third Reich, the Soviet Union, etc. China has become an economic power, largely built on a massive internal cheap labor force. How long will that last? How long will the United States reap the benefits of wearing clothing that is produced by virtual wage slaves in places in the world where labor laws don't apply? Sooner or later, such systems will collapse. Raiford reminded me that history teaches this.

Why does this happen? I'm sure many people see political, economic, and social reasons. I believe there's a bigger dynamic in play. Human beings, all human beings are created in the image of God. Every person drawing breath is worth the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God in human form. To treat any human being as any less than this is to defy the very Creator of the universe. How long would we think any such defiance would be allowed to last?

Just something about which to think. Some this Friday, Saturday, or Sunday I want to share a post giving my thoughts about the growing hysteria over the spread of Islam. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

*classic rock - A Baby-boomer euphemism for "oldies."

We're Already Engaged!

2010-02-17T21:06:00.002-06:00

I kind of like a movie made in 2003 called Tears of the Sun. It's about a team of U.S. Navy seals sent into Nigeria during a period of Civil War and genocide in order the extract a doctor from danger. Bruce Willis played the commander of the seal team (known to his soldiers as "L.T." for lieutenant) and Monica Belluci played the doctor. She refuses to leave unless the team also aids the escape of the people connected with her clinic. At one point, working their way to safety, the soldiers and refugees come upon a valley in which villagers are systematically being tortured and killed by marauding militiamen. L.T.'s soldiers suggest they lead the team around the valley, since the Seals are clandestine and not supposed to be involved directly in the internal conflict. Instead, L.T. orders snipers to take positions against the militiamen, and prepared to organize an assault and a rescue of the remaining villagers. In shock, one of the sergeants says, "L.T.!...Rules of engagement!" reminding him of the legalities of their situation. L.T. looks back at him sternly and says, "We're already engaged."

That is to say, if we know about it and have the means to do something about it, we're engaged.

When did the Church, the Body of Christ become insulated? When did we develop the tendency to say, "It doesn't affect us directly, so we're not involved"? When did we become more concerned with the thermostat setting in our comfortable sanctuaries than with those within sight of our buildings who will go to bed hungry? When did our hearts start burning more for whether or not the bills were paid than for whether or not lost people had the chance to meet Jesus? When did we decide God's job is to see to our personal comfort rather than to discomfort us so our eyes will open to the needs of those whom God loves?

We don't have the right to debate whether or not we will engage the world outside the walls of our church buildings. We exist, and we exist in God's world. We're already engaged. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This

2010-02-13T21:15:00.002-06:00

On Wednesday night I enjoyed the humbling blessing and privilege of baptizing a friend. I met him about a year ago during a weather emergency in our area. He's a tough individual, having survived some rough territory in his life. I could tell when I first met him, though, that this was someone whose heart was in the grip of God. And he's become a loyal friend. He chose to be baptized in the name of Jesus, and he asked two of our closest friends in Christ to join with us as witnesses. It was a glorious moment. I'm not sure if he will end up at our church, but it doesn't matter. He has Jesus-follower friends who will walk with him and have his back in this faith journey.

I have seen more in three decades of pastoral ministry than I ever thought I would see. I have served better churches than I ever thought I would receive. I have been involved in four church building programs. I have served in public office and in positions of denominational leadership. I have been blessed with various recognitions and done a little bit of publishing. I have traveled the nation and even a little bit of the world as a result of my ministry. And all of this completely pales in comparison to moments like Wednesday night. If I was given the choice between everything noted in this paragraph and more and one more occasion to see a friend kneel and receive Christ, I would take the latter in a heartbeat!

Nothing, and I mean nothing compares to the victory of one more person embraced in the arms of Jesus. That's where my heart is; by the grace of God alone, and not by anything I generate.

Thanks be to God. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

A Deficit of Trust

2010-02-11T07:28:00.003-06:00

A wise friend of mine noted a phrase President Barack Obama used during his recent State of the Union address. The President spoke of "a deficit of trust." I think he's on to something, regardless of any individual political preferences. The two major political parties display an essential distrust of one another. Republicans and Democrats are beyond having differing approaches to the common goal of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all Americans. Republicans believe the Democrats are out to create a big government, socialist state. Democrats assume all Republicans aim to protect those of power and means at the expense of the working class and the poor. In addition, we see an erosion of trust between the average citizen and those in leadership positions. As my friend suggested, from Watergate, to Monica Lewinsky, and through non-existent weapons of mass destruction, confidence is evaporating.

In his fascinating book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable, Patrick Lencioni suggests that the foundational dysfunction of any group is the absence of trust. This holds true for anything from a committee, to a small business, to a corporation, to a faith community, to a nation. A deficit of trust is indicative of many things: lack of a common mission and vision, the needs of individuals overriding the main goal of the group, egotistic power plays, etc.

I believe this holds true, at least in gatherings of Jesus-followers. I'm familiar with a number of congregations. In the congregations that have the most health and success at making new disciples, the disciple-making mission is clear and it drives everything the group does. Ego needs take a back seat to overall fulfillment of the mission. Everyone knows his/her role in the movement, and works to trust everyone else to fulfill their roles. Involvement is less about what I get out of it, and more about what I put into it.

So again, whether your are a Republican or a Democrat, or an Independent voter like me, the President may have pin-pointed the issue. It's not about which ideology prevails. It's deeper than that. The question is whether we can rebuild a basic trust that, though we may differ in methodology, we are all aiming for the same goal.

I'll see you around the next bend in the river. (Trout season opens in the Missouri state impoundments in 18 days!)

Follower-Ship

2010-02-05T19:11:00.002-06:00

The topic of leadership is a hot one these days, for good reason. Times are changing. Governments, businesses, markets, not-for-profits, churches and faith-based operations all face a serious crossroads. Human entities of all kinds must reconnect with their primary mission and transform methodology. If they fail to do so, and if they doggedly make existing methodology their goal, they will doom themselves to irrelevance and oblivion. Leaders are needed to chart the course through these unknown and potentially dangerous waters.

So, leadership is the topic of study. In my field, the mission of the Body of Jesus Christ, leadership is not what it once was. Leaders of churches (pastors) at one time tended to inspiring weekly messages, regular visitation of membership, spending time with the sick and dying, solving all problems of the church, and that sort of thing. Now pastors must keep the congregation focused on the primary mission of making new disciples of Jesus, cast a clear and compelling vision of addressing that mission, select and train leadership within the congregation, and keep the congregation more focused outward than inward. For many of us, that means a necessary reshaping of our leadership skills and focus. This is vitally important. An organization or movement will only be as strong and effective as the vision, impact, and influence of the leadership. No well informed person would deny this principle.

However, there's another side to leadership. A friend of mine directs a not-for-profit mission. She is working diligently to keep her organization focused on it's primary goal. To accomplish this, she is seeking to be the best leader she can be. She reads, she spends time on-line, she observes other outreach organizations, she receives critical coaching, and she participates in all manner of on-going transformation of her role as a leader. She does this willingly and eagerly. However, in a moment of fatigue the other day, she asked a disarming question..."How many books do I have to read to change them?" That's a good question. True the leader of any organization has to be at his or her best, and work constantly to maintain that. However, are those who are to be lead merely inert objects waiting for the right motivation? At some point, are we who are called to follow not individuals with moral responsibility and choice making capacity.

While he presented a compelling vision, and embodied that vision, I don't think Jesus forced following on anyone. In fact, at the crucial pinnacle of his embodiment of the vision, the cross, only one of his closest followers was still with him, and then possibly only there out of obligation to take care of Jesus' mother. At some point he had done all he could do, and it was up to those before whom he cast the vision to decide if they were compelled to follow him and it, or if it was some kind of a divine hoax to be ignored.

I'm not making excuses for leaders. If leaders don't do what they do with excellence, there's no hope of followers. I just wonder if in addition to developing leadership we need to develop "follower-ship."

I'll see you around the next bend in the river. Hopefully it won't be as long a stretch next time.

Somebody Else's Family Reunion

2010-01-22T17:46:00.003-06:00

Ron is one of the smartest Jesus-followers I know. He is the founding and lead pastor of the largest and fastest growing church in our region. Starting in a movie theater over two decades ago, this church has a stellar record of making new disciples for Jesus. Ron and I facilitate a learning experience for pastors who want to move their congregations farther away from maintenance (just taking care of our own) to mission (reaching people living far from God). He lead the session this month. During his teaching he made two astute observations.

First he noted that most churches are friendly. I remember that from doing evangelism consultations in several churches in years gone by. I would ask people, "What is the one characteristic of your church that would be attractive to new people?" Without exception, folks in every congregation would say, "Well, we're a friendly church." Then Ron pointed out that most churches are friendly among themselves. Warm welcomes and inviting conversations happen among the people who already know each other and who see each other on a weekly basis. Ron notes that people who are seeking a faith connection and a church connection aren't looking for a friendly church. They are looking for a church where they can quickly and easily make friends. They want to be welcomed into relationships through which they can experience God, not just given a flurry of welcome as newcomers, then otherwise dismissed.

Second, he observed that going to most churches as a newcomer is like going to someone else's family reunion. That observation is simply brilliant! By intention I spend a good deal of time as a first time visitor in many congregations. I experience excellent worship services, with solid preaching. I meet good, faithful people, serving God in meaningful ways. But I usually find myself in the middle of relationships that are already in place, stories that are already known by everyone but me, inside jokes and meanings of which I am unaware - all the stuff that family members know, but strangers do not. No one intends to make people feel left out, but it happens.

Any church can be friendly. It takes commitment and work to be a congregation where new people can make friends. Any church can be like an on-going family reunion. It takes passionate intent to be a family whose primary focus is to adopt others. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Unity

2010-01-19T09:48:00.004-06:00

As before, keep up all the help you can give to Haiti.

We're in the midst of A Week of Prayer for Christian Unity; January 18-25 on the calendar of many mainline denominations. So, do you have your Christian Unity decorations up at your house? Did you get all your Christian Unity presents and cards bought and sent? Probably not. In addition to being placed in the worst possible calendar marketing position (right after the Christmas holiday season!), the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is not high on any one's radar, not even most church folks.

What would it mean for Christians to be unified anyway? Does it mean we all compromise and get along? Does it mean we tolerate each other in the Christian family? Does in mean that everyone should believe one particular way...specifically, the way that I believe?!? Back in the Jurassic Era, when I was in college, a certain song became popular. They lyrics included these lines:
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord.
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord.
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored.
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love.
Yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love.

We Baby-Boomers are hilarious. We still think of this song as being contemporary and cutting edge, forgetting that the song (like us) is over half a century old! We still sing it imagining we're wearing beads, patched jeans, and tie-dyed T-shirts, while our children and grandchildren hear this some as something about two years older than the invention of dirt. Still, the lyrics have managed to capture the source of Christian unity. Christian unity is not about us, whether we're carefully guarding the hymns and traditions of the church, or we're gathered around a guitar having one big old "Kum-ba-yah" group hug. As Jesus prayed for his immediate followers shortly before his death, he prayed not only for them, but for all of us whose lives would be changed forever because of Him and those who witnessed to His love and power. "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word...that they may be completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." (from John 17:20-23.)

Our purpose is not to be unified just for the warm feelings of being unified. Our purpose is to be unified for the purpose of making disciples and transforming the world. If you are a Jesus-follower, is this unity reflected in the worship, ministry, and outreach of your congregation? If you are not a Jesus-follower, do you see any place where this kind of unity is reflected among Jesus followers?

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

Help Haiti, Period!

2010-01-15T08:58:00.002-06:00

Short and to the point today, which is unusual for me, I know. Help Haiti! Do whatever you can, participate wherever you can, give as much as you can. If you are a part of a fellowship of Jesus-followers who have relief funding channels and/or have aid personnel on the ground in Port-au-Prince, find a way to give support immediately. For those of you who are United Methodist Jesus-followers, the United Methodist Committee on Relief number is Advance #418325. Urge your pastors and congregations to take special offerings this weekend!

I'm sure his intentions are sincere, but Pat Robertson of the 700 Club has not helped this effort at all. While he has asked that relief money for Haiti to be sent to the 700 Club, (I advise against this; dollars given through other Christian sources are more efficient), he has claimed to be privy to the reason Haiti has suffered not only the earthquake, but other hardships in their history. Robertson stated as fact that in the early 1800's Haitian rebels make a pact with the devil in order to throw off the yoke of the French colonialists. In the first place, how does he know this? I could just as easily make a public statement claiming that the Pittsburg Steelers made a pact with the devil in order to win the Superbowl. Second, what difference does it make why people are suffering? There's no evidence that Jesus made the cause of a person's suffering a condition on which He might or might not extend love and grace. If a person was possessed of demons, Jesus liberated him. If a person was sick for whatever reason, Jesus healed her. If a woman was guilty of adultery, Jesus forgave her. God is a transforming God in addition to being a saving God, to be sure. However, the order is clear - help, heal, rescue, save first; transform later. The grace-filled compassion of God comes first; no evaluating, just forgiving and saving.

I don't believe Haitian freedom fighters made a pact with Satan, but what if they did? Am I supposed to believe God isn't more powerful than that? Do I really think there haven't been Haitians since who have given their lives to Jesus the Christ and lived as real followers? Would that pact 200 or so years ago be any less a since that Jesus-followers in North American who buy products every day made by virtual slave labor in foreign countries so the profit margin will be higher? Paul said all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God...

Never believe a preacher when he/she says it's going to be short and sweet. Just help Haiti, period. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Get Over It!

2010-01-11T13:52:00.003-06:00

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. My wife faced a health situation that started on Christmas Day, resulting in two hospitalizations and a surgery. She's home now and recuperating well. My thanks to many of you for your thoughts, prayers, and demonstrations of love and support.

Much is being made of Fox News analyst Brit Hume's comments concerning Tiger Woods. I didn't see or hear the discussion, but apparently Hume suggested that Tiger might deal with his current life dilemmas by connecting with Jesus. It has created the usual storm of protest from the left and the resultant normal indignant reaction from those on the right. And, as usual, it serves to widen the chasm between genuine followers of Jesus and those whom Jesus has called us to love and reach. Lord have mercy, this dance gets tiring.

So, I here do publicly proclaim myself officially off this ridiculous dance floor. And here are my parting words to both camps, not that either party particularly cares...

TO BRIT HUME'S CRITICS: Get over it. Believe it or not, there are followers of Jesus who simply want other human beings to have access to the relationship through which we have found purpose and healing. It's not because we think we're better than anyone; far from it. We know that in God's eyes we are no different than Tiger or anyone else. We've simply discovered that God doesn't seek to judge or condemn us, but instead God seeks to reach us, love us, heal us, and send us into the world to offer the same to others. Like it or not, we're the only faith focused on someone who is fully God and fully human in one person, who died a literal human death, and who was raised in victory. It makes no logical sense, and we know that. We didn't seek Him; He sought us, and His seeking is open to everyone. We're not shutting up about it, we're not going away, and we're not watering it down for the sake of tolerance. Deal with it.

TO BRIT HUME'S CRITICS CRITICS: Get over it. Every time our faith faces public criticism, too many of us act out in righteous indignation. And, because of that, we're known to many people living far from God as a holier-than-thou bunch of whiners. Where in the world did we get the idea that governments, schools, and cultures owe support of Christian proclamation, teaching, and values?!? Is Mark 13:9-13 not in your Bibles? Study history. The first followers of Jesus had no governmental or societal support. They didn't whine about it. They went about the business of fulfilling the great commission of Matthew 28:19, against unbelievable odds. And, "day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved." (Acts 2:47) Historically, fervor of spirit and evangelizing blazes when the movement is under pressure or attack, and sags when the movement has official support. If we put half as much energy into offering Jesus to the lost and hurting as we do into reacting every time the faith is attacked publicly, our churches would be bursting at the seems, and Jesus followers would be too busy doing hands on ministry to whine about anything. It's a "first century" world now. Deal with it.

Okay, I'm done. Dance away if you want to. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Christmas Clothes

2009-12-26T10:44:00.004-06:00

So, how many of you are wearing clothing gifts right now that you received as Christmas gifts? Right or wrong, what we wear says something about us. For example, if you have that gift item on right now, it says you really like it, or guilt has driven you to wear it even though you don't like it. It may say something regarding how you feel about the person who gave it to you. I know we'd heard it said that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Jesus-followers believe that God looks to the heart, and not to that which is presented on the exterior. Still, how we clothe ourselves can be an extension of who we are and what we want to communicate.

In the letters of a Jesus-follower called Paul there are numerous references to "clothing" as a symbol of what the world sees in us as followers of Jesus. When Paul uses phrases like, "put off...put on..." he's likely referring to the use of clothing in the experience known as baptism. In many early Christian communities persons preparing to be baptized shed their clothes as a symbol of putting off their old lives apart from Jesus. Then they were baptized naked, representing coming to Jesus with nothing, and depending fully on his grace. (I wonder if we'd have more baptisms or fewer baptisms in our church if we baptized people naked?!? Probably shouldn't think about it too much...) As those baptized arose from the water, they would have a new, clean robe put on them, representing their new life in relationship with God through Jesus the Christ.

As recorded in the Bible, (Colossians 3:12-17) Paul reminds Jesus-followers that they are holy (set apart for a special purpose) and beloved (unconditionally loved, chosen, and called.) As such, they should clothe themselves in compassion (affinity with those who suffer, as Jesus suffered for us), humility (willingness to serve, as Jesus came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life for us), gentleness (the opposite of arrogance and self-assertion, as Jesus yielded God-status to accept human form), patience (the ability to withstand insult without retaliation, as Jesus endured the cross), and, above all love (agape - self-sacrificing, God-like, other-focused love).

Amid the new clothes of Christmas, are those of us who claim Jesus wearing the clothing that matters? I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Lynching - Revisited

2009-12-21T20:18:00.002-06:00

On December 7 I posted that I saw what appeared to be a mock lynching portrayed in a yard alongside an area highway. Taking the same route today, I noticed that the image is gone. For a while, I ignored everything I wrote on December 7. I let myself become filled with righteous satisfaction. Obviously I was glad about the removal of this horrific reminder of one of the ugliest phenomenons in American history. I had fanciful imaginings of someone confronting the offender and forcing the dismantling of this hateful scenario. How pleased must God be with those of us ready to put a stop to this.

Then, unbidden, came a thought from the great Christian thinker and spiritual guide, Thomas Merton. He cautioned Jesus followers against assuming that our enemies are God's enemies. Yes, but whoever did this is a racist, wishing harm against his fellow human beings! So, Merton would counter, does that make him/her/them unworthy of the love of Jesus expressed in the willingness to endure the cross? No, I would have to respond. Then, no matter how fouled his/her/their heart(s) are, they are not God's enemies. They are lost children God longs to rescue.

This image came to mind, regarding all the righteous indignation I might allow myself to feel toward others, assuming that I am defending God's righteousness. When I stand before Jesus at the end of it all, do I really think Jesus is going to be impressed if the first thing I say is, "I stayed angry at those who sin against you to the very end!" I doubt it. He'll be more interested in what I did to extend his love to him/her/them.

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

You Can't Give What You Don't Have

2009-12-19T11:24:00.003-06:00

Why are human beings so thoroughly capable of being so nasty toward one another? Road rage...hateful, hurtful comments fired out over the Internet...trampling each other in stores on Black Friday...and on and on it goes. And why does this capability extend toward and even intensify with those with whom we are supposed to be closest? Some say it's because basically we are evil creatures. Others say Satan, the enemy of God makes us this way. We pastors will go on and on about a theological idea known as "Original Sin," the explanation of which leaves most intelligent people in a fog. I think it's simply this - some folks in the Missouri Ozarks used to say, "Ya cain't give whatcha ain't got!" People who don't get love, who don't receive love regularly, have a hard time giving love. Now before the more conservative ones among say this is just liberal coddling, let me quickly say that I'm not talking about sentimental, sweetsy, Hallmark card love; the kind of love that feels all wonderful, but evaporates as soon as the going gets tough. I'm talking about a very particular kind of love. The Greek language of the first century called this agape - completely self-sacrificing, other-focused love. This kind of love is way beyond all the "it's-all-about-me" forms of love that saturate our ears, eyes, and atmospheres every day. By itself, the world knows nothing of agape kind of love. It comes from God or it does not come at all.

A Jesus-follower named John describes it as follows: "This is the kind of love we are talking about-not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they've done to our relationship with God. My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this we certainly ought to love each other." (I John 4:10-11, The Message.) This is the love we need to receive, in order to give the love which is needed. It is not a concept or a feeling, it is a choice and an act. It does not start with us; it starts with God. We have to be receivers so that we can be givers.

So now we have a choice. We can choose to believe that this is all true and live as if it is true. Or we can ignore it, reshape it to suit our self-focused needs, or water it down. Then we can go ahead and follow the idea that love is personal pleasure, love is attention paid to us, love is for only those who are like us, love is a feeling, and all the other horse manure into which we step.

So what's your choice? I'll see you around the next bend in the river, which is getting a light skiff of snow on it today.

The Christmas Eve Opportunity

2009-12-14T08:11:00.002-06:00

On December 24th the followers of Jesus will have one of the most potent opportunities for connecting with people who have yet to meet Jesus. Unfortunately, each year on December 24th far too many churches are at the point of being the least prepared to make those connections. This opportunity too often missed happens for those congregations who offer Christmas Eve services. Christmas is one of those occasions during which people who have no faith relationship are likely to venture into places of worship simply because it seems to be the right thing to do during the holiday. Church-goers, however, tend to be so focused on Christmas Eve worship as being a part of their own holiday traditions, that they miss this chance to provide radical hospitality to people who are seeking at some level.

Just a few simple steps and a few obedient people could maximize this opportunity to light a fire in disciple-making. If you are a part of a worshipping congregation and you will be in worship on Christmas Eve, consider doing any of the following:

1. If your church has a registration of attendance process during weekend worship, make
sure it happens on Christmas Eve as well.
2. Volunteer to be a greeter before the service starts. Introduce yourself to anyone you
don't know. Keep a notepad with you and write down names.
3. Before worship starts and after it is over, look around you and note anyone who is new
to you. Introduce yourself, thank him/her/them for coming, and remember names.
4. If the church doesn't have a process for doing this, you make sure that hand-written
thank-you notes are sent to first time guests on Christmas Eve. Invite them to return
for something upcoming, such as Watch Night services on New Year's Eve, or baptism
renewal on the second Sunday in January.

It just takes some attentiveness and commitment to turn Christmas Eve from an opportunity annually missed to the beginning of the discipleship pathway for someone.

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

What the World Needs Now

2009-12-11T19:07:00.006-06:00

It's a season of loving and giving, right? Even people who don't know whose birthday some of us celebrate on December 25 can identify a "spirit of Christmas" that they somehow associate with warmth and generosity. So if December is not just about commerce and material stuff, and it really is about loving and giving, what kind of love are we supposed to give? Not all loves are healthy, and not all will last. If we're going to give something that matters, it should be the right thing.

A Jesus follower named Paul said only the love that comes from God through the one called Jesus of Nazareth transforms. Only that love reshapes lives and rescues a lost and broken world. It is a particular love called agape in Greek, which is a love that is other-focused, self-sacrificing, and God like. Paul describes it love that is tested by fire. It is a love that is not measured by how it makes us feel but by whether or not it is aligned with the the heart of God. This love enables us to stand before Jesus pure and blameless; that is, having created no stumbling block for another one to encounter Jesus. This is not one that we generate on our own. It can only come as a gift from Jesus. In addition, it is a love that glorifies God, but it is all about God, not about us.

That's not the fleeting stuff of holiday sentiment. Yet that's the very love this world needs. If this is a season of loving and giving, that's the love to give.

So how would we do that? I'll see you around the next bend in the river.