Missional Living

It was one of ‘those calls’. During lunch last week, I could sense the urgency in the voice on the other end of the phone. Some dear friends of ours were in a car accident. They had loaded up the SUV for vacation, decided to head to one of our favorite deli spots on their way out of town, and were hit by a truck and trailer less than 4 miles from their home. Everything happened so fast…in a handful of seconds, their lives were forever changed.

Just last Sunday, we spent the day at the lake with Larry and DeNetta and their two amazing kids. They are a faithful family of youthworkers, teachers, servants, and Jesus-lovers. We cooked hot dogs, swam, and dragged each other around the lake on tubes that day. Heather and DeNetta sat in the shade by the shore and talked about being moms, about how hot it was, and about how they were ready for school to start. And just past noon on Wednesday, their car was hit and DeNetta stepped into the presence of Jesus. In the following hours, our church was amazing. We flooded the hospital with friends, parents, teens, and family members. We flooded it with prayers and tears. We prayed with hospital staff and strangers alike. (It doesn’t hurt to have some connections with the hospital director… ) In fact, one sweet Spanish-speaking elderly lady prayed with me in a waiting room. I prayed in English; she prayed in Spanish. She talked so fast I could only pick out a few things here and there. "…Thank you, Lord for your love….bless the family…we love you….make us strong….in the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit…."

"Gracias, hermana." I said through my tears.

"Por supuesto, papi." she replied, kissing my cheek. We hugged. There is no language barrier in the Kingdom.

We prayed. We cried. We thanked God for protecting Larry, Ashley, and Weston. Our hearts broke in grief that DeNetta was gone.

On Saturday, our pastor conducted the most beautiful funeral service in history. In a standing-room-only crowd, we grieved…but not like those with no hope. God  reminded us that our life is such a vapor, such a whisper, that it will only be a blink in history before we are together again. I get the feeling that our lives are like a 2-second bit part in the midst of watching the unedited, extended edition of the Lord of the Rings boxed set. We are here, strutting and fretting our hour upon the stage, and then are heard no more. For in one more blink, we’ll be joining her.

Sunday in our ministry was tough. We are still crying. Still grieving…but not without hope. In John 14, Jesus said He was going to prepare a place for us, and, when things are ready, He’ll be back to get us. I trust Him. And I’m beginning to rejoice–for DeNetta’s gain.

St. Augustine put it this way: "God has made us for himself, and our hearts are restless until we find our rest in Him."

The way I understand the Biblical narrative is this: Genesis 1 &2 and Revelation 21 & 22 seem to serve as ‘bookends’ of the story. Our history started with the union of God and man and ends with the union of God and man. Everything else is commentary. God provides a way. Man fails. God redeems man. They live happily ever after. Our original purpose is union with God, who has gone to great, painstaking lengths to provide restoration/reconciliation to that end. If the original purpose of our lives is union with God, DeNetta is more fully alive, more perfected (lit. "complete") than at any other time in her existence.

Yea, for her!

But we still grieve. Our hearts still feel the pain of unexpectedly tearing away part of the Body. But God will heal. And the Body will be stronger. (Suffering is a beautiful hermeneutic.) So, I’m still crying today, but knowing that Hope has come.

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it weren’t so, I would have told you. I’m going there to prepare a place for you, and I will come back and take you to be with me so we can be together. You know the Way to where I am going….

I Am the Way."

    -Jesus

OK….there’s a little secret to surving student ministry that I’ll let you in on. How do we survive the summer full of Beach Break, Camp 7.8, Mission Trips, Middle School Mondays, Road Trip Tuesdays, Overhaulin’ Wednesdays,  Wednesday morning staff Bible studies, Thursday night band practices…and still have some sanity left over for the wife and kids?

Caffeine Jello Shots.

It’s easy and fun for the whole family. So, from me to you, here’s an easy, how-to to get you through the last sprint of summer.

You’ll need the following ingredients:

• Caffeine powder (can be bought as pure powder or made from ground up caffeine pills, but don’t be stupid—see dosages below)
• Jello. I recommend multiple flavors so different colors can represent a certain ‘punch’.  (Cherry is a 50 mg punch, lemon is a 100mg, and lime is a whopping 200mgs of a sour kick-to-the-face goodness…)
• Shot glasses. Of course, I’m Baptist and I don’t have any…so I’ll use  paper bathroom cups… (I guess Christmas is just around the corner…)

Steps To Survival:

1. Decide on the caffeine dosage of your jello shots. Then determine how many caffeine pills you will need. A 6 oz Jello package makes about 30 shots, so figure how much caffeine you’re going to need total, and divide that by the amount of caffeine per pill, which is usually 200mg. (E.g. 30 shots at 50mg each = 1500mg total, divided by 200mg = 7.5 pills needed.)
    
   • 50mg- Mild energy rush. About equal to the caffeine in a can of cola.
   • 100mg- Enough energy for 80’s dance night. Equals about a 2 ounce espresso.
   • 200mg- Same dose as in 2.5 cans of Red Bull.
   • 300mg- Twitching starts. Jello shots begin to taste very bitter.
   • 400mg- Ingesting more than 400 mg of caffeine can be dangerous, with side effects including tremors, agitation, stomach ache, and irregular heartbeat. This means you could be stupid and die…trust me, the 100mg stage is plenty.

2. Grind the caffeine pills with a mortar and pestle if available. Otherwise place the pills on a sheet of paper. Fold the paper in half, and go over it with a rolling pin or some other dense cylindrical object. Use moderate force so that you can crush them.Keep rolling until the powder  is smooth.

3. Pour the ground up caffeine into a large bowl with the Jello powder, and mix thoroughly.
4. Add the boiling water (follow the standard Jello recipe on the box for exact amount of water) and stir thoroughly. Keep stirring until all the caffeine has completely dissolved into the solution.
5.  
6. Finally, pour the solution evenly into 30 small glasses and refrigerate for a few hours until jiggly.

Now if I can just get my local Starbucks to start stocking these babies in the cooler next to their espresso brownies….

Watch the video here of our kickoff of our summer project. And tune in each week as we transform this hooptie and ask God to transform us in the process…

I am surrounded by deceivers and liars…who are my most beloved friends and family. 

On Sunday afternoon, my wife called me and asked me to run up to the youth center to allegedly help her and a friend 'move something'…but when I got there the room was filled with 80 or so people who had shown up for a surprise party to celebrate my 20th anniversary in student ministry and my (early) 40th birthday. Family from out of town. Friends I hadn't seen in 15 years were there. Former students who are now married with children of their own and current students that are currently walking with me through a messy life of what it's like to worship and follow Christ in Austin.

It turns out that I was the one that ended up being moved.

For a year, my wife has had people hack into my laptop, steal phone numbers and emails, strategize, send photos, and write stories of our lives together. For the second time in my life, I was speechless. (The other time was when I held Darien for the first time in the delivery room.) 

The letters and words were beautiful. There were photos and slideshows that brought back a flood of memories and highlighted some remarkable ministry and personal moments. But the best part? Being reunited with family and friends. Rekindling the eternal bonds of those relationships that have sustained me and formed me over the years. Parents. Mentors. My brother. Co-laborers in student ministry. Adults and students that have been like iron-sharpening iron over the years, encouraging me, investing in me, and blessing me by sharing their lives with me. It's an incredibly overwhelming and humbling experience to have a roomful of confidants and Jesus-lovers by your side, and to know the unmerited favor of such eternal relationships. 

In the midst of things, the Holy Spirit reminded me (as He usually does) that this is what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. Not some ethereal plane of eternal bliss. Not the portly, cloud-sitting, harp-plucking cherub we see in those lame paintings. But the Kingdom-rule of living in and among a brother/sisterhood of genuine community. A community focused on God-life, God-rule, and God-love. Agape love in the most literal sense of cine sera. A way of living that is God-centered and others-focused. Of all the things I chase after in my life, only two will last forever in the Kingdom: the things I've learned and the relationships I've formed. Or, more simply, WHO and WHAT I know.

Woven throughout His ministry, Jesus states, "…the Kingdom of Heaven is like…" . It is valuable. It is Eternal. It is Relational.  It is Compassionate. It is Shalom of the truest sense. And it is Communal. It is ike the man who sells all he has to obtain the treasure (Mt. 13:44), this God-life is worth more than we possess. It is like the workers in the landowner's field (Mt. 20), we are richly and equally rewarded. And it is like the mustard seed (Mt. 13) that is very small when planted, but when watered and nurtured and fed, grows so great that others come and enjoy the benefits of it's maturity. 

I was left standing at the microphone at the end of the party to 'say a few words'. I couldn't think of anything to say. Until today. What follows are my 'few words':

Thank you, Jesus.  

"Most people run a race to see who is fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts."   - Steve Prefontaine

On Saturday, I officially registered for the Cap 10…along with nearly 30,000 other people. After a Spring Break full of Sea World, the Rainforest Cafe, Mexican food cafes on the Riverwalk, and all the indulgences that San Antonio and my boys have to offer, I had to commit. And commit FAST before comfort sneaked up on me in the middle of my siesta. 

It'll be my first time at the Capital 10k. Some run it for fun. Some run in costumes. Some serious runners use it as their 'Sunday morning warm up'. For me, I'm burning a vacation day and running a chip-timed 6.2 miler as part of my journey towards a half- (then a full) marathon. And I'm finding out that Ann Trason was right: "It hurts up to a point and then it doesn't hurt anymore." Of course, it takes guts to stick it out to that point. Especially for an old guy like me. But the zen-like trade off for the perseverance of reaching your goal is worth it…hands down. In fact, I have a goal time I'm trying to finish in…but we'll see how that turns out. 

A guy named Paul mentioned something in a letter about beating his body into submission. That's what I'm in the process of. With all this talk about being a 'light to the world', how about having the opportunity to shine your light for 20 or so extra years? How about shining your light by taking care of your temple and lowering your cholesterol, blood pressure, and your risk of heart attack and diabetes? (…not to mention your waistline…) How about being around to see your grandchildren get married? Or your great-grandchildren graduate from college?    

This week, I'll log some easy runs to maintain my cardio and stay away from injury. I'll eat a little extra pasta Friday and Saturday. But, the fun part will be picking up my race packet on Friday and then joining nearly 30,000 of my brothers-in-kicks downtown next Sunday. Any joiners? 

In the next 48 hours, our family will celebrate the births of two babies who changed my life and my world. It's just another reason I love this time of year. 

Being with family and friends (sometimes, those are one in the same–sometimes not.) is awesome. So is chillaxin on the couch with the boys and watching 'Santa Claus is Coming To Town' for the upteenth time. Having time to let the body catch up with the soul. And heading off to our Christmas Eve service (in an hour). 

A beautiful young girl in our ministry gave birth to a little boy last week. She named him Elijah. (How awesome is that?) It has been a profound reminder of what Christmas is about. In our tech-riddled community, the simplest things are quite often the most profound. While society rushes frantically to purchase gifts to give others, Victoria was laboring away to give life to a beautiful, precious, and delicate little boy who will change her world forever. An unmarried teen mother not so very different from a girl named Mary we read about. Scared. Excited. Trusting. Filled with wonder and awe and hope.  

And unto us another child is born. A symbol of hope and love. An ikon of the Father. A reminder that God has not given up on us yet.  

Although I've admittedly slacked from my reading of Boyd's book I started months ago,some things have come to mind this week that I can't get over just yet.

God has blessed us tremendously lately. Last Sunday morning, two more students came forward during our 'invitation/response' time. I got to pray with them about their relationship to Christ. And last Sunday night our church baptized 15 people, the vast majority of which were students (and their families) in our student ministry. Some REALLY amazing stories I'm not at complete liberty to share publicly just yet, but suffice it to say, 'Yea, God! You rock!' Students are growing. Scuba Steve is doing an awesome job. Our leadership team is stepping out and shining on their campuses. 

But then there's the poo.

We have parents struggling with their children. College students battling serious issues. High schoolers dealing with sexual and physical issues I've not had to face. Parents faced with life-altering news they've not yet shared with their teenagers. And the list goes on.

Amidst the overwhelming blessings, I'm reminded that I am still at war. Not against flesh and blood, but against The Enemy of Heaven. The Roaring, Hungry Lion. The Great Deceiver. My fast friend, Stephen Baldwin, once gave me some great advice about that Pest. Thank you, Stevie B, you were right, bro.

It was Martin Luther who once said, "The greatest trial is when there are none."

That makes this a piece of cake.

 I lift my eyes up to the hills-
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
the Maker of Heaven and Earth'

He will not let your foot slip-
he who watches over you will not slumber
Indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep
Psalm 121: 1-2

On Al Mohler's blog yesterday, he cites a Time magazine article on Student Ministry. Evidently the article has made a discovery that we've been talking about since the '80s: evangelical youth ministry is trending more toward substance and away from a "sugarcoated" approach. Something about youth ministry handing out big doses of Bible Study instead of the 'Coke and a Joke' philosophy of ministry that permeated the Reagan years.

Mohler points out that it is interesting that Time Magazine found the article interesting…

It's even more interesting that anyone thinks this is some kind of new revelation. 

Good times today.

Heather left early this morning to take our older son on his first Kindegarten field trip, so I brought our younger son in to Wee Ones (think: Mother's Day Out…) at 9am. I figured I'd drop him off, run to the office and catch up on some phone calls, emails, and event promo material, and then slip out at 10:15 to take some pics of him at his little 'carnival' on campus.

But at 10:00 my phone went nuts. Like it had digital turrets. Megan. Corey. Laci. Tori. Eric. Susan. James. Big Joe the Aztec. Assorted parents. Text messages and a dozen different ringtones and beeps.

Evidently, a block away at Pflugerville High School (where they've been filming Friday Night Lights) the administration was emptying out the school because of a bomb threat. So the entire west side of campus flooded into our parking lots. As a guy who loves hanging out with teenagers, it was awesome.

Not because of the bomb threat. But because I got to spend time with students who'd otherwise never come to our youth center. Some who've had horrible experiences with 'Christians'. Some who are pretty convinced that church/God/Christianity is a complete waste of time. Or at least the church/God/Christianity that they've encountered… Yet they all were sent here in the name of shelter. Safety. Sanctuary.

How often does a public school send several hundred students to your church to waste time in the middle of a school day? Not often enough. Evidently, the threat was a false alarm…and the students loved missing their chem test. 

So we sat on the back of tailgates and just hung out. Talked about the day. The dating scene. Introduced each other to new friends. Talked about the recent Stones concert in Austin and about how Jagger has more energy than an 8th grade cheerleader and how Keith Richards looks more and more like the Grim Reaper every day. 

All of them (not just the ones that are involved in our ministry) were great to hang out with. They are full of love and life and energy. I just wish I'd ordered enough Starbucks for the whole class…