My Top 3 Books for 2013

Nonesuch Place 

I found this at a local bookstore, great short read, really informative on Richmond's early history.  There's a ton of interesting information on how Richmond's street grid was first setup, how parks were first established, and facts about the city cemeteries that are way more interesting than I thought they'd be.  If you love Richmond and history, definitely check this out.

Creating a Missional Culture

JR was my first pastor at Virginia Tech and I've benefited from his wisdom for years.  This book has already started helping me in ministry, with introspective questions I've reflected back on many times already.  I've begun to think about ministry goals as questions of culture and used the insights from this book to direct my efforts for maximum effect.  There's a sea of books out there right now invoking "missional" to sell copies, this book has fresh insights that make it a rare read worth picking up.

Grow Great Grub

I've spent the last couple years looking for hobbies that relax me.  Gardening has been great for that but I had a lot to learn.  This book is super practical about organic gardening with great photos and very readable content.  It includes a lot of great tips for planting, making good soil, fertilizing, and fighting pests.  If you're interested in gardening (or need a hobby), this is a great book to read through.



I'm already lining up books for 2014, feel free to share your favorites, thanks!

Reflections on the year...

So I was on my blog today seeing if it was still alive and I saw a post I never published from over a year ago.  A lot of these lessons have proved true and played out in amazing ways.  So here it is...

A lot of this year for me has been about finding my own cause and helping others find theirs:

• How to achieve real balance (keeping sabbath, spreading out vacation days, stepping out of some responsibilities, etc)
• Good or bad, everybody has plans/agendas for you, not just God...
• You have to care what people think (but only a little bit)
• If you're doing God's work, some people WILL hate you for it
• New beginnings and challenges are worth the effort (Carver MC)

Helping others find theirs boils down to this... my cause doesn't have to be your cause but what is your cause? And no cause is not a cause.

The question I'm left with is not the traditional one - whether the choices you make hurt anyone, but a new one, who benefits from the choices you make?

I believed that God is daring me to be great and He continues to press me in that direction for His glory.  What about you?

Mission: School Supply Drive

One of the greatest issues in Richmond right now are the challenges many of the children in the city face growing up. Education really becomes one of the keys to breaking cycles of neglect and poverty, giving our children a real chance at a future. Our Missional Community, located in Carver Community, recently undertook a school supply drive at Carver Elementary School. Carver is a school with an excellent principal, dedicated staff, and great kids. But with 96.5% of students participating in free and reduced lunch, its evident that many of the children are coming to school dealing with very difficult circumstances even before they step foot in the building.

Our rhythm of mission always begins with listening before acting. If our mission is uninformed by the actual issues and relevant remedies it will be ineffective. Principal Brickhouse has been gracious enough to catch up with me several times and provide me with the information I needed. Among other things, two basic data points were important: exactly what supplies were needed and how big was the school, population-wise. Principal Brickhouse was able to provide me with the list of supplies parents get for their kids. He was also to tell me that there approximately 500 students at the school, and about 40 teachers. With this information, we would knew what to get and some order of magnitude for quantity of supplies (i.e. we didn't want to get 10 scissors for 500 students).

Also crucial, we timed it so we could start buying supplies during the Back-to-School tax holiday. Not only were we able to save on taxes but the sales are also really good that weekend. The challenge was finding stores that didn't have limits on how many you could buy. Target was great for that. I presented this idea and some of the basic information to the Missional Community during one of our gatherings and everyone was immediately excited. People used it as an opportunity to get together and socialize while they shopped. In addition to the funds Commonwealth Chapel provided our community, everyone contributed their own money as well.

We collected the supplies at where we met for Missional Community (which happened to be my house) and people brought more and more each week. All the way up to the day that we dropped the supplies off, people were still bringing bags of supplies! All told we collected approximately 1800 pencils, 250 boxes of crayons, 500 notebooks, 200 bottles of glue, 100 glue sticks, 100 pens, 250 scissors, 100 rulers - I don't have exact numbers because we honestly lost count!

In addition to this, Rob Rhoden (our lead pastor who's wife is a teacher) suggested that we make goodie bags for the teachers, so we made 40 of them as well! We filled them with candy, munchies, sticky notes, hand sanitizer, and pens and enclosed them with a note expressing our appreciate for them and pledging to

pray for them this year. We took the extra candy and made a basket for the office staff (which somehow made it to the

principal's desk before we left ;-)

The week before we delivered the supplies, we gathered as a Missional

Community and prayed over the supplies. Our prayer was (and is) that these supplies and gifts would bless the students and the staff and allow them to focus more on learning. We prayed that the teachers would be encouraged, knowing that there were people out there that appreciated them, loved them, and were praying for them. Most of all, we prayed that Jesus would be glorified since He was our inspiration for doing this.

On the Friday before school started, a bunch of us from the Missional Community took our lunch hour to go by and drop everything off. Principal Brickhouse and the rest of the faculty and staff were extremely gracious and appreciative. The entire experience was made even more tangible when all of us saw some of the students that would get to use the supplies this year.

Please continue to be in prayer for Carver Elementary, that they would have a great year and that they would know that God loves them and is providing for them. I hope this story encourages other communities out there to "adopt" a school next year. My prayer is that the entire community of Christ followers next year would be able to "adopt" 30 schools, the next year - all of them. I hope that the details I provided in the post are helpful in planning your school supply drive. If you need any other help, or have ideas you'd like to share, feel free to email me.

Catch Me if you can...

Our Missional Community ended our fast together over dinner a couple nights ago. It was a beautiful time of fellowship capped off with a time of reflection on fasting. For half the room, this was the first time they had ever tried fasting and the reflections were rich. Many people commented on how it wasn't as bad as they thought it would be - a fair enough apprehension. Others commented that the day went by so fast that they didn't have the time they wanted to spend in prayer and meditation (myself included).

Still others blessed us by being honest enough to say that they tried to pray and meditate and didn't hear anything back. This left a mixture of disappointment, defeat, and a general feeling of silliness about seemingly talking to thin air. Then one of the women in our group shared a verse she had reflected on that day from Isaiah 58:

For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.

'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?'

The truth is, if we were honest with ourselves and each other that night, after fasting for the last 20 hours or so we felt like God owed us something. Perhaps there was a false expectation that we were going to bow our head after a day of fasting and God was going to give us all the secrets of the universe. But this transactional view of our relationship with God is not something exclusive to our group. Many people are looking for the right combination, incantation, or sequence of actions that will unlock the silence and allow God's voice to pour through.

As our community continued to reflect, our experiences blended together like a recipe producing a rich collective insight - our time fasting that day had increased our appetite for God. For the people that were afraid fasting would be horrible and it wasn't, they wanted to do it again. For the people that didn't get much time to pray or meditate that day, they wanted to make more time for it going forward. For those that prayed and heard nothing back, it made them want to pray more and seek out God's voice in their life.

It seemed that our fasting had served its purpose that day. In the absence of food, we were hungering for God more. Rather than seeing God as a vending machine, our piety as currency, we were experiencing God the Romantic. Was God being coy or elusive if he was asking us to chase after him a bit? Or is that the entire point of a good romance? The point is this: God has asked us to chase after him, but he's made himself profoundly catchable.

The same woman that shared the first verse also shared the following to close our time. It's God's promise to us that we do not desire in vain when we seek him, I hope it encourages you to start the pursuit as well.

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. - Jeremiah 29:13

Fasting...on purpose...

Our Missional Community is currently about three weeks into a study of Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster (which I reviewed in an earlier posting). Today we're fasting as a community and then gathering together tonight to share our experiences over dinner. Here are the questions I've asked our community to meditate on today:

• What is God doing in your life or trying to tell you right now?
• What are the biggest things happening in your life right now?
• Is there something weighing heavily on your thoughts or heart lately?
• In response to the above questions, how does this situation make you feel? What emotions does it inspire? Why does this situation make you feel this way?
• Is there anything you need to confess to God? Is there anything you need to give to God? Where do you need God's guidance? Where do you need God to save you?

Feel free to leave comments on your experience(s) with fasting, either today or previously.

I'll be with you...

After ten years of following God, I've come to realize that many times His call is as elusive as the nose on my face. We oftentimes speak of God as a vapor, as One that takes some divine amusement in His elusiveness. And while God does desire us to pursue him, the matter of his Will typically comes down our desire to receive it. It's our sinful, selfish nature set against his divine love; at some carnal level we will chaff against his directives because our motivations are profoundly different (at least on this side of reality). Being able to say that we desire God's will is an admirable first step but then a Christ-follower must ask the crucial question - "Am I ready to receive what He tells me?"

And then, if we can get past our selfishness as a first obstacle to recieving God's call, fear is there waiting for us. Fear tells us that our benevolence will be rewarded with failure...or worse. Fear tells us we don't have what it takes anyways, so why bother. Recently, I've been chased by some fresh directives from God for my life that, frankly, challenge my ideals of how fearless I really am. I hear God, loud and clear, but what he wants me to do... I'm not sure if it's is fully possible and I'm not sure if I have what it takes (I'm being this transparent in the hopes that someone reading this can identify and take benefit).

And so, I return to Scripture to read the stories of other ordinary people that were asked by God to do impossibly fantastic things. Gideon, Joshua, Moses, Esther, Jeremiah, Mary...the list goes on and on. People that, when confronted by God's calling, asked Him how it was even possible. His answer has (and will) always be the same, "I'll be with you."

God makes no affirmation of our amazing speaking abilities, our wisdom, or our strength. The first chapter of 1 Corinthians, goes so far as to say that God chooses the lowly on purpose. In calling us to purposes beyond our ability, He has obligated Himself to pick up the proverbial slack. To receive God's call, I must get past my own selfishness and fear; to answer His call, I must depend on Him with absolutely totality.

This will be no stoic step, God's calling on my life. With sweat like bullets and my heart pounding out of my chest, I will take the steps God is calling me to take. I pray for the cadence of Christ's followers, that we will walk in spite of ourselves in the direction of His will.

What is the call God has on your life that you need to finally receive?

#WednesdayReview - Celebration of Discipline (Foster)

Last Saturday, I had a chance to catch up with a dear brother of mine, JR Woodward, for coffee. As we sat there talking about some of our favorite books we decided to start a new feature, via blog and twitter, called #WednesdayReview. I had one particular book in mind originally but, this morning, God put another book on my heart as I was reading through 1 Corinthians 9, here's what I read:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (vv. 24-27)

With this, God reminded me of Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster. This book is an absolute classic on the spiritual disciplines and a must read for every serious Christ follower. In a surprisingly ease-to-read manner, Foster lays out some of the most foundational spiritual practices in a compelling and practical way. His chapters on Prayer and Fasting, were so influential in my walk and his chapter on Simplicity absolutely changed my life. Its a fairly quick read but I actually recommend downloading the audio version and listening to it while you run or on a long car ride (its only 3 hours long).

The passage I read this morning and Foster's classic both remind me that, in life, there is no such thing as stasis. It's been said many times before that you can either grow or atrophy, which is very true of your spirituality. Our spiritual fitness is not something we can neglect one day and then count on the next - it must always be before us as a priority.

If this feature was helpful to you, please feel free to (1) check out Celebration of Disciplines (2) retweet or link to my review and (3) take part in #WednesdayReview and recommend one of your favorite books!

What's our standard for worship?

Last night my friends and I were at a concert featuring Matt Nathanson and Jack's Mannequin which was absolutely incredible. Beyond just being good music, both of these bands were incredible live because of the emotion with which they played their music. To watch these guys on stage was to see true artists totally unleashed. Poets of any age have the most incredible ability to tap into emotion in a way that's infectious to their listeners.

A very simple thought occurred to me during the concert but its one I want to meditate on for a while. In the Church, do we mistake excellence for true passion when it comes to our worship - musical or otherwise? So much focus these days seems to be on the production value of our church product that excellence can subtly become a means to its own end.

I spent some time this morning reflecting on the widow's offering in Luke 21 and Jesus' observations on who gave the most. Somehow with any form of worship, its not the show that God is concerned with the but the heart. If you need any further verification you can pretty much read any verse in Isaiah.

The Church today is suffering because its lost its heart in so many ways. Strip off the all the halos and flowing garments and God ends up looking like a pretty ordinary Galilean; a nondescript rabbi that has mesmerized the world for 2,000 years because of His heart and passion - our worship of Him should be no different. Where excellence and passion intersect, its an incredible gift. But if given a choice of one or the other, I'll take the latter every time.

Comfort's Thorns

Sunlight tumbled through my bedroom window early this morning finding its resting place directly on my face.  It's my day off and, on a day I would normally sleep in much later, I felt this great need to get up and on with the day.  There were things to be accomplished and potential to be realized of this day that were simply out of reach in the confines of my bed.

Every morning is a small dilemma though; why leave the comfortable confines of my bed, a place where I'm warm, calm, safe, and relaxed, on the promised potential of a day I'm not yet acquainted with?  I don't mean this to be a cynical viewpoint but more of an esoteric perspective on life as a whole.

It seems that comfort is our temptation in almost every decision we make in life.  The "easy way" always presents itself, enticing us to either do or not do something that seems inherently more risky than simply rolling over in our proverbial bed and sleeping for another hour.  Gone is the great potential in risk when we would settle for much more meager assurances.

My time with God this morning has been spent on the question of how much I have done or not done because of my infatuation with comfort.  Have I gained as much as I thought I did when I decided to play it safe in life?  And when I suffered the consequences of risk, was it worth it?  So many times, whether its Joshua or Gideon or the disciples, God sends his people out into danger with only the assurance of His presence (Joshua 1, Judges 6, Matthew 10 & 28). These are the stories of people that decided it was better to risk everything to be used by God than to settle for temporal and apathetic comforts.  I wonder if these folks were nagged by the same question that haunts me when I'm when faced with these situations - what am I missing out on if I don't follow God's calling however risky it might seem?

Today I decided to get out of bed and the day has not disappointed.  In hindsight I realize that I haven't regretted risk when I've taken it.  I haven't enjoyed suffering but I've seen purpose in it as well.  By God's grace, I hope that I can push into that ideal leaving Comfort, thorns and all, left to be picked by some other unfortunate soul.

It Doesn't Matter Who You Voted For

With almost three months separating us from what was probably the most grueling political season ever, I now feel like I can take some time to reflect on it with out being sick. While much of the attention last year focused on the presidential election, many other offices were being sorted out as well. In Richmond alone, we were deciding on a new mayor, city councilperson, and school board who would then, in turn, decide on our police chief and school superintendent. Whew, no wonder I felt tired on November 5th...

With so many important offices being filled, I'm sure this election season was a mixed bag for most. You probably got some of the folks you wanted in and odds are a couple people made it in that you're not too happy about. Losing sucks in general and, when it comes to an election, people tend to salve the wound by becoming impassioned detractors of the person they didn't vote for who is now in office. Setting aside whether this behavior is constructive, it is oddly therapeutic and an important part of our democratic society.

In at least one case, the vote didn't go in the direction I wanted it to in November. I allowed myself 10 minutes to be disappointed but then I dusted myself off, knelt down, and prayed for said person. That God would bless them with wisdom and guide me in how I could support that all of our newly elected officials in achieving God's purpose through their office. In short, I would submit this - on Novement 5th and going forward, it doesn't matter who you voted for.

In a democratic society, that statement may be the political equivalent of blashphemy but I would simply ask what withholding your support for those now in office is going to achieve for the next four years. Scream and spit and snip all you want, they're in office until the next election. We can choose to obstruct to the detrement of the city and nation we love or we can choose to find common ground and offer our help on the points we agree.

Christ followers in particular are commanded to do this. In 1 Timothy 2, Paul instructs us:

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

In many cases, we boil our allegence down to one issue that we either agree or disagree. When we're not downright hateful about our opposition of said elected official, Christians in particular are very good at passive-agressive hatefulness (ex. "Well I just hope he doesn't screw things up too badly..."). Beyond one person in a particular office, we're also commanded to seek the good of the land that we're in:

Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper. - Jeremiah 29:7

So Christians really have no excuse for sitting on the sidelines and complaining when the person we want in office isn't. We should love our country and our city enough to find common ground and seek God's will there. There is too much need and too much injustice for there not to be some issue we can agree on. Lets involve ourselves there, putting away hatefulness and divisivness, we can be what God calls us to be - positive forces of mercy and generosity in our world. God is not glorified by our complaining, as a Church, lets be about something more positive in 2009 and going forward.

Who's Hope is it?

On the heels of Barak Obama's inauguration, I feel a certain weighty inspiration. Here is a man that appeals to our ideals of hope. Agree or disagree with his specific stances on issues, but hope is universal because it springs from our God and it was Jesus' message, His Good News, before it was anyone elses.

There was one particular part of our President's speech today that captured me because I feel like its a message the Church could take to heart in the era of transition we find ourselves collectively in.

...They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint...

The Church for too long has enjoyed a season of Power and has operated in the world under that mode. The consequence is a culture that rejects us because the Gospel is not a message about power. The Gospel is a message about justness, humility, and restraint (more on this in a future post).

Earlier in his speech, President Obama said that the world has changed and so should we. He meant the country but I think its a message for the Church as well. We shouldn't fear change as if the Gospel will be altered in the process. And we shouldn't see change as merely packaging. If the Gospel is timeless, it will find context in our current time. In these changing times, we will contexts shift but our Gospel of Hope remain the same. As I said, before Hope was Barack Obama's message, it was God's. As followers of Christ, we should be a people inspired by Jesus' message of Hope and Change. To those that carry that banner, I look forward to joining with you...

The Wager of Devotion

What if I told you something really bad was about to happen to you? You won't know when, where, how, who - nothing, just that something bad is going to happen to you and when it happens...well, its gonna be bad. You would probably walk around pretty jumpy. Perhaps you would find yourself being a little more timid, not taking as many risks. But as careful as you are, you can never be sure if or when "it" is coming.

Now what if I told you why something was bad was going to happen to you? What if I told you the reason was because you were a follower of God? That one day there would be consequences for being so devoted to God, persecution, death, or even worse - ridicule!

How fortunate are we that our hardships as Christians in America don't even come remotely close to violence or death? This is, unfortunately, not always in the case in other areas of the world where following Christ can mean jail or death. Their plight is much the same of the Jewish nation throughout the ages. I was reminded of the story of Shadrach Meshack and Abendigo in the book of Daniel. Faced with the consequence of a fiery death in a furnace, they chose God over the king, boldly stating that they would rather die than disavow their God. They said that God had the power to save them from this fate. But even if he chose not to, they would still not bow down to the king. This was quite a dangerous wager they had going with the king and with God. They could face the fire and God would either save them or not save them, but what was more unbearable to them than anything was walking away from their God. Their boldness for God was rewarded as God stood with them in the fire; their devotion, shining in sharp contrast to the thousands of Israelites that had chosen to capitulate in the same situation rather than face the same trial.

Lest we think that God is somehow obligated by our actions to work this way or that, think of John the Baptist. He is our counter-example in one way. Like many prophets, he was bold for God but was eventually killed by the same people that he was sent to. We should hear echoes of Jesus' life in this example as well. Here were more followers of God that decided that nothing would stop them from proclaiming their devotion to God boldly and suffered as a result. What was more unacceptable to them than even death was to say that they almost fought the good fight, almost finished the race, almost keep the faith.

This brings us back to our current dilemma, if fiery furnaces and death aren't our consequence for following God then why do we walk around as if it were? At the risk of scorn or a snide comment from a coworker or classmate, many Christ followers sheepishly go about their devotional lives hoping to not draw much attention to themselves. Their compromise is a devotion not so bold as to draw attention but not so cold as to equate to, at least in their own minds, rejection of God. I doubt that God is fooled or that he's very pleased. Should he savor a glass of lukewarm water anymore than you or I would?

By their scorn, our culture in many ways has the church up against the proverbial ropes. Where Christians have found the courage to boldly display their devotion for God, they often lack the love and respect necessary for the message to be pure and the hearers to be affected.

We've feared the fire for too long and our world is ill served by the timid faith produced as a result. What this world needs more than anything is a Church that is proud of her Savior. Nothing will build peoples' faith in God more than people with faith in God. Nothing will give people confidence in God more than people who are confident in God. Nothing will help this world know what God is like more than people that model, by their lives, what God is like. Nothing will make people desire God more than people that desire God.

So if my life is a wager between the possibility of persecution or the assurance of God's pleasure then gimme the dice - I'm betting it all on the latter.

U-turns in the Kingdom

We've spent the last several Advent weeks preparing for Christmas tomorrow. What continues to strike me is Jesus born in a barn. The humility and simplicity of how God chose to enter into our world carries a profound weight to it that's too easily lost on the season. Philippians 2 says,

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!

We understand what happened at Christmas but we don't understand what any of it means. Not that there's any one meaning or reason but, more to the point, that we don't give it any thought at all. I should wonder as I think about Christ's birth if the humility I see in that act would have some influence on the way I live my life. Christ had everything we strive for in life, and he forsook it to be with us. And, in some kind of ironic twist, we find ourselves forsaking God for all the things we strive for in life.

If it seems backwards, it should. We often find ourselves going in the complete opposite direction that we should be going, doing exactly the opposite of what we should be doing. Our values, our goals and pursuits are cast in stark contrast to God's. That's why God's ways seem so counter-intuitive to us sometimes - who's wrong, him or us? That's why Jesus and others use religious terms like "repent", which literally means, "to turn around" or "to go the other way".

God, born a helpless baby in a stinky manger. Divinity stuffed into humanity. Light shining in the darkness. The most valuable thing in the world, found among the worthless. Its the incredible foolishness of the Christmas story cast against our "normal" values and pursuits that jars us out of our apathy and spiritual inertia. All of a sudden, I'm left to ask what's more foolish, God sacrificing his glory to be with us or me selling my soul for money, prestige, or power.

Looking into the face of a little baby, I'm brought to my knees. Yes, God I hear you. Yes, I understand - or at least I'm beginning to.

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned...

Blogger's Block

Hello long lost blog. It's probably been evident that I have lately found a lack of time and motivation for writing more in my blog. I'm honestly not too worried about this. First of all, the day that I wrote because I felt obligated too this would cease to give me any pleasure at all. Secondly, I've noticed in my life that I go through seasons when I am either "inhaling" or "exhaling" spiritually. In other words, sometimes I have something to say, sometimes I feel I should just shut and listen. One inevitably leads to the other so I'm confident this "blogger's block" will come to an end.

Sufficed to say that, during this season of listening, God has begun to tell me much. I feel like he's leading me into some very new exciting directions. I feel like God is actively at work in my life. I get a sense of his movement and his pulling in a very specific direction. I'm trying to confirm all of this with him by staying in conversation with him.

In the meantime, I'm just going to sit here, be quiet, and listen...

Army of None

Rule #1 on the battlefield - find out who's firing at you.

I've been doing some thinking lately about what/who the chief opponents of the church truly are. There's a lot of rhetoric around this issue and a lot of comforting answers that don't have that much truth to them. And so while the church would like to think the cause of its problems are some combination of gays, MTV, and the democratic party, I think the root cause hits a lot closer to home.

Taking a long term view of church history over the last 2000 years it would seem that the church is a victim of its own success. The church was a tiny mustard seed that grew into a 300 lb. gorilla which then in turn became a 90 year-old women in a walker. As a church, we wonder what we can do to fight those that oppose us but I propose that our greatest enemy is oftentimes, ourselves.

The church suffers from a self-imposed sickness that has perhaps more severely hindered its health and growth than Satan’s opposition ever did. Or, to think about it another way, perhaps apathy has been Satan’s most effective tool over the millennia.

In short, apathy has led to lethargy which has, in turn, led to atrophy.

At the risk of nostalgia, a summary reading of Acts picks up on something very fresh about the Christ followers before they had even begun to be called Christians. There was an urgency to their mission; a sense of sacrifice and excitement that has since largely abated. Somewhere along the way, Christians ceased to be the ones being thrown in the lion's den anymore, they were the lions. For centuries, the midevil and catholic churches could sit back and tell the world that it should come to them - effectively reversing the Great Commission that Jesus had left his followers when he returned to heaven.

Had the church really heard from Jesus to change his command to them or, having achieved a certain level of power and comfort, thought it had accomplished its goal of conquering the world and welcomed anyone that wished to relish that victory to join in doing so?

Before the church had even effectively begun, Jesus stated the problem and the solution in very clear terms. Staring out over a valley of hurting and lost people, he said, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Jesus is saying that the problem is not the harvest but the workers!

The modern day church is in urgent need of a sense of urgency about its mission. Is the church still filled with men and women willing to sacrifice anything to glorify Christ in the world? Are we even excited about our faith anymore?! Thankfully, I do believe that the answer is yes. As with every generation, the Lord preserves out of it a remnant that has stayed true to his calling. There exists in this remnant a passion that can still save the world.

And, as it most always is, that remnant is led by its young people.

I see a certain sense of irony in the fact that the generations (X and Y) accosted and chided for their relative lack of motivation and apathy would be the generation whom, by its passion for God, could save the church - and thereby, the world.

In Isaiah 6, God calls out, “Who will I send and who will go.” In the story, Isaiah responds that he will go but, notice carefully, God wasn’t speaking directly to anyone – there is no referent in God’s statement. What I’m led to believe about this call is that its an open invitation as valid today as it was when Isaiah heard. God’s voice is echoing out of heaven calling to each of us and demanding a response. I believe that our generation will respond but let us state very clearly to those that hestitate that no response is effectively a ‘no’.

The time for inaction in God's church has passed. Echoing the words of many a biblical author, love for God will not merely be shown by sentiment but truly by action. I believe that this valley of dry bones can once again rise to be - "a vast army".

Adore

I don't have pages to write tonight but, sitting here listening to music and worshiping God, a very simple thought occurred to me. I find many people, especially in very recent conversations, with a very strong belief in God and a very adamant belief in Christian doctrine.

But very few times do I meet someone that simply adores God.

God is the most beautiful person I've ever met. His teachings are the best advice and guidance I've ever received. Jesus is the greatest man that ever lived and I wish I could be everything that he was. Loving, kind, caring, giving, joyful, funny, powerful but gentle.

I see a lot of people that believe stuff really strongly. I meet very few people that adore anything except themselves. And selfishness is a paltry form of adoration. As Christ followers, we can say that we adore someone so far beyond us and yet so close that he adores us more. Our God smiles when he sees us, he dances over us. He has celebrated every day that you've ever lived. I've never lacked a single thing. In every situation, he's provided for my needs and then more. So I know today, surer than anything else I know, that God rejoices over my joy.

I feel no need to be articulate tonight so much as to communicate how totally fixated I am on my Jesus, my God. Let my adoration be my testimony tonight.

Demonstration vs. Demonstration

As always, I really appreciate JD and Colbey's comments. Their response to my last blog caused me to think more about how Jesus took a stand against the conventions of his day that he opposed.

In general, people have a pretty ugly way of disagreeing with one another. A random sampling of the news today will verify this fact. Rarely do I find people/groups that can disagree with one another in a civilized fashion. And on this accord, Christians are as guilty as anyone else. In fact, with a mandate to be just the opposite, I'd say Christ-followers are doubly incriminated for their hateful displays of opinion and protest. It's doubtful that loud demonstrations have ever swayed the opinion of any great number of people but, rather, to solidify them in their views.

What we see in Jesus is an entirely different and loving way of demonstrating his opposition to the wrongs of his culture. But his methods weren't just different, they were far more effective. Jesus protested the culture of the day by demonstrating the alternative. He advocated his message by his actions and, by doing so, subverted the positions of those he opposed.

This is a very different kind of "demonstration" though. The term demonstration has multiple meanings. When you think of the first, think of shouting lines of protesters holding big signs stating their opinion on something. Think of the second, for example, as me demonstrating a product I want you to buy by actually showing you how it works. The first kind of demonstration involves much more talk, the second, a lot more action.

Jesus preferred the second, he lived out the message he was preaching thereby demonstrating its validity. This, I believe, presents a real challenge to many so-called Christ followers because yelling is oftentimes far easier than actually changing one's life to reflect Jesus' commands. I don't know whether I'm more amused or heart broken when all Christians do is talk about their faith and then wonder why no one is convinced. Honestly, why should someone else adopt a doctrine into their lives that we are either unwilling or unable to adopt ourselves. Our hypocrisy has drained the Gospel of its power and simply yelling louder compensates not for the loss.

As followers of Christ, we will begin to change the world when we, first, change our lives. If we pay attention to the One we claim to follow we'll see an example already provided. Christ's example shows us that his lifestyle is possible for those that are willing.

So the question becomes, are we willing?

Enigma

At first, I was going to name this blog something to the effect of "Pissing off Pharisee's - A Practical Guide". While I will talk about this, "Enigma" seemed to strike more at the heart of what I've been thinking about lately.

This past year, there've been times when I've acutely felt a tension about living the life I want to live in this world. At times I can feel opposed, other times scorn. Most people are nicer than that, they're just kinda confused (maybe/hopefully a little intrigued) about the whole thing. It led me to think about the opposition Jesus was met with living the kind of life he lived while he was here. Oddly enough, Jesus met the most opposition with the so-called "religious people" of his day. For some odd reason, something inside of me takes great joy in how much Jesus pissed off "religious people". :-)

As I thought about it, what angered the religious leaders of Jesus' day most was not Jesus' direct attacks on them and the culture they set up. After all, most of Jesus' "direct attacks" were in response to a question or attack initially directed at him. In fact, many people of His day were issuing such direct attacks and didn't draw nearly the ire that Jesus did. The reason Jesus inspired such anger in the relgious people of his day is far less salient. Simply put, he wouldn't play by their rules.

I read many of the first interactions Jesus had with pharisaical types as an attempt to recruit by the latter. Initially, the Pharisees were probably just trying to figure out who's "side" Jesus was on. Many people were disappointed to find out that Jesus wasn't on any of their sides. He was on God's side. He was on the side of the poor and oppressed, people whom it wasn't very advantagious to side with. As he grew in power and influence, I think it bothered people very much that Jesus would not align himself with their cause.

Two other things really escalated the matter. Jesus' lifestyle wouldn't have been as potent if it had not been so successful. By successful, I mean many things. First, consistency; Jesus was able to live a life that didn't comprimise the ideal he preached. Beyond that, it was staggering how well Jesus' lifestyle worked in a world that was seemingly so set against it. He seemed to swim against the current of his culture with an ease that, I think, frustrated many people that wanted him to just "get with the program". Jesus life turned everything they understood about life on its head and, most imporantly, made that life attractive to others. The Pharisees, in a very unguarded moment, even once proclaimed, "Look how the whole world has gone after him!" (John 12:19b - in fact, read the whole chapter). It's when Jesus began drawing others to himself that the Pharisees' frustration turned into rage. Jesus' lifestyle gave people not just another way to live but a better way to live.

Jesus was an enigma because it was impossible to understand him apart from God. When we talk about proclaiming the Gospel, far beyond mere words, we mean taking Jesus' lifestyle and demonstrating it in our own lives. We'll find that, as we do this, our lives will sometimes have the same effect on people that Jesus' did. To make a lifestyle of out Jesus' teaching will, as a natural consequence, draw the attention of those around us both inside and outside of the church. Some responses will be positive and encouraging others, out of sheer confusion or fear, will not be as encouraging. We must be prepared for either. Once people have tried to understand you apart from God, and failed, they will have to turn toward God to make any sense of your life. Like the dancer that once said, "If I could say it, I wouldn't have to dance it", we will say more with our actions than our words could ever have expressed.

You will be an enigma because it will be impossible to understand you apart from God...

What's Playing? - Angels and Airwaves

So this begins a new feature I'd like to start on my blog. Periodically, I'd like to talk about new music (or at least new to me) that I've been checking out.

The name of the band may not seem familiar but the band's vocalist and front man, Tom DeLonge, will be immediately recognizable for the millions of Blink182 fans, who have appreciated his work for many years already.

Beginning with Blink's last album, DeLonge's songwriting prowess has began to grow and mature, continuing that upward progression with his new project, Angels and Airwaves, and their debut CD, We Dont' Have to Whisper. Once you shake the notion that you're just listening to another Blink182 album, you'll start to appreciate the depth of this offering, particularly in its lyrics. You'll definitely want to pull the lyrics out of the jacket on this one and give them a read as you listen.

DeLonge takes a departure from typical teen angst over the problems of the world and takes this opportunity to sing about the solution in inspiring fashion. Intended or not, many of the lyrics have a decidedly spiritual tone to them (at least to this listener). For instance, A&A's track, A Little's Enough, is a song about a world where there is no pain and allowing that healing to start in your heart now. Check out an exerpt from the song...

Green trees were the first sign
The deepest blue, the clearest sky
The silence came with the brightest eyes
And turned water into wine

The children ran to see
The parents stood in disbelief
And those who knew braced for the ride
The earth itself then came alive to say

I, I can do anything
If you want me here
And I can fix anything
If you let me near
Where are those secrets now?
That you're too scared to tell
I'd whisper them all aloud
So you can hear your self

While not every part of the CD is filled with this much depth and meaning, I wouldn't say there was any part that I truly didn't like. The CD on the whole is an impressive and significant leap forward for DeLong's art. Personally, the power of some of DeLong's lyrics have actually inspired me to revisit my poetry as an avenue of personal expression. Overall, the CD is definitely worth checking out. Post your thoughts on it once you give it a listen...

Suprised by Goodness

After a month's hiatus from blogging, I'm finally sitting down to write about some of the stuff God's been teaching me over the last month. The good news is that I have a whole month of stuff to write about!

More than anything, this past month, I've seen God answer numerous prayers in absolutely amazing ways. Like many people, my prayer life comes in waves but, recently, I've experienced a real renaissance in prayer. What's struck me most during this time is how suprised I am when God answers my prayers. Perhaps I wouldn't have normally noticed it but the frequency and magnitude of God's answers have made this fact increasingly apparent.

The Bible is stuffed with quotes from God saying if we pray to him about things, he'll answer. Most notably in Matt, chapter 7, Jesus says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

I'm not sure how much more plainly he could say it. But then he goes farther: "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!".

In this passage, God not only speaks of his willingness to answer our prayers but, even moreso, his enjoyment in doing so. As I've thought over this passage recently, one question lingers in my heart: God, I know you're good but are you really that good?

It's not a very orthodox question to ask, but its honest. I'm continually underestimating how good God is and he's, therefore, continually suprising me by answering prayers that I, honestly, never expected him to answer. It's some kind of excessive-compulsive need I have to draw a line around God; to know his boundaries so I can say I've figured him out.

It is with much regret that I must admit I am running out of energy trying to put God in a box. He simply refuses to respect the boundaries I place on him. I'm compelled to start asking for impossible things like entire cities and an exciting desk job. I'm becoming convinced my prayers are almost tangible in God's presence. And most dangerous of all, I'm starting to believe the prayers I pray.

God keep suprising us with your goodness. Amen...