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!