Would You Miss Pizza Hut?

John Moore’s blog, “Brand Autopsy” is in a series of asking whether we would miss certain brands of stores or products.

Moore asks, “If Pizza Hut went out of business tomorrow would any of us care?”

“Does Pizza Hut provide such a unique product and customer experience that we would be saddened if it didn’t exist?”

Moore also raises the same questions about Walgreens, Sears, Wells Fargo and many others. My first reaction was, “No, I wouldn’t miss it a bit.” I would just go get a pizza somewhere else and besides, I prefer the pizzas of some other stores over Pizza Hut.

But almost immediately that “Would you miss?” question rang in my head about my church. And almost as quickly the question caused me to reflect about my own life.

What kind of contributions to the lives of others, to the culture and ultimately to the world does my church make? Do I make?

If your life was “out of business” tomorrow, what difference would it make?

This is the kind of question that takes me to important depths of reflection about who I am and who I am becoming.

Live to be 150 Years Old, But Why?

Tonight Barbara Walters will air a special program on ABC Television that details the latest scientific research on the human body and why it is that we should see many more people in the near future living past 100 years, even to 150 years.

It may be an interesting report but it raises the question, “Why would anyone want to live so long?”

As I’ve shared before, when I was about 21 years old I was engaged in a time of prayer and reflecting on life in God’s presence when I sensed Him prompt me to pray a prayer. I sensed that God wanted me to pray and ask Him to give me 120 years of life. I’ve been praying that prayer for 31 years.

When I was in my twenties and someone in their senior years learned that I was praying that prayer they would always, 100% of the time, make this comment: “Son, why would you want to live that long?”

Now that I’m older I get it that in many ways it becomes more difficult to do life because:
a. Life’s aches and pains are annoying. The body does begin to break down.
b. Life’s culture increasingly favors and celebrates youth and casts the elderly aside.

But the major factor that I’ve observed through the years that has diminished the desire to live 90-120 years is a lack of vision. If life is about earning a living until one is 65 and then retiring to leisure and hobbies then I’d pray, “God, let me die and go to heaven.” Leisure is not compelling enough for me to press through elderly aches and pains and culture’s devaluing of my life.

However, if I have a vision, if I have a reason, if I have a call from God concerning how He wants to use my life in the advance years, then I want to serve and make a difference until I have no more breath.

My planning to live until I’m 120 impacts my decisions about health, relationships, education/learning, use of time and life pacing. I don’t think that I’m guaranteed 120 years and if I died tomorrow I’d be happy to leave this world and go to the next. But the vision I have for 120 years has become a guiding/driving/compelling force in me that I didn’t realize would be so important when I was 21.

What if God gives you 90, 100 or more years? What would you do with it? Why would it matter?

Look a Little Closer

I’m lovin’ the Elite Eight. For those of you that don’t follow college basketball, we’re nearing the end of March Madness. Out of the hundreds of Division 1 college teams there are only eight remaining in the annual NCAA Tournament. The winners this weekend become the Final Four and then there is the championship game.

The surprise of the tournament and this year’s “Cinderella” is tiny Davidson College, a Christian liberal arts college with 1,700 students near Charlotte, North Carolina. And the star of the tournament has been Davidson guard Stephen Curry (pictured). Curry is the son of former NBA player, Dell Curry, and has scored 30 or more points in every tournament game thus far.

Saturday the Associated Press carried a story on Curry that began with this opening statement,

“On the red trim on the bottom of his shoes, Stephen Curry has written in black
marker, ‘I can do all things.’

Yes, yes he can. And because of him Davidson is
marching on.”

Reporter Nancy Armor failed to look a little closer at the message Curry was conveying. “I can do all things,” is not a statement of personal confidence. It is a quote from the Bible in Philippians 4:13.

The full quote is, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

I’m sure Curry knows the rest of the verse and was merely writing in short-hand upon his shoe. Stephen comes from a strong Christian home and graduated from Charlotte Christian School.

Curry’s athletic ability and performance have been fun to watch and he’s having a great time on the national stage. But a closer look reveals that Curry has the foundation of Life that will serve him and others well in the years to come.

UPDATE:

Davidson lost Sunday to Kansas and missed going to the Final Four by 2 points!

The Embodiment of Grace

Grace is one of those often used words that we sometimes miss the potency of its meaning. We name our daughters Grace and we speak of someone with coordination and ability as having grace. In the Bible grace is not only God’s great gift to us but an absolute necessity.

The typical definition is “unmerited favor” or receiving something that you don’t deserve. I tend to think of grace as the “stuff” that God gives us at any moment of need. You need wisdom and God gives it, that’s grace. You need healing, direction, forgiveness, or salvation, and God gives it, that’s grace.

Friday night’s NBC Dateline carried a story of two families that are the embodiment of grace. The short of it is that a van from Taylor University in Indiana was transporting nine of their students in April, 2006 when a tractor-trailer truck crossed the highway median, struck the van and killed five of the students.

One of the students believed to be killed was Whitney Cerak. One of the students believed to have survived was Laura Van Ryn. The wreck was so horrific and chaotic, and bodies were so bruised and battered, the girls were misidentified.

So, the Cerak family went through the grief of having a funeral for Whitney and the Van Ryn family went through the emotionally taxing ordeal of nursing Laura back to health from a terrible brain injury, coma, and rehab. Five weeks after the crash the Van Ryn family discovered that the woman they had been in the hospital with 24 hours a day was not their daughter but instead Whitney Cerak.

The Cerak and Van Ryn families are both Christian and now have written a book together called, “Mistaken Identity” that tells this story. Both families are pictures of God’s grace as they allow us in their personal and private pain so that we might see--

1. Grace for death and grief (both families had funerals)
2. Grace for perseverance (how does one go on with such a hole in your heart)
3. Grace for forgiveness (officials who misidentified the girls)
4. Grace to love and embrace the other (these families didn’t know each other and now are linked together forever)
5. Grace to trust God when life is so confusing and so painful.

One hymn writer said this about God’s grace--
It is “marvelous, matchless, infinite grace”.

Is There Evidence to Convict You of Being Christian?

This past weekend was a very special time of worship at my church as we mourned the events of Good Friday and celebrated the resurrection of Easter Sunday. Of course 2,000 years ago, after the tomb was found empty Christ followers soon began to be persecuted, arrested and even killed. It was a dangerous time to be a Christian.

Recently a youth in Portland, Oregon was placed on trial for being a Christian. Ed Langlois of the Catholic Sentinel reported, “The public trial spanned two weekends as witnesses--including friends, teachers and the parish priest testified about the 15-year-old’s life. In the unscripted adversarial proceedings held in a darkened church, teen legal teams grappled with the question--what makes one a Christian?”

This was the most creative process that I’d heard of that was a part of Kelly Olsen’s (pictured) preparation for the sacrament of confirmation. Youth minister Mike Ashland is the catalyst behind the trial.

For example, defendant Kelly’s mother was called to the stand and testified that Kelly did have a Bible and rosary but had not been seen using them. But the bulk of the testimony pointed to accounts of helping the homeless, attending Mass, acts of kindness and generosity.

In the end the jury found the defendant guilty of being a Christian and Kelly was therefore sentenced to “live and die as a Christian.”

How would the scenario play out for you? Keith Manuel of the Louisiana Baptist Convention points out that as your faith is being scrutinized and questioned you might declare,

“I’m a member of a Christian church.” Yes, but how difficult is it to join a church?

You might say, “I’ve been baptized.” Does baptism prove anything other than you got wet?

“My parents are Christians and I grew up in a Christian home.” Yes, but doesn’t the Bible teach that everyone must personally commit their lives to Christ. Christianity is not genetically passed on.

Jesus said that those that follow Him keep His commandments. And, Jesus declared that the two greatest commandments are to love God and to love people. A lover of God worships God. A lover of people befriends, serves, and gives to bless and meet their needs.

If arrested for being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you?

The Time between Hope Lost & Hope Realized

Today is Holy Saturday. It is the day between Good Friday, when the Lord Jesus was crucified and buried, and Easter Sunday, when the Lord Jesus resurrected and vacated the tomb.

In the church traditions that observe Holy Saturday it is typically a day of silence and prayer. No Mass or worship gatherings are held. Those sanctuaries that have perpetually lit candles denoting the Presence of Christ extinguish the flame. What was taking place in the unseen world and with the Person of Christ on Saturday is still a mystery to us.

However, we do know what was taking place in the lives of those early disciples. They were despondent, fearful and depressed. Though Christ had foretold the events around His death it had all been beyond the comprehension of the first century followers.

Holy Saturday is a time between hope lost (we had hoped He was the Messiah) and hope realized (death is conquered and Jesus reigns). Holy Saturday is a picture of seasons in our lives that we all experience.

I’ve had those seasons where I had prayed and obeyed, followed and executed things that God had called for from my life. I believed God for outcomes that He promised. Yet those outcomes not only failed to happen but to some degree it seemed that the dream/vision had died. I had entered the “zone” of Holy Saturday.

Easter Sunday is a reminder to us that “resurrection happens”! Along with celebrating the saving work of Christ, on a personal level Easter is a stirring, a tugging on my heart that “Saturdays” don’t last forever. Easter calls for me/us to persevere in hoping, trusting, believing and following our Lord.

With respect to the promises of God and the activities of His kingdom, dark and quiet “Saturdays” will not dissuade me from hoping in the Lord.

“My soul, wait in silence for God only. For my hope is from Him.” Psalm 62:5

Arthur Clarke and a Space Odyssey

On Wednesday, March 19, Sir Arthur Clarke passed from this world into the next. His passing is lamented by thousands of his readers and fans. Though as a child I had seen with great curiosity “2001: A Space Odyssey” I never read any of his 100 works nor followed his accomplishments in science. However, a friend of mine today shared his own personal sense of loss referring to Clarke as his distant mentor. Thus, I was stirred to look at Clarke’s life and reflect.

My friend pointed me to YouTube and Clarke’s last public comments recorded on his 90th birthday. I loved Clarke’s reference to his “90 orbits around the sun”. He also stated his final three wishes in life that he hoped to see before he died.

1. To see some evidence of extra-terrestrial life
2. To see our world kick the addiction to oil
3. To see lasting peace in his adopted country of Sri Lanka

Certainly Sir Clarke didn’t see wishes 2 and 3 come to pass. As I’ve scanned biographical material I would also say that it is probable that Sir Clarke didn’t see wish #1 either.

Though I’m sure it doesn’t fit Sir Clarke’s definition, many of us have seen evidence of extra-terrestrial life and by that I mean the out-of-this-world arrival of God in the person of Jesus Christ living among us over 2,000 years ago. Clarke longed to see evidence of life that was not from our planet and the Bible is clear that Jesus Christ was not from our planet.

Clarke corresponded in the 1940’s and 1950’s with C.S. Lewis and read Lewis’ writings which are heavy-laden with Christian themes but I could find no indication that Clarke became a follower of Christ.

Sir Clarke was renowned for pointing out the ironies of life--
“The truth, as always, will be far stranger.”
“How inappropriate to call this planet Earth, when clearly it is Ocean.”
Speaking of UFO’s, “They tell us absolutely nothing about intelligence elsewhere in the universe, but they do prove how rare it is on Earth.”

Yet, Sir Clarke may have lived an awful irony, “Ever looking for extra-terrestrial life we miss the Extra-Terrestrial that comes looking for us.”

Does Anyone Pay Attention in Church?

This past week Senator Barak Obama has been distancing himself from his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Rev. Wright has received a good bit of attention during the presidential campaign because of his mentoring influence upon Obama.

However, in the past week the attention became unwanted as old video footage was broadcast of Rev. Wright preaching in the week following the tragic events of 9-11. With pretty heated rhetoric Wright made a number of controversial remarks that are considered racist. Obama has completely denounced the remarks and declared that they in no way represent his views. This of course raises the question, “How can the Rev. be your mentor, preside over your marriage, baptize your children and advise your campaign and yet have provocative views that you both are surprised at and repudiate?”

To answer that question we turn to Rosa Brooks of the LA Times. Appearing on the final episode of the now cancelled Tucker Carlson show on MSNBC, Brooks answers the above question by saying Obama was “probably sitting in church and not listening. I can tell you…people go to church and don’t listen.”

Ouch.

As one who spends hours every week in prayer, research and writing messages such words kill me. Though I think Brooks’ “explanation” on behalf of Obama is lame I had to laugh and cringe at the same time. I was literally studying for this week’s message when I took a break for a few minutes to scan some stories online.

Oh well. I’ll turn back to my study with the persevering conviction that God has something He wants to say to those who gather to worship Him Sunday morning and that it is His intent to bring that talk through me.

Is Religion the Problem with the Increase in STD's?

This past Wednesday the New York Times published the findings of the first national study of four common sexually transmitted diseases among girls and young women that found that 1 in 4 are infected with at least one of the diseases. The diseases are human papillomavirus (HPV), chlamydia, genital herpes, and trichomoniasis.

Among African-American girls nearly half of those studied between the ages of 14-19 were infected with at least one of the diseases compared to twenty percent of white teenagers. Among the infected women, 15% had more than one disease. These diseases are very serious that can cause terrible problems.

To cover the reaction to these findings the Times went to Cecile Richards, the President of the Planned Parenthood Federation. Richards said that these findings “emphasize the need for real comprehensive sex education. The national policy of promoting abstinence-only programs is a $1.5 billion failure and teenage girls are paying the real price.”

Syndicated columnist Terry Mattingly opined, “The word ‘abstinence’, is of course, a reference to those who advocate a traditional, religious view of sexual morality. It is a buzz word that means ‘Religious Right’….the critical question is, ‘Why are these numbers as high as they are?’”

Is religion and its “antiquated Puritan morality” the problem? Is the answer more education about safe sex?

Mattingly reminded readers of a classic article written by Peggy Noonan. Following the horrific Columbine High School massacre Noonan wrote:

“Your child is an intelligent little fish. He swims in deep water. Waves of sound and sight, of thought and fact, come invisibly through that water, like radar; they go through him again and again, from this direction and that. The sound from the television is a wave, and the sound from the radio; the headlines on the newsstand, on the magazines, on the ad on the bus as it whizzes by--all are waves. The fish--your child--is bombarded and barely knows it. But the waves contain words like this, which I'll limit to only one source, the news:

. . . was found strangled and is believed to have been sexually molested . . . had her breast implants removed . . . took the stand to say the killer was smiling the day the show aired . . . said the procedure is, in fact, legal infanticide . . . is thought to be connected to earlier sexual activity among teens . . . court battle over who owns the frozen sperm . . . contains songs that call for dominating and even imprisoning women . . . died of lethal injection . . . had threatened to kill her children . . . said that he turned and said, "You better put some ice on that" . . . had asked Kevorkian for
help in killing himself . . . protested the game, which they said has gone beyond violence to sadism . . . showed no remorse . . . which is about a wager over whether he could sleep with another student . . . which is about her attempts to balance three lovers and a watchful fiancé . . .

This is the ocean in which our children swim. This is the sound of our culture.”

I agree that there is a never ending need for education. We need to understand and teach about the dangers and risks associated with irresponsible sexual encounters and activities. At the same time we live in a culture, in a “fish bowl” if you will, and that culture is bombarding us with sexual and violent messages that are shaping our thinking, our values and therefore our behavior.

It’s not either/or. It’s both/and. We must continue a counter-cultural message of sexuality that is higher than an instinctual, animalistic, hedonistic expression that sanctions “whenever two people are consenting and using a condom.”

“Religion” in the sense of seeking to live life with a connection to God and in harmony with His will is not the problem. It is the solution to the problem and, it is the path to deep, meaningful, beautiful and lasting sexuality.

Your sin will find you out

The ancient scripture found in the Book of Numbers is as true today as it was thousands of years ago and it will always be true throughout eternity.

“…You may be sure that your sin will find you out.” (Numbers 32:23, NIV)

Former New York Governor, Eliot Spitzer, drew his bank’s attention after several sizable transfers of funds occurred. The bank contacted the IRS. The IRS investigated and Spitzer was soon busted. He had been paying large sums of money for sex with prostitutes.

As I watched his wife stand by his side in press conferences and thought of the confusion and humiliation his daughters are going through, it occurred to me…

“If you think it is awful, like the worst day of your life, to have your sin found out here and now, wait until you stand before God someday.”

Spitzer reminded me that no one EVER gets away with anything. Someone might get away with something throughout this lifetime but eventually everyone stands before God and “your sin will find you out.”

In an unrelated story I learned that an innocent man is about to be released from prison for a murder he didn’t commit. Alton Logan was literally at home and in bed asleep when Andrew Wilson went into a McDonald’s in 1982 and killed a security guard. Police found witnesses who mistakenly identified Logan and he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. He's been in prison for 26 years! Wilson’s attorneys, who knew that Wilson had committed the murder, never said a word to anyone because of the attorney-client privilege. Wilson died within the past year thinking that he got away with murder. Now that his life in this world is over he knows that his sin found him out and that he got away with nothing.

The attorneys have now come forward in an attempt to see Logan go free.

My point of reflection is that sin is serious. It has terrible consequences. It brings destruction to innocent people. In novels and movies people get away with sin. In our world it often appears that people get away with sin. We need reminders such as the stories of this week that our sin will find us out.

The reason that God has declared some things as sin is because they are broken, hurtful, pain-inflicting, consequential things from which our Lord wants to spare us. The way of righteousness is not about obnoxious “self-righteousness” but about right ways that are full of life and blessings.

Spitzer is still alive and can still repent, find forgiveness and perhaps rebuild his life with the help of God's grace. I pray that he will.

Religious Stories Often Lack Critical Substance

We're approaching the Jewish Passover and Christian celebration of Easter. Have you noticed that the media tends to carry religious stories when the calendar approaches significant religious holy days? If a story passes on more information that advances understanding or even inspires the reader that’s great. However, I think such stories require writers who themselves have a thorough understanding in order to capture and give us the essence of something substantive without a boring or routine regurgitation of facts that one could read on Wikipedia.

Because there may be a lack of qualified writers doing the writing there is a tendency to put out unsubstantiated stories or theories that lend to a hot headline.

Check out the MSNBC title, “Was Moses High on Mt. Sinai?” Or the Reuters title, “High on Mt. Sinai?”

Yes, someone was able to find an Israeli psychology professor who is putting forth the idea that Moses was high on drugs when he ascended Mt. Sinai and therefore the burning bush experience and the receiving of the 10 Commandments were a result of hallucinations rather than divine encounters.

Benny Shanon of Jerusalem’s Hebrew University contends that there are two plants in the Sinai desert that contain psychoactive molecules from which a hallucinogenic brew can be prepared. Shanon claims that when one is inebriated by the brew one sees a light and has profound religious and spiritual feelings. Shanon is familiar with the effects of the drugs because he has partaken of the brew over 160 times himself.

I’ll resist joking that Shanon must have been under the influence of the brew when writing the results of his “research”. Sexy headlines and fluff content and the reader quickly moves on to other articles and other subjects. Yet the subject of Moses, the exodus of 2 million Jews from Egypt and the receiving of the 10 Commandments that has shaped the lives of billions of people and the laws of hundreds of nations is a deep mine of gold nuggets.

If divine encounters and divine interventions were not a part of the story then it becomes all the more remarkable that in an obscure desert with a group of slaves the world was forever impacted and changed.

These matters deserve our serious reflection.

First Sunday in the New Facility

We are living in exciting times in my church family these days. Along with meeting new friends and seeing significant life change happen for several, we now have a new location.

Meadowbrook Church has been a mobile church since the first day of our founding. We’ve rented various schools for Sunday worship gatherings. This past September we began construction on a warehouse with the vision of transforming it into 24/7 ministry space.

Today was our first Sunday in the new facility and our first worship gathering. What a fun day to be with friends, experience God’s presence and celebrate God’s activity in our midst.

Stay tuned for future reports of the services and ministries we hope to provide to Redmond and the greater Eastside of Seattle.

How Does One Reconcile With God?

Someone drew my attention to a television clip that’s been the subject of a good bit of blogosphere chat in recent days. The clip is from the NBC series “ER”. I used to be a faithful viewer of the show but haven’t seen it in a couple of years now. It features a patient dying with cancer that wants and needs a clear answer about how to reconcile with God when one is separated from God by sin.

The clip provoked some reflections that I share below.



I appreciate the patient’s urgency to get an answer to what I believe is life’s most important question. Obviously the patient is urgent because he understands that he is dying and doesn’t have much time to get this figured out. The reality for all of us is that we’re dying and we don’t have much time. Truly there is urgency for all of us to figure out reconciliation.

I wasn’t sure if the woman in the clip was a counselor, chaplain or social worker but in any case she did a great job of articulating the non-biblical, new age, psychobabble that is prevalent in U.S. culture today. If there is a personal God and not just some “energy” or “force” out there, then it makes sense that God has personal and relational means by which we relate to Him. We don’t get to rationalize and make the rules about how we relate to God any more than I get to make up the rules of what is acceptable to my wife, children or friends. Persons have preferences and if I want to relate to them well I respond to their preferences and they to mine.

God’s preference is holiness. Having relationship with God requires that I do so with holiness. A Christian chaplain would have told the patient that none of us is holy and we all deserve separation from God and condemnation by God. But, because God loves us He has offered forgiveness for our sins and reconciliation in our relationship by placing His condemnation on a substitute in our place. The substitute is Jesus Christ.

This season of Lent and Easter is a time when Christians all over the world reflect on God’s tremendous gift to us in Jesus Christ. His atoning death and victorious resurrection IS our only hope. All the other “paths” to God have been fabricated by men and in the end will disappoint.

Truly Christians have examined the evidence of the other faiths and paths and have chosen to bet their lives on Jesus Christ as the way, the truth and the life. Where have you landed on life’s most important question?

The Work of Preparation

Yesterday and today I’m involved in some continuing education. Specifically I’m learning how to preach with one of my mentors with whom I spent a week at Oxford two years ago. When I’ve mentioned to others that I’m spending a couple of days learning how to preach I always hear the quip, “Don’t you think that you’ve learned how to do that by now?”

Yes, I’ve been a teacher of the Bible and Christian faith for several years. Yes, there is a good bit that I know about it. No, I’m not an expert and there is still so much to learn. As I finished yesterday there were three reflections that occurred to me.

One, I am so blessed that I have the privilege of preaching and teaching God’s Word and God’s ways. Let me repeat, I’m not an expert about any of it but I am an intentional lifetime learner about it all. It is humbling to see how far I still have to go. By God’s grace I’m still on the journey.

Two, I love to learn. It hasn’t always been that way. Learning used to be a pain but now it is a joy. I’m really not sure how that happened but I’m glad that it did. I do wish it had happened back in the years when I was pursuing degrees. Oh well.

Three, the power of mentoring is a marvel. Joel Gregory is the presenter at my two day seminar. He is a seminary professor, author and former pastor. He is a scholar, a brilliant communicator, a powerful teacher and a recovering sinner. Dr. Gregory at one time was senior pastor of one of the largest churches in America and at about the three year mark imploded his life. He lost his marriage and left the ministry and at one point sold cemetery plots door to door. He has been as high as one can get in the ecclesiastical world and has been about as low as one can fall. Today he is a humble servant of God who is a picture of the redeeming work of God. I’m a grateful recipient of his influence.

“Father, use my life, the highs and lows, to draw others to relationship with Christ and abundant living.”

A la carte, 2/22/2008

Just got back from a four day vacation and have a pile of stuff on the desk and in the inbox. What should I do first? Naturally I’m blogging a few thoughts :)

Process
In my last post I commented on the internal struggle that I was having concerning the nice (ie: luxurious) conditions I was experiencing in Palm Springs. First, I had a strong impression from God to shut my mouth and not ruin things for my wife. Mission accomplished. Second, after grappling with the issue for about a day and a half it seemed as if God was telling me to keep my heart soft toward the many who are deprived and in desperate situations (and I did some praying) but to enjoy a good gift that was being given to me. I mostly got there.

Change
On Wednesday I’m out driving in my rented convertible in near 80 degree temperatures in short sleeves on my way to the Aerial Tramway (pictured). It was one of the few “touristy” things that my wife and I did. However, we didn’t do our homework because we didn’t realize that we would ascend to over 8,500 feet above sea level and be in the snow. As my wife was walking through the snow in sandals and I in my short sleeves I was reminded how quickly change can hit people for which they are not prepared. It served to keep my heart soft toward those I regularly seek to support and encourage through various scenarios for which they were caught unprepared.

Intellect vs. Experience
I knew that I had significant fatigue in my life and that I needed a vacation but there is a difference in knowing something intellectually and experientially. While sitting by the pool relaxing and reading I’d suddenly find myself incapable of keeping my eyes open and so I’d fall into a nap. While watching TV or reading in my room I’d suddenly feel like I had to go to bed at 10:00 p.m. I usually stay up ‘till midnight. The change of pace and geography (ie: getting away from my normal life) showed me how much I needed rest. I’ve got several friends that “know” that they need to be connecting with God in some way but the experiential piece is still missing and so they don’t fully get it yet.

Principles Don’t Change
Principles are like natural laws. The law of gravity doesn’t change even if I choose to ignore it. I will fall and hurt myself if I don’t heed the law of gravity. The principle of balance is similar. Through the years God has directed me in to patterns of living that bring balance and therefore health into my life. From September until this week I have not heeded some of the things that God has prompted me to place in my life for balance, like leisure reading. My typical week demands that I read and study a significant amount. In fact, a few months ago I did a time study over a 3 week period for the sake of serving on a ministry discussion panel. I discovered that I usually read and study about 20 hours a week. As a result I edged out my leisure reading with a weak promise that I’d get back to it after the next “whatever” got accomplished. My leisure reading over the past few days was a means by which God refreshed me in deep ways.

It’s Friday and Sunday’s coming. Let’s prepare to meet with God and His people in worship gatherings this weekend.

How Well Do You Rest?

November and December are busy months in the life of ministry and ministers. I hit January pretty fatigued and along with the historic building campaign Meadowbrook is conducting my youngest son was getting married.

With wisdom my wife saw that my life was going to need a break and without really consulting with me a few months ago she booked us some time away. She worked it out for us to fly to Palm Springs at no cost and stay in a vacation resort for 4 days and 3 nights at 1/3 the cost. When we arrived Sunday night and moved to the car rental counter we discovered they were out of the economy cars that we had reserved. So, they gave us a cool convertible at the same cost.

Today we drove around Palm Springs in 78 degree sunshine with the top down. We sat for hours by the side of a pool and talked, napped and read. At one point I was having something to eat and drink by the pool and was suddenly hit with a wave emotion. At the same time I felt gratitude for the opportunity to take some vacation and I felt some grief over the larger part of the world that will never stay in such a nice place, eat whatever they want or drive around in a new car.

I was humbled at the fresh realization that I haven’t done anything to deserve all the blessings I enjoy on a daily basis. There are many others who live with greater discipline, more sacrifice, better servanthood and a higher level of consecration to God than I. Yet they will not enjoy most of the temporal blessings I’ve already experienced in this world.

I don’t have any profound insights or theological gems to share. I just have a conflicted heart that is struggling to enjoy his blessings and not ruin a wonderful getaway for his wife. I’ll continue to pray and pay attention to what God may be doing in me and around me and perhaps I’ll have more to share later in the week.

"Definitely, Maybe", Romantic Comedy & Tragedy

Today is Valentine’s Day and I took my wife out for dinner and a movie. Overall it was a nice evening and I enjoyed getting to spend time with my wife.

Having become a fan of child actress Abigail Breslin she wanted to see “Definitely, Maybe”. It’s not my type of movie but it is Valentine’s Day.

The movie is centered on a husband/dad (Ryan Reynolds) who is in process of divorcing a wife/mom (Elisabeth Banks) and their daughter (Breslin) trying to figure out why her parents can’t stay together. Dad’s typical response to his daughter’s persistent questions with “It’s complicated” no longer is sufficient so he decides to tell her “the story”.

The story chronicles his miserable attempts to have and maintain meaningful relationships with women that he’s dated through the years. I thought it tragic for a dad to be telling his “sexcapades” to his daughter of about 10 years of age.

However, I was downright grieved at the story of his ups and downs with the various women of his life. What grieved me is that it was not an outrageous and unbelievable depiction. Increasingly I’m seeing such scenarios played out where men and women drink too much, have sex too quickly and have no internal compass to bring any wise guidance whatsoever. The story was totally devoid of any reference to God.

While at dinner my wife and I encountered an old friend that we haven’t seen for years. Our friend lost her marriage a few years ago and was tonight trying to find her blind date in the bar of the restaurant. There are better ways.

Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not critical of those mired in messy relational experiences. I’m grieved. There are many reasons to have a relationship with God. Having God’s guidance and wisdom in finding a life mate or even having meaningful friendships is one huge reason.

The Hand of God at Union University

This past week saw several tornadoes cut across the Mid-South of our country. My wife and I have all of our family living in Memphis and thankfully all are well. We also went to college in nearby Jackson, Tennessee at Union University. The small Christian liberal arts college had some of the worst tornado damage of any place around.

I’ve been excited to follow the developments of my alma mater through the years. Currently the school has the best and most published faculty in her history. Her contribution to preparing Christian men and women to serve God in business, medicine, education or ministry will only be known once we’re all in heaven but I can tell you it is substantial and far reaching. The past 10 years have seen unprecedented growth in developing the campus with several new classic academic buildings and new dormitories. Most of it was destroyed this past week (see the video below).

Such devastation often leads us to turn to God and ask “Why did this happen?” That question is probably there among the students and faculty but all I’ve heard in various media reports this week is, “God has been good. Not one life was lost.” That expression of faith does not surprise me. It also is genuine and not what they think a watching world wants them to say.

Union is a unique place. Union is the place where God met with me as an 18 year old student and changed the entire trajectory of my life. The foundation of my faith and my ministry were forged there. After my seminary training I returned to Union for a couple of years and served as Campus Minister. As a staff member I then had the privilege of watching God work in the lives of students from a different perspective.

The early cost estimates on the damage is over $50 million! Union will rebuild. There will be a lot of work to do. They hope to resume classes later in the month. I invite you to join me in praying for God’s blessings upon them.

What's so "Super" About Tuesday?

We’re in the season of presidential primary elections. These primaries are held in each state in order to select delegates that will attend their party’s national convention. At the upcoming national conventions for Democrats and Republicans, each will officially nominate their candidate for president.

Today 24 states are holding their primaries which are the largest number of primaries to be held on one single day, thus the tag, Super Tuesday. The results of today’s primaries significantly impacts the presidential race if not determines it.

Today is a “super Tuesday” for me for another reason. Today is Shrove Tuesday. Shrove is an old English word meaning “to repent”. It is the Tuesday that precedes Ash Wednesday which launches the season of Lent. Shrove Tuesday is better known by the French Mardi Gras.

Dating back to the 4th century, Lent is the season of 40 days that precedes Easter and the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Therefore Lent is a time for Christ followers to seriously pay attention to the state of their heart and relationship with God. Shrove Tuesday is a day to prepare for the Lenten season.

In other words, we usually don’t stumble into profound engagements with God. Usually we must be intentional and proactive in engaging God. Lent is intended to be days of intentionally engaging God whereby God is invited to point out areas of needed change in my character and conduct. As a means of worshiping God I respond to God’s promptings with repentance (stopping one way of living and starting another). The goal is to celebrate Easter with renewed commitment to God and honoring God with progress in my sanctification (being made like Him).

Will I participate in Lent or not? Shrove Tuesday is an intentional day of making that kind of decision. Today is a day where I invite God to tell/show me how He wants me to spend the next 40 days and then I make a commitment to follow through on the plan.

You say, “I’ve never heard of all of this. Everything I’ve ever seen about Mardi Gras is partying that is marked by drunkenness and wild behavior.” I know. The world has a way of taking the “holy days” and making them “holidays” that often have little resemblance to the original and true meaning. Thus we have Santa Claus, reindeer, elves and heavy indebtedness for gift giving during Christ’s mass (Christmas).

Join me and thousands of other Christ followers around the world in making today “super” (significant and important).

If you’re wanting to know more about Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Lent and Easter then you may find the links below helpful--
Wikipedia
Christianity Today
CRI Voice
Ken Collins
Scripture Readings for Lent

Two Become One on 2/1

Friday my son Jon married his bride Valerie. What a memorable occasion. It was their desire that their wedding not only be an occasion to witness their vows but for God to be worshiped. The church was nearly full and it seemed that all sang with a whole heart “In Christ Alone”. Truly it was one of the most powerful moments of the entire night.

Jon and Valerie wrote their own vows and they beautifully recognized the place of God in their relationship while expressing lifetime commitment to one another. Afterward a few people asked me for a copy of the vows.

I had flashbacks of the times during Jon’s childhood where I prayed for him and prayed for his future wife and children. God has wonderfully answered that prayer with Valerie being both a godly and beautiful (inside and out) woman. I couldn’t be any happier for them both.

One friend pointed out to me that our recognition of God making their two lives into one took place on 2/1 (February 1). What a special mystery it is that God can create a unique “oneness” in a marriage without losing the individuality of each partner. It is a picture of the oneness we can enjoy with Christ.