Wrapping Up 2007

I recognize that blogs are meant to be read by the public. So I'm always mindful of being narcissistic or self-absorbed. Why would you want to read my private journal?

Having said that (or written that!) I also realize that a blog serves as a personal encounter with life and that it enables a blogger to record his/her life experiences. I've been using the Christmas season for some of that--recording personal memories and impressions of my favorite time of year.

So I will do the same one more time as I wrap up 2007. I do this primarily for my sake, but perhaps it will stimulate some highlights from your 2007.

Below are some of the things I experienced this past year:

Some amazing bike rides

The phone call, while in Hawaii, that my mom had died.

My mom's funeral with so many, many of our Grace and Joy families with us.

A very exciting and successful building campaign at Grace: Building a Community of Grace (I actually wrote Joy the first time! I owe $5 to the Grace Hunger Fund! I'm going broke.)

The fun of dreaming about the new campus.

Dynamic Easter Services.

Getting a tattoo of the Grace cross on my arm.

The weekend spent with Jay Bakker, particularly his Sunday morning interview at our services

A quick but relaxing trip to Disneyland in April (to finish the vacation we didn't get due to mom's death)

Great experiences in our various clusters--the men's group, two couples clusters.

Backing out of the trip to Rwanda due to a panic attack--oi!

Beating myself up for three days straight for backing out of my trip to Rwanda due to a panic attack--oi!

A nice, relaxing trip to Hawaii in August with some friends from college.

My son, Mike, starting video game design school. He loves it. Since he was a little kid we knew he had a passion for video gaming. That, and his music!

Spending time with Alycia and her boyfriend, Corey, in Minneapolis during my trip to Luther Seminary. (I stayed in the middle of Downtown Minneapolis. Fantastic!)

Speaking at chapel at Luther Sem. Spending time with the students.

Front row seats at Barry Manilow.

Shaking hands with Barry Manilow.

Turning 50.

Christmas and all that that entails (see Wrapping up Christmas)

Every weekend with our community of Grace. Time spent with family and my dogs. Quiet times of prayer and Bible reading. Reading books about mission. Reading British mysteries. Hanging with the Pastor Buddies on Tuesday. Eating great food.

What a year.

Wrapping Up Christmas

Jan and I finished taking down all of our indoor Christmas decorations yesterday afternoon giving me a chance to think through this past Christmas season.

This will come as no surprise, but I loved it.

As always, it went by too fast, but we did manage to slow down and enjoy it, none-the-less.

Normally in early December, around my birthday (Dec. 11) we take a Christmas trip/Birthday trip. In the past we've been gone over a weekend. Even though this year was my 50th birthday, we decided to shorten our trip so that we would not miss any Sundays in December. A very good decision. It helped slow down the month a bit.

We enjoyed a couple of Christmas parties, one with our couples cluster and one with our staff and board.

The Sunday before Christmas Eve we had a wonder-filled worship/Christmas party. A very relaxed, informal time to hear some great stories and sing some of the classic Christmas carols, along with a visit from Santa and a petting zoo of the "nativity" animals.

Christmas Eve was spent at Grace where we experienced some powerful services. Those services are absolutely my favorite of the year (which is saying a lot!).

Christmas Day we relaxed and had dinner with our extended family in the late afternoon.

Alycia's boyfriend Corey flew in from Minneapolis on Christmas night so we had our immediate family brunch/gift exchange on the day after Christmas. It extended the holiday by a day and made for a nice, easy pace during what can be a frantic couple of days.

That night we went to Joy to see their Celebration of Lights and hit a Grace house with over 100,000 lights in their front yard!

One of the things I did this year was listen more to "sacred" Christmas music. XM radio offered a contemporary Christmas station (pop artists), a traditional (the Bing Crosby era), and a classics (choirs, orchestras). I mainly stayed with the traditional and classics. It kept me more centered on Jesus this year (although I love all of the holiday music).

All in all, a great Christmas season. We wrapped it all up at Grace today with a pancake breakfast/worship experience.

A couple days of rest and then back at it full speed.

Benazir Bhutto

Some thoughts about the assassination of Benazir Bhutto:

For many in our world, freedom and democracy is a life and death struggle. It was for the US over 200 years ago and continues to be so today for far too many. We often take for granted the freedom we have in this country. Every 4 to 8 years we experience a "peaceful revolution" as one President steps down and a new one takes over. It's an amazing, remarkable process that we hardly notice anymore. But when someone like Bhutto, who represents freedom, is mercilessly killed, her death reminds us of how blessed we are.

Freedom and democracy are profoundly deep and important issues. We often forget that, too. Especially in our heated, polarized climate. Candidates sniping at each other with minutia and insignificant sound-bytes that have no relevance whatsoever to the humbling and immense task of leading one of the most powerful countries in the world. And far too many of us buy into it, tune out, or don't participate at all. People give their lives every day for the right to vote but we've become nonchalant about the whole issue, or have turned the democratic process into trite mudslinging.

What the world needs is grace and graciousness. And the US should set the tone. Candidates should debate each other, but the issues, not nonsensical quirks or innuendos. We need to debate with integrity and honor. We voters should recognize the great privilege we have to vote, and learn all we can about what the real issues are--issues like poverty, injustice, health care, immigration, terrorism, the environment, education, to name a few--again, not just the trite sound-bytes, but the real, deep, profound pieces that form these issues.

We are indeed blessed to be free. The tragic death of Benazir Bhutto stands as a powerful reminder of what freedom really means, what it costs, and the commitment it calls for.

Christmas Eve

It's finally here! My favorite night of the year.

Merry Christmas to you!

Christmas Memories

Some of the memories of Christmases past:

*Sitting by the Christmas tree, by our front window, in our little home in St. Louis Park, MN, listening to Christmas records (yes, actual records). Andy Williams was one of my favorites.

*Perry Como and Andy Williams Christmas specials on TV.

*Christmas "pageants" at church. In our little Lutheran Church the kids would put on a Christmas program. Each of us would learn a "piece," a Bible verse, for example, and share it with the congregation. We would also sing Christmas songs.

*Christmas Eve: A big day for us--
*We'd start out at church in the afternoon. At the service we would always receive a little blue box with Christmas images on it. It was filled with candy.
*Then we'd head to St. Paul to hang out with my mom's side of the family--the great uncles and aunts. We'd have dinner and sing Christmas carols. If we had a "piece" from the Sunday School program, we had to stand in front of the tree and recite it (or sing the song we learned.)
*At 10 or 11 (I can't remember which) it was back to church. Grandpa always spoke at that candlelight service. I can vividly remember the crunch of the snow as we would walk into church that evening.
*Next, we went to grandpa's and grandma's house (around midnight) for what grandma called, "A little lunch." Breads, meats, herring (yuck!) and then, finally, gift opening. In our family the tradition was to watch as others opened their gifts, starting with the youngest. I often knew what I was getting as my younger brothers usually received the same thing.

After Jan and I were married we ran between her family and my family functions. Her family open gifts in a mad free-for-all. Interesting as her family was quiet and reserved and mine is loud and noisy.

Since moving to Phoenix we've created new traditions over the years:
*The annual trip to Disneyland in early December
*Peter Piper Pizza before the Christmas Eve marathon of services
*Christmas Eve services with our community of faith--back in the Joy days we had 8 Christmas Eve services. We're currently at 4 at Grace.
*Christmas Day we were up bright and early to open gifts before I had to head back to Joy to serve communion for two hours. Now, with no Christmas Day responsibilities, we sleep in a bit.
*When we were all younger, our families would go Christmas caroling on Christmas Day night.

Throughtout the month of December it's all Christmas music, all the time. Christmas shows on TV if we like them. Nightly walks with our dogs enjoying the Christmas lights in the neighborhood.

This is our first Christmas without mom. It will be different.

Christianphobia?

The BBC is carrying an interesting article in which one of England's MP's is speaking out against what he calls, "Christianphobia." His concern is that, in the name of political correctness, Christianity is being sidelined and marginalized. As his country wrestles with tolerance of all religions and freedom of religion, he feels Christianity, and the Christian roots of England are being pushed aside. One symptom of that, from his perspective, is the decline in the number of schools doing nativity plays.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it? It seems that this time of year the Christmas wars heat up. Feisty Christians seeks to cram Christmas down the throats of one and all, demanding Christmas displays in secular and sacred venues. Feisty non-believers want all trappings of Christmas removed from every inch of the US.

The issue is not as clear cut as the extremists on both sides of the debate want to make it. Christmas, by its very nature, is a Christian holiday. Though we also include the "secular" celebration of winter (and why should that be secular--aren't the changing of seasons sacred moments to celebrate and enjoy?), trees and carols and manger scenes remind us that Christmas celebrates the beginnings of one of the world's major religions. Our country in particular has been highly impacted by Christianity and we certainly want to be careful of losing an important part of our heritage by wiping it out of all "secular" settings.

On the other hand, Christianity is not meant to be imposed on people legally or through the government. If people have developed a phobia toward Christians, we Christians need to step back and ask why? The way to overcome that phobia is not to impose Christianity on others, but to lovingly influence them with the essence of Christmas--grace. That comes through loving, gracious words and actions, not legal challenges and name-calling.

Ironically, as I wrote in a recent post, the true story of Christmas continues to permeate society gently and usually unobtrusively through radio, TV, lawn displays, and major concert events. (I say unobtrusively because these are all free expressions of Christmas. Radio execs, TV networks, homeowners, etc., are not being forced to participate in Christmas against their wills.)

So let the extremists keep on fighting. Jesus will continue to show up at Christmas in the strangest of places. And so will grace-hearted Christians.

Musings on Joseph

In our Pastor Buddies Bible study today (a group of local Lutheran Pastors) we looked at Matthew's account of the story of the birth of Jesus. We began to imagine what it must have been like for Joseph.

His fiance' turns up pregnant--and not by him. When he demands an explanation she tells him it was the Holy Spirit. Yeah--right! His fiance' has brought public shame on him. She has embarrassed him. He has every right to break off the engagement.

An angel finally appears to set the story straight for Joseph. But that was in a dream.

Get this--as far as we can tell, Joseph never really got to see Jesus be...Jesus. Joseph is nowhere to be seen when Jesus is an adult. So he never saw Jesus heal. He never saw Jesus forgive others. He never heard Jesus teach about the Kingdom of God. He didn't see the death and resurrection. He lived every day for the rest of his life with the word of his wife and an angel in a dream that Jesus was the Son of God. Not much to go on!

But he took Mary as his wife and raised Jesus as his own.

That's faith.

Crass Christmas Commercialism? Bring it on!

I just returned from a few days at Disneyland to celebrate my 50th Birthday. As we always do, Jan and I headed over to Knotts Berry Farm for a Chicken Dinner. After lunch we walked around their craft fair. At one point we stopped and listened to their carolers. They sang a few of the "secular" winter/Christmas songs but also did several songs about Jesus--right in the middle of Knotts Berry Farm. On the way there and back we listened to the COAST FM, playing all Christmas music. Many of the songs on this "secular" radio station were about Jesus.

At Disneyland the place was decked out with the trapppings of Christmas. While the cast members are always careful to say Happy Holidays, Jesus is all over the place in the music and reminders of the Christmas season.

Here at home KEZ FM plays Christmas music for 5-6 weeks, most of the songs about Jesus.

Many Christians complain that Christmas has gotten too commercial. Perhaps. But I say bring it on. For at least 4 weeks people are hearing about and thinking about Jesus through "secular" vehicles like radio, TV, Disneyland, and Knotts Berry Farm. That kind of witness for Jesus leaves me "gobsmaked" every year.

As the church we have the chance on advent weekends, and particularly on Christmas Eve, to re-interpret the story for hundreds and thousands who only attend church this time of year.

So maybe Christmas is a bit crass and commercialized. It's better than not talking about Jesus at all.

Christmas Lights--New International Rule!

Jan and I love to take our dogs out for evening walks this time of year to enjoy the Christmas lights. And as we've done so I've come up with a new law I'd like to see enforced throughout the entire universe:

If you put up Christmas lights, you have to turn them on at night!

We have a few homes in our neighborhood which have elaborate decorations but they are never on! What's up with that? Like sin, they tempt but never deliver.

It seems a bit Grinch-ish to create a rule for Christmas lights, but in the end, it's a rule that will bring peace on earth and goodwill to all.

Please alert your local officials, your national leaders, or your country's dictator to this blog and let's see if by 2008 we can have this new law on the books throughout the world.

God Never Gives Us More Than We Can Handle?

My daughter-in-law, Amber, was telling us about one of her co-workers. During work the co-worker received a call that her brother had committed suicide. This on top of the news that she needs a very dangerous surgery done on her spine. She then had to call her father with the news. She has recently started getting back into her faith and so in the moment was trying to balance faith with utter fear and heartache. Amber said her co-worker kept muttering to herself, "God never gives us more than we can handle. God never gives us more than we can handle." Finally she said, "I can't handle this!!!"

This woman was in obvious pain. And obviously she can't handle it. Who of us can? We were never created to handle such unbearable crises.

But stepping back from the very raw emotions of her ordeal, a few thoughts:

1) The phrase, "God never gives us more than we can handle," isn't in the Bible, although many well-meaning Christians quote it all the time. The Bible does say that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear and will provide a way out. But no where are we promised that life will not ever become unbearable. In fact, stories like Job affirm how utterly hard life can be.

2) To say God never gives us more than we can handle suggests that God is the author of our heartache. In this case, that God caused or allowed her brother's suicide and her spinal illness. That view of God is at odds with the God Jesus proclaimed--a God who enters life to put to rights what life breaks.

3) God's response to our heartache is to climb into it with us. God knows we can't handle the tough stuff of life alone. So he walked through the worst life has to offer, taking it all on the cross, so that we would not have to face it alone. And so that we would know that ultimately the tough stuff of life will not have the final word but God will, and that word will be good.

Obviously, what this co-worker needs is not some pompous pastor-type correcting her theology. She needs grace. And that's my point:

God gives us grace when life is more than we can handle.

Turning 50

As I've mentioned in a few posts, I am turning 50 on Tuesday (Dec. 11). I'm spending my big day in Disneyland, pretending I'm a child!

As I've been reflecting on this big moment in my life I thought I would share the 50 best things about turning 50:

50
49
48
47
46
45
44
43
42
41
40
39
38
37
36
35
34
33
32
31
30
29
28
27
26
25
24
23
22
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

I got nothin!

:)

Musings

Tuesday afternoon/evening--5 pm

My Beagle is sitting next to me staring at me with her big brown eyes letting me know it's Greenie time (Greenies are healthy dog treats). She has an internal clock that knows exactly when it's time for food or treats. Unbelievable.

Our Pastor Buddies Bible study looked at repentance today. John the Baptist and Jesus called us to repent. So often we see that as a law word or a condemntation word. But it's always a grace word--repentance is our response to God's love. Rather than living away from God we repent, change directions, and live with God. When I married Jan, for example, I repented. I turned from the single life to a married life. There are many things I turned my back on, i.e., dating other women, in order to enjoy the married way of life. There are certainly times when the call to repentance takes on a more prophetic tone, especially when we stray from God. If, for example, I started to stray from Jan I'd need a two-by-four whack on the head to get me back on the right path. But even then, it's a gracious whack as it's for my best. Sometimes grace can be painful.

During December I listen to Christmas music non-stop. XM radio has a few stations to choose from. I find lately I tune most often to the traditions station--the one playing all the golden oldies from the likes of Perry Como to Bing to Dean Martin to Frank Sinatra. I grew up with those voices. Perhaps it's a mid-life thing this year as I am officially one week shy of 50. Or maybe it's that they just don't make them like they used to (Barry Manilow and BJ Thomas the exceptions!)

My Beagle is now laying (or is it lying) on the floor waiting for her treat. So it's off to feed her!

Praying for our friends in Rwanda

I received the following email from Pastor John in Rwanda. It's a jarring reminder to pray for our brothers and sisters there:

1. Our fellow Pastor, Evariste Mugabo's young brother who grew up and
lived in Tanzania, was attacked by bandits and killed. The same bandits stole
his 35 cows and threw him into the bush in Tanzania where he lived
with his family.
2. Earlier, his mother in law died unexpectedly-she was not sick.
We're still shocked!

3. Same week his brother died, Evariste's mother who had been sick
for long time was dead.
4. Last month, his church's wall was destroyed by the storm.
Yesterday, I came back from his home to pray with him..but do not know
why this happened to Mugabo. However, Evariste's situation, takes me
back to Joab's story.

What I like about this time of year...

Hot chocolate with soymilk and a touch of peppermint

Peppermint ice cream

Christmas Lights

Going for evening walks with Jan and the dogs enjoying the decorated homes

Weekend worship experiences

Our annual trip to Disneyland (this year for my 50th Birthday! We missed Disney last year so it will be good to get back).

Christmas Eve services

Hanging with my kids and wife on Christmas day

Christmas music all the time (especially anything by the voices of Christmas--BJ Thomas, Barry Manilow, Bing, Frank, Dean, Johnny Mathis, Perry Como, Andy Williams, Lise Hopson)

Wearing warmer clothes

Cool morning bike rides

Scrooge--the 1970 musical version featuring Albert Finney

Perceptions

On Sunday, between worship services, I was sitting with a couple of our singers and my wife, Jan. We were talking about making the time for exercise. That led to a discussion about busyness.

My wife made a rather surprising statement. She said I'm busier now as a Senior Pastor than I was when I was "just" an associate. It was surprising because I feel like I'm not nearly as busy as I was before. Or maybe I don't feel as stressed. I loved being an associate, but I was a part of a very large church with lots of meetings all day long. In this new church experience, it's far more relational--hanging out with people talking about faith. Lots of meetings, I guess, but a different kind of meeting. Obviously I have busy seasons but overall, I feel good about my pace of life and work.

It's all a matter of perception. But, if my wife says I'm busier, I'd better listen. Because her perception is always right.

Cardinals Woes

I've been an avid supporter of the Arizona Cardinals since they moved here in 1988. In fact, before their first game, I interviewed then Cardinal Ron Wolfley (now the color man for Cardinals broadcasts) at one of our Joy worship experiences.

20 years of cheering for mediocrity, to say the least.

Last year, I was so disgusted with the team that I gave up my season tickets.

After today, I am so disgusted that I will not watch any more Cardinals games this season.

Perhaps we need a break from each other. Hopefully we can make amends next season. After false hopes for 20 years, why not make it 21!

Nostalgia

Maybe it's because I'm turning 50 in a few weeks, but lately I've been feeling rather nostalgic. For example, on Thursday Jan was watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and I heard the announcers mention Up with People. It took me back to grade school when we learned songs in music class from Up With People, songs like What Color is God's Skin?. So I hit e-bay to see if I could find any old Up With People albums. I bought three! I then looked up the Colwell Brothers, the three guys who started the old version of Up With People. I found a brand new book written about them. I didn't buy it. :)

Recently I dreamt about the house I grew up in in Minneapolis. Christmas itself always takes me back to my growing up years.

I guess as I get ready for the second half of my life I'm taking time to remember and give thanks for the first half.

Things I'm Thankful For

* My wife, Jan. Over 28 years of marriage plus 5 years of dating. And we still really love each other and like each other!

* My daughter, Alycia. She's our passionate, hard-headed, save-the-world first born who has truly taught me tons!

* Our son, Mike. Our creative musician and now video game design student who's a great guy with a big heart.

* Mike's wife, Amber. Like his dad, Mike married way over his head.

* Our dogs Santi (Beagle) and Saba (Dauchshund). I love my kids almost as I love my dogs.

* The great heritage of faith that I've been nurtured in--an amazing family tree of faith-filled Christians. And faithful congregations who poured their lives into mission for guys like me.

* My immediate family, brothers, sisters, their families, my dad (and the memories of my mom).

* Community Church of Joy--the first church I ever served. It was a great 22 years.

* Community of Grace--my new family of faith. It has been a profound almost 3 years.

* Jesus, whose grace never ceases to move me.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Sunday Musings

It's been an interesting couple of days.

Jan has been babysitting our Grand-doggies, Billie and Darla. Their parents, Mike and Amber, don't live too far from us so Jan and I have shared some meals together. But at night, I've been alone with our dogs.

At midnight, Friday, the phone rang. I didn't comprehend what was happening until the call went to voice mail. As I tried to wake up and check out who had called, my cell rang. I answered and my daughter said, "I'm OK!" Her parked car had been hit by a drunk driver, a 19 year old kid with an expired permit, who, it turns out, had stolen the car from a friend. We spent over an hour trying to figure out how to deal with the insurance company, who turned out to be not all that helpful! Apparently insurance companies don't think people have accidents on the weekends or after business hours!

Last night, after dropping Jan off for the evening, I ran to three different stores to find 40 watt energy efficient, environment-friendly lightbulbs for my son's house.

Today, after worship, and lunch with Jan, I headed home to witness a miracle in the making--The AZ Cardinals are actually 500 this late in the season. I think today they officially won more games than last year. Wow.

But I admit to being worn out. It's a lot of work emptying the dishwasher and putting dirty plates in it. It's a lot of work kind-of making the bed, taking the dogs for a walk, making them eggs for breakfast, and preaching at two services. It will be good to have Jan back home tonight.

Um....

When I did some research on presenting a successful blog I read again and again about the importance of creating a new post at least once a day to keep readers coming back.

I haven't written anything since Saturday. Because I really have nothing churning or interesting that absolutely needs to get out. (Some may suggest I've yet to write anything interesting, but that's another post).

So, I'm submitting this post to say I have nothing really interesting to write. Thanks for checking in!

In Defense of God

The other night I was meeting with some guys from Grace. Our conversation turned to the Westboro Baptist Church, the church recently ordered to pay $11 million dollars for picketing the funeral of a fallen US soldier. The church has been routinely disrupting such funerals, claiming that our soldiers are dying because the US is tolerant of homosexuality. In other words, they claim God is punishing us for such tolerance by killing our soldiers. At each funeral they picketed they carried vicious signs, saying that God hates the US and that God hates homosexuals.

We talked about how frustrated we as followers of Jesus are that churches like Westboro Baptist and their hate-filled “Gospel” are often the face of Christianity presented in the media.

It reminded us of the attacks the world has experienced at the hands of Islamic extremists. Many have wondered where the outrage is from Muslim moderates; why they don’t publicly denounce this abuse of Islam. Come to find out, many moderate Muslims have tried to voice their total rejection of Islamic extremists, but the press isn’t all that interested in carrying their story. The press tends to focus on extremism, be it Islamic extremism, Christian extremism, political extremism, and the like, because apparently, that’s what captures the attention of most of us who check in with the news. Extremism sells, so to speak.

So let me use this blog, on behalf of my particular community of faith, to say that Westboro Baptist Church does not reflect the face of Christianity as we understand and practice it. God does not hate the US. God does not hate homosexuals. God does not hate anyone. The face of Christianity is the face of God, in the person of Jesus, laying it on the line for us, out of a passionate love for each of us, on a cross.

Homosexuality is, to understate the obvious, a divisive issue in our country. Churches struggle with loving the person on the one hand yet wrestling with whether or not homosexual behavior is appropriate. Politicians wrestle with the issue from a civil rights perspective—can gays and lesbians marry or not?

In the midst of the struggle, what I can say with certainty is that Westboro’s vision of a hate-filled God is not anywhere in line with the God of the cross. The God of the cross always meets life, good and bad, hope-filled and sin-full, with transformative grace.

Perhaps another way of saying it is that God meets extreme hatred with extreme grace. In my mind, that’s news that will sell.

I'm Published!

I'm excited to announce that, after years of a dry spell, I am once again published. Yesterday I received our latest copy of IN BRITAIN magazine. The magazine highlights different places to visit in Britain. It's a great looking magazine!

In the letters to the editors section was a letter by yours truly, in which I wrote about the great trip we had to Scotland and the Cotswolds for Jan's 50th birthday last year. The entire trip grew out of ideas from IN BRITAIN magazine. So I wrote to thank them. They included a picture that Jan took (her first published picture!) and...and...hang on...we were the Editor's Pick letter! So we receive a lovely prize.

Published...in an international magazine no less! It's good to be back in the game. Who knows what's next? Perhaps a letter to USA Today! It's great to know that at 50 I still have something to say that people want to publish and read! :)

Sunday Musings

Does anyone still think I'm a fool for not renewing my Arizona Cardinals season tickets?

I presided over a funeral this afternoon. As I listened to the family talk about what a great father Chet was, I wondered a bit about what family and friends would say about me. Could be I'm thinking about turning 50 next month. But probably more than that it's the question most of us ask at some point in our lives. Am I making a difference? Do I matter in the scheme of things? And for a person of faith, has my faith made an impact?

I hope these don't sound like the morbid musings of a mid-lifer. They were actually good questions as I reflected on my life for a few brief moments as we were reflecting on the life of someone who had just passed away.

We've been re-introducing some of the great hymns/Gospel songs of the church during worship lately--offering them in updated musical styles. Some of those old hymns really hold up in terms of lyrics, and, with a tweak here and there, sound pretty good after all these years. But it's time to get back to some kickin' music again.

Movie Recommendation

Trust me on this one. Go see Lars and the Real Girl!

For those of you who like thrillers, you might want to check out Michael Clayton (rough language warning!).

Vacation-Deficit Disorder

I came across an article with this title in the November/December issue of National Geographic Traveler magazine. It says that Americans lag way behind other nations in time off. Out of 20 Westernized nations, we rank dead last. We have no government mandated paid vacation days or holidays. (Many of us would pride ourselves in the fact that the government can't tell us what to do or not do, but that's another issue.) The result is that we are a nation of burned out work junkies. Our personal lives suffer. Our families suffer. Our businesses suffer.

We all know that rest and vacation time make us better, more productive workers. Even our bosses know that. And yet, for some reason, we offer little real rest time: 1 week after one year of work. 2 weeks after 2-3 years. 4 weeks after over 20 years. What are we thinking?

This particular article was timely in that we are setting policy for our church staff on vacation time. The board has had two very spirited discussions on the whole topic of vacation time. One the one hand, we all agree that vacation time is good for us and the company (in our case, for the ministry). On the other hand, many corporations give horrible vacation packages so should a church staff get more vacation time than the average bear?

I finally asked the question--why do we as a nation put up with that? What's wrong with us! Why have we allowed companies to take advantage us to the detriment of our health, families, and sanity! (I think we're just too tired to fight for more time off!)

I want my staff to have the same amount of time off that I have. One of the board asked a very good question: "Pastor Brian has only been in ministry for a year. You've been at it for 23 years. You want him to have the same amount of time off?" My reply--he works the same amount of hours I do (at least I think he does! :)) so he could use the same amount of time off. I make more than he does as I have more experience and more responsibility. But Brian or the rest of the staff are no good to the congregation if we're burned out.

I recognize the problem for many of us workers is that we could ask for more time off and the company will simply show us the door.

But at what cost?

Denmark, according to the article, has been lauded in the press as having one of the best business environments in the world. They have some of the world's highest wages and 7 weeks of paid vacation!

God created us to work from rest, not to rest from work. He created us on the 6th day. So our first real day of life was spent on the 7th, resting with God. Denmark, and other savvy countries and businesses have discovered a key Biblical principle.

Our board, their vacation times aside, have made the decision that on this issue the church needs to take the lead and have offered us a very nice vacation package.

How can we as followers of Jesus graciously influence our places of business to do the same?

Remember the story of Daniel and the boys? They refused the eat the King's food. So they offered up a challenge. If they ate healthy food and were not in better shape than those who ate the King's food, then they would eat the King's food as well. They ended up healthier.

Perhaps we need to be Daniels and challenge corporations to give us 3-4 weeks off and see if we aren't more productive in the long run. If not, we'll go back to our meager 5 days a year.

Any Daniels out there?

Sunday Musings

My back is a bit better. My friend, Tom the Chiropractor, came in on Saturday and gave me an adjustment. That helped a lot. Back in (literally and metaphorically) tomorrow.

Good worship service today. Luther's "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" isn't our usual cup of tea, but it was fun singing it this morning and I really enjoyed the updated version of it. Pastor Brian did a fantastic job on the sermon, as well.

My daughter, Alycia, and her boyfriend were in town on a very quick trip for a wedding (no, not theirs!). It was fun seeing them. My son starts Video Game Design School on Monday. I'm really proud of my kids.

The hand that shook the hand of Barry Manilow still has some residual energy flowing through it. I sense it as I type this post.

I'm particularly excited about the next three weekends in Worship as we wrap up our series on what it means to follow Jesus in our every day lives.

And the best news of all, the AZ Cardinals did not lose today (nor did they play--but we'll take what we can get!).

Oi! My Aching Back!

I've had lower back problems on and off for almost 20 years--nothing debilitating but from time to time a pain in the you-know-what, sometimes literally. I have a thinning disc in my low back that is the cause of all the fun. I do stretching and strengthening exercises regularly along with regular chiropractic.

Yesterday I did something that tweaked my back. This morning, I can hardly walk.

Getting older is fantastic most times, but on days like this, it really stinks.

But...against my wife's better judgement, I'm going to attempt working out! How dumb-man is that!

Work Junkie, Part 2

After writing Work Junkie on Wednesday, a couple of very nice things happened. Two appointments canceled. So, with the exception of writing the blog, answering some emails, and a cluster meeting on Wednesday evening, I had most of the day off! Felt great. Jan and I caught up with some of our dvr'd shows. And today has been fairly light, too.

What a difference some time off makes!

Am I in danger of becoming a Rest Junkie!?

Work Junkie

Going into October I knew I had a long stretch in which I would not get a day off. Even though Jan and I did spend a night in Vegas, I worked up until we left and was back at it as soon as we got home. Sunday will mark 27 days without a full day off.

I don't write this to brag. In fact, just the opposite. I re-learned something during this stretch.

God created us to rest for a reason! I've found that the more I work, the more I have to work. And when I finally get a minute to slow down, to pray, read the paper, watch a TV show, my adrenaline is such that I can't relax. I'm constantly in this "work state," with this nervous energy coursing through me.

Over the last few years I've been learning how to keep my life in harmony--work, rest, relationships, spiritual disciplines, etc. And when it's time to rest and relax, I can turn it off pretty easily.

But this last month I've become a work junkie. I need my next email fix, my next blog post fix, my next Amazon.com fix, my next study fix, etc. Part of it is exhilarating to be honest. But when I wake up wired at 4 am ready to go, it's also exhausting. Our bodies simply weren't designed for that kind of non-stop energy/activity. If God needs a day off, we need a day off. At the very least.

Starting Monday, I have to relearn how to rest and relax all over again--cold turkey. I'll be the guy at the movie theater, sitting next to a beautiful blond (my wife for those of you who don't know her) shaking, with the cold sweats, trying to keep from running out of the theater to get to my computer.

It's About Jesus, Stupid!

Those words, at least Jesus and stupid, don't really seem to go together. For those of you up on political culture, however, you will remember a similar slogan for the first Clinton campaign--It's the economy, stupid. It was a reminder to Bill Clinton to stay on task, to keep repeating the Big Idea--the economy and how he could fix it. And it won him the election.

In the church world, we often get caught up in building the church when in reality, it's all about Jesus and growing in our followership of him. The church doesn't exist to build the church but to build disciples. It exists as a community of disciples to tell others about Jesus in word and action.

Recently Willow Creek, one of the most influential churches in the history of Christianity, came to a humbling realization. For years they have taught thousands of congregations about how to be more effective in reaching and discipling people. And they have been used mightily by God to re-invigorate congregations all around the world. I am one of their admirers. And I admire them even more for their public honesty.

A recent study of their congregation revealed that they had not been effective in making disciples. They assumed that people would grow in their faith by becoming involved in the various activities of the church. So they poured millions of dollars and thousands of hours into creating a program-heavy congregation believing the more programs they had, the more opportunities for people to get involved, the deeper the growth and discipleship.

Wrong!

Bill Hybels said that what they learned is that they need to teach their people how to feed themselves--how to read the Bible, how to pray, etc. I would add how to live as Jesus followers in real life. In other words, discipleship doesn't happen through busy church programs. It happens when we connect to Jesus. The church is there to support us in that. It's about Jesus, not about being busy at church.

Willow Creek is committed to making the necessary changes to get at that. The advantage for us at Grace is that we haven't built a program-heavy church. That was never our intent. We want to build disciples and be a community of disciples who take Jesus to the world.

The question for us as individuals is: Do I want to feed myself or be spoon fed? Crassly put, but to the point. I hope we're building a community of self-feeders--feeding at the trough of worship, prayer, Bible reading, loving our neighbors, etc.

Saying Good-bye

Today we attended and participated in the funeral of a good friend, Jimmy Glendening. I've known Jimmy for about 12 years. Jimmy was married to our drama director, Terey Summers, and had been very involved in my ministry through his bass guitar on our worship teams.

I knew Jimmy in his wheel-chair. And, like many others who talked about Jimmy today, I was impacted by the grace and ease with which he handled it. I know it was tough on him, but he made the best of it and lived life to the full any way.

Jimmy would have been 53 in December. Far too young to die.

It was a particularly powerful service because of the kind of guy Jimmy was, and because of the Savior he believed in.

It was also good to be with some of my colleagues--Tom Eggum (of Hope 4 Kids International--we've been friends for over 30 years and served on the staff of Community Church of Joy together), Paul Sorensen from Joy, and Dottie Escobedo-Frank, now pastor at Crossroads United Methodist Church. She served on the staff of Joy for a time, as well. (Isn't United Methodist an oxymoron? Much like an Evangelical Lutheran! :))

Somewhat sadly, I'm at a point in my life, rounding 50, when the only time I see many of my friends is at these kinds of gatherings--saying goodbye to peers and friends. It's part of that circle of life that is both a blessing and a heartache.

Today, as is usual for a funeral, was both a blessing and a heartache. Jimmy was a really good guy. He will be missed.

The Hand That Shook The Hand

Can you sense the energy flowing from this blog? That's because I am typing this post, at least in part, with my right hand, the hand that last night shook hands with the man who makes the whole world sing! That's right--I shook hands with Barry Manilow! And so did my wife Jan. And the fact that you are reading this means you are now two degrees of separation from the man himself! You're welcome.

I know you want all of the juicy details--so here they are. Mandy, Barry's first big hit (I can call him Barry now because I shook his hand last night!) came out in 1974-1975. Jan and I started dating in January, 1975, so do the math. We fell in love to Barry's music and grew up with his music (and I can admit that with my manhood still intact!). We've been fans for years and have seen him many times over the years. Last night was Jan's birthday, so we flew up to Vegas to take in the show. We had front row, center seats. Barry was inches from us. Wow. It's one thing to see your favorite band/singer on TV, or in concert from the nose-bleed section, but to be inches from them is awesome.

So...at the end of a fantastic show, Barry looked at me, stuck out his hand, and shook mine! And then he did the same to Jan and a few others in our section. I turned to Jan and said, "Happy Birthday!" That's one we'll remember.

There you have it. The Hand That Shook The Hand of the man who makes the whole world sing just typed about the experience of the Hand That Shook the Hand of the man who makes the whole world sing!

Challenging Grace

God's grace has radically changed my life. Though I've always known Jesus loves me, I always had this sense I had to somehow earn his love. Then, in college, I started to experience that love as unconditional--a grace that accepts me before I can accept Jesus; that loves me regardless of what I do or don't do. It's such a liberating message that I want to make sure, to the best of my ability as a pastor, that I share that amazing grace as often and as clearly as possible.

But...

What troubles me as a pastor is how little that grace really seems to impact the lives of many of us who claim to follow Jesus. From the beginning, Jesus completely interrupted peoples' lives with his grace. Impacted by that grace they were willing to do anything for him, including die for him.

Today we say we'd die for Jesus, but how often do we skip worship because we're tired or just don't feel like it or because we don't really get anything out of it? We say that Jesus is the center of our lives but how often do we skip our prayer time because we have so many other things on our plate? We say Jesus means everything to us but how often do we hold back from the offering because we just need to buy that one more thing?

Those are tough questions. And they are not usually the kinds of questions that come with proclamations of grace. Because they sound so...well...graceless.

Yet it was the giver of grace who said, "If you would come after me, you must take up your cross, die daily, and follow me." Hmmm...where's the grace in that!?!

As believers in Jesus we believe grace is found in precisely that--the cross, where Jesus laid it all on the line for us. And it's in taking up the cross, losing our lives in Jesus, that we find our lives.

I want to make sure people really get grace--that they really understand the depths of God's love for them because so few of us really do. At the same time I fear I often rob people of that grace by not holding up the challenging, life-transforming, life-altering call of grace.

Grace challenges me to live my entire life by the power of the grace of Jesus. That means more than taking Jesus up on his grace when I feel like it or have the time for it. It means that grace controls my life--sets the agenda for my life. Again, it doesn't sound grace-full saying it that way. But that's where the grace is.

Challenging grace challenges me as a follower of Jesus and as a minister of the Gospel of grace. Again, I want people to experience the sheer joy of unbounded, unconditional grace. But sometimes I make grace too nice. I neuter it of it's power by using a wimpy form of it--a form that excuses and understands and says it's OK when people make excuses for not making Jesus or worship or prayer a priority rather than a form that invites them to a life completely and utterly reshaped by Jesus and his priorities.

The real problem--I, like most people, want others to like me. But when Jesus held up such all-encompassing, reckless grace, it got him killed.

The "R" Word

The other night Jan and I were watching the latest episode of Boston Legal. The show can be raunchy and has an unfiltered liberal bias (which is good or bad depending on your point of view), but it's a fun show and it does deal with some interesting topics.

This week, a 15-year-old girl wanted to sue her school for teaching abstinence only, rather than also teaching about condoms. She and her boyfriend had sex, and because the school did not teach her about condoms she and her boyfriend didn't use one and she contracted HIV/AIDS. So, while recognizing her part in it, she felt that the school needed to take responsibility for not teaching her about condoms. In other words, contracting HIV/AIDS was the school's fault.

The Boston Legal heroes, of course, took up her cause, and in a passionate speech to the judge condemned the school for murder since condoms can prevent things like HIV/AIDS and shame on them for not teaching about them. Over the top, as always. And, as always, they won the court case. (Now, what would have happened if they had taught her about condoms, but the condom leaked and she got pregnant!)

I happen to agree that schools should teach about condoms while at the same time teaching abstinence. We need to hold a high value of sex while recognizing the realities of life.

What bothered me about the show was this: No one ever wants to take responsibility for his/her actions. If I get drunk, sue the bartender who kept serving me the alcohol. If I have sex and get HIV/AIDS, blame the school for not telling me about condoms. If I purchase a hot cup of coffee and spill it on myself while driving, sue the place that sold me the coffee for making it too hot. If I gain weight, blame the fast food industry for making me buy super-sized portions. If I can't make it to worship on Sunday, blame the circumstances around me (ouch!). :)

We live in a not-my-fault world. We always blame others. And when we do that, when we fail to take responsibility for our lives, we miss out on what it means to be authentically human. We rob ourselves of being the people God created us to be.

Part of being created in God's image is the joy (and sometimes pain) of taking responsibility for our lives. When we do that, we grow, we learn, we experience the fullness of what it means to be human. A blame or victim mentality ultimately inhibits or binds or enslaves us to others while responsibility sets us free.

I'm responsible for my diet. I'm responsible for my sex life. I'm responsible for my spiritual journey.

But I'm not responsible for this rant (R-Word) on responsibility (R-word). Blame it on Boston Legal.

Money Musings (or, Oh Oh! Here comes the money pitch!)

From the start Community of Grace has been a gracious church in terms of giving. We currently give away 14% of our general, weekly offerings to missions locally and around the world. We give away 10% of our building fund to specific local and international projects. 4 times a year we take missions offerings. Each Sunday we collect money for the hunger fund. Since day 1 we have been self-sufficient and have yet to have any payables. Not bad for 2 1/2 years of mission.

Yesterday I met with a student whose church went through a very difficult, back-breaking financial crisis for 6 years during a building project. During that time they lost some members, which meant the giving decreased at a time when they really needed it to go up. She talked of the toll it took on the staff and the congregation. Thankfully, things have turned around for them. But I could relate having lived through some very, very tough financial crises in my 23 years of ministry. What really caught my attention was how tough the second building campaign was for her church. The first 3 year campaign did very well. People were excited. But the second one angered a lot of people. I guess they thought that once the building was up it was paid for!

Today I read in Nadia's blog about some younger congregations that have done great financially but this year have had some challenges.

Our attendance has gone down a bit the last 12 months (not unexpected as we settle in after a very fast start.) The upside is that our giving is up significantly over last year.

I want to assure you that your board and staff take our finances very seriously. As we plan our budgets we want to make sure that we don't get ahead of Jesus but don't fall too far behind, either.

So with that in mind, three things:

1-We will be doing another building campaign in a couple of years to continue to pay for what we will build next year. This current campaign allows us to build. It will not pay for the building. So we will be stretched with these kinds of campaigns in the future. I don't want you to be caught by surprise.

2-While our giving has been solid this year, the last few months it has been down. I've had a sense that perhaps the bad news we hear day after day about the economy is catching up to us and other churches (even though the overwhelming majority of Americans feel that they are personally doing OK financially.) This is not to sound any alarms but to speak honestly about our giving as I promised to do. God has poured out his grace on us and through us so that we can carry out his mission financially. Let's continue to be open to him doing that through us in the months to come.

3-Giving is such a vital part of what it means to follow Jesus. I hope at Grace giving will always be seen as a response to God's overwhelming grace rather than a hammer that pounds us down with guilt; that giving will always be an act of joy, regardless of how much or how little we give.

Wrestling with the Church--part 5

It's been stimulating and fun hanging out with Seminary Students these last two days talking about the Church. It's amazing how people who follow Jesus and who are passionate about the Church see the Church so differently. One person really loves traditional, Liturgical worship. One person thinks the church needs to go with contemporary forms of worship. Another person says it's not about worship but about community and mission.

I met a young (younger than I am anyway) woman who is starting a unique kind of church in urban Denver. She's leading a mission to urban young adults, in what some refer to as an "emerging church." Without going into exactly what an emerging church is, suffice it to say that it will look very different than Grace does. Nadia is a very gifted, passionate pastor who will lead this new adventure of faith. It's hard for me to even put into words what she's up to, but the new community will utilize some forms of worship from the ancient church but keep it rooted in every day life.

The point is that God works through many different kinds of churches because one church cannot contain all that God is. Nor can one church possibly reach all kinds of people. So part of following Jesus on the bold, daring, reckless adventure of grace is to hear clearly from Jesus what kind of mission he wants us to build and then to stay passionately focused on that mission. One form of church/mission is not better than another. But one is best for us at this time in our history.

Minneapolis Musings--Wednesday

It's been a long, but good day. The morning started with a meeting at 8 am at Luther Sem with Mark Halvorson, an East Valley Pastor. We met to discuss our strategy for the day. Then we met with some of the staff at Luther who match interns with internship sites. Next, we experienced a great worship service that featured students from various parts of the world. The rest of the morning and afternoon was spent interviewing students. Lots of fun but left me a bit brain dead. Then dinner with the President of Luther and some of the staff who are helping us put this internship pilot program together.

While it doesn't sound all that exciting on paper (or on blog) it was a good, stimulating day. I love this kind of stuff--meeting students. Processing stuff with colleagues. Dreaming about how to effectively build the church. Now I'm going to bed as I have another long day as we wrap up this part of the process.

Good news on Bishop Steve's heart surgery--it went well. Quadruple bi-pass. Now the recovery begins.

Minneapolis Musings

Oi! Oi! Oi! It is cold here! In the 40's-50's with a strong wind! Oi!

Yesterday I met with 4 Ph.D students and shared the story of Grace, with a q and a afterwards. I'm staying in Downtown Minneapolis so it's fun walking around the city. Thank goodness for the skywalks as it's cold outside. Did I mention that? I had my first hot chocolate of the season.

This morning I spoke at Chapel at Luther. During lunch I met informally with a group of students to talk about the Story of Grace and answer questions. Tomorrow the real work begins. But I've really been enjoying the contact with Luther Sem and the students!

My daughter Alycia and I walked over a bridge that overlooks the I-35W bridge that collapsed. They've done such an amazing job of cleaning it up that you'd hardly know there was a bridge there, let alone a collapsed bridge.

Christmas officially began for me today as I walked through "Holiday Lane" at Macy's, downtown. I love this time of year.

Monday Musings

From Minneapolis:

Yesterday we had one of those "too bad you missed it" kinds of services for those of you who missed it! Sometimes it's hard to put into words what you are feeling/experiencing during a worship experience but something was up. Candy did a fantastic job of sharing her faith story. If you missed it, you can hit our website to listen to her story (it's on podcast as well). It should be up today.

After worship yesterday I headed to the airport to catch a flight to Minneapolis--which was delayed by over an hour! We had two rather bumpy parts on the ride, in fact, some of the bumpiest flying I've experienced. A few days ago, when I checked the forecast, they predicted a high of 47 degrees for Sunday. It hit 83! Today is starts to cool off, hopefully.

I'm here to speak a bit at Luther Seminary and to interview some student pastors to bring down to our Synod for school year 2008.

I'm getting a chance to hang with my daughter and her boyfriend for a few days which is really nice.

Oh, and the Cards are now on top of their division 5 games into the season! Perhaps hell is finally freezing over.

Lessons from a Bike

This morning I went out for my usual Friday 30 mile bike ride. (For those of you who care about such things, I usually ride the canals from 75th Ave and approximately Bell to about 24th St. and Glendale and back, This morning I was greeted with perhaps the strongest headwind I've experienced in 2+ years of bike riding. Here's some perspective. The last time I did this 30 mile ride I averaged 17.5 miles per hour on the way out--the first 15 miles. Today--15.9 miles per hour! But the reward was the trip back home. I hardly needed to pedal at all. My average time for the entire 30 mile ride was 17.6 miles per hour. You can do the math--because I can't--to figure out how fast I was going the last 15 miles!)

Anyway, about 9 miles into the ride I hit 6000 miles on my odometer. That's a lot of miles on a bike, usually riding the same 20-30 mile route again and again.

Several years ago I wrote a book on self-care for pastors using running and marathon training as the metaphor. I thought it was probably my most helpful, significant book. Nobody else did, however! :)

So, to celebrate 6000 miles, here are a few lessons I've learned from biking: (We'll see if anybody besides me cares about this particular metaphor for life!)

1) When headed into the wind, move to an easier gear, put your head down, and keep pedaling. You'll get there eventually and the extra effort will make you stronger.

2) When going with the wind, sit back a bit and enjoy the beauty of an effortless ride.

3) Keep your eyes open for glass, bumps, stones, and other potential hazards that can blow a tire or cause a fall.

4) Be especially diligent for bikers/pedestrians taking up the entire road, who are paying no attention as you sail through.

5) Get the iPod out of your ears and enjoy the time listening to nature around you and the thoughts and moods in your heart and soul.

6) Be extra diligent for drivers who usually could care less if they run you over. They will always win. But you're probably in better shape!

7) While keeping your eyes in front of you, don't forget to take in the big picture. Looking only at the pavement robs you of the sky, plants, mountains, water, etc., around you.

8) Life is always better when you get outdoors and exercise!

9) Keep your bike in good shape. That will keep you in good shape.

10) Enjoy the ride, but remember to wear padding in certain areas!

Awe and Wonder--2

Aren't dogs the best! How can you look at a dog and not believe in the wonder of God's creativity and love!

Awe and Wonder

I was out for a 20 mile bike ride this morning. I get out about 3 times a week. This morning, near the end of my ride, I saw a roadrunner. I never grow tired of seeing one. That roadrunner was a reminder to take a moment to give thanks for the beauty I was enjoying all around me--the partly cloudy skies, the breeze, the mountains ringing the Valley, the trees, and all the other wonders I was riding by. It's so easy to take such beauty for granted.

No matter what we are going through, God calls to us 24/7 with a gentle, but awe-some reminder that he loves us--that reminder being creation and the outdoors.

It's also easy to take for granted the wonder of the human body--the ability to ride a bike for 20 miles. Not everyone is physically able to do so, or can afford to do so. So I am grateful!

Stunned!

I'm in a state of absolute shock. Our Arizona Cardinals beat...yes, pick yourself up off the computer board...beat the Pittsburg Steelers. There is a God!

Wednesday Musings

I've been working on my sermon for Sunday. We're in a series called, Get in the Game. It's built around our mission statement of following Jesus on the bold, daring, reckless adventure of bringing grace to the world. To be more honest, the series is based on Jesus' call to us to live missionally--to see our daily lives as moments in which we serve Jesus. This Sunday we're looking at The Great Commission--to make disciples of all nations--and how the Great Commandment--to love God and neighbors--helps us carry out the Great Commission. It's an exciting series in that living missionally, seeing our jobs/lives as sacred callings, is really where the rubber meets the road for Christians. It's a simple concept, really. But hard to live out in the moment by moment rhythm of life.

The upside of such a series is the thrill of seeing our lives through new lenses--to see how living in "Jesus' name" can re-focus and re-energize everything we do. The downside for me is that I'm not a real person. I live in the church world. I don't spend most of my work day in the "secular" marketplace, in the mission field, so to speak. So I'm learning along with our community of faith what this following Jesus Monday-Saturday really looks like.

It's been great biking weather the last few mornings! Finally!

The new TV season has started. So far we've checked out The Big Bang, Chuck, and Heroes. I really enjoyed all three. We got hooked on Heroes last year.

Sunday Musings

I just finished watching the AZ Cardinals. I dvr'd it and fast-forwarded through the game. I saw an entire 3 hour game in less than an hour. Only problem--just after the Cards tied the game the dvr shut off. With reckless optimism I ran to the computer to check out the final score, hoping I wouldn't see what I expected to see but saw it anyway: another loss. Should've been could've been with those guys!

Oh well--there's always next year.

Matters that Matter

I've always been a fan of BBC News. This past week I made a commitment to watch at least 30 minutes of the BBC World News regularly, daily if possible. It was an interesting experience this week. The BBC this week spent time leading with and focusing on the devastating flooding in Ghana and Kenya and what it's going to take to get those who live there food. Fox, CNN, and MSNBC? All of them led with the OJ Simpson story. It really left me speechless. A world away people are dying of starvation from flooding and disease and our news channels are obsessed with OJ's latest capers and Britney's latest meltdowns.

My point here isn't to stand up on a moral soapbox and call out the US for its shallowness. It's simply a reminder to me and perhaps to you, too, that there is a bigger world out there--a world beyond OJ, Britney, Paris Hilton, and Lindsey Lohan --a world desperate for the Kingdom of God's grace to break through. (By the way, I do understand that OJ and Britney, etc, need an in-breaking of God's grace, as well!)

As I sat in my massage chair in my upper middle class house in my upper middle class neighborhood watching one of our TVs (we have more than one), seeing the devastation in Ghana, I was moved, as I often am, to ask the question--What really matters? How can I live in such opulence and not somehow respond to the overwhelming need around me? To whom much is given, much is expected.

These aren't the ravings of guilt, but passionate mission questions.

To be honest, I'm not sure I know the answer at this point. But I do know one answer is not to do nothing.

More to come.

Kathy Griffin at the Emmy Awards

If you didn't watch the Emmy Awards on Sunday then perhaps you did not catch Emmy Award winner Kathy Griffin's acceptance speech in which she made some disparaging remarks about Jesus. The silence you hear from Hollywood goes back to my post of a few days ago, Questions. Why is it OK to speak of Jesus that way publicly with no uproar? You can bet that if she had said the same thing about Allah she'd have been blacklisted. Hollywood has no tolerance for the intolerant (see Mel Gibson, Isaiah Washington, Michael Richards, and Don Imus as prime examples) unless that intolerance is vented at Christians. And then, when Christians stand up and say anything about it, we are treated with contempt. It's Ok for "politically correct" groups to express outrage, but not Christians. We simply have to take it.

But Jesus is used to that. He took it on the cross. And he responded not with outrage, but forgiveness.

Perhaps we who follow him should follow that example, too.

It's probably asking too much of Hollywood to be consistent and side with anyone whose race, or sexual orientation, or religion is held up for ridicule, but one can always hope.

But for those of us who follow Jesus, cheek-turning seems to be making a return in the 21st Century.

Forgiveness or a Free Pass

This past week the NFL and NFL-loving sports fans were rocked by a scandal surrounding the 3-time Super Bowl Champs--the New England Patriots. Their coach, Bill Belichick, had authorized the illegal video taping of the opposing team. Belichick received a stiff fine and the team will lose a top draft pick next year. Clearly what he did was not only illegal, but unethical. (Sometimes something can be legal but unethical and even, at times, ethical but illegal). Belichick did very little to express any kind of remorse.

Last night the Patriots took on the San Diego Chargers in New England. Apparently, special mention was made of Coach Belichick before the home crowd to which the crowd responded with a long ovation. After the game the owner of the club apparently awarded the game ball to Belichick.

Let's face it. If it had been any other coach doing what Belichick did, if, say, the Chargers had been caught videotaping the Patriots, the Patriots fans would have demanded the coach's head on a platter. But since it was their own coach, all is forgiven. No harm, no foul.

It raises the question of what forgiveness really is. Forgiveness is not a free pass. Looking the other way is not forgiveness. Letting a person off the hook because "he's your guy" when you'd demand vengeance if someone else did the same thing is not forgiveness.

Forgiveness is transformational. Forgiveness digs deep into the wrong committed and seeks to remove it so that the wrong is not done again. Forgiveness seeks not simply to give people a free pass but to set them free so that they don't hurt themselves or others again. Jesus didn't say to the woman caught in adultery--hey, it's ok. You're only human. He said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more." The power of forgiveness gives us a fresh start and the power to live out that fresh start.

When a wrong has been done forgiveness gives us the power to apologize for it. It gives us the power to own up to the wrong and rectify it if possible.

A free pass does no one no good. It simply empowers them to continue on in their behavior because they got away with it. Forgiveness, on the other hand, cleanses and transforms us from the inside out so that we live, not as those who got away with something, but as those who have been truly, deeply, washed clean.

Real forgiveness comes only through a cross.

Humor?

Pastor-types like me (or is it like I?) tend to use our blogs to help let our congregations and other interested readers into our souls and hearts. These blogs give us a chance to talk about some of the things God seems to be stirring in our guts concerning our communities of faith. The result is that these blogs can sometimes be a bit heavy.

So, to lighten things up a bit, here's a story Dave Wahl shared with our men's group today (re-crafted to protected the innocent.)

Did you hear the one about the Pastor who committed to memorizing the capitals of all 50 states? He asked one of his church members to quiz him. So the parishioner said, "Rhode Island." To which the Pastor responded, "R and I."

What Does My Driving Say About Jesus?

I have a Community of Grace decal on the back of my car. I also have a personalized license plate that says, COGPSTR (Community of Grace Pastor for those of you who have a hard time, like I do, deciphering vanity plates). I really try to drive safely, but sometimes even I get a bit flustered with the traffic. And sometimes, when people irritate me, I may speed ahead of them and...no, I don't do that...I look at them and shake my head in disgust. Then, as I pull ahead of them, I suddenly realize what the back of my car says.

One of the big churches in our area has their logo plastered on what seems like a million cars. This is a great church, by the way, but they now have a reputation for some of the worst drivers in the Valley. There are so many of them, and the logo is so recognized, that a few bad drivers are creating a driving stigma for that congregation.

Yesterday I read a brief article by a pastor suggesting that we should remove Christian symbols from our cars. He says that in all the years he had such stickers and decals on his car not one non-Christian asked him about his faith.

I recognize that a Grace decal on any car instantly improves the car's value by about 10%. But what does my driving say about my church? My faith?

After further review, I think I'll get a new vanity plate, remove the decal, and put on one of the decals from that big church down the street. :)

Wrestling with the Church--part 4: Keeping It Simple

I'm currently reading an excellent book (at least it's excellent so far) entitled, Simple Church by Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger. The premise of the book is that life is getting to be so complex that people are longing for simple. Look at eloan.com, for example. Their new slogan is: Radically Simple. My wife gets a magazine called Real Simple. The authors point to the "simple" philosophy behind such successes as Southwest Airlines, Google, and iPod, to name a few.

Rainer and Geiger did extensive research and found that vital congregations keep their mission simple--not a lot of programs and clutter but a very simple process for helping people grow as disciples of Jesus. Struggling churches tend to be overwhelmed through being over-programmed. Each program asks for a little bit more time for an already overly busy person and the result is that people surrender and give up.

Keep it simple, keep it significant, and keep it fun is our mantra. Rather than being a program-heavy church, we want to be a mean, lean, movement of people following Jesus on the bold, daring, reckless adventure of bringing grace to the world. We don't need lots of church programming. We're already busy doing what Jesus has called us to do--working, raising families, building friendships and marriages, volunteering in the community. The mission of Grace is to equip and train us to live our lives with intention--seeing our lives as sacred missions and our jobs as sacred callings, touch points between God's grace and the world around us.

Reflections on 9/11

6 years today ago I was out for a run (today--I went out for a bike ride). At that time I normally tuned into the Today Show before and after my run but for some reason did not that day. As I was doing my post-run stretch Jan mentioned the news about the Twin Towers. From that moment on, like the rest of the world, I was glued to the TV screen watching the horrors of the terrorist attack. (One of our more immediate concerns was the safety of our daughter who was in Sienna, Italy at the time.)

Tuesdays were staff days at Community Church of Joy but I figured everyone would be running late that day due to the news. Turns out, I was the only one late. I walked into the staff meeting as it was just about to begin and everyone was already there, in a circle, ready to pray for our country.

After that it was a flurry of activity trying to pull together a prayer service for the next evening. We invited the Mayors of Glendale and Peoria to join us, which they graciously did.

On the following weekend Pastor Walt Kallestad, Paul Sorensen, and I shared the message. We tried to help process what 9/11 meant in terms of faith (to capacity crowds like most other churches that weekend). Two things we wanted to say clearly: 1) God did not cause 9/11 regardless of what the terrorists said and regardless of what at least one Christian leader said. Jesus came to give life, not death. 9/11 was a result of human-beings polluted and possessed by evil. 2) God, as God always does, brings life after death. What evil meant for harm, God can use for his good purposes. 6 years later the evil of 9/11 continues to try to spread death and God continues to transform that death into life.

There has been a lot of pain and upheaval as a result of 9/11, to say the least and obvious. But God will have the final word, and that word will be life.

Sunday Musings

I just got home from the Installation Service for Al Cassel as he was officially installed as the Pastor of Peace Lutheran Church. He's a great guy and I'm looking forward to our continued partnership with Peace and American Lutheran as we look to start new mission centers in our area. Brian and I were dressed up in our robes (albs) and looked pretty good, if I may say so.

Great start for our revamped Grace Adventure Club today. Our kids started their four-week interactive look at the Crossing of the Red Sea. Good buzz from kids and their teachers. And a great response to our request for volunteers. Our children and youth are two top priorities this fall.

I am so disappointed with the Philadelphia Eagles...losing to the Green Bay Packers! I could care less about the Eagles but I'm passionate about any team playing the Packers. So the Eagles were, for one day, one of my favorite teams. At least the Vikes won. And the Cardinals are still undefeated this late into the season!

Questions

Things I started thinking about while listening to Public Radio:

1) Why is so much of religion today seemingly shaped by such violence and hatred? From the terrorism of extremist Islamics to the judgmentalism of extremist Christian fundamentalists, why all the hatred when these people supposedly serve a loving God?

2) Why all the media attention on only the extremist fundamentalists? Why not more stories about religious people doing good in the name of their religion? My guess is that there are far more acts of grace shared each day by religious people than acts of terror.

3) Why is it ok in all kinds of public venues from TV to radio to public speeches to inter-office banter to use the name Jesus or Christ or God as an expletive but if someone where to use Allah that way, as in Allah d--- it, that person would be ostracized/condemned for racial intolerance?

4) My close personal friend BJ Thomas asks a couple of rather provocative questions in a song he wrote years ago called, Back Against the Wall. The questions: I wonder why the pure in heart have to have a judgment day? I wonder what the Lord has made that he plans to throw away?

This Week's Bible Reading

During my devotional time today I was reading through for the third day our Bible reading for this week--Mark 7:31-36, where some people brought a deaf mute to Jesus and begged Jesus to heal him. After Jesus did so, the people were so amazed and overwhelmed that they couldn't help but tell others about Jesus, even though Jesus told them to keep quiet.

As I read through the passage today I was thinking about what this might be saying to Community of Grace. A few questions emerged:

1) Who are we bringing to Jesus?
2) What people in need are we bringing to Jesus, begging him to help them?
3) Are we so overwhelmed and amazed by Jesus that we can't stop talking about him?

Grace and Charter Schools

The Arizona Republic has been doing a series of not-so-flattering articles on Charter Schools in Arizona, with regard to some financial abuses. Since Grace will be hosting a Charter School on our new campus I thought I should say something in response.

Instead I'll let Keith, one of our board members, and a recently retired public school principal and board member of the new charter school chime in: (From an email he sent to me):

"The essential issue is that the 'root' problem is not the failure of an externally imposed governmental process...but an individual's lack of morality, ethics, grace, etc. When grace-filled moral characteristics are in place, systems, organizations, and/or society in general 'works.' When things/people/organizations 'work' it's not worthy of news media coverage. Things that work as intended don't generate viewers/readers sufficient to generate advertising. On essential question for Grace therefore is, will Pinnacle Peak Community School be governed by principled, moral, and grace-filled leaders? Knowing the answer to that is what matters."

In answer to his question--the school board is already made up of such people. We are in good hands.

Labor Day Eve Musings

Last night my wife Jan cooked up a delicious Turkey dinner. A few months ago we had to throw out one of our frozen turkeys as it was beyond its shelf life. So, instead of wasting another bird, we decided to have a Thanksgiving Day meal on Labor Day weekend. And wow was it good. Turkey that fell off the bone. Mashed potatoes and gravy. Stuffing. Corn. Beans in chicken broth. Cranberries. Orange Jello. Yams (yuck!). If I seemed a bit sleepy during my own sermon this morning, you now know why. I stuffed myself last night.

I'm not a Phoenix Mercury fan but good on 'em for making the finals. With our history of championship teams, we'll take what we can get.

Speaking of championship teams, the D-Backs are certainly not making it easy on themselves to get into the playoffs.

For those of you who are fans of my close, personal friend, BJ Thomas, you'll be happy to know that his first studio album in over 7 years will be released later this month.

Summer Musings

As summer comes to an end, at least in terms of how we organize our lives, a few thoughts:

It's been hot! I think I have been here for all 32+ days of 110 degrees or above. I think I've been here for almost every heat record Phoenix has set. Oi!

For some reason I found it challenging this summer to keep up my exercise rhythm and my devotions rhythm. I didn't skip them, but I didn't get them in as consistently as I do normally. And I could feel the difference. It was good this week to finally get in a full week of exercise and devotions.

It was a good summer in terms of ministry. Our attendance held pretty strong and we are coming out of the summer in good financial shape. Thank God for the strong winter/spring giving we had as summer giving took a pretty significant dip. But we're still on budget. Many churches use the rest of the year to catch up from summer slumps. We're fortunate to enter the fall spot on.

I'm excited about what Jesus has in store for us this fall including our new Grace Adventure Club for the kids, a new commitment to our youth, and a months-long emphasis in worship and in our clusters on what it means to follow Jesus Monday-Saturday in our every day lives.

And hopefully, sometime before Christmas, a few cooler days.

Do I practice what I write?

I met with a gentleman today who flew in from San Jose to meet with me. Gordon is a retired airline pilot who is passionate about helping churches experience the power of mission. He had attended several conferences I helped lead through the leadership center at Community Church of Joy. For a lay person, he really knows his missional church stuff. I was a bit jealous of some of the conferences he was able to attend.

He basically wanted to know if I was following the model I had written about in a book published back in 1995. It was actually one of my better books, I thought. Not many others did!

Much has changed since 1995 but the essence of what I wrote back then still motivates me today--that God through Jesus wants to invite and equip each of us to follow him back into this world that he loves, bringing grace, hope and love.

The essence of that 1995 book was more programmatic. Now, philosophically I think discipleship happens more in groups and community and in missional opportunities than in programs. Rather than forcing people down certain paths to grow, we need to create environments where people can learn with others what it means to follow Jesus.

But, in the end, while the implementation may be different, the passion behind the book is the same.

That's true of most of the books I've written. At the time I think they were helpful books. But their "shelf life" is over. Guess it's time to write another one.

Tuesday musings

Tuesday is usually fast day. Some of us from Community of Grace skip a meal or two, or a dessert, or a cup of coffee, and use the fast to pray for those who are hungry. We then donate what we would have spent on the meal, etc, to the Grace Hunger Fund. I'd love to have others join us. No sign ups necessary. Simply decide what you will fast and go for it. And as the cravings hit (I skip breakfast and lunch) use that as a reminder to pray for the poor, oppressed, and hungry.

Speaking of food, last night Jan and I had dinner with Al and Kaye Cassel. Al is the new pastor at Peace Lutheran Church (one of the congregations that gave us our new land). I'm looking forward to our continued partnership in ministry with Peace.

This morning I was interviewed on a Christian radio station. The topic was anxiety and panic. (Wonder why they picked me? Is there something wrong with me? I'm starting to feel a bit anxious!) It was a very good interview. The person who interviewed me experienced his first panic attack in April and has been working through his "stuff." One doctor told him that 60% of those who go to the ER for heart attacks are actually suffering an anxiety attack! Great conversation. It will air on Thursday, August 30, sometime between 8 and 8:30 am on FM 90.9. (By the way, from 10-noon, Hilary Griffith, the former Miss Arizona, does a daily show on that station!)

This morning we started talking budget stuff for our ministry for 2008. Not the most exciting part of following Jesus but important none-the-less. We have a great team who make sure we use the gifts we receive each weekend in a way that reflects our mission, and that demonstrates financial integrity.

Sunday Musings

What happen to all the rain and the clouds we were supposed to have this weekend?

Jan and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary last night. We were married on Saturday, August 25, 1979 at 7:30 pm in Richfield, Minnesota. Jan's mom was very concerned about an August wedding in Minnesota but it ended up being a beautiful evening, matching the bride. The groom, on the other hand...

We didn't actually do much to celebrate yesterday so we'll have dinner at Carver's tonight.

It's been a good, refreshing summer (albeit hot) but I'm really ready to turn the corner and get back into the fall rhythm of life.

My brother Jeff was in a pretty serious car accident on Friday. Someone pulled out of traffic and ran into him, on the passenger side, totaling the car. Thankfully no one was seriously hurt although they put Jeff on a stretcher and took him by amubulance to the hospital just to be safe. He's pretty sore as you might imagine. Pretty freaky to see your brother lying on the stretcher, his head in a neck brace. Much worse for Diane and their kids.

As always, it was good to be with everyone for worship this morning. I've not preached on the Lord's Prayer for several years and I've really been enjoying it. I've been seeing it with a whole new filter this time around, looking at it more from the perspective of what the prayer says about God than what it says about how to pray.

My web-based weather icon says it's supposed to hit 113 on Wednesday and 111 on Thursday. Oi! Oi! Oi!

Wrestling With the Church--Part 3 (at the staff retreat)

The Grace staff was on a two-day retreat this past Wednesday and Thursday. I've been on a lot of staff retreats in my 23 years of ministry but this was probably the best. In essence, we prayerfully wrestled with what it means to be the church. Usually, in "building" a church, most of the money and time goes into building the institution. But Jesus never really asked us to do that. Instead, he calls us to "build" disciples--to invite and teach and equip people to follow Jesus.

So with that in mind we fine-tuned our mission statement: Our mission is to follow Jesus on the bold, daring, reckless adventure of bringing grace to the world.

Then we began to ask the question--what would it really look like if all of our efforts and resources went into equipping each of us to do that--to follow Jesus--in our corner of the world rather than "building" an institution filled with programs and committees and general "religious busyness?" To see our new campus, not as another place where Christians create their own subculture--but as a training center that sends us back out on that reckless mission of grace?

Imagine--learning together to follow Jesus on the bold, daring, reckless adventure of grace! That's keeping it simple, significant, and fun.

More to come.

Tuesday musings

It is really hot outside! Really hot. Those who live in the Midwest get cabin fever after a long winter. Cabin fever is definitely settling in, at least in my life, as this record breaking heat continues.

We had our first young adult free for all on Sunday. Over 20 young adults encircled Pastor Brian and me and asked some very important, yet not so easy to answer, faith questions. For our first time, it went very well. I was extremely impressed with the depth to which our young adults want to go in their faith. I was not quite as impressed with the answers Brian and I fumbled to give. But the discussion was good. It will be fun to see where this thing goes.

Today, during our Pastor Buddies meeting, we looked at a story in which Jesus interrupted his sermon to heal a woman, and the flack he took for it. We all wondered what would happen if God interrupted our sermons and worship services with something like that! And shouldn't we really expect God to do that? At least occasionally?

It's really hot here.

Our Grace staff is on retreat for the next two days. I may or may not be able to "blog-in" during that time.

It's really hot here.

Becoming Jane

That's right. I'm man enough to admit it. I took my wife and daughter to see Becoming Jane (a movie about author Jane Austin). I went willingly, by the way.

What can I say? I like English movies and English period pieces!

And I enjoyed the movie.

What it takes to put together a worship service each week

As I was sitting in the Zuni gym-acafe-torium before the first service today, watching our various staff and volunteers putting the final touches on the service, I began to think through everything it takes to make worship happen. Worship is the most highly visible thing we do each week as a family of faith. A lot of time and energy go into ensuring a service in which we can experience the grace of Jesus. Here is a partial overview of the behind the scenes of worship:

*Planning starts months in advance when I create the sermon topics.

*The staff meets every Thursday to plan out the services. We talk though the theme for the day, we brainstorm possible creative ideas like videos or special songs, we choose the worship songs for the day, and put an order together. We usually plan a service 4 weeks in advance and constantly review it until it's ready to be experienced.

*Brian or I research the sermon and write the sermon for the week on Wednesday. The message is sent to Diane so she can create the visuals for it. From Wednesday to Sunday Brian or I internalize the message for presentation on Sunday.

*If a video is used it is probably being edited in the days leading up to Sunday. Diane is also busy creating all the graphics for the service.

*Tony sends out music to the band and vocals. The vocals rehearse every Thursday evening. The instrumentalists work on their parts during the week.

*Grace Adventure Club teachers prepare their activities for the children for Sunday morning.

*Friday or Saturday the signs directing people to Grace are set out on Williams.

*On Saturday, a group of us meet at Zuni to set up for worship. Floors are swept and mopped. Chairs are wheeled in and set up. Bathrooms are cleaned and stocked. Communion tables are put up. The sound system is put in place along with the instruments. Welcome folders are prepared. The hospitality tables are set up. And this, plus much more, is usually done without air-conditioning!

*On Sunday people start arriving around 7:15. The place is opened up. Gates are unlocked. Coffee is made. The hospitality table is prepared. Grape juice is poured into the communion cups and the wafers are put into the trays, and then set out on the tables. Various information is put out on the back tables. The parking lot crew set up their stuff. The band arrives to rehearse and do a sound check and the tech team rehearse as well. Ushers are recruited. Communion servers are recruited. The nursery is set up as are the Grace Adventure Club rooms. Name tags are created by Dave (some of which he does at home during the week).

*Then worship happens.

*After worship we clean up the place--putting away the chairs, the tables, the supplies, etc. Cleaning the floors and the bathrooms so all is well for school on Monday morning. Coffee pots are scrubbed. The communion trays are washed and put away. The Grace Adventure Club rooms are cleaned up. The doors are locked up as are the gates to the parking lots.

*On Monday morning a team heads over the Grace World Headquarters to count the offering. The totals are recorded. The worship folders are gone through, pulling out prayer requests, first time visitor names, new email addresses, questions, etc. and the information is farmed out to the appropriate people.

*On Tuesday I send out thank you emails to first time visitors. Our prayer team follow up with a phone call to our guests.

*Tuesday some of the staff meet to review the past Sunday.

*And it starts all over again.

Whew! And I've missed some important stuff I'm sure. It truly takes a community of faith to prepare worship for the community of faith.

Thanks to all of our staff and volunteers who make it happen every week, and make it happen in such a way that it seems effortless, allowing us to be caught up in the moment as we enter the throne room of God's grace through worship.

Lunch with Paul

I had lunch today with my good friend, Paul Sorensen, one of the Pastors at Community Church of Joy where I also served for 22 years. Paul has now stepped into the role of Lead Pastor, overseeing the congregation of Joy while Senior Pastor Walt Kallestad oversees the greater ministry of Joy including its various other entities. Paul recently finished up a 4 month sabbatical. He did some traveling, studying, dieting, and working out. He looks great and is really excited about the new things God is up to at Joy.

We did some dreaming together about how Grace and Joy can continue to be partners in mission and ministry. One concrete way is for Paul to be a part of the Lake Pleasant Task Force. The LPTF is made up of people from American Lutheran, Peace Lutheran, and Grace. Our common vision is to start new churches together. It will be great to have Joy at the table.

It really was great to sit and chat for awhile--two midlife guys, eating salads and drinking bottled water, still excited about following Jesus and serving congregations with people excited about the same!

Elvis Musings

I remember where I was when I heard that Elvis had died--I was driving home from my summer job working for Jan's dad out in Jonathon (Chanhassen), Minnesota.

I am one degree (or is it two?) of separation from Elvis: I am close personal friends with BJ Thomas who was friends with Elvis. Or, I am friends with Dean Jones (best known for his roles in Disney movies in the 60's) who starred with Elvis in Jail House Rock.

Years ago we did a "talk show" program with Dean Jones at Community Church of Joy. As a joke we had one of our staff members come out dressed as Elvis and sit in on the show with us.

A few of my favorite Elvis songs: In the Ghetto. If I Can Dream (actually prefer the Barry Manilow version). Suspicious Minds (also covered by BJ Thomas, my close, personal friend). Burnin' Love.

Elvis was a big Gospel Music fan. He often sang Gospel music in his concerts. After shows he would sing Gospel songs with his back up singers for hours into the early morning. My sense is that Elvis was a deeply spiritual man (with pins in his underwear) who really did love Jesus.

Wrestling With the Church--Part 2

I've been challenged by a couple of things concerning the church these last few days:

The first is a statement I've heard before but for some reason I heard it differently this time: Jesus didn't invite us to join a church. He invited us to follow him.

I don't take this as a negative about the church as the Bible has such a high view of the church. But it is important to remember that the mission of the church is not to make members but to invite people to follow Jesus and equip them to follow Jesus back into the world bringing grace to those around us.

Does Community of Grace do that?

The second challenge came from our Bible reading for today. Many of us this week are focusing on Mark 6:45-56. In this passage Jesus walks on water to his distressed disciples. A great story. But a seemingly insignificant part of the story captured my attention:

As soon as they (Jesus and his disciples) got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. They ran...to wherever they heard he was. (Mark 6:53-55)

People recognized Jesus and ran to him. Do people recognize Jesus at Grace? Is Jesus so recognizable, so present among us that people run to him there?

Do people see Jesus in us in such a way that they want to know more about him?