kickball

This past week our community of faith had a very interesting conversation. It revolved around the idea that God is good and knows better than we do. The dialogue was interesting (and frustrating) because we all know the right answers, but struggle to apply them.

See, we know that God knows better, but we try our own ideas out anyway. We know the Bible is right, but we ignore it anyway. We know God loves us, but our feelings tell us something different. We know that even the difficult, trying times are ultimately for our good, but, especially in the midst of them, we forget. Oh, how easily and quickly we forget.

If I’m being really honest, I’m pretty shocked at myself. I’ve been a Christian my whole life and have been in church ministry for more than a decade. My Dad is a pastor too, which means I quite literally grew up in church and, yet, I can’t seem to get this thing down. I wrestle with this issue constantly and often find myself wondering what it’s going to take for me to finally get it.

God is bigger than us, stronger than us, wiser than us…on and on and on we could go. So, if those things are true, why do we fight Him so much?! Why is it so hard to trust Him in every situation whether good or bad, happy or sad? At least in part, I think it’s because of our human perspective. Like a child who fusses over not getting a toy, so we fuss over our situations and circumstances. Scripture is clear, though, that we’ll never fully understand God…in this life, at least. His thoughts and ways are higher than ours (read Isaiah 55:6-9). That’s a humbling, but very accurate statement. We only see things from our small, mortal, flawed, human perspective. God, on the other hand, sees all of time and space in one glance.

So, maybe the question, then, is this: what does trust in God look like? How does it play out in our daily lives? What does it mean to trust God in every situation and circumstance? Boy, that gets down to the nitty gritty of life, doesn’t it? We can trust Him with our children and spouse. We can trust His plan for our job and career. We can trust His leadership in our love life and educational path. We can trust Him with our money and our friendships. We can trust Him because, well, He is good.

We do not know best. We often think we do, but we don’t. He does. May we all learn to trust Him instead of ourselves. May we know, truly know in our hearts, that God is good all the time and that all the time God is good.

Thank you, Rob Bell and the Nooma team for a fantastic resource!

rain

Why do bad things happen to good people? That’s one of the textbook, unanswerable questions, isn’t it? We’ve all asked it at one time or another. We all wrestle with the “whys” of life. And while there’s not really an answer to it, there is hope beyond it. It’s not all bad. In fact, many people, including me, have discovered that their most wonderful, God-filled moments came as a direct result of the bad, painful, difficult stuff.

We humans are stubborn, hard-headed, individualistic creatures. I wish that wasn’t the truth, but it is. That is our reality. We rarely learn things the first time and hardly ever observe and discover truth from another person’s life. We have to learn it for ourselves on a personal level, don’t we? And usually it comes from banging our heads against a wall several dozen times before it actually sinks in. What’s amazing about our God, though, is that He uses those stubborn, hard-headed, individualistic times to bring about beautiful, transforming, corporate miracles.

Every person on the planet has experienced suffering—some more than others. Many wake up every single day with almost unbearable financial stress. Some wake up not knowing if they’ll eat. Many have experienced the death of a close family member or friend. Some have never known the unconditional love of another person. Many are homeless; some are terminally ill. Many are physically disabled; some are mentally disabled. Whatever your pain, though, to a large degree, it is shared. And it is shared not only by a mass of humanity, but by Creator.

God continually asks us to come to Him. It is an open invitation. It’s not just for those who look pretty and clean and smell nice. It’s also for those of us who reek of sin and have a filthy habit or two or twelve. He doesn’t just befriend those who have it all together, but goes after those who have been rejected by society and who are on the outskirts of life. It almost seems, in fact, that God is even more interested in the down-and-out than He is in the up-and-coming. He did say, after all, that He came not for the healthy, but for the sick (Mark 2:17).

Today might be awful. You may feel depressed, unmotivated and exhausted. May you come to see that God’s invitation is for you in particular. He longs to hold you and comfort you and love you unconditionally. Draw close to Him today and feel His presence.

Thank you, Rob Bell and the Nooma team for a fantastic resource!

bullhorn

I like to imagine certain scenes in the Bible. Maybe you do this too. I try to picture the faces of the crowd when they watched Lazarus walk out of his grave. I try to envision what it felt like to be Peter walking on the water. What was the weather like on those days? What did it smell and sound like? What were the logical, only-human brains of these people telling them as the natural laws of our world were being broken?

Another scene I like to imagine is found in Matthew 22. Jesus has been teaching the people and, like always, gathered a crowd. There are all types loitering around to hear. Some are faithful and zealous. Some are simply curious. And then some are quite angry at it all. The Pharisees, for example, can’t stand Jesus. And His wild popularity among the people doesn’t help. Until He came along, the Pharisees were the cream of the crop, the highly respected ones, the keynote speakers and sell-out artists. Now, Jesus has messed it all up. And that brings us to our scene.

One of these jealous and rather ticked-off Pharisees thinks of a question—a trick question. I imagine that he walked up to Jesus with a gleam in his eye and a sly grin on his face. He probably dished out some false respect and asked, in a voice certainly loud enough for the surrounding masses to hear, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

What do you think the crowd did right then? I think they probably fell silent. How do you think Jesus’ Twelve disciples were feeling at that moment? My gut tells me they suddenly got very nervous for their Master. See, Jesus had a lot to consider. The Old Testament Law (Torah) consists of five (5) very long and detailed books. And then there is the Prophets (like Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel) and even the Writings (like Psalms and Proverbs). Out of all that, what would Jesus choose? How could He possibly respond?

And what about Jesus? He knew this was a trick question. (One of the perks of being God, you know.) He understood the selfish motivation behind it and knew the heart of the one asking. In my mind, Jesus is also smiling, but it’s a very different smile. His is one of quiet confidence. It’s the kind of smile that makes the Pharisee’s smile disappear. I think He probably waited for a few seconds. Not because He was racking His brain, but just because He wanted the moment and the question to sink in. Then, when the timing is perfect, just as everyone is leaning in, He answers. “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Don’t you know that Pharisee was stunned silent? Not only was this the perfect answer, it was more than he asked for! He asked for one—the greatest—singular…but Jesus didn’t play by this Pharisee’s rules. Jesus always seems to have His own set of rules, doesn’t He?! I imagine the guy looked back at his Pharisee buddies with wide eyes as if to say, “Well? A little help here… Say something! Anything!!!” His buddies probably just shrugged their shoulders and gave the cringe-look, like when you watch your friend attempt to clear the jump, but he just crashes and burns.
Jesus, on the other hand, is probably ecstatic. Even though the motivation behind it was wrong, the question itself is great! And He is probably thrilled it came up! Our faith is all about love. Everything else hangs on that. Everything! All the other commandments and rules and life principles…the tens of thousands of books and CDs and seminars and conferences…without love, they’re useless, worthless, silly!

Oh, and let’s not forget that Jesus gave us two—plural. To Jesus, the greatest commandment of love is two sided. It’s not just about loving God. It’s also about loving people. Those two things are connected. In fact, they’re so intimately intertwined that, to Jesus, they are one. The way we love God spills out into the way we love people. The way we love people is the direct result of the way we love God. You can’t have one without the other.

Think of it this way: the way we love God = the way we love our children = the way we love our coworkers = the way we love our neighbors = the way is love our employer = the way we love the atheist = the way we love the waitress = the way we love our spouse = the way we love the gay rights community = the way we love God.

Christianity is about a lot of other things, but they’re all secondary. They are all hidden behind the thing. What it all boils down to, what really matters, is love.

Thank you, Rob Bell and the Nooma team for a fantastic resource!

dust

I want to be covered in the dust of my Rabbi. In ancient Israel a rabbi would walk from town to town teaching the people and providing insight into the Word of God. Each rabbi had a small pack of disciples who would literally follow in his footsteps and mimic his every move. Their goal in life was to become like their rabbi. They wanted to say what he said, go where he went and do what he did. They were on the heels of their rabbi all day, every day. And, by the end of each day, they were usually covered in the dust of their rabbi. Literally! It’s kind of an unpleasant and yet a beautiful depiction of how I want to be and live.

The English word that comes to mind is “obvious.” I want it to be obvious that I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, my Rabbi. I don’t ever want people to wonder if I’m a Christian. I don’t want to leave room for any doubt. I never want to be half-hearted or lukewarm. I want to be a white-hot, passionate, dedicated and vigilant follower of God. When people see me, I want them to see Jesus. I want to say what He says, go where He goes and do what He does. At the end of each day, I want to be covered in the dust of my Rabbi.

I know there’s a danger here. This kind of attitude can quickly morph into a “holier-than-thou” kind of perception where people think that one person is better or more spiritual than another. My passion will probably be mistaken for pride. My dedication may be seen as over-the-top or impossible-to-reach. I know there is a danger in being misunderstood. But Jesus was misunderstood. Even His small pack of disciples didn’t really understand Him until after His death. And Jesus didn’t seem to mind the misunderstanding and wrong perceptions.

Today I dedicate myself anew. I don’t want to flirt with “the line.” I am not going to walk “the fence.” I don’t even want to know where the line is! I don’t want to be able to see the fence from where I am! I want to pursue my Rabbi and the things of God with such abandon that He is my entire focus. I want to love God and love others in a way that makes me seem weird and peculiar. Perhaps that would be a great sign of His dust!

Thank you, Rob Bell and the Nooma team for a fantastic resource!

reset

Like most kids, I loved video games growing up. I remember my first experience at my neighbor’s house on his phenomenal, newfangled machine called a Comodor 64. WOW! Then came the Atari with the amazing graphics and sounds of Pitfall. Finally, one company rose to the top of the video game pile and accepted the nerd challenge. They created the system to beat all systems: Nintendo! The original was a thing of beauty. Mario, Mario 2, Mario 3, Mario 89… Ahhh, memories.

That wonderful contraption had two huge buttons on it. One was “power” and the other was “reset.” If you (not me, of course) were doing poorly on a game, the reset button was your (not my, of course) saving grace. Simply hit that button and start over again. Some people (not me, of course) needed that advantage badly. It was a clean slate. Fresh. Brand new. And, as an added bonus, you had the knowledge of what you did and how you played before the reset button was hit! It was phenomenal. Sometimes I wonder if this whole church planting experience is a spiritual reset.

In some ways, the thought of a brand new church energizes me. We get to start over! Fresh. Brand new. We don’t have all the hang-ups of an established church in a religious culture. We have an opportunity to build something truly healthy and truly beautiful from the ground up! And, as an added bonus, we have the knowledge of what goes on in tons of other churches across the country!

In some ways, the thought of a brand new church paralyzes me. We have to start over! Fresh. Brand new. There’s no established people to work with, tradition to lean upon or culture to learn from. It’s all on our shoulders to build something from the ground up. And, as an added "bonus," everyone is watching and waiting. We don’t know how to do this! Where do we go now?! Where should we invest our time and energy?! What does a truly healthy church even look like?!

For several months now, God has been challenging and teaching me to view our circumstances through a different lens. At moments like this, I must admit, my perspective is predominantly negative. The challenge is to see it from a positive angle, through eyes of faith. "I get to reset" instead of "I have to reset." Maybe this is a blessing and not a curse. Maybe it's best to go slow and be intimate. Once again, perhaps God doesn’t want me to necessarily do anything for Him, but to just be here with Him.

I don’t know why this is so unbelievably hard for me, but it is. I've struggled with it my entire life. But lately it's different. I feel like God has stripped me down to nothing, reset me, as a person, and is now building me back up brand new, healthier and more Godly. I'm learning to trust Him completely, in every situation, with every issue. I'm learning how to push through the fear and ignore the lies. I'm learning that He really does know better than I do. Isn't that something?! Before God could plant a new church through me, He had to replant me!

It's a new year. 2008 is gone and 2009 is here. Even our President-elect is promising newness, change, a reset. Whether our circumstances don't change all that much, or if the situation is altered dramatically, maybe a reset is still possible. Maybe this year we can reset our minds, reset our hearts, reset our attitudes. Maybe we can gain a new, healthy, Godly perspective. Maybe...