My day started early. More accurately, my Sunday never ended! I landed here in Minneapolis at 5:40 AM, and the temperature was already at 85 degrees. A frined met me at the airport and we went out for a fresh cup of Caribou Coffee. (If you're ever in Minnesota, I highly recommend it!) Do you remember what I was saying yesterday about friends? This friend willingly got up at 5:00AM, drove to the airport, took me to the university, and then headed home so he could catch his car pool to work. He did this without a hint of resentment or the "you owe me" attitude so common in our culture today. He blessed me with his attitude and his servant's heart today.
My first class is on Global and Contextual Ministry. Our main focus is missions and God's activity around the world. Our professor is actually living in Jordan and has just flown over for our week together. He began class with some compelling stories of what is happening in Lebanon. He oversees two teams of people that are currently bedded down in the midst of the conflict there with bombs exploding just blocks away from them. If you would, be praying for Dennis and Brenda Heath and their teammates who are earnestly seeking God's will. The dangers are great if they stay, and equally great if they attempt to leave. Pray that God will have his hand in this tense and volitile area. I think ultimately, especially in a confusing situation like the Middle East, we are called to pray that God would make himself known and reveal His glory through all that happens. Pray that this conflict will somehow draw more people to his throne.
If you live in America, you are a blessed person. The world around us wrestles with so much that we never have to worry about. What responsibility does this give us? Are we not people who have been given much, and from whom much will be required? I pray that we all learn to use well all that God has given us, including our wealth and stability of a healthy nation. Throughout history, God blesses people not for their benefit, but so that they can turn around and be a blessing to someone else. Who could you bless today?
Journey on.
Monday, July 17, 2006
Sunday, July 16, 2006
T-minus 1: The Bethel Experience
Do you know how it feels when you only have a few hours before you leave on a long trip? The "to do before I go" list keeps growing longer and longer as the hours get shorter and shorter. I'm feeling that in a big way today. The lawn needs mowed. The suitcase needs packed. Laundry needs to be done. Details at work need to be wrapped up. Calls need to be returned. Errands need to be run. I'll quit typing out my list before I acquire some sort of migraine.
You may be asking by now, "Why on earth are you taking time to type this post?" Well, I think sometimes we need to remember our feelings in the middle of tough times, not just when we look back. Today I am realizing why this "pre-trip" stress isn't growing too great; because honestly I feel pretty good. Why? Well, I know that at home I have good neighbors and kind friends who will watch the house, check the mail, and keep things in order. At work, I have awesome co-workers who can do the job better than I can. Sometimes I just need to let go (or go away :-) ) in order to give them time and space to really shine. I know they'll excel and the church will benefit from their leadership. And I know that at my side I have a close, caring partner who will help me make sure I don't forget anything important. I couldn't do things like this without her- my wife.
This brings me to my point, or perhaps more accurately my prayer. I wish for each of you a circle of friends and a community on whom you can depend and from whom you can draw real strength. If you have this network around you, be sure to thank them and express as often as you can your appreciation for them. If you look around yourself and feel that this support is not strong for you, let me encourage you; do whatever you can to develop it. Invest in the people around you and commit yourself to the most important thing in this world: our relationships. Time spent growing closer to others is always time well spent, and the investment will be returned. It's not that we develop friendships for what they will bring us, but there certainly is a benefit to be had. We are not meant to live in isolation, but in community.
And in all things at all times, may you know the friend who is closer than a brother. May the Prince of peace surround you this week and always.
Journey on, friends!
You may be asking by now, "Why on earth are you taking time to type this post?" Well, I think sometimes we need to remember our feelings in the middle of tough times, not just when we look back. Today I am realizing why this "pre-trip" stress isn't growing too great; because honestly I feel pretty good. Why? Well, I know that at home I have good neighbors and kind friends who will watch the house, check the mail, and keep things in order. At work, I have awesome co-workers who can do the job better than I can. Sometimes I just need to let go (or go away :-) ) in order to give them time and space to really shine. I know they'll excel and the church will benefit from their leadership. And I know that at my side I have a close, caring partner who will help me make sure I don't forget anything important. I couldn't do things like this without her- my wife.
This brings me to my point, or perhaps more accurately my prayer. I wish for each of you a circle of friends and a community on whom you can depend and from whom you can draw real strength. If you have this network around you, be sure to thank them and express as often as you can your appreciation for them. If you look around yourself and feel that this support is not strong for you, let me encourage you; do whatever you can to develop it. Invest in the people around you and commit yourself to the most important thing in this world: our relationships. Time spent growing closer to others is always time well spent, and the investment will be returned. It's not that we develop friendships for what they will bring us, but there certainly is a benefit to be had. We are not meant to live in isolation, but in community.
And in all things at all times, may you know the friend who is closer than a brother. May the Prince of peace surround you this week and always.
Journey on, friends!
Thursday, June 15, 2006
A Humble Benediction
About a year ago, I heard Brennan Manning speak at a retreat, and at each service, he closed with the same benediction. Manning is known for his messages about the wonder of God's unearned grace and love. What strikes me about this benediction is the recognition that in order for God to bless us and release us to joy, we often need to be humbled and broken. When we come to a place where we abandon our own self-driven living and "man-sized" plans for success, God can enter in and redefine what life is all about. He wants to do "God-sized" things, but we have to get out of the way first.
So for you today, may this benediction be a reminder of God's love and power available to those who are broken before him:
May all of your expectations be frustrated.
May all of your plans be thwarted.
May all of your desires be withered into nothingness
That you may experience the poverty and helplessness of a child
And can sing and dance in the joy of God
Who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. AMEN
Journey on, friends.
So for you today, may this benediction be a reminder of God's love and power available to those who are broken before him:
May all of your expectations be frustrated.
May all of your plans be thwarted.
May all of your desires be withered into nothingness
That you may experience the poverty and helplessness of a child
And can sing and dance in the joy of God
Who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. AMEN
Journey on, friends.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
The DaVinci Code, a personal perspective
Some have asked if I would post my comments on the DaVinci Code that I discussed at the weekend services. Here they are! Please comment if you have additional questions or thoughts.
First, I would encourage you not to boycott the film. There is a time and place to make a statement by non-participation, but I don't believe this is one. I would like for you to be able to dialogue with your friends and neighbors about the content of the movie, in hopes that you can point people to Christ. In order to do this in an educated way, it would be useful to see the movie. WARNING: I cannot vouch for the content! Check out sites such as www.crosswalk.com for helpful, family-friendly movie reviews.
Essentially, the DaVinci Code represents a form of Gnosticism. The early church fought greatly against gnostic heresy for the danger they represent. Basically, gnostics claim to have secret knowledge that God has revealed to them alone, and you can't hear the secrets until you join the club. The secrets in the DaVinci Code are that Jesus revealed to certain people his relationship and subsequent family with Mary Magdalene. The "true gospel" was revealed to this inner group, and the rest of Christianity is oblivious. Now I'll admit: the gospels don't say much about Jesus' personal life and family. We can conclude one of the two things: either he was really married and there has been a 2,000 year cover-up going on, or we can conclude that these things never happened. Unfortunately, some see the absence of information as an opportunity to create legends, but our faith is based on what we do know in Scripture and not speculation.
The most dangerous claim in the book, were it true, is that Jesus never thought of himself as divine. The church later created the divine Christ for their own purposes. I can't think of a more bogus claim! Every book in the new testament refers to Jesus as deity, the Son of God. Once again, either these books have all been altered without public knowledge (highly unlikely), or Jesus really claimed to be divine. In the gospel of John alone, we read Jesus saying, "I am in the Father and the Father is in me," "I and the Father are one," "He who has seen the Father has seen me." Clearly, Jesus believed he was the Son of God. Also, we have surviving accounts of 1st and 2nd century bishops such as Polycarp and Ignatius who went to their death believing that Jesus was the Son of God and worth giving their lives for. You can read their accounts in numerous places today.
Finally, I would encourage you to not dive too deeply into the DaVinci Code itself. Why? Not because I'm worried you'll uncover secrets that will shake your faith, but because our aim is not refute every rabbit trail that a cynical author leads us down. Our aim is to point people to the truth. So don't turn to chapter and page of the DaVinci Code, turn to chapter and verse of the Bible. Take people to John 3:16 where Jesus proclaims, "For God so loved the world that he gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." Take them to John 14:6, where Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me." Take them to John 10:10, where Jesus declares, "The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full." Take them to John 11:25, where Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies." Take them to Jesus. Our goal is not to prove how wrong Dan Browne and his DaVinci Code are. Our goal is to proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ, His life, His death, His resurrection, and His eminent return. Then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.
Journey on!
First, I would encourage you not to boycott the film. There is a time and place to make a statement by non-participation, but I don't believe this is one. I would like for you to be able to dialogue with your friends and neighbors about the content of the movie, in hopes that you can point people to Christ. In order to do this in an educated way, it would be useful to see the movie. WARNING: I cannot vouch for the content! Check out sites such as www.crosswalk.com for helpful, family-friendly movie reviews.
Essentially, the DaVinci Code represents a form of Gnosticism. The early church fought greatly against gnostic heresy for the danger they represent. Basically, gnostics claim to have secret knowledge that God has revealed to them alone, and you can't hear the secrets until you join the club. The secrets in the DaVinci Code are that Jesus revealed to certain people his relationship and subsequent family with Mary Magdalene. The "true gospel" was revealed to this inner group, and the rest of Christianity is oblivious. Now I'll admit: the gospels don't say much about Jesus' personal life and family. We can conclude one of the two things: either he was really married and there has been a 2,000 year cover-up going on, or we can conclude that these things never happened. Unfortunately, some see the absence of information as an opportunity to create legends, but our faith is based on what we do know in Scripture and not speculation.
The most dangerous claim in the book, were it true, is that Jesus never thought of himself as divine. The church later created the divine Christ for their own purposes. I can't think of a more bogus claim! Every book in the new testament refers to Jesus as deity, the Son of God. Once again, either these books have all been altered without public knowledge (highly unlikely), or Jesus really claimed to be divine. In the gospel of John alone, we read Jesus saying, "I am in the Father and the Father is in me," "I and the Father are one," "He who has seen the Father has seen me." Clearly, Jesus believed he was the Son of God. Also, we have surviving accounts of 1st and 2nd century bishops such as Polycarp and Ignatius who went to their death believing that Jesus was the Son of God and worth giving their lives for. You can read their accounts in numerous places today.
Finally, I would encourage you to not dive too deeply into the DaVinci Code itself. Why? Not because I'm worried you'll uncover secrets that will shake your faith, but because our aim is not refute every rabbit trail that a cynical author leads us down. Our aim is to point people to the truth. So don't turn to chapter and page of the DaVinci Code, turn to chapter and verse of the Bible. Take people to John 3:16 where Jesus proclaims, "For God so loved the world that he gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." Take them to John 14:6, where Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me." Take them to John 10:10, where Jesus declares, "The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full." Take them to John 11:25, where Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies." Take them to Jesus. Our goal is not to prove how wrong Dan Browne and his DaVinci Code are. Our goal is to proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ, His life, His death, His resurrection, and His eminent return. Then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.
Journey on!
Monday, May 01, 2006
What's Your Fragrance?
A crucial part of every morning for me is an opportunity to sit down with a good cup of coffee and read...the daily comics. I know, I know; as a pastor I'm sure I'm "supposed" to get up early and be reading my Bible, but my mind usually isn't in gear enough for the deeper things- but the comics seem just about right.
I've enjoyed a story line taking place lately in the "Zits" cartoon. In this sketch, the teenage Jeremy has become obsessed with the suddenly-popular body sprays you see advertised all the time. The strip from today showed Jeremy's mom sniffing the air, and then preparing milk and cookies for Jeremy before he ever walks in the front door. As Jeremy pops his head in the door and sees that his mom has been aware of his coming for some time, he comments, "I guess maybe I do use too much body spray." And Jeremy's mom replies, "Yes, your smell preceded you by five-minutes."
Not only did this comic make me laugh, but it reminded me of a deeper truth. I guess my mind isn't that slow in the morning after all. Regardless of the type of perfume, cologne, or body spray we may use, each one of us gives off a fragrance. It's the type of fragrance that can't be smelled with the nose, but is sensed by the human heart. The kind of person we are, our character, our attitude, and our behaviors, gives off a fragrance that can be easily sensed by the people around us. We face a choice between giving off the scent of grace, love and acceptance, or a smell of criticism and judgment.
As Jesus walked this earth 2,000 years ago, he lived a life of grace. People from all walks of life and all backgrounds felt comfortable; no, welcomed, in his presence. When they saw Jesus coming, the fragrance of grace went before him and drew people to this God-man. And it was out of this love and grace that Jesus was able to call people to a new life and a new way of living. We can be guilty of thinking that people need to know how wrong they are before they'll change. Jesus showed that people need to know how loved they are.
What kind of fragrance do you give off? If you are seeking to make a difference in the world around you, become a person who gives off the aroma of grace. May you discover the wonderful grace of God in your life in order that you may freely offer it to those around you this week.
Journey on.
I've enjoyed a story line taking place lately in the "Zits" cartoon. In this sketch, the teenage Jeremy has become obsessed with the suddenly-popular body sprays you see advertised all the time. The strip from today showed Jeremy's mom sniffing the air, and then preparing milk and cookies for Jeremy before he ever walks in the front door. As Jeremy pops his head in the door and sees that his mom has been aware of his coming for some time, he comments, "I guess maybe I do use too much body spray." And Jeremy's mom replies, "Yes, your smell preceded you by five-minutes."
Not only did this comic make me laugh, but it reminded me of a deeper truth. I guess my mind isn't that slow in the morning after all. Regardless of the type of perfume, cologne, or body spray we may use, each one of us gives off a fragrance. It's the type of fragrance that can't be smelled with the nose, but is sensed by the human heart. The kind of person we are, our character, our attitude, and our behaviors, gives off a fragrance that can be easily sensed by the people around us. We face a choice between giving off the scent of grace, love and acceptance, or a smell of criticism and judgment.
As Jesus walked this earth 2,000 years ago, he lived a life of grace. People from all walks of life and all backgrounds felt comfortable; no, welcomed, in his presence. When they saw Jesus coming, the fragrance of grace went before him and drew people to this God-man. And it was out of this love and grace that Jesus was able to call people to a new life and a new way of living. We can be guilty of thinking that people need to know how wrong they are before they'll change. Jesus showed that people need to know how loved they are.
What kind of fragrance do you give off? If you are seeking to make a difference in the world around you, become a person who gives off the aroma of grace. May you discover the wonderful grace of God in your life in order that you may freely offer it to those around you this week.
Journey on.
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