By His Grace. For His Glory.

Snow on 54th

2012-01-22T19:08:00.000-06:00

The forecast said it was going to be a record storm. Coming from Chicago I knew it wasn't going to be anything too crazy. The snow lasted for quite some time last week and many around here were calling it Snowpocalypse and Snowmaggeddon -- the same names we used for the ridiculous blizzard last year. But what blew me away was the snow just stayed on the streets. I only saw one snow plow in three days and by that time it was basically unneeded. The other surprising aspect of the snowfall was that the University of Washington (UW) all but completely shut down. This left students with a lot of time on their hands to take to the streets. One of our interns, Taylor Hawkins, made the following video to show just what those students did. These are the future leaders of your country:

54 ST from Taylor Hawkins on VimeoBy His Grace.

The Day She Said "Yes!"

2012-01-02T23:29:00.001-06:00

December 20th. That's a day that will be etched in my mind and heart for a long long time. That's the day the most beautiful woman I know -- Ms. Stacy Leigh Weber -- said yes when I asked for her hand in marriage. Since that day we've had the chance to share the story quite a bit with family and friends. Now I get to blog about it and share it with the world (well, the small world of people who read this). There is also a special treat below. Stacy's sister, Julie, made a fantastic video of the day. First, some context.

About a week or 10 days prior to the Big Day I asked Stacy if we could do an early Christmas together. Julie and her husband, Jacob, were getting into town from his parents' on the 20th and I was spending Christmas with her family so we both knew we wouldn't get much time alone so Stacy thought it was a wonderful idea. She fell right into my masterful plan...

Because it was set as an early Christmas, gifts were expected. My plan was to give Stacy a series of five meaningful gifts all under the guise of "Christmas." Along with each gift was a note. I had a much more creative friend write "Christmas 2011" at the top of them. Each note contained a small, but significant statement I wrote to Stacy. The secret though wasn't revealed until I gave her the 3rd gift. I knew fairly early on in the relationship -- by the third date -- that Stacy was God's grace to me and that I wanted to marry her. This created a lot of intense feelings and thoughts that I knew were not appropriate to share with her so soon. I have learned in my old age that there's a fine line called between "stalker" and "romantic." That fine line is called timing. So I began to write on post-it notes the things I wanted to say to Stacy, but couldn't say at the time. I waited until the time was right, or should I say romantic.

On December 20th I picked Stacy up from her place. When we were on our way to the final location Stacy took out her Flip camera to capture the moment. Little did she know what awaited. Her sister Julie used that video, some pictures from the day, and video she captured at the engagement party to make what you are about to see. I'll let Stacy take it from here...

Now you're probably wondering a little bit about how the actual proposal went down. I took Stacy to the Chicago Botanic Garden. That was supposed to be our third date, but we didn't end up going due to weather. I had scoped the place out twice before the day she and I went so I could have the right spot to propose, but when we arrived I told her to grab a map while I went to the bathroom. I had to play it cool of course. In the bathroom I called all other peeps involved to make sure everything was in place. Stacy and I began walking around the garden. I mentioned to her that a friend said the English Walled Garden was the place to go so that's where we went....hmmmm.

When we got there I saw some men photographing the area. A wall blocked the view of the bench so I had no idea what to expect. This was the only time the entire morning together that I panicked. I determined: "If no one is sitting on that blue bench, I'm going for it, even if those guys are there." We turned the corner and no one was there! And right at that time Stacy said, "Look at that blue bench!" And I was like, "Yeah, look at that blue bench. We should go sit on it" (twiddling fingers as she falls into my trap). I carried a blanket for us "just in case" we needed to spend some extended time sitting, so we sat and I began giving her the final gift. I wrote a long letter for this last part and the same friend who wrote on the cards wrote on this "Ephesians 5:25" at the top and the verse below which reads "Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." I read the first paragraph to her then went down to get the gift out of her bag. Before she knew it I was on my knee saying "Stacy Leigh Weber. You're my best friend. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

She said "Yes."

At that point the men taking photographs started clapping. They then confessed that they took pictures of us the whole time and one guy even got video! I too had a photographer lurking in bushes capturing everything and he came out (thanks Matt!!!). Once we both settled down, she sat to read the rest of the letter and then we called people. Her first phone call was to Julie. Julie picked up and was all excited with Stacy on the phone and then said "I gotta go. I gotta go. Bye." What? Then Stacy looked up and saw Julie and Jacob coming toward to her to surprise her! We got to take a bunch more photos with them, spend the day with family, and party. It was just a wonderful day where all the plans went off without a hitch. God is way too good.

Here are a few more pics of the day she said Yes!

By His Grace.

Unleash Tebow!!!

2011-12-12T13:42:00.003-06:00

This is an awesome mashup.

DJ Steve Porter mashes up First Take's Skip Bayless to create the ultimate Tim Tebow tribute..."All He Does Is Win" (from ESPN1stTake)

By His Grace.

The Road of Chance or Decision

2011-11-22T13:03:00.001-06:00

Stumbled on this thought-provoking post on NPR. Apparently the chance of you or me existing is 10^2,685,000

Here's how it ends up getting worked out. It again begs the question whether we think we exist by chance of random events occurring over a really really really long time or if Someone actually had (and still has) a hand in all this.

By His Grace.

It's Almost Christmas, Chicago!

2011-11-20T22:28:00.001-06:00

This is a MUST BUY for your Christmas JAMs.

You can listen to the whole album here.

Here is my iTunes review of the album:

So I bought this right when it came out and broke the rule of not listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving. Totally worth it. I have not stop listening to this. I love the fresh, unique takes on the classics. Highlights are Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Little Drummer Boy & Auld Lang Syne. Of course the best track is the brand new original, It's Almost Christmas, Chicago! I just can't get it out of my head and that's a good thing. Listen to it repeatedly, pass it on to your friends, get it onto the radio and enjoy it all this Christmas season!
Make another album soon???

By His Grace.

My Friend, the Deer

2011-11-17T07:32:00.001-06:00

Just another day of running into a deer on campus. Could have gotten so much closer. Tried, but failed.

By His Grace.

Justification: The Issue of First Importance

2011-11-16T07:00:00.000-06:00

So I preached my final sermon at The Line this weekend. Bottom line is if you have questions at all about God, life, joy, being a good person - all that and more - this is a sermon to listen to or read.

This is probably one of the most important aspects of Christianity that has finally begun to set in for me. If you are not a Christian, this is one of the most foundational aspects of Christianity, so if you want to understand more about where Christians come from, it's a solid sermon to listen to. If you're a Christian and need the reminder of the importance of the gospel in your life, this is one to take in.

Here's the link to listen.

Below is the sermon manuscript. It is a joy to preach God's Word, regardless of if I feel "qualified" or not.
________________________________________

justification: the issue of firstimportance

Rom 4:1-5 What then shall we say wasgained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? ²For ifAbraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. ³For whatdoes the Scripture say? “Abrahambelieved God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” ⁴Now tothe one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. ⁵Andto the one who does not work but believes in him whojustifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.

JUSTIFICATIONIS THE ISSUE FIRST IMPORTANCE

As Aaron mentioned last week, this will be thefinal shot I get to preach to the church that has been my home for almost threeyears now. This will be the longest time I have ever remained at one church andGod has done so much in my life through doing life with you all and serving withThe Line. I could take the time up here just to tell everything Jesus has donefor me while at The Line, but I won’t this morning.

Last week I spent time praying over what God wouldhave me preach. Nothing was clear. On Monday I continued to pray, “what wouldyou have me preach in my final sermon?” The Spirit provided clarity prettyquickly – preach in your final sermon what is of first importance. So that’swhat I’m gonna do.

In these five short verses Paul touches on so manymajor issues that we consider so important for our lives. He deals with how wetry to live our lives, how we ought to live our lives, how we are tempted toview God, how God views us, and how we might actually be happy! All of theseare important to most, if not all of us in this room. At some level, we want toknow if we are living meaningful lives. At some level we want to know if we are“good people.” And we want – we want so much – to be happy. We want joy! So ifthese are important to you, then this text is important to you and it has muchto say. However, Paul does not necessarily deal with each of them directly. Hedeals with the foundation. We can think of them then as rooms in a house. Eachroom is vital to make house complete, but if the foundation is faulty, thehouse will collapse. So we can say the foundation is of first importance to thehouse and all its rooms. For Paul the foundation is this: Justification. Thetext is saying that the core issue for our lives, the issue of first importancefor you and me is justification.

As we work through this passage we’re are going tosee two points. The first is that you and I have a major problem – we can’tjustify ourselves by our works. The second is that there’s only one solution –to trust in the One whose work does justify us. Before getting to these points,it’s necessary first to define justification biblically.

JUSTIFICATIONDEFINED

On its own, justification means, “right standing.”The way we use the term justify or justification most today is in the realm ofpsychology. It has to do with trying to explain or defend wrong actions.Another term is rationalization. A friend told me a story of a four year-oldwho threw rocks at his younger sister. When his parents asked why he did it, hesaid “the evil things inside of me said ‘I have a good idea!’” He was only fourand that was a more brilliant response than I could ever come up with even nowin all my wisdom and experience. What was he trying to do? He was trying tojustify his actions to put himself back in a position of “right standing” withhis parents.

But the Bible speaks of justification on muchdifferent terms. First, justification is applied to our relationship with Godso it deals with right standing before God. Second, it’s a legal term, a termthat’s used in law courts. So it’s as if we are in the law court of God withhim as the Judge. Third, justification comes only by faith alone in JesusChrist. Fourth, justification has a double meaning. Negatively it means beingdeclared not guilty for your sins. It means Christ’s work has pardoned you fromthe punishment of your sins and they are forgiven. Positively it means Christ’srighteousness is given to you and you are accepted, approved, and loved by God.

Another way that’s helpful to of justification is asthe opposite of condemnation. Condemnation means that you are declared guilty,that you deserve punishment and that you receive it because of your sins. Youare rejected, disapproved and hated by God. In Scripture, when it comes tostanding before God there is either one or the other. You are either justifiedor condemned. You can’t be both. Two implications should be drawn from this:

He’s notambivalent

The first implication is that there’s noneutrality, no ambivalence with God. Your life matters to God and He’s not justtwiddling his thumbs with lack of care or concern or involvement. He does notjust sit back and let you live your life. He created you and you reflect hisimage on earth. He knows the numbers of hairs on your head. Each and every oneof us will go before God and give an account to our Judge for the lives we’velived He will know it all. You matter immensely to Him whether or not Hematters to you at all. So God isn’t ambivalent.

He’s allin

The second implication is that God is all-in withhis judgment of our lives. There is fullness with both justification andcondemnation. You are either fully justified or fully condemned. You are eitherfully accepted or fully rejected. There’s no in-between. God does not acceptyou with conditions nor does he condemn with them. He doesn’t look at you andsay, “well, I’m just not sure about that one…” There are no reservations inGod’s decisions, even if you have reservations about Him and say, “well, I’mjust not sure about God.”

THEMAJOR PROBLEM

Okay, with justification defined we can get backto the two points this passage makes. The first is that we have a majorproblem: We can’t justify ourselves by our works. The passage deals with thisby providing a test case. In 4:1 we are introduced to Abraham. Paul has spent quitesome time developing his case for justification because it is the core of thegospel message for him. In fact, he began all the way back in 1:18 and will goall the way through chapter 8 striving for a clear, robust understandablemeaning of justification. Where we are at is crucial for his argument. This isthe first time he’s brought someone from the history of Israel into theargument. A good question to ask then is, “Why Abraham?” Well he mentions herein v. 1 that Abraham is “our forefather according to the flesh and again the onewho is “father of us all” in v. 16. Paul is writing to the church in Rome, aragtag mix of converts to Christianity who came from a variety of backgroundsthat were both Jewish and non-Jewish in origin. In any case, all can tracetheir ancestry back to him. In a very real sense, if what Paul has argueddoesn’t work when applied to Abraham, it doesn’t work at all for any of us.That’s why he brings him in here.

Paul says in v. 2, “for if Abraham was justifiedby works, he has something to boast about.” Now when Paul talks about “works”he is referring to the works of the Jewish Law, which was established afterAbraham lived. One scholar says that “The Jewish people looked up to Abraham asthe primary example of the pious Jew who kept the law even before it wasgiven.” The Law permeated every aspect of Jewish life and they believed thatAbraham upheld it well enough to be justified by God. In other words, Abraham’sactions made him a good person. He would be a guy that we could even look up totoday with our own standards of goodness and say “he lived a good life” or “Irespect him” or “He’s a good person.” So, according to how we view goodnesstoday, how does Abraham measure up? Was he a really “good man”? Let’s look atthis from a number of angles.

Some of us might define a “good person” by theirwealth, or we may at least say that that person has “the good life.” Abrahamwas wealthy and smart business man. Genesis 13:2 tells us he was “very rich”and by the accounts that follow, he’d probably be up there with Bill Gates ifhe were alive today. At the same time he didn’t horde his wealth. He waswilling to give the most plush land to his nephew and he even gave a tenth ofall he had to Melchizedek, meaning he tithed to the church!

If we don’t define goodness by just wealth, whatabout family? Some of us think a good person is one who loves his or herfamily. Abraham loved his wife and was committed to her, even when she couldn’tbear children, which was a big deal back then. He took her advice, even when itwasn’t the best, and he sought to protect her. When his son Isaac was born, welearn that Abraham loved him deeply. Not only that, but Abraham made sure totake care of his entire “household” which was at least 320 people.

If goodness isn’t just defined by wealth andfamily, what about leadership? In Genesis 14 we learn that not only was hewealthy and a family man, he was also a warrior where he took 318 men from hishousehold and fought to rescue his nephew Lot. He won the only battle we knowhe fought. He was a skillful warrior and tactician who led them well. So ifwealth, family, and leadership don’t make him good, what about his religion?Genesis 12:1-3 tells us that Abraham was willing to leave everything he knew inorder to do what God told him to do and receive what God promised. Passageslike this and others make a very strong case that Abraham was obedient to Godand listened to what God wanted for his life. So to sum it all this up, Abrahamis basically is Bill Gates, Bill Cosby, Maximus, and Billy Graham all rolled upinto one person. You get the sense that he could make that elusive perfect cupof coffee Aaron preached about last week and that he could even give ChuckNorris a run for his money. So then we hear the words of Paul, “for if Abrahamis justified by works, he has something to boast about?” Based on what we’veseen it seems like Abraham had something to boast about? He had to be a goodperson, right?

If that isn’t clear, let me provide anotherexample. Perhaps the best contemporary example we have is Mother Teresa. Sayingher name immediately causes reverence and respect. She was world famous withouttrying to be world famous, successful to the point of receiving a Nobel PeacePrize without trying to receive recognition from anyone, sacrificial beyond ourunderstanding as she served in the slums of Calcutta for decades. Should 2000years pass, her name will still be written in books much like Abraham’s is here.What about her? Are not her works her boast? It seems so easy for us to sayyes. If there is anyone who is good it’s her. She deserves to be justified byGod and accepted by him based off of all she’s done.

Now here’s where the crucial question is asked:How do you measure up to Abraham? How do you measure up to Mother Teresa? Welook at lives like this and can’t help but compare ourselves. They are suchhigh standards of what we think a good person is and it’s easy to feel guilty,but that only lasts for a little bit, doesn’t it? What do we do? We throw upour hands and say, “Well, I’m no Mother Teresa.” So are we admitting that wearen’t good people? No, because what comes out in the same breath? “…but I’mstill a good person.” How do you come to that conclusion? Could it be thatinstead of comparing yourself to Mother Teresa, you compare yourself to thehomeless alcoholic you pass on the street, the Muammar Gaddafi’s of the world,the abusive mom or the coach who takes advantage of young boys he’s beenentrusted to protect? Could it be because you say “I’m no Mother Teresa, butI’m sure not like those people.” You live as though you might not have doneanything like Mother Teresa to boast about, but you sure as heck have done somesmall things to boast about which keep you out of the company of “those people”and thus puts you in the company of “good people,” justified before God. Or areyou?

Look at what Paul says again, “for if Abraham wasjustified by works, he has something to boast about but…” but what? But notbefore God. Here’s the crux of the problem. If we look closely at what Paul issaying here we see that even Mother Teresa can’t be Mother Teresa and Abrahamcan’t be Abraham! In reality Mother Teresa could never be the woman we thinkshe is nor could Abraham be the man the Jews thought he was.

The problem is we’ve mixed up that psychologicaldefinition of justification with the biblical one. We compare ourselves withothers and try to find a way to justify ourselves before them and think thatwill work before God. The biblical definition clearly shows that neitherAbraham, nor Mother Teresa, nor we can do this before God. That’s Paul’s pointin these first two verses. Abraham’s works can’t justify him before God andtherefore neither can ours. This is our major problem. So what can we do? Canwe do anything? Paul begins to show the solution in verse 3 to show in factthat Abraham was justified, just not in the way we think as he quotes Genesis15:6, “Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.”

THE ONLYSOLUTION

Now we come to the second point where we see thatthere’s only one solution. Paul gives us the solution through contrast in vv.4-5. He moves to build off what he means by v. 3 by focusing on this word“counted.” This is language of the marketplace and here he is giving twosituations.

ProductiveLaborers

First, look at v. 4. What does he say? Paulwrites, “Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift, but ashis due.” He says if you work you get compensated. It’s as simple as that. Herecognizes the transactional nature of work. It’s not a gift to get paid to doyour work. On payday you’re not looking at your check saying, “What??? What’sthis??? I’m getting paid???” You don’t start balling, crying “What a gift! Whatgenerosity!” The term “counted” means something credited to your account forwhat you are owed. It’s looking at your bank account and seeing the directdeposit go through for teaching the past couple weeks. You get the idea. Inshort, Paul is talking about someone who is a productive laborer. What do Imean by a productive laborer? Well it is simply someone who is a productivemember of society, somebody who contributes to the maintenance and building upof society and in turn gets compensated in some fashion. This is common senseto us. This is how we are raised. Nearly everything we do when being raisedreinforces the notion of being a productive laborer. And this is tied to ourboasting. So parents boast of their baby before she can even boast in herself.“Potty trained already! Smartest child in the world!” Then, as kids get olderit’s report cards that boast you can produce at the next level of school. Thenin high school it’s extra-curricular activities combined with your report cardthat boast you can cut it in college. Then in college it’s all these that boastyou can make it in the “real world.” All the while you develop a morality thatsays “I’m a good person because I’m a productive laborer.” This is reinforced so much in our lives that it seemslike the logical next step to apply it to God. We think, “God – here is whatI’ve done. Here is the job I held, here are the friends I had, here is how Ivolunteered, here is what I created. Here is how I stayed out of trouble andyeah, here’s how I got in trouble, but it’s not that bad because I’m still aproductive laborer. I’m a good person. Therefore, God, give me what you owe me.”Sure, God is loving and accepting, but does that mean God is in your debt? DoesGod really owe you his love and his acceptance, based on what you’ve done? Ifso, what kind of God is that? An employer? Who would want a God like that? Someof you believe this with your friends, that if you do enough for them they oweyou their love. For some of you it’s the same way with your parents. How does it feel? It sucks. It’spainful. It’s draining. It’s such a burden, isn’t it? We don’t even wantparents or friends like that, why would we ever want to have a relationshipwith a God like that? Thankfully that is not theGod of the Bible. Paul shows us another way.

Paralyticlawbreakers

In v. 5 Paul writes, “And to the one who does notwork.” Did you catch that? DOES NOT WORK. Perhaps this isn’t as shocking givenwhat we’ve already seen in v. 4. But it still serves to emphasize what he’ssaid already. He goes on, “And to the one who does not work, but trusts him whojustifies the ungodly his faith is counted as righteousness.” The best way toillustrate this is to look at a particular episode in the life of Jesus. Mark, awriter of one of the four gospels, writes of a time when Jesus was at homepreaching. By this time Jesus was famous for both his preaching and hishealing, so the place was packed to the point that nobody could enter throughthe door. Up comes a paralytic being carried on a bed by his four top dudes.They see it’s too packed, but they are so determined to bring their friend toJesus that they go on the roof, removing a part of it so they could lower himdown. Imagine being the person lowered from the roof and being set beforeJesus. The entire crowd is looking at you. You have no place to go and evenmore serious is the fact that you are incapable of going anywhere. You’relooking up at him and the whole crowed is looking down at you. What do you wantJesus to do in that moment? I know what I would want. “Heal me Jesus! Make mewalk!” But what happens? Jesus looks at him and his friends, sees their faith,and says “My son, your sins are forgiven.” For us this might not seem like abig deal. They just seem like words. Anybody can say that. For us we say,“Everyone sins…it’s no big deal.” Jesus acknowledges the ease of saying it, butfact is, sin is a huge deal. It’s against God’s law, a punishable offenseagainst the sinless, perfect, holy God where just one sin deserves his wrath.It’s easy to say, “your sins are forgiven,” but only God can truly accomplishthat. It’s such a crazy thing to say that some Jewish leaders in the room beganto question him. Jesus then, knowing the magnitude of what he said and knowingthe hearts of those who questioned him, challenges them. Do you not believe Ihave the authority to both say and do this? He tells them, “so that you know Ihave the authority on earth to forgive sins…” then he looks at the paralyticand says to him “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” Mark saysthat the paralytic who just moments before needed to be carried on a bid roseimmediately, carried his own bed and obeyed Jesus.

What’s the point? The point is that you’re not aproductive laborer before your employer God who can earn your justification.Rather, you’re like this man, a paralytic lawbreaker before your holy God whodeserves condemnation! It means you’re in no position to do the work necessaryto be made right with God. You’re paralyzed before Him, meaning you have noability to do anything. And you’re a lawbreaker meaning you rebel against Himand never want to do anything. Moreover, even if you do have the ability, youdon’t want to do the work and even if you wanted to do the work, you don’t havethe ability. In other words, it’s impossible. We all are, as Paul puts it,“ungodly.” So how then are you and I justified?

Let’s look at this story more closely. Notice whatJesus does. He doesn’t immediately heal the man physically. He healed the man’ssinful life by forgiving his sins. The man was a lawbreaker against God andneeded forgiveness or he would be punished. Contrary to the thoughts of othersand perhaps your thoughts, this was the man’s primary need. He didn’t primarilyneed food or shelter and he didn’t even need to be healed physically. He neededto have his sins forgiven because they separated him forever from God. Andthough much has changed over 2000 years, this primary need has remained thesame. It doesn’t matter when or where you grew up. It doesn’t matter how manyopportunities you had for success growing up. It doesn’t matter what you’vedone with your life up to now – your need is the same as this man’s. Maslow wasdead wrong. The most fundamental issue in your life is being justified by God.Jesus knew this so while the man, his friends, and everyone around him may haveexpected physical healing, Jesus instead decided to first meet his most basicneed – the forgiveness of his sins.

I got an e-mail this week from a friend in his early60s who’s not a Christian, but has been searching for at least 8 years whichwas when I first started getting to know him. I asked him how this journey isgoing and he wrote back, “I think the best news I’ve received in recent years…isthat we must accept God on his terms and not our own. This makes sense to memore than anything ‘man made.’” This is such an important insight. We don’t seethe paralytic’s response, but in the very least we don’t see him say, “What?You’re just gonna forgive my sins? I thought you were a healer, a miracleworker. I got jipped Jesus.” We don’t see that. This means the man acceptedJesus on Jesus’ terms, not his own. Are you willing to accept God on his termsand not your own?

You might still ask, “What are God’s terms? Isn’this standard high? But what does Paul say? “And to the one who does not work,but trust Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted asrighteousness.” How does God justify the ungodly? He lays it out plainly lateron when he writes, “For if while we were still weak, at the right time Christdied for the ungodly.” Christ didn’t die for nothing or nobody. He died foryou. Paul also spells it out earlier when he writes, “For there is nodistinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justifiedby his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom Godput forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith” (Romans3:22b-25). You hear that? Justification comes by grace as a gift through faith!Do you see what God’s terms are? Trust. You know what your only job is? Trust. Thegood news is that God doesn’t want your righteousness, just your trust in HisSon’s righteousness and it will be given to you. Paul is surrounding ourpassage with these beautiful words to show that Christ has done all the workalready. It’s finished. It’s only by faith in the good work of Jesus Christ onthe Cross that we are justified. Try, try, try as you might to stand, to walk,to run, to dance before God to show off all you can do and see that you don’teven have the ability to move your big toe. You’re paralyzed. He just wantsyour trust. And then ask, really ask, even if you could do something, anything,would it really be for God at all? You’re a lawbreaker. He just wants yourtrust. Justification is “by his grace as a gift.” We deserve nothing butpunishment, but he forgives us completely; we deserve nothing but rejection,but he accepts us fully, without reservations. We are unrighteous, but we aredeclared “righteous” because we have been given Christ’s righteousness. That’ssuch unfathomable, rich, abundant grace. That’s justification.

TRUST INTHE JUSTIFYER

So we’ve have a major problem in that it’simpossible to justify ourselves by our own works. Yet we also know the onlysolution is to trust in Christ’s work to justify us. This is the heart of thegospel. It’s the issue of first importance. Some of you today need to stoptrying to be productive laborers, running the futile race in this world thatmay seem to get you countless places, but nowhere with God. Open your eyes andsee that you’re just a paralyzed lawbreaker laying there before the Cross and trustin Him who justifies the ungodly.

And still there are some of you that haveforgotten this truth. You still think sometimes that you have to earn God’sacceptance. You sometimes believe the lie that you are condemned by God whenyou do wrong. You sometimes think you’ve ruined your relationship with God bywhat you’ve done or not done. You sometimes think God’s commitment to youwavers depending on what you do. Remember that you matter to God infinitelymore than He matters to you. He is all in with you in a way that you can neverbe with Him. You need to remember this gift of grace you’ve received. You needto pull it out from the corner you hid it in, wipe the dust off and grip on toit with all your might, remembering what Christ has done for you. You can donothing more. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Youcan’t ruin Christ’s work because it’s finished forever. You’re fully accepted.You’re fully approved. You’re fully loved by God. You’re justified and just asyou have no power to make that happen, you have no power to destroy it either.Trust in Christ and receive the news of your justification with joy just asPaul writes, quoting David who’s so happy in the truth of his justification:

“Blessedare those whose lawless deeds are forgiven

and whose sins arecovered;

Blessedis the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” (Romans 4:6-8)

By His Grace.

A Huge Announcement

2011-10-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

There comes a time in every man's life when he must grow up and move on. This year is marking much of that reality for me. In January I still had a full year to go in school and no real next step for after school. I had an idea, but it was faint and fleeting. Had I come all this way at Trinity - learned two dead languages, taught how to preach more effectively, developed a love for theology and certain theologians, fostered an ability to ask the right questions, was given the tools to attempt to answer those questions, etc. -- and not come out on the other side with a role or position to actually apply all this wonderful training?

This is the question that pops up regularly. The conversation goes:

"When do you finish school?"
"It's looking like it'll be December?"
"Oh that's great! Congrats! What's next, then?"
"Next? What do you mean next? I'm supposed to do something after Trinity? I...I don't know."
"Oh...something will happen, I'm sure."
"Thanks for the reassurance."

Back in April I began inquiring about some opportunities, but was left with nothing. Then summer hit and I battled my way through two fairly difficult summer classes while taking some opportunities to preach and also cultivating the budding relationship I am currently in (which is just plain fantastic). As my second summer class began an opportunity popped up in a very unlikely place to work at a church in a pastoral role I felt ill-suited to perform effectively. However, thanks to a close friend, I was encouraged to pursue it. What's the worst that could happen, right?

After sending in my resume, answers to a few mock scenarios, and several phone conversations, I was flown out to the church in order to meet everyone in person and do a series of interviews there. I reconnected with the close friend who encouraged me to pursue the job, saw the church and how everything functioned, met the pastor who I would be working under, and saw the sites of this wonderful city. I returned home not knowing if I had the job, but that was okay; by this point I was thrilled to have gotten this far. Meanwhile, another job was offered to me in a way that took me completely by surprise. So, if you're keeping track, by September of this year I had two very solid job opportunities before me, one offered and the other likely, when as late as July I had no idea what was next!

To make an already long story short, I ended up turning down the job that was first offered to me to take the job at the church that was eventually offered to me in the middle of September.

This is the sweet building for MHUD,
located near The Ave, which is the heart
of the social life for the University of
Washington.

So at the end of December, after Christmas, I will pack my car and begin the drive to Seattle to work at Mars Hill Church! More specifically, my role will be Executive Deacon (akin to an Executive Pastor, but I have to go through the eldership process first) of Mars Hill U-District (U-District stands for "University District" because of the University of Washington) where I will serve under Lead Pastor, Matt Jensen, and will be reunited with that close friend and former boss in CRU, Jimmy Trent.

In straight-up, legit honesty this role is an answer to prayer. When I was asked about next steps I thought of my ideal situation that would include a mixture of using my training and developing more tools which focus on the so-called "business" side of church. This role allows me that opportunity. Furthermore, I wanted something that would stretch me and leave me in a position to rely regularly on Christ and not my own strength. Again, though I may be gifted in some areas for this job, on the whole I feel very inadequate. This is a role that I believe will lead me to a place of greater humility and dependence on God while I get to serve His people and watch Him continually do amazing things through Mars Hill by His Spirit.

I graduate December 16th. I begin my drive December 27th. I begin my job December 30th. Whirlwind. So for now, with three classes finished an only two more left, I am beginning some major transition with school, with friends, with church. If you pray to God through Jesus Christ, please pray for all that will go down over the next two-plus months. This is huge and I have a feeling there's still more to come before I leave...

By His Grace.

My New Wedding Dance

2011-09-27T15:59:00.001-05:00

This will easily be the dance I do at the next wedding I go to. No problem, right?

(HT: Timmy Brister)

By His Grace.

Can You Get This Right?

2011-09-14T10:38:00.002-05:00

I was able to get the right number of passes right the first time. Can you???

What effects does this have on how we learn?

By His Grace.

Sermon: Remember Our Future in Christ

2011-09-12T09:35:00.001-05:00

'Twas a joy to preach at The Line yesterday. My text was Hebrews 10:32-39 and the big idea of the message was: In order to persevere to the end of this life, we must remember our future in Christ.

Here's it is for your listening pleasure and worship: Remember Our Future in Christ (to download: right click the link and chose "save link as")

By His Grace.

Evolution, Adam & Jesus Christ: My Thoughts on NPR's Intriguing Profile

2011-08-09T13:53:00.002-05:00

Today I posted on Facebook and Twitter a story on NPR that profiled the battle between evangelicals on the issue of the historical existence of Adam and Eve. First I want to say that I appreciated the balanced presentation of the story. No side seemed to be favored and a good guys vs. bad guys tone was avoided. Take the time to read/listen to it. Several folk have asked for my response. Below is a smattering of thoughts, a fairly unorganized list of what I think.

Dennis Venema's argues that the historicity of Adam and Eve is dependent upon a "literal" reading of the Bible. He says that, "if you read the Bible as poetry and allegory as well as history, you can see God's hand in nature — and in evolution." He says that other readings allow for a "better understanding" which would lead to a rejection of their existence. Now I think he makes a good point. I agree that the Bible has different genres. I think the Bible is filled with narrative, poetry, wisdom literature, and in places, allegory. But does that mean those genres aren't also "literal?" Can't one claim that Paul believed in a literal, historical Hagar and Sarah yet also used them develop an "allegory" (see Gal 4:22-33). The Psalms and the prophets rooted many of their poetic words in historical, "literal" situations. So I'm not quite sure what he means by literal. Does he mean holding the Bible as a historical document? His terminology is more combative than helpful.
Venema's point also reveals his interpretive lens. His emphasis on evolution leads him to this conclusion:
To get down to just two ancestors, Venema says, "You would have to postulate that there's been this absolutely astronomical mutation rate that has produced all these new variants in an incredibly short period of time. Those types of mutation rates are just not possible. It would mutate us out of existence.
What this communicates to me is that God is not in control. In fact, from his perspective it seems the possibility of getting down to two ancestors is just as likely as, say, someone raising from the dead (cf. Luke 16:16-30).
I don't think this is a "Galileo Moment" as Karl Gibberson claims. What the Catholic Church did to Galileo is perplexing and is a black mark on the history of the Church, but the entirety of Scripture is not built on the notion that the earth is the center of the universe. The weight of this issue is much greater. The reality of sin and God's answer for that does not rest on the centrality of the earth, but on Jesus Christ.
I agree with Dan Harlow that "This stuff is unavoidable." Developments in science and history have always been unavoidable, though history also tells us that Christianity has tried. The controversy over inerrancy of the Bible in light of the rise of evolution presented the challenge to Christians around the world to either engage or disengage. I do think today we should not look back to Galileo, but to that controversy and others since to see how willing we are as evangelicals to thoughtfully engage culture while also thoughtfully engaging Scripture.
Today science is "fact" and by the standards of many cannot be questioned. Therefore the lens through which we see the Bible has shifted to that of biology, physics, and genetics. It has become for a growing number of evangelicals the first step on the path of getting a better understanding of the Bible. I have to admit that this lens has affected me more deeply than I realize. For example, though I claim theologically that miracles still do occur today, my deep-seated skepticism due to my learning of scientific laws and principles hinders a sincere belief immensely. Now I do not want to downplay science because it has been a great aid in many aspects of life, I merely want to suggest that my reading of the Bible is already colored because of science.
I want to have intellectual integrity, for sure, and this will always keep me exploring, but I also want to submit that more to the worship of the God who exists and redeemed me through Christ. I have to be careful with what I say here because it may come across as if I am willing to "bury my head in the sand" as Harlow puts it for the sake of holding my theological convictions together. But again I turn to the resurrection of Christ. Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 15 are vital here. He writes:
For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
Finally, from a literary and historical standpoint, there is a framework that holds Christianity together. In short, without a historical Adam and Eve, there is no historical Fall, there is no historical good and sin, there is no historical need for redemption, there is no historical need for God to become man, there is no historical need for Jesus to die, there is no historical resurrection, there is no historical ascension. The Bible and thus history from the Bible's perspective falls apart.

Anything to add or challenge?

By His Grace.

The Most Amazing Meal Ever: Audio and Q & A

2011-07-21T20:53:00.005-05:00

As promised, the audio from my most recent sermon is now available. I also took about 20 minutes after the sermon to answer some questions. You should check those out too. Finally, I'm also providing a link to the manuscript should you like to read it as well.

I do hope that this all ministers to you and points you to Christ.

By His Grace.

The Most Amazing Meal Ever

2011-07-19T17:50:00.003-05:00

Below is the manuscript of the most recent sermon I preached at The Line. I'm gonna admit, it is really long. I will not even try to make up some notion that it's so riveting that you'll want to read the 5,000 words. But I have space. It's free. So it's here. The audio should follow soon. The format is a bit off here, but I'm sure your eyes can manage.

1 Corinthians 11:17-29

¹⁷ In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. ¹⁸ In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. ¹⁹ No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. ²⁰ So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, ²¹ for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. ²² Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!

²³ For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

²⁷ So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸ Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. ²⁹ For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.

INTRODUCTION: NEXT & THE LORD’S SUPPER

I’d justwoken up from a glorious nap on May 1^st when I received the text fromDavid. My heart immediately started racing. “Interested in having some amazingfood tonight?" it said. "We just got reservations from Next and need one more.” In thatmoment my phone somehow turned into a fish as I fumbled it around trying to text himback. I texted back one word: “What???” You see, Next is a new restaurant herein Chicago and is the brainchild of the already highly successful chef GrantAchatz and his business partner Nick Kokonas. Achatz is considered by many asone of the top chefs in the world. His first restaurant, Alinea, which heopened back in 2006 in Lincoln Park, is now considered the top restaurant inAmerica and one of the top 10 in the world. The idea for Next is to change themenu regularly, but in an innovative way. Instead of changing it from somethinglike Mediterranean to Asian, the focus is much more precise. For example, thefirst menu, the one which we got to eat, was an updated version of what a finemeal in 1906 Paris would have been like. Needless to say, I was thrilled to grubon this first-class food with some great friends.

The next dayI was so blown away I even journaled about it. In the days that followed Icouldn’t help but tell my friends and anyone who would listen about what we’djust experienced. I told them that the meal was life-changing, that this washow it should be, that it was a foretaste of things to come in God’s kingdom.Many of my foodie friends were excited for and jealous of me. Many of my otherfriends just didn’t care that much and thought I was exaggerating. Either way,I had pics. Lots of sweet pics to show them each course and to try to explain,as best I could, what each item was. But I have to admit that I had no ideawhat I was talking about; the menu, even to this day, is a mystery to me. Ontop of that, I’m not sure I would even have the words to describe what happenedthat night. To me, it honestly was an experience that transcendedunderstanding.

Haven’t youhad an experience like this before? You know what I’m talking about, right? Whereit all seemed to come together just right. You were with friends or the peopleyou care about the most. The atmosphere is filled with joy and laughter, but atcenter stage of it all was the food. It’s even a meal you might still bragabout to this day.

I haveanother question. When I say the Lord’s Supper, what comes to mind? Some of youare like me. What you think about reminds you of when you were little and hadto go through all those First Communion classes. You remember the long,drawn-out formality of it all. Each week in church was just another ritualthough you remember getting to drink wine as a kid and feeling cool about that.Some of you remember it differently. It happened every so often, maybe once amonth or even less than that. The sermon was shorter than usual to accommodatethe shift. You passed the plate with little tiny wafers and a small plastic cupof Welch’s grape juice, or if your church was poor you had that off brand thatdidn’t really taste all that grape-like. Perhaps your only experience with theLord’s Supper is a non-experience; you’ve never actually been to church or hadit before. Point is there’s most likely a huge disparity in your minds betweenthat meal you brag about to this day and the one we celebrate every Sundayhere. Why is that?

If I’mright, then we’re all coming here this morning with some confusion andmisconceptions I hope to change some of that today. What I’ve sincerely prayed for you to see today is how vital the Lord’sSupper is for our everyday lives, both for our personal identity as Christiansand for our community as a whole. I’m not gonna be able to expound on everydetail of the Lord’s Supper, but only that which I think pertains to where ourchurch is today and what I believe the Lord has given me to share with you allthis morning. If some questions remain – and they undoubtedly will – I’m morethan happy to talk afterward or answer some during the Q & A. Now let’s getinto the text. I’m gonna re-read vv. 17-22

THE LORD’S SUPPER DOES NOT CAUSE DIVISION.Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth, contrary to much talk about itbeing the letter to a “Church Gone Wild,” does have some bright spots. Paulhints at this in 11:2, “Now I commend youbecause you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as Idelivered them to you.” So there are some good moments. But this isn’t oneof them. Some have called this an early perversion of the agape meal or “love feast,” which was like a private gathering ofbelievers over a meal, but that’s not the case here. Basically what washappening is that they would gather together as a church, meaning this wassupposed to be a time specifically dedicated for worship of the Lord, much likewe are doing today. This would be in someone’s house who was typically wealthyand could own a home. When it was time for the Lord’s Supper, he would host themeal according to the cultural customs of the day. Now the home had what wascalled a triclinium, or a dining room that seated about 8-10 people. It alsohad an atrium leading into the dining room that could hold about 30 people atmost if all stood. The custom of the day established that the wealthier orhigher esteemed people would have the right and perhaps duty to go sit in thedining room. Once that filled up, everyone else was left out in the atrium.Furthermore, it was customary to eat as much as they could before givinganything else to the lower class folk. It was a meal of deep division, a mealthat clearly revealed the “have’s” and the “have nots” And this is what theywere calling the Lord’s Supper. Because they chose to follow their culture itbecame a meal of selfishness and greed.

This is whyPaul calls them out so fiercely and says the even though there are some thingshe can commend them for, this particular aspect of their gathering he surelycan’t.

Now, we livein a city much like Corinth, a city of haves and have nots. This is pretty easyto see just by taking the El or walking the streets. It’s a beautiful city,don’t get me wrong, but one with much division. We see it, for example, in theway the city is segregated. As one This American Life episode states it,“Whites on the northside, blacks on the southside, and Hispanics on theWestside.” Now that’s just one ofmany examples. Here Paul confronts the reality that even the church – even asmall church like the young one in Corinth – can be a place of haves and havenots. But what’s also implied in his words are that wherever you may find thisin the city – its segregation, its politics, its wealth, its food – wherever,you should not be able to trace it even one bit in the church of God and thisbecomes even truer when celebrating the Lord’s Supper.

Now I saythis only as a warning. We are a small church. We are a young church. We’vedealt with our share of struggles and God has been so faithful to carry usthrough them. But division, like this one in Corinth, is something we haven’tgone through. That’s not to say it can’t happen or that it won’t, but I’veheard too many stories of churches being split over dumb things, like the colorof the carpet. Seeing as how we don’t have carpet here, we might be okay. Andthis is why understanding the true nature of the Lord’s Supper is so important,because as Paul goes on to explain, it’s not a meal taken out of selfishness orgreed, but one that is “for you,” one that preaches the gospel of Jesus Christand one that unites the church.

THE LORD’S SUPPER IS MADE UP OF TRADITION,REMEMBRANCE, AND PROCLAMATION.

Now Paulmoves on to how the Lord’s Supper is supposed to really be. Let me read them.Vv. 23-26 are short in length but much writing, conversation, and ironicallydivision has occurred throughout the centuries over what they mean. I shouldsay it is more vv. 23-25. Regardless, these verses show that there are at leastthree components to this meal.

COMPONENT 1 - TRADITION: The firstcomponent is in v. 23 and it’s tradition. I don’t want to belittle the Lord’sSupper in any way, but this can be considered a family recipe if you will. Inour family it would be my grandma’s lasagna or my Zizi’s homemade pasta sauce.You know, where it’s been passed down for generations; you have to follow theexact recipe; there’s always someone’s name attached to it like Papa Nino orsomething like that. Well Paul says that he received this ‘recipe’ “from theLord” meaning that it was given to him by Jesus or, as some scholars maintain,as a tradition, perhaps one of the traditions mentioned in 11:2. So it issomething of importance either because Jesus himself gave it to Paul or becauseit was being practiced in the church early on. But he didn’t just keep thefamily recipe. He passed it on. He delivered it to the church in Corinth. Thislanguage is very similar also to another important passing on, that of 15:3-6,“For I delivered to you as of firstimportance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordancewith the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day inaccordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to thetwelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, mostof whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.” Essentially, thiswas a core teaching of Paul to the church in Corinth – the gospel! This gospelpoints to the person and work of Jesus Christ, his death on the cross that is“for our sins.” Along with it too is another core teaching of Paul to thechurch in Corinth – the Lord’s Supper. It also focuses on Jesus Christ, hisdeath and it is a meal that is “for you.” So what I mean by a family recipe isthat it is both something that is passed down from generation to generation andthat it is also something very important to our identity as the Christianchurch or as God’s family. Furthermore, it points to the very originator ofthat recipe. The tradition we’ve receive now in Scripture points to Christ.It’s the Lord’s Supper.

COMPONENT 2 – REMEMBRANCE: So the firstcomponent is that it is passed down, or it’s tradition. This is in part whatPaul means by, “do this in remembrance of me,” which is our second component. Immediately,the question we face is, “how?” “How do we do this in remembrance?” Or even“how do we remember?”

First it’sgood to say what remembrance is not. Remembrance is not used here or anywhereelse in the Bible as mere recollection. It is not referring to a notion ofacknowledging the past and moving on as if it has absolutely no bearing ontoday. Instead, remembrance biblically is tied to action. Let me give a fewexamples. First, the meal that Jesus and his disciples were sharing the nighthe was betrayed was the Passover meal, the annual meal given by God (almostlike a family recipe) to remind Israel of all He had done for them in Egypt,especially how he passed over their houses, saving them while judging Egypt. Itwas a meal of celebration, but one also tied to the act of worship. Or howabout following God’s commands. They are tied to remembering who he is and whathe has done. Moses told Israel, “Thewhole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that youmay live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the LORD swore togive your fathers. And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your Godhas led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you,testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep hiscommandments or not” (Deut. 8:1-2). So obedience is tied to remembrance.And then there’s Peter, who, after he denied Jesus, remembered what he said, “Before the rooster crows twice, you willdeny me three times” (Mark 14:72). What did Peter do? He broke down. Hewept. He repented. So repentance is tied to remembrance. These are biblicalexamples, but you can think it this way: The memory of food leads to actiontoday. My auntie – yes I seriously call her my auntie – will not eatButterfingers to this day because of a bad experience had with them when shewas a kid. To this day she won’t tell me what happened. She remembers sostrongly that she chooses not to eat. So the point is when we remember Christin the Lord’s Supper, it’s not just a recalling of what he did in the past andacknowledging it and leaving it there, but it’s a remembering that calls us toaction. It is a meal that leads to worship of him who died, was buried and rosefrom the dead, it’s a meal to be thankful for what he did, to repent of how wehave sinned against him, and to be obedient to him.

Now, I wantto dig deeper into remembrance because I think it’s that important. What I justsaid is part of remembrance in the broader idea of what the philosopher PaulRicoeur has called “narrative identity.” What this essentially means is thattrue remembrance carries with it an entire story for you and me, or plot, thatflows from past to present and then to future. Theologian Anthony Thiseltondevelops this further and what I’m about to say follows his thought, but it’sin my own words.

Past& Present: The first is the narrative identity of past and present.We’ve already hinted at this, but it’s worth hashing out more. Bottom line isthat when we take of the bread and wine today, it binds us to the death andresurrection of Jesus Christ in the past. When we read the tradition, we seethat it’s given in the present tense: “Thisis my body for you.” The exact meaning of these words has been debated fora long time, but it’s important not to focus on that. In the very least, whatwe see is that the present tense in these words for the Lord’s Supper binds usto the past event of his death. In other words, it unites us with Christ andidentifies us with Him who is alive, risen today, and present with us by HisSpirit! Paul writes with this idea in mind in Galatians: “I have been crucified with Christ (past tense). It is no longer I wholive, but Christ who lives in me (present tense). And the life I now live inthe flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself upfor me” (Gal 2:20). Notice how personal it is. Paul writes thisspecifically about his life. Do you see how tightly our lives are wrapped up inChrist? This is how it is for each of you if you believe the gospel. Furthermore,this is not just about personal identity, but corporate. When we come to thetable, we remember not only that Christ died for us individually, but for theentire church of God. Again, Paul in Ephesians, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himselfup for her” (Eph. 5:25). We – all of us who call on His name – are boundtogether as one body to Christ. More on this in a little bit.

Future:And not only the past and present, but this remembrance carries with it thenarrative identity of the future. Verse 25 says that we drink of the cup of thenew covenant established in Jesus blood. Jesus, when he instituted the Lord’sSupper, said this with reference to the cup: “I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until thatday when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matt 26:29). Jesus’words envision a day that still has not come. So it is a meal that not onlylooks back and not only looks at the present, but anticipates the future. It isa meal that anxiously anticipates the consummation of all things, therestoration of all things, the return of our Lord and Savior and the coming ofGod’s kingdom. It is a meal that anticipates the great feast we will have withJesus!

So thebiblical notion of remembrance is, in short, robust! It is the beautiful,unchanging story of Christ, His gospel, and our identity is caught up in it. Wealso see here how Jesus completely turns Passover on its head. The Passovermeal celebrated that God passed over Israel to rescue them to destroy thehouses of Egypt who were judged. But the meal Jesus institutes shows that Godhas passed over us who deserve judgment to destroy His One True Son so that wemay be rescued. This the remembrance we are called to each time we take theLord’s Supper.

COMPONENT 3 – PROCLAMATION: And while wewait, while we hope for Christ to return, the Lord’s Supper has yet anothercomponent - proclamation. Paul writes, “Foras often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’sdeath until he comes.” Again, it’s good to say what this isn’t. By proclaim,Paul is not merely referring to us being broadcasters of the news, where theLord’s Supper serves as a means for us tell of the event of Christ’s deathwhile we remain detatched from it. We are in a sense broadcasters, but we mustsee it on the heels of the robust remembrance of the meal. So, we are not only broadcasters,but participants in Christ’s death who also share in His life. This is whereeach one of us is the preacher who announces to each other and to the world allChrist has done for us, continues to do for us, and will do for us until hecomes! This is where each one of us gets the joyful opportunity to tell peopleabout Jesus, his gospel, and invite them to this meal he’s prepared.

So theLord’s Supper has at least three major components to it: tradition, remembranceand proclamation.

Now in vv.27-29, Paul moves to make offer some thoughts based off of what he just said.Let me read these bad boys. The major conclusion that I see in these words isthat this is not a meal of strife but of unity.

THE MEAL IS NOT ABOUT STRIFE, BUT UNITY

Almostnothing can ruin a good meal like strife. Spouses may be able to forgive a hotpasta gone cold, tasty bread gone burnt, or a delicious recipe just gone plainwrong. If the relationship is good and thriving, the meal will still, in somesmall way, be good. You’ll be able to have conversation. To smile at and enjoyeach other. But a meal, no matter how good, can become tasteless and pointlesswhen there is strife or bitterness or anger at the dinner table. I think we’veall had this experience before. Eating dinner right after a big fight.Attitudes are cold while the hot steam of a well-prepared pot roast waftsthrough your nose as it comes up before your eyes, ready to be eaten. Theproblem is you can’t look at each another and it’s almost as if each mouthfulfunctions as an excuse to remain silent and unforgiving. The meal then onlybecomes utilitarian, its only purpose is to fill up the stomach and provideenergy. This is why we “examine ourselves” and “discern the body” because, likeI said, it’s not a meal of strife but of unity and we see this unity in twoways. The first is unity with Christ.

UNITY WITH CHRIST: What does Paul mean by “an unworthymanner” and being “guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord?” Paul isconcerned with the attitude and heart of the believer here in light of what hejust said regarding the Lord’s Supper. We stand before Christ guilty if we cometo the able as one’s who claim identification with him, but have no regard forwhat this meal actually proclaims. Now most people who come to the table doclaim identification with Christ;pretty much every week most, if not all of us, approach the tables in this roomand eat the bread and drink the cup. So how then can we still profane the bodyand blood? I think by sheer unbelief, because while we may claim identification with Christ on thesurface, we lack the firm conviction of our identityin Christ Every week there’s a point in the service where we individuallytake time to confess our sins silently in our hearts. We also confess church. ButI know there are times where some of us:

Cometo the table with the lax attitude. We are distracted in the moment or wedo not see how this aspect of the service relates to the rest of the service orour lives throughout the week.

Cometo the table with heavy hearts. We are overwhelmed by our own guilt. Wecome to church struggling and try to hide it. We think that there’s no way wecan be forgiven our sin and not even taking the bread & cup can changethat.

Bothdownplay Christ’s work. What is common between the lax individual and theburdened individual is that both downplay Christ’s sacrificial death and whatis offered at the Lord’s Supper. Here, you must know that Jesus is at the tableextending his hand of love, grace, forgiveness and acceptance. “This is my body which is for you.” Now this is combated bygenuinely “examining ourselves.” There are at least two ways I can think of forhow this can be done.

Firstcombat: The first combat is to just come to the table! In short, an“unworthy manner” can simply mean that we are believing Christ is not “worthy”of us to receive the bread and cup. Wherever your heart may be this morning,whether you’re distracted and don’t care or if you feel too guilty to go to thetable, that’s for you to genuinely examine in your heart. And when you do,confess that to Christ who is truly worthy because of who he is and what he’sdone for you and come.

Secondcombat: Second, examine yourself not just here on Sunday, but throughoutthe week. Here’s a question to ask yourself each day: Am I holding fast togospel truths? The truth that Christ died and was raised from the dead toforgive my sins; that I stand before God declared “not guilty” because ofChrist; that his goodness and righteousness cover me; that I am not condemned;that God’s Spirit dwells in me just as much on Monday as on Saturday; that I ama child of God? The Lord’s Supper on Sunday serves powerfully to reorient us tofocus on these truths Monday through Saturday.

UNITY WITH ONE ANOTHER: So the first unity is with Christ. Thesecond is with one another as we consider what “discerning the body” means. Itmay also seem a bit ambiguous, but it has major ramifications. Paul’s wordsshould not be taken lightly. More specifically we should be asking “whatexactly is ‘the body’ that we are to discern?” Well Paul provides the answerearlier in this letter when he writes, “Ispeak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup ofblessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? Thebread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Becausethere is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the onebread.” The body, then is two-fold, but can’t be separated. When we come tothe table we are participating in thebody of Christ – more specifically the person and work of Jesus as we’ve talkedabout. But also, and here is what I want to emphasize, we are participating as the body of Christ – meaning that weare all together united to him as one body. Paul writes elsewhere, “For just as the body is one and has manymembers, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it iswith Christ.” As one contemporary author puts it, this meal has“community-making power.”

This is inpart why we’ve switched up the liturgy a little bit during communion. Werealized that by going to the table alone with just the bread and the cup beforeyou, it was still in some sense an isolated event. We have chosen instead tohave Cord members serve the bread and the wine or juice to reflect moreaccurately our desire to show that this meal has community making power. It isa beautiful thing to look at your brother or sister in Christ as you hear themsay to you, “The body of Christ broken for you” and “The blood of Christ shedfor you.” We are truly blessed to share this meal each week together as afamily. But what about when we’re in conflict with one another?

Let’s goback to the original analogy. You’re at the table with someone you care aboutdeeply, but even as the meal is before you, it is hard to eat properly becauseof the hurt, pain, and sin and you can’t even look each other in the face. Solet me ask this, if we’re about to claim our unity with Christ as I just talkedabout and fix our eyes on him during this Lord’s Supper, does it not followthat we should be seeking to do whatever it takes to seek unity with oneanother so we can look each other in the eye? In the words of Paul, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy andbeloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing withone another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other;as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these puton love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peaceof Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.The gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives makes us individually God’s chosenones, makes us holy, makes us loved by God. It unites us to Christ and we seethis in the Lord’s Supper. But we also see that this supper is community-makingwith each other and can help to resolve conflict!

There is nodivision in this meal. If you’re bringing unforgiving hearts to church thismorning, the Lord’s Supper beckons you to forgive one another and bereconciled. If you’re not loving one another, it calls you to love. If you’refighting with one another, it constrains you to seek peace. Thus this meal isnot of strife, but unity, both with Christ and with each other.

CONCLUSION: THE MOST AMAZING MEAL EVER

Let me endby going back to the beginning. I’ve looked back on that night at Next quite abit. I am honestly still telling people about that meal and probably will foryears to come. It truly was amazing. But as I prepared for this sermon I had tosee that meal in light of an even more amazing one – this simple meal of breadand wine that we get to partake in today. It dawned on me then this fact: Nomatter how hard Grant Achatz or any chef works, no matter how innovate orcreative they are, no matter how much they pursue making the perfect meal –this is the one meal none of them in their wildest imaginations could everprepare. And on the flipside, as a lover of food – and by this I mean whetherit’s Charlie Trotters or Chick-Fil-A, Graham Elliot or Golden Nugget, Moto orMcDonald’s – no matter how many obscure or plain foods you’ve tried, no matterhow many restaurants you’ve been to, no matter how refined your palate may be,this is the meal you’ve been longing for your whole life.

Now we getto celebrate as a close family, children of the Most High God, our Lord Jesus Christand The most amazing meal ever prepared for us.

By His Grace.

Highlight of Day: Chick-Fil-A

2011-06-23T16:28:00.000-05:00

Many great things happened today. But what tops them all by far was eating Chick-Fil-A in Chicago! This was not a "I'm buying Chick-Fil-A in Wisconsin or the burbs and bringing it home." It was not, "I'm flying it back from some Southern state, freezing it and saving it for a later date." This was legit. A new Chick-Fil-A opened downtown last week while I was home in Florida. Needless to say, when I walked by it this morning I was in shock and awe.

I fear an addiction forming already.

By His Grace.

For the Fathers, their Children, & the Fatherless Everywhere

2011-06-19T10:27:00.000-05:00

June 19th.
Father's Day.

Many a month since my last post -- a fun, playful video indeed. This post is a turn back to a topic on which I have written a fair amount.

I'm thrilled, very much thrilled, for those who are posting pictures on Facebook. These are the picture of my friends as kids with their dads. I'm sure the dads appreciate older pics when they looked, well, younger and more like dads instead of grandpas. A caption I appreciated was "My father. My hero." I honestly think it is wonderful to see children praise their fathers today.

This, as you may be aware, is much more difficult for me. Each year Father's Day comes and I delve into a world of deeper reflection. I'm going to spare you the details of that reflection today. In short I am reminded -- as a necessity, as much as I need air and food today -- that God is my true, heavenly Father through Jesus Christ his One True Son. J.I. Packer has written somewhere,

What is a Christian? The richest answer I know is that a Christian is one who has God as Father.

I have been blessed with many male mentors along the way. This day reminds me of that as well. But the absence of my earthly father is a fundamental void in my life and the lives of millions of other children in America this very minute. Our response to this fatherlessness is vast and varied. The picture I paint in my mind of what my life would look like if I did not know Jesus and thus did not know God as Father is not particularly frightening, but is one of a man truly empty and striving in life to gain the nod of approval and flash of a smile from the old man who was never willing to be there to do either. Those moments exist today, but they are fleeting. Each day I grow more and more firm in my eternal identity as a son of God.

This leads me to the real reason why I am writing in the first place. I hope you have made it this far. Perhaps this should have fronted my post, but oh well. I'm currently reading Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. It is written, as far as I can tell, as extended letter of a dying father to his young son. The following two paragraphs should be read intently by every father and child. Fathers: It is my hope that you look at and love your children in this way. Children: It is my hope that you know you are looked at and loved this way by your fathers. The fatherless of this world -- which, truly, we all are in some way -- can rest assured that this is a glimmer of God's love for us:

I'd never believed I'd see a wife of mine doting on a child of mine. It still amazes me every time I think of it. I'm writing this in part to tell you that if you ever wonder what you've done in your life, and everyone does sooner or later, you have been God's grace to me, a miracle, something more than a miracle. You may not remember me very well at all, and it may seem to you to be no great thing to have been the good child of an old man in a shabby little town you will no doubt leave behind. If only I had the words to tell you.

There's a shimmer of a child's hair, in the sunlight. There are rainbow colors in it, tiny, soft beams of just the same colors you can see in the dew sometimes. They're in the petals of flowers and they're on a child's skin. Your hair is straight and dark, and your skin is very fair. I supposed you're not prettier than most children. You're just a nice-looking boy, a bit slight, well scrubbed and well mannered. All that is fine, but it's your existence I love you for, mainly. Existence seems to me now the most remarkable thing that could ever be imagined. I'm about to put on imperishability. In an instant, in the twinkling of an eye.

Happy Father's Day.

By His Grace.

Secret Exit

2011-03-06T08:23:00.000-06:00

I drove up with my friend Sabdiel to Milwaukee to find a Safe House. We needed it for reasons I cannot disclose right now. Thankfully a few friends were there as well.

After only a few hours we needed to find a new one since our cover had been blown. The police were raiding, so thankfully this place had a secret exit. Here's the video to prove it:

By His Grace.

The Ultimate Question Asker

2011-03-03T13:39:00.004-06:00

I find nothing wrong with asking a serious, sincere question about God. In fact, even series of questions can lead to provocative, challenging conversations with people. What is most ideal are the times when people ask those questions with honest inquiry instead of those who ask from behind the door of their house on I Already Know the Answer street.

The firestorm this weekend over Rob Bell's new book seems to me to boil down to questions. A quote in yesterday's First Things blog caught my eye. There he quotes Robert Stoner, who had a conversation with a man who was a part of the early days of Mars Hill Bible Church with Bell and is considered to be a close friend. In light of Bell's consistent posture of asking questions, Stoner writes, "That’s the danger of posing too many questions. You may wind up confusing your own friends, if not yourself."

Again, Bell has become known as, according to at least one blogger, a great question-asker, asking all the right ones, but for Stoner and others, people who too many question - and, at that, consecutively like Bell in his video - create more confusion than clarity for themselves and for others. For them, this spiral slide of skepticism ends in sheer rejection and unbelief when one's question-shaped feet finally touch ground. I find this to be a valid concern, so where do we go for a corrective?

I offer no comment on Bell's or others' views of Hell. Many have written on this, including one excellent piece in Christianity Today. What I offer is simply this: Rob Bell may be a great question-asker, but God is the Ultimate Question-Asker. Our constant questions of his character and purpose may eventually lead to confusion, but - if we allow for it to happen - just one question from Him will cut to our hearts and bring complete clarity. Our "did God really say?" is crushed by God's "where are you?" Our "where are you?" is destroyed by God's "what is your name?" Our "are you really loving?" is put to shame by Jesus' "Do you love me?" Our questions of God, no matter how many or rapid fire they may be, will never put God in his place. However, God's questions of us, from just one to dozens in a row as with Job, always put us in our place.

With all the questions you may have, will you let The Ultimate Question Asker ask just one of you today?

By His Grace.

The Gracious Wrestler

2011-03-01T11:23:00.001-06:00

"He wants me dead?...My brother wants me dead?"

His name means heel-grabber. His name means cheater.

The Christian life is the limp given to Jacob's like us by the gracious touch of God in the gruesome death of Christ.

These are just some of the words given as I preached this weekend on Genesis 32-33. A large chunk of text with an even larger thrust: That God is our Gracious Wrestler.

The Gracious Wrestler (download by right-clicking on the link and choosing "Save Link As")

By His Grace.

Trauma & Joy

2011-02-28T19:22:00.000-06:00

Last night my roommate and I were chillin' in our living room having some conversation over cold beers. This is of course where the deepest of philosophies are developed. Here is a thought I had in our conversation:

How come the experiences that seem to affect us the most into our adulthood are the traumatic ones? I cannot even count anymore the number of times I've talked with people about how some crazy aspect of their past has ruined them throughout the course of their life and they are just trying to pick up the pieces. On the flip side, I have never heard someone say how a joyful experience has impacted their life so much that they have been living in light of that ever since.

Why is it that difficult, often traumatic events in our lives tend to leave wounds that no amount of joyous experiences could ever seem to heal? And why is that no matter how many joyous experiences we have all it takes is one to destroy us?

Chime in. I'd love to hear what you think.

By His Grace.

That One Word Changed Everything

2011-02-10T10:17:00.005-06:00

In my previous post I shared a funny story about my childhood. If you haven’t already read it, I invite you check it out before you continue. Laughing is fun and good and it is even better when I know you’re laughing at me. I wrote it because I wanted to share a humorous example of what my life has been like without a dad. The post below is another example, but has a different tone and purpose as you will see.

______________________________

I’ll never forget the way she prayed.

Jamie had become my friend over the months we had been living in Italy with Campus Crusade. She and the other girls would come over to our place for a weekly meeting, which included studying how the Gospel transforms our lives and praying for one another. After prayer requests were shared among the group we would all bow our heads and spend some extended time going before God.

Jamie’s prayers stood out to me every time. The reason may not be what you expect. Jamie’s prayers were not excessively long nor particularly short. Her prayers were not filled with a string of memorized bible verses that all somehow related to our issues nor was she spewing out words that would have her kicked out of any Bible-believing church. Jamie was not prone to wailing on her knees in sadness nor would she wildly flail her arms in rejoicing before the Lord. So what was it about the way Jamie prayed that has deeply impacted me to this day? Simply this:

Jamie always started her prayers with “Father.”

You see, I grew up without a dad. I don’t mean that my father was physically present but emotionally absent. I mean that my dad was never in any real way a part of my life. He didn’t see my first steps. He didn’t hear the first words that came out of my mouth. He never saw me win the fourth grade spelling bee. He never came to cheer me on at my basketball games. He wasn’t there for my first date, my first breakup, my high school graduation, my college graduation. I never heard from his lips, “I’m proud of you son.”

In everything I’ve done I’ve been quite successful. I’ve won awards and accolades. I am complimented often and am continually told how great of an impact I can have in this world. I share this not to boast, but to confess I’ve spent much of my life striving for this success with the hope to hear those abyss-filling words from him – “I’m proud of you son” – from this ghost of a father.

Somehow the absence of my earthly father had caused me to keep myself at a distance with God. I never really thought about it until I heard Jamie’s prayers because they had the effect of a mirror exposing my own prayers. I had no problem praying to God, but that was just it; I would always pray to God as “God” or “Lord” or some other title that reflects his authority and his majesty, which, in a sense, reflected his distance from me. Now I am all for praying with reverence and these ways of going before Him are good. But deep down I knew that this was a distance I had kept because I did not know the intimacy of prayer. I didn’t know my adoption into God’s family as his son because of Jesus Christ, His True Son. It was foreign and scary.

But unbeknownst to Jamie, she was relentlessly persistent in showing me that I could pray to God as “Father.” As the months passed and the prayers mounted, I broke down. I began seeing in the New Testament the plethora of examples of Jesus and the apostles speak of God as Father, especially when Jesus told his disciples how to pray. It was everywhere! Prayer to God had always been there since I became a Christian, but intimacy with my Father began to take deeper roots thanks to Jamie’s example of prayer.

The Christian life is a funny thing because no matter how old you get, no matter how many birthdays you celebrate, no matter how successful you become, no matter the name you make for yourself, the key to joy is remembering you’re Abba’s child.

One of the best ways I’ve come to know this is through this simple word that plumbs profound realities of God. Have you ever examined how you pray? How do you typically start your prayers? Today, I ask that you join me in prayer, going before God with the words Jesus gave – “Our Father…”

By His Grace.

I'm Not Going Inside

2011-02-07T22:59:00.004-06:00

Growing up without a dad had its advantages…so I thought. My mom and I moved to New Jersey from New Mexico when I was just a few months old to live with my grandma. I grew up in a house full of women the first five years of my life. I was spoiled. I was the first grandchild, the first of a new generation. I would always draw attention to myself, whether in the silly ways of impersonating Michael Knight, or in the stubborn ways of refusing to take off my socks for days on end. When I messed up all I had to do was say something cute, play innocent or throw a tantrum and I would get my way whenever I wanted. Discipline was not something I knew as a young boy.

Fast forward. It’s the perfect day for every five-year old’s favorite time at El Dorado Elementary School: recess. The sky is cloudless, deep blue. The playground right outside our classroom is all dirt since there’s really only one patch of grass in all of New Mexico. As a five-year old the playground is as big as a football field and the monkey bars are a mile long. I am determined to get all the way across them without falling, just to prove to my fellow kindergartners I am already a man ready for the army.

Halfway across the bars, I hear the teacher calling us in. “It hasn’t already been 15 minutes!” I scream to myself. Everyone else, fooled by the teacher's obvious, vicious lie, quickly runs toward her, each going inside for the next activity. I know better. I have more time. I need more time.

Then it begins.

“Andrew, it’s time to go inside,” the teacher yells. I’m the only one left.

“I’m not going inside,” I exclaim with pride now down off the bars, standing face toward her, arms tense at my side.

“Andrew, it’s really time to go inside,” she replies, challenging my right to still play.

“No. I’m not going inside” I say, calling her bluff.

With her arms crossed, head fuming, she tells me one final time, “Andrew, if you don’t come inside now I’m sending you to the principal’s office.”

I’m not used to this. I always get my way. This was new. What could I do but listen? “I can’t lose this battle” I thought. What can I do? Who does she think she is?

To this day what I did next doesn’t make sense to me for any five-year old, but it happened and I can’t take it back. I have to tell it like it is.

I stand there, defiant like a pit-bull unwilling to release the clench I have on my prey, and proceed to take my faux-leather belt off my little boy jeans. I folded it, end and buckle in hand raised over my head. My eyes stare her down. She knows my threat. Still, I faintly hear the Western music in the background and imagine the tumbleweeds bounce between us. Then, as if filled with a thousands lions, I roar in assumed triumph, “I’M NOT GOING INSIDE!!!!!!!!!”

My teacher doesn’t know what to do. Honestly, I don’t remember what happened immediately after that. Maybe I blacked out due to the sheer ecstasy of victory . However, the next thing I remember, I’m sitting in Principal Garcia’s office. Two images are vivid: his thick moustache and his even thicker paddle.

That was the first time I was disciplined by a man.

By His Grace.

What Do You Want Most in a Church?

2011-02-07T16:17:00.000-06:00

My friend Edd Blott made this promo video for the recently released 9 Marks book by Jonathan Leeman, Reverberation. Edd asked me to do the voice over for the video. It was quick and lots of fun. I love how the video turned out.

Did I miss my calling?

What do you most want in a church? from 9Marks on Vimeo.

By His Grace.

Blizzaaaahhhhdddd

2011-02-03T15:43:00.002-06:00

The night of the 3rd largest snowstorm in Chicago history. Boom.

By His Grace.

The Church Planter's Rude, Great Awakening

2011-01-26T05:00:00.016-06:00

Matt Sweetman moved to Chicago with his wife and two boys in April 2009 to plant Destination Church. After nearly a year and a half of meeting together as a church, expectations weren’t meeting reality. “I expected more growth and higher assimilation,” Sweetman told me. “I expected people to bring more people. I didn’t expect as many people to come and go as they have. Even though everything I read and everyone I spoke to told me to expect that, I still didn’t.” Aaron Youngren, who began planting The Line in January 2009, had a similar experience when he was first trying to get people interested in the vision God gave him. “We would come to Chicago,” Youngren said, “and cast a vision for what we wanted to do, and almost everyone who heard it would love our plan.” He dreamed of throngs buying in:

We thought we were going to take over Chicago, that our church would be the “Cinderella story,” that our church would go into Chicago and explode in every way, in growth, in sanctification, in godliness, in new and wonderful methodology. It’s a joy to recount this because that story just obviously doesn’t glorify God.

Many planters, it seems, are like Sweetman and Youngren. Whether they express it openly or not, they dream of immediate buy in for the church from a massive number of people, both Christian and non-Christian. When it doesn’t work out that way, the rude awakening comes crashing in like a wrecking ball to destroy each expectation. Both Youngren and Sweetman said that Tim Keller is one of their church-planting heroes. Could it be that these grand visions come from looking at men like Tim Keller and Mark Driscoll, believing they could be just like one of their heroes?

The Planter’s Great Awakening

Ed Stetzer, vice president of LifeWay research, recently started a series on his blog called Top Issues Church Planter’s Face. Stetzer, who has planted several churches, says he was “young and confident at a delusional level.” Matt Chandler’s message at the 2008 Resurgence national conference clarifies the nature of many pastors’ confidence. One of the first things preachers must “put to rest are thoughts of bigness.” Chandler said:

Everybody wants to be the next Driscoll, Piper . . . everybody wants to be the guy most downloaded on iTunes, the guy that gets to speak at conferences.

Planters may be particularly prone to this desire. Their ambition and zeal erupts in visions of being the guy who takes the city by storm, sees hundreds of conversions, strikes the hearts of the most unreachable urbanites with the gospel, and does it differently so everyone else needs to come to him for the answers, the messages, and the books. These dreams come from the bravado of a planter who has yet to be humbled by God’s matchless, perfect timing.

If planters do enter where God has called them with this attitude, they could be in for a rude awakening, Sweetman and Youngren say. However, this rude awakening becomes a truly great awakening for the planter, because he realizes in that moment he must start thinking of God as the planter, waterer, and grower of the church. After coming to this realization, Youngren says his expectations shifted. He may still have church planting heroes, but their loud, almost hypnotic voices have been reduced to whispers.

Not Always Famous

If this isn’t convincing, at least understand that Driscoll and Keller had to go through their fair share of hardships and growth. Do you remember the days when you didn’t know and refer to them by only one name, like famous athletes or musicians? We are so quick to forget that there was a time, unlike Jesus, when Driscoll and Keller were not. For some reason it is easy to catch a church planter at the pinnacle of his so-called success (as measured by church size, conference speaking, and book writing) and assume that it has always been that way for him.

Driscoll writes in his book Confessions of a Reformissional Rev. that in the first year the church fluctuated from anywhere between 60 to 200 people, leveling out at 100 to 150. Granted, many church plants would be thrilled to have these numbers within their first year. But I think it is important to recognize that Mars Hill did not explode the way the church did in Acts 2 or the way many young planters assume their church will because they are marginally cool and love Jesus, their city, and the people. Furthermore, it is important for young planters to recognize that even someone like Driscoll experienced phases of “slow plodding” in the early years, which included some very difficult lessons learned. For example, he mentions that within months of the Mars Hill’s birth “the church had already lost sight of our mission” (p. 82). Elsewhere he writes that he attempted to hire a part-time secretary, but neglected to write up a formal job description, conduct a formal interview, or hold regular evaluations, which led to frustrations for both him and the secretary (p. 83).

For Keller, the plodding looked a little different. Today I can tell any friend who visits or lives in New York City about the megachurch that is Redeemer. I can give brief facts—that Keller planted the church in the late 1980s, that it grew quickly, that he appeals to an intellectual audience, that he has written New York Times best-selling books, that many consider him the pope of church planting, and that he could probably convert the most hardened atheist without breaking a sweat or raising his voice. However, how many of us know about the months, even years, of work and providence it took for Keller to even begin planting Redeemer? In a 2009 Christianity Today profile of Keller, Tim Stafford writes that Keller first began by learning from urban missiologists while teaching at Westminster. Then, as Manhattan became a prospect, Stafford says “Keller began talking to anyone who would sit still, asking questions he had learned from the urbanists at Westminster: ‘What would be a New Yorker’s worst disaster?’ and ‘What kind of church would a New Yorker want to attend?’ For months he sat in restaurants, learning New Yorkers’ ways.”

Plant With Christ’s Name in Mind

Years of ministry, labor, pain, joy, heartache, learning, listening, preaching, and praying take place for even those planters the rest of us eventually recognize as successful. It is wonderful for planters to have heroes, but like anything else, heroes can become idols. For the planter, the idols must be shattered while the heroes still remain inspiring. If he harbors visions of grandeur, he must go through the rude awakening to get to his great awakening. He must learn that Driscoll’s context is particular to Seattle, that Keller’s context is particular to New York. Could you imagine Driscoll planting Redeemer or Keller planting Mars Hill? Each planter must stay rooted in Scripture and find how God wants to speak through him in his particular context. When that happens, you will not need to be the next Driscoll or Keller because you will be truly who the Lord Jesus Christ wants you to be as an undershepherd of his people in the church he is building for the sake of his name and his glory.

By His Grace.

The Before

2011-01-19T22:37:00.000-06:00

So you may or may not be aware of this, but I recently moved. If you keep up with the blog you may remember the tour of my old place. I moved there in August and was booted in December. It was a good booting, though. Keeping with the theme of December, my roommate, Peter, got married. He and his now-wife, Sarah, are both a part of The Line. They are the first couple to meet at our church and get married. Crazy. Anyway, I thought it was best to bounce, even though they wanted me to stay.

When I got back from my time in Florida, I arrived to my new apartment with all my belongings stuffed in my new room. Thankfully there were good friends here in Chicago who were willing to move all my junk over to here while I was gone.

Given that I moved my mom while I was home, had very little rest, drove back, then started school just days later, I had and still have very little energy to apply toward our new place. I decided to "hire" a friend to do the interior decorating of the living space. The goal is to make the aesthetics warm enough for peeps to want to hang out here. The video below gives you a small taste of what it is like now. I hope to have a video up in a few weeks of the final product.

Do you think it can be done?
By His Grace.

Shout!!!

2011-01-19T22:26:00.000-06:00

So I haven't been writing much lately. I am working on something right now on church planting, but not sure when that is gonna get done, if it will get done, and if it would be worth reading if it does get done. However, I have been making some sweet videos and that is what I am posting for now.

I got to go back to Florida this past weekend to be in another wedding. I am halfway to my own movie called A Combination of 27 Tuxedos and Suits. This was the wedding of TJ and Anna, two very special people to me. TJ was a student at UF who I first met back in 2006 doing Hurricane Katrina Relief. He met Anna when they were in Barbados together for a Campus Crusade Summer Project. She and I became friends that year, having tons of conversations about relationships. Little did I know she really wanted to talk to me about TJ. And now, they're married.

It was a privilege to be in the wedding and to party with them. Below is a shaky, but awesome video of our sweet celebration. Shout!!!

By His Grace.

Resolved: To Undergeneralize People

2010-12-31T12:08:00.000-06:00

This is the time of year when people will make resoultions for the next year, taking about as much time to make them as they will to break them. I am in this boat. I resolve ever year not to bite my nails. Since I resolve that every year I am sure you then know that each year I fail. I admit that my fingers are ungly (ungodly ugly).

But there is one resolution that I established way back that I will am planning on building on this coming year: to undergeneralize people. Let me explain.

Someone close to me, we'll call her Betty, was explaining how she was shopping for the ever-important ingredients for what would become all the delicious Christmas grub at Publix, where shopping is apparently a pleasure. However, when she was getting ready to check out her pleasure turned to frustration. You see, she was strolling down the front aisle gearing up to check-out when a lady approached her head on. The horrible dilemma of who would get out of who's way ensued. Neither was willing to budge at first, so the person dear to me decided to move herself and her hefty cart from her left-side (the other lady's right) of the aisle to her right side, letting the other woman pass. Apparently the other woman didn't mention any words of gratitude so the person close to me, assuming the woman had "forgotten," said "you're welcome" to her. This woman, who, I am told, looked wealthy and had a child with her, responded snidely by saying, "I didn't need to say thank you; I was on the right side." Each woman went their separate ways and if the other woman is anything like the one so special to me, she was talking to all her friends about that ridiculous event that destroyed her Christmas spirit.

I know this because Betty went on to overgeneralize about this woman. She began to talk about this rich woman who felt like she owned the world because she's rich and can do whatever she wants just felt like she couldn't get out of her way for the "little person." Betty continued by saying how this rich woman was setting a poor example for the child with her who was probably going to grow up just like her. Betty's issue wasn't with the woman specifically, but with the rich woman who she overgeneralized, applying certain assumptions to her based on possible past experiences or constant exposure to ridiculous "reality" TV shows that highlight entitled celebrities and their tirades on five-star hotel management for not having the bathtub filled with Dom Pérignon heated to a steamy 102 degrees when they arrived.

Now don't get me wrong; I think overgeneralizing is okay in certain instances. I learned in a college intro psych class that humans develop schemas that categorize individuals into larger groups in order to keep their brains from overworking. This is the basis of our stereotyping. Let's face it, stereotyping just makes life easier, and in many instances they can be true. Paul does this very thing in his letter to Titus when talking about the people of Crete. He writes "One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said 'Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.' This testimony is true." (Tit. 1:12-13). From this he goes on to command Titus to "rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith" (v. 13). Stereotyping, or overgeneralizing, is easier and often helpful.

But it can also be harmful if we rest on it for all our interactions. One of the things we learned in my Gospels class this semester was the discipleship of the "little people" in the Gospel of Mark. These "little people" were those who were outside of the group of 12 disciples who followed Jesus but who, unlike those disciples in most instances, exhibited true, trusting faith. What is startling how the examples of "little people" are all those who could easily be overgeneralized as outcasts - a demon-possessed man (5:1-21), an unclean woman (5:25-34) and an outsider Gentile woman (7:24-30) to name a few - all had personal interactions with Jesus that revealed the true nature of their hearts. For example, the Gentile woman, who was most likely wealthy in her own right, has this powerful verbal exchange with him, which in essence reveals her humility, that she would love to be a dog in the presence of Christ! At the core of this is the fact that Jesus, even though overgeneralizations were available to him, chose in these instances to undergeneralize and treat each person in his or her particular circumstance.

Back to Betty. What if Betty, instead of depending on overgeneralizations, sought to undergeneralize in that instance. No, the wealthy woman wasn't acting humbly per se, but what undergeneralizing seeks to accomplish is an understanding of that person in that particular circumstance. So instead of thinking of her as a rich snob, what if she was having a bad day or was frustrated about her family situation this Christmas? What if the rich lady was actually struggling financially and was stressed with all the money she was spending? Betty may never know the specifics, but fighting against overgeneralization and functioning from a position of undergeneralization may allow Betty, you, and me to be more compassionate, patient, and understanding with those we come across each day. And in doing so, I believe the gospel can be shared more effectively.

So this year I resolve to resist a heavy dependence on overgeneralizing and fight for more dependence on undergeneralizing. Are you with me?

By Hs Grace for this New Year.

O Christmas Tree

2010-12-04T16:35:00.000-06:00

Second video in a row. I guess I am chronicling this Christmas. Yes, I have much work to do (as you can tell, the beard has not been shaved in a while), but video breaks are always fun and needed.

By His Grace.

First Snow!

2010-12-01T22:33:00.002-06:00

By His Grace.

Jay-Z and I Are Related

2010-11-19T00:17:00.002-06:00

I'm a huge fan of the program Fresh Air on NPR. I got hooked after host, Terry Gross, interviewed actor Gabriel Byrne. She is not the most polished interviewer, but her questions probe deep and people always seem to embrace it. This week she had the opportunity to interview Jay-Z on the eve of the release of his new book, Decoded. If you listen to it, you'll hear how awkward all of it was. I hear it was the same during her interview with Tracy Morgan. I just got the sense that she has the confused appreciation for Jay-Z and just doesn't know how to express it. Either way, a 45 second exchange within the first five minutes the most profound. Here's how it went down:

[Terry Gross] In talking about sampling, I'm reminded of something you say in the book that I thought was really interesting. You know you talk about your parents having a big record collection. You're father left when you were very young, I think when you were nine, and you say that most of your friends' fathers had left. You say "Our fathers were gone usually because they just bounced, but we took their old records and used them to build something fresh."

After a long pause, he goes on profoundly to say, "Yeah....yeah, I guess there's a bright side to everything." It seemed to work out fairly well for Jay-Z, right? Well, outside of fame, fortune, and a sweet ability to create rhymes, if I were to meet Jay-Z we would be able to talk about one thing we have in common - growing up without a dad. He had his pops for several years and even afterward it seems there were echoes of his dad around as Jay-Z listened to the words of other people even though his dad was silent in his life. Everyone of us without fathers still have some kind of records they left behind.

Interestingly, I've been wondering about what "records" my dad has left behind for me. For those of us who grow up without fathers, their imprint is still left on our lives on some level. Genetics definitely plays a role, but the footprints of absence make an enormous impact as well. This is a time in my life where I am thinking about how to take those footprints - those records - and make something fresh too. I acknowledge that my father made some very poor decisions, decisions that could easily haunt me the rest of my life (I do wonder if Jay-Z thinks about that at all). However, at the risk of sounding repetitious, God is a father to the fatherless (Ps. 68:5) and I know the true Spirit of adoption as God's son through Christ, the one True Son (Rom 8:15-17; Gal. 4:4-7), so though my earthly father was not around, my heavenly Father is always with me. I have nothing tangible from my father; he never "left," he was just never there to begin with. Yet, as I've said, now is the time of my life where the intangible records are being understood all the more, and with my heavenly Father, I can make something that is not only fresh, but redeemed.

What about you? Have you considered what records your father has left for you, whether he was in your life growing up or not? If so, what are they and what are you doing with them? Whichever way they come, with heartache or with joy, do you see the opportunity to make something fresh with them?

By His Grace.

Be A Bold Stalker

2010-11-17T22:50:00.001-06:00

You may have read a few blog posts back about my Britney Spears-like attempt to try something new (and somewhat profitable) with my blog. Well in that attempt I did actually write a post that was privy only to the elite core of individual(s) who actually signed up for the blog. Here is that premium post for your reading pleasure per gratis.
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The Internet culture has bred funky styles of stalking since it first started. One of my friends recently tweeted, "what bad traits does the internet inflate in your life? in mine? stalking." Now I know that nobody's initial reaction to that is one of disgust or concern. If I gave you a link to her Twitter account your next move wouldn't be to dial 911 and report her maladjusted behavior. You most likely laughed, or if you're a bit more subdued in nature you smirked, smiled, raised your eyebrows - all in affirmation that you are just like her.

Blogs, YouTube, and especially Facebook have brought our stalkerish ways into the light like never before. Hear me right: They have not made us stalkers; they have revealed us to be stalkers. We all spend countless hours doing intense "research" on people. We've all had those moments where, in a conversation with someone, we realize they know way more about us than we've shared personally or vice versa. It's the "Hey, I'm going to New York this weekend and saw some pics of you and your friends when you went there four years ago" conversation. We all have at least one of those "friends" we know so well on the screen, but still manage only to have awkward interactions in person. It's a hesitating wave or a head-nod of acknowledgment that we are, in fact, real people, yet don't want to acknowledge that we know where the person went to high school or have read every entry in his/her blog since they started in 2002.

Now all I'm saying is that we step up our game. If you're gonna stalk, stalk boldly. Be like the guy who leaves weird love letters in your locker or bangs on the door at 3 am sobbing. If you read a blog post and have had some kind of response to it, write a comment. If you watch a video where someone is sharing an idea, and you have thoughts, share them. You see a status update or pic you like, at least give a good ole thumbs up. The Internet culture is actually inviting you to openly stalk. Don't go so crazy so as to slash tires or be like Alicia Silverstone in the 1993 smash-hit The Crush, but seek to embrace an openness to your stalking you may not have thought about before.

These days I am trying to make it a point to leave a comment on blogs I read or videos I watch. I am trying to write something to people on FB if they write something witty or I ReTweet or @reply like crazy on Twitter. If you write me, I will always respond, even if just to say thanks. Don't be a timid stalker, but a bold one, one that starts conversation in a virtual community that fosters that very thing.

What do you say? Will you join me?

By His Grace.

Nobody Knows Me At All

2010-11-14T20:16:00.004-06:00

Two weekends ago I went to a concert with some friends to hear a band called The Weepies. The Weepies are described as a “pop folk” band who have developed a pretty strong cult following for a combination of their chill, coffee-shop sound and their mesmerizing harmonies of the husband (Steve Tannen) and wife (Deb Talan) vocals. The venue, Space, was intimate (as in dozens of fake candles “lit” all over the place) trying to create an environment that the 200-plus people there were close friends.

The concert lasted about 90 minutes. I honestly was a little disappointed about the length. However, I loved hearing the background stories of some of their more popular songs. A song called "Riga Girls" is about a time when Steve actually clicked on one of those spam links in his e-mails and it took him to a porn site (surprise surprise). Deb walked in moments later and "caught" him. They talked it out and wrote the song about how false of a world it all is. The lyrics make a ton more sense:

Just a little bit of snake oil, tin foil
It takes so little charm to keep you hanging on
But it's a facade like the sky, like the moon, like your eyes

Yet it was a song I didn’t know that grabbed most of my attention. It was called Nobody Knows Me At All. Here is one verse from that tune:

When I was a child everybody smiled, nobody knows me at all
Very late at night and in the morning light, nobody knows me at all

Now I got lots of friends, yes, but then again, nobody knows me at all
Kids and a wife, it's a beautiful life, nobody knows me at all

What I was most surprised by was that out of all the songs they played that night, this was the one that people knew the lyrics to the best and sang the loudest along with the band. It is a song about being alone and being unknown in the middle of crowds and the flow of life. There was great irony in the sea of dozens of people from all walks of life joining in one voice to proclaim their “unknown-ness.” The tone of the song is lighthearted as if being unknown can make you “happy as a clam.” It is a stark contrast from the same theme found in Billy Joel’s Piano Man as he sings, “They’re sharing a drink they call loneliness/but it’s better than drinking alone.”

I can’t help but think that this airy sound couched in smiles as each word is sung covers over the true loneliness of being unknown. Furthermore, this is a husband and wife duo, two people who should know each other in every sense of the word. This is in fact how we are made - to know and to be known. Whenever people say, for example, “he knew her in the biblical sense” they speak of the sexual connotations found in verses like Genesis 4:1, where Adam “knew” Eve and she bore Cain.

The word carries the strong sense of intimacy that is not lost on our relationship with God. To be known by God is to be known in the most intimate of ways. This is why the marriage motif is so strong throughout the Bible, especially in the Church’s relationship to Christ. Ephesians 5:22-33 shares that marriage on earth is but a reflection of how the church relates to Christ, drawing on the narrative of Adam and Eve’s consummation when the “two became one flesh.” This is, as Paul says, a profound mystery. Though a mystery, the theme of intimacy and being known by God is traced from Genesis to Revelation, from first creation to New Creation. It is in this that we see our knowing God and being known by God being established, being lost in our sin, and being restored in Christ. God has created us for intimacy with Him and with each other. We are made for relationship. We are made to be known.

Are you singing a song like this? Do you feel like nobody knows you at all despite being surround by a few friends or hundreds of acquaintances? I can’t help but want to join in their song because I know what it is like to try to find solace in my loneliness, but I can also stand alone in silence with joy in my heart because I am known so deeply by my God who created me for him. Do you know him?

By His Grace.

I'm Pulling a Britney Spears

2010-11-03T23:43:00.001-05:00

Many of you may remember when Britney Spears used to be a good singer. Well, maybe you don't remember that, but you will at least remember the debacle of her first marriage. You know, the one that lasted 55 hours?

Well I am pulling a Britney Spears. For one, I am not a good singer either. For another, I filed for an annulment a little over 48 hours from my previous decision to use letter.ly. The process is complete and I am moving back here. I have several reasons for this, which I could explain, but don't think it is too necessary. If I had a publicist, I would point you to him.

I am grateful to have the opportunity to write, record, and share here and for you to read or watch what is going on. Thanks for being a part of this. It is a joy. Continue to be on the lookout!

By His Grace.

A Blog That's Worth It

2010-11-01T23:30:00.002-05:00

So I've recently been introduced to this sweet new newsletter called letter.ly

There is a shift in today's Internet economy that is explained really well by this guy where he mentions letter.ly as a key player.

If you've gotten this far, then you know where I'm going. All the craziness that is this blog is going through a shift and I hope it is a shift you will be a part of. For only the price of two MP3s, a cup of coffee, or anything else that cost $1.99, you can sign up for my letter.ly newsletter, JackedUpCat, for $1.99 a month. That be it!

This blog will, for the most part, end. The content you see here you will receive via e-mail through JackedUpCat. You've seen this blog. Much will be in the same vein. Some will change. In essence these are thoughts on jacked up living from one jacked up cat, hence the name.

I'd love for you to sign up and enter into this venture with me. The payments work through your Amazon account, which most of us have. So what are you waiting for? Click below and hook it up!

http://www.letter.ly/JackedUpCat

By His Grace.

BIV #7: Get Out of the Should World

2010-10-31T23:35:00.000-05:00

Do you live in the should world? What can't you help but see yourself doing in 2, 5, 10, 50 years? What's holding you back? Hear what's holding me back and throw some thoughts in.

By His Grace.

You Might Think I'm Twisted...

2010-10-28T13:27:00.001-05:00

...but I have loved the shift in weather over the past week here in Chicago. The storm that past through on Tuesday was apparently one of historic proportions. I didn't get outside that day until about 4:00 pm. I found myself actually leaning backward to walk forward to keep from being pushed to the ground by the wind. And I love that.

I think the temperature has now permanently dropped, safely transitioning us to the late-autumn, early winter. The wind and the trees are making music together and the final bit of leaves have changed color from beautiful yellow and red to straight up dead as they lay on the ground. And yes, I think this is awesome too.

This will happen this year I'm sure. Sweet!

I am a huge fan of autumn. It is my favorite season. But I have a special place in my heart for winter. Maybe it's because my nicest clothes come out this time of year. I busted out my sweet winter coat that I will now probably have to sport until May. I have no problem with that. This means more fires, hotter drinks, the first snowfall, and soon-to-be holiday cheer. People are inside more. I don't necessarily see this as a bad thing because I believe this leads to more conversations that are substantial and longer.

And just as people have complained about how the summer was too hot, they will complain about how it is too cold. Even in the fall each day was either too hot or too cold. I'm still trying to figure out the optimal temperature for us, but I think it is 72.82983 °F. Regardless, I'm going to embrace the change, enjoy the negative temps, and love every moment of it.

Do you think I'm twisted? I do.

By His Grace.

I Killed Him

2010-10-26T22:40:00.002-05:00

I came to the end of the Gospel of Mark this morning in my reading. This tells the historical events of Jesus' last days, including his crucifixion. While reading Mark 15 I was reminded that I cried out loud with the crowds, Σταύρωσον αὐτόν -- "Crucify him!" The echoes of these cries reverberated in my head and were sent down into the pit of my stomach because I could hear my own voice. One of the greatest problems of humanity is that we are so prideful to think we do not have it in us to kill "good people." If Jesus were to walk in this world today would he be loved or hated? My guess is that he would be hated. Why? Because he was convicted by objective truth and taught out of that conviction. He claimed that the core institution of our society, the family, would split over him. He claimed he was the only way to know God.. He claimed authority to cast out demons and heal people and raise people from the dead.

A woman has committed adultery. She is continuing to live in that sin. Her husband tries to love her as best he can throughout the whole time. Her response to his love is nothing but disgust and hatred. She says she doesn't want to have anything to do with him or his love. She's lied repeatedly. She's tried to steal from him. She says that she wants to leave and that his love is pushing her away. I do not think it is a far stretch to believe that at some point she probably wished he was dead so that she wouldn't have to deal with him and his love anymore so she could just go on with her life.

This is what happens when darkness is exposed by the light.

At first it will try to hide, stay in the dark. If that can't happen darkness will try to fight, avoid, push away, and eventually kill the light. We are all capable of what this woman did to her husband. We are all capable of murderous intentions. Jesus Christ is the light of the world. He loves as the Most Perfect Husband. I am not crazy at all to think that we as the adulterous wife would gladly cry out "Crucify Him!" if it meant we could go back to our lover.

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Christ's death is no mere example of sacrifice. He died for me despite me. It is a death that brings about true and everlasting reconciliation between the faithless Bride and the faithful Bridegroom. Christ's death and resurrection draws his Bride back.

We don't need to hide anymore. Living in darkness is not where we are meant to be. When our sin ceases to satisfy, when our lovers fail to give us all that we desire, we know that our Groom is waiting patiently and lovingly, with forgiveness in his heart. He will tell us that he took our sin and our death so that we can turn to him and have life. I killed Jesus and through it he has rescued me.

By His Grace.

Fatherless Generation

2010-10-25T00:15:00.000-05:00

I grew up without a father. By this I mean that he was never a real presence in my life emotionally, physically or spiritually. My mom and dad never married. Though we lived in the same city during most of the first 12 years of my life, I only saw my father twice (as best as my memory recalls). He was not one of those washed-up deadbeat guys who was in and out of jail, struggling with drugs or any of the stereotypes that are associated with fathers who are not in the lives of their children. My dad was in fact a successful businessman. He was a co-owner and operator of a high-end steak and seafood restaurant, which he began around the same time I was born. They closed their doors in January. I know because I read about it on the Internet. I saw a picture of him in that article, serving customers (with what I know of him, I know he loved to be a server there). It was the first time I had seen him in over three years. As you can tell, this has affected me more than I realize. It is coming to the fore as each day, month, and year passes. I have heard the phrase "father wound" tossed quite a bit. I'm sure there are technical definitions behind it and I'm sure experts have weighed in on what it exactly means. I don't know those definitions or the experts, but I do know what I've carried throughout my life and I think "father wound" is both appropriate and lacking. Maybe father gash?

Wound or gash, one of the beautiful realities I have come to seize in really just the past year has been God's adoption of me as his son through the True Sonship of Jesus Christ. This verse sums it up pretty well:

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. -Galatians 4:4-7

I have known these words since I first read them over a decade ago. But it is as if they are being experienced for the first time in my life, much like those instances where you catch yourself throughout the day and just say, "this is all real." Much of life is mindless; but those moments when reality meets mind make life poetic, raw, emotional. That is when truth is known holistically.

Each day I am relearning that God is a father to the fatherless (Psalm 68:5). Part of that journey is looking at the lives, experiences, and stories of those who are in a similar boat as me. Tonight, I just picked up the book Fatherless Generation, a new release by John Sowers, president of The Mentoring Project. I am looking forward to this read, since it is the first book on the topic I have read since I read To Own a Dragon by Donald Miller back in 2006. Donald Miller started The Mentoring Project to address the issue of boys who grow up without dads seeing as how it was part of his own story and part of thousands of boys' stories nationwide. John Sowers, who also grew up without a father, joined them a few years ago and is now president of The Mentoring Project.

I will be tweeting quotes from the book throughout my read. I'm not sure how long it is going to take to finish it. The book is short, but hundreds of other pages need to be read for school as well. It will get done sooner or later; my bet is sooner.

I've read the Foreword by Donald Miller and I'll end with a poignant quote, which I am glad he admits. He shares what's on my heart, what is true for me, but also what may be too shameful for me to admit myself:

Fatherless men need friends who are proud of them. It feeds our souls to have friends who are proud of us. John can write a book and lead an organization, but in the end, he's a fatherless kid looking for somebody to be proud of him. I know because that's exactly who I am too.

By His Grace.

Thoughts from the Sufjan Concert

2010-10-18T19:16:00.001-05:00

So I got to hit up the Sufjan Stevens concert on Friday. Many of you know who he is. For those of you who don't I invite you first to go here and here. My friend Nevair was able to snatch up tickets immediately after they went on sale. They were sold out in a matter of hours for the historic, several-thousand seat venue, The Chicago Theatre.

My thoughts are brief, but as follows: Unlike many others it seems, I knew what I was getting into with this concert. Sufjan has recently released a new album, The Age of Adz. It is a pretty far depature from what fans have come to know and love. He has acknowledged this, noting the challenges of growing in his song writing. At one point in the concert he mentioned how he is trying to revamp his entire methodology, whatever that means.

The opening song was the title track from his album Seven Swans. Strong with banjo and building to a large climactic repetition of the lyric, "He is the Lord," this song is a favorite among many. When it ended, he lay the banjo down and I thought it was symbolic of the transition he is making in his music from his trademark sound to this new, experimental groove marked with even more instrumentation coupled with synthesized sounds, and for Sufjan, heavy electric guitar.

The rest of the night featured his new album. I believe all the tracks on the album were played except for my favorite and perhaps most controversial, I Want to be Well. There were moments when you wanted to dance as badly as he does. There were moments when you wanted to just sit there and take all of it in. There were moments of utter confusion and brilliant clarity. The concert was a complete event that elicited both pain and joy for me.

The concept of the album centers around a schizophrenic apocalyptic painter/drawer, Royal Robertson. As best as I can gather from what Sufjan said during the show, the album is an exploration and expression of the "internal cosmos" that is universal to all humanity. However, this was tempered for me when Sufjan stated earlier in the show that New Age thought is a bunch of "B.S." Maybe as Sufjan struggled so much with his writing and expression, he found a connection with Royal Robertson, that ultimately reveals the schizophrenic in all of us that just wants to be well. Sufjan is fairly obvious about his Christian faith, so I am wondering if there the desire to express the real, deep struggle of walking in this world with Christ. There is so much more tension, heartache and brokenness than pop-evangelicalism allows.

Anyway, Sufjan closed the night with classics. He ended the main set with his most popular track, "Chicago," to feed all our deepest longings to be connected to him as a local. Then I was surprised he closed the three song encore with his most troubling and haunting song, John Wayne Gacy, Jr. He was alone on the stage singing, "I am just like him." Whatever highs were established earlier in the show were completely destroyed by the end of that as he walked off. Amazing.

Below is a two-minute clip from Chicago. This was the best concert I've been to for a long time. If you get the chance to see him on this tour, do it. You won't regret it.

By His Grace.

BIV #6: The Pad

2010-10-17T20:24:00.000-05:00

Check out where I live!

By His Grace.

Sermon: The Road of Christ

2010-10-12T11:27:00.000-05:00

I typically take the road most traveled by.
Robert Frost took the road less traveled by.
Jesus took the road never traveled by.
He's calling us to go on His road.

Here is my latest sermon that I preached at The Line

(Right click the "latest sermon" link and choose "Save Link As")

By His Grace.

BIV #5: It's Quitting Time

2010-10-11T00:29:00.002-05:00

By His Grace.

Big Ears, Little Mouth

2010-10-06T23:59:00.001-05:00

Last night I was grateful to God that he has big ears and a little mouth. To be sure, when God speaks, it is thunder and lightning, cracking throughout the world and shaking our hearts at the core (Ps. 29). His voice can also be a whisper that compels us to speak on the rooftops (Matt 10:27). God's voice, whether resounding or soft, is intended to be heard and obeyed.

Though that may be the case, God does not need to have a big mouth in order for his voice to be heard. In fact, as God's child I am thankful that in prayer God doesn't have the big mouth I so associate with those who have all their theology right and want to be the ones who have all the answers for me when I am struggling with something in life. There seems to be a correlation in the command for us to be quick to hear and slow to speak to God's character (James 1:18-20). God's ears are big enough to be patient and gracious in listening to me when I am simply complaining, venting, expressing frustration - all with no real desire for an answer. I am comforted by the fact that prayer does not need to be simply about asking God for stuff and hoping for an answer; prayer can also be about hurling all of my concerns and worries unto God because he cares for me (1 Pet. 5:7). This seems to flow not from pride, but from humility (1 Pet. 5:6).

Furthermore, my gratitude is magnified when my life clashes with those who are quick to speak and slow to listen. To be frank I think this is due to our theological paradigms that are threatened when someone in the community doesn't have it all together. This is coupled with our own wrongful desire to be someone's savior; we want people to say, "Thanks for your words. They had a huge impact, changed my life and now I'm all better." Yet Job's friends did more for him in their silence than they ever did in their speaking (Job 2:13). Next time you have the opportunity to listen to someone - whether they are complaining about their day, struggling in their faith, or even if they are disagreeing with you on something - when you feel like it's your turn to talk, wait just a little longer.

So if there is a prayer that I am lifting up to God which I hope he does answer, it is one that would lead for me, my friends, and for all Christians to be children that reflect the character of their Father. I pray that we will look like him everyday, with big ears that welcome words and little mouths that hold them off.

By His Grace.

When Numbers Do Harm

2010-10-04T01:04:00.004-05:00

Pew released the results of a survey last week which in essence says atheists know their bibles almost as well Christians do and know world religions better. Headlines read, "Atheists, Jews top religious knowledge survey," and "Atheists, agonistics most knowledgeable about religion." First, let me say that Pew and groups like them, for the most part, do good. I have no real issue with the attempt to gain and report a broad understanding of the religious climate and understanding of America. Furthermore, I am also grateful for groups like LifeWay Research that do important studies on topics such as church life, evangelism, and missions. Finally, I am grateful of the individual men and women who God has used to pave the way for me to learn and grow as a believe through their own experiences, ministries, preaching and writing. One book that has shaped the way I think of church planting is The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch, in particular the chapter entitled "Communitas, not Community," where communitas,

Involves adventure and movement, and it describes that unique experience of togetherness that only really happens among a group of people inspired by the vision of a better world who actually attempt to do something about it.

These are good words that helped shape the way I seek to live in Chicago. Yet all the books, all the studies, all the experiences of others, and all the statistics can do major harm to us when we rely too much on them. Why? Because we will sacrifice names for numbers and people for percentages.

I was struck by this over the weekend because of two conversations. The first was with one of the physical therapy assistants where I am rehabbing my knee. He and I got into an excellent conversation about his church background and his current beliefs. He was open and willing to share where his heart is, holding a fairly subjective moralism common throughout the world - "If I'm a good person, I will have my reward." I was able to challenge him somewhat on his understanding of "good," on his view of God, what the Bible is, and who Jesus is. Then yesterday I was at the Gator bar here in Chicago for the game in which we were destroyed. I was there with an old fraternity brother who's a brilliant guy studying theoretical and applied physics at Northwestern. Through his study he is convinced there is some kind of creator, but isn't willing to go much further. I challenged him to take the next step to think about how a creating Being isn't a personal Being, especially when that Being created humans.

What I'm trying to say is that we can get really comfortable building our ministries and our churches off of the work of others. It is easy to say that atheists know religion better than Christians do, therefore we must respond in some way. It is another story to talk with your neighbor Gary and be humiliated in a conversation because you don't know anything about either Hinduism or his atheism. It is one thing to know that Chicago is a party city based off of the stench of beer on the streets in the morning and the statistics of how many people die each year due to alcohol related incidents. It's another thing to be at a bar packed with your friends John and Larry who don't seem to think much about Jesus but more about University of Florida football and drink specials.

Scripture has a lot to say both about numbers and names. The years of the earliest humans are given (Gen. 5), the number of the people of Israel is given from the beginning of Exodus on through the book of Numbers (Ex. 1; Num. 1-7). Censuses were taken (2 Sam. 24). The number of people present at Jesus' various feeding miracles is given (Mark 6:30-44; 8:1-10) and the number of people who believed after Peter's first sermon is told (Acts 2:41). And there are numbers of great symbolic importance such as three, seven, and twelve. However, names matter more. God's name is given (Ex. 3:14) and at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue will confess (Phil. 2:9-11). For the Jews at least, names were not arbitrary but spoke to what God had done or to the character of the individual. Jesus, the friend of sinners, called Zacchaeus and his persecutor Saul by name (Luke 19:2-8; Acts 9:4). Paul sent personal greetings to individuals throughout Romans 16, naming each one of them. And if God knows the number of hairs on my head, he knows my name, Andrew, the name of the person whose head their on.

Percentages are harmful when people are sacrificed for them.
Numbers do harm when names are never learned or forgotten.
Let us be a people who know more names than numbers.

By His Grace.

History of Rap

2010-09-30T16:58:00.001-05:00

I regret not watching this episode last night. Good thing we get this sweet clip. I especially think there's great comedy in the fact The Roots comprise the majority of the minority representation. Fallon and other late night folk definite do reach a specific audience. Enjoy.

By His Grace.

Five Most Pressing Questions

2010-09-29T08:24:00.012-05:00

Continuing the Discussion
Last week I began a short series on the Pressing Questions of a Growing Minichurch. There was some good interaction with a few folk here and on Facebook. Below is part two of this series:

Five Most Pressing Questions for This Growing Minichurch
Near the end of our leaders meeting last week, I asked the other guys what the five most pressing questions are that we are asking right now. Here are the questions what we came up with:

What are the qualities of a Disciple-Making Disciple?
How does one define a tribe or people group?
Calling: Is it to what, to where, or to whom?
How do church leaders serve and pastor the growing body while still staying "in the world"?
What do we do when our Sunday attendance outpaces the structures we have in place?

To be honest we have been asking these questions since the church began. We strongly desire to be a church that reflects the model set down in 2 Timothy 2:1-2 in the context of Chicago in general and the prevalent arts culture specifically. How we've answered these questions has informed most, if not all, of the decisions we make. And still they are pressing.

What are you asking?
What about you? Whether you are a church planter, pastor of an established church, staff person, or just a member, what do you think the five most pressing questions are for your church today? If you have thoughts or comments, make sure to post them below. Looking forward to hearing where you are and how we may be able to help each other as we feebly attempt to be a part of Christ growing His church in the world.

By His Grace.

Dever, Driscoll, MacDonald: Multi-Site Chruches

2010-09-28T19:44:00.002-05:00

Pulled this off of Justin Taylor's blog. Here are his comments:

Watch this on two levels: (1) to follow the content of the discussion about the pros and cons of multi-site congregations; (2) the way in which Mark Dever is slow to speak, quick to listen, and asks good questions to advance the discussion and change the tone of the conversation. Instructive on both levels!

I found it to be really informative. I will tip my hand and say that I am not a fan of multi-site churches, though I am growing more willing to be swayed. I believe it creates too much of a cult-of-personality and relies too heavily on a brand. A lot of talk goes into their effectiveness currently, but we honestly have no idea. It would be interesting to see what the comments were in the 80s and 90s on megachurches and their "effectiveness" now that we can look back and see the many sad results from them, including, but not limited to, Consumer Christians.

What are your thoughts?

By His Grace.

The "Facebook Message" Bible

2010-09-28T14:52:00.002-05:00

So I was reading the infamous chapter 11 of 2 Samuel where David basically stalks Bathsheba and uses his kingly powers to "lay with her" even though she was married to Uriah. The thought came to mind while I was reading that King David would have been the first and worst Facebook stalker if he had access to it. I decided to tweet it and see what the response would be. After a little feedback I thought about what would happen if Mark Zuckerberg, creator of Facebook, and Euguene Peterson, translator of The Message Bible, teamed up for a new version. It would of course be aptly called "The Facebook Message."

Here is an excerpt from 2 Samuel 11:1-5 of The Facebook Message:

King David decided not to go out to war that season even though he was an amazing warrior. Instead he decided to chill on the roof of his palace and check Facebook all day while everyone else was gone. As he was doing so, he stumbled upon the ...photo of a beautiful woman he had never met before in his entire life. He clicked on it and saw she was from Jerusalem. Some other photos were public, but not enough information for him to get the best idea. He saw that they had a mutual friend so he contacted that person who also happened to work for him to see if he could get more information. That’s where he learned that she was married to this guy Uriah (her profile pic didn’t have him in it). He told this mutual friend that he had to meet her now, and, being the King, was able to do it. This mutual friend told her that David was FB stalking her and wanted to see her. Because he was King she came. Then he "poked" her. After a little while later she sent him a message on FB – “I am pregnant.”

We always trip on Facebook stalkers. We joke around about how they are creepy or even how we Facebook stalked someone that day. I know that my "translation" may seem a bit crass, but it does expose that even "a man after God's own heart" can be one jacked up cat who needs redemption.

By His Grace.

BIV #4: The Derek Jeter Guide to Giving

2010-09-26T23:22:00.001-05:00

By His Grace.

Pressing Questions for the Growing Minichurch

2010-09-22T13:38:00.004-05:00

We're Almost A Megachurch!

The Line Band prepping for one our services in July

At The Line staff prayer we were told that 99 people showed up to our most recent Sunday service. As your reading you may be thinking, "I could have been the 100th person!" Yeah, you could have...and won a prize. From this I continually joke that we are a burgeoning megachurch. The lobby of the Greenhouse Theater where we meet was almost overcrowded and uncomfortable, almost like a high school house party. We ran out of the Intelligentsia hand-ground coffee we typically serve to the few dozen who come. Programs disappeared quickly and people had to share. People had to sit on the side of the theater and some only saw the back of our Aaron's (the lead pastor) head while he preached. Oh how far we are from being a megachurch, but these are the wonderful, grace-filled problems of our growing minichurch.

If I had to guess, I would say that most established churches are asking questions regularly, but there also comes a time when certain structures, like staff, finances, are in place that make each week a little more routine. My experience as a leader in a young church plant has me believing that while in this constant state of flux, many of the questions we ask are more pressing and could drastically effect the direction of the church.

Over the past month several pressing questions have arisen I'd like to share. This is the first of at least a three part series that will come out each Wednesday over the next three weeks. My hope is that they open up discussion and create a forum for the questions you may have regardless of what role you have with your church.

Crowd to Core or Core to Crowd?
I had the chance to visit with a pastor of a church of 3,000 people down in Florida about a month ago. The method of how they planted their church is a "Crowd to Core" method, one in which they promote heavily, hold an event at a key time of the year, draw an enormous crowd and develop a core from that. Almost everything we do as a church plant is the reverse of that. The church started with a crowd of seven. The preaching began in a living room to a crowd of 10-15. Gospel Communities (small groups on mission) were launched small and strategically by neighborhood. We made a weak attempt at promoting our launch service in The Congress Theater. Though we put an emphasis on our Sunday service, the majority of our energy is spent thinking and praying through our Gospel Communities and our Cords, which are the discipleship groups of our church. Our mentality and method is for the mission to move from Core to Crowd.

After explaining this to the pastor, he said point blank, "I have never seen that work." Speaking strictly from a Western context, I am sure that there are exceptions to what he claims (Soma Communities comes to mind). I am also very aware of the conversation regarding the Church Growth model and the Missional model. But generally the fundamental question is raised,

"How should we be planting churches?"

From this comes other questions:

"Methodologically is it better to plant on a 'Crowd to Core' model or a 'Core to Crowd'?"
"What are the advantages to each? What are the disadvantages?
"Do we depend more on method than on the Spirit, prayer, and discernment?"

Many Questions, One Certainty
Over the next several weeks you will be exposed to more questions we are asking. We do have many questions, but are certain of one thing: Jesus Christ is building his church in Chicago and throughout the world. Thus our questions are not rooted in fear or insecurity. We are not reaching out and grasping tightly to every body that walks through our doors. The Line exists to be a witness to what Jesus has done and continues to do. We strive to make sure that the questions we ask are confidently rooted in Him.

I pray every local body remembers that whether you have one question or one thousand questions.

By His Grace.

Wild Adventures With Deer

2010-09-21T08:04:00.000-05:00

I got to campus today around 6:15 am. To my great delight and surprise there was a deer chillin' right outside the Waybright Center.

Go on the adventure with me as I follow the deer around Trinity.

By His Grace.

Flee or Follow?

2010-09-20T22:29:00.001-05:00

The Book of Jonah is always surprising to me when I read it. A few days ago I read just the first chapter. The major theme in that chapter is the "presence of the Lord" the phrase shows up 3 times in 16 verses (v. 3 twice and v. 10).

The key really is in the first 3 verses:

Jonah 1:1 Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.

I was able to pull three observations from this:

God's presence comes to us. This goes with what we said the first week in "Jesus makes the first move." There is no mention of Jonah's moral character, how he was living, what he was trying to do to bring God's presence into his life. It merely says that the word came to Jonah. And like the word coming to Jonah, Jesus came first to earth (John 1:14) and then, as believers, His Spirit has come into our hearts (Gal. 4:6). So not only is God present externally, but within each and every one of us who considers ourselves Christ-followers. God's presence in our lives is an act of divine grace and kindness.
The word is God's presence. The OT is full of examples of "the word of the Lord." In fact, it shows up 438 times in the OT. Often it is assumed that the word of the Lord coming also means his presence. It isn't completely proper to say that God's presence is only established when we hear the word of God (i.e. read Scripture) because we have already established that something totally different has taken place in Christ with God's Spirit dwelling in us now. But it is right to say that the word of the Lord that has come to us in the Scriptures is the foundation by which we all live, testifying to his presence in us. Jesus' temptation is a prime example (Matt. 4, Luke 4). Although he had the Spirit, and although he is the Son of God, he depended on Scripture to resist temptation.
The question we must ask is, "how do I respond to God's presence?" I think if we're really honest with ourselves, we will know we are like Jonah. We will know that God's presence is here, we have access to him, we can read his Word, we can pray directly to him, that He is guiding us, but everything in us says "FLEE!!!" Jonah was confronted to make a decision to what God was telling him to do. The transition between v. 1 & 2 tells us nothing of what went on in Jonah's head & heart; it's almost as if he knew immediately that he didn't want to hear this from God and wanted to get away as far as possible. The story shows that we can't run forever and God will pursue us. He cares that much.

I think God's presence is stronger than we give Him credit for. I think there's just so much sinful junk in our hearts and lives and minds that tells us to "FLEE" that we think God is absent from us. Reality is we are pursuing absence from Him. Are you avoiding the presence of God in your life right now and pursuing absence from Him?

The way forward is to ask the question, "Will I be honest with myself about how I respond to God's presence?" We can only answer "yes" from a humbled heart. It is in that humility of knowing my flesh is striving to flee that I am able to stop, submit to Christ and know the freedom of following Him.

By His Grace.

The Big Idea #3

2010-09-19T20:09:00.000-05:00

So I have decided to record these on Sunday nights and post them so they can be up all day on Monday. If that still frame image below doesn't make you want to watch the video, I don't know what will! This should be a good one for discussion so make sure to hit me up if you have any thoughts or questions or insights.

By His Grace.

The Ordinary Planter

2010-09-16T00:04:00.002-05:00

So I am recognizing Wednesdays, the day in which I designated to be a blog on church planting, to be difficult. I'm up by 5:30 at the latest and don't get to "home" until 10:00 p.m. at the earliest (I stay with friends 20 minutes from campus, which is such a blessing). What fun experimenting with being a regular blogger! Read this with anticipation for what's next. Sweat it out.

The Ordinary Pastor
Recently, The Gospel Coalition unveiled a new project called The Ordinary Pastor. The goal in two words: "Be encouraged."

Be encouraged when growth is slow and measured by generations. Be encouraged when guilt, fear, and the specter of failure form an unholy alliance against you. Be encouraged when young men grown fat on the feast of podcasts question your every move. Be encouraged when no one knows your name; it is written in blood in the book of life. Ordinary pastor, be encouraged: Your faithful labor in the darkened forest of obscurity is heroic.

I am not yet a pastor. Even the "yet" comprises so much uncertainty. Thankfully these concerns are of the Lord. Regardless of my own situation I am encouraged with the direction The Gospel Coalition is taking by highlighting the countless pastors who God uses on a minute-by-minute basis to preach the gospel of Christ, disciple people by the Spirit, and faithfully serve where they are -- all without ever being recognized by throngs of screaming fans who inject the pastor's material into their eyes and ears.

The Ordinary Planter
Building off of this is the real ~~hard~~ sweet truth that church planting is much like pastoring -- ordinary. I have been involved with a church plant called The Line here in a Chicago for about two years, since before the core group even lived in Chicago. We have had a swath of crazy and amazing experiences, but in all honesty that is how things go with any church plant. It's ordinary.

I was just reading earlier about Steven Furtick, a 30 year-old pastor who was first a planter. Starting in Charlotte, North Carolina, only four years ago with seven other couples, his church, Elevation Church, is over 6,000 strong. Their website says they've seen over 8,000 people receive Christ. He also has a book coming out, Sun Stands Still, which according to recent tweets may be sold out on Amazon before next Tuesday. But for every Steven Furtick -- or Mark Driscoll or Tim Keller or Rick Warren -- there are hundreds of men plowing daily to minister to several dozen individuals in cities of millions or towns of thousands. When they hold their first baptism service it can be in a kiddie pool at the rented gym or even the bathtub at the pastor's house. There is no explosion of growth in terms of numbers or conversions although the preaching may be powerful and burrow deep into the hearts of the 80 people who faithful arrive on Sunday mornings not only to listen, but to set up the equipment, pray, break down and do childcare.

This is the life of the ordinary church planter and the ordinary church plant. A study done by Dr. Ed Stetzer in 2007 states that there are 4,000 church plants annually. In a conversation with him around this time last year, Dr. Stetzer stated that after four years of the existence of a church plant the average membership is 75 people. Think about it for a moment. We have a tendency to glamorize not only the megachurch pastor, but also the megachurch planter, the individual (and families and core groups) that seems to see his church grow by the hundreds while he sleeps. Yet when we survey the landscape of church planting, we see planting following the pattern of pastoring -- it's ordinary.

The clock has struck 12:00 am. Tomorrow starts early again at 5:30 am (hopefully). Therefore I shall stop here. Please know that the direction of these posts is to share church planting experiences from those on the ground. This may include planter profiles, stories of conversion, challenges faced along the way, etc.

Are you looking to be a pastor? What about a church planter? Are you involved in a large church or a small church? How do you view the situation there? Are you like me, helping out with a church plant? What's your experience like? What about your pastor?

Sincerely,
Just an ordinary guy with an ordinary blog helping out with an ordinary church plant

By His Grace.

Being and Doing

2010-09-14T22:55:00.006-05:00

Today I was reading the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. I know what you're thinking - "Wow, Andrew...that sounds...just swell. You are reading the dictionary. Good for you." Well I came across these words for the article on Discipleship by Michael Wilkins. He points out that Luke had a unique way of describing discipleship. I'll let you decide on whether it is interesting or not. The first is as Followers on the Way:

For Luke, salvation itself is “the way” , a pattern of life revealed by God. This idea of salvation as a “way” leads in time to calling the Christian community “the Way” (Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22), an early designation or title for the organized community of disciples, which eventually is known as “the church.” From the Lukan perspective, disciples must enter into and stride along that Way in the footsteps of their Master.

This is the call and the challenge to walk along the same path that has been set before us by Christ. It points to a life marked by sacrifice. This is how he continues in the article as he writes about the second aspect Traveling Along the Way:

Luke specifies that self-denial, taking up the cross and following Jesus not only characterizes entrance into the Way but life on the Way. With the addition of “each day” to the cross-bearing proclamation, the Lukan Jesus calls for daily self-denial, daily bearing one’s cross and daily following in the footsteps of the Master (cf. 9:23; Mk 8:34). Life on the Way involves being doers of the Word (11:27–28), because not all who are walking on the Way truly belong to the Way. Public statements of commitment must be judged by the fruit of one’s life (6:43–49; 19:11–27). That fruit consists, at least in part, in loving and doing good to others (6:17–36), proper stewardship of material possessions (6:35; 8:3), servanthood (22:24–30), prayer (10:2; 11:1; 18:1–8) and testimony to the Way (9:1–6; 10:1–12, 17–20; 12:8–12; 14:23–24; 24:44–49).

I was challenged with one thought after reading this: I talk so often of being in the Word daily, but I rarely ever talk about doing the Word daily. I get to school fairly early so I can read The Script, but my heart is stirred to wonder about the possibilities of daily doing the Word each day afresh. I don't think this means that I am not doing the Word daily. But how often do I and others tell people, "Commit to reading the Word daily"? I'm all about that. I just don't know the last time I told somebody, "Commit to doing the Word daily"? I believe the question of doing the Word needs to fall into the series of questions I have been trained or trained myself to ask daily:

Will I get out of bed this morning?
Will I shower this morning?
Will I brush my teeth?
Will I make coffee? Lunch?
Will I study after class?
Will I read God's Word today?
Will I do God's Word today?

For us all, this may not require any real change in our daily activities or lifestyle. Or maybe it will. Maybe it will radically alter how we pray each day, interact with friends and strangers, steward money, rest, and read God's Word. All I'm suggesting is that our approach to God's Word requires more thoughtfulness and intentionality than we give.

I believe reading the Word will inform how I do the Word. I am proposing for myself and whoever reads this that we take real action toward being as committed to doing the Word as we are to being in the Word.

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. -James 1:23-25

By His Grace.

Best Worst Speech Ever

2010-09-13T23:14:00.005-05:00

This is Phil Davison, now "famous" for this stump speech. "For the record: That's Phil Davison of Minerva, Ohio at last night's Stark County Republican Party's executive committee meeting to select a nominee to run for Stark County treasurer. He didn't get the nomination" (via PoliticalWire.com).

I was going to wait until Friday to post this, but I just couldn't resist. I honestly was laughing from beginning to end. I hope he is laugh about it as much as the rest of the country is.

(HT: Ryan Shields)

By His Grace.

The Big Idea #2

2010-09-13T18:53:00.001-05:00

Hit me up!

By His Grace.

In the Mind or in the Flesh?

2010-09-12T00:34:00.006-05:00

As I mentioned in my video I am really trying to work toward posting something of substance once a day. I was 3 for 5 this past week, skipping out on what I am reading and Fun Friday. The cultural analysis dealt with the whole debacle that was the Qu'ran burning. All that to say, I truly desire to be committed to this as it helps me regularly think through my day and process through all I'm consuming. So here I'm contributing thoughts on two books I am currently reading.

The first is a more technical text, Craig Blomberg's The Historical Reliability of the Gospels. The title gives away the goal of the book - to see how truly reliable the gospels are in telling the life of Jesus. As honestly as he can being an evangelical Christian, Blomberg claims to "neither presupposed nor argue for the complete inerrancy, infallibility or inspiriation of Scripture, even just with the Gospel" stating further he wears his "historian's hat," not his "Christian believer's hat in this project." Early on in the book he applies this historical approach to the foundation of Christianity:

Christianity is based on the concept of God acting in history. Despite the oft-quoted verse 'we walk by faith and not by sight' (2 Cor 5:7), Christianity does not require a 'leap in the dark' or a sacrifice of the intellect. Paul is quoted entirely out of context when this verse is treated as a rationale for believing without evidence (cf. 1 Cor 15:3-8). Biblical faith is fundamentally committed to a God who has intervened in the history of humanity in a way that exposes his activity to historical study.

This is powerful on a number of levels:

It is easy to jack up verses and Scripture, co-opting them for our own purposes. We treat each verse as the little strip of paper found in a fortune cookie that we keep in our back pocket, forgetting that the Bible tells the full story of God's redemptive plan. Though the verse numbers are helpful, sometimes I wish we could tear them out.
God works in history. This assumes God exists and that the God who exists is at work in the world in an active way. God is somehow involved through the course of this world's movement - past, present, and future.
We can study God's work. Being exposed to God and His work in the world, we can study, analyze, ponder, and explore his activity in such a way that we can make thoughtful, meaningful conclusions.

This can all-too-often occur solely on the conceptual level, however. Those last two points are logical possibilities and so it is easy to proceed by our strict commitment to logic, not to reality. Even if one disagrees with the tenets of Christianity, there is intellectual integrity within the system of Christianity itself. Thus we are prone to think of, and may even default toward, the idea that God works in history, holding Christianity only as a worldview instead of holding onto Christ, who is our life (Col. 3:3).

Here is where the second book comes into play. In his book, The Peacemaking Pastor, Alfred Poirier admits the dry intellectualism that never actualizes to concrete belief by labeling himself a "closet heretic." His heresy and that of countless other pastors? Docetism. He writes,

Remember the heresy of the ancient church? Docetism is failing to believe that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. Docetism is the belief that the Son of God only appeared to be, or seemed to be, fully man.

This is of course a statement that has implied qualification. Poirer, nor the other pastors, object against Christ's humanity outright; he says it's simply sheer unbelief. Leaders of the church function daily with the idea of Christ coming to this earth 2000 years ago as God in the flesh, but it remains as mere concept with no real impact on how they pray, preach, counsel, evangelize, serve, or love. Seeking to move his readers through the mind to the heart, Poirer shares these convicting words:

Christ is no phantom. The real Jesus is no Hollywood Jesus walking two feet off the ground. The ministry of the Pastor of pastors in the ministry of the God-man--a man whose feet are blistered and dirtied by the long, hot days of walking dusty roads. In Christ we find a pastor whose hands are calloused by being about his Father's business--hands clasped in prayer, touching lepers, wiping eyes full of tears, and breaking bred. The first Pastor was a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. The first Pastor was a lover of the real world even as he came to change the world.

We often speak of the Incarnation as God becoming flesh (John 1:14), but Poirier points us to the fact that the Incarnation also includes God living in the flesh, praying in the flesh, preaching in the flesh, serving in the flesh, and being the embodiment of love in the flesh by dying on the Cross in the flesh and raising from the dead in the flesh! How interesting it is that I have much more difficulty conceptualizing the reality that Jesus Christ ascended to heaven in the flesh and is in the flesh reigning over all things right now as I type about him. Yet it is truer than any of my weak ideas.

Does this change the way I look at history? Can I see Christ's hand in each day as I walk the streets of Chicago, serve at The Line, hear about the politics and who is going to run for mayor, or read the news about a Christian's in Indonesia being attacked?

Does it change the way I study God's Word? Do I see all the stories from Creation in Genesis 1-2 to Consummation in Revelation 21-22 as what has truly happened and what will truly happen? Do I see them all pointing to Christ? As I read, do I slow down and allow the words on the page to penetrate every fiber of my being because they are both truth and history?

What about how I look at culture or think about my calling? Do I know that God empowers individuals and groups to be culture shapers and makers? In every aspect of this world, do I try to find how God has somehow influenced it by His common grace (Ps. 19:1)? A popular paraphrase of Calvin's teaching is "all truth is God's truth," but do I take it a step further and say "all truth is the living God's truth"? With regard to calling, do I trust that Christ in the flesh is looking over me, loving me, caring for me each day? Do I surrender my day and my future to Christ who knows better than I do about what's really best for me?

What about you? Does Christ's Incarnation challenge the way you think and live?

In short, the reality of Christ in the flesh crushes all our petty philosophies. In the very least this should bring sheer power, intensity and inspiration to all that we say and do.

Oh how I pray that the Spirit of God will convict both my mind and my heart that I may know Christ is more than just some idea or concept or worldview, but is now and forever God in the flesh.

By His Grace.

Sermon: The Most Shocking News

2010-09-08T17:19:00.003-05:00

"Some news is good news. Some news is bad news. All news affects everybody."

What's the most shocking news you've ever received?
How did it affect you?
How did it change your life?

Here is the sermon on Galatians 4:1-7 I preached this past weekend at my church, The Line.

The Most Shocking News

By His Grace.

Burn Couches, Not the Quran

2010-09-07T15:04:00.007-05:00

What first caught my attention last month about the notorious plan to burn the Quran on September 11 was that it would happen in my old stomping grounds of Gainesville, Florida. I spent a quarter of my life in Gainesville: four years as a student at the University of Florida and three more as a staff member of Campus Crusade for Christ. In those years, Gainesville residents mostly burned couches on the streets after winning national championships in basketball and football. The news devastated me in large part because it was happening so close to home and heart.

In less than a month this horrendous event has gained enough momentum to reach an international audience, capped with a statement by General David Petraeus. The commander of American troops in Afghanistan criticized the burning, saying, "It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort in Afghanistan." Even the Vatican newspaper condemned the burning. The Dove World Outreach Center, with 50 people led by Pastor Terry Jones, has caused a backlash throughout the world that includes the general speaking on behalf of 120,000 troops in the Middle East and the largest church in the world.

Since this news first came to my attention, I have had to think and pray through a response to the burning. This story has already been covered from countless angles. Carl Trueman calls it "childish." Tweets abound, some of which attempt to find humor in the situation. So what do I have to add?

One of my closest friends, Jimmy, is the director of Campus Crusade for Christ at UF. By the grace of God, more than 1,000 students attend their weekly meetings. They are the largest student organization on campus and one of the largest in the city of Gainesville. This all means they have considerable influence as an organization with his words being loudest. After learning of the Quran burning, Jimmy was invited to speak at a protest organized by a group gathering together organizations of various religions around Gainesville. This is where he asked me for advice on what to do, because he is rightfully opposed to the burning. At the same time, he does not think protesting is the answer. However, if he does not lock arm in arm with the other Christians, Jews, Muslims, etc., will he be viewed as being in favor of the burning? What will the hundreds of students involved in Campus Crusade think? What will the 50,000 students at UF think? He can't stay silent on this, so what's the response?

Here is what I shared with him:

It seems to me that the best road for a gospel-saturated Christian to take is not standing on the one side of the road with all-exclusive hate or on the other side with all-inclusive love. Both are ultimately extremes that do not address the heart of the issue. The middle road seems to be the only-exclusive love that Christ offers through the Cross, which rejects hating enemies (Matt. 5:43-44) and loving the the world (1 John 2:15-17) while embracing love of enemies and hating sin. The response we must have as Christians is to reject the utter hatred of people like Pastor Jones and the Dove World Outreach Center, while at the same time not making the mistake of being purely reactionary by standing on the other side of the road, united only in protest, not in love.

He is the one who will have to live out this calling all the more in Gainesville after this weekend is over. Please pray that the influence of Campus Crusade and all the solid churches in Gainesville does not get squelched due to this terribly sad showcase.

Finally, I am saddened that a church of 50 people will not only destroy the Quran, but also damage the credibility of all the churches out there that go unheard for all the good they do in the name of Christ. Though I should not be, I am astonished that a 50-person church has gained more attention than any 5,000-person church could by living out the gospel everyday. Christ's blood shed on the Cross in Jerusalem is eternally scandalous news that is overshadowed today by the scandalous news of Qurans burned by 50 people in Gainesville.

I pray that the Gainesville I've come to love will stay away from burning the Quran and get back to burning couches.

The Big Idea!

2010-09-06T22:41:00.001-05:00

Let me know what you think!

By His Grace.

Leaving Home

2010-09-06T00:26:00.004-05:00

From time to time I pick up Charles Dickens' David Copperfield before going to bed. At the rate I am going, I will finish it by the age of 35. I am committed to reading some classics so I do hope I speed up the process in order to read more than one before my time on earth is up. I have read Dickens before back in high school, but seeing that David Copperfield is, in Dickens' own words, his "favourite child," I was intrigued to continue reading him with this book.

Near the beginning of the book as the older Copperfield looks back on his life he retells the time when he left home. I have no commentary on it, but when I read it I cried. Maybe somewhere deep inside of you is a child like David Copperfield:

The day soon came for our going. It was such an early day that it came soon, even to me, who was in a fever of expectation, and half afraid that an earthquake or a fiery mountain, or some other great convulsion of nature, might interpose to stop the expedition. We were to go in a carrier's cart, which departed in the morning after breakfast. I would have given any money to have been allowed to wrap myself up overnight, and sleep in my hat and boots.

It touches me nearly now, although I tell it lightly, to recollect how eager I was to leave my happy home; to think how little I suspected what I did leave for ever. I am glad to recollect that when the carrier's car was at the gate, and my mother stood there kissing me, a grateful fondness for her and for the old place I had never turned my back upon before, made me cry. I am glad to know that my mother cried too, and that I felt her heart beat against mine.

I am glad to recollect that when the carrier began to move, my mother ran out at the gate, and called to him to stop, that she might kiss me once more. I am glad to dwell upon the earnestness and love with which she lifted up her face to mine, and did so.

By His Grace.

No Such Thing As Relational Evangelism

2010-09-04T22:13:00.004-05:00

I do not believe there is such a thing as "relational evangelism."

Love is building relationships with people regardless of whether or not they believe in Jesus.
Evangelism is verbally sharing the gospel with people, earnestly desiring that they will believe in Jesus.

Without love they're just a project.
Without evangelism they're just lost.

By His Grace.

Get Out Here

2010-08-29T00:15:00.002-05:00

Trying out a new thing by adding more dynamic content to the blog, including audio and video. The blessing of having an iPhone is the ability to do this. This is what I did with my Saturday night.

I would greatly appreciate any feedback you might have not only on the content of the video, but the general idea of short videos and audio clips, the best video hosts out there (i.e. YouTube, Viddler, Vimeo, etc.). Please drop a comment below and join the conversation.

By His Grace.

I Can Shave, But I Like The Stubble.

2010-08-24T16:52:00.006-05:00

The Talk of the 20-Somethings
I'm writing with a bit of conflict in my heart as I try to sort through all this talk of the 20-something lately. First it was the now widely circulated New York Times article which attempts to label the lack of taking on responsibility as "emerging adulthood." Jeffery Jensen Arnett, a psychologist who coined the phrase, says that this phase of life is much like the emergence of adolescence 100 years ago due to several sociological factors.

Among the cultural changes he points to that have led to “emerging adulthood” are the need for more education to survive in an information-based economy; fewer entry-level jobs even after all that schooling; young people feeling less rush to marry because of the general acceptance of premarital sex, cohabitation and birth control; and young women feeling less rush to have babies given their wide range of career options and their access to assisted reproductive technology if they delay pregnancy beyond their most fertile years.

These "cultral" factors naturally lead to the question, "is emerging adulthood a bad thing?"

For Mark Driscoll the answer is unequivocally yes. In a recent Washington Post article he wrote,

The New York Times Magazine ran a story this past week called "What is it about 20-Somethings?" looking at the new life stage of emerging adulthood. The article echoed what other recent studies are showing and something we've been saying at Mars Hill Church for awhile: The world today is filled with boys who can shave.

His response was not to call these "boys" "emerging adults," but rather "childish consumers" or, for those in the church, "cowards and complainers." They are marked by boys in mens' bodies who still live with their parents, have a part-time job to support their video game addiction that keeps them from ever having a steady relationship with a real woman. They can shave, but they either don't have money for a razor or, if they are hipsters, they choose not to shave at all.

My Sitch
I've been shaving since the age of 15. That doesn't necessarily mean I needed to shave at that age - I think I only did it about once a month - but I remember thinking that shaving signaled a transition in my life from boyhood to manhood.

At that age I wanted to be a man. I wanted to be the man that no man had ever been in my life because my dad was never in the picture and no one ever really stepped up to fill that void. At that age I had worked a few part-time jobs, but my main income was allowance. At that age I was a fairly young believer in Christ with no real spiritual support in the home. At that age I not only discovered girls, but girls discovered me, making for some very poor decisions. At that age I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, but I loved computers and thought that might be my track. At that age I felt misunderstood and left out of the most important social circles. Though there were some definite memorable moments in high school and though I am still good friends with a few from those years even today, I would much rather forget them. However, I do remember wanting to be a real man.

Fast forward to today. I will be 28 years old next Monday. I have been a believer for 16 years. I have basically supported myself since I left home for college, working mad crazy odd jobs and raising financial support through Campus Crusade for Christ and my church. I am now surrounded by excellent community. I live in a two-bedroom apartment with a solid believer who is a part of The Line, our small church plant here in Chicago. I finished college with a degree I didn't use, worked for Campus Crusade for four years, one year in Italy, three at the University of Florida, and now I am back in school getting my Masters of Divinity at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. I start my third year in two days and I finish in December of 2011. I will be 29 1/2. Today I am admitting more than ever before in recent years that I have no idea what I'm going to do when seminary is over. Contrary to popular belief, seminary is not about getting answers, folks. I have more questions now than I did when I entered (not faith questions) as I wrestle with my calling before God. I will have no substantial debt when I am done thanks to countless supporters. But at this rate I will also have no real home, no real job, no real marriage and no real kids (I won't have fake ones either). Does this mean I'm not a real man?

Confused, Conflicted & Confessing
After reading both articles I am left confused. Has the category of "adolescence" been helpful at all or has it just screwed us all up, leaving us unprepared for adulthood? Is this idea of "emerging adulthood" legitimate on any level or is it just another educated human excuse for our sinful rebellion against God resulting in complacent cowards afraid to step into the roles He has created for us? I'm still wading through these, but admit I side more with Driscoll.

Moreover, I'm conflicted about my own life. I respect Mark Driscoll a ton. God has done amazing work through his preaching both around the world and in my life. Mars Hill has been a beacon of light in a very dark part of this country. His church planting network, Acts 29, is exploding and our church is being birthed out of it. Yet every time I read his articles or hear his sermons on this topic I struggle. I always feel like I'm second rate, like I'm not a man and I'm not worthy to even be consider one until I have "a marriage and a mortgage." This also goes for any kind of leadership in the church. I could never counsel a married couple because I just wouldn't know what I'm talking about. I could never be a pastor or be an elder because I'm not married, don't have kids and thus do not fulfill the requirements of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.

Being conflicted leads to confession. I'd like to believe that Driscoll is overstating his case to try to bring the pendulum to the middle. He's always been controversial and I think it's calculated because, in a culture known for such realities as the Bill Clinton & Monica Lewinsky, Passion of the Christ, and Jersey Shore, controversy brings out our passions and convictions and for some it persuades them to believe something they didn't before. So I want to take what he writes with a grain of salt, but I have to confess that I think he's both right and wrong. My confession begins with God. In that He is revealing that I am at a stage in life where the core of who I am is being exposed like never before, where the Spirit of God is leading me to see the gospel in profound and fresh ways. He is revealing that in many ways I am not a man I want to be, yet in many ways he is shaping me into the man he wants me to be. I ask "why" a lot to God, but I also say "I trust you" more. I am learning that I am not just a believer in Christ, but also a son of God and co-heir with Christ forever. I am learning that my life is not about my manhood, but Christ's. Whatever great men there have been over time, Jesus is infinitely the greatest (and he had no marriage, mortgage, or munchkins). He who needed no beard took on a beard for us so that we who do have beards could be called true men of God.

I can shave, but I like the stubble. It's the intentional appearance of indecision.

By His Grace.

No Intimacy on the Interwebs

2010-08-23T00:24:00.005-05:00

I feel as though there is some irony in this post. I just noticed that I have 31 followers on my blog, some of whom are people I have met along the road of life, others are folk I will probably never know this side of heaven. Either way, they are real people (unless of course I have a band of spam followers), real people with backgrounds, stories, voices, work, hobbies, weekly schedules. Again, with a few of them I am a part of all that stuff, but with most I'm not.

The same goes for many of the other social media outlets I have ventured back into over the past three months. I have nearly 1,900 friends on Facebook; I am climbing toward a whopping 200 followers on The Twitters. In rural Texas or maybe a small town in the 1700s I might be considered a big deal - an important person if you will - with those kinds of stats.

Yet tonight a close friend, a real-life friend who has been verified by my own eyes, hands and ears, told me that he was shutting his fairly successful blog down because he was tired of the Internet culture. The five month hiatus from this very culture was swirling around in the back of my head so forcefully that it cause my head to nod up and down in agreement. I admit that I grew tired once again just reading his text and I was tempted to join him in the ranks of rebellion against the ever-growing trap of the finely woven Interwebs.

The problem I notice with myself and with countless others is our salivation at connectivity combined with our lack of thoughtful engagement on this still youthful platform. For some reason we hold that the same rules apply with the screen as they do in the skin. FB uses the now ubiquitous term "friends," which give some with already stalkerish tendencies the idea that they could just befriend that pretty girl in the random photo, message her, and they will be pals for life...maybe even at some point they will go on a date! Folks who are using Twitter strive to come up with a witty, sticky comment that will be retweeted by followers or @replied. That's the only reason I use it; my influence abounds with the massive following I have. Then there are podcasts, vodcasts, and soon-to-be 3D versions of both!

A saturation has occurred in the exponential growth of Interwebs connectivity and supersaturation is fast approaching. Every bubble bursts and I think the increase in weariness is due to the acknowledgment that we do not receive what we ultimately long for when interacting with other human beings - intimacy. It could be holding a loved one, hanging out with friends at a coffee shop, or the odd form of intimacy found in a loud argument between best friends or spouses.

I wonder when we will all grow tired. I wonder at what point in our lives we realize that the attention of thousands of truly nameless faces will never amount to the acceptance we have with those whose names and faces we know so well. I wonder when I will stop caring about how many wall posts I got on a given day or how many people are actually reading this and commenting. I am tired along with my friend, but bouncing off this is not the answer for me. Balance is.

I see a great platform for the gospel. The Interwebs is a place to begin at least telling the story of our great God and his redeeming project through Christ to restore our intimacy with Him forever. He is the Christ not of a Facebook profile or a Twitter account, not just some person I will friend or follow and never meet, but the Christ of flesh and blood, whose feet walked the very earth he created, whose voice was heard by thousands, whose wounds Thomas touched, and whose ascension the disciples. Through Christ I am not merely these words on a screen or a home video created on my Flip camera; I am an adopted slave, made a son of God, and a co-heir with Christ. I am able to approach the throne of God boldly and confidently and ask for anything. I have God's Spirit within me leading me, guiding me, praying for me. Why should I ever care who I am and how close I am with others in a virtual world when I walk with God everyday in the real one?

This is the closeness we all seek in this world of mostly empty connectivity. I just pray that as we all grow tired of it that we won't simply run to the next latest whisper, whistle or flashing light that promises a life it can never provide, but will instead turn to Christ because he is the only one who can give us freedom from the tangling web and intimacy with God.

By His Grace.

The Gospel Where There Is No Light

2010-08-17T04:15:00.003-05:00

It's 4:15 am. I am awake and it is not to start off the day. I just got home from one of the weirdest 60 minutes in recent memory. I'd say the last really odd moment happened a little over 8 months, but these situations which occur tell me my life is just a bit less normal than the rest of humanity. Either that or I just blog about them in an attempt to make them more interesting.

At about 2:45 I woke up suddenly. I sit up in my bed and see my phone lit up. I then notice that the three fans in my room are all turning off, and what once was a bearable warmth immediately shifted to the stale heat no one ever wants to have in their bedroom. There was a power outage throughout the entire building. I struggle for what seemed like an eternity to find the cord for the blinds to my window. I thought, "although we are in the inside corner of our U-shaped building where absolutely no air circulation occurs, the air outside is still much cooler than in here." I eventually found the cord, raised the blinds, and opened my window. While doing this I peered over to my left and noticed that the power was out across the street. With my head pressed against the screen and the hope of breeze in my heart, I tried to fall asleep. About five minutes later a bright light starts to shine above me and what sounded like twelve bulldozers began to reverberate throughout the streets. I laid there a bit longer, one eye closed hoping to fall asleep, the other kept open by the fingers of duty and responsibility.

I tried calling the office for our apartment. An automated voice told me all circuits were busy. I thought it was either the beginning of a cliche horror movie or the Rapture. I decided to throw on a shirt and head to the office, which is several streets down. I reasoned that dozens of people had probably already done this and that dozens would be in the streets to find out what was going on. I was wrong; my belief in humanity had been shattered yet again and the law of the diffusion of responsibility was confirmed. The street was black, save that bright light I had seen earlier, which came not from bulldozers, but from the building right next to us - a senior center. Old people live there and apparently they have old equipment as well. I came to find out later that it was their water pump on the fritz. It sounded like it was gonna explode at any moment. There was even a pipe with a top on it like a steam engine that kept blowing open repeatedly. I imagined an enormous burst, a flaming ball, and the end of my life, alone in the street clutching my new iPhone 4. I then used that amazing tiny device to call ComEd and inform them of the outage. There was no flame. I did not die.

The walk to the office was one of trepidation. At this point I was thinking looters were gonna start storming the streets and start robbing everything. I was surprised yet again that absolutely no one was outside trying to figure out what was going on. I made it safely to the office only to find two people in the lobby - an older, white-haired, beer-bellied Romanian man, and a younger, large black man who was behind the desk. I ask them what happened. They had no idea, but said that ComEd had only found out about it 10 minutes earlier. We talked for about five minutes, listening to some of the JAMs Mustafa was playing on his phone while chillin' behind the desk. The only light we had came from our phones and the emergency lights until a girl comes through a door holding a candle. She comes to the desk and just starts chatting with all of us.

Mind you it is now 3:15 in the morning and the funny thing is we really didn't talk about the power outage from the moment she got there. Instead we talked began talking about yoga because I had made a joke about her coming from her workout. The Romanian man walked away probably out of disinterest. I thought Mustafa would do some of the same, but as we began sharing he started asking about the philosophy and the metaphysics of yoga because he was studying it and the girl was an instructor. I sat there and listened to them both chat with each other for 10-15 minutes. I found the conversation fascinating and the setting all the more. I decided to let them keep talking by asking how they both got into yoga, meditation, chakras and the like. The girl was the only one to share her background, which was a mix of Western medicine learned from her dad and yoga learned for her own health.

Eventually Mustafa had to go help the Romanian man who turned out to be a maintenance guy. The girl, Lauren, turned to me and then asked me if I believed in any of the stuff they were talking about. That's when I said, "I really don't want to show my hand too much, but I'm studying to be a pastor." Looking back that makes no sense. You really don't study to be a pastor; you develop tools that allow you to move from being a bumbling, inept pastor to one who is the same, but just equipped for growth. In any case, however, saying that always perks the ears of listeners. This was when Lauren told me that she was a Christian and how it probably makes no sense that she is both a Christian and a yoga instructor. Hearing her words I think the religion of Christianity may be more prevalent in her life than a saving relationship with Christ is. I shared my thoughts on Christianity and yoga while Mustafa came back into the picture and the lights soon thereafter. It was then I knew I had to speak up some more.

To make what is an already long story a bit longer, I began to share the differences between what Christianity is and what they were talking about. Mustafa was firm in believing in what is called panentheism, that God is in all things, that his spirit is in people as well as geraniums, gophers, and Great White Sharks. This panenthestic belief leads him and all in that line of thought toward the oneness concept of the divine, that we are all one with the divine. This is becoming trendy in the West. The people who hold to it say those in the East have held to it for thousands of years longer than any other idea of religion like Judaism or Christianity, thus they conclude, it must be the right way. It's tolerant. It's all-inclusive. We are all divine. It's the oldest. Therefore, it's right. Apparently this idea of oldest doesn't work for other ancient practices such as monarchies, emperors, or polygamy. We are past those archaic concepts.

I talked about how we are created by God. Mustafa wanted to say we are created out of God. He then moved to prooftext me, by quoting Jesus who said the kingdom of God is in you (Luke 17:21). I can't argue against what Jesus said, right? Well instead of getting into the minute details of that passage, including the fact that Jesus was talking to Pharisees and that a proper translation would be more like "in your midst" or "grasp," I decided just to say that it's not good to throw isolated texts out to support a position. I took a story arc approach and in doing so got to go through the Gospel with both Mustafa and Lauren in about two minutes before getting cut off. The great thing about starting with Genesis and ending in Revelation is you get to tell the story of God's redeeming work from beginning to end, telling how it all climaxes in Jesus Christ. We covered creation, sin, God's wrath, penal substitution, Jesus' resurrection and grace. I didn't get to a point of calling for repentance and faith. We were all cut off by some random guy banging on the door trying to get in the building.

Though Mustafa wasn't really buying it, Lauren did. She was intrigued by it all and told me how she and her roommate had just been talking earlier in the night about finding a church in Chicago. She mentioned how her roommate brought it up with her for the first time and that she wanted to go with Lauren whenever Lauren went. Lauren herself has only been here for three weeks and seems to be in a lot of transition in life. She mentioned how this "random" meeting must have happened for a reason. We exchanged contact information and went our separate ways. It was 4:00 in the morning.

As I walked home, the streets and all the buildings lit back up, I wondered aloud to God why this kind of stuff happens to me all the time. At staff prayer for The Linewe prayed for opportunities to share the Gospel, that God would open doors just like Paul talks about in Colossians 4:2-6. I look at that passage now and think of how amazing the call is to walk in wisdom toward outsiders and have gracious speech. I'm not sure how I did in either of those, but I did make the best use of that time where once there was no light, but now there is.

It's 5:23 am. Time to sleep.

By His Grace.

Influence in Culture and Power of the Holy Spirit

2010-08-09T22:39:00.007-05:00

I only have a quick post that serves more as a question because I find myself inadequate to provide any kind of response.

The Only Way?
Collin Hansen's post on The Gospel Coalition blog sparked some thoughts in my mind because in it he begins to wrestle with the tension faced in the countercultural reality of being a Christian and the all to serve the common good as a Christian. The article cites a sociologist by the name of Michael Lindsay. Below is the exact quote

Evangelicals cannot be part of the center of the institution if they are outside it. Outsiders never change institutions in significant ways; they only secure nominal assent from the power players within the organization. So if evangelicals want to fundamentally influence American higher education, they have to be players on the inside. They have to be scholars, administrators, presidents, and board members at the major institutions in the country. It is only when they are in those roles that they will actually be able to wield significant influence. (emphasis added)

Hansen's article explains how this fits in with counterculture and the common good. Yet Lindsay's perspective seems to flow with the popular notion these days that Christians must be heavily involved in the surrounding culture. He goes so far as to say it's the only way we can wield influence.

Yes, Lindsay is focusing specifically on American culture, but does history prove this? Have Christians been able to "wield significant influence" only by being on the inside the institutions? What does the story of Acts tell us? What about the first 300 years of Christianity? What about Christianity in China over the last 50 years? What makes America the only culture in the history of the world where the only way to wield this significant influence is by being on the inside? By no means am I advocating for the opposite and saying we should all retreat to the mountains. I am grateful for the "scholars, administrators, presidents, and board members at the major institutions in the country." But if this is not the way forward for some, will it mean the demise of Christianity in culture?

What's the Holy Spirit's Role in Culture?
As I finished the article this was one of the first questions that came to mind. I decided to run a quick search on The Gospel Coalition website to see how often the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the blog posts. In the most recent posts He is only mentioned twice, one as part of recommended resources for D.A. Carson's latest book, the other in the title of a book review. I kept going to previous posts and saw mention of a bible reference and another in reference to the Trinity. Yet for the many posts on culture, none of them consider the Spirit's power or work. When the Son goes to the Father, it is the Spirit, the Helper, who will be known by God's people and give them the power to do greater works than Jesus himself (John 14:12-17). So I am sincerely posing the question for the gospel-saturated, culture-conscious believer - "What's the Spirit's role?" In Culture Making Andy Crouch hints that

The same Spirit who brought the creation into existence has measurable, visible cultural effects, no matter how difficult it may be to tell exactly "where it comes from or where it is going."

How do we point out these "measurable, visible cultural effects" and credit the Spirit's power and work through believers in America instead of strictly their ability to be on the "inside?" Furthermore, does this give warrant at all to the idea that necessarily we do not need to be on the inside at all in order to wield influence, because in God's economy influence is not the result of position, but of His power? I just want to make sure that as we continue to talk about the gospel and culture and what it all means that we do not neglect the fact that God's Spirit is at work in the world now in real ways that may not be subject to our data, statistics, and countless studies. I do not think this takes away from our responsibility; on the contrary, knowing God's Spirit dwells in us, gives us power, and is it work should cause greater dependence not on our abilities or status, but on prayer and more prayer.

So I gave my thoughts anyway, but I am still left with the many questions. Am I wrong to go in this direction? Am I missing something? I want to leave it in the hands of those more capable than myself to continue the discussion and come up with some clear(er) answers.

By His Grace.

SHARK WEEK!!!!! - Why Are We So Fascinated? Part 1

2010-08-03T22:02:00.004-05:00

SHARK WEEK!!!!!
If I were to ask 100 people what their week was gonna look like, many would respond with the words above. In fact, this is how many statuses looked on Facebook Sunday night. One thrilled Facebooker writes that "Shark week is like a national holiday. It's bigger than Christmas!" Though it's still summer vacation for most school goers, could people with jobs begin petitioning for a week-long national holiday for this?

The ratings do not lie. Megan Gibson of Time Magazine reports that Shark Week is in it's 23rd season, averaging 20 million viewers each year, peaking at 29 million in 2008. I tweeted on this yesterday and it sparked a bit of conversation with a few folk. In the tweet I provided an answer to the implied question, "What is it about Shark Week that everyone finds so fascinating?" The statuses exclaim their love of Shark Week, but few if any explain it. One guy did say he loved Shark Week because "every show starts with, 'due to graphic images, this program may not be suitable for all viewers'. In an attempt to answer a parallel question, Isia Jasiewicz of Newsweek writes

Because appreciations are the currency of small cable channels (see also: The Weather Channel's love of all things storm related). Shark Week is, on its face, a truly genuine admiration of the majesty of "nature’s perfect killing machine."..."I'm watching Shark Week!" is a little like saying "I'm on a boat!" It's not about sharks, man. Like Snakes on a Plane, Piranhas 3-D, or any other over-the-top animal-attack fest with a blunt, obvious name, Shark Week has bite...

Jasiewicz chalks it up to the channel's utter admiration of all things shark and the viewers succumbing to trendiness. Honestly, that could be all it is. Solid admiration, strategic marketing, and trendiness may cause a tipping point even for Paper Clip Week, but I'm gonna risk taking it a bit deeper and say that Shark Week taps into our acute fascination not with sharks, but with power.

Presence of Power
Perception tells us that sharks rule the ocean. Though you are more likely to be bit by another person than a shark, when we see the news or videos of real shark attacks we admittedly think twice or three times before going even waste-deep out into the ocean. News, photos and videos serve as a reminder that we are not on our home turf if you will.

We get enraptured by any creature or creation that dominates and reigns over its domain. It happens anywhere from the animal kingdom to the kingdom of the court where James is King (or is he now Prince James?). We salivate at power and control with all programming we tune in to watch, not just Shark Week. Even with so-called "love" shows like the Bachelorette we act like Pavlov's dogs when the hour strikes 8:00. People will forget about Roberto and remember the drama of Ali's selection (power to choose) process.

The pop culture references are replete, but they also exist within the Church. Power for pastors is defined by enormous churches, for theologians its numerous publications. I will never forget my first day of class in seminary when a certain well-known professor of entered the room leaving in his wake a hush over each row he passed. His power commanded that kind of awe and respect. In our awe and respect the keys on each computer and the pens in each hand rapidly took note of every jot and tiddle that flowed out of his mouth. Our actions reflected the understanding we all had, that we were in the presence of power. Likewise, though we may hesitate to step in the ocean, we are quick to DVR the Discovery Channel during this whole week just to in the presence of sharks.

Power to Destroy
Interestingly, the power this professor has contains another element yet to be mentioned explicitly - the power to crush and destroy friend or foe. I will leave this up to your imagination because extending my explanation may lead me into some hot water. However, I think it is worth noting that true power instills fear in the hearts of those who are in its presence. This is what makes Shark Week so addictive. First of all, it's Shark Week. The Discovery Channel does not have any other week like it for any other animal. They don't do Mouse Week or Moose Week. Secondly, it's Shark Week. A day or two is not enough to whet our appetite, so a full week of programming is vitally necessary, though I know that still leaves many of the millions of viewers wanting more. There's something exhilarating about knowing that if I were swimming in the real presence of a Great White shark a limb or my whole body could be consumed in one scrumptulescent bite.

Power of Protection
The most fatal shark attack happened during World War II. The USS Indianapolis sank in the Philippine Sea near Guam. Nearly 900 sailors were stranded for four days. When help arrived only 317 were alive. 579 were reported dead, some chewed to pieces. Sadly they did not survive their shark week.

20 million people would not volunteer themselves to be stranded in the middle of the ocean; we have a hard enough time getting that many people to donate blood a pint of blood. Though many may consider giving blood a duty, I do not expect anyone in their right mind to willingly be stranded in the ocean, save Bear Grylls or Survivor Man (whose right-mindedness is questionable). I know I'm making light of a weighty matter, but this many people have the quasi-sadistic pleasure of watching every bit of Shark Week each year. We are all grateful for the combination of proximity to a shark's natural environment and the safety of our natural environment, which is on a couch in front the TV screen. I think what we experience is the synthesis between the presence of power and the power of protection. Although it may not be the same as being in a protective suit guarded by a cage under water as you hold chum out for all the starving finned ones, the editing and story of each "deadliest attack" show makes up for it.

Power Spectators or Power Seekers?
So by using Shark Week I've contended that we have an acute fascination with power by looking at it from several angles. What do you think? Even if you think I'm way off, at least you're thinking and I'd love to hear back from you. Moving forward, I think Shark Week raises an interesting question, particularly following the concept of the power of protection: Are we merely power spectators or are we also power seekers? That will have to wait until Friday.

By His Grace.

The Essential Edwards Collection is 50% Off

2010-07-27T08:00:00.004-05:00

For the thinkers and theologians: What if you could know the most important theologian in evangelical history?

Or as a pastor or parachurch leader, what if you could know the most important pastor in American history?

Now, at least in some way, you can. Owen Strachan, PhD student at Trinity and professor at Boice College, and Edwards scholar Doug Sweeney have released a five book set called The Essential Edwards Collection. Pastors and lay persons alike are privileged to have this perfect introduction to one of the most influential minds in all of history and a clear window into the heart of a man who deeply loved God and sought to enjoy Him in all aspects of life.

From Tuesday, July 27th until August 2nd, Westminster Books is offering a discount of 50% off the cover price ($44.95), making them $22.50, which is equivalent to getting one book free at the current Amazon price.

Many people don't know this, but Jonathan Edwards did not become a Christian until late into his teen years. Scholars note that although he grew up in the Puritan era, exposed to the church and the gospel of Christ, it was not until age 19 before he had "a sense of the glory of the divine being" while reading 1 Tim. 1:17 over and over again.

Though brilliant beyond his years, Edwards still grappled with many of the same struggles of teenagers these days. Yet when convicted so deeply of his own sin and the magnificent beauty of God's grace through Christ, Edwards was freed by God to explore the countless questions in his heart as well as God's matchless beauty, for pastors, theologians, lay persons, and others have benefited from centuries since.

This essential collection taps into various aspects of Edwards thought and life. Much will be new and uncharted territory for those who have only been exposed to the five minutes Edwards receives in high school American histor reading out-of-context excerpts of Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.

My personal favorite is Jonathan Edwards on Beauty, which explores Edwards' meditation on the subject and how we can have a Christian framework for understanding and experiencing the beauty God has planted in His world. Commenting on Edwards words concerning God and beauty, Strachan writes,

Beauty was not a concept one could abstract from God, but was the very essence of God. Thus the realm God created displayed His beauty. Creation derived not from pragmatics, from a mere desire by the Creator to create. Creation existed because God desired to put His glory, His beauty, before a celestial audience.

Other titles include Edwards on the love of God, the good life, true Christianity, and Heaven and Hell. Endorsed by pastors such as John Piper and theologians like D.A. Carson, this Edwards collection is essential in every sense of the term. At 50% off it's both a can't miss and a must buy.

By His Grace.

Blow Up Some of Your Memorial Stones

2010-07-19T20:43:00.006-05:00

The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. -Joshua 4:19-20

The Story
This was such a momentous occasion in the life of Israel. In a fashion that resonates with their escape from Egypt, the Israelites were able to cross the Jordan River with the help of God alone who "dried up the waters" so that the entire nation could cross over and into the land He had promised them 40 years earlier. Though much work and fighting still needed to be done, they were finally in their land. The closest contemporary example is the Cubs' finally winning the World Series.

After they all had passed, God commanded Joshua to get a man from each tribe - twelve in all - to gather twelve stones "from here out of the midst of the Jordan" (v. 3). Once they had done this, they took those stones and set them up at Gilgal. These twelve stones were a memorial for the people of Israel forever (v. 7). It was for that generation and all the generations to follow to remind them what God had done and to ensure that they feared the Lord their God forever (vv. 21-24). The purpose was to keep the nation's eyes on God, going beyond mere acknowledgment of a past event, but to actually evoke an sincere, sober response toward Him. This was the first, and most prominent, of seven such stone memorials established throughout the book of Joshua (7:26; 8:28-29; 8:30-32; 10:27; 22:34; 24:26-27).

My Own Stone Memorials
My first reaction was awe and excitement because I got a great idea, which doesn't happen too often. Though I don't have kids yet...well I don't even have a wife yet...or a girlfriend (minor details), I thought how amazing it would be to go back to places in my life where the Lord has worked so mightily and place my own stones there. I could go back to the church near Tampa where I heard the gospel for the first time when I was 11 and put a stone there. I could go back to the University of Florida and place a stone where I knew God was speaking to me so powerfully with the simple words, "help people." I could go back to my apartment in Italy and place a stone where God had brought me to a place of repentance and biblical community such as I had never known before, which led to much deeper understanding of the gospel. And then, one day, instead of taking a road trip to Canton or Springfield or Cooperstown or Disneyland, I could take my children on the "stone memorial tour" and show them the story of my life through the Lens of the Triune God's work in it. It's amazing in my head now, but by that point in my life my kids may ask why I didn't just show them pictures or a hologram of these places.

Stones in the Wrong Places
Something strange happened just the day after I came up with this idea. I was slapped in the face by reality, sin, and the fallen world we live in. I realized something I had never really thought of before. I have spent much of my life putting stones in the wrong places. Honestly, when times get difficult, metaphorically speaking, instead of going back to all those stones where I can recall and rejoice in God's work in my life to lead me back to a healthy fear of him, I go to the stones where I've experienced painful rejection and loss, utter discouragement and abandonment. I go to those stones and I sit there, resting by them, taking in those moments that have passed years ago, but haunt me to this day and affect the man that I am. These stones are not there to remember what God has done and the purpose for which I exist; they are there out of bitterness, a lack of forgiveness, anger and self-pity.

And I know I'm not the only one. Many people, though they wouldn't word it this way, have lodged these destructive memorial stones so deeply into their minds and hearts, smoothing them out over the years to make them as comfortable and "nice" as they can be as they try to rest near restless places.

Blow Them Up
I think everyone has a memorial stone or two that's in the wrong place. On the day that I realized this I began praying that God would blow them to pieces. I began praying for their complete destruction, knowing that if they remained they could destroy me. I am the first to admit that those experiences in my life helped shape who I am and I firmly believe in a sovereign God whose guiding hand is present even in the most difficult of circumstances. But unlike the twelve stone memorial in Gilgal, mine are not in places of celebration. When I go back to these spots I do not rejoice in what God has done. These places are real, and they are places to pass through. But they are not places I should stop at.

So where are your memorial stones? Which ones have you set up that you would want to take your children to and show in order to tell God's story for your life? Which ones are those that haunt you when you experience your own rejection, loss, discouragement or abandonment? Which are the stones that define your life?

Now that I think about it more, maybe our children just need to go on the whole journey so they can see the ones that were or need to be blown up and the ones they can rest by with us.

By His Grace.

Sacrifice of the Fittest

2010-04-21T00:13:00.008-05:00

And when anyone offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering from the herd or from the flock, to be accepted it must be perfect; there shall be no blemish in it. -Leviticus 22:21

For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. -Hebrews 9:13-14

As part of my read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year plan I must read Leviticus. It seems to me that whenever people talk about not understanding the OT they always say, “I just don’t get Leviticus.” I think that might be the only book of the OT most know about. I know plenty of Christians who have never read it and never really plan to. If the biblical world is foreign then Leviticus is Turkmenistan.

But as I was reading through today I came across Lev. 22:21 and immediately saw one of the countless threads rooted in that book of the Bible that’s woven throughout Scripture. In Leviticus the perfect animal sacrifice is called for. The demand is not for just any animal. It couldn’t be deformed or defected in any way. I can only imagine the “Best in Show” of all animals. This also seems to go against everything our modern minds consider, especially our Darwinian-informed minds. This is a “sacrifice of the fittest.”

What is on view here is the reality that God deserves the very best offering for our sin, the very worst in us. More than that – he demands it. The blood of the sacrifice is what makes peace and purifies us. But even the blood of the very best bulls, goats, rams, etc. could not actually make peace with God for humans (Heb 10:11). The Hebrews passage above shows that what was required for our peace in essence was the blood of the very best human being to ever live, the blood of the God-man, Jesus Christ. Unlike Leviticus, we did not offer up Christ to God; he offered himself! This was his willing sacrifice, unblemished on behalf of all of us who are so severely blemished.

Finally, I’m challenged to ask myself how I may still be trying to offer up meaningless sacrifices attempting to make peace with God when peace has already been made in Christ. It is so easy to feel indebted to God for all that He has done even though I know the debt’s been paid!

So which offering really matters in your life? What, if anything, can we actually bring to God?

By His Grace.

How Do You Get From Herman to Heather?

2010-03-30T22:20:00.006-05:00

Reading theology can be one of most fruitful activities I do with my time. I am grateful for how the Word of God is put together by world-class theologians who are able to see the strands in the text I most likely could not see even after 40 years of reading the Bible. When these strands pop out at me I am led to worship God because it exposes a faith so tiny, a sight so short.

Such has been the case while reading Herman Ridderbos' Paul: An Outline of His Theology. A few weeks ago I read of what actually occurs with salvation, how Christ's Cross-work justifies us and reconciles us to God. The depth in which he explains these truths is amazing. What I found particularly beautiful was how he explains Paul's theology in light of a redemptive-historical context. This is why Ridderbos is known so well as one of the great biblical theologians of the 20th centuries.

Yet even as I am edified by his words I also notice what I typed above. I notice that the average Christian has no idea what justification means with its forensic perspective or even reconciliation with its familial perspective. Nor would I really expect any of them to know about the term "redemptive-historical," even though it is so vital for how we put our bibles together. Maybe we should be expecting more for the so-called "average" Christian...

But what I am troubled by more is that the non-Christian has absolutely no idea what I am talking about when I use those terms. Yes, justification and reconciliation are used in our language today, but this is not the case for the average person. Moreover, the terms theologians use carry unique biblical and theological weight, even creating more terms that are helpful to the scholar or pastor, but confusing to nearly everyone else.

I am never more aware of this than when I finish reading a text like Ridderbos and then move to do every day normal person stuff, like going to Panera or getting a haircut. I had just finished reading his section on reconciliation, deeply edified by his explanation of Jesus' gracious work, when I went to the barber shop to chop off the locks. My barber was a woman by the name of Heather (yes, it was a barber shop and not a salon). On top of doing a wonderful job with the hair, Heather and I had a pretty solid conversation. I learned a little of her home life and she learned a little of my life in the city planting a church. There was something inside of me that truly wanted to share with her all God had taught me that morning through my reading of Ridderbos, but I kept wondering how I would actually communicate it. For me, it wasn't merely the terms, but the themes, the Scripture passages, the overall theology of Paul, the storyline of the Bible--all of these were running through my head! I was able to fumble over a little of the theological foundation of our church's vision, but I left most of what was going on through my head out.

Sadly, this is often the case when I have conversations with people who do not think in the same categories I do. This is both the blessing and the curse of seminary. On the one hand, I am learning new categories that provide such a robust view of Scripture. But on the other hand these categories create a specialized language that is kept between a very few. Yes, the lunch conversations at seminary can be insightful, but this is not the type of talk in a barber shop.

I believe the great task of any Christian--from early believer to seasoned theologian or pastor--is to take the unique language of Scripture and theology and make it accessible to those who have not be exposed to any of it without losing the essence of what God is communicating in His Word. I am constantly learning how difficult of a task it really is, especially because I also believe we must retain the clear language of the Bible. This lesson I am learning was reinforced that day. Walking home clean cut I realized that my conversation with Heather provided me a clear question that I will continue to ask myself for the rest of my life whenever I preach, teach or share Scripture at any time:

"How do you get from Herman to Heather?"

By His Grace.

Save Yourself!

2010-03-12T01:25:00.004-06:00

And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” -Luke 23:35-39

Three distinct movements. Three different sets of people. Three different mocking accusations. One angry command. One gracious response.

He was who they said he was
The rulers "scoffed."
The soldiers "mocked."
The criminal "railed."

The venom poured out in every word that was spoken. They hissed as they accused him, challenging all that was said about him and all that he had done. They threw the titles out there, wholeheartedly believing that he was not who they said he was.

"If he is the Christ of God, His Chosen One..."
"If you are the King of the Jews..."
"Are you not the Christ?"

Come on, Jesus, if you are who we say you are, then prove it!

"He saved others
let him save himself.
Save yourself!
save yourself
and us."

They knew he wouldn't do it. They knew he couldn't do it. They thought they knew why. They thought it was because he wasn't who they said he was. But their "why" was wrong. He was exactly who they said he was. And more.

We try to save ourselves, but can't
How much are we like the rulers, the soldiers, the criminals? Probably a lot more than we are willing to admit. How often do we hurl up thoughts and prayers that are based on our notion of who Jesus is, a notion that is mixed with both truth and lie. We might get the phrases right, some of the theological foundation may be correct, but as we shout our words to God, they come off as accusations. We cry out "prove yourself to me!" I have had countless conversations with non-believers about this very thing. It boils down to God not doing what they want him to do. They then conclude that he does not exist. The doubting, unbelieving heart wants Jesus to come down off the Cross. And if he did, however miraculous an event it would have been, he would not have been who they said he was. The Christ had to suffer and die (Lk 24:26, 46; Acts 3:8; 17:3).

In our doubts and unbelief we do not want Jesus to be God. We want to be gods. We want to be like him. We want the power to save ourselves. We want to prove that we are worthy of the greatest titles of the world--even if it's our own little world.

"Best dad ever."
"World's greatest preacher."
"Entertainer of the century."
"Most humble person on the face of the earth."
"Savior of the world."

We desperately try to save ourselves, but can't.

He could have saved himself, but didn't try
He was exactly who they said he was. He had the power to save others and he did. He had the power to save himself and he didn't. I am blown away by this. The thought is not profound, but Jesus' action, or rather inaction, is. By his unwillingness to save himself, I am saved. To put it positively, by his willingness to die, I am alive. The criminal's words echo through my head: "Save yourself and us." Little did he know that if Jesus had, all would be destroyed. Jesus proved himself to be exactly who they said he was not by succumbing to their spiteful commands, but by remaining silent, fulfilling the will of His Father.

He could have saved himself, but didn't try. Now, by his grace, I don't have to either.

By His Grace.

Slaughtered With Machetes

2010-03-08T11:44:00.003-06:00

Please check out this post from Mike Pohlman of The Gospel Coalition. He begins sharing about the winner of last night's live documentary Oscar, The Cove and moves to point out the tragic events that occurred this weekend in Nigeria.

By His Grace.

Semester in the Seminary of Suffering

2010-03-04T22:37:00.005-06:00

Your suffering will show you that the timing of teaching and touching is crucial...When you walk through your own valley of darkness you learn these things. This is your lifelong seminary. If you are called to counsel others, I entreat you, do not begrudge the seminary of suffering. -John Piper

Many factors over the course of the past two months play into the unmistakable truth that I am in a semester in the seminary of suffering. Academically, I just finished an extensive study of 1 Peter in my Greek Exegesis class, where one major theme is suffering. I also recently took an intro to counseling course that exposed me, albeit briefly, to the reality of the vast suffering experienced throughout local churches all over the world. For work, I am helping to prepare a sermon series on suffering. Personally, I have heard several sermons as of late on the theme of suffering and I have begun to explore my life and the painful losses that occurred in my past. Finally, my time in the Word has opened up my eyes to the consistent message of suffering presented after Genesis 3.

However, I’m also learning that we balk at that word in America--suffering. We want to avoid it at all cost. We medicate ourselves with all society offers as means for comfort, security, and safety. Even when we know it is okay to suffer-—whether it be the loss of a loved one, experiencing rejection, being abused or neglected—-we don’t want to embrace the pain and the hurt. Instead I know so many people who just suppress it all, burying it deep within their hearts. But it never actually goes away; it never heals. And if it never gets dealt with it destroys them. They either become violent and angry, bitter at everyone or, and maybe even more frightening, they become numb to life and to God. He or she is a shell of a human being, an illusion of who they once were.

As I journey through this semester in the seminary of suffering, I am realizing that I have sought too long to avoid suffering in my life. Furthermore, my eyes are opening to the plain truth that I know too many people--Christians--like me. We do not have a proper theology of suffering. We do not get trained in a proper theology of suffering that incorporates both the mind and the heart. As a result, we do not know how to minister to others in their suffering, providing trite, cliché, theologically and emotionally hollow answers to questions we're unwilling to wrestle with before the Living, Triune God.

My journey has brought me to several conclusions I wish to develop over the coming weeks and months. The two major ones that constantly come to the surface are here, but I believe there are many more.

1. Suffering in Light of Eternity
"But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed" (1 Pet 4:13). This verse sums up the tone of the entire letter (1:7, 11, 21; 4:11, 13, 14; 5:1; 5:10). Peter is writing specifically about suffering because of persecution, but the principle of rejoicing in the midst of suffering as we look to Jesus' return can be extended to all areas of life. Moreover, we must realize that each and every person in this world has experienced some level of suffering. Their experience is unique and valuable because they are created in the image of God (Gen 1:26-27). C.S. Lewis states it poignantly:

There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilisations--these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But is is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit--immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. -C.S. Lewis

In light of eternity, how are we approaching suffering in our lives and the lives of others, both believer and unbeliever?

2. The Language of Lament

We do not need to be taught how to lament. What we need is simply the assurance that we can lament. -Michael Card

Put simply, our theology does not allow for the category of lamenting in our suffering. Somewhere we lost it and I for one grew up in a generation that knew little to nothing about it's place in the Christian's life. Yet we can look to Scripture--more specifically the lives of Job, David, Jeremiah and Jesus--not only to see that lament is possible for us, but that it even produces a stronger dependence on God than ever before.

Have you ever been taught about lamenting? If so, what did you learn? Have you ever seriously lamented? Is this a foreign concept to you?

I plan on expanding each of these a bit further because we have to ask why the necessity for eternity and lamenting is important for a proper theology of suffering and practice of it as we and others in our lives will undoubtedly suffer.

For now I must ask, are you too walking through a semester in the seminary of suffering?

By His Grace.

I Thought I Was Past That Sin

2010-02-26T00:11:00.002-06:00

I have heard often from friends and those I've discipled these words uttered in deep disappointment--"I thought I was past that sin." After being told this time and time again, and even after me saying this to myself and to God, I've come to realize that no matter how mature I've grown in Christ I'm never too far from the most disgusting and most "basic" of sins. John Bunyan would agree, as he has been credited with saying "There is enough evil in my best prayer to damn the whole world."

Regardless of how mature or sanctified I may become, the sins I committed as a child in the faith are still a threat to me. I cannot think of any place in Scripture where it says something to the effect of "you are beyond that particular sin." With a sinful nature present in this flesh any sin is possible at any time. Yes, we are exhorted to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which we have been called (Eph. 4:1). Elsewhere Paul writes similarly saying we are "to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord" (Col 1:10).

But these texts and others that call for Christian maturity are written, in one sense, because there's always the potential not to walk in that manner. Furthermore, if there is anything to the idea of walking in the light of Christ, moving closer toward him as I mature, I just become even more aware of how deeply corrupted I truly am. One of the greatest lessons I have learned from those much older than me in the faith is this very truth. So one mark of Christian maturity is how sensitive we are to our sinful nature and potential to sin. Mature Christians recognize that dependence on Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome the strongest temptations are of utmost necessity. Mature Christians never say, "I am past that sin." Mature Christians say, "Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for me." Thus I can know clearly that

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. -1 Cor. 10:13

As I read the passage, the verse before this confirms what is meant by never being "past a sin."

Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

The point is clear here as Paul writes of the Israelites drinking from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and Rock was Christ (v. 4). Yet even in the wilderness, after God had rescued them from Egypt, witnessing all the plagues and the parting of the Red Sea, they desired evil (v. 6). They were idolaters and engaged in sexual immorality (vv. 7-8). Judgment came--23,000 fell in a single day (v. 8). God had done so much for them in their rescue, yet they were not beyond any kind of sin. In some way they drank of Christ, but still engaged in all types of horrific sin! They were beyond nothing. These words, written for our instruction (v. 11) remind me that I too am beyond nothing. The command is clear:

Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. -1 Cor. 10:14

It is all idolatry--the gluttony, the sloth, the lust, the pride--all idolatry, maybe of other gods, but certainly of self. We idolize humanity. We have sought to redefine all aspects of life ever since the Fall when we were overcome by temptation and redefined God's only command. Since then nothing is off limits--entertainment, money, eating, sex, love, hate, etc--all to exalt us to the level of deity. All to say, "I am past that sin."

We must ask ourselves how we are walking each day. Are we seeking to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which we have been called, the calling that knows the depth of depravity, yet also the grace of God? Or are we walking in a manner worthy of puffed pride saying "I am past that sin" only soon to be defeated by it, where in our defeat we are left devastated and perplexed, saying "I thought I was past that sin?"

By His Grace.

Without Love, You're Nothing

2010-02-11T15:50:00.005-06:00

We're approaching Valentine's Day quickly. Gents, I hope you have everything planned out and are ready to pull the trigger when Sunday runs up on you like a desperate car salesman. With the holiday's approach one word is being tossed around a lot more than normally--love.

I was reading 1 Corinthians 13 yesterday, a passage quoted so often in weddings, even for people who don't believe in Jesus. The part that gets quoted isn't necessarily the whole chapter, just particularly vv. 4-8, the so-called "romantic" section that offers up truly one of the best definitions of love we know. yet the first three verses are so important for context because there in them Paul writes about what happens in the absence of love.

In 13:1 Paul says that if we can speak known languages ("tongues of men") or even unknown, mysterious languages ("tongues of angels"), but are without love, we are in essence a loud gong, a clanging cymbal. We are a bunch of noise with no substance.

For 13:2 Paul moves to prophetic power, immense knowledge, and great faith. These are very desirable for many, but without love, as Paul says we are nothing.

Finally in 13:3, Paul mentions sacrifice, first of possessions ("give away all I have") and then of self ("give my body to be burned"). Again, for the third time, Paul says that even in these, without love, we gain nothing.

All are challenging in their own right, but the third "list" gets to me the most because we live in a time where social action is so praised. For this generation, humanitarian aid and self-sacrifice are considered virtuous not only within the church, but by our culture at-large. Non-profits continue to grow, being eco-friendly is cool, doing benefit concerts are import to get the money from regular ol' folk to help support disaster relieve in Haiti. We are now expected in some sense to "give away all I have." The Onion, "America's Finest News Source," highlights this well in their article "Massive Earthquake Reveals Entire Island Civilization Called 'Haiti'." The title itself gets the point across well.

The question is: Do we do these things out of some sort of pressure, whether from the media, society, or even the church or are they done out of love? Are they done out of the love we know comes from God because he first loved us (1 John 4:19)? Without love, even our greatest sacrifices of time, talents, treasures and even self are like dust.

John Piper in Let the Nations Be Glad provides great perspective on a definition of love that expands whatever notion we have in that love is "helping people toward God."

I have to ask this question as we plant a church in Chicago. Do I love the people of Chicago? Do I love the faces that stare off into oblivion as I walk down the street? Do I love the man who doesn't wish to say anything else to me except, "Can I get some money?" Do I love the Amanda and Roberto who live in my apartment building? Those in my neighborhood association? Do I love any of them in a way that is helping them toward God.

Are your thoughts, words, and deeds done in love? We must ask this continually as God's people. Paul sums it up well for us and I pray we take it to heart on this day, on Valentine's Day, and every day we walk with Jesus on this earth:

Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love -1 Cor. 16:13-14

A Christian Response to the Haiti Earthquake

2010-01-13T14:12:00.006-06:00

Tragic. I sit here speechless over the events that have unfolded over the last 36 hours. Right now my Twitter feed is constantly updated with people who are providing more news and seeking to provide relief to the devastated nation already struggling as the most impoverished nation in the Western Hemisphere.

Fortunately a disaster like this does not happen every day. I do not think the human soul could bear it. Yet we look back over ten years to see major events that have drawn the collective eye of the world to a particular people or nation - 9/11, the Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and now this earthquake.

In all these instances thoughts turn toward God immediately. For many, there are requests for prayers and cries of pain to the God who is seemingly in control of all things. The question is for God himself - "Where are you?" For others, the lack of belief in God, or more clearly stated, the belief that there is no God is seemingly confirmed as one may say, "How could a good God allow such evil to occur?"

Voices rise and blogs are posted in response to the event and the questions. One particular response is receiving a lot of notice because one man who speaks as a Christian says the Haitians made a pact with the devil and were cursed , thus this earthquake is a form of judgment. This will dominate the news because it's controversial, though there is a response to this as well. Some will agree. Others, most perhaps, will find this absurd.

I myself am left wondering what the proper response is to everyone who may have questions, whether Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, agnostic or atheist. Providentially, I was reading Al Mohler's book, Culture Shift: Engaging Current Issues With Timeless Truths, yesterday while everything first began. In it he dedicates one chapter particularly to a Christian response for disasters like the earthquake using the Tsunami of 2004 as the example. Here I will draw heavily from Mohler's thoughts for what I believe is the best response.

Mohler begins by saying:

Suggesting that God was simply unable to prevent the tsunamis that destroyed so many lives simply will not do. Nor will blaming the earthquake and tidal waves on fate, or claiming that God sent the destruction as punishment for the victim's sins, or arguing that the tragedy was further proof that God does not exist.

These responses are typical for those who hold to process theology (God is unable to know what's going to happen), fate, karma, God as judge only, or sheer atheism. But the Christian who affirms the breadth and depth of Scripture should respond differently.

"First, a faithful Christian response must affirm the true character and power of God. The Bible leaves no room for doubting either the omnipotence [God's all-powerful] or the benevolence [God's goodness] of God." The Triune God was active when he created everything and he remains active in his creation as sovereign ruler over it all. Mohler sites Colossians 1:15-17 to show the supremacy of Jesus Christ in that "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." Again, process theology, like that seen in Rabbi Harold Kushner's book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People wants to cut this out and say that God is doing the best he can with what he's got. He'd like to help, but his hands are tied for tragedies like this. We as Christians must deny this position and affirm God's power and goodness, knowing that we are created in his image, we mean something to him, life is worth living, and he is ultimately in control.

Secondly Mohler goes on to state that the Christian response "must avoid attempting to explain what God has not explained." We as Christian must be assured that suffering, as with all things in life, is meaningful, but is also the result of sin entering into our world (Genesis 3). We must be cautious in how we proceed from here though. On the one hand, we must be careful not to attribute suffering directly to an individual's sin as if there's exact causation. In John 9:1-7 the disciple ask about a man who was blind from birth, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (v. 2). Jesus responds, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him" (v. 3). Jesus heals the man, and the rest of the chapter works out the implications of it, displaying the works of God. In this case, and in the cases of natural disasters, we must be wary of immediately placing blame on the sins of a people or a nation, as with those who give blanket statements intended to cover over every person who tragically died. Mohler sites Martin Kettle's keen observation of the tsunami, which are good words for the earthquake as well: "Certainly the giant waves generated by the quake made no attempt to differentiate between the religions of those whom it made its victims. Hindus were swept away in India, Muslims were carried off in Indonesia, Buddhists in Thailand. Visiting Christians and Jews received no special treatment either."

On the other hand, Mohler rightly says that "we are in absolutely no position to argue that there is no link between human sin and this awful tragedy. The Bible makes clear that God sometimes does respond to specific sin with cataclysmic natural disaster. Just ask the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah." The warning flag must rise swiftly though, as Mohler points to Job - the book of the Bible most clearly dealing with suffering - to show that "it is Job's friends who tried to offer detailed theological explanations and ended up looking foolish--and worse." Christians have the challenging duty of limiting our speech in times like this one - both speech of utter judgment and speech of sheer innocence - because we believe in a God whose judgments are "unsearchable" and "unfathomable" (Romans 11:33). Mohler writes poignantly that "Unless God reveals the purpose of His acts and the working of His will among us, we would do well to affirm His sovereignty and goodness, while holding back from placing blame on human agents for disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes."

A third part of our response requires "the love of Christ and the power of the gospel." Jesus is our prime example in this as he healed the blind and raised the dead, responding with such compassion in moments of great need. Though we may not be able to perform miracles such as these, we are able to "mourn with those who mourn." May we be a people who follows our Lord with an outpouring of prayer, concern, generosity, and sacrifice.

Christians should be leading the efforts of relief work through our agencies dedicated to providing food, medical care, rebuilding efforts, and other forms of assistance. I personally witnessed this with Hurricane Katrina and the efforts of Campus Crusade for Christ. Now's the time to give of your time, talents, and treasures. Just an hour ago, I was able to give $35 to a family in Haiti through Compassion, which will support them for a week. We should be at the forefront of all financial giving and relief efforts to display the grace and generosity of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. These efforts serve as a great witness to the gospel and we should not shy away from testifying speaking about the great truths of salvation found in Jesus alone. The prayer is that our assistance for temporary relief will provide a bridge to eternal rest in Christ.

And finally, we as Christians must openly respond without cowardice that the events of the past two days along with all the atrocities of natural disasters past and future point to God's final, holy judgment. We must be bold enough to say that God's wrath is to come. But with that we must bring the powerful, hope-filled words of the gospel which share that God's wrath was poured out on His Son, Jesus Christ, on the Cross so that for those who believe in Him whatever suffering or death we may have in this world, nothing compares to the eternal weight of glory being prepared for us (2 Corinthians 4:17).

I'm Blown Away...And You Will Be Too!

2009-12-07T11:02:00.009-06:00

This story starts off like my morning did -- mudane with a mixture of awe and frustration. I'm running on two hours sleep right now after finishing my last big paper of the semester. I was staying at my friend Russell's house out in Arlington Heights and I was running late to campus. The awe came from seeing the snow actually settle on the ground & in the trees for the first time this year. Beautiful. However, it was quickly met with frustration as I was backed up in traffic as I merged onto a major road. We were at a dead stop for the most part, but there was enough space for a car in the lane left of me to enter my lane just in front of me. I let out a loud "Uuuuuuuggghhhh" as the car came in, not so much upset with them as with the painful reality that I was gonna be extremely late to class and consequently in dropping of my paper. I texted my a friend in class to let him know I was in a dead halt with the hope that he would tell the professor, who would ultimately be sympathetic to my situation, right?

Well about thirty seconds after texting him I see a Toyota 4-Runner to my right trying to pull into traffic from a side street that was perpendicular to us. But the lady driving wasn't slowing down; in fact it looked like she was gonna try to cut to her right, go offroad, and avoid everyone altogether. That didn't work. Instead her 4-Runner barreled right into the Toyota Avalon directly in front of me -- the car I had just let in! First words out of my mouth: "OH SNAP!"

Here's where the story gets creepy, weird and beyond coincidence. Let me remind you that I am on my way to campus to drop off a paper on how the God of all things is a Trinity -- God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, yet all one at the same time.

I pull up in front of them, figuring that I could be a witness to the whole thing. The lady on the passenger side of the wrecked Avalon, all shaken up approaches me as I tell her that I'll be a witness to everything. She proceeds to tell me that she and her husband are on their way to her sister's funeral. In that moment my heart dropped for them.

Next, her husband, a Middle Eastern man about my height, comes up to me as we're trying to figure out how to call 911 from a cell phone (Note to readers: "911" doesn't work on cells; *999 is what you call for an emergency. I didn't know that. I think it makes little sense). He was calm and collected, but amazed. He began to tell me how right before the lady crashed into them he was trying to console his wife by explaining to her how God is in complete control and that he can let anything happen at any moment, including them getting hit by another car in traffic. He said that no more than five seconds later the woman ran into them!

His wife is on the phone and I come to find out that her sister was only 48. She was a doctor of some kind and died of cancer. He said they couldn't get to it in time. At this point are standing at the other woman's car, writing up a statement we can all sign since no emergency vehicles would come at this time for this type of accidnent. The lady asks me where I was heading. "I'm heading to school, ma'am." The man asked what I studied. "I study theology." They both were like, "theology!?!" as if this wasn't weird enough.

I noticed the lady shaking heavily, shifting between composure and crying. I offer my coat. I think she was in shock because this was capping off a difficult morning for her already. She has a headdress on. She's covering up her bald head. She herself has cancer. She was actually on her way to chemotherapy before she hit the Avalon. Yeah, the Avalon driven by a man taking his wife to her sister's funeral. Her sister who died of cancer.

In the midst of all this, the man finds to begin conversation with me about God. He tells me that he's Muslim and actually a direct descendant of Muhammad. At some point I tell him that I'm actually driving to school to drop off a paper on how God is Trinity. We could have gotten into some interesting discussions in that moment, which he really wanted to pursue. I didn't. I went to my car to get my cards, of which, interestingly, I only had two left. I felt it best to let his wife grieve and let them get to the funeral, so I gave him a card to contact me. The other one I gave to the lady as she drove off to her chemotherapy appointment, knowing somewhat the pain and confusion she has in her life right now. She took it and with a soft, perplexed voice said, "you study theology, eh?" I tried to say compassionately, "yes, call me anytime."

I then got in my car, drove off, blown away at what just happened.

To recap. I'm late dropping off a paper on the Trinity. I let a car in front of me that proceeds to get hit by a lady. The car in front of me has a devout Muslim man and his wife whose sister just died of cancer. The woman who should have hit me, hit them instead as she is on her way to chemotherapy because she herself has cancer. The Muslim man in the midst of all this wants to talk to me about God and how he's not Triune, even though he knew I just finished an extensive paper on it less than five hours before. All this in a matter of 20 minutes.

I was silent in my car. I didn't know what to do. Eventually I was like "Holy Crap!!! Did that just happen???" I began to pray because I didn't know what else to do. I can't make up a story like that (someone might be able to, but not me). I can't chalk it up to chance or coincidence, though I know many would want to. I still have yet to flesh it out any life lessons personally as the story is still fresh and nearly unbelievable. However, I do hope they both call me at some point. It just seems like that was not an end, but a beginning.

Finally, to top it all off I arrived to class just as they finished, ready to tell everyone and turn in my paper. When I got there I found out the topic of our last lecture: God's providence.

By His Grace.

Classes In Spring

2009-12-03T13:03:00.002-06:00

I find that my updates pertain more to my job at Trinity than my life while in school at Trinity. That's okay...for now. I am spending much time in reflection these days about how I desire for my life to be lived, which may in turn result in certain changes for the future. For now, though, I'm not quite sure. Thankfully I do not have a "fan base" save the four of you or so who follow this bad boy. In any case, here's another vid:

What Class Are You Most Excited About? from Trinity International University on Vimeo.

"Professor Run-In" With Ed Stetzer

2009-11-03T18:33:00.008-06:00

Hey all,
As many of you, some of you, or none of you know, I work in Graduate Admissions at Trinity. My current position focuses on developing a presence in the various social media outlets that have become so popular over the years, particularly on Facebook and Twitter.

One of the perks is what some may consider a more "favorable" position in the light of professors, giving me the opportunity to sit down with them and talk. The most recent idea created is called "Professor Run-Ins," which is explained in the video below.

My first interview was with Dr. Ed Stetzer. In case you don't know who he is, be sure to begin by visiting his website, EdStetzer.com. Dr. Stetzer is a seasoned church planter, conference speaker, and currently is president of LifeWay Reasearch. In short, Ed's kind of a big deal. I recently had a class with Dr. Stetzer, or "Stetz" for short, on Becoming a Missional Church. It was a week long, but was one of the best classes I've had at Trinity thus far. Stetz's heart for Jesus, His church, and His mission in this world shone through from word one and I am grateful for the short time we all had with him.

Here is the video:

By His Grace.

Impromptu Yo Yo Video

2009-10-29T23:51:00.003-05:00

It has been an insane amount of time since I've updated my blog. Unfortunately, I do not see myself jumping back into the game anytime in the near future. I think about it quite a bit, but none of the thoughts lead to fingers punching away at keys. However, I made a quick video today that gives a tiny glimpse into how things are going. Here you go!

By His Grace.

"With Sickness In Our Bones and Sores On Our Flesh, You'll Never Be Gone From Us, You'll Never Be Gone"

2009-09-07T21:47:00.001-05:00

Here is one song during this past week's service. Everything is written by Jon, the lead for Milano, a band which is associated with The Line as part of our Patron Program (I will explain this in a future post. For now, allow the video to load, sit back, soak in the sounds, and worship along with them. It is a beautiful song.

By His Grace.

The Line: Revolution is Restoration Bootleg: Never Be Gone from Aaron Youngren on Vimeo.

Humans Being Appreciated As Human Beings Day

2009-09-02T22:50:00.001-05:00

So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them. -Gen 1:27

Man is the glory and garbage of the universe. -Blaise Pascal

I want to see a humans being appreciated as human beings day. I fully appreciate individuals who walk down the streets with the heads held high acknowledging the existence of other human beings with a head nod, a smile, or a simple "hey". Understandably, people in conversation may be enthralled with each other as they stroll, but we have substituted real human interaction with screens that play blaring music, send e-mails, check news and sports scores, or simply just glow as we mindlessly tap them in an attempt to avoid all other life forms around us.

My words are brief here for now, but I have given quite a bit of thought to this ever since I was in college. During that time Jesus took hold of me and I began to see the world differently. Much like when Copernicus discovered that everything doesn't revolve around the earth, but the sun, while in college I began to see that the world does not revolve around us, but God's Son. Put more bluntly, people are not here for me and to serve my purposes. The same goes for you. We all exist - whether we comply or not - to serve Jesus and His purposes; beautifully, He actually came and modeled for us how it should all be done.

This is partly comedic, partly serious. This will be fleshed out over the coming weeks, months, and years - first in my life, but then in print as I hope to see a revolution occur in our lives, one that opens up our eyes to see how the little, momentary, almost effortless acts of merely being human can spark change in the lives of those around us.

By His Grace.

3 Observations of City-Dwellers in Natural Lands

2009-08-24T01:10:00.002-05:00

This weekend about two dozen of us traveled northward to Wisconsin just to get out of the crazy city for a couple days. Whether one is in school or not, the end of August always seems to be a transitory time for many, so this weekend was wonderful for us to retreat and rest before the storms of life rage.

In our brief time there I made three keen observations (well I think they're keen, but you can judge for yourself. Sidenote: Can someone bring back "keen" as an adjective not to describe something one does, but who someone is? "Gee, you're keen." It'd be real swell if someone could do that.)

You know you've got a bunch of people from the city when at night, pitch dark, in the middle of nowhere, the only thing you have for a flashlight is either the backlight to your phone or the Flashlight iPhone app. Someone says, "Anyone have a flashlight? I can't see." Someone else responds with, "Hold on, I do. I've just got to pull out my phone." Then there's the awkward, repeated need for the person to push the buttons on the phone in order to keep the light at maximum power. This is where the person with the iPhone steps in with, "Put that weak flip phone away. I've got a flashlight on my phone! I don't need to press buttons all the time like you." This is another way iPhones are better, Apple is genius, the App Store dominates, and we are idiots. However, the Zippo app just might make you look cool in that situation. Nope. Nevermind.

City-dwellers like to kill everything within a two foot radius of them. We were sitting outside by a small body of water, reeds dancing as if the wind was playing music. We were surround by trees as we looked out over the water into the distant, green hills. In a group we spent some time in prayer, much of the time in silence; a few folk prayed out loud. During some of those times my ears would perk up to the sound of a foot stomping the ground. I'd look back to catch a glimpse of that same foot twisting in the dirt as if putting out a cigarette. I knew it wasn't a cigarette because they don't allow smoking on the grounds and he's a Christian and Christians would never smoke. I wisely deduced that this person (who shall remain nameless) was killing woodland creatures of some sort. This happened a few times and got me thinking about all the times in the short span we were there that people freaked out at the sight of a bee or a spider 1) as if these critters aren't already in the city and 2) as if the critters in the woods somehow have the power themselves to kill with a sting or a slight touch to the skin. And of course, like with all things unknown, the most logical step to take is to kill them.

During that same time out by the water I found it ironic that some of the most ardent environmentalists and eco-friendly advocates live in cities. Cities made of lifeless slabs of concrete and cold, hard steel. You are aware that in order to make the city from which you battle for all-things-green that there once was open land and free roaming for both person and creature alike, that there was real green before being "green" became a symbol for activism and dare I say elitism? I have no problem with trying to be good stewards of the environment in which we live; in fact, I hope we are all living "green" in some way. I'm just saying we should do so with some humility, understanding that our paved roads (however craptastic), walk-ups, sushi restaurants, and Starbucks haven't always been there.

Rollin' With The Bentleys

2009-08-24T01:05:00.000-05:00

I-94 can be a trip sometimes. This was one of those times. Enjoy the ride with us as we explore the challenges of chatting with British folk in their Bentleys. They drive on the right side of the car!!!

I Don't Believe In A Place Called "China"

2009-08-17T23:40:00.003-05:00

I am testing out some thoughts I have which result from a conversation I had today:
________________________

I've never been to China. I've never been anywhere closer than thousands of miles away from China. However I have read words about the country and its history; I have seen pictures of the landmass we have labeled China; I have seen videos and artifacts that claim to be from China; I have met people from this place, all of whom speak a different language than me. Although I have never been to China, I am fairly confident that the area with this name exists.

But does China's existence depend on either my knowledge or experience of it?

Has China existed throughout history, even when people didn't have access to the same kind of evidence I have now? What if I never lived in China or met anyone who has lived there, Chinese or any other ethnicity? What if I never met a Chinese person? What if I have never seen a video or an artifact from there? Would it still exist? What about never seeing pictures or a map? What about never reading a word about China?

Is the existence of China--or anything for that matter--predicated on my knowledge of it, whether that knowledge be intellectual, experiential, or both?

Given what we do know, what if I were to go to someone stranded on a desert island and try to convince him or her that China existed, but all I could use were my own words? Would that person be justified in rejecting my claim that China existed?
_________________________

These are a few of the many questions I have as I wrestle through this idea of existence. I would really love to know what you think. I will engage in any comments posted only if I have more questions, but I will stray from pushing any sort of personal agenda. Feel the freedom to write whatever you want, even if derogatory. I will only be slightly offended.

The Long Trek Up Long's Peak: Part 1

2009-08-17T11:20:00.003-05:00

On July 26th, along with my friends Rick & TJ, I climbed Long's Peak--a 14,000 ft. mountain--for the second time (the first was back in 2007). Using my newly purchased iPhone 3G S, I chronicled the journey with short clips at various times. What we did in twelve short hours you can experience in nearly 12 excruciatingly long minutes. Here is the first of the two-part miniseries dramody.

By His Grace.