Christianity & Science...friends again?

I recently read a book that is really messing with my mind - called God at the Speed of Light by Dr. T. Lee Baumann, MD (no relation ok?). Anyway, he uses a lot of technical jargon to show how the sciences are rediscovering the mystery of matter and especially light and how it works. The concept of light behaving differently when viewed or observed is stunning...blows my mind! The one thing I still wonder is where or not Dr. Baumann sees God as PART of the creation, or God being intimately invovled but completely INDEPENDENT of creation...? Either way, the read was pretty curious and, yes, a bit exciting because I do think that science and spirituality are all part of God's truth.

Christ The Lord - at least it ends well...

I just finished a book that has been on my night stand for a few months...Anne Rice's Christ the Lord. It is a fictional story about Jesus's childhood with much liberty taken and much apocrphyal info added...thanks Gospel of Thomas, eh? Why was it on my night stand for that long? Well, it just wasn't that compelling. The story lacked passion. I did, however, enjoy the wrap up where Mary finally reveals his birth and his real identity...that was cool. Too bad it took 300 pages to get there...

I'm not giving up on Rice though - maybe I should read her other stuff - the vampire stuff? Not enough time in the day...

Wonder Struck

I have been rereading a book called Your God is Too Safe by Mark Buchanan and I ran across something that really spoke to me. Buchanan writes of the need for us to let the Bible, and God, be a bit mysterious and awe-inspiring rather that cold, meticulous, safe and comfortable. Rathern than disect everything to death, we do well to let God's truth be discovered in the story and in the wonder. He writes on page 60, "The worst consequence of losing our imagination, our wonder, is that we no longer see the Christward life as an adventure. We see it as a duty, a chore, a list of dos, don'ts, and how-tos...the stories we read in Acts about the church 'turning the world on its head' (Acts 17:6) - well, what would that kind of thing do to our tax-exempt status?'" We could really do our community, our church and our families a great justice by getting ourselves wonder struck! Well said Mark!

Generation EX Resource

Many people have asked me about the book I recently read about adult children of divorce called "Generation EX"...here is a link to order the book:

http://www.familylife.com/1-800-358-6329/detail.asp?id=10050&p=&c=&g=

Generation EX

I recently spoke at my church (Common Ground Church) on the touchy subject of divorce, and, specifically, being an adult child of divorce. Since that message, I've had a lot of people comment about their experiences and how they believe divorce has effected them. I am beginning to notice that kids of divorce who find and commit to following Jesus seem to be working through life better than those who do not have a relationship with Christ. God's power not only can create something (like Earth!) from nothing, it can also heal brokeness from divorce. I've been reading through the Psalms and finding comfort from phrases about God healing brokeness, protecting His children and defending those who love Him from all kinds of evil. There is a God who cares about what we care about! He cares about what is hurting us! Pslam 55:22 says, "Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let teh righteous be shaken."

A Musician's Key Scripture - Psalm 33!

A few days ago I was reading Psalm 33 and ran across a great couple of phrases that showcase the value God has on musicians and songwriters. The Psalm begins with the idea that singing and praising God is simply what those who love God do, period. Next we see how instruments enhance this practice of singing and praising God, and specifically (to my liking), STRINGED INSTRUMENTS! Finally, in the third verse or phrase of this Psalm, we see that playing well, or skillfully, is extremely important. Musicians, vocalists and writers must be offering our best to the King - it's crucial to the overall worship of the people of God! What an awesome yet incredibly weighty task we musicians have! I pray that God would help me shoulder this great burden and assist me in being the kind of musician and songwriter He needs me, and the other church musicians I work with, to be!

Worship Opens Doors...

I was reading Psalm 34 this morning and I was blindsided by a great phrase Eugene Peterson uses to translate verse 9 - check it out: "Worship God if you want the best; worship opens doors to all His goodness" - wow! That phrase has stuck with me...that when we give God the worship from our very depths it opens doors to the very best life has to offer. Sometimes I treat the worship of God way to unimportant. Worship should be center in everything we do whether working, playing, resting, etc. I want God's best - and, I think many would agree with me. Let's be 24/7/365 worshippers y'all! It's the KEY to open the doors to God's best!

How Did Sunday Go?

Sometimes when people miss a Sunday morning at Common Ground, they'll come up and ask me 'how it went'? I confess, I have no earthly idea what the answer to that question should be. Would I say, wow, we had lots of people there? Or, maybe, wow, we had a big offering that day? Or, maybe they want to know if the sermon was good or that people generally had a good time? Now, I'm not trying to be contentious here, but, what should the measure of a great Sunday morning worship time be? Beyond having a big crowd of people who are genuine and generous, how do we really gauge a great Sunday? I guess if you were to ask me how I measure Sunday morning's 'success' (beyond techinical stuff and musicality), I'd say simply that if people encountered and worshipped God, it's a success! I think its a success if we walk away from a Sunday morning feeling encouraged, inspired, and more in awe of God - what about you?

Praying the Psalms

In my lifelong quest to grow in my spiritual life, I've discovered something that is helping - praying the Psalms. I certainly didn't INVENT this idea, but, its simple and it is a great tool for directing my prayers on days when I'm not feeling all that 'spiritual'. Today I prayed through Psalm 9 and I really reflected on the simple act of praising God. I realized that if I really focusing on praising God, other stuff seems less important. Anyway, I'm a work in progress and maybe praying through these Psalms will further that progress...

The Heart of God - Generosity

I recently read a book that a friend gave me to read that talked about living life the way God intended us to live it - blessed. The writer, Robert Morris, pointed out that there are 3 levels of generosity or of being a good steward that the Bible presents. The first, and the most I've ever really thought much about, is the tithe or the tenth. This is a principle laid out way back before the Jewish nation of the Old Testament even had the 'law'. Morris thinks that statistically most of those who claim to follow Jesus don't do this today. In Morris' opinion (and from a passage in Malachi 3), those who don't give God the top 10% are subjecting themselves to a curse. Ouch! For me, I give my 10, but, I have to admit that God has been dealing with me about the 90...it's still not MINE...its His and always will be - He's just loaned it to me. Morris digs deeper to talk about going above the 10% into the realm of both offerings AND extravagant gifts (like a year's salary or a car or house or something). In both of these 'above the 10' categories, he speaks of relying on God's Spirit to direct us. So, after reading this book, called "The Blessed Life", I realized that my attitude had to change regarding the 90, and, that I need to be walking close to the Lord and listening to Him on opportunities for me to be generous in the 'above the 10' category...Lord, help me obey You in this and help me be truly GENEROUS!

Barna's 'Revolution'

I recently read this book (Revolution by George Barna) for myself and am struggling with why some of my peers are saying that Barna, the writer, calls for all church members to abandon the contemporary church, period. I didn't get that from the book. I did get a feeling that Barna, like myself, senses both by intiuition and statistics, that disciples are not necessarily being made in our current 'church' culture. In fact, the church, as a whole, is losing membership at an alarming rate - partly due to the fact that our culture has shifted in many different ways such as postmodernism, globalization, isolation, etc. As our culture has shifted, the church has not made appropriate changes. Barna talks about broadening our picture of what church should be by including valuable movements like home churches, smaller churches and other non-traditional discipleship methods. I personally liked his approach - the church in the New Testament did meet in larger groups, but, more often, they met in homes and focused on loving God and loving each other - it wasn't a big show each meeting with a 30-40 minute sermon by a designated 'preacher' with everyone staring at a stage as if it were a theater - passive onlookers, etc. Somehow we've got a church 'culture' that is all about the show, and thus, as Dallas Willard calls it, we've got a bunch of consumer Christians who shop for the best show. It's about becoming disciples of Christ who can make disciples...nice work Barna.

Emma's Baptism

It's been brewing in my head and heart to journal about this, and, since it's been so crazy this Summer, I'm just now getting to it - ouch! Emma-Anne, my 10 year old daughter, was baptized into Christ on Monday, August 14th in the Bumping River at the Indian Flatt campground. That was an amazing evening. Many friends from our church were there and I was confident Emma knew what she was doing, why she needed Christ, and understood what baptism was for. Really, she preceeded my own baptism, in age, by 4 or so years. It is a humbling experience being used by God to bring others into His kingdom, and that evening was very, very special. I must mention that the evening was made even more special by the fact that some other dear friends Tim & Heather were baptized after Emma - what a night! God was and IS moving in hearts young and old. Sometimes it takes longer for some, shorter for others to decide to jump in with God, but, when it happens - AWESOME!

The Time Flies

My kids both had birthdays recently and as I watched them enjoy opening gifts and laughing with friends, it occured to me that the time we have with our children isn't long in the scheme of things. In fact, my daughter Emma turned 10, which means we're only 8 years away from the time she'll be leaving the nest - just 8 years. Dylan, my son, is 6 and is already not playing with the things he used - the sandbox in our backyard, the Tonka dump trucks, etc. Emma loves to dress up in ball gowns and have me dance with her in the front room. Yes, she's loved that since she was 4 but now she can almost look me square in the eye - she's looking more grown up than ever. Lord, help me remember that these 2 precious people are only in my care for a limited time -help my wife and I shape them into the people You want them to be Father.

Cool Bible Version Trick...NAS & The MSG

This morning, as I was reading and meditating on the Scriptures, I tried something I hadn't done before - reading one line from the New American Standard version and then repeating that same line in The Message version...I did this with Psalm 23 - wow, what an eye-opening, enlightening experience. This is a great way to get a literal and more conversation view of the same Scripture! Often the more literal versions of the Bible (say KJV, RSV or the NASB) seem a bit out of touch with the way we talk today. I guess maybe the feel a bit more stuffy than the relaxed way that current American English sounds. This is why I like versions like The Message and the New Living Translation. However, to make sure we still have our bearings in more literal word-for-word translations from the original Biblical language, I like reading both together. I'm going to be doing this more often! Maybe God will unlock His word in my life in a new way!

The 'Dream of God' (aka the kingdom of God)

The kingdom of God was something that Jesus spoke of many times during is ministry. The New Testament records many statements from Him regarding this topic using phrases like, …. The problem for us reading this language today is that it doesn’t resonate with the world we know. Kingdoms are a thing of the past and bring about notions like Shakespearean chivalry or in the case of current kings - more of a formal or ceremonial reign for pomp and circumstance. In Jesus’ day however, the language of kingdom was much more current and relevant. So, in reading a new book by Brian McLaren (The Secret Message of Jesus), I was struck by the idea of how one might talk about this kingdom of God in today’s language. Terms like the ‘the dream of God’, the ‘revolution of God’, the ‘mission of God’, the ‘party of God’, the ‘network of God’, or even the ‘dance of God’. We should feel free to describe God’s kingdom with these and possible many other terms so that the culture in which we live can be let in on the beauty of God’s work here and now for eternity’s sake.

The Secret Message of Jesus

Sounds almost scandalous doesn't it? Yet, in His ministry among us, Jesus opted for indirect teaching as the crowds grew - from parables to the use of probing questions, He wanted people following Him to be transformed - not simply informed. That's part of the premise behind McLaren's newest book The Secret Message of Jesus. Well, I don't want to spoil it for you, but, this book, akin to Dallas Willard's Divine Conspiracy, is about how the kingdom Jesus talked about wasn't something only accessible after death, but right here and now - the kingdom among us. I liked a few chapters in particular beginning with the decision making process that potential disciples or apprentices encounter when confronted with Jesus's teachings. I think that chapter is called 'Getting It, Getting In'. He talks about the 'steps' in the conversion or decision process which are: rethinking, believing, receiving, going public and practicing a new way of life. Rethinking (repentance) is the idea that we've realized we've been heading toward the wrong direction. Believing is the trust that God's kingdom is really good news. Recieving is where we are open to receive forgiveness, acceptance, love, hope, empowerment, strength, encouragement, perseverance...everything we need to live in the kingdom of God. After rethinking, believing and receiving, we're ready to go public and be immersed (baptized) and identify with God's kingdom. This leads to living the rest of life as a follower of Christ...the practice of following Jesus. This was a great way to describe, in my opinion, the decision to follow Jesus. More to come...

Everyday Stuff; Indelible Memories

In the front room of my house I have an old upright piano weathered by time and barely in tune. It was made around 1903 and it takes up the entire back wall! Me and my family love it though because it has special meaning. You see, when I was a little boy, I remember my great, great grandmother playing songs on it when we visited her in Redmond, Oregon. So, when my mother told me that the family wanted us to have it, I was moved almost to tears. The piano may not be that valuable on the antiques market, but, it has a lot of sentimental value as a gift of love. Have you ever been given a gift by someone you love who has since died? Or maybe you might have something that belonged to someone that was close to you but is now far away from you. Those things are now very valuable to you regardless of how everyday they might seem to other people. One of the last things Jesus did before going to the cross to die for us was to give us a way to remember Him. Of all the things He could have done, He decided to give us something that was very everyday and simple. He chose common meal items: bread and wine. Then, He gave a blessing and told His followers to continue to remember Him through this very simple, everyday meal where the bread represents His broken body and the wine represents His blood poured out for everyone. So, the simple ‘meal’ of bread and wine (often grape juice in our case) becomes very valuable to us everytime we remember what Jesus did on that day at the cross.

Consumer Christianity vs. Disciples

I've just finished Dallas Willard's extensive work on the Kingdom of God called The Divine Conspiracy. There is so much meat in what he's writing about, that it would be silly for me to sum it all up in a blog entry. However, 2 chapters (chapters 8 and 9) really hit me. They both talk about the immediate, urgent need for making disciples rather than more consumer Christians. Every church leader, no, every follower of Christ would be moved by his words. American church membership has become a very consumer-istic institution, and thus, even talking about radical commitment to hearing Jesus and doing what He taught sounds crazy. Followers of Christ must fight this bland, psuedo-Spirituality. He recommends a 'curriculum for Christ-likeness' to help emulate Christ's methods for training His apprentices...so, as I chew on this 'curriculum', maybe we all can chew on how to be so 'ravished by God and His kingdom' that we cannot help but do what He would have us do!

Prayer & Fasting

Of all my years of following Jesus, I think the hardest Spiritual practices or disciplines for me have been in these 2 areas. It's easier for me to read, study Scripture or listen to worship music and sing out to God than to stop what I'm doing, get alone or at least away from distractions and talk with God. Equally so, I've found that going without food has been difficult to do on a regular basis. I've decided recently to infuse more of these 2 practices in my weekly life. I'm definitely dwelling on God and His kingdom more as a result of this new venture. My desire is to drink in more of God and see that invigorate every area of my life. I even think this will then spread to my position as lead worshipper for my church and my other leadership responsibilities. I desire to know God in a way I've not known Him - Lord, open my heart, my schedule and my mind to the deeper waters You dwell in.

Musical Cheating...?

I just finished reading an article in Recording magazine which highlighted the new version of the popular vocal tuner called Auto-Tune (first made famous by Cher's "Believe" pop hit a few years back) and I was stunned at what it can do...it's CHEATING man! This new version can actually manipulate HOW the singer sang a particular part - changing the throat pattern, amount of air, mouth shape, etc. Now, if that wasn't enough, it also allows you to automatically build a choir with various singers and note ranges based on the lead vocal's style, etc. It can also do a famous studio trick of duplicating a performance on another track - as if the singer sang it several times to different tracks and then blends it to the lead track...wow...it's getting too easy people!

SIDE NOTE: I confess that I do use an earlier version of Auto-tune...

Prayer

I just finished reading a book by Richard Foster called Prayer and I'm really wrestling over all the different types of prayers he covers in the book. He covered some things that I really wonder about - things like praying in tongues, becoming unconscious while praying, gifts of laughter while praying and even his call to healing prayer. I was struck by one of the statements he made about how many times people prayed in the Bible with a position of face-down, flat on the ground with hands out stretched. That doesn't seem very comfortable, but, it sure seems humble and unashamed. The book really opened my eyes to how little time I devote to really let God get a hold of me through prayer. I have so much room to grow in this area - God help me!

God said it, I believe it...

I read a devotional book recently that poked a bit of good-natured fun at this popular Christian bumper sticker/t-shirt slogan which says, "God Said It, I Believe It, That Settles It". The devotional pointed out that it should really say, "God Said It, That Settles It" because no matter what my opinion might be, God's Words are always right, true and perfect. Whether or not I believe what God says has absolutely no impact on the reality of it being true. God's truth doesn't change even as culture and opinions constantly change. That foundation is pretty comforting to realize.

Following Jesus by NT Wright

I just finished this short study from a British minister on discipleship and found it surprising. Let me just say that I'm happy that the book was short - I think more Christian writers should take heed...less filler, keep to the point ladies and gents! What I found enlightening was the return to the center of following Christ - His return from the dead. That changed (and changes still) everything. It is the only thing that brings any real hope - for humanity and all creation. He says that as Christians, we are like Sunday (post-resurrection) people living in a Friday (still dead) world (page 61). He also surprised me by mentioning that the most frequent command in Scripture is 'do not fear' - I've got to check that out. Finally, his concept 'being more human' is pretty cool...in that the more we conform to Jesus's way of living, we are actually being more human - like we were created to be. He goes so far as to say that Christ, as the glorified, perfect human, remains in the glorified state and will return in that state - He didn't just vanish back into some 'divine mist' - He's still the glorified 'son of man' that will return. I've got to chew on all this more...

My girl Emma

As I drove my daughter Emma-Anne to school this morning and watched her run off to class, I felt my chest get really heavy. I still remember holding her in my hands - she barely filled them back then. Now she's independent, almost as tall as me, and on the verge of double-digit age 10. She's becoming a young woman - even talking about youth group! I got my start in ministry with being a youth minister - she's almost that age...it's too much for me sometimes. I wonder what she's learned from her mom and I, what she'll remember from her childhood. I wonder who she'll first fall in love with and where she'll graduate from college. I wonder about her future and where she'll live and what she'll be doing. Will she ever know how much her mom and I love her? I've always done this silly little thing with her since she was little...I'd ask her "who's my favorite girl?" I'd then run through random girl names until I would whisper Emma...then she'd say yes! Little things like that will forever be etched in my memory. I find myself praying about her teenage time - Lord, help me have wisdom, love and patience for this next phase of Emma's life...and to enjoy every moment with her!

What the Bible REALLY says…

Ah yes, the big buzzword here is ‘interpretation’. Well, if you read over my lengthy translation vs. version comments, proper Biblical interpretation hinges on having a couple of trustworthy Bible versions handy. I think it also is important to read how other trustworthy Christian teachers have explained parts of the Bible. Interpretation is really just an explanation. The problem with all of this is that we can often be led away from truth by poor interpretation or bad explanations or teachings can’t we? I’m sure God grieves every time His words are misused to divide the church, start wars, and mess up lives. How can we be confident with this whole concept then, of interpretation? This is a deep subject, but in essence, I think that the Bible has a lot of straight-forward, easy to understand ideas. Things like loving your neighbor, trusting in God’s goodness, accepting the grace and forgiveness from Jesus, helping people around us, being thankful, etc. - those are all pretty clear. When it comes to the confusing parts or at least the harder to understand parts, we all must be careful. Jumping to conclusions too quickly is an easy trap. Let’s start, then, with the idea here: CONTEXT IS KING. No more taking a verse or two out of it’s chapter or book and making big conclusions from just a few words…that’s a no no! In respecting context, we’ve got to ask questions like: Who is this written to? Who is writing this part of the Bible? Where are we in history? What part of the story of the Bible are we in? Etc, etc. Second, let’s realize that the Bible should never say what it never said. Look, we’re already at a disadvantage when we read it in English (not the original language) as we sit in our nice clothes drinking coffee in the free, democratic Western world, so, let’s not make it worse by claiming that Scripture says stuff that the first century world would never have read into it…let’s be fair! Having the humility and the patience to put ourselves into the sandals of a first century Christian can help us avoid bad interpretations. Finally, embrace Christian community and find out how the majority of Jesus’ followers interpret or explain it. This is really, really helpful. If you think about it, the Bible has been around for a while – people have been studying it for a while – maybe they’ve found some common ground in explaining some of those hard parts. One final thought…is it ok to have a difference of opinion on some of the harder passages? I should hope so – and NEVER let that be a cause of division. Humility is a key for all followers of Jesus –so, let’s show some with each other!

Translations vs. Versions…help!!!

I’ve been asked this question a lot since I’ve been a Christian. I guess it might be time to actually put this out there. Yes, there is a difference between these two words in relation to the Bible. You see, few if any people I know read the Bible in the original languages that it was written (namely old Hebrew, Aramaic and Koine Greek from the first century). So, most read the Bible in English or another current language. If you stop by a local bookstore, or better yet, a Christian bookstore, you’ll find lots, and lots and LOTS of choices in your search for a copy of the Bible in English. Which one is the ‘true’ English copy – I’ve actually been asked this…well, there is no ‘true’ copy that I know of, except maybe some would say that the first English popular Bible, the old King James (or King James Version – KJV for short). In any case, most all of us need a translation or else we’d need to know the original languages. Since we don’t, we have to choose an English copy. Since each English copy has its root in either a direct translation (the author or editor did the translating him or herself or with a group of translators), or indirect translation (a modern update of an earlier English translation – like the New King James Version), let’s rather talk about versions. There are ‘literal’ versions and ‘free’ versions. The literal tend to stick to the original languages a bit closer making them a bit harder to read for us modern English speaking folk (like KJV, or the New American Standard – NAS). For studying, I like to use one of those more literal versions. Now, the ‘free’ versions are much more readable, but, they tend not to follow the original languages as closely. The editors of these free versions take liberty to give readers more of the ‘gist’ of the original language rather than a word for word reading. Obviously this can lead to the editors swaying the meaning for the reader one way in one version and another way in another version. So, here is what I do, I use a couple of English versions. I use my trusty New American Standard (NAS) for study and my new favorite ‘free’ version, the Message for more of a modern, nice flowing reading text. If there is something I see that seems a bit strange, I check the versions next to each other to make sure I’m able to interpret that part of the Bible accurately. Oops – I brought up that pesky word ‘interpretation’ – that will be talked about in another time! Anyway, the more literal versions would be the KJV, the NAS, and maybe the RSV (Revised Standard Version), whereas the free versions would including the NIV (New International Version), the NLT (New Living Translation), or The Message. Don’t let one editor sway you – check one or two more before you simply settle! Happy reading! If you want more on this, check this little resource out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bible_version_debate

Drawing Near

Once a person admits that there is a God and then sees that Jesus is that God who walked ‘among us’, there is a question…what now? Once a decision is made to follow Jesus, what is the next step? The Bible talks about how the first followers of Jesus not only believed this, but also took steps. Steps like going God’s way instead of their own (repentance is the big word here), and agreeing with God about who they were and are – sinners (that’s called confession) and even admitting their need for God to save (in what Jesus did on the cross). The early followers also did these things in a public setting, culminating in the physical/spiritual act of immersion - totally covered by water (this is that big word baptism). Then, these early followers began a life-long process of becoming more like their savior/rabbi Jesus. This is where the ‘drawing near’ concept hits all who’ve embarked on this life-long process. How do we draw near to God? The Bible promises that God will draw near to us if we will draw near to Him (James 4:8). This comes in the middle of the chapter which speaks of what we as followers ‘do’. Sometimes we can draw near to God by doing what Jesus would do – being about justice, mercy, kindness, gentleness, love, patience, etc. Other times we draw near by listening to God in times of being still and quiet. We draw near by reading the stories of what Jesus did in the Bible – that shows us how he lived and walked and worked. We draw near by making every moment an opportunity to see Him, talk with Him, reflect on Him – act like Him. Drawing near means that everyday we are alive, we do something consciously to grow in our faith. The things we do can be done for God’s sake and He believes in us – we can do it. God promises that if we’re about that in our lives, He’ll reward us with drawing near to us – that’s amazing! I’ll end with the words of King David to his King-elect son Solomon (from I Chronicles 28:9): “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.”

Celtic Christianity – Listing to the Heartbeat of God

I’ve always wondered why some in the Christian church are so enamored with Celtic stuff. I mean, the Celtic crosses, the artwork, the old stone church buildings, the ‘mystery’, what’s this all about anyway? I then read a short little book about Celtic Christianity called “Listening for the heartbeat of God – A Celtic Christianity” by J. Philip Newell and I really connected with this whole Celtic thing for the first time. What really resonates with me is this idea that God is the heart of all creation, and, since He is, when you really dig deep in every human heart, beneath the surface sin and evil, you will ultimately find the good placed there by God. This is counter to the notion which has it’s roots with the early Christian church father Augustine who taught that the human is basically evil and unable to do anything good without God. It was this very view of creation that got the first Celtic ‘philosopher/theologian’ Pelagius excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church. Many more excommunications followed as Celtic monasteries revealed this similar belief in creation and the elevation of women and the marriages of Celtic priests. I also find that I resonate with the Celtic idea of following Jesus in such a way that we spend the time really leaning in and listening to God, rather than the easier ‘do, do, do’ busy Christianity. Even the early Celtic missionary methods resonate with me – in that they sought to show the Britons that their pagan spiritual practices were actually calling for the one true God and that Christ fulfills all that their practices were meant to fulfill. So, instead of violently changing or destroying the culture of the Britons, those missionaries would simply help them see how Christ is the root of all that the human heart has been yearning for all along. There is much more to this, so, I’m really chewing on how this relates to followers of Jesus today…now I know why I’ve always loved ‘St. Patrick’s Day’ – all Guinness aside…

East 91st Street Christian Church – VISION!

My wife and I recently returned from a weekend spent in Indianapolis, Indiana visiting a church which, in my estimation, has incredible vision for people who don’t know God. I was amazed at the 20-30 church planting leaders that flew in for this gathering all representing churches that were started in part by the support and love of this church in Indiana. Hearing stories about people finding faith through all these new churches reiterated to me and Jackie how important new churches are for people who are far from God. We had a great discussion with a couple from the UK who had surprisingly similar stories about the lack of interest in church – much like the Seattle or Northwest region. One of the elder members of the church drove us back to the airport on Monday morning and I shared with him how humbling it is to be used by God in church planting. He then spoke with pride about how each year, as the budget is presented, some church members protest the money spent on planting new churches. He, with passion, told Jackie and me how, as a church, they are not backing down from their commitment to see new churches planted. Wow – now, that is a church deeply committed to the kingdom of Jesus!

Our Spiritual/Physical Body

A friend at church recently brought up a subject that I must admit I'm intrigued by...the idea that our spiritual and physical natures are much more connected than we might initially realize. What we do with our body affects us spiritually. In fact, Jesus, in the New Testament, fully embraces physical humanity walking, eating, drinking, crying, weeping, working, etc. He does all this, and yet, He is also God - and God is Spirit. This is profoundly interesting to me. We tend to separate our spirituality into a back corner or at least back in a place where it can be in our lives but not too connected to everything else. I don't think this is possible for a follower of Jesus! Look, some of the most profound activities we do as a community of faith is physically act out our faith - even in our worship (bread & wine for communion, water immersion baptism, raising our hands, getting on our knees in prayer, etc.). So, I'm pondering how to better embrace and integrate my physical and spiritual connectedness as a follower of Christ. I think that's being more like Him...WWJD...

Easter in the NW

So one of the biggest weekends for churches all around the world occured...yes, Easter. Despite the bunnies, eggs, egghunts and the fact that it followed Washington's spring break, it felt like a great Saturday and Sunday at least for Common Ground Church. To see many of the volunteer's faces as they served the community at our Eggstravaganza was pretty cool. I watched our church really open up and talk to friends and neighbors and show that following Jesus isn't weird and that going to a church could be pretty fun. The overall attendance was a bit lower than I had hoped and prayed for, but, I know God was speaking and moving for those who came. In fact, one of the highlights for me was not only seeing my neighbors in church, but I also go ride to church with my family - for the first time in over 2 years! I prayed this morning that our church would continue to let God work in our homes, neighborhoods and friendships to draw more to know Him.

The E-Myth for Churches...

I recently read a book given to me by a friend called "The E-Myth" and I must say, I did enjoy it. This is really a book geared toward helping small businesses, but, I thought it applied to small, startup churches (like Commonground!) as well. It points out that many who begin startups are workers who worked for someone else then decided they could be their own boss just as easily and so they quit working for someone else and start their own gig. Sounds good, but the problem is that one cannot just do the work you've always done when you are a business owner - you must wear other hats like vision, marketing, finance, management, etc. So, the book did a good job of pointing out that you cannot run it all well like that - which is why so many small ventures die. Some of us have the entrepenuer strong, others have the management part strong, others have the technician/worker strong. All three are vital. Good insight I think. The book then delves into the solution of sorts which is to decide one's goals in life (personally), then, for the small biz owner to plan the business with those life goals in mind. I did like the idea presented in the book where a small biz learns franchise way of doing things - everything reproducible without the owner's hands having to be in it - a reproducible business that one could sell to an investor or other owner and be able to produce the same great results somewhere else. How could that apply to churches? That's what I've been chewing on...

Cross-dressing friend

I just found out that a friend from across the pond likes to dress up in women's clothing and has a different name when he does so. He was worried that my wife and I would not want to continue being friends with such a revelation. I must admit I was shocked, but, I certainly don't see any wisdom in ending the friendship. I let him know that my wife and I were not into that scene, but, that we support them as friends and continue to care for them. I believe that God made us to be creative people, and, cross-dressing is certainly creative in some sense, so, I'm not sure whether or not it would actually be considered sin. I'll have to study this out a bit. I mean, could a follower of Jesus have such a hobby? What should the church's stance be, Biblically speaking? Food for thought here...

If You Want To Walk On Water, You've Got To Get Out Of The Boat

This was a nice little book by John Ortberg about Simon Peter, one of the original 12 disciples of Jesus, and his famous walking on the water episode in the New Testament. It is a great metaphor for anyone wanting to accomplish something big for God that involves risk. This story really shaped the decision my wife and I made to leave Tennesee and move all the way to Washington state to help start a new church. As in one of the chapters of the book, many of us remain 'boat potatoes' for too long - theorizing and talking about accomplishing great things for God and yet remaining in our seat assignments. Even though Peter wasn't perfect, he was at least willing to risk failure to do something no human had done before - he trusted his God enough. How about us? Do we trust in a God that can move mountains and allow land-loving followers to walk on water?

Jury Duty in King County

So, I just finished up a '2' day jury duty assignment - my first ever. The process is quite interesting the first day especially if you get picked for a jury. It is really boring when you are waiting, and waiting, and waiting for the next case looking for jurors. I had to take a hardship on the first case I was up for due to a vacation 3 weeks away - the judge couldn't guarantee the attempted murder case would conclude by then. After that, it was waiting with a 100 or so other possible jurors hour after hour...wow. I would have really liked to have served on a jury for the experience, but, alas, for this time around, it wasn't meant to be. Now I get to enjoy that big paycheck - a whopping $10 a day for my services...McDonalds here I come!

Funny Websites

I was having a conversation with a friend today about funny websites. You know, hidden gems on the Internet that contain useless fun...sort of like www.homestarrunner.com or maybe www.angryalien.com. I was wondering - what if there are other hidden gems out there than no one knows about? Will they ever be discovered? I wonder if anyone has a definitive directory out there? Recently I discovered these funny little gems...http://www.whiteboydj.com/babygotbook.html or this one http://www.guzer.com/videos/preacher_pinch_tits.php. Yes, these are the things that keep us all sane right? Of course, there are other sites that have more of a mass gem appeal - like http://www.ebaumsworld.com/ or maybe www.atomfilms.com (not rated folks!)...well, you get the idea - let's all make sure we share the good ones eh? Happy (and safe) surfing y'all!

Agenda Spirituality

Why do some of us (me especially) tend to view our spiritual life as a sort of "Godly checklist"? It's like somehow if I read a chapter of the Bible and pray 10 minutes, then I must be growing and on my way to sainthood. This tendency makes me, at times, run through prayer and Bible reading so I can run off to the 'important' things of the day - the things I control. I was reminded of this in reading the story of Balaam and his donkey in the Bible. Balaam had an agenda - he was a prophet for hire of sorts and was journeying to a new job. On the way, the donkey gave him problems because, for some reason, the donkey could see a terrifying angel of death right on the path ready to kill Balaam. After 3 attempts by the donkey to get off the road, Balaam loses his mind - he's already beat the dumb donkey a lot, and, in the middle of his rage, the donkey starts talking...whoa. What really gets me is that Balaam doesn't react to the donkey's talking - he's so narrowly focused on his anger and his derailed agenda that he misses a miracle. Not only that, but, as the donkey points out, he missed seeing God right in front of him. Boy, this story was meant for people like me. Lord, help me not miss a miracle or miss seeing You because of my lame agendas....Amen.

Babies - Creation's Replay

Over the past week I've visited 2 couples in the hospital to greet their newborns into the world. What a wonderful way to remember the amazing miracle of creation all over again. None of us were around when God originally created the world so, for us, this is maybe the closest we can come to seeing a glimpse of how it would have been...amazing. I was thinking about this - how birth and death are moments when humanity is closest to the 'other side' - the unseen realm where God exists unhindered by the concerns of flesh. My kids were singing a hopeful old spiritual about death - from the latest Duhks album, and I was thinking how it is sort of a cool thing to picture death as the gateway to eternity with God - a celebration of a life well spent and the excitement stepping into the realm of eternity...again, amazing.

Language of Adoration

I've felt for some time that I'm uncomfortable with the language often used to describe the relationship between Christ and His followers. At times the language sounds romantic in the least and even erotic at the most extreme - each of which make me a bit uneasy. I read a devotion today from Charles Spurgeon and he talks about gazing upon the Savior's lips and calling them the most lovely and most sweet - this makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Now, Spurgeon quotes the Song of Solomon, so, the language there is very sensual, romantic and erotic, which is why I would never use those phrases as I speak of my walk with Christ. I know there are those who feel like the Song of Solomon is a metaphor for the church as the bride of Christ, but even that seems difficult for me to swallow. I personally think that the Song of Solomon is just that - a song picturing the bliss of marital love - nothing more. A song to speak of the captivation of love between to people - a beautiful picture. When I speak of my Savior, I think of strength, power, sacrifice, unconditional love, acceptance and devotion - I'm not thinking how, as Jars of Clay sang, "I want to fall in love with you" - that is the language of romantic love to me. Anway, I'm done now...

Crash wins the Oscar for Best Picture!

Have you seen this film? I was really impressed with the story this film told. My wife and I were talking about it last night and we both thought that one of the most powerful moments in this film about predjudice was when a man of middle eastern descent goes to kill another man but shot him with blanks because his daughter switched the bullets. I think the movie shows that all of us, regardless of how 'objective' or 'politically correct' we think we are, we all struggle with stereo types and predjudice. Well done, Oscars! Sorry Brokeback...

Two For the Money

I just finished watching a film called Two for The Money with Al Pachino and Matthew McConaughey and I really felt like this movie captured the lie that addicts tell themselves...that somehow the next bet or trick or hit or whatever will make them complete. Why do we lie to ourselves and think that sin - whatever it might be, will EVER satisfy the longings of our hearts? ONLY GOD CAN DO THIS. Even though the film has some moments that are not necessary - a bit too graphic - the story is told well. I just wanted to put that out there - it engaged my mind at the end of a pretty long day of preaching and teaching and leading worship for church. Only God can really satisfy our needs. I could say that again...only GOD can satisfy our deepest longings.

Spiritual Growth for a Type-A

One of the most difficult things I've wrestled with over the years I've been following Jesus is being still. I'm not sure if it is because of my personality type, attention deficit or distaste for inactivity, but, whatever it is, I've had a tough time with silence, meditation and waiting on God. I know this is a Biblical concept, but, being silent - doing absolutely nothing is hard work! I've followed that mantra that idleness is the 'devil's playground' maybe a little too much. So, from now on I'm going to make an effort to be still a little more. Lord help me!

Selah Service for Ash Wednesday

So, my wife and I headed to John Knox Presbyterian Church in Seattle/Burien to take part in a service I had read about in Worship Leader magazine. The service, led by Jeff Johnson and Brian Moss, incorporated singing, reading Scripture, reciting prayers and even responsive recitation of a creed. Since my church background was a mix of Assembly of God and Church of Christ, it was new to me to go forward and receive the ash cross on my forehead - my wife, who grew up Catholic, was not all that moved. I did appreciate the repetitive nature of the songs - very easy to catch on and sing, and the time of silence (could have used more I think). It will be interesting to think about the service in terms of how I might be able to use some of what I experienced in Common Ground Church. Since we meet in a school, creating a sense of the sacred and such is difficult. Anway, I do recommend this type of service - especially for Evangelicals who don't have much interaction with more traditional forms of worship gatherings.

Behaviors That Drive Us Nuts - Ring any bells?

Barbara Pachter, in her book The Power of Positive Confrontation, says that there are 12 kinds of behaviors that drive us nuts:

1. Space Spongers. These are people who play their music too loud, leave messes for others to clean up, neighbors who let dogs in our yard, or co-workers who don't respect our property.

2. Telephone Traitors. When you deal with this person, you might have complaints like these: "I have to do all the calling." "She never calls me back." "He only calls when he wants something."

3. Bad Borrowers. They return your car with no gas (or ahem, not in time for a date), CDs with scratches, and money they borrow never gets paid back.

4. Constant Complainers. Everyone knows one - the person who always had a problem or gripe that never gets resolved.

5. Interloping Interrupters. People don't like to be interrupted or not to be given an opportunity to join equally in a conversation.

6. Callous Commenters. Among other things, this can be the neighbor who makes nasty comments or the person telling racist or sexist jokes. You don't like what this person says.

7. Work Welchers. Some people just don't do their fair share whether at home, work, or on the volunteer committee.

8. Favoritism Frustration. "What about me?" Your boss gives his pals the best projects or your mother-in-law gives better presents to her daughter's kids.

9. Holiday Hogs. Your spouse always wants to spend the holidays with his or her family. One of you wants to go to Hawaii for vacation; the other wants to hike the Appalachian trail.

10. Request Refusers. You ask your spouse to be on time for dinner. Your co-worker knows you need the report by 2 p.m., but doesn't deliver; your client will not give the tax information you've asked for. These are people who say they will grant your request by don't.

11. Atrocious Askers. You're asked to do something by your friend, boss, or loved one that you don't want to do or don't agree with.

12. Interloping Loved Ones. Some people want to tell you what they think - even if you don't want to hear it. (my grandmother comes to mind.)

Did the original disciples of Jesus have 'quiet times'?

I've always wondered if the fascination we modern Western Christians have with devotions and quiet times is at all Biblical or first-Century. I lean toward no, but, since I wasn't around when the disciples headed up the early Church, I guess I'll never really know. I started reading a book today written by John Ortberg called "The Life You've Always Wanted" and I'm beginning to question the way I've always measured spirituality. It's been so quarantined off in our culture that it seems like a separate function than things like career, family or recreational life. God is interested in every part of our life, not just the spiritual one. So, spirituality is in everything we do - it's all important. If that is true, then even how we work, or think or relate to each other can be part of our 'devotional' life. This is a big deal for me, a type A all the way. Maybe I can stop defending my spirituality to people who ask me. Maybe I can humbly start to live by what Jesus commanded - love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul & spirit...

Finding the Remarkable for Church (a.k.a. The Purple Cow!)

I've been reading some marketing books lately - specifically 2 by a guy named Seth Godin (The Purple Cow and All Marketers Are Liars) and I've been impressed by the simple idea (but difficult to generate) called the 'purple cow'. Basically, if you've seen one cow, you've seen them all UNTIL you see a purple cow - now that's remarkable and worth a second look. How can a church find it's own unique 'purple cowness'? That's what I've been kicking around. When I was a teenager trying to figure out my understanding of God and church (and hair metal bands), a friend of mine took me to some Christian youth rallies (more like a church pep rally) called Purple Rallies (held in and around Portland, OR). The idea was that if, when we are baptized into Christ and become followers of Jesus, the water turned us purple, we'd sure act different. We'd be hard to miss and we'd stand out. It might even make us more careful about our language, our actions, our 'witness'. It was an intersting idea...being purple. What if local churches found their uniqueness and let the word out? Could church become so remarkable that the average person in a community would say "Wow, I've got to check this church out!"

Church Planting The Among Upwardly Mobile

One thing that I never really thought of before helping plant a church was the loss of good friends due to job changes and 'moving up' the corporate ladder. This is a tough thing to work through. With Common Ground Church being a 'parachute drop' church plant with no local congregations helping us, we really worked hard to generate a lot of good relationships with people according to the vision God had given us. Those relationships were (and ARE) a key factor in the success of the launch and now 2 years of existence. Unfortunately, because of the demographic we are (30 somethings w/ kids), and because of Maple Valley's status as a Seattle suburb for upwardly mobile workers, our church has had several great families depart for other places which is truly a heart-tugging loss. So, even if we are working hard, listening to God, and working to love the families God has given us, we must deal with the loss of good families due to nothing more than that family's desire to move on...it hurts sometimes. Lord, help us to do our best to love families for as long as You provide them...amen. I also pray that God would help me not get overly guarded with people - not letting them get too close because of the fear that they'll move away...only by Your strength, Lord.

Glass Museum - sort of weird art...

I went with my family to see the Glass Museum in Tacoma, WA and was sort of taken back by the strangeness of the artwork itself. They had some hideous instruments - horror film instruments, with strange shaped glass and even one which dangled glass orbs against a piano soundboard. People pay for this stuff? Wow. They had a 'hot' area where you could watch the long, tedious process of blowing and shaping (and reshaping) the glass...again, people dig this? And they PAY for it? Well, it was an experience. Cheers.

'Built to Last' is a great book!

I recently finished reading this book which focuses on companies that are visionary. I was intrigued by the common sense approach the book takes to reviewing how these companies built their legacies - by keeping to their core ideology and changing strategy as markets and times dictated. Great organizations have great values that remain consistent...churches are no different. Yes, all Christian churches have a common 'cornerstone' value which is the work of Jesus Christ and His Lordship, however, they can go astray when that core value gets replaced or buried with church growth strategies and programs and techniques, etc. My vision is for every local Christian church to have a unique way or culture of doing ministry while still maintaining the core Christ ideology. We'd see great things occur in the Kingdom of God when the church steps up to the plate, offers its' best workers and work and keeps on the edge of innovation while still maintaining the core values - that's visionary!

End of the Spear...heavy film!

I recently got a chance to go to the theater and check out this new film about some incredible missions work in Ecquador that began 1/2 a century ago. I didn't read much about the film before I saw it and I assumed it would focus on the Elliots, Jim (who was killed) and Elizabeth, simply because their names are so well known in Christian circles, but, I was wrong. The film brought to light the perspective of the pilot's family (who flew in the original missionaries in the mid 1950's) and that of the native tribe. Since I have a son, and since the pilot (Nate) also had a son, it was difficult to see how the young boy dealt with his father's death and then the years of anger and bitterness that eventually led to the boy (now grown up) developing a friendship with the tribesman who actually killed his father - what a story of forgiveness! I highly recommend the film, but, be aware, it is not for the faint of heart! Cheers...

LOST episode w/ bad theology!

Ok - my wife Jackie and I were watching LOST's recent episode (all about Charlie) via iTUNES (no commercials - yeah!) and I was shocked at the bad, bad theology the 'priest' gave to Claire on the meaning and purpose of baptism...did anyone else catch that? HELLO! He gave some example of how the dove descended upon Jesus after John the Baptist immersed Him signifying all Christ's sins were forgiven - who is writing this stuff? Have they ever READ Scripture? I like the show a lot, but after that little scene, I was pretty dissapointed in whoever wrote that scene. Cheers.