The Good News. Buen Noticias. The Message. Whatever you call it, we're supposed to be telling it. How? Let me count the ways… The Kristo – probably the best online flash video of it's kind. Check it out. Got Life? -not to shabby, a bit on the systematic side. F.A.I.T.H. – the updated version of CWT and EE (for you old geezers…) Not to mention WWJD, F.R.O.G., D.O.G., and the mountain of t-shirts, bumper stickers, tracts, bracelets, keychains, CDs, etc. all designed to help us tell the story of God's plan for redeeming us and the rest of the planet. We've got more tools in our toolbox than Ty Pennington. But how effective are they? How do we use them? Do we use them at all? The danger is in thinking that wearing a t-shirt is doing evangelism. I've never run into anyone who became a Christ-follower by seeing a bumper sticker or a silicone bracelet. At some point don't we have to open our trap and TALK about how Christ saved us, gave us hope, and adopted us into the Kingdom? Doesn't it involve conversation? How do you tell your part of the Christ-story? What interesting conversations have you had? What have you learned from others?
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How Do You Tell YOURS?
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Two-Wheeled Theology
Yesterday, I taught Darien how to ride his bike without training wheels. It was a big day for a 5 year old. (A pretty big day for Dad, too.) I started as I suppose most Dads before me do, by holding the back seat of the bike while he pedaled. I ran along beside him, giving instructions. “Pedal faster!” “Sit up straight!” “Keep going! You’re doing great!”“Daddy”, he said, “Now my bike is just like yours.” He paused. “Now I’m just like you!”
Sweet. But the reality is, nope. Not yet, he isn’t. Darien had forgotten that I was still holding on to the seat of his bike. As soon as I let go, he remembered…and crashed within seconds.
After about 35 minutes of running and holding, crashing and scraping, he rode his bike for 3 straight blocks without falling. He did it! We hugged. We gave hi-fives. We took pictures.
“Great job!” I said.
“You always say that…”, he grinned.From the advice I gave him, I began to realize the theology my 5 year old was learning.
1. You’re gonna fall down. It happens to all of us. Even in the best of families. It’s part of our condition. And part of the process. Darien asked me when we got started, “Do you think I’ll fall down?”
“Oh, yeah”, I said, “Everyone falls at first. But you’ll figure it out. You’re gonna do great.”
As a Christ-follower, I still fall. Just when I think I’m just like Dad, I bust it. Ah, well.2. Slow down. When things get wobbly, use your brakes.
3. Look where you want to go. If you’re afraid of running off the sidewalk, don’t keep staring at the grass. That’s where you’ll end up. If you wanna stay on the sidewalk, keep your eyes there. My wife used to say,”Keep your eyes on Jesus and your feet will go right.” I don’t care to argue hermeneutics or exegesis. Why? For the most part, I’m still struggling with ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ I have a hard enough time keeping my eyes fixed on the prize.
A great day. I’m sure I’ll spend the rest of the week going on bike rides. And putting on Band-Aids.
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Hurry!!! Tonite Only!!
*warning: useless information below…
Tonight at exactly 2 minutes and 3 seconds after 1 a.m. the date and time will be:
01:02:03 04/05/06
…and it will never happen again.
Please return your seats and tray tables to their upright position…we now return to our regularly scheduled programming.
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Jesus STILL Loves Porn Stars
The guys over at xxxchurch are at it again. You gotta give it to them for trying. If you’re not familiar with them, check out their anti-porn ministry and their internet accountability software. Good stuff, for sure. I applaud these guys—they are amazing.Their latest effort to reach those who are trapped in the sin of pornography and it’s money-making lifestyle has been to pass out free Bibles at adult film conventions—typically at the rate of 1,000 per convention.
Following in the wake of The Sportsman’s Bible, The Coach’s Bible,as well as a hundred versions of The Student’s Bible ( I even own a Dirt Track Racer’s Bible!), Mike and Craig approached the publishers with a cover that simply read “Jesus Loves Porn Stars”. …as expected, the publishing powers-that-be denied them. Here’s an excerpt from the L.A. Times:
The publisher said that while it applauded the outreach to those who make a living off pornography, “the wording is misleading and inappropriate for a New Testament,” according to a letter the pastors received from Barbara Bernstengel, the executive in charge of standards at the nonprofit Bible publishing company.
Bernstengel offered several alternatives, but the pastors rejected them.“In this case, we think this is a fight worth having because it goes to the core of the Gospel,” Foster said. Gross said their slogan isn’t misleading; Jesus does love porn stars and the message doesn’t insinuate that he loves pornography. “But that’s why we’re putting the Bible in [the porn stars'] hands Jesus is not OK with it,” said Gross, a former youth pastor who works on the XXXchurch.com website from his Lake Elsinore garage. “The publisher is hindering the Gospel going forth.” The number of companies that publish the Bible is limited. Modern versions of the Scriptures are licensed to publishers by the organizations that did the translations. The XXXchurch.com pastors say the rejection of the cover is typical of the clash between old school Christianity with its rigid structure and traditions and an emerging brand practiced mostly by younger Christians who focus on relationships, spiritual experiences and converting nonbelievers through bold, sometimes edgy marketing.Later in the article Craig says this:
… it’s time for Christians to take risks. “Yeah, the cover’s out there; it’s controversial, it’s provocative, it’s wacky,” he said. “But it’s to draw attention to the content. If people have that book in their hands, it’s a good thing.”
Thoughts? Is the cover ‘too much’? What’s the message being sent? What part does 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 play in all this? What would you think about carrying around a Bible that read “Jesus Loves Porn Stars” on the cover? -
It’s Not HIS Fault
Thanks to Continental Airlines, the saga continues… After a GREAT 3 days in the mountains of the Chattahoochie Forest, I hopped in the car with a couple of guys to head back to Atlanta International Airport. My flight took off at 2:15pm and we headed to Bush Airort in Houston–a flight that takes a mere hour and fourty minutes. But when we arrive in Houston the weather is so bad that we can't land, so we circle Houston for another hour. Then we circle it for another hour. After two hours of this 15,000 feet merry-go-round, they send us to New Orleans. Thirty minutes en route to New Orleans, the captain announces we don't have enough fuel to get there, so we're putting down at Lake Charles. "It'll take about 15 minutes", says my guide to the friendly sky, "we'll just refuel and take off to Houston…thanks for your patience." When we get to Lake Charles, we get stuck on the runway (weather again) for another hour and fifteen minutes. Finally, we are up and heading back to Houston. When we finally touch down at Bush, 8:03 to be exact, I have obviously missed my 5:30 connecting flight to Austin…. Good times. The frazzled woman wearing a nice, shiny 'How can we help you?' badge is not looking forward to my visit. I need to get to Austin. Now. Her name is Sandy. She tells me there are two flights to Austin tonite. 10:50pm and 1:30 a.m. "You are freakin' kidding me, right?" I ask. I forget I'm a minister. "I've been circling your airport all night. I need to get to Austin NOW. I know it's not your fault, the weather and all, but your company screwed up my flight outta here on Monday and I don't want you to screw it up any more than absolutely necessary!" My voice begins to tighten…I'd better just walk away. I do. And as I'm walking, I her Sandy calling, "Sir! Sir! Excuse me?!" I whip around on my heels. "For some reason, the computer shows that your 5:30 flight is still sitting at the gate. You can go down to E9 and see if you can get on…if not, …then……you………could……………" Forget it. I'm already gone. My new target is getting on the plane at E9, whatever it takes. God, in His mercy, smiles on my flight-plight. There's a sweet little lady at the gate who squeezed me into one of the last two remaining seats. It's cramped. It's crowded. The lady next to me smells like BO. We make small talk about travelling. About Austin. And we sit on the tarmac for an hour and a half waiting in line to get off the ground. But at 10:15 we touch down in Austin. Thank God and Continental. More than one person has asked me, "Do ya' think God just didn't want you to go to Atlanta? Seems like you had lots of problems…" Sheesh. You're kidding me, right? Do we really think that following Christ is about living a life with no frustrations? No headaches? Is the gospel really about following some kind of messianic Santa Claus or benevolent genie-god that makes life easy? Give me a break. It bugs me how much God gets blamed for things. Flight delays. Car trouble. AIDS. Wars. Miscarriage. Jesus told you that in this world you will have trouble. Why are we surprised when it happens? It just confirms the truth of God. Sometimes stuff just happens–it's part of life. Yet we are quick to place blame somewhere. Anywhere. And who better to blame, than God himself. After all, he had the power to control it, right? Why didn't he? Is he mad at me? Did I commit some kind of sin? Who sinned so that this happened? (sound familiar?) Granted, there are times when God disciplines His children. There are times when God closes doors as we try to walk through them. There are also times when the reality of spiritual warfare becomes apparent and it seems those forces are working against us as we work for the Kingdom. All of this is true. But why is our first response to blame God? Is it because we think everything revolves around us? Is it some kind of Puritanical guilt that we're being punished for our many sins? Is it that we see God as some kind of intangible father figure that shakes a finger at us from thousands of years ago and says, "Don't do it or I'll spank you!" Stuff happens. 'Why' it happens we can debate. The more important question to me is 'How do you handle it when it does happen?' What does it do to you? What comes out of you? Because what comes out of you is what's in your heart. When stuff happens, don'tblame anyone. Ask God to make you more like Christ through it. Our goal is not an easy road, but Christ-likeness. Remember: "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Don't blame God. It wasn't Him. -
Two Outta Three
Two days of learning to save the world.
One more to go.
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Final Destination
I couldn’t sleep Sunday night. And it’s not anything spiritual like over at Steve McCoy’s space. It’s just my old buddy, Insomnia, back for another visit. At 2:46 a.m. I got out of bed and flipped on the tube. Reruns. Infomercials. Fitness equipment that promise great abs in only 4 minutes a day.
At 4:45 a.m. my alarm went off. I hit the shower, grabbed a jumbo cup of Starbucks, and headed out to Austin-Bergstrom Airport to fly to Atlanta via Houston.At 6:00 the lady at the Continental check-in desk tells me I have no ticket. (Long story I won’t go into here.) So, I pay a mere $800 for a ticket at the gate. I’m ticked. Not only am I out $800, but it’s 6:00 in the freakin’ morning. On a Monday. With no sleep.
At 8:00 I arrive in Houston to transfer to Atlanta. But my Atlanta fight has been delayed from 9:00 to 10:15. No biggie. I haul freight across the mongo-airport that is Bush International, I check my email, make some phone calls, and I’m good to go.
But wait. Now it’s been delayed to 10:55. Arrgh.
Nope…now it’s been delayed to 11:50.
Make that noon.
I’m actually headed to be a part of Global Youth Ministries’ Youth Ministry Mentor symposium. Since I’m officially old for a youth guy (39 next month), I guess they figure it’s time for me to start giving back to the ‘ol community.
Thanks to Continental Airlines, now I’ll be the crotchety old grumpy youth guy sitting in the corner, slurping coffee and mumbling that it’s past my bedtime.
I’m thinking, “This better be good.”
Today is Tuesday and, so far, it is.
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Good Times
Just a late night, random pic of our 2 boys and a couple of their cousins on the slopes.Good times.
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Matisyahu
If you haven’t heard of the newest Hasidic rap/reggae sensation to hit the airwaves since, well…ever, you should check him out here. Seriously.
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La Familia
After spending a week with some of our extended family in Colorado, I’ve been reminded how strange a lot we are. And how common the human condition is. Our extended family is a wonderfully irritating blend of Caucasion, Hispanic, and Asian Americans. Protestant, Catholic, Reformed, and Agnostic. Alcoholic and tee-totaler. Plastic surgery-obsessives … and slobs.
Driving home, listening to King’s X, the words of Doug Pinnick struck me hard. “Everyone of us loves everyone of us.” Yes, Sister Sledge, we ARE family. We don’t always get along. We irritate each other when we talk about politics, religion, and child-rearing. The religious crowd irritates the agnostic bunch. The Protestants don’t understand why we couldn’t have had hot dogs on Friday night. Those observing Lent don’t get why it’s not a bigger deal to the others. Others’ chlildren get on our nerves. The women form little gossip groups while the men slip into an evening of ESPN-induced comas…something about Terrell Owens signing on to play for the Big Tuna…
But on Sunday morning, we packed up and hugged each other. The events of the week didn’t matter anymore. The bottom line was that we share the same bloodline. Our blood defines us. And blood is thicker than, well, …anything temporal. We don’t always get along. We seldom spend a week without a heated argument, but in the end, we love each other. Everyone of us loves everyone of us.
It’s a beautiful picture of The Church. Broken. Dysfunctional. Conservative and Liberal. Republican, Democrat, and Green. Black, white, brown, yellow, red. From wealthy to welfare recipient. In the end, we have the same Blood running through our veins. It is what defines us. We argue and bicker. We fight. Sometimes over inconsequential things…sometimes over bigger issues. Some gather in the corner to choose sides and talk about those in the other corner of the room. Some simply slip into the rote, auto-pilot mode of ministry and go through the motions without much passion or life. We are an immature, capricious, insecure, and egotistic bunch.
And the amazing thing? We are His Bride. His Lover. The apple of His eye.
Does everyone of us love everyone of us? Jesus said, “This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples–when they see the love you have for each other.”
Now, that’s family.
