hullabaloo

normalcy

Yesterday, immediately following our sunday gathering, we were fortunate to experience baptism with 3 people in our community.  We don't have a baptistry in our building, so we headed out to the beach, which I'm confident is much more holy.  We baptised three adults, all of whom have had an extraordinary journey to the heart of God.  I met with them all last week, and then as I stood there waste-deep in the gulf of Mexico, listening to their story, I was struck with a sad reality.  A reality about myself.  

It's so easy to forget the vibrant change in a person's life that Jesus can cause.  I almost wonder if being a youth pastor for so many years has done more to construct this short-coming in my life than growing up in church has...which, of course was my immediate blame.  I figured, "wow, following Jesus has become so routine to me, that I forget about what happens in a life that had one trajectory, then suddenly (or perhaps gradually) took on a whole new trajectory".  But maybe that's not it at all.  Working with teenagers, you'd be wrong to assume that you wouldn't work with kids that have already been through an enormous amount of pain and turmoil.  It's rather amazing what shoddy parents can do to a kid.  But take that potential for pain and turmoil and add 30 years to it.  Or 50.  Or even just 10.  Watching an adult turn the first pages to a new chapter of life, well it's just so much more potent than watching a child do it.  And I mean that in the most loving and respectful way.  Because I love teenagers.  God put in me a desire to see them reach their potential 8 years ago, and that hasn't changed.  Because watching a child first embark on the journey is such a beautiful picture of hope.  Watching an adult do it is a reminder that God doesn't give up.  

It hurts me to think of so many who have heard the message of the church, yet haven't heard the message of Jesus.  But God can heal those broken, even those broken by me.  

May we look into the journey of another often enough to remember the dramatic change, and the potent reality of hope that Jesus produces.

maybe we've missed something

I've been accused of being an existentialist before.  What's that, you say?  An existentialist is basically the idea, "that stresses the individual's unique position as a self-determining agent responsible for the authenticity of his or her choices" (dictionary.com).  Well, I guess that's exactly what it is.  If you're familiar at all with "The Secret", this is sort of existentialism on steroids; your day, or your life, is a product of inner thoughts and aspirations, whether positive or negative.  But I've been accused of that before because I talk a lot about potential, and I talk a lot of believing in yourself and I talk a lot about how God gifted people to fulfill his mission and their dreams.  Perhaps you've heard this sort of thing before, from me or someone else, and yet your dreams still haven't come to fruition.  Perhaps you've started thinking positively and freely and you've dreamt larger than before and have taken breaks from the routine, but still haven't seen your dreams realised.

But what's at the center of your dream?

In his book, Wide Awake, Erwin McManus reminds us that, "the problem with so much of the faith language we hear on the small screen is that it's all about getting more for us.  When is enough, enough?  There is nothing wrong with having things.  The problem is that it misses the whole point.  This isn't about asking for more stuff.  Heaven help us if we still think that's what living wide awake is all about" (19).  It's possible that our dreams, though wild and adventurous, do nothing for no one except ourselves.  Those aren't God-inspired dreams.

In Romans 1:3, Paul tells us, "the good news is about his son" (emphasis added).  Our dreams are our passions, our deepest heart's desires.  When we allow God to inspire our heart and our deepest desires, our motive will not be for us to acquire fame, or wealth, or prestige.  Rather, it will be for others to find life.  

To what other person's journey are your dreams taking you?

introducing...

"Clever" is the word that perhaps describes Chad best. The professor who juggles half a dozen ideas for research papers and grant proposals in his mind while giving a highly entertaining lecture on an abstruse subject is a classic example of the type. So is the stand-up comedian whose lampoons are not only funny, but incisively accurate.

Chad is usually verbally as well as cerebrally quick, and generally love to argue--both for its own sake, and to show off their often-impressive skills. They tend to have a perverse sense of humor as well, and enjoy playing devil's advocate. They sometimes confuse, even inadvertently hurt, those who don't understand or accept the concept of argument as a sport.

Chad is as innovative and ingenious at problem-solving as they are at verbal gymnastics; on occasion, however, they manage to outsmart themselves. This can take the form of getting found out at "sharp practice"--Chad has been known to cut corners without regard to the rules if it's expedient -- or simply in the collapse of an over-ambitious juggling act. Both at work and at home, Chad is very fond of "toys"--physical or intellectual, the more sophisticated the better. They tend to tire of these quickly, however, and move on to new ones.

Chad is basically an optimist, but in spite of this (perhaps because of it?), they tend to become extremely petulant about small setbacks and inconveniences. (Major setbacks they tend to regard as challenges, and tackle with determin- ation.) Chad has little patience with those they consider wrongheaded or unintelligent, and show little restraint in demonstrating this. However, they do tend to be extremely genial, if not charming, when not being harassed by life in general.

In terms of their relationships with others, Chad is capable of bonding very closely and, initially, suddenly, with their loved ones. Some appear to be deceptively offhand with their nearest and dearest; others are so demonstrative that they succeed in shocking co-workers who've only seen their professional side. Chad is also good at acquiring friends who are as clever and entertaining as they are. Aside from those two areas, Chad tends to be oblivious of the rest of humanity, except as an audience -- good, bad, or potential.

By Marina Margaret Heiss (http://typelogic.com/entp.html) (the term "Chad" replaces the original author's term "ENTPs").

Good, bad or potential?

happy father's day

It's been a bit of a joke for some time about the way churches celebrate Mother's day as compared to the way they celebrate Father's day.  For Mother's day we tell them how great they are.  For Father's day we tell them to quite being idiots.  For Mother's day, we bow down and worship our moms; for Father's day, we try and mop up the floor with tears from the hurt so many dad's have caused.  The problem here of course, is that even the good dads know that, as a club, we pretty much deserve it.

In his book, The Bridger Generation, Thom Rainer spends some time comparing the boomers and the bridgers, mostly because they have so many similarities (mostly in size that is) and also because the boomers have been so critical of the bridgers.  The bridgers by the way, are also commonly known as the Millennial Generation and are the next generation younger than GenX, and were born between 1977 and 1994.

He notes something that Susan Mitchell said about a distinct difference between the boomers and the bridgers, which pertains to fathers and how the two generations see them.  They say, "the introductory question of children boomers was: 'What does your father do for a living?'  But...the question of children bridgers is: 'Does your dad live with you?'"  The first question assumes a dad that is there and functioning, the second assumes a dad that is not.

The way one dad relates to his kids effects an entire generation of children, and therefore influences an entire system of thought.  May we, as dads, get it together and treat our kids (and our families) like they are the most important thing in the world, and may we turn the tide of assumption, to assume that "daddy" is a place I can go to for assurance, love and acceptance...every time.

neither, thanks.

"We confess with shame that we have often denied our calling and failed in our mission, by becoming conformed to the world or by withdrawing from it." -- The Lausanne Covenant, by the International Congress on World Evangelization, emphasis added.

We are all familiar with the passage of scripture that tells us to be "in the world, but not of it" as well as the one that says to "not be conformed to the world" but to be "transformed by the renewing of your mind".  These are good teachings, and they should be considered with depth and intention.  But I will be honest with you and say that I have a bad taste in my mouth for them.  Not because of the message itself, but because of what people have done with it.  You know that feeling of morning breath you have when you wake up from a good nights sleep?  Well, you have to brush your teeth really good to get rid of it, then you're all clean and fresh.  But this taste has not gone away from brushing.  It still lingers.

I suppose I come from a tradition that seemed to emphasize the not being of the world part, much more than the being in it part.  Sure, the church I grew up in was huge in mission work.  They did trips, and planted churches.  They gave lots of money.  But I suppose it always felt safe to me--at an arms length.  It was still somewhat withdrawn.  Then, working in churches, it was even more severe.  I worked for the vast majority of my career as a youth pastor in what I would consider very conservative, very traditional churches.  I'm not talking about music style here.  I'm talking about thought pattern.  The expectation was for me, as the youth pastor, to design safe "alternative" environments for christian kids to get away from the world.  This was to be their retreat from all the bad influences they were subjected to at school, on TV and pretty much everywhere else.  Now, the idea of this isn't all bad.  But why was I not equally expected to teach kids to be "in the world"?  Why did the church not want their kids to take what they had experienced and share it with those who did not yet know?  Why was what we called "outreach" focused only on "inviting" and never on "going" or "being"?

Why would it be more important for me to be safe than for me to hurt for my friends who were looking for what I was supposed to have?

I struggle with the message that we have communicated that my safety comes first.  Then, when the coast is clear, I will invest in you.  It makes me sad to think of how vehemently the church protects this.

May we be about the margins, the forgotten, the dangerous, and all those who are asking us to focus not on what they are doing, but what they are looking for.