Reasonable or Faith-full

4 September 2007
Comments (2)
“Do what you like. Like what you do.” – the saying sewn onto a little tag on the tail of the new new shirt I’m wearing today.
 
“I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” – Paul, in Ephesians 4:1
 
“Cure for the Common Life: Living in Your Sweet Spot.” – the title of a book that I haven’t read

This morning, my son Shade came into my room and pushed me out of his way so he could sneak onto the edge of my bed. Usually he just falls back to sleep, but this morning he asks, “Do I have BMX biking practice this afternoon?”
 
“No. You have football practice,” I sleepily mumble. Unfortunately, the BMX track is only open at certain times, so we can’t go ride when it is convenient for us.
 
His mom added, “There are some parents of kids who grew up to ride BMX professionally who told me about practice stuff you can do at home. Like riding really fast, standing up, up and down the street. Also, doing push ups help you with your ‘pumping’ the handlebars.”
 
Upon hearing that, my son, at 6:30am, when he is usually barely functional (like his dad), says quietly, “Dad, can I open your cell phone for some light? I’m going do some push ups right now.”
 
We have found one of Shade’s “sweet spots”. 
 
In the movie, Meet the Robinsons, a little orphan boy who is constantly and passionately “inventing things”, most of which don’t work, can’t seem to get adopted because all the mom’s and dad’s that interview him want to know what traditional sports he likes to play (football, baseball, basketball, etc). The parents, full of great love, I’m sure, all had a pre-determined picture of what they wanted their child to be interested in and successful at…enough that when given the option to love this little boy or not with his interests, they chose not.
 
Fortunately, one of the highlights of this movie was when you meet the Robinson’s– the couple who would adopt this boy. They watched and listened closely to his heart, and then invested extravagantly and insanely in his passion. They bought a house with a large circular upper room above it, took the boy up there and said, “This room is for you, son, to invent anything and everything you can.” Needless to say, the boy was set free, and he grows up to contribute significantly to the world for good.
 
My attentive wife took the message of this movie to heart. We’ve been signing my oldest son up for sports with his neighborhood buddies for years already (and he’s only 7). He likes getting a hit, scoring a run, catching a pass, and hitting a basket, and shooting a goal…but he’s not living for it like a bunch of his peers are. Carrie really noticed this when it was time to sign up for Fall Baseball a month or so ago. She enthusiastically asked Shade if he was wanted to play, and he first responded with “Nah,” and then re-thinking, followed up with “Well, okay.” Best I can tell, he loves being with all his friends, and if playing some sports is how to do it, then, well, okay.
 
Right then, Carrie took careful stock of what she already knows about Shade. He loves ‘extreme’ stuff… skateboarding, roller blading, bicycling, climbing. Shoot, we endured non-stop hounding from him the minute he found out about “heely’s” (shoes with wheels in them) until he had a pair. So, Carrie got on the web one Saturday morning, found a BMX biking clinic about to take place that day by a professional BMX dude, asked Shade if he’d be interested in it, and off he went to the car beckoning us to hurry up and go. This was unreal…the same kid who in Fall baseball games asks the coach if he can sit on the bench each inning because “he’s hot” spent 5 non-stop hours in the August heat, wearing a long sleeve BMX jersey and long pants, and wanted more when he was done. He loves it! He’s thinking about it when he goes to sleep and when he wakes up. There’s nothing wrong with him playing football, and he will learn and enjoy a lot of things through it, but for whatever reason, BMX Biking taps into something a little deeper…a little “truer”.
 
It reminds me of the popular Scripture in Proverbs…“Train up a child in the way he should go.” Not in the way I would have him go, or the way that I think will make him a good living…but the way he should go. This requires attentiveness, listening and faith.


I want to do this for all of my kids, which makes it so profoundly important that I’m doing it for myself. What is my “sweet spot”? What do I go to bed and wake up thinking about? In my life, am I doing the thing that taps into something a little deeper…a little “truer”? I want to do what Paul says…that is, live a life worthy of the calling I have received. But what is that calling?
 
I’m convinced that most of us fit our callings (or worse, disregard them entirely in order to fit) into some pre-determined molds that really keep us from living a life worthy of our callings. It’s the devastating display of a human beings lack of creativity and faith to kill a part of his heart’s desire and love because they see have been convinced that their calling is impractical.
 
A friend of mine yesterday told me of a reading he had done recently marking the differences between “men of reason” and “men of faith”. A danger is that true “faith-full men” can so easily appear to be “unreasonable men.” Related to that thought is the fear that resides in faith-full men…that they really are being unreasonable. And maybe they really are. Maybe God has designed it perfectly to where one must choose…be reasonable or be faithful. 
 
May all that come behind us find us faith-full.
 
I hope all of you, my friends, are on the constant lookout for your sweet spot in life. I want to be ready for revolution every day, and I am in shameless need of company to have the courage to do it.
 
 

A Prayer for the Southwest Church

31 August 2007
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It has been about year since I wrote down this prayer. I stumbled upon it last week and have had it sitting on my desk in front of me since. When I read it, it made me jealous to be in a place where I could write such words again. It’s not that I’m in a “bad” place…just different…I trust God with when he wants me in and out of certain “places”. But that doesn’t keep me from liking some places more than others. And I like it when I’m full of a grace that inspires thoughts, desires, and prayers such as these.
 
I think I’m typing my scribble out, and sharing it with you, to see if it helps me “get there”. But at the very least, I offer this prayer again sincerely, even if I need to rely on my “year ago self” to lead me in it.
 
Dear Father:
 
You are.
You are who you are.
And who you are strikes me with fear. But I have no need or desire to back away, because this fear is the beginning of wisdom.
And who I am requires me to need wisdom.
 
Father.
That is also who you are. Your are my Father.
This is my favorite name for you, I admit, because it takes away the fear and replaces it with love.
Knowing you as love — is this where wisdom leads?
 
Whoever you are, I do not presume to know you.
Nor do I presume to have life apart from knowing you.
Your greatness is beyond my capacity to embrace and your greatness is my life’s pursuit.
With full realization that I am infinitely small when contrasted with your infinitely big nature, I appeal to your own greatness, your own love, and your own fame as your motive for making your church at Southwest great.
 
I am a failure at separating from myself my own motives and desire for greatness, love, and fame from this request, and so, lay these before you as well to do with as you please.
 
Give me a proper love of this church.
Give me the affection for it that Jesus has.
Use me in the restoration of people’s hearts, in the healing of people’s wounds ands sicknesses, in the feeding of the hungry, in the clothing of the poor, and bless me with tearful hurting that comes from a deep love for this world.
 
You so loved this world that you gave your son.
I dare not ask for such great and sacrificial love.
My love for my own sons forbids it, and I fear that you will answer, which scares me.
 
I’m stuck wanting your heart, and unable to grasp it.
Forgive my unbelief.
Have mercy on me.
Show me your glory.
 
I offer hesitantly to you my weakness, for it is what I have, and what you ask for.
 
Thank you for the immeasurable significance that I have simply because you said so.
 
With whatever leverage it gives me as a fully devoted follower of Christ, as a “chosen one” from among mankind, as a friend of your son Jesus, and a royal priest representing you to man and man to you, I bring it all to bear, turning it all in, and ask you to magnify yourself using this church.
 
In the happy name of Jesus Christ, and out of your great love for him, I pray.

I’m finishing up sabbatical, but I’m not refreshed

21 August 2007
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“But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” – St. Paul

God gave me these words about 18 days ago, just as I was beginning my annual “sabbatical” (a 3-week “excused absence” pass from my regular ministry duties that I use for time with God, with family, with ministry mentors, and focused Bible study…it is a beautiful gift from the group of Christians I serve in Amarillo).
 
I was very excited about the discovery of this little sentence embedded in Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church. I called my good buddy and partner-in-crime Doyle Corder and shared it with him, and he was appropriately excited for me (I lose great treasures very quickly if I don’t share them with someone, Doyle often provides this gift of friendship to me).
 
Since getting this verse, I have spent 3 days with Jim Spivey, a ministry mentor of mine (I wrote in my journal that God sent me Jim Spivey to give me the view of someone that is eons ahead of me in living out what I believe). It was 3 days of relationally loving others; depending on, trusting, and expecting God to deliver life-giving revolution to us and to those we came into contact with. For those of you who made the mistake of asking me about how this time was, you know how impossible it would be for me to try to articulate it here.
 
I have also spent 7 days in Colorado with my whole family. 3 of those days was in a mountainside cabin in Estes Park, where I took in the beauty of God’s creation. 1 of those days I got to spend exclusively with my daughter Callie, and 1 with my son Shade (my son Jakin gets his day this Thursday, right before I head back to work, for those of you worried he is getting shortchanged). Bookending this trip were days with Carrie’s parents, who I got to share great times together at church, at meals, on the back porch, and around the kitchen counter (they were some of the people who asked about how my trip to Houston was). 
 
We got home last Saturday, went to church at Southwest (my home congregation, for those of you who don’t know) on Sunday morning for our “5th Grade Blessing” service where the new 6th graders are welcomed ceremonially into the youth group. Additionally, the Kindergarteners (this is new this year) are called up and prayed over as they enter the elementary group (of which my daughter Callie is one).
 
And now, I have entered into 3 days of silence and solitude with God. After being ushered into it richly and spontaneously by one of my Shepherd’s and his cool family, I have spent this morning completely alone, in another beautiful and lonely setting, praying and singing my heart out loud to God as I prepare to sit down with my Harmony of the Gospels to continue meeting with, studying, and knowing Christ.
 
As I must, I started “letting go” of all the demands and baggage that I carried into this place with me, asking God to set them all aside for me. I started laying them down, but two remained and would not die. These two would not let me go.
 
The first is the plight of a very good and dear friend of mine. He has a very compromised life…desiring above all else to live the life of Christ, but falling to the world’s life with regularity. The second is the plight of a very devoted and sincere church member. She is very convinced that her interpretation of the Bible is accurate…desiring above all else to live “Biblically”…but equating the Bible’s external “religious practices” with following Christ. She is feeling strongly enough about this to consider leaving our fellowship of followers, in no small part because of me and the “Christ alone” message I preach.
 
I love these two people very much. I believe that they have been sent to me for my good and God’s glory. I have seen Christ in both of them in unbelievable ways, and they have sharpened me as iron sharpens iron. So you can understand my feeling a sense of urgency about being with these two. But this is the common daily experience of mine. And I have been on both sides of the pendulum of “killing myself to try to meet the needs around me” and “saying no to all needs around me because it is an impossible job”. By God’s grace, and by walking with Him, I feel that I generally, but not perfectly, hit the stride of doing all that I can do, but only what I can do.
 
I hope you might understand when I say that I often feel like Paul when he says, “I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches”. Because of this, I REALLY, REALLY NEED God to take that concern away from me when I want some intimate time with Him. But today, and this is not a common experience for me in times like this, he won’t let these two plights leave me.
 
As I submitted to my concern for these two sincere followers of Christ, the verse came rushing back into my head, explaining how I feel for them: “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.“
 
I see two foes standing against “the simplicity that is in Christ”. Two enemies that would dare contend with Christ’s spirit: the religious spirit and the worldly spirit. And God blessed me with these two friend’s current situations to expose them.
 
They are outright “counterfeit life”. Why would my two friends choose them? And upon deeper reflection, why do I myself choose them? Paul gives me, at least, a general answer: because just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, our minds may be led astray from our sincere and pure devotion to Christ. Led astray to what? One of two things: religion or the world.
 
This is Satan’s genius…really.
 
The religious spirit makes a promise. “Follow me and I will give you confidence in your salvation.” In other words, follow the right religious practices (and you can be sure that they are right if you find them in your Bible) and you will be saved.
 
The worldly spirit makes a promise, too. “Follow me and I will give you fun, excitement, and ease.” In other words, do what your flesh feels like doing and chase after money, and between those two things you will have non-stop recreation and ease of life.
 
Neither promise pans out. I followed the religious patterns perfectly and I still didn’t walk with confidence of my salvation. And my older brothers and sisters who are dying speak of wondering if “they’ve done enough” after decades of accurate religious practices. I have also stepped into the world’s ways, focusing too much on money or “doing it cuz it feels good”, and while it has momentary rewards, without exception the fun, excitement and ease has attached to it troubled consequences that include dissatisfaction, guilt, and pain. Even death.
 
The worldly spirit and the religious spirit have no answers for the problems they cause.
 
Christ does. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpents cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your pure devotion to Christ.
 
Continuing this stream of thought, it occurred to me…people of the world love when a preacher preaches against “those of religion”. Equally so, people of religion love when a preacher preaches against “those of the world”. Why? Because those 2 spirits have contained within them a self-supporting animosity toward each other. Worldly people comfort themselves by seeing the legalism, irrelevance, and futility of Biblical religious practices and saying “at least I’m not like that!” Religious people comfort themselves by seeing the immorality and disregard of “Biblical” religious practices by worldly people and saying “I’m so glad I’m not like that!”
 
Wow. We really think they are on opposite sides, dramatically different from each other. When both of us need saving. Both of us have some truth, but mixed with the “serpents cunning”…our minds led away from the simplicity that is Christ.
 
To add insult to injury, both of them look at Christ and do 2 things (not usually at the same time, but when each suits them): 1) they try to call him THEIR FRIEND, appealing to his name against the other; and 2) calling them THEIR ENEMY, b/c he demands they lay down both religion and the world and follow him alone.
 
Christ comes to both of them, with tears in his eyes, and hope in his voice and says “follow me, and I will give you life to the full.” When the religious man gets sick of pretending like his practices are life to the full, and the worldly man gets sick of pretending like his practices set him free, they will lay them down, along with the serpents craftiness in their minds, and they will come to Christ.
 
Maybe the perfect combination of both of these, Biblically illustrated, is the apostle Matthew (or Levi). Levi was a Jew, no doubt practicing all the Jewish practices because he is one of “God’s people” and must do so for salvation. Levi was also a Tax Collector for the Roman government, no doubt taking such a job because it was lucrative and provided him with a life of ease. Jesus looked at Levi in the eyes and said, “follow me”. But to do so, he would soon learn, he would have to leave both the worldly spirit and the religious one. He would have to depend on Christ alone.
 
I want this for my two friends. And want this for my children. I want this for everyone in the world.
 
Okay…now I can lay all my life aside…and go spend it in the gospels with Jesus.

 
 

What is Happening to Churches of Christ

27 July 2007
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I am a preacher in a Church of Christ.
 
As such, I am a small player in the middle of a very special story. It is a story that began long, long before I arrived on this planet and will continue long after I am gone. While I am not talking about the blockbuster-mega-hit, the “story of God” unfolding, I am talking about a minor scene in that story that is often called the Restoration Movement.
 
After Christ’s death, burial, resurrection and ascension, his followers went about spreading the good news of his life, mission, heart, and work all over the known world, which caused a variety of reactions within societies, nations, religions, and individuals. The greatest reaction was the wholesale belief in this Jesus Christ, and those that did so decided to follow him (that is, his teachings, his heart, his mission). When they did, their lives would obviously change and they would speak of all kinds of internal revolution…peace, passion, joy (even in the midst of suffering), compassion, self-responsibility, freedom, forgiveness (received and given), gratitude, and more. The word that was thrown around to describe it was often the Greek word “Zoë”, that is “life”.
 
These people who followed Christ considered themselves related (“the church” being one of their titles), not by family blood, but by the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed when he was martyred because his steadfast love for people flew in the face of the human governments, religious traditions and lifeless legalisms that were being followed at the time. The love and freedom of Jesus, if followed by humanity, would take the power away from men leading those groups, and they were very used to the perks of power and the emotional securities that came from attaching their eternal salvation to their rule following.
 
Anyway, the cliff notes are: the church repeated history by getting increasingly organized and institutionalized, and then packed with human leaders who (again?!) got used to the perks of power and emotional securities that came from attaching their eternal salvation to this new “Christian” rule following. Ever since, there has been a struggle among Jesus followers to figure out the “true way” of Christ. The universal (catholic means universal) church has always had it’s true-hearted lovers of God and it’s control-freaks with in, with representatives of every degree in between. But “The Great Reformation” is the term used to describe the public and dramatic battles between and among people who were, and I use this term loosely, “in the church”. There was already a philosophical split between the East and West among the ancient Christians (Catholic in the West and Orthodox in the East), but within the Western Catholic church, a more stark and even more violent split occurred between the Catholic church and those protesting the Catholic church (called “protestants”). I will scoot quickly on to this very day by merely saying that the large group of protestors has divided and divided in the (mostly) honest pursuit of Christ’s “true way” and there are now an astronomical number of “Protestant” movements and groups of churches.
 
The Restoration Movement was and is one of those groups. It’s movements champions had little desire to be seen as the movement’s “leaders” really (I’m being gracious here, they were, after all, men). Their truest heart was sincerely that Christ be its leader. It seemed to them that every division of Protestants had their individual statements of belief (or “creeds”), and desiring to unify all believers, they proposed that we use the Bible alone as our “creed”. A beautiful and romantic idea that would hopefully lead to unity, agreement, and the fellowship of all believers.
 
While they (and I can start saying “we” now) never wrote down an individual creed, and we all had deep agreement to use the Bible as our source for discovering God’s truth, we still found ourselves dividing over how to INTERPRET the Bible. Who knew that so many men, all seeing eye to eye on using the Bible, could have so many differing opinions and interpretations based on how they didn’t see eye to eye on how to approach the Bible and plumb it’s riches? This has resulted, tragically, in countless divisions among those of us who are in The Restoration Movement. It’s over-simplifying, but generally speaking, there are three groups (Disciples of Christ, Christian Churches, & Churches of Christ) in the Restoration Movement, at least in America, and…
 
I am preacher in a Church of Christ.
 
I said all of that because I just read the very humble but observant writing of a man named Joe Beam entitled “What is Happening to Churches of Christ.” I found myself so “explained” in his birds-eye-view snapshot that I am compelled to share it with you, my friends, in hopes of 1) being more understood, and 2) helping you explain yourself. Here’s the link, if you are interested:
 
 
And if you are interested in that, you may be interested in posting your answer to this question (that will make sense to you only if you read Joe’s thoughts):
 
What group (zealots, satisfied, searching, cautious, open, exasperated) are you in?
 
One final note: For those of you, my friends, who haven’t the slightest idea about what Joe and I are speaking of, don’t bother learning about our church history…only learn about Christ…his heart, his mission, his priorities, his character…his life. That’s what we are trying to do.

The Same and Different

24 July 2007
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“What do you and I have in common?” – a great question from King David
 
“Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all.” – Old Proverb 
“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.” – St. Paul
 

“When you can find yourself, no matter how difficult or inconvenient or painful the search, in every other human being alive, you will love like Christ.” – Yours truly
 
 
On the surface and superficial level of existence, every single person is brilliantly different. Beautifully different skin tones, facial features, hair colors, ages, postures, and so much more make the company of mankind a constantly moving, creative, and visual work of art. At this level, we are each and every one different.
 
Go a level deeper, and you will find the social and cultural level of existence. There are thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of these, but since they are communal in nature (that is, each one is shared by a group of people), there is a level of “sameness” with in each group, and a level of “difference” between each group. It is fascinating to go across national borders, continental boundaries, or just “across the tracks” to explore and experience the different societal norms and group assumptions. At this level, we are the same as some people, and different from others.
 
Go a level deeper, and there is the personality level of existence. You know those personality surveys? They expose, in a useful (if generic) fashion, the existence of different “personality traits”. While no one knows for sure how many of these there are (it ranges from 4 to 16, generally, on the tests that I am aware of…but even they acknowledge an infinite amount of ‘range possibilities’). However, broadly speaking, you and I could both be explained by our personality makeup (at least a little bit). At this level, we are the same as some people and different from others.
 
All of the levels leading up to this one, more or less, happen TO people (in other words, you don’t choose what race, society, or personality you are born into). But go a level deeper, the preference and behavior level of existence, and you cross a line into the realm of our “ability to choose”. Admittedly, our preferences and behaviors are shaped by the other levels, but we are not stuck with them. Our preferences are ours to alter. Our behaviors are ours to transform. We only need to stop explaining (or excusing) ourselves based on our superficial, societal, and personality differences, and instead start understanding ourselves through the deepest, common level of existence.
 
I think the Bible would call it the heart level. Here, in this the deepest realm of humanity, we are all the same. We have the same needs, desires, wants, longings, and cares…things like freedom, care, acceptance, wholeness, happiness, joy, peace, hope. All of these have “love” as their root, and while they are all fulfilled and manifested in different ways at the superficial level (based in large part to society and personality differences), you will be able to recognize them (or people striving to achieve them) when you view things from the heart.
 
The heart – this is the level that Christ is trying to get to. This is the level at which healing and restoration and reconciliation takes place. This is the home of forgiveness, both the given and accepted kind. It is here, within the human being, that the Kingdom (or ‘rule’) of Heaven is located. This is the level that, when it is touched by Christ, behavior and preferences get transformed into his very own image.
 
And this happens regardless of our personality differences, cultural differences, and superficial differences.
 
When a group of people’s hearts are like Christ’s heart, Christ will express his “heart-level-sameness” in an infinite amount of “surface-level” ways. It is beautiful chemistry! It is like the working of the human body, each part different superficially, but all made up of the same stuff…bone, skin, blood, cartilage…and all connected to the same head (and heart).
 
May our churches become home to ever-widening ranges of superficial, cultural, and personality differences. And may that happen because our churches are of Christ…going for the salvation of every life and heart…the kind that we all commonly need.
 
Is this right? Is there a level at which humans can make assumptions about humans, speaking with compassion and authority to one another there, because at that level we are all the same?
 

"How" to experience God

19 July 2007
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An “On Becoming Truer” subscriber asks, “I long for an intimate relationship with God. But for over 20 years now, I have struggled with HOW.  Yes, I am saved.  But from that day – no one has ever been able to really explain how to build on it.  What to do after the baptism.  I have asked friends, fellow church-goers, and ministers.  They only say “read the bible” or start in “the gospels, read a little each day” and pray. I can’t tell you how many devotionals and Bible lessons I have had through the years. How many times I’ve “set aside” time to spend in the Bible – only to find myself just sitting there wondering “now what?” I need more explanation.”

 

This is the million dollar question, isn’t it? How? How do I develop true oneness with God? I have probably answered this question for myself and for others a dozen different ways…each one depending on my stage of life, experiences to that point, and understanding of God. I appreciate the question, not so much because I can answer it, but because it allows me to see how my answer has changed. I expect it to change more, but here is my current answer to the question, “How do I experience deeper oneness with God?”
 
The feeling of oneness and closeness with God requires: 
 
Expectation – When you read, live, pray, go to work, interact with family, friends, strangers…I have found that the expectation that God is interacting with me is necessary for the interactions to be seen, felt, heard or noticed in anyway. My experience is that this expectation is something I have had to first believe in, then cultivate into something I am regularly/constantly aware of, then remembering because I am always being opposed in the noticing.
 
Relationships – The most important command, Jesus said, is to love God and love others. How much of your life can be explained or justified by these two priorities? Which part of your life (including religious/spiritual activities like Bible reading, prayer, or service) is not in service to the relational agenda of God? Honestly, I don’t want any activity in any part of my day to not be in subjection to my hearts purpose of loving God or loving others. I think this alignment with the command that Jesus said all the Bible hangs on gives us a lens through which to read the Bible.
 
Transformation – What is the ultimate purpose of God for me personally? Outside of my eternal life with Him after my death, what is the life He wants for me now? It is Christ. He wants to transform me into the image of Jesus Christ. He is after my spirit, my heart, my attitudes, my behaviors, my priorities, and my mission. God is making me more like Christ every day. Tuning in to this sends me to the Bible, to the people in my life, and to the circumstances that come my way looking for Jesus with wide and eager eyes!
 
The ideal of becoming like Christ is the highest one available to human being. It is a constant adventure, and you are always in the middle of the perfect circumstances through which to be shaped, because of how good and focused God is on this end.
 
The intimacy required, with God and your fellow man, will demand all the love available to you supernaturally through God’s Holy Spirit. “The Kingdom of Heaven is within you,” our teacher and rabbi says. Summoning forth the vulnerability before God and before those He sends your way is inner work. Contemplating (as opposed to “studying” or “reading”) the implications of Jesus’ teachings will take you to the thresholds of human possibility, confront your unbelief, and demand faith to go farther.
 
That leads to depth. The great change in my life was the focus on depth, not breadth. I’m not interested in learning more stuff about the Bible as much as I am interesting in understanding and assimilating and becoming the stuff that I have already learned. I’m not as interested in more people being “in my church” as much as I am interested in the people “in my church” taking their next step into Christlikeness. I’m not as interested doing more stuff in my Christian service as I am in doing less stuff more deeply. I believe that the focus on depth can lead to breadth, if God deems it, but that the focus on breadth steals depth.
 
In summary…I don’t know what you call them: ideas, priorities, values, beliefs, attitudes, practices…maybe all of the above. But I do know that these ideas help me to come alive in God…idealistic expectations, intimate relationships, transformational depth.   
 
With all of that, let me end by saying that all of it is grace. If the Lord wills, I will feel His presence. All the spiritual discipline and attitudes in the world, perfectly practiced by the most sincere and devoted soul, without God’s grace, accomplishes nothing productive at all.
 
May God give His grace. 

Lament for Conner…and all of us

18 July 2007
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A while back I wrote about my friend who suddenly lost his middle school son in a car wreck that the whole family was in. Below is a gut wrenching piece from him that reflects the depths of both suffering and faith available to us as men. Don’t read it if you expect fluffy platitudes about life with God.
 

Lament For Connor

 

That ugly scar of fresh turned earth

Holds tight my broken son whose worth

The world will never know. And I

Turn stricken face to steely sky

And ask a question that will start

Fresh groaning from a broken heart .

Where were you, God, on that dark road

When violence took what I adored

And crushed him? Did You see her shock,

Her wailing, kissing bloody locks?

Did You stand by with folded arm

Or with Your finger cause this harm?

What did I do to make you mad?

If this is love I’ve more than had

Enough. How can I speak of You

To foes when this is what you do

To friends? I’m worn out now and just

Begun to walk the path I must.

Yet I have nowhere left to turn

For hope or joy. I cannot learn

Another voice than first I knew

And trusted. Were they true,

The promises you made to me?

Can I full trust what I can’t see?

I know that my Redeemer lives.

I know a Sovereign takes and gives.

I am a blind and broken man,

So I will hold on while I can

For now. Is grace enough to keep?

Until we see Your face, I weep.

 

I’m eternally grateful to my friend Tod for sharing his suffering. For those of us who know him, we know him to have a gift of insight and truth. That he continues to apply those gifts regardless of the circumstances of his life doesn’t surprise me at all. He has been chosen from among us to be an exhibit of God’s glory, and I mourn with him that it is in such dramatic fashion. Blessed are the people who have been chosen for lesser shows, and count it only God’s grace if you are one them, created for the lesser trials and displays. Only give yourself over to the pain of others so that you can better know God’s love and consolation through them, and they through you.

 

Jesus said that his yoke is easy and his burden is light, and that it is for those who are weary and heavy laden. How easy it is to believe such a claim when all is light and airy around us, our outward circumstances providing us with ease. But finding his deeper meaning can only come with the shadow’s descent, the dark clouds hovering, the very ground under feet pulled away.

 

Pray for my friend that, he find it. He will.

 

 

Five Things I Dig about Jesus

5 July 2007
Comments (5)

I was invited by a fellow blogger (http://this-walk.blogspot.com) to be the next in a growing group of people being asked to make a list of 5 things they like about Jesus.

An impossible task…only 5 things…but here is my feeble attempt and reducing the irreducible.

That he reveals to me what God is like. I have found within me an unstoppable desire to know what the Cause of all things is like. In my humanity, I am deer-in-the-headlights afraid to know, but also drowning-in-the-ocean in need of knowing. And the second motivation always wins out over the first. I would stop and listen (and have) to anyone who audaciously claimed to know what God is like, helpless to at least consider their claims. But in Jesus, I have found someone who claims not just to know what he is like, but to be what he is like. This is either sheer arrogance or honest truth. For reasons way to many to list here, I have decided on the latter. I have found in Jesus both that I need not be afraid of God, and that fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. And I love that about Jesus. He reveals to me what God is like.

His uncompromising idealism. Ideals are what inspire people. People must react to ideals. There is something inherent about ideals that make people “want to believe” or “need to discredit”. Jesus presents some simple ideals that transcend everything – all ideas, concepts, structures, or systems. Anything purely good about anything I have ever found or seen all stem from Christ’s ideals (even if the thing it’s contained in is anti-Christ). His ideals are different than any I have found, because they can be lived out regardless of the circumstances that human beings find themselves in. His ideals are matters of the heart. Ideals are the stuff of believers, and while they require the oftentimes-hard-to-find “belief” to be lived out, that belief is the sum total of what you need to discover that they are the fabric of abundant life itself. That’s why Jesus said that “the work of God is this: to believe.”  Jesus is the most idealistic thinker and teacher ever known, and additionally, he lives out his ideals perfectly as a human to show that “idealistic” is not the opposite of “realistic”. I love him for that.

His inexhaustible depth. – I can’t seem to stop learning about Christ. I can’t seem to plumb the limits of his teaching, his example, or his person. And it is pure joy because going deeper into Jesus’ life is not simply an academic exercise for me. I get bored quickly when increasing in mere knowledge, but I get life when increasing in knowledge that transforms my character in ways that have real and practical effect in my life and the lives of those around me at a heart level. And learning about the heart, character, priorities, and mission of Christ does just that. “The Kingdom of God is within you,” Jesus says. So the idea of “Kingdom growth” is the idea of me growing inwardly. It’s effect, to be sure, is seen outwardly, but make no mistake…it was inward transformation that brought it about if it was real and permanent. “Abide in me,” Jesus says. This is no static thing. There is no action you can take that would allow you to check this command off the list of things to do in a lifetime, moving on to the next. Abiding in Christ is the last decision you will ever sincerely make, because you will never finish. This is far from discouraging! On the contrary, I am ever-grateful! As I prepared for my first skydive, my instructor explained why he had jumped over 800 times so far in his life by saying, “I skydived, and it was the greatest thing I’d ever done. Let me ask you: If you could do the greatest thing you’ve ever done, AGAIN…would you? And what price would you be willing to pay?” Amen. Meeting and knowing Jesus Christ is the greatest thing I’ve ever done. So I love his inexhaustible depth because I get to do the greatest thing I’ve ever done again and again.

His unabashed, unashamed, courageous offer of intimacy. – Another one of those things I find myself helplessly needing is to “be known”. I enjoy “knowing” (see my first item above), but I am also compelled to be fully known. Now, while I believe God created us this way from the very beginning, putting us in the garden with unhindered intimacy with Himself and with each other, I must admit to a combination of insecurities that drive me. I’m insecure about my motives. I want them to be pure and purified where they are not, but I know I can fool myself, so I want to be fully known so that I have accountability and witnesses, so to speak. I’m also insecure about my methods. I’ve been told that I have some creativity to me, but I don’t want to do something because it’s clever, rather because it’s meaningful and effects things for good. Being fully known by others gives affirmation and input in how I go about making a difference in the world. There are other reasons, I’m sure. But whatever my reasons for wanting intimate community, Jesus Christ delivers it. And he does so in two unbelievable ways: (1) he instructs me in how to make and maintain intimate friendships among my fellow human beings. That being: share everything. Jesus said to his disciples, who started as his students and servants, “I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”). They are his friends, he says, because he has shared everything he has learned from God. That’s how I make friends, too. But he doesn’t stop with mere instructions on how to have intimacy among men, but (2) also among the Godhead. This is the crown of crowns in my heart! He offers to me the very intimacy that He and God share, and the friendship that my heart longs for, and doesn’t dare believe available or possible. Jesus offers intimacy with God! Jesus prays, “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me.“ I am undone! He fully knows me and my ability to manipulate myself into mistakenly thinking that I have some measure of goodness, he knows the double-sided, self-serving nature of my “good ideas” to benefit and love “the world” and he loves me still. No one satisfies my desire for intimacy like Jesus. I can not speak of my undying gratitude and love for Jesus because of this.

He shows me how to live the best possible life available to a human being…and gives it to me freely. What can I say? I wish I could say that my followership of Jesus was strictly motivated by my obligation to pay him back after what he has sacrificed for me. I wish I could say that my followership of Jesus was based on faith alone that I will have Heaven – unstoppable bliss – after this hard life is over. I wish I could say that my followership of Jesus was out of my pure and unselfish desire for those around me to know Jesus, up to and including my enemies. And while I can say that all three of those things are absolute motivations within my heart, there is another reason that I follow Jesus Christ that really feels somewhat selfish and self-serving and pertains to my current life in this present age and has little to do with his unmatchable sacrifice for my sins. And that is this: I can find no better way to live. There is not a life that is more satisfying, joy-full, or peace-producing available to me than the life of becoming more and more like him. There is nothing that feels safer or more dangerous…and I need a full measure of both for abundant life. If I want a life of passion, purpose, love, and abundance…I have no other alternative than the life of the Kingdom. The life of the cross. The life of Christ.

Show much to say, no words to adequately say it. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, God. Thank you.

The Message of Paradox

28 June 2007
Comments (4)
“The Bible’s riches and comforts can not be exhausted from a single viewing platform. A quick trip to the moon would render an understanding of the planet earth that walking upon it’s crust does not offer, as would another trip to the bottom of the ocean. Without this understanding, the Bible is an impossible document to understand, follow, or offer up as useful to anyone in the pursuit of the abundant life. Additionally, the understanding that it has your introduction to Jesus Christ as it’s primary purpose and reason is essential for it to produce any life that is lasting in you at all.” – Yours Truly
 
And it is the paradox I find in Scripture that makes this so unspeakably clear, and sets me so unconditionally free. Paradox, such as:
 
I am obligated to carry your burden (Gal 6:2) and to teach you to take care of your own burdens (Gal 6:5).
I am to not grow weary in doing good (Gal 6:9) and understand that none are good (Rom 3:12).
I am to know that all sin and fall short (Rom 3:23) and that all are to be perfect (Matt 5:48).
I am told that Jesus was without sin (Heb 4:25) and that he learned obedience and was made perfect (Heb 5:8).
I am told that the Law was good for us (Rom 7:12) and that the Law was against us (Col 2:14).
I know that all sin is forgivable (Matt 12:31) and that there is unforgivable sin (Matt 12:31).
I know that all things are attributable to God (1 Tim 6:15) and that not all things are attributable to God (James 1:13).
I know God can do what I want (Mark 14:36) and that it is not about God doing what I want (Mark 14:36).
Lying is absolutely wrong (Col 3:9) and lying can be used in faith (Heb 11:31).
 
All of these statements, a small sampling of paradox in Scripture, are true. They must be seen from different vantage points to be understood. This is hard a hard teaching for the young and for those who grow old finding security only in the black-and-white.
 
But for the mature, it unlocks layer upon layer of truer truth and spiritual guidance in Scripture, and holds the promise for never-ending exploration and discovery right there between the covers of the Good Book.
 
And so goes my relationship with Jesus Christ.
 
 
 

That’s Just the Way I Am

27 June 2007
Comments (1)
“You have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.“ – Paul, to the Colossians
 
“That’s just they way I am.” – Humanity
 
“Followers of Christ are constantly transforming right before your very eyes. That’s just the way we are.” – Yours Truly
 
The most fantastic people I know are the ones who have forsaken all, and continue to forsake all at ever-increasing depths, to become more like Jesus Christ.
 
Regardless of their starting point (family of origin issues, bodily physical conditions, habit inclinations, genetic programmings, tragic events, epic mistakes, race, nationality, sex, religious upbringing), all the most incredible people have decided to be annihilated by the love of God and consider it all loss for the sake of the singular vision of becoming more like Christ in heart.
 
Regardless of their gift sets (academic aptitude, physical prowess, contemplative inclinations, social dexterity, athletic competence), all of the most amazing people are glad to leave them undeveloped or obliterated for the greater life of moving ever closer to the patterns of thinking and doing exhibited and embodied by Jesus Christ.
 
Regardless of their personality traits (talkative or quiet, thinking or feeling, confrontive or submissive, ENFP or ISTJ, Beaver or Otter, love-to-read or hate-to-read, risky or cautious, detail-oriented or big-picture,Type A or B, High D, I, S, or C), they are glad to have their peculiarities, uniqueness and distinctiveness obliterated for their desire above all things to lose themselves in the life of Christlikeness.
 
It is a wise man who gives up the things that make him foolish in the eyes of man for the greater qualities of Christ and all the peace and joy found in them.
 
Wiser still is the man who gives up the things that make him look special and set apart from other men, in which he is so helplessly inclined to find both his value and excuses, for the greater and universally accessible image of our Creator.
 
“For Christ-followers, there is no excusing or explaining yourself with the phrase, ‘that’s just the way I am’. There is only one ‘I Am’, and we are to all being restored into Him.” – My version of a Don Stone quote that my friend Debra Schardein thinks she remembers him saying

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