Christmas Time...

"...and he will be called; Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." - Isaiah 9:6

There are so many wonderful images that appear during the Christmas season.
They evoke memories of childhood bliss... decorations, Bing Crosby, sneaking peeks at presents, the smell of the tree, the smells... oh the smells!
  
My mom made the most incredible Christmas treats... Sugar cookies with home made frosting, chocolate fudge that would just melt in your mouth... my stomach is growling just thinking about it...
I can recall those baking days, when the tendrils of intoxicating aroma would cascade down the hall from the kitchen and seemingly draw me through the air, like a floating cartoon image, toward the source!

The rapture and joy of the season would collide with youthful exuberance, as my sister and I would try and hold it together so we wouldn't get put on the "naughty list".
The anticipation would drive us stark raving mad.  Well...we probably drove my parents looney more than anything.

Kathy and I are experiencing some of those seasonal activities with our children; mostly the looney part... But seriously, we are trying to pass along the wonder and tradition of the season to our little cherubs in an attempt to preserve some of those memories from the past.
Don't get me wrong, our desire isn't just that the memories stay alive, but that in creating new traditions we don't lose the beauty and power of this season in the unbridled avarice that has become the "modern" American "holiday" celebration.

The hustle and bustle often overshadows the joy and wonder, as we rush from one thing to the next, stealing that which Christmas was intended to bring to our minds and hearts: Peace on earth and good will toward men.

One of my favorite memories, that still occurs from time to time, was when we would visit my grandparents house for Christmas.  After dinner, before we were allowed to tear into our presents, my grandpa would sit down in his chair, just opposite the fireplace and pick up his tattered old King James Bible.

He would turn to the book of Luke, chapter 2 and begin in that soft, feathery rasp of his; "and there were in the same country, shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night..."
As he would read through the familiar story, it was as if we were transported to a different time and place.  It was a place full of mystery and ageless beauty, that would captivate our imaginations as we envisioned the stable and the animals, the shepherds and angels, Mary and Joseph and yes, the baby Jesus.

But the most powerful and amazing part of this timeless tradition wasn't in the reading of the words...  It was in the subtle change that was brought forth in our hearts as the simple story would unfold.  The jostling and wrestling, the volcanic energy of the little ones, the tension of old wounds unforgiven and offenses taken, would dissipate like so much mist under the warmth of the noonday sun.  
A palpable peace would come over us as we gave our attention, even if for just a moment, to that for which we do this thing called Christmas,
Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

It's funny to think, that even rational adults can get so tied up in this seasonal celebration, that we lose sight of the purpose and meaning at it's origin.
Jesus didn't come to bring us all the trappings of our constantly evolving interpretation of the holiday.
He came to bring us, I know it sounds simplistic and old fashioned... peace.
Jesus brought peace.  Peace for you and me, in our hearts and minds, peace between us and others, but most of all, peace between God and man.  
At the root of all of life's troubles, lies the longing for just that... Peace.
I hope peace is at the heart of your traditions and celebrations and
may it be yours this season and always.

Merry Christmas

"The Way Home"

If you've attended church for awhile, you've doubtless heart a number of sermons dealing with the story of the prodigal son.  
In this post, I'd like to take a little artistic license and put, perhaps, a little different slant on that story found in the New Testament book of Luke.

Let me set the stage for you...
Jesus is surrounded by the usual crowd of gypsies, tramps and thieves who followed him around each day.  
And in this particular setting, he is telling stories in order to get a basic point across that has to do with some principals he wants to convey about the kingdom of God.

Jesus begins with the opening line, "There was a man who had two sons..."

The younger of the two was rowdy and somewhat impetuous,  and one day makes a peculiar request of his father.

He says, "Dad, I'd like to go out on my own and have a little fun, so... I'd like my inheritance a little early.
Now his father was a loving father who wanted to provide his sons with the best of everything, and because he was a father who treasured his relationship with his sons, he emptied the trust fund.

A few days later, the younger son takes off to ramble about, landing in a far country where he carouses and cavorts with anyone who was up for a good time.  Now the timing of this little escapade couldn't have been worse...
Because, no sooner had he run out of money, than, well, the economy went in the toilet and there was a subsequent famine in the land.

Gone was his money, gone was his fun and gone were his good-timin' friends.

So, the intrepid young man, tightened his belt, swallowed his pride and went out to look for a job.
But, wouldn't you know it, times being what they were, the best he could do was find a part-time gig slopping hogs for a local farmer.

Things got so bad and his belly was so empty that even the muck in the trough began to look like gourmet cuisine... but there wasn't even enough of that to go around.

It was in this moment that he had an epiphany!

"The hired hands at my dad's place have food to spare and here I am drooling over pig slop!"  He pauses, and thinks to himself,  "I'll go back."  "I'll do it.  I'll offer myself as a servant to my father."

And he began to take the first steps on that long, humiliating walk home.

Now you can see him can't you?  Rehearsing his speech all the way...
"Father I've sinned against heaven and against you..."
"I'm not worthy to be called your son... please accept me as a servant in your house.  I'll do whatever you want, I'll even slop the hogs..."

You can see him can't you?  ...working up the courage to go home.

What about his father?
You know he was on the porch of the house watching him go...

And, every evening, when the work was done, he'd return to that porch and look down the long and winding road until it crests the hill and watch until the sun set and the shadows began to blend into darkness, waiting, hoping that an all too familiar silhouette would crest the hill.

On one particular day as he sat waiting, wishing, hoping and praying...
The sun was sitting low on the horizon and the sky was awash in brilliant splashes of color... there, what was that?  
Wait, was that...?  Was someone coming up the road?  
Could it be...?  No... it's not possible to hope...

The young man reaches the crest of the hill and stops.  He looks with fear and longing at the house he had left, what felt like a lifetime ago... so full of himself, so arrogant.  But in this moment, wondering if there was ever a way to earn his father's forgiveness...
The scene unfolds and as the son gathers enough courage to take a step toward the house, he sees a figure on the porch...
The figure rises and begins to move toward the gate that leads to the road...

In the same instance they recognize each other, the son, humiliated and dejected sheepishly begins to walk toward the house, hat in hand, head held low...

The father, oh the father!  Overcome with joy, he steadies himself on the hand rail, then leaps off the porch and begins to run, toga in hand, toward his son...
They reach one another and the son is engulfed in his father's embrace.

The son stammers and sputters, trying to get out the first few words of his ill-prepared little speech, but all he can muster is the sound of a heartbreaking sob as he rests his head against his father's shoulder...
"My son, oh my son, is all he hears and ever need hear again.

Instead of judgment and scorn, kisses rain down on him... a ring is placed on his finger, a robe across his shoulders...
Then his father quickly springs into action... "You there, quick!  Bring the fattened calf, kill it!  Cook it!  Let's party!
This son of mine was dead and is alive again, he was lost and now is found... and they began to celebrate!

Now here is where things get really interesting...

The older brother, on his way in from a hard days toil in the fields under the "burden of responsibility", hears the sound of shouting and revelry and wonders what is going on?
He stops one of the hired hands and asks what in the world has happened...
"your brother has come home and your father is throwing a huge party to celebrate his safe return!"

How instead of going in and joining the celebration, he becomes infuriated and heads out back to kick some sheep.

The father is walking though the house enjoying the merriment and notices someone is missing... he stops a servant and asks the inevitable question.  Have you seen my oldest son?
"um, yeah, he's out back... kicking sheep."

Father goes out to see him and just as the father starts to open his mouth, older brother unloads...

Sputtering and fuming, his rage spews forth like lava from an active volcano.
"How could you?  After what he did... He deserves death, not a hero's welcome!"  ...and on it goes, until the father gently interrupts.

And he calmly and cooly begins to attempt to diffuse the situation.  "You are the one I can count on, everything I have is yours... your steady reliability are what keeps this place running like a well oiled machine..."
And after older brother cools down a few degrees he tells it like it is...

"Here's the deal... you're brother was dead, now he's alive.  ...Was lost and now is found... we all should celebrate such a return!"

Life is so much like that... When we've been wronged or hold the perception of a slight against us...we feel totally justified in our quest for anger... for the well "deserved" pound of flesh, when what God desires is mercy... grace and above all, forgiveness.

Perhaps we should be quicker to extend the same.

Africa... A perspective.

I recently returned from a two week expedition with Overland missions into two separate chiefdoms in Zambia, Africa.  

To say that the experience has changed me would be a gross understatement.

It has been my privilege to participate in several "missions trips" over the years, but this trip has left an indelible mark on me.  

The experience has marked me, not necessarily because of the cultural perspectives gained or even the type of ministry in which we participated, but predominantly because of the philosophy of ministry practiced by the Overland staff and it's execution throughout our time with them.

What I mean is this; from the time we stepped off the airplane and into the overland trucks, until we walked back across the same tarmac to head west, we were introduced and embraced into a faith community unlike anything I have witnessed anywhere in the world.  The genuine demonstration of brotherly kindness and love was/is truly beautiful.  There is a recognition of individual gifts and appreciation as those gifts function to help create the ease of flow and operation of the whole.   It was the body of Christ demonstrated as I have never seen it before.  Sure there were moments of humanity, but these were quickly brought into the filter of the fruit of the Spirit and handled appropriately, in a healthy, biblical manner.  Also, I think part of the beauty was that each individual we encountered had embraced the call God had placed upon them individually, but were willing to lay down personal ambitions and agenda's for the fulfillment of the mission/vision of the whole… To take the Gospel to the world… but I digress...

Our team was stretched, spiritually, physically, and even emotionally, as is part of any missions/service experience… but, it was truly a joy to work within the structure that was established for us by the Overland staff.  Our team leaders, Ciaran, Cristy and Beau, performed their functions with expertise, seasoned with joy that became infectious.  Even as they challenged our team to step out in expressions of faith and ministry, that many of our team had never previously experienced, we did so with a willingness brought on by their joyful encouragement and exemplary Biblical leadership.  

I could go on and on, but in the interest of time I will conclude simply by saying thank you.  Thank you for embracing and modeling a strategy/model for ministry that should be practiced the world over.  I will return to partner with Overland, perhaps again to Zambia with a team or maybe even on my own.  I do not yet know… I'm still processing through the experience and the things God continues to speak through it to me.

Forgiveness

I've been thinking this morning about unforgiveness.  
In my 20+ years of experience, working with students, it never ceases to amaze me at how people so young, can become so angry and bitter.


I have a pretty solid theory on that one, but that amount of information and opinion would take up another blog post on its own.  (let's suffice it to say, that their behaviors are learned, by observing the adults in their lives.)


To their credit, most students are quick to forgive and move on with life...but there are those who seem bent on holding on to anger, bitterness and out and out hatred.
Unfortunately, what many students and adults, for that matter, fail to realize is; anger, bitterness and hatred only hold us captive.  
They accomplish nothing of value and have no effect on the object of our loathing.


Think of a person against whom you are holding a grudge or harboring unforgiveness... What exactly are those feelings doing to them?  
Now, conversely, what is it doing to you?
Robbing you of joy, peace of mind, happiness...the full life that Jesus promised?  Your thoughts are consumed with how to get even, or exact some sort of twisted sense of satisfaction from their suffering.
The problem is:
The longer we linger in unforgiveness and bitterness, the longer we do damage to ourselves and more importantly, hinder the work that God is trying to do in us.


When we are wronged, or when someone we know is offended, we have a choice to make; forgive and let the offense go or hold on to it and nurse the grudge until it has consumed us...


Forgiveness brings freedom.  Period.  Unforgiveness, only brings bondage.


Forgiveness is one of the most important and powerful tools we possess in this life.


Too bad we don't use it as readily as we should.

God is watching...

I've been intrigued this morning with the thought that God is watching us...
(No, not that horrible Bette Midler song from the early 90's!)


I grew up in a fairly conservative, Christian home, where my parents instilled in me the idea/belief that God saw everything and was watching me.
As a child it was great motivation to behave.  (...of course I tried to hide, when there was something particularly enticing that I knew was wrong, but God had this way of ratting me out to Mom and Dad.)
In my pre-teen years, I began to understand that God indeed was watching, but it was the prompting of the Holy Spirit, that brought conviction to my heart and the subsequent remorse for the transgressions I committed.


The problem is that, like most of us who grew up with those ideals, the thought of God watching us and the conviction it brought to do "good things", waned with time.
It's not that I didn't believe that God was watching, it's that the repercussions for my "naughty" behavior, had less immediate bearing on my day to day life.


(Mom and Dad aren't there to be the "hand of God" on my backside.)


Therein lies the conundrum...  at what point did we/I become so calloused, desensitized, or "sophisticated" that we ceased to recognize the "voice" of the Holy Spirit in our lives?  
It's not like he stopped speaking...


I think the problem lies in our ability, or lack thereof, to recognize when God has "punished" us.
It's not that he's going to go all, Old Testament on us and cause the ground to open up and swallow us whole... or punish us in a traditional sense of the word...
However, there are consequences for disobedience.
So, when God's favor and the blessing of his presence is lacking, do we chalk it up to circumstance and the "trials" of life, instead of our own poor decisions?


Now, quickly before you chew me up and spit me out... I do not claim to sit in the seat of judgment as the one who has no sin, but it is interesting to make a comparison of life while living in obedience to God and life while living in disobedience to God.
The evidence kind of speaks for itself...

Bliss

It's late spring!  Can you believe it?  We're barreling at break-neck speed toward Summer...
Time for back-yard barbecue's, bike rides, picnics, camping, swimming...all that fun stuff we spent countless hours doing as kids.


Well, o.k., maybe you're still a kid and that's all you do during the summer months.
But as an adult, the majority of my awake time is spent working...I know, it sounds lame, right?
But, it's all a matter of perspective.  Whatchu talking 'bout?  


I'm talking about doing diligently, the things we've been given/called to do.


As a kid your primary focus is recreation...what can I do that will be the most fun, and how much fun can I pack in to one 24hour period?
When you "grow up", your focus drifts toward things like; a career path, achieving success, acquiring those things we, as a culture, deem important:
Car, house, wife/husband, kids, stuff...


When you grow up and take on responsibility, your focus tends to shift from the fun, to the necessary.  What do I "have" to do today in order to satisfy the demands placed upon me or that I've placed upon myself?


Fun becomes a luxury that we see somewhere out there in the nebulous recesses of our minds...it gets relegated to small windows of opportunity, like, vacations and days off.


Why is that?  Why can't we have fun or why have we chosen to deny ourselves the opportunity for fun?  Why do we, as adults, let ourselves sour beneath the burdens we so foolishly place upon our own shoulders?


Here's my brief thought in response to my own questions... Fun is what you make it.  If you've made choices that have stolen the fun from your life, what do you need to do to bring the joy back?
What decisions need to be made to keep you from the bitter path?
Change of perspective?  Attitude adjustment?  
It's like this; a guy by the name of Paul, wrote a letter to a group of people living in Rome.  
In his letter he said, "So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life - and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. 2 Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."
He goes on to say that whatever we are gifted to do, we need to do it cheerfully and for the benefit of others.  This Paul was quite a guy...
So, with God's help, it's totally possible to find the joy in our daily living...to bring the fun back.  Not every single moment will be guaranteed fun, because, life is hard.  
But, if we will trust God with our lives, allowing Him to give us a proper perspective on life and the work we do...He will help us bring the fun back.  
Let God bring the best out of you!

Anti-Social Media

It never ceases to amaze me at how passive aggressive we have become as a society. 
O.k., before you get too deep into this post, I offer a brief warning...  I typically try and keep my posts uplifting and constructive, at least in some way, but this post is just a flat out rant!  
So, brace yourself...


I used to see social media sites as useful tools, by which we could; 
- stay connected with friends and family, from whom we are separated by many miles.
- network and build community with those with whom we have a shared interest.
- catch up with long lost friends, classmates or acquaintances.

- strive to encourage those who "follow" us or who are a part of our network of "friends".

The unfortunate reality is, that though we may have entered in to the realm of social media with good intentions, too many of us have been sucked in to the passive aggressive realities of "anti-social media".

We have used social media as a means of staying "connected", while keeping one another an internet distance apart.  We post obscure, cryptic ramblings on Facebook and Twitter, looking for attention, with no intention of doing anything but stirring up controversy and racking up comments.  (believe me, I am as guilty of these things as the next guy.)

By their insecurities shall you know them...

We bait people into meaningless conversations based on our need for attention and feelings of insignificance or insecurity.

We have taken these and otherwise useful tools and subverted their usefulness with our own need for selfish gratification.

(I told you this was going to be a rant...)

The really depressing part is, I don't know that this will ever change.  Human nature and it's destructive tendencies seems to be more powerful than maintaining the purity of most institutions and their intended use.  But that leads us down a much deeper rabbit hole.

So, thank you for a moment of your time, that you will never recover.

Be careful how you use social media!  Be safe, be respectful, be responsible and above all, seek to help others benefit from your presence on those sites.

Good-day.

On Purpose

Do you ever think about how many things you do over the course of a day that just sort of happen?  
Like, when I drive to work...it's not completely involuntary, but it often seems like I just point the car and it goes...  
Eventually, coming to a stop at my office...scary, I know. 
But the scarier thing yet, is when I get in the car to intentionally go somewhere and find myself heading home or to the office, when I intended to go to a completely different location.
Now, I know there might be some logical explanations for how this happens...fatigue, distraction...me simply being naturally a little scatterbrained...


However, it is interesting, given the little anecdote you read a moment ago, that we do so many things semi-intentionally, but don't really give much thought to what we're doing or where we are going.  Or, we get distracted from what we intended to do, because we've done something similar so many times, we kind of just go autopilot in the middle of it and just mail it in, so to speak.


Now, I could go a lot of different directions with this little post... leadership, pastoral ministry, business, relationships... you might even write a more thought provoking and poignant post after reading what I've written.  But, let's take this thought in the direction of love.


How often do we love on purpose?  We say we love people or things often without much thought.  We do things out of love, like taking out the trash, or lifting the toilet seat, or emptying the dishwasher and on and on...
But how often do we do those things with the intent of showing love.
Choosing to ignore the attitude that says, "if I didn't love you I wouldn't do_____."
Instead, let's take the attitude that says, "because I love you, I do this..."


You know, that reminds me of a guy named Jesus, who, many centuries ago, said something not unlike that.
"Because God loved the world so much, he gave his only son to die.  So, that we, (the world) could know God and if we believe in him and have relationship with him, have eternal life."
It wasn't a haphazard, involuntary or thoughtless rambling that motivated God to do that for us, it was love.
Intentional, on purpose love.
If we took that attitude that says, because I love you I do... How would that color the action itself?  It might mean we really think about what we're doing and for whom we do it.  We might actually, on purpose, love more deeply and beautifully than we ever thought possible.  
Our love might actually take on a life of its own and begin to do just what Jesus intended when he said, "by this all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another."


Let's love each other today.  On purpose...

Common

So, I'm back after a several month hiatus from the blogosphere...again...determined to do this at least once each week.
Not so much for your benefit as the reader, but for me to get in the habit/discipline of journalling.


I was reading a few days ago in the Old Testament book of Leviticus.  I know, right?  Leviticus...
Seriously though, there are some tasty little morsels tucked in to the laws and rules and regulations and animal sacrifice carnage.
In chapter 10 of Leviticus, two of Aaron's sons, (Aaron is the brother of Moses, and is the "father" of the line of priests who serve in the temple of God),
Nadab and Abihu, go in to the holy place of the tent where the presence of God dwells and they offer "unauthorized" fire before the LORD.


I don't quite understand what made it unauthorized, so I need to do a little more study in to that, but none the less, it was unsanctioned and God sent fire from His presence and consumes these two dudes.  Burns them to a crisp.


After this rather grisly display of the Lord's holiness, as you continue to read in chapter 10, you see the Lord is speaking to Aaron, telling him;
"you must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the clean and unclean...and you must teach the Israelites all the decrees the Lord has given them through Moses."
I'm grateful that God has moved on from this, I've got to make an example out of these punks mentality, into grace.  I'm sure I would have been smoked a long time ago.


There are several directions my mind wants to go as I think about this passage of scripture...one being how we tastelessly obscure what is holy or to be revered with things that are irreverent or common place.
I'm not saying we need to be strictly Levitical and legalistic, but there is much to be said for the attitude with which we serve both as vocational ministers or as volunteers in a ministry in the local church.  Words like humility, excellence, and loyalty come to mind. 
I think the big idea is this:
As we consider Nadab and Abihu, we must be careful how we go about God's business.  We can't just go charging in and do whatever we like whenever we like...  Remember, we exist for Him and not vice versa.

Death by Desk

If you work in an office, you probably spend an un-godly amount of time behind a desk.  I'm not one of those people, (thank God).  Fortunately, my job keeps me moving... most of the time.
However, on those rare occasions, like today, when I find myself behind my desk for an inordinate amount of time, I feel like doing something particularly dangerous to break-up the monotony.
Don't get me wrong, I believe in a hard days work and productivity, giving your best, etc...
But there comes a point, after staring at a computer screen or some printed material for hours, that you just feel like jumping out of a window.  
Well, or maybe something equally horrifying, but not necessarily as potentially life threatening.
For instance, go in to a co-workers office and ask a random, completely off the wall, unrelated question...just to see how they respond.  Or, walk past open doors while singing a familiar classic rock song and see how many people you can get humming, singing or whistling the tune.
It's the simple things in life that keep us sane...or at least reasonably sane.
Or drag as many people into the depths of your psychosis with you...either way, it will keep you from wilting away behind your desk.
Happy working!

Questions...

So, I'm reading this book... "You Lost Me", by David Kinnaman and he explores the reasons so many young adults are leaving the church and in many cases, leaving their faith behind as they enter adulthood.
When I read, it causes me to mull these questions over in my mind and look at the possible similarities in my own community.
So, I pose the question in this forum to see what those of you who read my little posts think about this issue...
 - For what reasons do so many spiritually active teenagers put their faith - or at least their connection to a church- on the shelf as they reach adulthood?


You can respond by commenting on this post... 
Thanks!