Missional Living

Dang it.

One day –when the dust settles–I will write an incessantly long blog about how things continue to happen in my life. I have a ‘chance encounter’ with someone, and the next day….BAM! God thumps me on the head like a 6th grader and says, “Dude. You totally missed it.”

This morning, I read this.

The greatest part is this quote:
“I simply argue that the cross be raised again at the center of the market place as well as on the steeple of the church. I am recovering the claim that Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral between two candles, but on a cross between two thieves; on a town garbage heap; at a crossroad so cosmopolitan that they had to write His title in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin… at the kind of place where cynics talk smut, and thieves curse, and soldiers gamble. That is where churchmen ought to be, and what churchmen ought to be about.”

Here’s where I got thumped:
Yesterday, I walked to Pizza Hut with a group of high schoolers (you know who you are). Some of them didn’t want to walk, because we’d have to walk through the crowd of skaters/smokers/potheads dressed in black hanging out in front of Subway.

“Cool. Then let’s walk.” I said.

As we got closer to ‘them’, my group became more and more quiet. Anxious. Walking and staring at the ground. One of the guys in black had long hair and smelled like a mix of Camels and stale grass. And he spoke to one of the highschoolers I was with.

“Hey, dude.” he said.

“Hey.”

Once we got out of earshot, hunkychristianman whispered, “He’s in one of my classes…”

Good. We should have friends outside our little Christian Country Club.

We went in, ate pizza, watched a pathetic clown and headed back to church for FUEL.

(Here comes the thump)
After FUEL, my wife says to me, “Why didn’t you just invite the skaters in for pizza, no strings attached?”

Dang it. A simple expression of love.

Jesus said, “And whoever offers these little ones even a cold cup of water [maybe pizza?] will not lose his reward.”

The first: Students are looking for a soul-shaking, heart-waking, world-changing God to fall in love with; and if they do not find that God in the Christian Church, they will most likely settle for lesser gods elsewhere. The second conviction: so will we.

In his latest Rolling Stone interview, that is.
“Even though I’m a believer, I still find it really hard to be around other believers: They make me nervous, they make me twitch. I sorta watch my back.”

(p.s. Kudos to my bro who scored U2 tickets this weekend in Houston….)

Mark your calendars for December 29-31, 2005 !

Where? Three Mountain Ranch

Why? Our annual New Years Retreat!

What’s the story with ‘28 Days’? Once upon a time, there was a movie about a guy named Jim (see his pic below). Jim was a bicycle courier who awoke one day from a coma. As he begins wandering the halls of the hospital, he notices a LOT of change in the world around him. Something has infected him….and a lot of other people as well. Within 28 days, the infection is complete and no one is ever the same.

What if that were true spiritually? What if you could take 28 days to focus your spiritual life and jumpstart your relationship with God? What if there were things…specific things….you could do for 28 days that would change you on the inside so that you’d never be the same again? Ever. What if you could become something other that what you are?

That’s what we’re working towards. With the help of our SALT team, we’re getting ready for an experience that we hope will change us.

We’re praying for something to infect us. Something that changes the way we act. The way we think. The way we live.

How will the story end? That depends on what happens in 28 Days…

Why You Shouldn’t Read This Book

1. It is a book about sin. I realize sin is not our favorite topic. Far from it. Why? Because we all sin. Every day. It’s not just what we do, but it is part of who we are. Sin is part of our spiritual genetic makeup. We tend to say things like, “I struggle with…” or “My shortcomings are …”. Can we just face it? It’s called sin. And it’s ugly. For the most part, our culture finds sin laughable. Wanna destroy your social life? Just bring up the subject of sin and see what happens…
2. It is a book about suicide. See, this little book shows us where and how to get what we need. It points us to the secret of abundant living. But the catch is that you have to give up everything, including your own life. That is, if you want to find real life. This whole thing about ‘taking up your cross’ is about dying to your own self and making Him your Boss. It’s about eighty-sixing your will.
3. It is a book about un-religion. Most people think of Jesus as the man who started the Christian religion. It turns out he wasn’t just a man. And he wasn’t interested in religion. In fact, He routinely ripped the established religious status quo in favor of a New World Order that freely accepted whores, thieves, outsiders, and religious outcasts. If you’re looking for religion…keep looking elsewhere.
4. It is a book about second chances. And third chances. And a hundred chances after that. It shows us how to get this life right, not just some kind of pie-in-the-sky-when-I-die-by-and-by ‘fire insurance’. It’s about being picked up by Love, dusted off by Grace, and having your tears wiped away by the Abba Daddy I secretly hoped was out there somewhere but was too afraid it was just a dream.

Unless, of course, you’re actually looking for some of those things…

I was reading this morning about Jesus’ confrontation with satan in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11) … and it reminded me of my own temptations.

Scene 1 – the desert. Where we face the strongest temptations in life. Place where we are the weakest and our enemy is the strongest. Dry. Rough. Barren. Hills. Rocks. Scraggly plant life. Heat. Heat. Heat. The only relief is the night.
Night falls. Jesus searches for a place to sleep. Remembering the recent words of john: ‘Look. The lamb of God . . . who takes away the sin of the world.’ Jesus knew what those words meant. He grew up in the temple, around the altar. He remembers the priest. He remembers the smoke and the incense. And the blood.
For 40 days and nights he remembers. That last morning in the desert, he awakens from the cave. His body is thin, frail, fragile. His lips are cracked, his throat parched. After 40 days he is famished.
Satan thinks, ‘a perfect time to strike.’ And as he steps tentatively from the shadows, it begins.

v.3-‘if you are the son of God, tell those stones to become bread.’ The temptation is not for Jesus to doubt himself, but to depend on himself. For 40 days, God hasn’t done anything to help him. Why not take matters into his own hands?

v.4- But jesus doesn’t take the bait. Instead he answers, ‘Man doesn’t live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Regardless of how consuming his hunger may be, jesus would rather be fed with the smallest crumb of his father’s word than with an entire landscape of bread anywhere else.
So satan steps back, changes his plan, and changes the scenery.

Scene 2–The Temple. Satan then takes jesus to the highest point of the temple. “if you are the son of God, throw yourself down.” In the first temptaion, jesus responded by saying that God would take care of him, sustain him, etc. So in the second one, satan pushes that to the limit. “OK, Mr. Messiah, if you really believe it, then prove it once and for all. . . everyone will see and believe. Let’s see you put your money where your mouth is…”
The temple was the center of activity. The jump would be seen by all the people and key leaders . God’s rescue would convince every skeptic that jesus was the son of God. A pretty tempting offer.
But Jesus sees through it, realizing that it’s not really a test confirming God’s care, but a test questioning God’s care.

v.7- jesus answers – ‘it is also written, ‘do not put the lord your God to a test.” This kind of test says, ‘if you really care about me, prove it.’ It doesn’t demonstrate faith in God, but doubt in God that’s looking for proof to believe. Faith that requires proof is not faith; it is science.

Scene 3–The Mountain. In verse 8, satan, going for broke, then takes jesus to an even higher place, for an even greater temptation. As god and ruler of this world, satan has the earthly kingdoms in his pocket. So he digs into that pocket and counts the change. He makes a final offer. “all this i will give you if you bow down and worship me.”
These are the same kingdoms that God the Father has promised jesus he would someday possess. That day could be today. And all of tomorrow’s suffering could be avoided. All he would have to do is turn his back for a moment, and bend his knee in satan’s direction. That’s all. Just a split second.
But it is WHO he would have to turn his back on that keeps his knees locked. His own father. The father that loves him. Delights in him. How could he betray that kind of relationship, even for a moment?

v.10- Jesus takes that ‘loose change’ and throws it back in satan’s face and says, “away from me, satan! It is written, “worship the lord your God, and serve him only!”
The words snap like a whip! Satan leaves (Luke tells us) until a more opportune time, when jesus would be weaker and more vulnerable. So satan leaves.

Here’s the kicker: Just prior to the desert experience, jesus had been baptized in the jordan river. He was anointed by the Holy Spirit and approved by God the Father. In the desert, it appeared that he was abandoned by both. No affirming voice. No sign of approval or encouragement. Only vultures. And heat.

Still he trusted.

Still he obeyed.

Only then did the angels come.

Let’s talk about MY desert experience.

1. it WILL come. Jesus was led BY THE SPIRIT into the desert.
2. Jesus knew the scripture (duh), but more than that. He knew that the father’s word is not only more nourishing than food, but more necessary. Sometimes God’s will for you is bread. Sometimes it is to be hungry. It all depends on which situation is more nourishing to your soul at the time. It depends on which causes you to rely on him. Why? Because one word from God can change your whole life.
3. Wanna ‘know God’? wanna ‘Get close to God’ ? Get ready for the desert. It is in the desert that we rely on god the most. We’ve been talking about temptation, and how real it is. Right now, right here, we have a whole room of people to encourage us, to help us, etc. but jesus was ALONE in the desert. He was alone.

You and I have some great spiritual support around us–church, friends, youth group. We also have the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us. But even with all of this some of us can’t withstand the temptation for ONE night. Bad news, buddy: When the desert comes, you’re gonna die. Why? Because you haven’t figured out that one crumb of God’s word is more satisfying than anything on the planet. More nourishing. More fulfilling. You haven’t yet developed a hunger for God that will sustain you in the desert.

Mighty God, give us a hunger for Your word, and help us to never doubt your love and faithfulness..me included.

For those of you fortunate enough to know who Steve Camp is, I have added his blog to my links.

His contribution to CCM (before it sold out, IMHO) and to my own theology of grace and ecclesiology is impossible for me to articulate. I even had a good friend who served as his Nanny a few years ago…

If you are familiar with Steve, go here and check out his blog. You can also check out his other ministry project site while you’re there…

If you are not familiar with him, …shame on you.

Steve McCoy has a great post here which got me thinking: Are we doing it (evangelism) right?

Below is an excerpt from Keith Miller’s “Scent of Love”…

The early church grew “not because of the [spiritual gifts] of Christians – such as the gift of speaking in tongues – and not because Christianity was such a palatable doctrine (to the contrary, it is about the most unpalatable doctrine there is) but because they had discovered the secret of community.
Generally they did not have to lift a finger to evangelize. Someone would be walking down a back alley in Corinth or Ephesus and would see a group of people sitting together talking about the strangest things – something about a man and a tree and an execution and an empty tomb. What they were talking about made no sense to the onlooker.
But there was something about the way they spoke to one another, about the way they looked at one another, about the way they cried together, the way they laughed together, the way they touched one another that was strangely appealing. It gave off the scent of love. The onlooker would start to drift farther down the alley, only to be pulled back to this little group like a bee to a flower. He would listen some more, still not understanding, and start to drift away again. But again he would be pulled back, thinking, I don’t have the slightest idea what these people are talking about, but whatever it is, I want part of it.”

I’m wondering if we were people like that, would we still have a need for FAITH training…? Don’t get me wrong–I’m not against FAITH, or WWJD stuff, or any other evangelism tool/strategy.

But somewhere along the way, things begin to smell less and less like the aroma Miller talks about above. Or maybe there’s too much spiritual ragweed in the air for me to detect it.

Thoughts?

I was reading this morning about Joshua and Caleb (Numbers 13 and 14). It seems to me that revolutionaries are Dreamers. And sometimes dreamers just get in the way…It reminded me of the first Matrix movie. Remember how Morpheus always seemed to speak to Neo in a ‘dream’? (BTW, Morpheus was name of the Roman god of dreams…)

Dreams are what keeps you going. I’m talking about God-given dreams, ideas, plans, etc. that lead to God-honoring results. God-given dreams give you God-given drive.

Dreams are specific, not general. Dreams are personal, not public. Dreams appear to others as extreme and absurd. Illogical. And they are always outside the realm of possibility.

Dreams are the stuff that make leaders. If you don’t dream, you can’t lead.

But back to Joshua and Caleb.
They had determination, vision, and dreams. The other 10 priests sent to spy out the land did not.

Thoughts?

1. Those without dreams and determination will always outnumber those who do. Ten saw the problem, two saw the solution. Ten saw the obstacle; two saw the answer. Ten saw the size of the enemy; two saw the size of their God.

2. They had a different spirit. (Numbers 14:24). Not more popular or more intelligent. As a result, God spared him and Joshua from death in the wilderness. (Numbers 14:30-35) The rest of their generation died. Every tombstone along the way was a reminder that God means what He says. Wow.

3. They had a different ending. They finished well. Picture Caleb—85 years-old—hiking up the mountain, rolling up his sleeves to take on the giants. The majority of people thought he was nuts. But that’s okay. Since when do dreamers/leaders worry about the majority?Joshua—Joshua 23:6-7—warns the people not to associate with other nations among them so they don’t begin to serve false gods.

4 Things to I need to remember:
—–Never use age as an excuse.
—–Never take your cues from the crowd.
—–Never think your choices obligate anyone else.
—–Never quit because someone disagrees with you.

God never puts a small dream in anyone’s heart. Why? Small dreams don’t need Him. And big dreams require Him.

What is it that God has put in your heart to do for Him? Maybe it’s something that is so huge, you’re scared to even say it aloud…

Be Joshua.
Go find Caleb.
And go for it!