life is good

Blogging for a Resume

2007-05-11T08:09:00.000-07:00

Sorry if you have come here looking for an actual post. After being dumped by the Methodist Blogroll on two occassions for going a month without posting, I thought I'd spend my time in exile practicing other spiritual disciplines. Someday, I my pennance may lead to blogroll-worthiness once again!

blogs vs. podcasts

2007-04-10T08:24:00.000-07:00

I've discovered myself devouring podcasts at an increasing rate lately. Ever since we started making our messages available on itunes, I've become hooked on listening to great pastors and preachers I admire. I usually listen while running. I usually only have time for a 30 minute run and that's close to the average length of a podcast sermon.

Here's what I'm enjoying these days, I'd love to know what other people are listening to.

*imago dei (Rick McKinley--of Blue Like Jazz fame)
*Church of the Resurrection (Adam Hamilton)
*Mars Hill (Rob Bell--also does Nooma Videos)
*Ginghamsburg (Michael Slaughter)
*Cartalk Call of the Week
*Whad'ya Know the News That Isn't
*Prarie Home Companion-News from Lake Wobegon
*Sonny Rollins Video Podcast
*Emergent Podcast
*Chapel Hill UMC

Jenny on Your Pod

2007-03-24T09:46:00.000-07:00

I'm stoked to let you know that you can find one of Jenny's songs on the emergent podcast. "Love You Like That" is featured after a conversation with Doug Pagitt from the mainline emergent event at Columbia last January. Find it here and subscribe to the podcast through itunes. It's a great way to be in conversation with others in the outposts of God's movement in the church today.

There's a link on www.emergentvillage.com/podcast to Jenny's e-press kit. Her website is days away from completion too.

Check it out!

Jenny will be opening for Beth Neilson Chapman in Tullahoma next Friday evening, March 30th at 7:30pm. A few tickets are available through South Jackson Civic Center

Come on, get SOAPY!

2007-01-30T11:36:00.000-08:00

When he arrived in Tennessee two years ago, our bishop encouraged the use of a Life Journal for scripture study and prayer. I was already using a Guide to Prayer from the Upper Room and found it hard to switch gears. But the bishop cranked it up a notch by taking the journal on-line. I've never seen anything so user friendly come out of the UMC. I'm loving it, check it out!

The Monastery X 6

2007-01-29T12:21:00.000-08:00

I'm part of a group of pastors who have received a grant to study monastacism and sabbath. Each of us are visiting a different monastery somewhere in the States this year. You can follow our experiences of Methodist Monastics.

Jacob Armstrong has just posted thought from his experiences at Holy Trinity in Arizona.

Ocean Springs Day 3

2007-01-24T16:22:00.000-08:00

Another great day of work.

My heart is with a good friend Nancy who has given much of herself to my daughter Gracie. She lost her husband this week. Her husband Sonny used to come over at Christmas time as his alter-ego Santa. He had a great heart and loved his wife very much. If you pray, please pray for Nancy.

Back in MS, we redid the floor we completed yesterday, the plumbing's done and most of the painting is done. I've learned that the adhesive used on floor tiles is quite sticky and I my fingertips are somewhere underneath the floor of a house in Ocean Springs.

The team member of the day is the Cumberland District Superintendant, Ron Lowery. To become a DS you must express great wisdom at the drop of a hat. So when asked to share a bit he said this, (brace yourself)

"Keep the line straight and don't let the paint drip."

That's Ron on the left and Chef Jim on the right.

Ocean Springs Day 2

2007-01-23T19:33:00.001-08:00

Above is a picture of our team taking lunch on the front porch of the house we're working on. You can't really see it all, but the area behind the house is somewhat of sunken area. The waters from Katrina would have been over our heads and halfway to the roof.

We did some floor work today, and part of the team finished the plumbing. We're going to see a lot of change over the few days we're here, but as my bro-in-law Jeff pointed out, it's hard to realize we won't see it to completion.

And now for the team member of the day... It's Jim Ricketts. Jim owns his own contracting business in Chapel Hill so he's one who actually knows what he's doing around here. He's one of the greatest guys I've met in a long time, but I couldn't pin him down for a quote. So I'm forced to go with some things overheard throughout the day.

"Well, I'd be dipped!"

"I've been waylayed."

There are many others, but Jim is so busy serving God with the gifts he has, that it's hard to get to pen and paper fast enough!

PS Although I'm seated and laying down in the pictures above, I really do work!

Ocean Springs, MS

2007-01-22T14:44:00.000-08:00

I'm in day one of working out of Camp St. Paul in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. It's very exciting to be in this place that so many have called base camp while serving hurricane victims for much of the last 18 months.

My team started work on a home that is in the middle of town but backs up to a marshy meadow with a waterway flowing through it. It's beautiful. The house sits up high on the edge of the "swamp", most of the house is elevated high above the low ground before, yet still the waters of Katrina were waist high. It's hard to imagine how much work has already been done on the house, it's ready for flooring to go in, we put another coat of paint on and new plumbing is going in this week.

the full time workers at camp St. Paulo's say that the locals know who we are when they see us in town. They notice that we travel in clumps. The amazing thing is a guy at a rest stop just inside the Alabama state line recognized what were traveling for. Just because we were a group of guys heading south!

Here's a look into some of our crew...

Meet Larry Symons!

His thoughts on day one... "It amazes me how devastated people must have been...yet many people are fighting back and rebulding."

More on day 2...

Christian Nation and the Church

2006-11-03T08:58:00.000-08:00

In the midst of multi-taking, I listened to this discussion between Jim Wallis and Greg Boyd. In the spirit of honest dialogue that seems to be the hope of the Gospel now and in the coming days, these two evangelical Christians spoke about the role of the church in the American political system.

Ever since reading Christ and Culture, I have been struggling for words to define the relationship between the church and the world. Both Wallis and Boyd spoke about the Church's responsibility to transform the world. I agree--to a point. When there are people pursuing the way of Christ and living as Kingdom people in the world, the world will most definitely be changed. I would say that our responsibility though, rest in that--to pursue the Kingdom. Being in the world, we constantly encounter the world. As such, we seek justice for the oppressed, food for the hungry, shelter for the homeless, community for the isolated. But is our goal to change the world, or the usher in the Kingdom of God? Does one make the church subject to the world?

I Want a New Word

2006-10-18T11:49:00.000-07:00

So stuck in the middle between what was and what is...
When what I really want to care about is what is yet to be...
I'm defined by old standards that really don't apply,
How to say, "engaging" without saying "you're dull"
How to say, "meaningful" without saying "hard hearted"
How to live as "Kingdom" without living as "cult"

we are relevant, contemporary, traditional, progressive,
we like the way things are, and the comfort of our seat
our doors are always "open" but you still must have the key

I want a new word

I Believe...in Jesus Christ, Savior of the World

2006-08-29T17:15:00.000-07:00

(a continuation of thoughts for a sermon series on the Apostle's Creed)

It's impossible to separate who Christ is from what Christ does. But the distinction has been made for hundreds of years as the church figured out how to put its beliefs into words.

Jesus is the Son of God, Son of Man, the Christ--the Messiah, the One who Saves...but how does he save?

Atonement theories give me headaches. Did Christ's work on the cross appease an angry God, or did it reveal the heart of God? Why would anyone in rural Marshall County, TN care to answer?

I'm not necessarily a bottom line kind of person, but here I want to be. I feel like this whole question comes down to our view of God. Starting with the Trinity--we have to understand that whatever exactly the work of Christ is accomplishing, it happens within the three-in-one God--so that we might have a relationship with that same God.

Do we owe God something? Yes--our lives, our selves, our worship.
Does the work of Christ on the cross reveal something about God? Absolutely--God desires that we would know and love Him.

I'm satisfied (intended) with that, but I guess it doesn't answer the question. Maybe that's the point.

I Believe... in Jesus Christ his only Son

2006-08-25T13:33:00.000-07:00

In a current sermon series on The Apostle's Creed, we at Chapel Hill Church are hoping to increase the boldness of our proclamation each week. As great as tradition is, it really is just mumbling words (to God and to us) if we don't connect to what we're saying.

This coming Sunday, we'll be engaging the scandal of the incarnation.

"and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord:
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,"

After looking at them here, it's hard to believe how quickly we run through these words in times of worship! N.T. Wright has written that through the gift of the Son "a great door has swung open in the cosmos that can never again be shut."

Jesus isn't just a nice gesture on God's part. He is the very presence of God who radically changes the world and the way we view it. The world has a new beginning and a new ending because Jesus walked the earth.

I want our proclamation of the creeds to reflect the unbelievably profound words they contain. I worshipped at an upstart Presbyterian church (emphasis on the Reformed) in Nashville several years ago. I was impressed by the sense of purpose that surrounded the affirmation of faith. Each worship book had the words "he rose from the dead" highlighted with yellow ink, and the congregation shouted them out accordingly each week.

My powerful bent to barrow great ideas is strong here, but I can't decide which words are most amazing. I'm relatively new at Chapel Hill, and so asking the congregation to decorate their hymnals with bright highlighter ink is maybe not the right move. Instead, I suppose we'll just keep reminding each other what amazing things God has done so that our proclamation will be vital to our worship and to our lives that flow from that worship.

Disconnected

2006-07-14T12:42:00.000-07:00

Hello from Chapel Hill, Tennessee-- proud(?) to be the birthplace of Nathan Bedford Forest.

Quite frankly I'm loving it here. There is so much excitement for being a part of seeing God's Kingdom on earth. Jenny and I watched our three-year-old dance around the yard at dusk while fireflys flew around her head--and it felt good to be content.

One catalyst of my contentment may have actually been the most difficult reality when we arrived--there is little electronic communication happening here. The church is off-line, the house was until recently. Friends and family thought I was shunning them because I was not returning email. I realized that I have trouble operating and communicating at a slower pace. It's been a good practice for me, but I hope to have the church online, website and all in the next couple of weeks.

A Great Night of Music--June 18th

2006-06-11T05:29:00.000-07:00

The people of Tullahoma FUMC know what many of you do not. The gem they've been sitting on is this---Jenny Youngman can flat write a great song! She's been singing and leading worship here for a couple of years. We're about to transition into yet another "next big adventure" by moving ot Chapel Hill, TN and joining the good people of Chapel Hill UMC. But before we do, Jenny, along with her brother Jeff and a band will be performing several original songs at The Gathering service. Please come and join us next Sunday night, June 18th for a special time on our last night in Tullahoma.

Jenny Youngman in Concert
First United Methodist Church, Tullahoma
(about 1 hour, 15 minutes from downtown Nashville)
Sunday, June 18th
6:00pm
A light reception will follow.

"Some of My Best Friends Are Women"

2006-04-25T10:03:00.000-07:00

In a time when issues of inclusion/exclusion seem to be coming to a head, it is more and more common to hear this phrase that I thought was quite outdated. It starts like this, "Some of my best friends are _____________________" You fill in the blank. It's a way of saying "Yes, there is a problem, but it's not mine...I have this friend..."

I'm glad to be a part of something that in its best moments can embrace change (especially when 'change' isn't exactly our middle name!). The UMC has recognized full clergy rights for women for 50 years now. The first time I really knew a female pastor was in 1995 when Rev. Gayla Rapp became my pastor. God used her to change my life, and to rekindle in me a passion for Christ's church that had been close to extinction. I'm in professional ministry due to God's persistance and the love of many faithful people, this particular one will be placing the red stole around my neck as I'm ordained at annual conference this year.

There is cause to celebrate that God's Spirit would choose any of us for the work of the Kingdom. Once much more than 50% of believers were not considered fit for ordained ministry--I can't comprehend it, and in a way I'm thankful that I can't. For me, and many others, a church without women as pastors is not Church. Thank God we look a little bit more like the Kingdom of God then we did 50 years ago.

Jesus and People of the "Slums"

2006-04-12T08:34:00.000-07:00

Once again, I'm too slow with the camera... I've become quite a connoisseur of church signs. I can spot heresy 2 blocks away, and have become concerned with the tax-exempt status of some partisan churches.

the following message graced a street corner here in Tullahoma for months, until appropriately, it was removed just in time for holy week.

Christ didn't take people out of the slums, he took the slums out of the people.

Alas, I didn't get a snapshot for you, and my dream of a coffee table book featuring such wisdom is slipping away. Trust me, it was there.

Of all times, during the season of Lent, this message spoke to a skeptical world a message they had already assumed--"Christ doesn't make a lick of difference in my life or in the world." OUCH church, that seems like a poor representation of a God who would give himself so that the world could have new life. Resurrection is bigger than tap dancing on the streets of gold. It is the power to transforms lives, to reconcile broken relationships, and to bring new life to dead places.

Christ did come to take people out of the slums, (oh, and he empowered the church with his Spirit that the transforming work could continue) we have the image of God stamped within us somewhere, and it can be restored--that's the hope we have in the Easter story.

P.S. Send me your favorites. Mine? -- "Your choice for eternity: extra crispy or well done."--classy

Skipping a Discipline

2006-03-12T05:52:00.000-08:00

Under the heading "How to listen for God's Voice" in the hilarious but helpful book The Christian Handbook, comes the instruction-

Rejoice shamelessly when God provides a time of joy. Consider skipping when possible.

The instruction is accompanied by a line drawing of an elderly woman tossing her walker aside, presumably to skip.

I've been skipping a lot lately. Not so much as a result of my own inward joy (not that it's lacking), but more out of response to the endless joy of my daughter. She skips everywhere she goes. Ok, maybe it's a cross between galloping, skipping, and tripping--still it's a joyful action. It's contagious. I like it. I like her!

I'm going in...

2006-03-12T05:03:00.000-08:00

Some go to Dubose Retreat Center in Monteagle, TN to focus on spiritual discipline, to take time apart from the distractions and stresses of the world. I like to go for demanding, in-your-face interviews. To each his own, I guess.

I'll be going before the board of ordained ministry in the morning. On some levels, this is a very efficient and affirming process, on others--not so much. But I've been considering, what does God think of this whole thing? I hope God chuckles at least a little bit at our faithful fumbling--as we ourselves should do from time to time. What I know is that God can work even through (or inspite of) our sometimes silly efforts at qualifying and classifying the things that he is and does.

Thanks for your prayers.

The Rhythm Of This Day

2006-03-01T14:57:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Trinity Lutheran for a wonderfull noon eucharist and imposition of the ashes service. I hope to make the wednesday service a new habit. I've never noticed the significance of the rhythm of words quite like I did today. As we gathered around Trinity's altar-in-the-round one of the presiding pastors imposed the ashes on our foreheads. He spoke the words "From ashes you have come, to ashes you shall return" (typical for ash wed) but it was said in a rhythm that stuck with me for hours. It was a chant really, that was at first distracting but quickly became a part of my own penitence.

I hope to take on this rhythm for the 40 days to come.

A Purpose-Driven Response

2006-03-01T07:28:00.000-08:00

Success is a difficult thing. It's interesting how our response to a phrase like "purpose-driven" can change over the years. It's been 10 years since I first heard my UM pastor sing Rick Warren's praises over the original book. It is was/is full of great insight and advice for the church. In the years that followed though, the words "purpose driven" were embossed on a wide assortment journals, coffee mugs, t-shirts, pencils, pens, picture frames--you name it. And all of a sudden a positive became suspect at best.

I know that from a marketing standpoint this is old news, however, I'm glad to see someone from Saddleback address "purpose-driven" as a movement. Read Doug Field's recent letter here.

It's a helpful reminder that the machine of Christian marketing does not often reflect the heart of the author/pastor/program innovator behind the products it promotes. I respect Doug Fields. I disagree on a few very important theological and ecclesiological points (including some in the referenced letter), but I believe his passion is truly to help youth ministers.

Emerging Emergent

2006-02-18T11:58:00.000-08:00

It's snowing on the field behind our house. It doesn't snow much here in southern middle Tennessee. People get excited (scared excited) at the mention of it, but it rarely happens. I've been pretending that that's my problem with the area--that it doesn't snow enough. And the truth is, I love snow, but I also love a brisk but cozy fall day in the woods, and the overwhelming pulse of the summer sun that puts me in my place while I run---oh and the artistic display that is spring in the "Southland". You see, southern middle Tennessee offers all of that...with abundance.

The real problem is that my soul has not been still for a long time.

I am not one to jump onboard with the latest thing, the latest movement, the new direction. Mostly those things come and go and I fear looking foolish. One of those areas of new venture often talked about in the corners of the blogosphere that I frequent is that of the "emerging" movement. When I do enter into or participate in something big, it's not usually through the front door. (I saw Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and THEN Star Wars).

So I've asked many of the same questions that others have asked when studying the emergent movement. "Great, but what is it?", "How will it help the church to be the The Church for us to gather over cool Youth Specialty style backpacks." You hear that emergent is a conversation--but my guard was up and I fully expected the next big machine of capitalism to rear its head. I didn't doubt or resent anything or anyone, I just couldn't find the answers to the questions I had. I read Generous Orthodoxy, I listened to Leonard Sweet, I followed with interest the success and failures of faithful churches across the country, I read Blue Like Jazz. Having finally taken the time to sit down with Brian McLaren's A New Kind of Christian, his explanation of (what is now) the emerging movement has finally given me the handle I've longed for. In the introduction, he compares his effort to a philosophical dialogue not unlike the style employed by Galileo when he challenged the status quo centuries ago. He quotes Galileo, "I have thought it most appropriate to explain these concepts in the form of dialogue...[to] make room also for digressions, which are sometimes no less interesting than the principle argument." All the talk of "paradigm shifts" for the last ten years had gotten rather hollow, but now I these words have helped reveal the heart of a new/old Christianity.

Maybe I've come late to love the place where I am, but I do. I don't just mean southern middle Tennessee, but this place in the church where I see with eyes of hope because God has always been calling us to emerge from the limits we put on ourselves.

New Life- Myles Arrives

2006-02-02T15:29:00.000-08:00

Well not many were worried, but the Youngman name lives on.

Generations of struggle and history rests on young Myles. Just kidding kid,
God suspends the stars in the sky and created a beautiful new thing in you. I love you son.

Christmas in the Trenches

2005-12-03T05:15:00.000-08:00

There is no debate about--- do we say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays? To be in this debate is to somehow make Christ subject to the world. To spend one ounce of energy arguing over December greetings is to, in a very real way, deny the incarnation. To use a holiday greeting that includes the name of our Lord as a weapon is at best to deny that God became flesh and entered into the world, and at worst blasphemes the entire Trinity.
So for those who do not follow Jesus Christ---for them to say Happy Holidays when they mean Merry Christmas is to admit that there is power in the Christmas idea. They get (better than many professing Christians) that Christmas is not just a capitalist idea that strengthens a sagging economy. But it is God changing everything—making small big, making poor rich, making lame walk, making heaven possible.

15 Years Late for a Funeral

2005-11-03T06:38:00.000-08:00

I found the Highlander Folk School grounds in Monteagle yesterday. A kind policeman from the MPD gave me directions. There are several buildings still there but the area was sold off by the government after they took it over in the 60's. It's residential now. I couldn't tell for sure, but I think what used to be the library (where the picture of MLK and Rosa Parks--see previous post--was taken) is now a home.

I wandered over to a cemetery across the street. Among the graves of families who had settled the area was the unassuming tombstone of Myles Horton and his wife Zilphia. When I was driving back to Sewanee I realized that Rosa Park's funeral was taking place as I was standing in the cemetery next to Highlander.

We Shall Overcome--Highlander Folk School

2005-11-01T07:36:00.000-08:00

I'm the kind of person that, when I move to a new place, I like to learn the history and geography of the area. It's taken me three years and the passing of an amazing woman to uncover the world-changing history of Monteagle, TN.

Monteagle is a little town on top of the Cumberland Plateau. It's advertised as the "highest point between Chicago and Miami". 45 minutes away from my doorstep is an unsuspecting collection of gas stations and restaurants. These days, I make the drive every week to attend class at Sewanee, University of the South. It's a beautiful area with caves and waterfalls on every turn, but what I hadn't realized is that ideas that sparked the most profound social movement in our country were discussed there.

5 months before her famous decision to stay in her seat on the bus, Rosa Parks had attended Highlander Folk School in Monteagle. Highlander was founded by a man from Savanna, TN named Miles Horton. After studying with the likes of Reinhold Neibuhr at Union Seminary, Horton set out to start a school that would address the social issues in the surrounding area. The predominant issue of the time was the poor treatment of miners in the coal mines of the Cumberland Plateau. The situation was poor as food intended for the workers was being withheld. Horton worked to instruct the miners on worker's rights. Horton's wife spent time with the families. At one point she learned a song from the wives of the embattled miners.

Years later Mrs. Horton taught that song to Pete Seger and others as they gathered at Highlander for groundbreaking meetings on desegregation and civil rights. They changed the words a little and made popular the old song "We Shall Overcome." Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, jr., and other activists-to-be came to Highlander and learned (among other things) of Ghandi's ideas of non-violent protest.

Yesterday, a childhood friend of Ms. Parks recalled what Rosa had taken away from Highlander. At times of worship, she had been told repeatedly that she was a beloved child of God. And 5 months later, on that bus, she remembered those words and found the strength to quietly tear down walls.

After Rosa's time at Highlander, it fell victim to outside attacks, and was shut down by the state of Tennessee for various violations of segregation laws. It was re-established in East Tennessee where the work of the Highlander Center carries on, currently addressing the plight of Appalachian communities.

Sometimes, even when I'm not aware of it, I search for holy ground. I want to know that I'm connected to God's Kingdom on earth. Right in my backyard sits such a place.

I'm trying to find the exact grounds of the old Highlander in Monteagle. If anyone has any info on this, let me know!

Peace of Christ

Holy Crap, I have a blog!

2005-10-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

The other day I was stalling. It was one of those moments when I had so much to do that I couldn't do anything. So I turned to my old companion-that great consumer of time- my computer. I made a great, eye-opening discovery. The world keeps on blogging.

It's completely arrogant to have ever thought otherwise,and my excuses for not attending to my own blog are not on par with giving birth to a child (congratulations Kara and Jeff!). But to be honest, the Board of Ordained Ministry, my professors, my congregation, and even my beautifully-bellied editor are more demanding than the blogworld. So I forgot about it for awhile, and I'm not ashamed. Thanks for being so understanding, I know you'll wait with unconditional love (unless blogger pulls the plug for inactivity)! Hope to see you soon.

Purity, Peacemaking, and Reconciliation

2005-08-30T13:46:00.000-07:00

We returned from a great vacation to Maryland last week. Happy to report that our daughter handles 15 hour car rides with much patience (aided by Jenny's stellar parenting techniques).

Upon returning, I guess I expected that vacation "feel" to continue. It didn't. I felt a void of grace from most directions, and began to realize that I was having trouble with forgiveness. A timely sermon reminded me to reach out for a reliable friend, John Dub-yah. Paul Chilcote has written 52 great prayers that are born from some of Wesley's sermons.

"...You have called me to be a peacemaker. The desire to reconcile and to be reconciled is a primary characteristic of your true children.

While you call me to be pure, you also call me to do those things that make for peace. Create a new spirit within me that detests all strife and contentious debate, all useless discord and violence. May I rejoice in every opportunity to do good to others.

Lord, pacify my heart that my life might reflect your peace."

Insight into the Blog Address

2005-08-11T08:16:00.000-07:00

Honestly, I didn't know what I was doing when I set up this blog. Therefore the address is lacking in depth and pizazz. But if you're interested in the story behind the name, check out recent posts at The House Blog

Famous street scene reenactments staring Nosty Nostril are available via email.

2005-08-04T07:01:00.000-07:00

I love the church. I am never more excited than when I see God at work in the community of faith, pouring grace and providing glimpses of the Kingdom.

I'm not really good at taking quizes. I could carry on an inner-debate about one answer over another for hours. But I think the results of the following quiz are interesting.

Sacrament model

84%

Mystical Communion Model

78%

Herald Model

50%

Servant Model

39%

Institutional Model

28%

What is your model of the church? [Dulles]
created with QuizFarm.com

Hey! Get your kids in church!

2005-08-03T12:08:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not trying out a new approach to evangelism (YELLING really hardly ever works!), but I have an even deeper sense of what it means to be the church today, and it's because someone decided to bring their two-year-old to church.

Young children are so often thought of as a distraction in worship--and I suppose they are, but distractions are not always bad. Last Sunday, I was inviting the congregation into silent prayer. I said, "Let's Pray". Our time of silent prayer was greeted by a wonderful rendition of "God our Father" with full echo and everything. You see, my lovely wife has begun to bring our two-year old daughter into worship. "God our Father" has become our mealtime prayer.

I know I'm an emotional daddy, but come on, how do you then lead a spoken prayer after such an act of worship? My heart is still bursting just thinking of it. I can't begin to comprehend how the heart of God receives such praise. Please, please if at all possible, bring your kids to worship!

Serving Others/Serving Yourself

2005-07-27T14:15:00.000-07:00

It was a seeking (not in the willow creek/saddleback sense) youth who provoked me enough to look into the writer/philosopher Ayn Rand. The minute I did I was hooked in the same way I can't stop listening to Michael Savage, et al. It's so disturbing that I can't look away--call it philosophical rubber-necking.
The quote above (posted on a website dedicated to her life's work)sums up the sentiment that I find alarming. How can a person be so self-involved that the needs of the world become offensive?

Sometimes such an extreme view opens us up for alarming introspection. Many within the Christian church find it difficult to explain the need to help others. "Because it's the right thing to do" doesn't cut it. It's almost as if we are afraid to allow our acts of compassion to become too closely associated with our Christian discipleship. It's a radical shift in thinking to say that my service to others is best when motivated solely by my participation in God's work through Jesus Christ.

The irony today is that our country (which is currently and unapologetically run on "Christian" values) has a new representative to the world in John Bolton. Bolton represents an ideology that says that we (US) always have the right-of-way. We will operate out of our self-interest. It is as if the needs of the world have become far too offensive to us. I'm praying for humility.

Grace at Blockbuster pt. 2

2005-07-17T06:19:00.000-07:00

So, I really don't go to Blockbuster THAT often, but lately I've been mesmerized by their gracious presence in the community (see previous post). This weekend, I went to the video store for what may be the last time (We're going a different route with our movies these days), and it struck me--how I respond to the "no late fee" phenomenon really matters.

The Blockbuster guy (who seems a little fidgity these days--lack of job security?) said, "It's due...let's say...Sunday at noon." What I wanted to say in reply was, "I'll do my best." or "We'll see about that." because I know (and he knows that I know) that I could turn it in next wednesday and there's nothing he can do about it.

Then it struck me and here is the clearest picture of sin that I have... When grace is extended to you and you throw it back in the face of the one or the One who offers it--that's sin. Separation from God that is the result of an informed decision. I know that God desires to shower me with grace, but when my response is one that tests God, when I give a half-hearted "Yea, I'll do my best" in reply I am farther from God then I even know.

And thus my awful comparison between God and Blockbuster ends. Forgive me...my late fees.

London

2005-07-07T19:30:00.000-07:00

I had a scary out-of-body experience when I tuned into NPR this morning. for just a moment, I identified with Toby Kieth--(that's painful to admit-I'm still thinking about deleting it...). I was mad. Not in the sense that I want to take a sharpie to the next bomb that drops from an American plane, but I'm mad because maybe at last the powerful G8 was going to discuss poverty, illness, and injustice. At last, poor nations in Africa were gong to be on the radar of the self-interested West.

Today's bombings cost at least 40 lives in London, and by extension, an untold number of lives around the world. I know the pastoral response is to proclaim how much more profound is the hope we have in Christ, but I'm mourning the loss of focus on people without voices.

I'm so excited by glimpses of God's Kingdom that I want it to take root everywhere and in everyway. Perhaps the G8 is not the place to put our hope. Hmmm, I'm going to church.

2005-07-07T14:32:00.000-07:00

youth ministry takes its toll

Humbled by Head Trauma

2005-07-05T09:33:00.000-07:00

I recently returned with my church's youth mission team from Mountain Top. I went into the experience praying for patience, because the pre-trip planning for a first time church was a bit overwhelming at times. I probably went in with a less-than faithful attitude. But as I talked to the kids throughout the week, I could tell that they were in the middle of a life changing experience. I didn't realize how focused I had been on myself.

This revelation came full-circle when, while participating in typically stupid youth games, my big noggin ran full speed into the slightly smaller but equally as hard head of one of my youth. We were both laid out for a few counts. I had a huge knot on my head, but she ended up in the ER getting a CT scan. As I watched her speaking jibberish, fighting to get words out at all. I finally forgot about myself. Thank God! She's ok. We were both out rafting a couple of days later.

Grace at Blockbuster

2005-06-08T18:05:00.000-07:00

I'm struggling with this one. I've received the gift of undeserved, unmerited grace. I suppose it hasn't REALLY changed my life like I thought it would. I expected profound life-change, but no strangers are stopping me on the street to inquire about that special glow. I guess I'm the same old me even in this new culture of forgiveness.

I mean, I still turn my videos in at least 1/2 day late. But now, the all-powerful giver of all good (and crappy) videos has decided to give me the confusing gift of "The end of late fees". It's a confusing gift because when I check out movies they still say "this one's due on Sunday by noon". But then the wonderfully goofy blockbuster boy gives me a wink and says, almost under his breath, "or, whenever you like".

How am I supposed to respond to this? I still feel a little guilty returning a dvd late--I might after all be depriving another soul the life altering experience that is "Phantom of the Opera Hits the Screen". Yet the guy in the blue shirt said it's ok. Well, regardless, somewhere within the confines of a business model, Blockbuster found a way to give its customers a break.

Don't get me wrong, God has not changed his mind about the church--deciding instead to go with a video chain to usher in the Kingdom. I know that someone ran the numbers and the bottom line and projections looked good for Blockbuster. But still, compared to the state of TN with its handling of state sponsored health care, blockbuster looks to be in line behind Pope john Paul to be canonized.