The Season of Giving (too much?)

Sometimes I really struggle with Christmas! I'm no Scrooge but I really can get caught up in the commercialism and focus on the wrong things. There's this internal struggle. Christmas is the season of giving, and I really do enjoy giving gifts to others, but how much is too much? When does our giving cross the line and become indulgence and sin?

Lord, help me not to cross the line!

K.I.S.S.

Sometimes blogging can be therapeutic and an enjoyable exercise in communication. And other times it's a pain. Lately, I've been avoiding the exercise for a number of reasons - busyness, laziness, and this general feeling that nobody really reads my blog anyway. However, I have decided to keep at it but in a different format.

I guess I had this feeling that I always need to be profound and eloquent in my writing, and I suppose there is nothing wrong with that. However, I've decided to forgo that pressure (which leads to writer's block and avoidance), and take a much more laid back approach to my blogging. Oh, I hope at times to be inspiring, insightful, and challenging in my writing, but just as often (probably more) I'll just ask questions, share the thoughts of others, and as a wise person once said, K.I.S.S. it (Keep It Simple Stupid).

So, I guess here it goes!

Secure Your Investments! A money back guarantee!

As the stock markets tumble out of control and financial chaos grows I'm asking myself a question. In these uncertain times, how do followers of Christ balance the management of our earthly blessings with our Lord's call to an emphasis on the eternal? Must we somehow try to separate our two kingdoms, getting down and dirty in the here and now while relegating the eternal to after-hours?

In The Divine Conspiracy, Dallas Willard firmly opposes this dualistic approach and suggests that God calls us to live an eternal kind of life now. God's divine conspiracy is the subtle, deep, invitation to escape the wisdom of the world and to enter the school of the Master. His curriculum alone can make sense of this world and truly prepare us for the next. However, for those who choose to sit in the classroom of Christ, be prepared to be misunderstood and mocked by the "wise" leaders of this world.

Revisiting my initial question concerning the management of earthly blessings, what does our Teacher have to say. In his inaugural message to his followers(Matthew 6), Christ clearly lays out his financial curriculum for his students.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

For the Christ follower there is no reason to worry in turbulent times. Our investments are not subject to the the bull and bear markets, political bailouts, or the advice of financial advisers. Our treasure is secure and our heart is focused on what really matters. The problem occurs when our heart is turned to the wrong place. When earthly comfort, financial security, and self-centered living, capture our heart and minds, we suddenly find ourselves cold to the things of God. Jesus put it this way.

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

But so often we try to serve both. In times of prosperity it can even seem possible to do so and we begin to believe the subtle lie that maybe Jesus missed the boat on this one. Maybe it is possible to love God and still amass for ourselves the earthly comforts afforded every American. Don't we have a right to own a home, drive two (or more) cars, and have access to quality affordable health care? And God forbid that we should do without cable TV or high speed internet service. But in fact there can be no doubt to Christ's statement: We cannot love both God and money.

One of the blessings of this time of turmoil is it forces us to examine our lives. And worry can be an accurate indicator of where we are at in terms of our earthly and heavenly investments. Worry is a blinking light that flashes out a dire warning; "examine your life....examine your life...." Jesus tells us,

do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the unconverted run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

So as the world is in a panic over the financial "crisis", let us examine our faith. Where do we truly put our trust? Who is it we truly serve? Are we a true believer or are we unconverted? Seek Him and find the true peace that comes from heavenly citizenship. There it's always a bull market.

The Greater Joy

For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, just as you are living according to the truth. I have no greater joy than this: than to hear that my children are living according to the truth.

3 John 1:3-4

As a minister to students there is no greater joy than to see them live out their faith. I love to lead someone to faith in Christ. But O' the greater joy of seeing one of my students lead someone to Christ! Success in youth ministry is not measured by how many students come to our programs, the size of our budgets, or our personal accomplishments. True success must be measured on whether or not we are reproducing students in the mold of Jesus.

The Sweaty Prize

I am slowly plowing through a book I've tried to read two or three times before, The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard. Each previous time I failed to get past the first chapter, putting it down before I got into the meat of the book. It's not that it's difficult to read, but it is a book that makes you think - thus you need to be ready to invest some time and brainpower. I guess I just wasn't ready before. This time the payoff is proving to be well worth the effort.

Isn't that how most things work. You really only get out of something what you're willing to put into it. And things that are easy rarely yeild anything of real value. I enjoying sitting down to watch a movie with my family. But while a few moments of escapism can be "fun", seldom is there a real lasting payoff. The time spent with my family around a flickering screen is cheap in compairson to time spent with them around a gameboard or in conversation. Sadly, we're often unwilling to pay the price to build real deep relationships.

Over the next few weeks I'm planning on investing some time reading The Divine Conspiracy. As I do I'll use my blog to share some of the insights gained as a result of my work. I'm not an especially deep person. Most of my wisdom and insight are drawn from the wells dug by sweaty entrepreneurs who labored before me. However, I hope to share some of the water brought up from Mr. Willard's fount.

How to save more than just money!

God's providential timing always amazes me. He can take what seems an ordinary occurrence and use it for His eternal purpose. Yesterday He let me watch.

I attended what turned out to be a rather long and boring presentation on how to save a few dollars on rental vehicles by establishing a corporate account. In attendance were a bunch of fellow youth pastors and after the first hour of so we were starting to exchange yawns. As the meeting mercifully came to a conclusion, the pastor sponsoring the meeting asked the company representative if we could pray for her before she left. Suddenly the meeting changed - God revealed himself.

She asked if we could pray for her relationship with her son, a nine year old who can be out of control. As a single mom who had often been away from home, their relationship was strained and she desired for him to have a male influence. She opened her heart and shared her struggles, and God moved in our midst.

And all it took was a simple question - "can we pray for you?". How often do we miss out on seeing God work, simply because we don't take the time - because we don't ask the really important questions. Too often I stay at just the surface level.

"How are you today?"
"Great. and you?"
"fine"

Could it be that we miss seeing God work simply because participating in His work takes time and causes inconvenience to our busy lives. Isn't it much easier to avoid the real, messy parts of peoples lives? Yes, but it's there in the mess that God meets us and reveals His grace. We just have to take the time to ask and listen.

What a shame if I had learned how to save a dollar on renting a car and had missed out on seeing God work. And all it took was asking a question - and then listening.

Hope -vs- despair

My family spent the first weeks of August vacationing in Montana. I grew up in the "Big Sky Country" and I don't know how to explain it but the sky just does seem bigger. That's especially true at night where, free from the "light pollution" of more populated areas, the stars seem to be suspended so close you can almost touch them.

One night as I sat on the deck observing the majesty of the skies I was joined by my cousin. As we visited, I was constantly distracted by the amazing number of "falling stars" that illuminated the sky.

"When I look up at the stars", I told him, "I can't help but believe in God." His response floored me.

"Really? I don't like to look at the stars anymore," He replied. "When I do, I feel so small and insignificant"

For the next hour we dialogued over our vastly different views of the universe. It was as if we were looking through opposite ends of the same telescope. While to me the "heavens declare the glory of God" (Psalm 19:1), conversely in the vastness of the night he felt that he was just an insignificant speck, here today and gone tomorrow. What an expression of hopelessness.

Paul writes that, "the mindset of the flesh is death," but that the mindset of a believer leads to "life and peace" (Rom 8). In his book, "The Divine Conspiracy," Dallas Willard contrasts these two views of the world.

The mind of the spirit is life and peace precisely because it located us in a world adequate to our nature as ceaselessly creative beings under God. The "mind of the flesh," on the other hand, is a living death. To it the heavens are closed. It sees only "That inverted Bowl they call the Sky, Whereunder crawling cooped we live and die." It restricts us to the visible, physical world where what our hearts demand can never be. There...we find we constantly must violate our conscience in order to "survive."

And that was the sense of despair my cousin described. He expressed to me a Darwinian view that his life was no more significant than that of his beloved dog or a crawling ant. They were all just trying to "survive" and when that struggle ended they would cease to exist. In our over one hour of conversation the greatest statement of optimism he could muster was, "I hope I'm wrong".

Sometimes we can forget the despair and hopelessness of those who don't know Christ. Apart from a spiritual mindset that God alone bestows, our neighbors and friends lead lives that are" at the worst so painful and at the best so monotonous, poor and limited that the urge of escape, the longing to transcend themselves if only for a few moments, is and has always been one of the principal appetites of the soul." (Doors of Perception, Huxley). Some attempt to feed this worldly appetite with adventure, money, or at best service to humanity. Others may try to numb the gnawing pain by taking chemical vacations. However, there is nothing of this world that can satisfy the hunger or fill the vacuum that inhabits every human soul.

It is for that reason that we are called to "always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you." (1 Peter 3:15) While my cousin listened politely to my "hope", he still cannot comprehend a universe where a personal God would love mankind so fully. To be honest, either can I. Any yet I know it's true. That's what I feel when I look up into the night sky. That is my hope!

The Question

Lessons from ST. Louis

While in STL I was asked the question, "How much time, in minutes, have you spent in the Word and prayer today?" OUCH! What kind of Pharisaical question is that? I don't judge myself on quantity of time with God like a worker punching the clock. I focus on quality - a fresh relationship with God. But I couldn't get away from the question.

So often I comfort myself with the fact that I spent some quality time with God. But most of the time that's just a cop out. I know that I've been negligent and so I fall back on the quality time excuse, something I'd never buy in any other relationship. My wife doesn't accept only a few quality minutes in our marriage. She rightly wants both quantity and quality. And it's the same with my kids. Any relationship that is truly meaningful rejects the "quality time" only claim.

And so I've begun asking myself "the question". Yes, I guess there is a chance I could become a pharisee and focus only on quantity but I don't see that becoming a problem anytime soon. For now I'm just going to try to carve out more time to spend with God.

By the way, "How much time in minutes have you spent in prayer and the Word today? This week?

Ambushed by God

Lessons from St. Louis

This year in STL was unlike previous years. While much was the same (the schedule, training, 15th street), something very different was happening below the surface. I sensed God working in amazing ways in the lives of Mt. Zion's students. While for most of them the Project was nothing new, it's almost like God ambushed us. He was speaking to us in new fresh ways and we all seemed to be ready to receive the Word with gladness.

I sensed in our students a desire for more - something deeper and more real. There was less immaturity and goofiness from the students and a seriousness about God. Wow. I pray that what began in St. Louis continues.

One thing we talked about as we prepared to come home from STL is accountability. Too often t we exhibit Lone Ranger spirituality and fail to remember that God gave us the church so that we could live in community with others. Accountability should naturally be a part of that. My prayer is that we will each take action on those things God spoke to us about. I'm praying that I will grasp my role in making that happen.

Taco Bell Evangelsim

Lessons from St. Louis

Sometimes it's true that actions speak louder than words. Yes, I believe that "they cannot believe in the one whom they have not heard" (Rom 10), and yet an act of service can prepare the soil of the heart for the planting of the gospel. I saw this clearly at a late night run to Taco Bell.

The guy behind the counter was not happy to see our group of 15 walk through the door so close to closing. He already had a mop bucket in the corner and was probably look forward to getting cleaned up early. When I first read his face I was tempted to find another restaurant but then I reminded myself that he was being paid to serve us, plus I really wanted Taco Bell. The lobby was still supposed to be open for another thirty minutes so we proceeded to order and grab a seat.

Maybe we were capping off the end to an already bad day for the guy - troubles at work, problems at home -I don't know, but something was wrong and he was letting us know about it. Maybe I was being a little paranoid but the fact that our whole group was wearing Christian T-shirts worried me. Would we provide opportunity for him to harbor a bad attitude against Christians, the church, or worse, Christ? Like I said, I was probably just being paranoid but it led to an idea.

As it neared the closing time we approached the counter again. I could see it in his eyes, "not another order", but instead we asked for a couple of rags to wipe off our tables. I suspected that our request would be denied but he grabbed a couple of rags that he likely had been ready to use thirty minutes earlier and we went to work. While one group of students wiped off tables and chairs another team proceeded to sweep and mop the lobby. Between drive-in orders I watched his countenance change. As we were nearing the end he thanked us and said that we didn't need to clean the whole lobby. We told him we wanted to be a help to him and he asked us where we were from - suddenly he opened up the door to share our purpose. When we left he was smiling and thanking us.

Why don't we serve others more often? Selfishness I suppose. We're so caught up in our own daily grind that we fail to remember that life is not about us. We forget that everyone we encounter is someone that God loves and that we're called to love our neighbors as ourselves. We need a lot less Christian T-shirts and gospel tracts and a lot more followers of Christ that will lovingly serve a needy world. I suppose we could have given Taco Bell guy a gospel tract but what would that have done - not much I suspect. When we met his needs however his heart was softened and suddenly he was open to the gospel message.

Isn't that how Jesus did evangelism? Jesus met needs. When He encountered people in need of healing He didn't just give them a gospel tract or preach a sermon. He met both their perceived immediate need and also revealed their deeper spiritual need. That's the kind of evangelism we need more of and that's the kind of evangelism that is most effective.

A few days later we were able to see servant evangelism work again in East St. Louis. Across from 15th Street Baptist is a neighborhood bar and local hub for the pervasive crack trade. Behind the bar a small group of people gathered daily, sitting in lawn chairs and attempting to wash their problems way in the bottle. On Friday we had leftover lunches and decided to take them across the street to our "neighbors". Again, an act of service provided opportunity to share a gospel witness.

My prayer is that as I leave St. Louis God would help me to share the gospel less and be the gospel more. Wasn't that Jesus' method?

Lessons from St. Louis

Our youth group arrived in St. Louis yesterday afternoon to begin a week of mission work. Our team will be working in East St. Louis. For the next two days we'll be planning, praying, and preparing our hearts for this important work.

Last night we heard a message by Norm Howell. Norm is a great man of God. He served as my pastor while I was in college and then spent a decade working with New Tribe Missions in Paupua New Guinea working with unreached people. It's always a blessing to hear Norm preach.

His message was titled, "How to be bold as a Lion" from Proverbs 28:1
"The wicked flee when no one is pursing them, but the righteous are as bold as a lion"

God talks about the Lion around 150 times in the Bible. Our prayer is that we will be bold for Christ this week. Not offensive. Not pushy. Bold in a godly way that brings Him glory.

Tragedy in KC

Just last night my family attended the K.C. Shakespeare festival. The weather was perfect and the crowded audience was treated to a fantastic piece of theater. While the tragic tale of Othello is not my favorite, it is still Shakespeare and thus worth viewing. If you are ever in KC in late June - early July, the festival is not to be missed. It's free to attend and provides us backwoods folk a little bit of culture. My family looks forward to it each summer.

O, beware, my lord, of jealousy!
It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock
The meat it feeds on.
Othello, 3. 3

Jealous souls will not be answered so;
They are not ever jealous for the cause,
But jealous for they are jealous.
Othello, 3. 4

It makes us or it mars us.
Othello, 5. 1

I have done the state some service, and they know 't.
No more of that. I pray you, in your letters,
When you shall these unlucky deeds relate,
Speak of me as I am; nothing extenuate,
Nor set down aught in malice. Then, must you speak
Of one that loved not wisely but too well;
Of one not easily jealous, but being wrought
Perplexed in the extreme; of one whose hand,
Like the base Indian, threw a pearl away
Richer than all his tribe.
Othello, 5. 2

corporate spirituality

The more I read the New Testament the more I see an emphasis on community. Most of the New Testament letters were written not to individuals but to a community of believers - the Ekklesia or "call-out ones". Too often we over personalize what we read and fail to understand that the Christian life is meant to be lived in the messy fish bowl of community.

In my recent reading in Ephesians, Paul's vision of the Body of Christ is evident in nearly every passage. Developing the "mature" body he speaks of however, is no easy task. It requires that former enemies, "Jew" and "gentile" become one in Christ, learn to serve one another, confront each other (in love) when necessary, and walk in the Spirit (just to name a few).

O that the Church of God, the Body of Christ, would become such a spiritual community.

First Post

Nothing too profound. I started this blog as a form of personal accountability. I guess I feel that if I begin recording my thoughts as I'm reading scripture, I'll read scripture a little more regularly. I know...I know...it's probably not true but I'm going to give it a try.

Maybe I'm under the allusion that I can be a deep writer that others will want to read. Doubtful.

Anyways, I'm sitting here this morning with a cup of coffee and am reading Ephesians 5. I'll let you know if I get a deep thought.