Just a Thought

Dreams

2010-02-28T10:13:00.000-05:00

I was doing some journaling this morning, trying to record some thoughts before they disappeared and also to help me change gears so I could get ready for church. In doing so, I came across an entry from January 5, 2007. I was reading a book called The Dream Cycle at the time. Here are some excerpts from that entry.

A dream is "a compelling awareness of what could or should be, accompanied by a growing sense of responsibility to do something about it." (p.24)

Right now I would say my dream involves the multiplication of churches and disciples who multiply churches and disciples. It also includes an opportunity to mentor others so that they can achieve their full potential wherever they are

What could be:

enough Wesleyan churches in every city/area of eastern NC to adequately disciple every person in that city/area into holiness
leaders who are not frustrated by their situations because they feel equipped to handle all the speed bumps that come wherever they may serve

Wow, things sure have changed. A year after this entry I resigned from the church I was pastoring due to many conflicts. One year after that I turned in my ministerial credentials. A little over a year later, I find myself continually struggling with what it means to be a follower of Christ in terms of fulfilling the Great Commission. My dreams have changed, in large part to the change in my vocation. A change in dreams and a change in vocation can be God-driven (and I'm certain these were). A change in mission, as in the Great Co-mission cannot.

Reconnecting with the Sea

2009-12-30T18:51:00.006-05:00

I haven't posted on this blog in almost six months. This post marks my third entry in about 5 days. Don't know what's up, I'm just running with it.

Last night I started reading America's Inland Waterway again. It was published by the National Geographic Society in 1973 and then again in paperback in 1983. My family was given a hardback copy signed by the photographer because there are pictures of my great-grandfather Stacy Guthrie in the book. That fact has always been a source of pride for the family. The book is basically a journal of the travels of a small sailing yacht up the Intracoastal Waterway. During part of that journey, the photographer stopped on Harkers Island and the rest is history.

The writer begins his journey in Massachusetts. On of his stops is New Bedford, where Herman Melville received his inspiration to write Moby Dick. As the writer details the emotional connection the locals have with the sea and their boats, I began to reminisce about my own childhood growing up in what was once a fishing village where everyone shared those same kind of connections. I find myself mourning for times lost. I experience naive and romantic notions of moving back home and somehow suddenly becoming an "old salt". I desire to immerse myself in knowledge of the history of my hometown so that I can reconnect with a lost heritage.

Our faith journeys often begin the same way. Something within our souls long to reconnect with something past. It's the calling of the Holy Spirit, inviting us to reconnect with our Creator and repairing the broken relationship severed thousands of years ago in the Garden. We can immerse ourselves in Him as he fills us with his presence. Fortunately for all of us, it's not just a romantic dream but a reality for all who believe.

Will there be Vulcans in Heaven?

2009-12-28T00:08:00.003-05:00

No, this is not my attempt to be blasphemous nor overly sarcastic. It is a tongue in cheek question spurred by my recent viewing of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Before anyone freaks out that perhaps I have switched my allegiance from the Jedi Universe to be a Trekkie, I really do not consider the two to be mutually exclusive. I will however state that my desire to be a Jedi Master is stronger than my desire to serve aboard the Federation Starship Enterprise.

There is a line early in the movie where Admiral Kirk (he's been promoted) says that IF Spock has an eternal soul, then he, Kirk, must do whatever possible to help Spock. It's an interesting twist that by the 23rd century in the Star Trek universe that it is commonly accepted that there is no divine, there is no after life. Higher powers are simply more highly evolved sentient beings. However, Vulcans still retain an element of mysticism that believes in the eternity of the soul. To add another turn to this odd twist, humans are portrayed as irrational beings, controlled by their emotions whereas Vulcans have eliminated emotions from their beings and are governed solely by logic. How interesting that such a civilization should believe in an afterlife.

Where are we today? Have we become so technologically advanced, so knowledgeable about the workings of the universe that we have eliminated the possibility of the divine and an afterlife (note I use afterlife in the singular, not plural)? Have we misappropriated our use of logic in this endeavor? Have we forgotten that any logical examination of such ideas must at least allow for these possibilities, no matter how remote? Or have we misapplied our scientific principles and ruled out possible conclusions that contradict the results we would prefer?

Believe it or not, I'm not trying to be overly philosophical. I'm asking a basic question. Do your actions, lifestyle, and behavior logically agree with what you say you believe? Or are you living like the confused humans of the 23rd century? Just a thought . . .

Christmas Reflections '09

2009-12-26T20:44:00.005-05:00

It's December 26, the day after Christmas (Boxing Day for those of you who maintain roots with England) and a strange one it has been. As I drove my youngest son to the mall to buy a Lego set with some Christmas money he received, today's date shockingly dawned upon me. It shocked me so because except for the fact it took over 30 minutes to travel less than half a mile from the interstate to a parking place and the Christmas decor still adorning the mall, it certainly did not feel like Christmas.

Before I go any further, let me say that one steps onto shaky ground when talking about whether or not it "feels" like something. Christmas is not a feeling. It's either a secular holiday with sacred undertones or a sacred observance with secular trappings, depending on who you are and where you start. The strange thing for me this year is I felt like I had no starting place. It just came and went. All the sacred and all the secular meanings were clearly present, but none of them rang very loudly for me.

Perhaps the economy killed the secular for me. We had managed to save a substantial chuck of change in order to make this a really big Christmas in terms of gifts. But car repairs, medical bills, and rising gas and grocery prices put the kibosh on that. We did manage to salvage a portion of that savings. With the help of Craigslist, we were able to surprise the boys with a Wii.

That actually turned out to be the best part of Christmas - the surprise on the boys faces. It wasn't the best because we got them some huge expensive present. It was the look of satisfaction on the faces before opening the Wii. They knew our financial situation and the very small number of presents under the tree did not faze them. They were very content with the few small things they had received until opening that one big box labeled for both of them. It was a moment I will cherish forever.

Perhaps my return to teaching killed the sacred for me. I have been out of the pulpit for about a year and half now. I turned in my credentials, feeling 100% confident that God has led me away from pastoral ministry. My ministry to students and fellow teachers had resumed after a fifteen year hiatus. Ironically, something about being on the front line as opposed to directing the troop movement from the church office made it seem less so.

Christmas carols have always been my favorite part of Christmas. On the Sunday before Christmas, we sang What Child is This. This line stood out - "Good Christian, fear for sinners here, The silent Word is pleading." It hit me like a ton of bricks - that is what Christmas is all about. That is the mission of Christmas and every Christ follower.

As I reflect on Christmas 2009, though it did not "feel" like Christmas, I must say it has been one of the best ever. Maybe it was more like "Christmas" than I realized.

2009-07-01T14:34:00.001-04:00

Summer Goal Update

Two more things off the honey-do list. Goal 1 for curriculum development done. Steady as she goes!

MGSF, Season 3 Episode 3

2009-06-24T00:24:00.003-04:00

What if you could have whatever you wanted? That's the question which leads to a life of crime for three women and their families in the movie Mad Money. What does that have to do with this season's theme of Matt Guthrie, Suburban Farmer - Reclaiming the Garden? Everything. It was that very same question that got us kicked out of the Garden.

Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptation to have what they wanted under their own terms. They believed the lies told by the serpent. What did they want? The Bible tells us that the fruit looked good and the idea of gaining wisdom appealed to the first couple. But is that all they really wanted? Was some juicy, tasty fruit and some knowledge the real motivation? Or was it the desire to be like God himself without trusting his judgement?

We have already been created in his image, although now it is flawed because of sin. Because of that fatal decision, God has put another plan in place so that effects of that moment can be reversed. That's what reclaiming the Garden is all about. God holds the deed and gives us the Holy Spirit as a deposit guaranteeing our claim. In the process, we are remade into his image.

What IF you could have whatever you wanted? How much do you want to be like him?

How much is enough?

2009-06-17T11:28:00.002-04:00

"Kamens said on his blog that the airline offered him a $75 refund."

says this article about two young girls who were placed on the wrong flights earlier this week. Considering the situation, I would have considered $75 to be a greater wrong than the mistake itself. How much would the airline have to offer for me to feel properly compensated for the wrong they had done to me and my child?

This begs an important question regarding our faith journey. How much is enough for our relationships with God to be restored so that we move from enemy to friend? outcast to family member? death to life? It's through faith in the death of Jesus as the only payment big enough to pay for our sins. After reading this article, I wondered how God feels about our feeble efforts to make our own way.

Real Self-Sacrifice

2009-06-16T09:37:00.005-04:00

Last night we watched Seven Pounds starring Wil Smith. The premise of the movie is that "Ben" Thomas, Smith's character, has dedicated his life to changing the lives of seven other people before committing suicide. If this is a movie you plan on watching, you may want to stop reading now and come back later. The climax and the "I can't believe it ends like this" moment comes when Thomas actually takes his life for the sole purpose of providing a heart transplant for a woman with a rare blood type. The twist is that Thomas has indavertently fallen in love with her.

During the scene that shows the surgeons removing the heart from Thomas' body and simultaneously prepping the woman's body, I could not help but think of the parallels to the mission of Jesus, the Son of God. He came to earth for the sole purpose of giving his life as the only sufficient atonement for our sins and possibility of eternal life. Watching the anguish on Thomas' face as he cheats himself of love with this young woman caused to think of Christ's anguish in a different way. Ultimately, he knew he would not be cheated of time spent with the people he loved, but how much pain did his love cause himself in those regards?

"Ben" Thomas' acts provide contrasts to Christ's actions as well. Christ was perfect. His action's were prompted by perfect love for others. His act of self-sacrifice provided for the atonement of the world. Thomas' mission was provoked by a desire to seek atonement for himself. Seven lives, including his wife's, were ended because of a fatal mistake he made on the highway. His acts were an attempt to find redemption for himself by punishing himself.

As we live out our faith journeys, what will motivate our actions? Will we embrace the grace that provides for our salvation or will we try to work off our guilt? Will we allow our lives to be molded by the love of Christ so that we live sacrificially for the sake of others? Just a thought.

2009-06-15T11:29:00.002-04:00

1st day of summer break & 1st goal met. Crawled out of bed @ 10:40. Will plan for the rest of my goals after lunch w/a friend. It's gonna be a great summer.

Note: I did make it to my small group at 6 this morning, but came home and went back to bed :-D

Goal Update

2009-06-10T17:41:00.002-04:00

As soon as I published my summer goals I realized I needed to update them. I'm not going to be able to stay in bed until 10am on Monday. I am part of a men's small group that meets at 6:00am every Monday. So, I guess I'll have to change the goal to come home and go back to bed until at least 10:00.

That's the thing about goals. Sometimes they are impossible. Sometimes they are just unrealistic. Or sometimes they just need to be modified to better fit the situation or what is really needed.

Summer Goals

2009-06-07T19:56:00.004-04:00

In one week my "summer break" officially begins. I have set the following goals to accomplish before I return to school in two months:
- lose 20 of the 35 pounds I need to lose. Twenty will satisfy my doctor when I go for my annual physical in August. Thirty-five will satisfy me.
- Resume (begin?) running. I'd like to be back up to at least 3 miles a day when I return to work.
- read Twilight and find out what has all my female students so captivated that many of them have read the entire series several times this year alone.
- develop an integrated math and science curriculum for a class that will begin in the 2011-2012 school year.
- develop a men's discipleship curriculum with my pastor that will kick off this fall with at least three small groups.
- develop a better physical conditioning program for my volleyball team before tryouts begin this fall. Also develop a broader set of skill development drills.
- catch up on all the episodes of Heroes I missed this year
- begin watching season 1 of Lost to see what everyone else is so excited about
- finish the first draft of my juvenile fantasy novel. I'd like my boys to be able to read and enjoy it before they outgrow it.
- go fishing AT LEAST once a week.
- come home with a cooler full of trout after our camping vacation in Cherokee, NC
- complete the honey-do list
- do an in-depth study of the book of Hebrews

My first and easiest goal will be accomplished on June 15. I WILL not get out of bed that morning before 10:00 am. The rest of the goals are fairly attainable, but will require lots of discipline. Discipline is a key component in our faith journeys. "Discipline" and "Disciple" have the same root. The Holy Spirit begins, continues, and will complete changes in our lives, but we must also be disciplined in our faithful obedience to God. What goals do you have for your faith journey? What discipline will be required?

MGSF, Season 3 Episode 2 - Real Work

2009-05-18T20:53:00.007-04:00

(Matt Guthrie, Suburban Farmer)

This season is all about reclaiming the Garden. Over a month ago when I was doing the back breaking work of hoeing up my garden plot, I began to appreciate the whole concept of work. I'm not a desk jockey, but as a math teacher, I do very little physical work throughout the course of the day. It felt good to use all those neglected muscles, especially when I thought about having my own farm. My dream of perfect, romantic farm life where everything goes on without a hitch rolled continuously through my mind as I drove my mental tractor through the fields and collected the eggs of my yet-to-exist chickens.

I began to appreciate once again our original purpose when we were created. Contrary to popular belief, Adam was not put in the Garden to eat bon bons all day. He was put there to work. Adam's job was to tend to the Garden and all of Creation. That doesn't mean that if we are not doing hard physical labor that we are falling short of God's design. It doesn't matter what type of work it is, as long as we do it. One of the reasons we feel so fulfilled after a hard day's work is that we are fulfilling part of our purpose.

We were made in God's image, imago dei. He wanted us to continue his work. That includes his creative work in the Garden. We were called upon to multiply across the face of the earth. That creativity is not limited to procreation. Take a good look at the art, technology, and philosophy around you. They are all products of the ability to create placed in us by God.

The continuation of God's work includes telling everyone about him. Abraham was given a promise. Part of that promise was to be the forefather of the one who would provide salvation to all. Abraham was also told to be a blessing to all he encountered. As God formed his chosen people, their purpose was to show the world who God was. Before Jesus returned to his Father's side, he gave us the commission to go out and tell everyone about him, making them his disciples. This is the most important work we could do.

How's your garden going?

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T13:41:00.000-04:00

This Mother's Day I am reminded of how mothers so easily embody the self-sacrificing ideals of Christ. In church this morning we sang several songs that highlighted the price the Son of God paid to willingly be our savior. He gave up his throne in heaven. He took on human flesh and its limitations, even death. He gave himself to take on our sin when we were so undeserving. All this was motivated by love.

My own mother sacrificed so much for the sake of us kids. She worked hard. She put herself last when we need clothes. She shopped all day with us kids in tow and then came home to unload it all while at the same time preparing supper. Even now that we are all grown, she still gives sacrificially to us. And all because of love. Thanks. Happy Mothers Day.

Meet Nutty

2009-05-07T21:46:00.003-04:00

I'd like to introduce you to my new friend, Nutty. Nutty is my new Webkinz. He's a squirrel with an old fashioned country bedroom. I'm trying to pass on my love of baseball to him by building him a baseball themed playroom. The floor looks like a playing field. The walls are decorated like a stadium. Slowly I'm buying furniture and appliances for the room that look like baseball equipment.

Nutty was another one of those special birthday gifts. Each of my sons has a couple of Webkinz. Joshua really enjoys the online world. I don't think there is anything about it he does not know. He talks about it all the time. Joshua thought I would enjoy it as well, so he bought Nutty for me. Once I opened the gift, he could not wait to help me get registered, help me furnish my room, and show me where all the cool stuff in Webkinz World is located. You might say he moved with a certain evangelistic zeal.

Joshua's fervor brought to mind how we should view our faith journeys. Are our journeys so meaningful to us that we think everyone should have one? Are we willing to help novices navigate through the often uncertain waters? Are we willing to befriend them and interact with them in their world so they will be more comfortable?

Just a thought. BTW, if you're ever in Webkinz World, send a note to gutmajohar. I'll show you Nutty's playroom and then we can go to the arcade together.

Birthday Surprise!

2009-05-07T21:41:00.003-04:00

I turned the big 4-0 a few weeks ago. Life has been so hectic that I haven't had the opportunity to talk about the cool surprises I've received. The biggest surprise came last Friday. My wife planned an outing to see the Carolina Mudcats play. I had no idea where we were going until we got there. When we arrived at the ball park, we met up with two other families, again a surprise. They even wished me a happy birthday on the giant screen.

I really love baseball, so this was a cool gift. What made it really cool was the presence of these two families. The husbands are two of my best friends, fellow pastors I have known for twenty years. When I was pastoring, we would meet once a month to support and encourage each other. Since leaving the pulpit, I've not had the opportunity to hang with these guys. I was touched they would come because they each had to drive 2 to 2 1/2 hours to get to the ballpark. One family even broke down on the way home that night.

I was really blessed this birthday to re-experience the value of relationships and community in my faith journey. What about you?

2009-05-04T22:22:00.001-04:00

Fathers - why is it that every Hollywood movie that involves the fulfillment of a dream also involves an unsupportive and atagonistic father?

2009-04-26T19:40:00.001-04:00

Blogging from my phone-if u only had 160 characters what would u say about God & your journey if u wanted the reader to begin following Christ themselves?

Matt Guthrie, Suburban Farmer - Season 3 episode 1

2009-04-14T08:54:00.008-04:00

This week began another season of Matt Guthrie, Suburban Farmer (MGSF). The last two years we had straw bale gardens. I was determined to have a much larger, more traditional in-the-ground garden. I picked out the perfect spot in our yard with plenty of sun, etc. I mentally marked off a plot about twenty feet square. There was one last piece of critical info - I needed to verify the location of our septic drain lines. And wouldn't you know it? Our drain lines run right through all the best places on our property for a garden. On to plan B.

After much shadow watching, soil checking, etc. we finally determined the next best place. To make a long story short, I accepted plan C after beginning the process of preparing the ground the old fashioned way by hand. I went to AgriSupply yesterday and bought ten bales of wheat straw. I'll do another straw bale garden over the spot where I want my "real" garden next year. Over the winter I'll till and prepare the ground for next spring.

This season the theme of MGSF will be "Reclaiming the Garden After The Fall". While doing all that hoeing by hand on Saturday, thoughts of Adam working the Garden of Eden before the forbidden fruit incident kept coming to mind. It has been said that all of salvation history is about God trying to get humankind back into the Garden. Think about your faith journey in those terms. Stay tuned for more episodes of MGSF as we flesh out those thoughts and more.

Artful worship?

2009-04-13T22:55:00.001-04:00

Here's a different statue of Jesus

He is risen!

2009-04-12T10:03:00.002-04:00

He is risen indeed

Psalm 34:8

2009-04-10T01:00:00.000-04:00

Bitterness, a taste I thought forgotten

Words are salt on my blistered lips

Anger sears my tongue

Burning, I choke it down

Why is it so fresh today?

Friends set a table

I dined with enemies

The fruit of betrayal was the main course

Why must I eat of this today?

A cup of suffering for a Son forsaken

Filled with my sins, willingly consumed

Death and darkness give way to light and life

The Savior sets a table

I dine with the lover of my soul

The fruit of love fills my plate

Grace serves a meal undeserving

The cup, filled with forgiveness

Wine soothes my wounded spirit

Comfort gently cools my heart

I swallow its healing for my soul

A fresh taste everyday

(Not) Just another Thursday

2009-04-09T08:02:00.004-04:00

Today is the day that all my colleagues have been waiting for - the last day before Spring Break! Spring Break is always an important time for public school teachers. February and March are usually long stretches where there are no holidays or workdays. The kids are tired of school and wishing it would end. Eventually we tachers all get tired of fighting the battle and we begin to long for break to arrive. Hope and excitement are in the air today because we all know that tomorrow begins Spring Break - 1 week away from school to recharge and hopefully come back to finish strong.

Today is an special day for more important reasons. It's Maundy Thursday. Tonight is the night that Jesus celebrated his last Passover with the Disciples. It's the night that Judas betrayed him with a kiss and the guards arrested him. It began the countdown of the final stages of his earthly ministry - his crucifixion and death that paid for our sins and his resurrection that gives us the promise of eternal life. There is hope and excitement in the air because we are on the backside of the resurrection event. We can say with assurance that no matter how bad it gets, we can hold onto the promise of eternal life in heaven.

What a great day this is gonna be . . .

That's not my job (anymore)

2009-04-04T17:42:00.007-04:00

A disturbing realization came upon me this morning. I have become complacent, ineffective, and inactive in the sharing of my faith. Sure, I get up every morning and go to work, Scout meetings, and ball games, living the Christian life. People still call me "pastor" even though I'm not one anymore. I get called upon to pray at all the usual gatherings. I post occassionally on this blog. But I realized that I am not pro-actively sharing my faith, living it out in tangible ways, serving the world around me in ways that exhibit a missional lifestyle that leads non-believers to begin their own faith journeys.

While I considered all these thoughts, I wondered if I have become a victim of the believers version of being a couch potato. Have I stopped because "it's not my job anymore"? Or have I just gotten lazy?

Just a thought, and not a comforting one . . .

NCCAT Reflections 2

2009-03-29T21:09:00.002-04:00

One of the themes that was reiterated continually during my workshop on web 2.0 resources for the classroom was "Use it for yourself before you try to implement these in the classroom." It can be very daunting to try and implement some of these tools. You might even get worse results by trying to use them before you're ready. Read here for some thoughts I've posted for teachers in these regards.

During my time at this workshop, I began to think about this in terms of our spiritual lives. I phrased that theme this way - "learn, use, apply". When we begin our faith journeys, our entire lives should be affected and changed. Granted, that takes time to see the full effects, but it should happen. The Holy Spirit enters our lives, begins to fill us, helps us learn what it means to be a follower of Christ, and we are hopefully using and applying them to our everyday lives, not just our church lives.

I can't help but think how many of us are like the teachers I reference in the above post, trying to apply or live something out that we don't really use. I want Christ's influence on my life to be THE factor in all I do, not just some second nature. Learn, use, & apply - that's a faith journey.

NCCAT Reflections 1.1

2009-03-19T17:29:00.005-04:00

"It's so easy to use these things." That's what I said in my previous post. I think most churches don't employ these things because they don't use them. If we had the demographics of the churches that use web 2.0 resources, my bet is that they already use them in their regular life. Those who are afraid to use them or feel threatened by them are the ones who don't ever use them.

That's the real key to how you live out your faith journey. You do what you already do, just with a different perspective on life and with a different motivation. Of course, certain activities need to cease once you begin a faith journey, things that are obviously contrary to the Gospel. Web 2.0 resources are do not fall into that category.

Are these things being used for evil? Yep, they sure are. Does that make them inherently evil? Nope. Ever since the first sin in the Garden, humankind has been using that which God created for good for some other selfishly gratifying and sinful purpose.

If we want people to truly live out their faith, why don't we spend more time helping them use their lives for the glory of God. God gave us the creativity and intellect that has developed all that we know and have. Why not give these innovations back to him, a way of living out Romans 12:1-2.

NCCAT Reflections 1.0

2009-03-19T13:00:00.000-04:00

This week I've had the privilege of attending a workshop at the NC Center for the Advancement of Teaching. We have been talking about web 2.0 resources. The eventual goal for all of us is to move from knowledge to personal use to application in the classroom. The number of thoughts that are running through my mind are endless.

One of the things we experienced was Skype. We video conferenced with someone who explained how he used it for Bible Study! He is part of a group that meets weekly using this tool. There are all kinds of other applications that are being under utilized to help people on their faith journeys - wikis, blogs . . . Imagine being able to continue the conversation throughout the week on what you heard on Sunday or in small group or something that happened to you today.

These thoughts are not new. Plenty of others have published more in depth thoughts about this. But it's just so easy to use these things. Next chance I get I'm going to revisit that thought - it's just so easy to use these things - and develop this some more.

Shadows

2009-02-28T19:36:00.002-05:00

We are fortunate enough to have plenty of beautiful hardwoods in our yard. For a few days each fall, we are blessed with a vibrant display of reds, yellows, oranges, even purples and pinks. It also means that our yard is dotted with tall gray poles that have nary a leaf all winter. Some well placed shadows joined hands with those trees to play a nice little trick on me the other day.

I was sitting on the loveseat, looking out the back door. There was a birdhopping along the trunk of a tree, giving the occasionally peck as he traversed the length of the trunk, going up and down. Interestingly, there was another bird on an adjacent mirroring his actions. I've seen two males act this way before, fighting over territory or a female. There was a larger tree behind the two these birds were occupying. Suddenly, one bird flew to the larger tree and the other bird joined him. The birds were face to face. For several seconds they stayed in this posture then returned to their original trees.

After witnessing this "dance" a few more times, my amazement died. I realized that the second bird and its tree were only the shadow of the first, being cast onto the trunk of the much larger tree.

Shadows have a way of concealing reality from us. Things which rather not be discovered hide in shadows. Our vision can be hampered by shadows, hiding the real truth from us. That's why it is so important to walk in the light of Christ when on a faith journey. Darkness will try to hide his face. Darkness will strive to lead us astray. The shadows can even begin to look appealing if we let them. To quote DC Talk, I'm gonna choose to walk in the light.

What's up with your blog?

2009-02-28T10:12:00.003-05:00

To the 4 people who read my blog with semi-semi-semi-regularity, you have probably noticed that my posts lately have been coming with even less regularity. Lots of factors are involved, lack of time being the main. The activities that have been taking up most of my time have also given me reason to consider the purpose of this blog. Or at least its original purpose. I don't know what will happen to Just a Thought, but my gut tells me it will morph more into an online journal of my own faith journey. That's of course assuming I can carve out time to actually post.

Just in case you're curious, here's one of the things that has been occupying my time - the Kenan Fellowship. I've made it to the interview round of the process. My interview is Tuesday afternoon. We'll see how it turns out.

Acting on Instinct

2009-02-10T20:17:00.003-05:00

Season 8 of American Idol is in full swing. The finalists will be picked this week and next week we, the viewers, begin our part of the process of voting on the next American Idol. One contestant is completely blind. A clip of him playing the keyboard while he was singing was shown tonight. I found it interesting that as he was playing, he instinctively "looked" down at his hands and the keys at various times throughout his performance.

I don't know his story. I don't know if he was born blind or lost his sight later in life. Whatever the case, something within him cause him to act in a manner that was consistent with the function and purpose of eyes.

There are aspects of our lives that seem to happen by instinct. Mothers have it, 'cept they call it "intuition." Some of us have personalities that drive us to make decisions by what our guts tell us. When frightened or placed in otherwise stressful situations, the "fight or flight" instinct kicks in.

As people on a faith journey following Christ, we sometimes find ourselves in a battle of warring instincts. There is the sinful nature that taints our soul that tries to lead us into actions that seek to only satisfy self and ignore the needs of others or the will of God. Then there is the Holy Spirit that dwells within us, leading us to imitate the self-sacrificing attitude of Christ, changing us to take on his character.

Which instinct is strongest in you? Which purpose and function are you fulfilling?

I've been there

2009-02-07T08:50:00.004-05:00

I have a student who has been issued a laptop by the school because of some disabilities that affect his handwriting. On Thursday, he and another student were trying to put the finishing touches on a project when he experienced what all of us who depend on computers have experienced at least once. His computer stopped working properly. He had no way to access any of his prior work. He and his partner were obviously distraught and called me over to see if I could fix it.

After he described what was happening, I immediately knew his problem - a bad video inverter. I only knew this because I had experienced the same thing. I wasn't able to fix his problem, but I could at least diagnose it and then empathize with him because nothing is more frustrating than to be dependent on a computer and not be able to get your stuff.

How many times in life has someone come along and provided comfort because they had experienced the same thing as you? How about the other way around? That's the beauty of community and relationships. We usually only focus on sharing the bad things in life, but sharing the good things makes the good things even better.

There is one who can empathize with EVERYTHING we have ever experienced. We can take all our problems and all our joys. We can even take him our sin that we are powerless to do anything about and he will be there for us. He'll even take that away if we ask him. That's why I'm on a faith journey with Jesus. He'll be there.

Dual Citizenship & Dissociative Identity

2009-02-01T13:39:00.006-05:00

As our country undergoes a major transition politically and economically, I find myself spending a lot of mental energy processing my views historically while at the same time trying to predict the trajectory they are currently following. What are my beliefs as follower of Christ living in 21st Century America?

Obama's election to our nation's highest office has been an interesting event for American Evangelicals. Putting it simplistically, Evangelicals normally swing Republican because of "moral issues." However, many younger Evangelicals have proudly supported Obama because it was a vote to reclaim the forgotten social action heritage of many Evangelicals. If we are all honest, we would state that NO political party has the market cornered on what it is right. If you are an optimist, then you pick the candidate or party that has the most right things from your perspective. If you see the glass half empty, then you pick the lesser of two evils.

Without going into too much political and economic analysis, neither of which I am qualified offer, I struggle with how our nation's leaders are addressing the current economic crisis. I do not agree with all the government bailouts or huge stimulus bills that really won't do anything for the economy. They will all inevitably lead us into more dire times. Where's the money the government's throwing around going to come from? It's going to come from us, the taxpayers.

Another part of my struggle relates to how do I really feel about capitalism. At the risk of sounding harsh and uncaring, if a company begins to fail because of poor management, inferior products, or anything else, then let it go. I think in the long run, everything will right itself and all parties will be better off. The real issue I'm struuggling with is the concept of creating wealth.

Can wealth really be created? For what purpose? Is it right for a follower of Jesus to make money for the sake of making money and keeping it to themselves? I think everyone will say"No" to that one, yet isn't that we're advocating?

All these thoughts are in their infancy. And for them all, I find myself in my idealism faced with an impossible decision. I cannot align myself even half way with the political and economic choices in front of me. I guess that why we have Anabaptist groups, Amish, and Mennonites. How does one live as a citizen of the Kingdom of God and one of the earthly kingdoms too? Even more specifically, CAN one live as a citizen of both or is a split personality the only possibility?

The Fruits of Wrath

2009-02-01T13:34:00.000-05:00

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Romans 5:8-11

We sang a song last week that thanked God for "crushing" his son Jesus in order to reconcile us to him. At first that sounds violent and unloving. What we don't see when we look at this in isolation is that it was the love of Jesus that motivates his action. God the Father agrees with the plan. Because of Jesus' act of self-sacrifice, God rewards him with the resurrection and name above all names.

For me though, the power is in the wrath. I'm not one to talk about God's wrath much; I prefer to speak more about his love that works to help us escape the wrath. BUT, I can't help but be struck by the thought that Jesus was crushed to enable us to be reconciled and live in peace with God, live with God's peace in us, live in peace and not worry about our eternal destiny. And because of that it makes me want to live for him more, makes me want to be more like him, makes me want to tell more people about him. . . Funny how the right combination of wrath and love can do that.

A Momentous Day

2009-01-20T13:01:00.002-05:00

Policy issues and opinions aside, today is a historic day for our country. Our first African-American president has taken office. While watching the inauguration ceremonies , I could not help but feel some of the history. I also could not help but think of all the movies and television shows I've seen that have had fictional African-American presidents. Truth has caught up with fiction.

We'll see how the Obama presidency goes. For now I will celebrate what I hope will be a positive moment for our country.

Snow Update

2009-01-20T12:53:00.003-05:00

Well, the weather forecasters can breathe a collective sigh of relief. After saying somewhat sheepishly last night it may not snow quite as much as initially predicted, you can see how our yard looked this morning. It's still coming down and we may in fact get close to six inches.

It's of course messed up our school calendar. We'll probably end up going to school during Easter week. It sure is pretty though.

No School on Tuesday!

2009-01-19T23:30:00.001-05:00

At 6:15 pm, I received a phone call saying that school had been canceled for all students, faculty, and staff tomorrow. They apparently were taking to heart the predictions that were almost guaranteeing at the time anywhere from 3 to 6 inches. At 11:30, all the weather folks were backtracking, scaling things back to 2 to 4 inches, with 1 inch being the most likely. It will probably turn into one of those "We should have delayed school two hours" events. I hold my criticisms and just quote my principal who likes to say, "It is what it is."

Happy Sledding (I hope)!

Poor Timing

2009-01-19T09:23:00.001-05:00

There is approximately 1 cup of milk left in the refrigerator. Forecasters are calling for some possible wintry mix this evening and 2-4" of accumulation tomorrow. I know there will be a run on bread and milk today. Everyone will think I'm part of the panic, but I REALLY do need milk

Deer season ended January 1. Almost immediately on the day after, all the deer that had been hiding in the woods have returned to the fields in the evening to eat. While walking through the woods, the boys and I even jumped the deer we had been hunting and tracking all season 10 days AFTER the season ended. The doves have even returned to the skies now that dove season has ended. How do they know?!

The Myth of Sharing

2009-01-19T01:02:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I concluded a three week class I've been teaching some of fourth and fifth grade Cub Scouts in my sons' pack. It was the God & Family class, part of the God and Country curriculum. In a couple of weeks I'll be teaching God & Me to some of the second and third graders. One of the things we talked about today in our final session was the sharing of our faith. After talking about the story of Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego, the boys were asked this question, "How do you talk about your faith with your friends?" I was floored by their response. Their overwhelming response was, "We're not allowed to talk about God in school."

When I tried to assure them that they could indeed talk about God in school, they emphatically explained to me how wrong I was. I used examples like they cannot stop you from telling a friend how much fun you had at church the day before. They were adamant in their belief that no mention of God whatsoever was allowed in schools.

I went on to explain that what is not allowed is the school itself telling them that one god or religion is preferable to another but they could talk personally to one another as much as they please, as long as they did not disrupt the educational environment. I had eight boys stare back at me, unwavering in their belief I was wrong.

I'm still trying to process that event. What led them to such a belief? Have we talked so much about how God has been kicked out of the public schools that our children have now constructed their own interpretations of what that means, regardless of how wrong it might be? Have we as parents and Christian teachers created a mentality that has discouraged the sharing of our faith for whatever reason? Have we become so afraid of the consequences (both legal and social) as adults that it has become passed down to our children without any conscious effort on our part?

I fear that what is happening in the minds of these young boys and people everywhere is the further confirmation that Christian faith is irrelevant to real life. It is becoming more and more privatized, severing all links from our day to day living. This is not an accurate protrayal of Christianity.

What I hope happens is that Christianity will begin to appear even more dangerous, so dangerous that our children will be afraid to mention it in school. I hope it becomes so dangerous that people begin to see its value again. I hope they begin to be drawn back to it because it must mean something. I hope people's lives are changed as a result. And I hope those eight young Cub Scouts will develop the faith and courage of three young Hebrew men who faced the fiery furnace.

The Cost of Things (from a different angle)

2009-01-18T08:52:00.006-05:00

Friday night I watched part of Oliver!. The musical opens with the Governor and Board of Directors of the Workhouse orphanage getting ready for their meal. They pass through the boys dining room and take a look at the gruel about to be served. Each man makes a face. They then retreat to their private dining room and feast. Once the orphans come out to eat, the contrast between the men and the boys is magnified. Each one of the boys is a skinny waif with hardly any meat on his bones. The Directors are all heavy set men. The men are not proportionately large - they are the proud owners of VERY large potbellies.

Among the many thoughts that ran through my mind was a tinge of guilt. As our economy continues to tank and more and more people find themselves unemployed (including folks in our neighborhood, spouses of my coworkers, and the people you know as well), the practice of indulging one's own greed and appetite while remaining indifferent to the plights of those suffering right under your nose eats at my soul. I won't even get started on how such practices characterize our society at large and may even be a small part of today's problems. Let's not forget how the Old Testament prophets continually spoke out against such a reality in Israel and Judah.

Are having things a sin? No. Is it wrong to have more than someone else? By no means. Is it wrong to ignore the plight of those in need when you have the capacity to help? Yes. That's part of the cost of things. It can also change the world.

The Cost of Things

2009-01-17T21:21:00.004-05:00

I'm writing this post from my "new" laptop. When I say "new", I really mean "new" to me. It's actually about 7 years old, certainly not a top of the line machine. I've been carrying it around for four years, hoping to get it fixed. Four years ago the screen kept going in and out. I was told by people who fixed these things that it would take about $200 to fix it - parts and labor. The culprit was a part called the video inverter.

I don't know why I've kept this machine, but I did. Over the holidays I decided to go out on a lark and do some research. I found a site that showed me how to take the screen off and replace the inverter. I found the part on eBay for only $18 + $12 shipping from Hong Kong. The part came yesterday. I fixed it myself for only $30. Much better than $200. Today I went out and bought a wireless card so I could surf from my couch and not be tethered to the router.

It's always nice to fix things yourself. Most of the time you save money. It may take you longer, but there is also a sense of accomplishment by doing it yourself. Of course, that may be a guy thing, I don't know. Any women readers out there can let me know.

Of course, not everything can be fixed by yourself, usually because you do not have the tools or the expertise. The sin that marks our lives from the day we are born is just such a thing. No matter how hard I try, I can never fix the broken relationship that exists between God and me. I cannot earn my way into heaven. I cannot pay for the sin that causes the rift to exist.

That's why I have to depend on God's grace. It is his grace that sent his son Jesus to us. It is his grace that gave his son's life for us when we were undeserving of it. It is only through his sacrificial death of a perfect sinless life that atonement can be made. That is the high cost of salvation. That's a deal that will never be found on eBay

Post Christmas Update

2009-01-04T22:17:00.004-05:00

Not that anyone cares, but here's my very belated post-Christmas update where I enthusiastically share about the cool things I got for Christmas. This Christmas can be summed up the words "Potato Head". I sort of unofficially began collecting the novelty Mr. Potato Heads out there when I received the Darth Tater and Optimash Prime versions the last two Christmases. This Christmas I received FOUR! different spuds - an Indiana Jones Potato Head, a generic Halloween with several costumes, and my two favorite versions - Artoo Potatoo and the Spudtrooper. I'll only you one guess as to what the last two are supposed to be. I've been too lazy to take a quick pic and post it here. I'll try to do so within the next week.

I'm really excited about these gifts. The problem is I need someplace to display them. I'd like to put them on display in my classroom so my kids can see just how unbalanced their math teacher really is. I also know the risk of having Darth Tater's light saber disappear by doing so. Right now, I don't have anywhere to show them, at home or school. It's something I've got to work on.

This wasn't my intended reason for posting the above, but as I was typing it occurred to me that Mr. Potato Head has a lot in common with spiritual gifts. Yes, you heard it here first. Every follower of Christ on a faith journey has one or more spiritual gifts. But, they don't always display them, use them, put them in a place where others can see (and be ministered to by) them. I definitely think my faith journey and its gifts are far more important than my SpudTrooper and his laser potato masher. If I'm going to put him on display, shouldn't I do the same with the greatest gift of all, salvation from God through Jesus Christ? Shouldn't I then put on display all the other gifts he then gives me? Just a thought.

BTW, the other word that could have described my Christmas was camouflage. I did take a picture of my new hunting attire, but you couldn't see it. So I didn't bother posting the picture.

Maybe there are no such things as "Bad Guys"

2008-12-29T22:01:00.002-05:00

I'm adding to my other rants about how being bad has come to be acceptable (here and here). I actually get to go on a date with my wife tomorrow night (thanks Mom!), so I began searching the movie listings. One of the current movies out right now is Twilight. It's about a romance between two high school teens - one a normal, pretty girl and the other a very good looking ninety year old vampire. It is based on a series of books that starts with a novel by the same title. I know nothing about the books or the movie beyond what I've already stated. Nothing except this - all the girls in my classes LOVE this story. Several of my students have read every book in the series (three or four?) twice already this school year.

Vampires as a whole are finding a resurgence in popular literature, even without Anne Rice. I've seen what are probably some more traditional fare about vampires in the hands of my male students. But this post is about taking something that is bad and pretending it is good.

I suppose we can begin to place the blame on Anne Rice and her novels The Vampire Chronicles, particularly how she made Lestat a sympathetic character in spite of his evil tendencies that were no fault of his own. When Rice became a Christian, she went into seclusion to figure it all out. She stopped writing the Vampire novels and instead published a fictional account on the life of Jesus as a child. Don't quote me on this, but I seem to recall having heard that Rice has returned to the Vampire stories, this time with a Christian flair and vampire in them.

Permit me to sound ludicrous here, but we also see this move of making vampires "good people" in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy of course began her career slaying these demon killers of the night. As the storyline progressed, one of the characters that assisted Buffy in her daily business of fighting off and killing whatever evil creature threatened the world was in fact a vampire. There was another tv series on last fall whose main character was a "good" vampire in a committed normal relationship.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe vampires aren't really bad people. Maybe they have been given a bad rap by all the fantastic and imaginative gore written about them over the last several hundred years. Maybe contemporary fiction (and by extension contemporary ideology) has taken a necessary corrective action is showing us who vampires really are.

For argument's sake, let's say that vampires are inherently evil creatures. Why are we cleaning them up? Why are we making them acceptable? Why are we mooning over romances and relationships that conquer all the odds when it includes one? I would hope that the reason is because these creatures of evil have been redeemed. I hope it's because in each case we see a change in character and action that turns abruptly from the evil ways of a vampire and turns toward that which is more human, perhaps even more Godly.

Just to play fair, let's say that vampires are not inherently evil any more than your average regular human is inherently evil. Vampires are affected by the fall in the garden of Eden in the same way that humans were. We are told in Scripture that all creation was affected and that creation itself groans in anticipation of its eventual completed salvation when Jesus returns. Does that justify the willful murder and consumption of human blood? Can a vampire really invoke the "I can't help it, it's not my fault" clause? At least the vampire family in Twilight strives to live a human blood free life.

As silly as all this sounds, I think this whole thing comes down to the question of what does it mean to be Godly. In some family devotional material we have been using with the boys, the first week focuses on the issue of Godliness. It defines Godliness as wanting to please God in everything you think, say, and do. That's a pretty good definition. It gets us away from legalism, though it could lead to liberalism if argued "correctly". When I begin to apply that definition to whether or not I'm going to root for the bad guy, imitate the habits of the bad guy, or try to make the bad guy out to be something else entirely, I think I'll discover that I really can't do any of those in good conscience.

Yes Virginia, there really are such things as bad guys. We're all one of them at birth. The good news is there really is such a thing as a really good guy, a perfect guy even. He died for us so we could become one too.

Finding the right path

2008-12-27T07:05:00.004-05:00

Several months ago I posted some thoughts about Rooting for the Bad Guy. The only comments that post received focused more on the fictional elements of character development and the spiritual dimension of everyone can find salvation and redemption. There was a deeper sociological thread that I was pointing to in that post that bears revisiting here. My next statement is certainly not original and will come across as a "No Duh!" to many of you. Our world is going to hell in a hand basket.

Perhaps it is better to more specifically state another obvious truth. Our society is becoming increasingly tolerant and accepting of violence. I don't just mean the carnage we see in movies or the unedited news clips. We have moved from being tolerant of violence and all the subcultural elements associated with it to promoting it. In doing some research on gangs for one of my novels in progress, I came across some shocking search results.

We are no longer surprised by the link between street gangs and certain types of music. We are slowly becoming numb to the growing association of certain professional athletes and gang symbols. What disturbs me is how the rest of middle class America is getting in on the action. Apparently it has become the craze for every sub group of people to develop their own "gang signs". I came across webpostings of the gang signs for everything from Unix programmers to self-proclaimed nerds. Social networking sites and online games that are not "violence" oriented even use gangs as a method for organization, somehow trying to sanitize the use of the word. Maybe not the most disturbing but certainly ranking up there was this description of one college student's personal webspace - "You can find cool links, infos about gangs and theirs signs and slang, and much more here." (emphasis mine)

Going back to my post about rooting for the bad guy - Yes, multi-dimensional characters are more exciting and believable. I use them myself. Yes, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, can find salvation and redemption. BUT, we must look a little more carefully at what appears to merely be multidimensional and what is a symptom of a larger issue. Bad things are bad things, whether they are part of a larger reality or not. Acceptance of these things is not acceptable.

Just as society needs to be careful about how it views, accepts, and passively promotes social mores and behavior, someone on a faith journey and the entire Body of Christ need to be equally mindful of the behavioral and philosophical standards they espouse actively AND passively. What are the things we practice or tolerate that are acceptable to Christ? What are the things that stand in contradiction to being his disciple?

I know I am beginning to sound like some kind of fundamentalist, holy roller, out of touch with the real world religious zealot/bigot. If you know me personally, you know that I have been more often accused of being too worldly instead of the opposite. Speaking from the perspective of someone on a Christian faith journey who desires to encourage others doing the same as well as help some begin their own faith journey, this is a reality that must be addressed.

I find myself struggling as of late with what is meant by phrases like "the narrow way". I'm searching for that middle way that is still path of complete obedience, allegiance, and desire to be like him. It is the path between legalism and full-blown liberalism. I believe the way is narrow and that is does lie between these two extremes.

I don't have a good way to wrap up these thoughts. This more of a on-the-fly posting. It certainly is a bit heavier than the usual fare here. But just as the blog says, it's just a thought.

A Christmas Card

2008-12-23T10:33:00.001-05:00

This has been an interesting year for us in terms of Christmas cards. We have received very few. Part of the reason is I am no longer a pastor, so I don't have a congregation full of people giving us one. But we still have the same number of friends. I've even noticed at work that few Christmas wishes are exchanged. Perhaps the assault on Christmas is beginning to have effect.

Of course, I'm not complaining. I'm just making an observation. To be completely honest about the situation, we did not send out ANY this year. We just ran out of time. For once, my wife listened to me when I said not to worry to about them (literally worry about them). However, we would like for all our friends and family to know we wish them a Merry Christmas. Thus this post. Unfortunately, only about three or four of said family and friends read this blog. But hey, it's the thought that counts, right?

So without further ado, to make this an official Christmas card, here is our first annual Christmas newsletter.

Wow! Can you believe Christmas is here already? It seems like it has only been a year since last Christmas. 2008 was a busy year for all of us. Here are the highlights for each one.

Matt resigned as pastor of New Life Wesleyan Church in February. It was a timely move since Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate for president, asked him to head up his campaign. Matt protested that he knew nothing about running a presidential campaign. Bob insisted and Matt needed the job anyway. This probably explains our poor showing in the elections. Sensing the campaign was not going to end well, Matt resigned from that position in August to begin teaching seventh grade math at Clayton Middle School.

Tammy continued her present career path as mom, homemaker, and lead teacher at Trinity Christian Academy. Not many days went by that she didn't ask herself why. In addition to this already busy schedule, she started her own curriculum consulting company. Considering the hours she has put into researching this field, she figured it was a great way to make all that work payoff financially. It will also pay the medical bills incurred so that we can have the strained eyesight and carpal tunnel syndrome fixed from all that time on the computer. If you have a curriculum question, give her a call. Her next goal is to apply for the vacant superintendent position of Johnston County Schools.

Joshua began the year taking up a new pasttime - hunting. Using the pellet gun he received last Christmas, he rescued the neighborhood from a rabid bear that was terrorizing us all. Discovering that he had a special gift, probably due to some unknown Native American heritage in his bloodstream, Joshua opened his own hunting guide service. If you're interested in hunting moose, rhino, or any other exotic big game in our neighborhood, Joshua can ensure your success. In addition to discovering a love for hunting, Joshua continued to hone his Cub Scout skills. He is only one activity pin away from earning all twenty pins available to Webelos Scouts. He is anxiously counting down the day to when he crosses over to Boy Scouts in only three months.

Noah's year has been equally exciting. He finished his first year of Cub Scouts in the spring. This put him one step closer to his dream of living as far away from civilization as possible. We began renting out his bedroom for extra cash since he decided to move out into the yard. The large nest in the tree out back leads one to believe that either Big Bird or an African lowland gorilla has moved into our backyard. Despite his desire to live in the wilderness for the rest of his life, Noah continues to work on his education due to legal requirements. Most days demonstrate excellent progress even though he will never use anything he has learned.

I'll leave it up to you to decide what's true and what isn't, what's dead on and what's embellishment. One thing is true, our year, just like yours, was filled with joys, excitement, and struggles. God was with us every step of the way. We always knew he was there, even when we had no clue how we would get through some of those struggles. And we of course gave him praise in each moment of joy and triumph. I'm sure 2009 will bring more of the same, including his ever abiding presence. This Christmas, we wish for you to experience that same presence as we remember how he became flesh and dwelled among us.

Merry Christmas!
Matt, Tammy, and the boys

A Christmas Poem

2008-12-22T18:45:00.004-05:00

For the last 24 hours we have been suffering from a stomach bug that for now we are blaming on my niece. In between spurts of energy and other things, I composed this Christmas poem with a special tongue in cheek message. My apologies to Clement C. Moore.

'Twas three days before Christmas and all through the house
Not an adult was stirring, not me nor my spouse
The trash cans were positioned by our places with care
In hopes that when we got sick that they would be there

We were lying about, on the couch and the bed
Because of the turmoil that filled our stomachs with dread
The children did their best to play nice and get along
While our intestines played a not so sweet song

When out of my innards there arose such a clatter
I sprang for the restroom and hoped it wouldn't splatter
Away to the porcelain I flew like a flash
Make up your own line here that ends with the word splash

The moon outside, well, I didn't care
How it shone on the world out there
When to my own wondering mind should appear
That cramps in my stomach would cause a great tear

Two holiday affairs have already been canceled or at least postponed
A third one's in danger so stay by the phone
As we lay immobilized we wished it would pass
We meant the whole sickness and not just the gas

Despite our discomfort and change of plans
It is the season we celebrate the greatest gift to man
A time of Joy, and Hope come down
To fill a manger while giving up a crown

The gifts of love we share with each other
Are symbols of love modeled on another
God became flesh to dwell with us here
And then later died so that death we might not fear

So, no matter where you are or how you might feel
Remember the Christmas story that is very real
Discover Peace and walk in its Light
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night

What does it take to make a community?

2008-12-04T21:42:00.002-05:00

As part of our children's study of colonial America, we have been watching Colonial House, a reality tv program from PBS. A group of people try to recreate the experience of the Massachusetts Bay Colony of 1628. The gentleman serving as the governor of the colony has been faced with the difficulty of trying to enforce 17th century Puritanical law with a group of 21st century individuals. It just didn't work. People, especially women, complained about what we would now consider ridiculous regulations - required Sabbath worship attendance, no profanity, modest hair coverings, corsets, etc. Finally, the governor suspended enforcement of all Sabbath laws. What resulted was an gradual protest against all such laws.

The problem was not with the ridiculous nature of the laws. The problem was that not everyone had a shared worldview. One atheist woman wondered aloud whether she would have kept her mouth shut in 1628 or martyred herself. What she failed to see is that had she lived in 1628, her worldview would have probably been quite similar to that trying to be enforced. (Not all the laws were simply Puritanical. Some were actually commonly accepted English customs of the time.) It does cause one to wonder more deeply about the gradual evolution of societal norms that led to the more pluralistic society we have today. Who were the ones to begin the question and rebel? Had they always been there, choosing to remain quiet? What caused them to finally speak out?

More importantly to me are the questions that begin to arise about religious belief. What is that binds a group of people into a religious community? Even in the Christian community, you have many different types of communities. You might even think of them as denominations. Even within denominations you get different flavors on the local church levels. There MAY be a common agreement on what the Core is, but usually the common bond centers more around a very specific set of convictions or interpretations. In today's society those do not even hold as people move on to the next church (community) when something about their current situation is not satisfactory. Or, they will fight to make it like they want it.

After pondering these thoughts for a couple of days, I came up with the following conclusions. I think the root of it all has to be a certain degree of self-sacrifice. In order for to community to remain together and function properly, everyone has to be willing to sacrifice specific preferences. The hard part is choosing which preferences those would be. As idealistic as it sounds, if everyone sacrificed everything, would that be better or would it simply lead to anarchy because there would be no standard.

Which leads me to what is the greatest example of self-sacrifice I know - Jesus death on a cross as payment for our sins. When we accept that sacrifice, we become part of the body of Christ that assembles into local communities. It is this standard that we sacrifice our personal preferences to. We sacrifice our personal preferences to the will of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us. When the Holy Spirit is able to govern our interactions with one another in our self-sacrifice, true community is formed AND maintained.

The problem comes from the fact that as human creatures, we still struggle with that notion. Local churches (communities) experience rifts all the time. There is a failure to maintain the unity in Christ. Which is sad because we don't have to create the unity - it's already there.

Just a thought.

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2008-11-30T19:16:00.004-05:00

This weekend was filled with wonderful Christmas traditions that made things warm and fuzzy all over. Today we decorated the house for Christmas. We put up the tree, hung the stockings, draped the porch rail with garland, bows, and lights, and played Christmas music throughout most of the day.

Yesterday the missus and I took part in what is a holiday tradition of sorts. We attended a performance of Handel's Messiah by the Carolina Ballet. Despite being about the prophecies, birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ (i.e. more than Christmas and the birth), Messiah has become a Christmas tradition, or more appropriately an Advent tradtion. There were moments during the performance that were especially moving for me. The depiction of Isaiah 60:2,3 of darkness covering the earth was a stark reminder of the sin that rules our lives from birth, the sin that keeps us separated from God. The darkness was shattered as Isaiah 9:2 was sung and high intensity beams of light focused from the rear of the stage and into the audience. The dancers majestically swept across the stage, celebrating the hope that was to come.

The birth of Jesus is celebrated with some of the more familiar portions of Messiah - "For unto us, a child is given . . .", "There were shepherds abiding in the fields . . ." and of the course the Alleluia chorus. This celebration of hope turns to dismay as we are reminded of the rejection of Jesus in Act 2 and his eventual crucifixion. The most poignant moment for me came as the Chorus sang Isaiah 53:4,5. The dancers showed us how humankind in its sinfulness enjoyed its pleasures, but when confronted by Jesus, his love, and his sacrifice, their guilt drove them away.

This morning in our family worship we continued our study of the Gospel of John, specifically John 3:16-21. As we talked about the notion of darkness and light, humankind's love for the darkness and Jesus coming as the true light from God, I could not help but think of yesterday's performance. I shared with the boys my experience as detailed above. We turned our attention to our Advent wreath and the light shining atop of the Preparation candle lit this morning. We talked about the already assembled and lighted but not yet decorated Christmas tree, how in my opinion the lights are the best part. All these things prepare us for the coming of the Jesus. They prepare us to be able to see what his light will expose. They prepare us to receive the healing of the rift between God and us because Jesus did not come to condemn (we already stand condemned John 3:17 -18); he only came to save.

It was a wonderful day to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year. More than ever, I wish every day could be like Christmas.

Wow!

2008-11-26T09:48:00.002-05:00

I was going to post some long thoughts I had this morning about marriage until a friend sent me this video clip. This seemed more appropriate than trying to exercise my intellectual muscle. Make special note of the mom's words at the end about leaving a legacy.

Happy Thanksgiving

A New Name

2008-11-20T22:09:00.004-05:00

While searching for a fun activity to do with my students as a reward for their hard work during the first grading period, I came across a site that will figure out your Jedi Name. Here's mine.

Cast off your old name! Your Jedi name is

GUTMA FOHAR of the planet lexapro!

Find your Jedi Name!

Click the link in the above box to find your own.

New names are really important. Many women still choose the traditional custom of taking the husband's name when they are married, and they are very excited about doing so. For some people, their name may not change, but their title might. They might become "Dr. So & So", "Vice President of Marketing" or "Shift Manager". An increase in rank is not always the desired change either. I have a friend whose title changed from "Managing Director of North America" within his firm to "Director of Tools and Practices". It was not a decrease in pay or position, but it did remove all people management out of his responsibilities. This was a welcomed change for him.

When you begin your faith journey with Christ, you get a name change and a new identity. You become one of God's children and we are called by his name. We even become new people with a new internal make up. It's not always easy and it does come with responsibility. But it's worth it. That's the exciting part of the journey. You ARE different. You are continually being improved and kept different. The problems come when we forget who we are and try to live under the old name the way the old person did.

So my thoughts tonight are not anything profoundly deep, just a weak connection to something silly I found on the web. Nonetheless, I'm glad I have a new name and that I'm a new man.

What's that noise? (or "That's not supposed to work that way!")

2008-11-16T21:03:00.004-05:00

Our house has a mouse. And no, we do not eat green eggs and ham with it. If you listen close enough, you can hear it squeaking. Unfortunately, it's not the cute little fuzzy gray kind of mice. To which my wife and many other women would say there is no such thing as a cute mouse. But I digress. Before you become too grossed out or frightened at the thought we have some tremondous sized, disease carrying, ferocious rat running loose in our abode, the mouse of which I speak is our computer mouse. Everytime you press the left button it goes "Squeak". I've been tempted to spray WD-40, whose multitude of uses is rivaled only by duck tape, in its innards, but I'm fairly confident that might cause more harm than good. I do not have an alternative solution, but I'm pretty sure it's not suppsed to sound like that.

As a person on a Christian faith journey, I'm sometimes compared to our noisy computer peripheral. People look at me and say, "You're not supposed to do that." Sometimes they are legitimate criticisms as I allow the fallen nature of my flesh to rule instead of the new creation powered by the Holy Spirit. Other times the admonition comes from other believers who give more creedance to their personal convictions or the status quo than to the core of what it means to be a Christian.

The surprise declarations of my malfunctions that bring me mixed feelings are the ones that come from people not on a faith journey. They come in two forms. Sometimes people are surprised that a Christian, a former pastor no less, actually behaves and acts in certain ways. When I am able to show them I am a normal person and that my behavior/beliefs do not contradict anything Biblically, they are pleasantly surprised. It's like a barrier between them and God has become weaker. The ones that bother me come from the non-believer that has sold out to the status quo, even though they do not subscribe to it in their own lives. They can be more condemning that the fellow believer. I worry about being a stumbling block to them and their faith despite seeing that they have decided to throw the stones in their own paths.

Regardless of who's commenting, everybody's watching. The only thing I want people to see is not a comparison of my behavior to their preconceived notions but the actual revelation of Jesus Christ and therefore God himself at work in my life. That IS the way it's supposed to work.

A Prayer for Our Country

2008-11-04T07:19:00.002-05:00

Father in heaven, we pray we will glorify you this day, as in all days. Thank you for blessing us with the freedom from sin and its curse through the sacrifice of your son Jesus on a cross. Thank you for your ever abiding Holy Spirit that keeps us from sin and guides our decisions when we submit our wills to you.

As we celebrate the freedoms given to us by virtue of living in this great country, let us exercise that freedom wisely. As we choose those who will govern over us in earthly affairs, guide our decision making. Though the decision may seem obvious to some, we know that you do not belong to a political party. We pray we will make decisions divinely guided by the wisdom and faith that can only come from you.

We pray for tomorrow and the results of our decisions today. Gift whatever leaders we choose with wisdom beyond their own abilities. Protect us as a country from the potential rifts in our society that threatens no matter what the outcome. Give us grace tomorrow as we gather around the water coolers and talk about today's events. Though we may disagree on the outcome, move our hearts to pray for these new leaders. Help us move beyond the tension that might exist with coworkers. Help us to our part to be the country we have asked you to bless us to be.

In your name, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we pray. Amen.

What's up with this?

2008-10-30T22:19:00.004-04:00

Today I was introduced to a new word - hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia. It is literally, are you ready for the irony, the fear of long words! My only response to that is, "What's up with that?" If you follow the link for the definition, you'll discover that there is another word with the same meaning, sesquipedaliophobia, and this newer, more improved and even scarier word was created to emphasize the phobia itself.

I'm not sure where to go with this one. Do we talk about self-fulfilling prophecies or people making things difficult for the spite of it? How about something inane like who in the world would ever use this word and are there people out there who really suffer from this? That could lead us into a discussion of how irrational most of our fears really are, especially if we are on a faith journey.

If you know me personally or read this blog with any type of irregularity, you already know my mind can be twisted and warped. I could take any of the above thoughts and work them out, applying each one to our faith journeys. As much fun (and helpful) as that would be, I'm going to resist. For now I'm going to learn how to pronounce this word and use it in casual conversation at least three times tomorrow.

In a closing note, a shout out to my buddy Ben who has joined the blogosphere. He has written an excellent treatise on wind pants. I think you'll enjoy it.

A bag of juniper shavings

2008-10-26T10:55:00.009-04:00

Thursday night the family and I enjoyed an evening at the NC State Fair where everything is deep fried, even the roller coaster. Besides the culinary delights and gastric disturbances, one of my favorite things to do is tour the exhibits that illustrate/demonstrate things from the good ol' days. That means the antique farm machinery and the Village of Yesteryear. In the "Village" we get to see modern craftsman spinning pots, carving wood, weaving baskets, and the like.

This year I discovered a new exhibit in the Village. I met Phoebe Briley, currently living in Marshallberg, NC, of Great Marsh Boatworks. She's a self proclaimed dingbatter who has fallen in love with the REAL Down East of NC and it's traditions, especially its boats. I was naturally drawn to Phoebe and her display because I am a native of Harkers Island. I grew up in the backyard of my great-grandfather Stacy Guthrie. Both he and his father, Devine Guthrie, are as famous for boatbuilding as they are for their character. In the picture of Stacy (or Poppy as he was known to me), you can see the hammer that is so special to our family.

Growing up in Poppy's backyard was special in many ways. Some of my earliest memories are of sitting on his lap and hearing the whaling stories. I would often get up before my mom and join him in the yard as a preschooler while he built boats. The wonderful smell of juniper, the wood of choice for boatbuilders, and its shavings still fills my mind.

As I stopped by to introduce myself to Phoebe, I noticed a collection of juniper shavings she had on display. They were labeled with a sign that looked like it came out of Alice in Wonderland. It said, "Smell the Shavings." I pointed them out to my son. I picked up a handful and began talking about how wonderful they smelled and the memories they invoked. After he enjoyed a big whiff himself, Phoebe grabbed a small paper bag and began to fill it with shavings. She handed me the bag and said, "Here, enjoy." It was one of the most wonderful parts of the fair to me.

Meeting Phoebe was special for many reasons. Besides getting a bag of shavings, I met someone who appreciates my heritage and how it is disappearing. I had an opportunity to share some special memories. My son was shown how important his own family is in the history of his "homeland" by someone other than his father. It was a blessing all the way around. And now, I have a bag of juniper shavings to smell anytime I need to be reminded of that blessing.

Virtual Marlboro Man

2008-10-19T10:00:00.003-04:00

The latest craze in our house is our most recent video game purchase. We purchased Cabela's Dangerous Hunts by Activision. It's part of a larger series of games where you can become a virutal hunter. It's really pretty cool. You get the chance to stalk some serious hunting trophies while at the same time face the dangers of the wild such as the elements and wild animals. Hence the name Dangerous Hunts. The first few tries I spent most of my time drowning in raging rivers, being mauled by grizzly bears, and being attacked by wolves. I eventually got the hang of how to aim my weapon and kill my attackers.

Soon the boys and I were able to achieve a pretty reasonable level of success at some fairly difficult tasks. As I guided my virtual hunter through the snowy wilderness of Colorado, my confidence in my ability to do this for real was bolstered. Yesterday, deer season opened for real here in NC. My oldest son and I joined the thousands of other hunters who went out on opening day, hoping to bring home a trophy buck. Just on the trail we selected, we passed two other hunters.

We found signs of all types of deer activity. We had scouted this area and knew they were be out there. We found a good spot and sat and waited. At the end of the day, we came home empty handed. Apparently, real deer don't have glowing red dots on them that indicate their location, even miles away. Apparently, the size of their territory is not limited in such a way that they have to run in some sort of circuit that guarantees they will come back around to you. Apparently, being a real Marlboro Man is not as easy as being a Virtual Marlboro Man.

Sometimes we try to live out our spiritual lives on virtual faith journeys instead of the real thing. We say the right things, know the right answers to all the key questions, attend all the right public events, even give money to all the right causes and funds. BUT . . . what are our lives really like? What type of heart change is evident? What is it about our character that tells people we are on a journey following Christ?

Just a thought.

We're #1! We're #1!

2008-10-08T21:18:00.003-04:00

According to a news story I heard on my drive home this morning, NC has the boasts the highest average price for a gallon of gasoline. WooHoo! What a great achievement. I wonder what else that will put as in first place for.

Silent Ball Craze

2008-10-05T18:47:00.003-04:00

Several years ago, a friend of mine who happened to be a middle school teacher told me about a game called silent ball. Basically, the kids throw a ball around the room. You are "out" if you make any noise or drop the ball. It's a great class (and behavior) management tool. He strongly testified to its effectiveness.

Well, now that I am a middle school teacher, I decided to use this game. When I was buying my classroom supplies, one of the things I purchased was a large foam ball for this very reason. I was shocked when school started and the kids began asking to play silent ball on day 1! Apparently, silent ball is a phenomenon known to every middle school student and teacher in the universe. It even has a wiki entry.

I can't help but liken this to Christianity. At least in part. All over the "civilized" world, people know about Jesus. At least we (and they) think they do. In reality, the only knowledge many people have of Jesus is the use of his name as an exclamation or even a swear. I'd wager the average church going Christian would be surprised how many American born and bred people do not know the basic facts of the traditional children's Christmas play with all the wise men, shepherds, angels, and a stable.

For that matter, many of us who call ourselves "Christian" know less about Jesus than we think. Much of what we know "to be true" about Jesus and following him have more to do with years of traditional interpretation and less about what the Bible actually says about him. Or what the Holy Spirit may even reveal to us. I even had a young Mormon missionary tell me one time that one of the things he liked about the South was that "everybody believed in Jesus". To which I quickly replied, "True, but I don't think we all believe the same thing."

Back to silent ball. Why is it that something as mundane as silent ball can be a universal given in the average middle school classroom but something as important as the knowledge of the person of Jesus Christ and what it means to follow him can be so widespread but shallow in depth? How is it that there can actually be people who don't know about him beyond the "that's what this group of people call the God force out there"?

I'm beginning to digress and my thoughts are becoming more dissociated with one another, putting forth a much less coherent article. So, I shall stop for the night and come back later when I am more organized. Until then, answer these questions for yourself. What do you know about Jesus? How will you make sure everybody does know about him?

A Marlboro Weekend

2008-09-28T11:26:00.005-04:00

The last two days have been wonderful memory making moments for me. Friday evening I took my youngest son deer hunting. He has been wanting to use his bow to kill a deer for a long time. After work I rushed home and we headed off for the woods until dark. We didn't see any deer, but we came across some fresh tracks on our way out, telling us they somehow ran around behind us. Either way, it was a good time.

Yesterday (Saturday) the whole family attended the Fishing and Hunting Expo put on by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission. We sampled some wonderful outdoor cooking, watched "real" mountain men start fire with a stick, did some simulated duck hunting, and tied some flies to hopefully catch some trout on someday. The whole family had a great time.

Yesterday evening, my oldest son and I went dove hunting. We had discovered a secluded field on some public game land that appears to never be used. We've hunted it before with success. The difference in this trip was I brought along a gun as well. When we first arrived, two large flocks flew out of the field. We took positions on either side of the field and walked parallel lines up the field, hoping to flush any stragglers left behind. Right before three birds flushed immediately in front of me, I remember thinking, "This is the stuff great magazine articles are made of."

Allowing the Hallmark-made-for-tv-movie side to show a bit, I really did think how great the weekend had been. Perhaps it is a bit stereotypical, but a dad and his sons out hunting are great memories. It's part of making my boys junior Marlboro men. I was doing something I enjoy. They were doing something they enjoy. We were are enjoying God's creation. And we were doing together.

I also couldn't help but think that sometimes God feels this way. Whenever we are doing some that we really enjoy and we are doing it for his glory, he has to enjoy being part of it. Weekends like this help me appreciate my relationship with my heavenly father. When I think about my relationship with him it also helps me enjoy my relationship with my children even more. It makes me want to do more things with both God and my children.

Just a thought

Caught in the Storm

2008-09-26T00:26:00.002-04:00

Old friend and current church planter Matt LeRoy has posted a beautiful thought about being caught in the storm of God's love. I want to be a tree. More importantly I want to know that I am a tree, feeling the effects of the storm every day.

Why no one will mistake me for John Wesley

2008-09-21T09:13:00.004-04:00

Here's a list of reasons why no one will mistake me for John Wesley, the 18th century preacher and leader of the Methodist Movement.
1) He was barely five feet tall. I'm 6'2".
2) He rode over 100K miles on horseback. I've never ridden a horse.
3) He died in 1791. I'm still alive, at least I was when I wrote this.
4) He was known in part for preaching to thousands in the open air. I'm not so good at that.

I'll elaborate on that last one. My youngest son plays flag football in a local Upward league. At every practice, there is a devotional time. Children earn stars for Scripture memorization, great game play, and demonstrating Christlikeness. On game day, there is a devotional at halftime of all the games. I was asked earlier in the week to give the devotional at yesterday's game. I'll probably never get asked to do that again.

Let me begin by saying I hate the sound of my own voice. Whenever I preach in a church, I always request that the stage monitors be turned off. There's not a problem whenever I'm speaking in an situation without a sound system because I've learned to ignore my voice. If only I could have done that yesterday. Or had a set of earplugs and earmuffs.

When halftime came, I stood in the middle of the three football fields, using a wireless mike. Because of the location of the speakers and sound board, there was about a one second delay between when I would actually say something and then hear it myself. I began pausing between every word because I kept hearing it twice. Imagine an old 45 record (for those of you born before cassette tapes) played at 33 rpm. Try as I might, I could not ignore the delay and speak in a normal speed.

As I looked around at the crowd, the 200 or so parents all had a forgiving smile on their faces. I know that I sounded quite a bit country fried, even for this part of this country. When I returned to the sideline, my "supportive" wife (please read sarcasm in that description) was doubled over in laughter. In her words, I sounded like "a stroke victim". Trying to put a positive spin on things and save what little dignity I had left, my response to her was, "Well, I'll not be asked to do it again and that will be one less thing I'll have to prepare."

I wonder how John Wesley would have done in that situation.

Growth Spurts

2008-09-01T21:19:00.005-04:00

One of the unfortunate things about having children is they always outgrow whatever they own. They outgrow their shoes, their clothes, their beds, their bikes . . . Whenever we replace one of these items we find ourselves trying to calculate how to get the maximum usage out of that item for the lowest price. That's because we know just as soon as we spend $30 on a pair of shoes for one of our kids that two days later he will outgrow them overnight. Yesterday we went boot shopping so they would be prepared for the opening day of dove hunting season and their first offical hunt. As one of the boys was lobbying for a much more expensive pair of boots ($80 - $100), I kindly explained that when he was 18 and the overnight growth spurts were over, providing a better chance to get more than two weeks of wear out of a pair of shoes, we could revisit the issue.

Growth is usually a good thing. Corporations want to see their market shares grow which usually also means a growth in revenue and profit. Incumbent politicians prefer to see growth in the economy, especially in an election year. School officials want to see growth in end of year test scores. Leaders of any organization like to see growth in their membership.

Growth in our faith journeys is a good thing too. We want our relationships with God to grow closer, more intimate. We desire to see our faith grow, enabling us to trust more, handle bigger crises, display greater wisdom. Just like children, this growth will usually come in spurts.

We have learned to recognize the signs of an impending growth spurt in the boys. Their appetites usually double or triple for about a week. They might become a little more moody during that same time. After a week of eating everything in sight, they will usually experience a week or so of increased lethargy. Then suddenly they will be a few inches taller and a few pounds heavier. When you think about the fact that a teenager does nothing but eat and sleep for a couple of years, it's clear why they experience the massive spurts they have.

A spiritual growth spurt may have similar signs. A person may have an increased appetite for studying the Bible or becoming involved in the life of his church. Other signs may not appear so positive. A crisis of some sort may be the signal of a growth spurt. How one handles the crisis will determine his or her faith standing on the other side of the trial. A temptation, knowing that we will not be tempted beyond anything we can bear (1 Cor 10:13) may be the signal of a growth spurt.

What are your thoughts? What are the signs you can recall of your own spiritual growth spurt? Is it possible to "outgrow" your current situation as a result of spiritual growth spurt?

Olympics, Genetics, & Success

2008-08-25T21:53:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I've posted, mainly because I've spent almost every waking moment preparing for the new school year now that I'm teaching again. Plus the Olympics have been on for the last two weeks. They were fun to watch, but honestly, I'm glad they're over.

For those of you living under a rock the last two weeks, the American swimmer Michael Phelps was the big story of this year's Olympics. He won EIGHT gold medals this year alone. That gives him a career total of 14. If my memory serves me correctly, six of this year's eight medals involved new world records.

Michael Phelps has sparked a bevy of thoughts. The one I'd like to share tonight deals with genetics. Much was said about Phelps having the perfect body shape for swimming. Apparently he is cursed with a disproportionately long torso for his height, just like me. Plus his inseam is too short for his height. However, the similarities between Phelps and me end there. He had other genetic factors going for him, aiding in his success as a swimmer.

Dara Torres, the 41 year old woman who was also captain of the swim team (and medal winner!) referenced her own genetics in explaining her success as such an "old" age. Like Phelps, she has more fast twitch muscle fibers.

All this discussion about genetics during the Olympics helped to put a damper on my dreams. I can see where it would easily dampen other dreams as people began to examine their own genetic make up. No longer can you get there from hard work. You must have the proper genes. What if you were able to determine exactly what your particular gene would enable you to be successful at and you weren't interested in such a pusruit? Just because I have the perfect genetic combination to be the world's best one handed egg juggler does not mean that's how I want to make my mark on the world.

It's just a matter of time before spiritual matters become boiled down to genetic factors. Or at least some scientific study which claim such. Do some of us have a better chance at being "more successful" on their faith journey's than others? Is that fair? What do the people with "weak genes" do? What about those with "good genes" who do not pursue a relationship with God?

I think some people do have more of a proclivity toward spiritual matters than others. I do not know if genetics have anything to do with it. I also believe that everyone can experience "success" in their faith journeys. That success depends on one's ability to trust in the faith given by the Holy Spirit.

I hope these thoughts inspire some of your own. How about sharing them if so. In the meantime, I've got to start training for the 2012 400m IM.

Move over Barney, kids wanna Rock

2008-08-25T19:32:00.006-04:00

For those of you needing a little humor while exercising your rock'n'roll mojo, here's a clip for you. Enjoy!

I want one of those!

2008-08-07T22:40:00.006-04:00

I've been away from my blog for a while 'cause I've been working a real job as well as filling in an empty pulpit for a while. For those of you who have really missed my weekly updates, I'm sorry your life has deteriorated to that. Anyhow, I saw the coolest thing I've seen in a long time today and I want one! A coworker was showing off her iPhone today. She then admitted to being a Star Wars geek, which proves that I only hang out with good people. After her confession, she showed me her phone saber. The video that the link takes you to does not do justice to how absolutely kewl that app is. I was very impressed with the realistic sounds the app produced. If I had closed my eyes, I would have sworn that Obi Wan was battling the forces of evil in the room there with me.

The iPhone has been out for a while. It's a neat little gadget and I would love to have one. Two things keep me from buying one - the price and it's only compatible with one wireless carrier, one I am not subscribed to. I figure I already have an iPod and a phone and I really don't need a lot of the cool features an iPhone boasts. That is until today. After seeing the phone saber, I surfed the internet for almost 45 minutes, researching prices on iPhones and I also began seriously contemplating switching my wireless carrier just so I could own a phone saber. I came home and excitedly told my family about it.

I was almost converted. When the day was done, I did not buy an iPhone nor did I switch carriers. I probably won't anytime soon. I did think a lot about how my desires and opinions were almost changed by a simple app on a little techno gadget. I thought about the night I decided to change my desires and opinions and desires on how I would live my life. That was the night I decided to follow Jesus on my faith journey. A lot of little things built up, mainly watching the lives of my friends around me, that led me to my "Christian conversion".

Most of us think we need to develop winning debates and convincing arguments so that we sway people into making such conversions on their own. For me, and for many others I talk to, it was something about just how cool other people's lives were compared to their own that led them to "convert". I don't own a phone saber (yet), but I have THE kewlest app ever developed in my heart. That's one I don't want to fail to share with everyone around me.

New Job!

2008-08-07T22:30:00.001-04:00

I'm very excited because I'm going back to school. I've been working the last three weeks as a temp for the Raleigh CDSA, a state agency that provides early intervention services for children aged birth to three years. Next week I begin my job as a 7th grade math teacher at Clayton Middle School. I'm really pumped about the opportunity to work at the number 1 ranked middle school in the Johnston County School system. Soon I hope to post some of the cool things that have already happened since getting the job. For now, just celebrate with me.

Rooting for the bad guy

2008-07-21T14:28:00.002-04:00

The other day a friend and I were reminiscing about the good ol' days when we were younger and saw Star Wars for the first time. I'll never forget sitting on the first row of the theater as a third grader when "A long, long, time ago in a galaxy far, far away . . ." flashed across the screen. I remember that my friends and I all looked at each other and said, "Is this a true story?" I relived the same excitement and adrenaline rush when Lucas began to make the prequels of epsiodes 1, 2, and 3. When my wife and I went to see Star Wars: The Phantom Menace at a midweek matinee, I got chill bumps of excitement. I experienced the same excitement when I introduced my boys to this greatest set of movies ever made. But enough about my geekness.

As my friend and I relived our magical childhood, the subject of Darth Vader came up. Growing up, before we knew how Darth Vader became so evil, everyone hated him. No one wanted to be Darth Vader. You may have bought the Darth Vader figure and his tie fighter, but only so someone else could pretend to be him while you saved the day. That's not the case today. Kids like to be Darth Vader today all because they know he used to be Anakin Skywalker, who until he finally crossed the line to join the dark side, was a pretty good guy. I must admit, even I look differently at Darth Vader now, although I don't find myself necessarily liking him.

Is this a dangerous trend, excusing evil, even looking up to it, on the basis of the good that may have been done in the past or the knowledge that the evil doer will turn from his wicked ways? Or is it a lesson in grace, seeing the good in people? After all, Luke Skywalker says of his father repeatedly, "There's still good in him, I know." What do you think?

What is wrong with me?!!!

2008-07-09T22:02:00.005-04:00

Pardon me while I engage in self-loathing and general American culture criticism, but we are so stupid! Because I have never smoked pot, drunk more than a sip or two of alcohol (only once voluntarily), or done anything other than prescription drugs, I do not have a very long resume of brain cell killing activities beyond normal childhood falls on the head. In order to meet the prerequisite quota of mind-numbing activities mandated by the Council of US Cultural Standards Enforcment Board, I watch television. Tonight I watched a few minutes of the Baby Borrowers and then the first sixty seconds of Celebrity Circus. When I stop to think that I have at least three blue million other similar options by which I can fulfill my duties, it makes me want to stand up and sing like Lee Greenwood, belting out "I'm Proud to Be an American." I'd probably change the next line to "where at least my brain is numb".

Thank you, and goodnight.

P.S. Despite looking like rather obvious product placement ads, none of the above links will net me any money.

Being Shaped in the Smithy

2008-07-07T14:27:00.003-04:00

In case you're wondering, a smithy is another name for a forge or a blacksmith's shop. I made what many may think to be a mistake a few weeks ago. I gave my boys the idea that they could actually be blacksmiths. Now. In their back yard. It started out as an innocent experiment to see if we could heat some thin scrap metal up enough that we could shape it into arrowheads so that we could further engage in another dangerous activity, making and shooting our own homemade arrows. So, we arranged some concrete blocks to create a small forge, collected some firewood, and proceeded to experiment with our self-taught blacksmith skills.

It did not work quite as I had hoped. You can't really get hot enough coals with ordinary wood. Still, I received a pretty painful burn. Luckily I was the only one. That has not deterred my boys. Ever since that first attempt, I am constantly bombarded with requests to light up the old smithy again so they can play blacksmith. I have declined 95% of those requests on the basis of it's too hot to stand over a fire, it doesn't really work, I can't stand outside and just watch you for safety's sake right now, and at least one I don't feel like right now.

This past Saturday, I relented and gave them permission. I even took a chance and left them unsupervised with fire and hot metal implements. After a few minutes of watching their actions, I felt fairly confident they would not do anything foolish. Nevertheless, I prayed fervently for their safety before returning to the cooler interior portion of my house.

During those minutes of watching these two young blacksmiths at work in their forge, a profound lesson about parenting, coaching, and mentoring occurred to me. I had, foolishly I thought, made them believe they could actually be blacksmiths. And as far as they were concerned, they were actually succeeding. Isn't that part of what I am supposed to be doing as a father, instilling dreams in my children and helping them fulfill their dreams?

Likewise as a person on a Christian faith journey and as a pastor, part of what I am supposed to be doing is helping understand and strive for the dream of a better life that is marked by the grace of God as it is being reshaped into what he initially created it to be. It's not an impossible dream. I do not have to live a life marked by the effects of sin.

Saturday, I was one in the fire, being shaped and molded by my junior blacksmiths. And I'm glad I was.

Microwave Thoughts

2008-07-03T12:22:00.004-04:00

We recently bought a gently and seldom used microwave to replace the one we had. Our old microwave just wasn't performing well. It cooked unevenly, if it cooked at all. You never knew what kind of noise it was going to make. Sometimes it would come on all by itself. Fearing for our safety, we consulted Craig's List to find a new one.

Because it's used, we don't have a manual. I need to search for one on the internet. One button has me really intrigued. As a male, I'm excited to see it in action. The caption on the button reads, "Inverter Turbo Defrost". I'm not exactly sure what type of high octane engine powers this function, but I can't wait to see it in action. It has to be WAY better than regular old defrost like on our old microwave.

This new microwave is a lot more powerful. Popcorn used to take forever and then a lot of kernels remained unpopped. This baby will pop a bag in less than two minutes and you can count on one hand the number of unpopped kernels. In fact, several times there were NO unpopped kernels. Which leads me to a second question - how do you get the smell of burnt popcorn out of the microwave? We left it open on the front porch overnight. That was a week ago. When we use it now, there is still the faint odor of Orville Redenbacher transforming into charcoal briquets. I would seriously like any suggestions on that one.

I don't like everything about this new microwave. Take the door. Our old microwave had a button you pushed to open the door. You have to manually open this one. Which isn't a big deal, but it doesn't openly easily. The kids have a hard time opening it. By the time I get it open sometimes, it has been dragged six feet across the counter.

The clock is hard to read on this one as well. Our old display was so much brighter, clearer, and easier to read. Certainly the engineers had enough wiggle room in their budget to put a nicer display on the unit.

Despite these two shortcomings, I really like the new microwave. My goal in life is to be as content with the rest of my life as I am with the microwave. It's so easy to find fault with everything and everyone around you. Even clouds with silver linings cast shadows. It all depends on what you choose to see, what you choose to emphasize.

Contentment can be very elusive when it comes to money. We live in a very materialistic society. And just because the bug of materialism may not have bitten you does not mean you necessarily live a life of contentment. Paul tells young Timothy that "godliness with contentment is great gain". That statement has caused me to wonder which comes first - the godliness or the contentment.

Contentment is easier for some than others. In God's infinite wisdom, he allows some of us (me) to struggle with it more than others. But I'm trying. And to think that a microwave is leading me there.

Family Size

2008-06-29T05:52:00.004-04:00

An unusual thought crept into my mind early this morning (as if I have any other kind of thoughts). Growing up, I only knew two kids who were only children. One girl's parents had divorced when she was very young. She and her mom lived with her grandmother until we were in high school. The other girl was simply an only child, at least as far as the knowledge we had. That girl was always a little strange and thinking back, I probably assumed it was because of her only child status.

I can recall that this only child phenomenon was an unusual one to me. I am the oldest of five children, four surviving. It has never occurred to me to ponder what life would have been like if I had been an only child. My siblings have probably wondered whether their life would have been better in my nonexistence. Being an only child just always seemed to be an oddity to me. I had several friends who were sort of only children because they had older siblings that were much older than they. But they had siblings so they were not complete oddities.

In the days when our country was mostly rural, couples had lots of children because the farm needed workers and Mr. and Mrs. Jones were going to need someone to take care of them when they were older. I don't know what the motivation to have larger families (i.e. four or more children) was in more recent times. I know that today, most couples have two children, many times for the simple reason that the children will have playmates built into the family, freeing up the parents attention. As ludicrous as it sounds, examine your own thoughts about that . . .

Personally, my wife and I would love to have three or four children. . . ideally that is. For lots of reasons we've stopped at two. But just as I could not imagine life as an only child growing up, I cannot imagine life with only one child. That's not a judgment, it's just a statement on how I'm wired.

As a person of faith who is concerned about other people knowing about the God I serve, I cannot fathom being an only child of faith either. I don't want to serve this God alone - I want to do it in a faith community with others on the same faith journey. I'm not content with keeping my family size in its current state. I want to bring other people into this family also, people who are not yet part of a faith journey. It's one of those important things Jesus told us to do when he ascended back into heaven. It's also one of those things that we will naturally want to do aif we don't overthink it.

How big is your family?

You gotta see this . . .

2008-06-28T14:51:00.002-04:00

Baseball is my favorite sport. I would actually watch all 162 games a season if I had the time (and cable!). A friend sent me this clip. Enjoy.

June Bug correction

2008-06-28T14:40:00.002-04:00

The annoying pest I've been trying to eliminate is not the fun to chase June bug, but in fact the Japanese beetle. My wife bought a Japanese beetle trap today and within minutes of hanging, it had collected five beetles. The linked article quotes a University of Kentucky study that says traps do more harm than good because they attract more beetles. We'll see. Either way, my thoughts in the previous post remain true, regardless of what type of bug it is!

Chasing June Bugs

2008-06-28T12:08:00.003-04:00

Chasing June bugs has not turned out to be as much fun as I had hoped it would. For the last two weeks I have been trying to save my garden from a constant attack of these leaf hungry varmints. For some reason, June bugs really like eggplant leaves. Their second favorite seem to be either cucumber or zucchini. But even then, they prefer the eggplant 10 to 1.

Where are they all coming from?! In one day, I easily picked fifty bugs off my plants. Each day I pick at least another twenty to twenty-five minimal. I've been saving each and every one. I'm collecting them to make June bug soup. I'll spray the solution on the plants and it is supposed to keep away any future June bugs. No one wants to hang around their dead counterparts.

This is all part of my ever increasing learning curve of trying to be self-sufficient in the gardening arena. One day I'd really like to have a small farm and grow as many vegetables as possible. As I was picking off all the little buggers, I tried to imagine what this would be like on a large scale. I'm sure that explains the need for a big tractor with all kinds of cool attachments that will plow, till, harvest, and even spray things like pesticides. It also makes it sound a lot like work instead of some idealistic dream of scratching your Green Acres itch.

I guess it's all part of the list of never-ending metaphors that come along to help us understand what life is supposed to be like, even life on a faith journey. There will be the normal bug infestations that must be dealt with. Real life, and real faith, requires work. But even though it's work does not mean it can't be enjoyable and fulfilling. Life on this side of death will never be absolutely perfect, though I believe it becomes closer to being so each day, as do we.

Maybe they aren't metaphors at all. Maybe we are seeing the real thing, real life itself. Maybe the utopian ideal is right before us if we will just live in contentment, dealing with each circumstance as it comes along and not perceiving everything as a hindrance or test. Maybe this IS what chasing June bugs is supposed to be like. Just a thought.

I (almost) did it!

2008-06-18T12:45:00.007-04:00

Today I did the hardest thing I've ever done since becoming a pencil pushing desk jockey after graduating from college. I took the Physical Agility Test as part of the application process to become a firefighter for the city of Raleigh. I've been kinda training for this test over the last couple of months. I went in today not really believing I would pass. But, I almost did it. The obstacle course did me in. After the second lap, I was spent and had nothing left to give. Insufficient upper body strength left my arms a pair of wet noodles after exiting the tunnel on the second lap.

But I am not ashamed. Despite being disappointed at not passing the test, I know I gave my best and tried my hardest. Even though I was intimidated by all the former football players, younger men and women, and others in much better shape than I, I was greatly encouraged by everyone there. Everyone cheered for everyone else. One guy in particular was going around congratulating everyone. When I came out the tunnel and had to stop, he even offered to go thru the course with me to get me through one last time.

Honestly, I do not think I would have done as well as I did on the rest of the test if not for the feeling of instant community that was present. I met guys who were taking this test for the fifth time! Being a firefighter was a dream they were not ready to give up. And they provided some of the best encouragement. Each one told me to give it another shot in January.

This is what it should be like on a faith journey. It is one of perseverance. It should be one of community. It should be one of a persevering, encouraging community. So many times the faith community is guilty of shooting the wounded in the name of discipleship. Consequences are necessary but so are restoring functions. After the community has handed down the consequences, it should whatever possible to help that person be restored to whatever level he has fallen from. As I left the training center today, the Chief only spoke words of encouragement.

Despite "failing" I feel good. Despite being unemployed STILL, I feel good. On second thought, maybe I did do it.

Fish Envy

2008-06-15T19:36:00.008-04:00

Saturday was our last day at the beach. I wanted to get one more day of fishing in, if at all possible, without taking away from spending time with the boys. So, I got up at 6:00 am and went on down to the pier. While buying my fishing pass, I decided to buy a couple of new rigs and try something different than plain ol' bottom fishing. I even bought a bucket of minnows.

Things started off great. On my second cast, I had hooked something. Just as I had him reeled above the surface of the water, he shook himself off. This isn't a "the one that got away" story, but it was a nice size bluefish that would have been good eating. I was encouraged. Today I would catch some fish.

I baited another minnow and threw out my line. As the guy standing five yards to my left landed another blue, I felt a tug on my line. I went to set the hook and could tell there was nothing. I waited for the fish to make a second try, and sure enough he did. The tug was harder, but the hook did not set. I waited some more. After waiting long enough to realize I better check my bait, I reeled in my hook to find nothing but the head of the minnow left. I'm guessing a hungry blue took the rest.

But I'm still encouraged. Baiting another minnow, I try again. Nothing. More nothing. I changed rigs and go to a more traditional setup, like the guy to my left. He's pulling in fish every few minutes. I use the same rig, the same bait, cast into basically the same spot. He's catching fish. I'm not. At 9:30 I call it quits to go body boarding with the boys and get some breakfast.

In the course of those few days I was on the pier, I watched several people, all using the same lure, pull in bluefish almost at will. At a minimum, I watched people cast out and retrieve this plug with a 25% success rate. In other words, every fourth cast yielded a fish. After my wife saw it in action, she gave me permission to go buy one from the pier tackle shop and give it try.

I excitedly attached the plug to my line. I anxiously cast out and began retrieving the lure. After about ten tries - nothing. Meanwhile, a guy down the pier using the exact same lure is landing a fish every fourth cast. I watched what he was doing to see what I could do differently. For starters, he was able to cast out about twice as far me. Secondly, he had perfected the little jerking motion you are supposed to use while retrieving the lure. I surmised the problem was I was not quite reaching the fish. When I asked him how he was able to cast so much farther than I, his answer was, "This is a $350 rod and reel. You probably aren't going to get it out that far."

I accepted that answer. I had inferior equipment. He then added that I was using too heavy a line. He recommended I not use more than 12 lb. line. I tried for about ten more minutes. I figured bluefish were not in my immediate future. I gathered up my stuff and called it a day.

Knowing Sunday was Fathers Day, I went back to the camper and dropped hints for a $350 rod and reel. However, as I analyzed this man's answer, it did not make sense, at least in terms of pricey reels. He was using a spinning reel, same style as me. The reel has nothing to do with the casting in that setup. Maybe he was just plain better and didn't know it. Maybe he liked to brag about his expensive equipment. Maybe he didn't really know and was giving his best guess. I'm guessing the experience and skills had more to do with it than anything. Luckily, I can develop those much quicker than I can buy a $350 rod and reel.

Besides crying about not catching any fish, why do I write this? We all encounter things in our lives that we enjoy doing, feel called to do, or just want to try. We don't always encounter success in those things. We watch the people around us doing the same things and they have lots of success. We are faced with a bunch of different options - quit, keep trying, get help or training, find satisfaction with our current performance, or live in a state of frustration.

You might call this a stretch, but I think the only option for someone on a faith journey is to keep trying and do it for the glory of God - even fishing. We are told to do everything we do for the glory of God. That's going to require a lot of prayer. You're going to want to quit. You're going to wonder if you should keep doing it. You're going to wonder if this is a real calling or just a pipe dream.

Of course not everything carries the same importance as catching a cooler full of bluefish, but those things that do should be continued. At some point, you are going to be called to do something and you will feel like you have no success. Just because it's a calling doesn't mean you will have great results. You will see friends, colleagues, and others doing the same thing with a lot better results. Success can only be measured by your faithfulness to the task. As long as you are faithful, you are successful. If you are using any other definition, you are using the wrong one. Everything else leads to fish envy.

Just a thought . . .

"I Fish, Therefore I Lie"

2008-06-13T17:05:00.004-04:00

So said a bumper sticker I saw at the pier today. I'm in the middle of a long weekend at the beach with the family. Today while playing in the surf with the boys, I watched the people along the pier standing there, many just waving their rods up and down continuously, like the apprentice in a blacksmith's shop stoking the fire with the bellows. While on the pier, I watched these same fisherman just stand there, keeping their rods in motion, engaging in conversation and almost oblivious to their repetitive motion. I wonder if they do that in their sleep?

I thought of myself the day before. I had spent the day fishing on the pier, only to come back to the camper with an empty cooler. What makes a person stand there all day, holding onto a stick with a piece of string tied to the end and hanging it in the water? As I grew increasingly frustrated with the empty cooler and contemplated when I would call it quits for the day, something would keep me going. I would get a bite. I would reel in my line only to catch a croaker that was too small, a pinfish, a baby shark, or some other ugly thing that no one could identify. As long as I caught one of these with enough frequency, I would keep going, hoping the next one would be a keeper. Or maybe the guy next to me would reel in a keeper and encourage me to keep trying.

There are a lot of lessons we can draw from this fish story. I might go on to say that we do some pretty stupid things sometimes and think we're having great fun. Or we could talk about how if a thousand people do a stupid thing it's still a stupid thing. Perhaps this is a great time to talk about doing nothing that's work related and taking a regular sabbath.

I'm thinking it's a great opportunity to talk about the hope that keeps us going when nothing else can. It does not matter how bad things might seem or be, there is always hope for those of us on a faith journey with Jesus Christ as our Savior. In his letter to the Romans, Paul tells us a lot about hope and how it keeps us going in tough times. Later Paul tells us that not only does this hope not disappoint us and keep us going, but it's a hope that promises a better life where we share in the glory of God. In fact, God is a God of hope and wants to fill us with it on this journey.

No matter what's happening in your life, there is always hope. And that's no fish story.

Honor and Respect

2008-05-26T15:32:00.004-04:00

It's Memorial Day. Many churches across the country most likely took the opportunity to honor those who had given their lives in service to our country. Perhaps surviving relatives in their congregations were honored. I'm sure that even living vets were somehow recognized in some services. Other churches may have taken a slightly different approach. They may have used the opportunity to denounce our current war and the taking of life in combat in general. That's part of what makes this country so wonderful - the freedom to do either one.

War, no matter how necessary, is never a good thing. NBC Dateline aired a story last night about PTSD in soldiers returning from the war in Iraq. It highlighted studies done ever since WWII that measure how many soldiers actually shoot to kill versus simply firing in the enemies general direction. One lietunant colonel, in talking about the current post war/returning home health survey mentioned that soldiers are asked if they were injured or ever in grave danger. He said one of the most important questions not asked is, "Did you kill anyone?"

War, no matter how necessary, is never a good thing. When Saving Private Ryan came out ten years ago, a vet back home who served in the D-Day invasion said the film's depiction of the blood, confusion, violence, pain, etc. was head-on accurate. My wife and I watched Dr. Zhivago last night. In one scene where the Russian army is advancing to toward the front to engage the Germans in WWI, you get a sense of the despair encountered in the cold, harsh, bleak environment, littered with barbed wire and sharpened posts ready to impale someone. You see the hopelessness on the faces of the soldiers. It reminded me that war, no matter how necessary, is never a good thing.

Contrary to how it might seem, this is not an anti-war post. I'm posting no opinions on our current conflict, at least not today. This is a reminder to stop today to honor those men and women who throughout history, have given their lives for our country and our freedom. Don't qualify the recognition you give by denouncing the current administration or the current war. Just show respect and honor to these fallen heroes. Unqualified and well deserved honor and respect.

The Curse of Knowledge

2008-05-22T08:47:00.003-04:00

In Made to Stick, brothers Chip and Dan Heath describe what they call the Curse of Knowledge. It's the tendency for people to find it hard to imagine (or remember) what it was like to NOT know something once we know it. As the writers put it, ". . . it becomes difficult for us to share our knowledge with others, because we can't readily re-create our listener's state of mind." Try this example they use to illustrate this. Tap out the rhythm to a familiar song like The Star Spangled Banner. Have someone listen and try to guess the song. Chances are about 1 in 50 they will guess it. You will have a hard time believing they can't guess it because you can hear the tune in your head. Just to illustrate how hard it is, tap out Happy Birthday as well. You'll notice the taps are identical.

This concept of the Curse of Knowledge is very easily applied to our faith journeys. In pastoral circles, seminars, classes, and books that all deal with the idea of sharing your faith with others, one of the recurring themes is that the more recent your conversion, the more readily and enthusiastically you are to share your testimony or faith with others. Over the years, I have noticed that the more knowledge one has about God, the Bible, and faith in general, the harder it is to communicate that to someone who knows very little. It's the Curse of Knowledge.

The effects of the Curse of Knowledge then begin to multiply. The knowledgable person becomes frustrated with the unknowledgable. They begin to formulate reasons why others don't understand. Many times those reasons are extremely harsh . . . and unfounded. Soon, the knowledgable person gives up all attempts to communicate his or her faith. This intensifies a different kind of curse on those who have not heard (there's one less messenger) and on those who have the knowledge (neglect of the mission given to us).

In your own faith journey, examine how knowledgable you are. If you are pretty well seasoned and experienced, how easily can you communicate this to others? Or have you just stopped trying? If you are pretty young on your journey, do everything you can to remember what it's like to not know anything.

The Curse of Knowledge has one other effect that I have addressed here. It makes simple things overly complex. This is definitely a curse when it comes to the Gospel.

1st Time ever guest post

2008-05-21T09:28:00.003-04:00

dlucks, a good friend of mine, shared with me this particularly insightful time he had over a grill. With his permission, I am posting his thoughts as today's guest blogger.

Vicki & I were invited to a cookout a couple weekends ago. There were 4 couples there. We have no kids...the other 3 couples have 2 kids each. They know I like to cook so they asked if I'd man the grill. I was happy too. The guy had a lot of food...even more than enough to feed 8 adults and 6 kids. There was enough food for 2 batches on the grill. I got a batch of dogs, burgers and chicken going but not being familiar with this guy's grill, I started 'em off on medium. One of the other guys was hanging out with me. We were just chit chatting about stuff, passing the time. I kept an eye on the food...it was going, but slowly, so I kept inching the temp up. There was no rush...the grill is at the top of the driveway on the side of the house...everybody else was in the backyard...adults on the deck...kids playing football and having a water gun fight in the backyard...it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Next thing I knew, the grill was turned all the way up to HIGH but the flame wasn't. The food was cooking, but slowly. Again, nobody was yelling for food yet and my one buddy (not the guy whose house we were at) was hanging with me. Everybody was coasting along. More about that in a minute.

My buddy noticed this line of Leland Cyprus trees that separated the yard we were in from the neighbor's. If you know about these trees, they are evergreens and make perfect landscape barriers. They grow about 3-4 feet a year and these were easily 20 feet tall. He contrasted those trees with one Japanese Red Maple he and his wife had planted in their own front yard 6 years ago when they moved into their house. He said that over those 6 years, that tree (although very beautiful and very meaningful to him) didn't appear to have grown more than a few additional feet in total. He said that a week or two before, as a lot of stuff had begun to bloom, he noticed that his tree hadn't greened up like some on his street. He went out to inspect the tree and when he grasped the trunk and gave it a shake, he said all of the ground at the base of the tree moved. He pulled on the trunk a bit and he said the whole tree came up out of the ground. He was standing there holding a dead tree that was so long in the making. He inspected the ground to find a huge nest of ants that had killed this tree by destroying its roots. Now, back to the grill...

It took about 30 minutes to cook that first batch and we brought them off just as it started to drizzle. The adults and kids in the back came inside and we made sure the kids had something to eat. We put the 2nd batch on as the rain picked up. The guy whose house we were at came out to ask us what we needed. I told him about the slow cooking issue. He went to his deck and pulled over his big deck umbrella for us. It was really raining now. He asked if I thought we should change out the tank. I said I didn't see how that would really make any difference. After-all, the food was cooking...just not quickly. He said we should try changing it anyway. So we did...and the 2nd batch cooked in about 8 minutes.

So what, right? I didn't think much about any of it either but a couple days later, God gave me 2 applications from those events which I shared this week at a huddle with the Small Group Leaders I coach:

Grill - things may look ok on the surface...might be going slower than we'd like but it's ok...until stormy weather hits. Underneath the surface, we need to make sure we've got a proper and constant flow of GAS (God's Awesome Spirit).
Tree - again, things may look ok at first glance...we may be fine to coast along for a season...but when we start assessing our growth, we may find that if we haven't been making sure our roots are established, protected and healthy, we are wasting our time.

We (me and the SG Leaders) spent some time talking about the "roots" that we (as leaders) should establish and protect in the groups we lead. It was a good discussion starter and the actual cookout experience was a real eye-opener for me.

First Impressions

2008-05-19T23:08:00.003-04:00

Now that season 16 of Survivor has ended and American Idol finishes this year's run this week, I've been worried about my wife and I will do together. Tonight we may have found our answer - The Bachelorette. I always find it amazing how this matchmaking shows work. I cannot understand how anyone can go on one of these shows in order to find true love.

It's interesting and embarassing to watch when it's so many men vying for the attention of one woman. Tonight, 25 men were competing for 15 spots. And oh my, the testosterone filled antics they tried to get DeAnna's attention during this one evening. I cannot believe that some guys really think women dig some of the stuff they tried.

As we were watching tonight's episode, my wife asked me a question I could not answer immediately. She asked me what I would have done in that situation to get her attention. We've been married so long and The Bachelorette is so not like anything either of us would have done that I cannot fathom being on that show. I did eventually give her an answer and it did not involve showing off my abs, running about in a Speedo with her name stitched on it, or any of the other ridiculous antics witnessed tonight.

Pondering this question caused me to immediately think, "This would be a great blog post." How would I make a great first impression on God? Luckily, I don't have to make good first impressions. He knows I've got lots of problems and he loves me already anyway. The only thing he wants is an honest, genuine, sincere, devoted relationship with him. That's a lot easier than trying to earn roses, I can tell you. Unfortunately, we tend to treat our relationship with God more like being on The Bachelorette, trying to earn his favor.

Shapely Hamburgers - part deux

2008-05-19T12:28:00.007-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, I shared the strange phenomenon of placing circular hamburger patties on the grill and coming back to find oval shaped patties. Following up on the suggestion of a friend, I tried cooking an oval shaped burger to see what would happen. After analyzing and eating the results, I am now ready to present my findings. On April 30, I placed 5 circular burgers and one oval burger on the grill. When the cooking was complete, I had 5 circular burgers and 1 oval burger.

I must admit, I was surprised that the circular burgers did not convert to the previously elliptical result. These results are basically meaningless in explaining the phenomenon of circle to oval conversion. Well, maybe not meaningless. But they do require more tests to prove any theories. I suspect that temperature is the culprit. The grill was probably not as a hot the second time around.

This experiment mirrors what happens in the real world all the time. We see some result that we like and we want to get the same thing. We fail to duplicate ALL the conditions. We only do the parts we see or like. We might try to be like Jared and eat nothing but Subway in order to lose weight. But if we eat all our sandwiches loaded with high carb dressings, etc. and we always eat a footlong sub, and we fail to exercise, chances are we will gain the weight that Jared lost instead of losing. We would have to duplicate every aspect of what Jared did in order to get Jared's results.

We make these same mistakes on our faith journeys all the time. We spend our lives copying the actions of others without knowing whether we are copying all of the them or even the right ones. We do not analyze our own situations. We do it under our own advisement. We might (usually) try it without the power of the Holy Spirit, which is usually the main ingredient anyway. Does any of this sound like something that has happened in your life?

For years, I have been trying to get a certain kind of results in an environment where it probably won't happen. It's been an interesting three months for me as some of this has come to head. Following what I am confident is a divine leading, I have decided to document the current stage of my faith journey online. I have created a blog where I hope to daily journal on the happenings and thoughts of my life in these regards. I invite you to watch and even participate in my faith journey at The Year of Living Faithfully.

Inclusion and Mother's Day

2008-05-12T12:16:00.004-04:00

A belated Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. We spent yesterday with my wife's mother them both celebrate this special day. We went to church with her and experienced one of the best Mother's Day celebrations I've ever witness. Before I share my thoughts on that, let me take a moment to honor my own mom.

I'm the oldest of five kids, so I've witnessed my share of sacrifice on the part of my mom. I've seen household administration and organization done at its best. At an early age, I learned just how much work it takes to cook, clean, and care for a large family. Now that I have my own kids, I can look back and understand more fully the level of love, understanding, and occasional disappointment that goes into the job of parenting. As I watch the mother of my own children do a much better job than I at this gracious aspect, I appreciate more what my mother must have felt when I was growing up. Thanks for all you did and still do.

Back to yesterday. If you have ever attended church on Mother's Day, chances are pretty good that you have witnessed a service very similar to the one we were part of yesterday. The oldest mom, the youngest mom, and the mom with the most children present were given special recognition. Then, all the mothers were asked to stand. The ushers proceeded to give each woman a special token of appreciation. So far, nothing new, at least for me. Once all the mothers were seated again, the innovation came.

The pastor honored a few women who were not mothers in the biological or even the legal sense. One particular older woman was recognized for being like a mother to so many people in the church. Another childless woman was honored for her work as an OB/GYN nurse. Both of these women had wanted children, but through various circumstances had been unable to have any.

Being as sensitive to emotions as possible, the pastor then asked if there were any other women he had not included who wanted to be mothers and been unable to. Two women who had suffered numerous miscarriages came forward. It was all very moving, Through it all, I was very impressed by the way the church honored as many people as possible without offending anyone.

In my mind, I contrasted this with another Mother's Day celebration that did not go as well. In this church, the pastor did not want to offend any women, even those who had chosen to not have children. He changed the day to "Women's Day" and every woman was given a token of recognition. What happened is that more women were offended at this change then might possibly had been if the non-mothers had been excluded. The complaints I heard came from women who had children and those who did not. The complaint was the same, "This is supposed to be Mother's Day, NOT Women's Day."

All these thoughts began to be directed to the idea of inclusion in the church. In many churches, regardless of how progressive they might be, there are many exclusionary elements that make newcomers and non-church people feel out of place. The strange vocabulary we use is one of those. Unspoken habits and dress codes are another. It might be the style of music or elements of worship.

I think that church is supposed to be as inclusive as possible. I feel that way because I'm fairly certain that's the way God wants it too. I've been part of many churches that were not. When things were changed to make them a little more inclusive, people in the church responded much in the same way some of the women responded to Women's Day - negatively. I've been part of churches where people grasped the missional vision that God has for the church and dealt with it. They did not feel trampled on just because things were done to include the outsider.

In your faith journeys, where have you been excluded? Where have you felt included? How have you endeavored to include those around you that God wants to see journey with you?

BOGO

2008-05-07T08:30:00.000-04:00

BOGO - an acronym in retail sales that stands for Buy One Get One. For example, "Buy One, Get One free" or "Buy One, Get One half price"

This past weekend I saw an advertisedment on the scrolling marquee outside a big box pharmacy that included the acronym BOGO. The marquee did not indicate whether the "get one" was free, half price, or any other price. It simply said, "BOGO widgets" and then scrolled to the next deal on hand cream or something.

I didn't think anything of it. I have seen BOGO used frequently enough that I know what it means. I wonder, however, what percentage of the rest of the population does? I first recall seeing BOGO used three or four years ago by national inexpensive retail shoe store chain. I don't know if they can take credit for making BOGO part of our everyday vernacular, but they are the ones who did for me.

New words get introduced into our language all the time, especially with technological advances. "Internet" is a pretty new word, despite it's widespread use. Words change their meanings over time. Keith Drury has written an interesting article here about that. The use of certain words can easily segregate us into groups. When I was a public school teacher, I was amazed at how many acronyms we had that were somewhat esoteric to our profession. All professions have their own core set of exclusive words.

Language can sometimes be a segregator when it comes to our faith journeys. For those of us who grew up in church, we know all the buzzwords. For someone who is new to faith and Christianity, it's easy to get lost in conversation, the sermon, or even in Bible study because there are so many words you don't understand. The saddest thing for me is when individuals get discouraged and never come back because of all these words they don't understand.

Without harping on the exclusivity issue too much, there are words that get introduced into our lives when we begin our faith journeys that bring positive results. Words like "grace", "hope", "forgiveness", and "love". We already know these words and their meanings, but when one begins a faith journey, they take on a whole new significance. They become more readily recognizable. BTW, BOGO has one other meaning. According to mybaby-name.com, it is a Slavic boy's name which means "receives God's glory", another thing which happens to us when we begin our faith journeys. That's a new word I'm definitely excited about introducing into my life.

Just a thought . . .

Whachis!

2008-05-05T23:45:00.004-04:00

In case you've never seen the t-shirt, "Whachis" is defined as the last words said by a redneck before killed in some stupid stunt, i.e. "Watch This". We've probably all been guilty of this at least once, us guys anyway. While in the dentist's lobby today, I read an article in Sports Illustrated (Apr 21 edition) about the dangerous risks we take. The writer had signed up for a weekend bull riding school. He broke his collarbone. A fellow student was killed. This weekend my wife probably felt like I belonged somewhere in these categories.

Here's the story. If you are blood related to me, you were there when this happened. The other three people who read this were not, so bear with me as I share the details. We were gathered at my sister's house for my niece's birthday party. Her husband brought out his childhood go-cart for everyone's enjoyment. I got the second ride of the day, just to test the throttle and choke adjustments. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. On my last lap around the house, I turned the wheel sharply to pull into the "pit area". I turned a little too sharply. The go cart flipped. The upper frame landed on my forearm (I have a big knot near my elbow). This is a picture of the "road rash" I received as the cart and I slid for a few feet. My wife screamed. My oldest son, my brother-in-law, and the other fathers there for the party all laughed. Then all the wives sat around and talked about their juvenile husbands. The younger wives were warned by the older ones that it does not get any better.

This pic was taken the morning after. It doesn't do justice to how really cool the scrape looked when it first happened. When it first happened, I had red streaks all the way up to my wrist. The wound area was a bit wider. I was totally bummed the next morning when I saw how much it had healed. I was hoping to get a day or two of some really cool stories to tell about my great accident.

I have found that many of us treat our faith journeys with a "whachis" attitude or we glory in our accidents. We talk about how bad our lives were before we began our journeys. We do it for all kinds of reasons. We do it to remind ourselves how far we have come. Sometimes we do it to brag about how far we have come, forgetting the grace element. Perhaps we want to get some excitement back into our lives and we start walking down memory lane.

It becomes really dangerous when we say "whachis" with our faith journeys and allow ourselves to be put in risky situations where staying true to our faith can be difficult. It is true that God will always give us a way out of any temptation we may face. At the same time, it is our responsibility to avoid the temptation as much as possible, not go hunting it down.

Other times we want to hold onto our wounds. We may know that God can heal any wound in our lives. We know that it is through Jesus Christ that he does this. But the wound becomes such a major part of who we are, that we don't want to let it go. We are afraid of what life will be like if we don't have it in our lives. That fear is another one of those things God can deliver us from.

Which of these categories do you belong in? BTW, my son later turned over the minibike. We went window shopping for dirt bikes today.

Sci-fi and the Essentials

2008-04-28T12:07:00.006-04:00

As promised in my hamburger post, here are some thoughts I have about science fiction and Christians. Incidentally, per suggestion of a friend, I will be testing out what happens when the burger starts out as an oval. But back to science fiction. I love science fiction. I've become an avid reader of fantasy literature as well. Both genres have been considered suspect at best and absolutely sinful and evil at worst by many people who consider themselves very conservative Christians. My profile states that I hope to publish the next great sci-fi or fantasy novel. Like many others, I do not see how being on a Christian faith journey is incompatible with a love for these genres of literature.

I've tried to discern why this disparaging view exists in some people's mind. I can certainly understand some of the opposition by Christian groups. Some fantasy literature does border on promoting the occult, but not all. References to multiple gods also trouble some. Science fiction (or science in general) has a reputation for being totally naturalistic, humanistic, and altogether anti-God. But these wide sweeping generalizations wipe out examples of this literature that come nowhere close to exhibiting these characteristics. And even if they exist, should a good story be ignored and not seen as just that, a good story?

C.S. Lewis and The Chronicles of Narnia are always the exception. These books are allowed in, but none other. It has been said, however, that these books would have never been "accepted" if published for the first time in today's society. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings have enjoyed a recent admission to the list. The funny thing is neither author claimed to have inserted overtly Christian themes into these, at least not purposefully. I'll admit that's hard to argue when reading Lewis, but not so with Tolkien. Could it be that Christians are reading into these stories that which they want to see, so they can justify liking them?

Before we go down a postmodern path where truth is relative and we begin pondering who really determines what something is saying, let's come back to the science fiction antipathy. Why are Christians afraid of it? Does the possibility that life exists in other parts of the universe really contradict God so much, just because Genesis does not mention it? Is the notion, even without extraterrestrial life, that humans might explore and colonize the outer reaches of our galaxy and beyond, hundreds of thousands of years from now so great a challenge to the predominant view of the end time as many interpret the book of Revelations?

These thoughts should not be construed as an attack on interpretations that disagree with mine. I'm just curious as to why the disagreement can become some energized. What is it about sci-fi and fantasy that scares many Christians, beyond those things I mentioned above? By the way, I think this will eventually lead us down the postmodern path. What do you think?

Ponderings on change

2008-04-27T06:25:00.002-04:00

Insomnia, leg cramps, and a host of minor inconveniences kept my body from sleep at the early stages of this morning. Eventually, I gave up the fight and lay in bed pondering the larger host of thoughts running through my mind. They all seem to have a common theme - change, specifically change in the church. Among the various subpoints that garnered my mental energy this morning are the basic questions that we all ask, the what, when, where, why, and how of change in the church.

Several stories ran through my mind. I thought about Martin Luther and the history making change he initiated in the 15th century. I don't know if this is an actual event from Luther's life, but a particular scene from the movie Luther has always moved me (from what I know of that time in history, it is probably factual). In this scene, a young Martin Luther is serving as a monk, devoting his time to God in monastery. He was plagued with all sorts of spiritual and personal issues. His abbott decided that formal education and seminary would be a good path for Luther. The abbott asks Luther in this scene, "Have you ever read the New Testament?" I was floored - here is a religious monk devoting himself to God and reading the New Testament was not a given?! One of the most important changes wrought by the Protestant Reformation was the placing of Scripture back in the hands of the people.

Another story that filtered through my memory was an illustration I heard a fellow pastor use once. It's a story of pastor who came to a church and wanted to change the arrangement of the platform to make things look and work together better. It was obvious to him that the organ needed to be beside the piano, so he moved it across the stage. That first Sunday people were shocked. Within two weeks he was asked to leave and the organ put back into its original spot. A couple of years later, he was attending a meeting of other pastors at that same of church. He noticed the organ had been moved beside the piano. He asked the current pastor, "How did you do that? When I moved it, they fired me!" The other pastor replied, "I heard about that. Like you, it was obvious to me it needed to be moved, so I just moved it a few inches a week until I got it where it needed to be."

For someone like me who tends to be maverick in my doings, the most important thoughts I had fell into the "Why?" category. Why do we want to see change? Is it because things no longer work in their current state? Is it to satisfy a personal whim or preference? Is it because we are bored? Is it because we are genuinely inspired and motivated by something greater than ourselves? Is it because we have all been created with our own creative spark and for some of us, if we do not exercise and nurture that spark, we'll go crazy?

The funny shape of things

2008-04-25T11:26:00.005-04:00

Last night I fell asleep thinking about science fiction, post modernity, and how people on a Christian faith journey should relate to these. I woke continuing that stream of consciousness. I really want to post some of those thoughts soon, but this morning another question begs to be answered. Why do my hamburger patties , which start out as nice perfect circles, take on an oval shape after they are cooked? This is a phenomenon I noticed a few weeks back. After grilling about twenty burgers for a cookout last night, this geometric and backyard culinary oddity snagged my attention again.

Applying the scientific method, I came up with several hypotheses. 1) It's the particular brand of pre-made patties. Perhaps they contain some sort of weird-you-don't-really-want-to-know ingredient that automatically conforms it to an oval when heated. 2) Maybe it's because I had the heat too high, causing rapid and uneven contraction, thus resulting in an oval. 3) Maybe the burgers have a mind of their own and they thought they were being prepared for a tailgating party. Assuming a football shape seemed appropriate. 4) Possibly, in conjunction with #1, there is a conspiracy and marketing relationship with the manufacturers of oval shaped buns. Once I realize that the burgers will always be this shape, I will begin searching for buns of a similar shape. 5) Again in conjunction with #1, these burgers are intentionally designed to assume this shape so that when placed on a round bun, there is a little extra place to accomodate condiment run-off. This assumes another possible partnership with the condiment industry. 6) If I try hard enough, I can probably blame the current adiministration, the opponents of the current administration, or even aliens.

Honestly, I don't know which of these thoughts is the most likely to be correct. I'm sure there are several more plausible explanations that I have not thought of yet. Humans have gone through this process for all of history. We have sought explanation and understanding for everything we experience. Mythologies are created, things considered scientific fact are established, and years later, we come into other data that debunks earlier myths and science.

I think the same thing happens in our faith journeys, at least in how we organize them socially and politically. The faith journey of Moses and its practices look strange next to Martin Luther's reformation or John Wesley's class meetings. Put the way we do church today alongside any other period of history and you get the same results. Even today, I am continually having conversations with people about whether the shape of church today even works anymore. Why does church look the way it does? What is the right way to practice our faith, individually and with others? Is there a better shape?

Maybe burgers don't have to be round. Maybe some other things can be different too.

Chiggers, the Price of Gas, and Other Random Thoughts

2008-04-22T09:43:00.007-04:00

For those of you curious, I've not had a chance to further test the Peanut Butter diet theory. I ran out of peanut butter, at least the reduced fat kind. Some people are amazed that I like the reduced fat kind better - I just think it tastes better. The other day I was able to identify why. The reduced fat (at least in the Peter Pan line) tastes sweeter. I checked the labels, and sure enough, the reduced fat has more sugar - 5 grams vs. 3 grams per equal sized serving. I guess that's a trade off.

Last week I went on a few different hikes with the boys. My youngest son wanted to go on a long hike. He had asked to go on a six mile hike in order to explore a pond I had recently discovered. I convinced him of a shorter one. When we got back to the car, we still had done over three miles. I was very proud of him. The next day I took my other son and his friends on a hike to one of their favorite spots in the woods. They had a great time, so I did too. Sunday night I discovered two chigger bites that are driving me crazy right now. I suppose that is the price you pay for being in the woods.

I filled my car up yesterday. I paid $3.42 a gallon at one of the discount warehouses. I couldn't believe it. While driving around town, I noticed the average price in our area is about $3.5o per gallon. I never thought I would see these kind of prices in my lifetime. And there does not seem to be any sign of the prices to reverse any time soon. It's appalling. In a separate conversation, a friend mentioned the government should get involved. He said all it takes is the word "regulation" and we'll see the prices go back down.

As I paid way too much to fill up my Toyota Corolla I thought about that conversation and debated the merits of that idea. I'm pretty conservative when it comes to my views on how involved the government needs to be in our lives. I'm usually a proponent of "let the market handle things". When I tried to apply that principle to the gas prices, I'm not entirely convinced that would work. It would take the consumers - us - resorting to buying less fuel, using less fuel, and making the personal sacrifices necessary to see it have any effect. As a society, we have already demonstrated that we are willing to pay whatever it costs in order to do what we want. How many of us have said as express our frustration over the prices, "But we've got to have it"? So, I began to think about that government regulation idea. Am I willing to make the tradeoff in order to have lower prices? Would regulation actually lower the price or result in something else?

This blog is supposed to be about our faith journeys. What kind of tradeoffs do we make in our faith journeys, positive and negative? What ones should we make? I don't have a well thought out response for that yet, but I do have some ideas.

Community is one of those tradeoffs. When we enter a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, i.e. become a Christian, begin a faith journey, etc., we become part of a larger group doing the same. The Bible calls it the Body of Christ. It's not always easy, convenient, or even desirable to be part of a larger body. It requires us to put our individual desires and preferences aside. We are called to look out to the interests of others, not just ourselves.

Some tradeoffs are artificial ones we create, thinking them necessary and required. In our efforts to become changed people and more like Jesus, we establish systems of rules that have to be observed when they have little to do with being like Jesus.

There are plenty others. What are some of the ones you think of? Am I off base with the two I've started with? Just a thought - what are yours?

In only 8 days . . .

2008-04-07T13:10:00.003-04:00

. . . I ate an entire 28 ounce jar of Peter Pan reduced fat creamy peanut butter (no crunchy was available). During that same time period I also lost three and half pounds! My initial conclusion is that by eating a jar of peanut butter every week I can lose weight. I will test that hypothesis this week by eating a second jar. If I can show the same weight loss results, I plan to publish a diet book called The Peanut Butter Diet of course. If it works for me, it has to work for everyone. At least everyone will think it will.

Of course, these are all faulty assumptions. They are the kind of examples used to teach statistical concepts like correlations or expose snake oil medicine posing as real research. It's not much different in the church. Throughout human history, we have given in to the tendency to codify, to the exclusion of everything else, how God is to be experienced, how we are to dress, how God is to be worshipped, what type of music can be used, which elements are to be used in a worship service and in what order. In the name of some unofficial authority, we have even codified what happens in the private lives of people in terms of their relationship with God - you must pray this many times a day, read this much Scripture, etc. Many of these are a result of something that worked for an individual or maybe even a small group of individuals that we assumed to work for everyone.

Thinking like this requires that God be static. It is true that God is unchanging - he will always be all powerful, all knowing, all loving, perfectly good and just, full of grace and mercy, etc. But God is not static. God is dynamic. He is always doing a new thing. Instead of sending another Moses to liberate His people from Babylonian exile, he used the kings of Babylon themselves to not only set them free, but finance the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Jesus reminded us that new wine is not put into old wineskins.

God is creative and creativity results in new things. God gave us creative power. When two dynamic beings enter into a relationship, that relationship will naturally be dynamic. The trick for us is to remember that God is the head of the relationship so he will have final authority over any newness we try to bring to the relationship.

I want my faith journey to be dynamic. I want to be ready to experience the new things that God may have in store for me. I don't want to be afraid to step away from something old and familiar in order to do so. And I want the grace and wisdom to recognize when it works for me but not necessarily everyone else.

Kissing Up

2008-04-02T22:32:00.006-04:00

I heard a cover version of a 60's hit while in a fast food resturant today. The song was It's in His Kiss. The key line in the song is "if you wanna know if he loves you so, it's in his kiss". I pondered the truth in those words while drying my hands. I don't know if you have ever been the recipient of an insincere kiss, but I have. I don't know if you have ever been the giver of an insincere kiss, but I have. What the songwriter says is true - you can tell if somebody loves you by his or her kiss. Everything else can be faked.

U2 sang a song about a kiss too - In the Name of Love. The song talks about Jesus, among others who were also known for their tremondous capacity to love, and it references the incident in the Garden of Gethsemane when Judas identified Jesus for the arresting soldiers by kissing him. After listening to that other song and contemplating its truthfulness, I began thinking about this kiss. Could Jesus tell by the kiss whether Judas really loved him? We already know that Jesus knew what Judas was going to do - he wasn't surprised at all. But, how did the kiss feel?

My thinking naturally moved to all of us and especially me. If I were to give Jesus a kiss today, would he know how much I loved him? Don't freak out as you read this. I don't like the "Jesus is my boyfriend" feeling that much of today's understanding of a faith journey sounds like. You know what I'm getting at. What would my kiss tell Jesus about my love for him? What would your kiss say?

Just a thought.

Just one more bite

2008-03-31T22:54:00.005-04:00

WARNING: This post contains references to my obsession with peanut butter.

Tonight as I kept sneaking back to the pantry for another spoonful (yes, I doubled dipped, but it's also my own personal jar), I reminded myself that I'm supposed to be losing weight. Peanut butter is allowed on the program, but not a cup a day. It also reminded me that much of the weight loss struggle for anyone is controlling the appetite. Read the diet books, join one of the diet programs (Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, etc.) and one thing they work into their systems is keeping you from going hungry. This enables you to partially control the eating. Your goal then becomes to not give into impulse eating.

Here's where people well versed in the Bible will immediately recognize a reference. Some will scoff at how I'm using it though. With each successive spoonful of peanut butter I ate tonight, one thing and one thing alone was happening. I was thoroughly enjoying myself. The taste and texture was incredible. It was a true pleasure of the flesh. It was pure sensual enjoyment. I know some of the people who will be reading this and I already know the less than pure thoughts going through your minds. Don't leave them on my comment board!

Eating peanut butter (or your own favorite food), getting a buzz whether it be from nicotine, alcohol, or something harder, and yes even sexual pleasures are all things that require our self-discipline to control. I wanted more peanut butter. I can safely say that for about five minutes, I was consumed by peanut butter instead of me consuming it. Before you label me as demented, how many times have you done that with a bag of potato chips? You know can't eat just one!

As I ate that last spoonful tonight, I contemplated how I just wanted more. I evaluated my self-discipline. I also thought about the Holy Spirit and my relationship with God. Do I view the experiential aspect of my relationship with God the same way? Do I seek, do I crave more of the presence I feel in worship? Do I desire to know him more when I experience the breadth, height, and depth of his love? Or is that the area where I choose to exercise self-control and limit myself to how much of that I can have? Just a thought.

Why?

2008-03-25T11:21:00.007-04:00

As I was watching the movie Hotel Rwanda Saturday night, the night before Easter, that was question that kept running through my mind - Why?
- Why would people act so violently and cruelly to their fellow man, trying to kill an entire people group?
- Why did the world turn their head to this violence and not intervene?
- Why would God give his only Son, why would Jesus willingly die and suffer so, for the human race that had become so capable of this? Why do this when we would all reject this act of love without his grace that somehow enables us to respond positively to it?

The only answer is love. God's love has to be immeasurable. There is no other reason. Logic cannot explain it. There is no rational understanding that can be applied. It truly is unfathomable. It is unbelievable. Yet it happened.

Though we are not told this in the movie, I guess that answers another why question. Why would someone like Paul Rusesabagina risked his life the way he did, without any support from those who could have and should have helped? It had to be God's love working in his life, whether he realized it or not. I do know that his wife kept fingering a cross she had hung around her neck the entire movie. This cross seemed to always be prominent when she was in the scene.

I guess the next question we all need to answer is why we do what we do, good or bad. Just a thought.

Mikhail Gorbachev Admits He's a Christian!!

2008-03-19T21:19:00.001-04:00

Here's the story. Just goes to show you don't really know what is going on in people's lives from what you see on the outside.

Going Green

2008-03-18T22:27:00.003-04:00

No, this isn't a late St. Patrick's Day post nor will it be extolling the virtues of driving a Prius, using cloth shopping bags, or reducing my carbon footprint. It would be more accurate to say I'm shooting for a more organic lifestyle. And for my second set of disclaimers, that doesn't mean I will be buying a pair of Birkenstocks and shopping only at Whole Foods.

I want my life to be more organic and less mechanistic. When I say organic, I mean life is fostered. Contrast this with a mechanistic approach where production is the important metric. Our society is largely a mechanistic society. You see it in economics, politics, sports, even in agriculture (smile!), family life and religion. The key metric by which success is determined is what has been produced. I'm not campaigning for an anticapitalist revolution. But I do believe that our post-industrial revolution mindset has crept into areas where it shouldn't be. Areas that are relationship based and more organic in nature.

Organic living fosters living in others. When my family relationships are healthy, my children, my spouse, and my extended family members grow. I'm not trying to force some type of production - compliance with a certain set of behaviors or specific responses to my actions. Those are mechanistic. If we're living organically, then I am fostering my children's development into healthy adults because of their growing, not because they give me the conditioned response.

Our spiritual lives are definitely meant to be organic. If you read the Bible, all the key imagery of healthy living occurs in an organic mindset. We were created and put in a garden, not a factory. God is the gardener and his people are a vineyard. Jesus taught about producing healthy fruit, not about making the best pots or furniture. When our relationship with him is organically healthy, then we grow. Others grow around us.

Instead, we have tried to make our faith journeys mechanistic. If I perform A, B, and C in my faith journey, I will produce characteristics X, Y, and Z. If our church will implement this procedure, we will see that result.

There's a lot more that needs to be said. I'll have to leave it to this for now. Just a thought.

More cheese, please

2008-03-05T19:31:00.002-05:00

Sorry, but yesterday's quote by Chesterton has really set my mind to thinking. Mainly, whether or not he really said what Lowes Food claims he said. A quick Google of "chesterton cheese" directed me to a sonnet written by Chesterton in honor of a Stilton Cheese. You'll have to forgive my infatuation with this subject. I guess it makes me feel a little less strange to know that even men of Chesterton's stature could be motivated to write on such mundane topics.

Believe it or not, I can relate this to your faith journey. Not that there are any similarities between cheese and having a relationship with God. But there are similarities to the strange things that some of us become enthralled by, infatuated with, inspired to write about, etc. and what motivates similar energy outputs for our faith journeys. I think we can also stretch things a little more and say that faith is supposed to be real and ordinary at times, affecting every aspect of our lives, even the mundane and cheesy things.

Somehow, I think Chesterton is probably rolling over in his grave.

Interesting Quote

2008-03-04T22:40:00.005-05:00

I was in the grocery store picking up a gallon milk tonight when I came across an interesting quote. There, on the wall above the refrigerated dairy section, specifically the cheese section, was a quote from one of the last century's most influential writers, G.K. Chesterton. To quote the wikipedia article, his diverse output included "journalism, philosophy, poetry, biography, Christian apologetics, fantasy, and detective fiction." Among the many great things he is credited with saying, perhaps this is his most memorable. There in the cheese section, I came across these words:

The poet have been mysteriously quiet on the subject of cheese.

Thank you Mr. Chesterton for these provoking words and thank you Lowes Food for reminding us of his greatness.

Sacrifice

2008-03-03T08:42:00.019-05:00

This past weekend was a fun one for the boys and me. We spent Friday and Saturday night on the USS Yorktown at Patriots Point in the Charleston Harbor of SC. It was part of an outing we took with their Cub Scout Pack. It was very, very cool. In addition to touring the Yorktown, we took tours of a submarine (USS Clamagore), a "tin can" destroyer (USS Laffey), a Coast Guard cutter (USCG Ingham), a replica of a naval support base during the Vietnam War, and Ft. Sumter. It was a lot to take in and we by no means got everything out of it that we could. The programming was supplemented by a showing of Tora! Tora! Tora! on Friday night.

One thing that really hit home with me (and I tried to convey to the boys) was the level of sacrifice that was given during WWII. We read about destroyers who steamed full speed ahead at the Japanese fleet, even though they were out of torpedos and other deadly ammo. They gave their ships and their lives for the rest of the fleet in order to give their comrades on other ships a fighting chance. We read about the forty plus submarines that were sunk in battle, taking all their crew down with them.

The sacrifice did not only happen on the warfront, although that is justifiably the most significant. We heard about how total annual plane production (civilian and military) went from 2100 in 1939 to over 100,000 in 1942 once we entered the war with Japan. After the original Yorktown was sunk at the Battle of Midway in 1942, it's replacement was built and commissioned in only six months. These kind of production marvels were only possible because of the material rationing and willingness of the American worker, male and female, to work long hard hours.

As I contemplated all these things on the ride home, I wondered what I would be willing to sacrifice for my country. Not just the esoteric, vague concept of "country", but the realization that my sacrifice was really for the millions of men, women, and children who live in my country. The sacrifice would be for millions of people who may not agree with many of the important ideals and views that I hold. My political leaders, perhaps even my commander in chief, may be members of that group with whom I disagree. I'm not sure if any of the men and women who gave sacrificially during these times ever thought about it in these terms or not. It may be best that they did not - it could certainly have been a cause to rethink one's actions.

I also could not help but frame these thoughts within the idea of my faith journey. What am I willing to sacrifice for my relationship with God? What am I willing to sacrifice for the sake of the faith journeys of others? I don't have any answers to those questions yet, and again, it might be for the best. It's probably best to go through life making sacrifices without counting the cost. The Gospel writer Luke might disagree with that notion. I'm still processing what it means for me. I'm also curious what it means to you. Anyone care to share?

Just a thought. I'm sure I'll have more soon.

Change

2008-02-25T15:39:00.003-05:00

Life takes on a whole new spin for me now. Yesterday was my last day as pastor of New Life Wesleyan Church. Now, for the first time in over nine years, I am not pastoring a church. Even when I was working other places, I was still pastoring. It's a weird feeling. I'll take a few weeks off to take care of some transitional items and finish up some projects I've started before I enter the workforce. One of those will be finishing up one of the novels I've been working on.

A few people have asked what's next for me. I'll find a "real" job as some say. Eventually, I will be part of a group of people who are on a faith journey and want to start something new. I'm excited about all that lies ahead even though there are so many unanswered questions. I know that God will be with me every step of the way and he will provide. He's already proven himself faithful. Despite the uncertainty, the whole family feels good about where we are heading because we know God is going ahead of us.

It's what I've always dreamed about . . .

2008-02-19T23:05:00.003-05:00

. . . .says about half of the people under the age of 21 who happen to be contestants on one of the star making reality tv shows (American Idol, America's Next Top Model, Girlicious, etc.). After hearing every single one of these people say this, the cynic in me had to say, "Is it really?" and "You've only been dreaming and thinking a handful of years. Is it really that major, yet?" Is it possible to be 18 and say that phrase with any real meaning?

Just to confirm that I know what you are thinking, let me see if I can read your mind. You think I'm a harsh, bitter person who has no compassion whatsoever and all I do is see how I can stomp on the ambitions and dreams of others. But I'm really not. You should be ashamed of yourself for accusing me of such things (smile!). Just because the cynical side of me may want to think those things doesn't mean I believe them. I think that when an 18 year old person says, "This is what I have always dreamed about" that it is probably true. Chances are he or she has been watching whatever show they happen to be on since season 1. It's all they've ever known. Who among us never wanted to be someone famous?

I think it's wonderful they actually get a chance to pursue such a dream. Take American Idol for instance. For those four contestants that will not get enough votes to continue this week, they can say what few others can say. "I sang on national tv. I was a contestant on American Idol. I got to meet Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest." Ok, not everything about the experience is all that great, but you get my point.

As we get older, our dreams often change. Sometimes they don't change but we modify them to fit our situation. Some folks might call it settling for something else. Others might call it seizing the opportunity in front of you. We eventually begin approaching and passing the dreaded midlife crisis. Then we begin to say, "Did my life amount to anything?"

I was reflecting on the dreams I had when I was 18 to 24 years old. I don't remember necessarily having any other than being rich without any plan on how to get there. Now that I have a family, my dreams are less about making my mark on the world and more about making my mark on my boys. I'm also more concerned about leaving an impression on the people within my immediate sphere of influence instead of everybody on the sphere we call earth.

What do we dream about when it comes to our faith? I've written about goals for our faith journeys before. Dreams are different than goals, at least I think so. Goals are things we can usually accomplish, even if they require help from others. Dreams have that loftier, more visionary and impossible feel to them. What are your spiritual dreams? If you faith journey could look like anything, what would it look like? How about sharing it with me - I'd really like to know.

Peanut Butter, the Super Bowl, and other important thoughts concerning our faith

2008-02-06T23:26:00.000-05:00

I know I'm a couple of days late, but the New England Patriots dream of a perfect season capped with a Super Bowl win was shattered. I honestly thought they would pull it off. Of course, a record of 18-1 is nothing to throw sticks at. Unless the one loss is the big one. I bet if the Patriots could trade one of the regular season wins for a win this past Sunday, they'd take it. I'd take it. Who wants to win all those games and lose the championship?

I've been indulging on peanut butter again. After the big salmonella scare last year, Peter Pan peanut butter returned to the shelves a few months back. I had eaten virtually no peanut butter during my favorite brand's absence from the shelves. The regular stuff returned back in August, but I prefer the taste of the reduced fat stuff. That has finally returned. I have resumed my daily indulgence of spoonfuls of the wonderfully delicious stuff since my wife brought home a jar of Peter Pan reduced fat creamy. However, as good as that is, I cannot wait for the crunchy version to come out. Then I will be as close to heaven as I can get while here on earth.

Both of these thoughts are extremely relevant to our faith journeys. Specifically they have to do with the return of Jesus. That's right. In case you didn't know it, Jesus is coming back. He did not remain dead after he was crucified. He was raised to life by the power of the Holy Spirit on the Sunday morning after his death on Friday afternoon. A little more than a month and half later, he ascended back to heaven with the promise he would return to earth one day to get all his followers.

What's the Super Bowl and Peter Pan reduced fat crunchy peanut butter got to do with that? I'm glad you asked. Why would I want to live a perfect life, only to mess it up at the very end and miss my chance to go to heaven when Jesus returns. The Apostle Paul urged his readers to run the race so it could be won and they could receive the crown of eternal life. The Patriots were a great team this year. But they won't be remembered for winning it all. They'll be remembered for losing the big one when it counted.

And what about my peanut butter? I am waiting anxiously and excitedly for the return of my favorite brand. I know it will return if I'm patient. This other stuff is pretty good so far, but I want the whole package. I anxiously await the return of Jesus. I can't wait. Things are good right now, but they will be so much better when he returns. Why even be on a faith journey if it's not about waiting for his return?

Just a thought, a creamy, peanut buttery thought. Ummmmm.

Things I Never Tire Of

2008-01-28T14:47:00.000-05:00

Snowflakes and mittens, warm cozy kittens . . . Oops, I'm sorry. Those are a few of my favorite things. Last week I made mention of how I never tire of reading the Bible. I asked readers to comment on those things they never tire of. No one commented. Maybe I seemed holier than thou by my statement on reading the Bible. I hope not. It's nothing I'm ashamed of saying. Several times last week as I was doing some pretty intense study I was reminded of how much I enjoy studying the Bible. I had lunch today with a friend whose job duties have taken him out of the pulpit and he commented on how much he missed the opportunity to do that kind of study each week.

Well, I promised to give my thoughts on why I enjoy reading the Bible so much. So here they are. WARNING: some may be tongue in cheek so withhold any harsh judgments on that basis.

1) I'm a pastor - I have to enjoy it
2) I'm a pastor, so I have learned to enjoy it
3) I'm a pastor, so I have developed the skills that help me enjoy it.
4) As a Christian, I had to read it so it grew on me
5) It's actually good stuff. You have violence, daring heroics, supernatural happenings, romance, and enough soap opera type material to fill a full season of The Jerry Springer Show (seriously!).
6) It really is applicable to my everyday life. Really, it is.

There is an element of truth in every reason above. The average person reading this may not think that all of these reasons would fit their lives. I'd argue that they would. Everyone can learn to enjoy it. Everyone can learn the "skills". If you read it, it will eventually grow on you. Coincidentally, after posting last week, I had a conversation that very same day with someone who made mention they don't enjoy the reading part all that much. Ideally they would like to, but they do not believe they will ever come to the same point as I. We'll see if that remains true. That person is actually putting in considerable effort.

There's nothing particularly insightful about this post. But it some serious thoughts about our faith journeys. Somewhere on our journeys, reading the Bible has to become part of it. No one has to become a Ph.D quality Bible scholar overnight. Any growth is growth. Give it a shot. I think you will find you also will never tire of it.

"These are a few of my favorite things"

Segregation anyone?

2008-01-21T23:13:00.000-05:00

Today is the day our government has set for us as a country to officially honor the life and work of a true civil rights hero - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Not everyone is excited about such an observance. Personally, I wonder how much farther he could have led us if his life had not be tragically taken in Memphis on April 4, 1968.

I hate segregation. Always have. Yet I'm always amazed at the human creature's propensity to segregate itself. I used to teach high school math in Charlotte, NC. When you looked at a map of the city, it was amazing at how well we had segregated ourselves into black and white halves of the city. That would have remained true even if you had taken out all of the sections of public and low income housing that were "intentionally controlled" to "keep them in their place". Because we black and white folk decided to segregate ourselves, kids were taking one hour bus rides in order to ensure diversity in the student population.

You see it on a global scale as well. No matter how hard we work to destroy societal, economic, or even civic barriers to integration, the human creature will always retreat to its fall back position - self-imposed segregation. We really prefer to be with people like ourselves. It's not always race that decides that affinity. It might be economics, political ideology, or religion. The more areas you can find in common, the more likely you are to become a group, maybe even a closed group.

Today I was part of a discussion with some fellow pastors and denominational leaders about this issue of segregation. No, we didn't discuss Dr. King. We didn't talk about Sunday morning being the most segregated hour of the week either. We discussed things like church membership. How closed or sectarian should something like that be? There are a lot of good opinions on all sides of that issue.

It should be noted that segregation is not always a bad thing. I don't really want to sit on a plane full of TB patients if I can help it. Some would argue that some type of segregation in the church is appropriate. Of course, we don't call it that. We call it membership. What should be the appropriate requirements for membership? Is it appropriate to have another set of requirements for those in leadership?

If you read this blog and have never posted, this is one I'd like to have your thoughts on. Don't give the popular answer or the one you think I'm looking for. Don't worry about whether or not it's right "biblically". I'm curious about your thoughts. That's what this blog is all about - thoughts that influence our faith journeys. And just to make you feel better, I'll turn on the anonymous commenting just for this post.