Worthy of a Blog

Many of my blogs are just random thoughts about life and God, but this one may be different. Not that there won’t be the random interjection of my brain damaged thinking (you should see the CT scan of my head – Dr. said lots of head trauma), but my hope is that I can express what God did this last Sunday morning (October 4, 2009). And the best thing was it had nothing to do with my orchestration, but all about my abdication. Hey, there’s a novel idea… being Spirit led. How scary might that be?

All during my Saturday afternoon preparation time and my bright and early (okay groggy) Sunday morning prep time I was struggling with direction as to what I should preach. Now mind you, it wasn’t the normal “sermon block” that I was experiencing. Something was very different.

On the contrary, what I felt was as if all my gallant efforts to establish an outline and subject matter were noble, but unnecessary. That’s right noble, but unnecessary.

All too often we who stand at the sacred desk, week in and week out, somehow believe that we are a critical key to what God wants to “do” in the lives of people. How sorely mistaken we are.

The New Testament is relatively clear as to how church was done in the first century. Gathering was fundamental. Eating was usually part of the gathering. Communion and prayer were included too. Impromptu singing and psalm making were also part of the make up. And finally as the Spirit led, someone brought a Word. That’s right someone (Acts 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 14:26; Colossians 3:15-17). Not necessarily the pastor or teacher, maybe, but not necessarily.

Now here’s the amazing part. Upon arriving at church with “my” agenda for the day, a struggle ensued. I had many things that I believed were important to “say” to the congregation, but God had another idea. As I labored through my Sunday school lesson, something was cooking inside me. You know, that feeling like something was wrong – in a right way.

By the time we were all upstairs in the sanctuary, singing praises to the Lord and taking communion, I knew my agenda would be shelved. The new plan, or rather God’s plan, was to be led by the Spirit.

When the appointed time for my “sermon” came, I could not move forward. I could not initiate the things I had planned. So I did what any self-respecting neo-Pentecostal pastor should do… I did nothing.

That’s right. I took the microphone stand and a live mic and put it down in front and essentially said, with all the love and sincerity I could express… you do it. Yep, “You do it!”

Oh I gave some direction as to what I believe the Spirit was leading, but one of the most amazing moments happened in twenty years of ministry. We saw Jesus appear, we heard Jesus speak, entirely through the Body and not through an Office.

I obeyed what the Spirit had spoken to my spirit and Unity happened. Continuity flooded the place. Numerous individuals began to share and weep as to what God had been speaking to their hearts. And not surprisingly, a theme was emerging. (Hmmm… could it be The Mystery? You know the one that we’re supposed to be administrators of?)

God began to speak to us, through His Body. And the message was VERY CLEAR. I could not have planned it better and thank God I didn’t.

At the beginning of the year the Lord spoke very clearly to my heart, and I passed it along to the congregation. In essence, I was done “planning” or “casting” vision for THEM. Because in twenty years of being a pastor, I’ve set out many vision plans for many people over many years. And I’ve spent lots of energy and time trying to convince or cajole people into “doing” what I thought they should be “doing” to advance “my” vision for the church, usually to my chagrin. This year the Lord told me… “Just teach them to hear Me.”

Last Sunday was that day. It was a day when God spoke and there was continuity in Spirit and in Truth. Could I say it this way… we were all on the SAME PAGE.

My hope is that we can continue with this “Open Source” of leading, this Body inclusive leading that emanates from the Spirit alone and not from man. May God help me to yield the floor to His Body and His presence.

For all of you holding onto traditional means of leading and doing church, get ready because your paradigm is about to shift. And the only thing stopping it is YOU.

Power to His people! I’ll keep you posted.

Granite's Great But...

It was about ten years ago that my dad died. His passing was nothing less than typical of a cardiac patient with many related health issues. I think it was a stroke that finally took him. That’s what they said.

The winter following his death was challenging and took a bit of time to absorb the fact that he was gone and it wouldn’t be until we are united in heaven someday that I would get another hug. Love you dad. Now I wear Skin Bracer. Maybe my kids will remember that smell too.

We buried him in a small cemetery on the north side of Urbandale, Iowa. It took many months for the headstone marker to be placed. The caretakers of the cemetery told us that they had to let the grave settle. As a matter of fact it was just a dirt pile for the longest time. No grass or anything. That kind of bugged me. It seemed disrespectful in some way, but I finally understood their rationale.

Eventually the stone was set in its proper place. Dad’s name, date of birth and date of death on one side and mom’s name and date of birth on the other. She’s yet living so the date of death is yet to be inscribed. Plus, what do you do with her new married name? I’m happy for you mom and Glenn. Viva Wisconsin!

Anyway, I was thinking about our lives and how when it’s all said and done, there is usually more said than done. Jesus told us to live our lives so that we produced fruit that lasts. That thought has haunted me today.

Not withstanding a wonderful piece of fruit like Chad Schlak, I wonder how much fruit from my dad’s life is still hanging around. By the way, Chad’s on the cusp of his second career as a missionary teacher. Now there’s some lasting fruit. Love to you Edmund, dad would be exceedingly proud.

But really, do any of us have that great of a lasting impact on very many people? In light of how many people live and have lived on this planet, most of us simply pass into eternity with little to no ripples. In just ten short years the concentric circles of my dad’s 67 have all but settled out to a glassy sea that once reflected the mark he was making while alive.

We use granite and stuff like that to make headstones. I guess because it’s supposed to last a long time. But you know what? If no one comes to the stone to clean it or trim the weeds around it, mildew and foliage overcome the only vestige many of us can hope for. Sorry dad, I’ve not stopped by lately.

My point is this: Most of us live our lives not knowing how the story will end. What will our legacy bear? Since our lives are like stories unfolding week in and week out, a question surfaces in my mind. Who’s writing your story? Will our lives be the kind of stories that must be told or read over and over, or will they just be shelved with all the other dime-store-paper-back novels or end up in the “only a nickel” box at an estate sale someday?

I ask my Father to help me write a better story. I ask Him to develop the characters that come and go in my life so that my story becomes a rich and lasting one, because mildew and foliage can’t grow on a good story. As a matter of fact, good stories have a tendency to grow into great stories. Time and poor memories tend to achieve this phenomenon. But in reality, good stories affect how we think and often how we act. Think about that for a moment.

May God help me to leave more than a chunk of granite as my legacy, because granite’s great but… a good living Life story makes far more sense to me. How’s your story coming along?

Role Models and Learning Curves

Forty years ago, I would have never considered terms like role model and learning curve. But as it is, I’m now in deep thought and prayer over both. Let me explain and share some definitions I garnered from Wikipedia.

The term role model first appeared in Robert K. Merton's socialization research of medical students. Merton hypothesized that individuals compare themselves with reference groups of people who occupy the social role to which the individual aspires. The term has passed into general use to mean any "person who serves as an example, whose behavior is emulated by others.

The term learning curve refers to a graphical representation of the changing rate of learning (in the average person) for a given activity or tool. Typically, the increase in retention of information is sharpest after the initial attempts, and then gradually evens out, meaning that less and less new information is retained after each repetition.

Somewhere back in my elementary years, I found great joy in putting together model cars. My favorite brand is shown in the graphic above.

Amongst those of us guys who did the craft, snap together models were the bush-league of the industry. Snap together models required less time and thinking. Not to mention that notorious “glue” that we all had access to. Oh those were the days.

The whole purpose of the craft was to create a representation so true to the original that anyone who looked upon it would be sure to take a second glance and wonder; how did the builder do that?

Now I have to admit I had friends like Tim Erickson and Jim Cunningham who seemed to always be able to make the coolest models. But the joy of just getting a fresh box of parts and taking on the challenge was enough to alleviate any sense of competition or jealousy. Just building the model was an incredible delight.

Now here I am some forty years removed from those model building days and I’m considering the landscape of true model building in our culture. Oh not the kind we used to build, but human models. Models or representations of someone greater than us, yet who we aspire to be like. And can I say, fewer and fewer are making the cut.

It seems that in a world desperately needing quality role models, we’re up against a culture that wants only snap together leaders. We seem to be a culture that cares little about the process of replication. You know, how someone gets to where they are in life and influence. Let’s just crank out another leader and see if anyone follows. Ask P.T. Barnum about that idea. All without attention to detail and accuracy of the One we should ultimately be replicating.

As for learning curves, the principle seems self evident. We seem to all get on the band wagon at first and grab as much info, influence, and inspiration as we possibly can, but then we tend to loose our ability to hold onto little more than our initial grab.

Ergo a church that has become an inch deep and a mile wide. We may be just a few steps behind our present culture.

Here’s my concern: We MUST regain our passion for verbatim emulation of the person of Jesus Christ. And even when we run into the learning curve of the soul, we MUST NEVER give up the intake of the Divine Voice and Vision.

God forbid that we use anyone but Jesus as our role model. And God forbid that we cease learning and growing, just because it gets difficult.

So the next time you look up to someone as a role model, make sure it’s Jesus. And make sure you seek to replicate all His qualities and characteristics. And further, make sure that when the instructions seem a bit daunting, press on, because God promises to accompany us on that learning curve.

Now go build a model. Use real glue and never go for the snap together ones. You’ll be glad you did.

The Ever Increasing Reality of Our Brokenness

(the broker I am the realer I get)

Many years ago I remember looking up on the platform at the pastor of my church. Seeing his dapper appearance and hearing his silver tongued oration made me wonder if I could ever get to heaven, because earlier that week a friend of mine showed me a Playboy magazine and I had yet to memorize any scripture verses from the Bible except John 3:16. So often my grief and catharsis at the altar was over the fact that I felt I could never be worthy enough. I could never be spiritual enough or holy enough. Let alone look or sound as good as my pastor.

Then a few years later I found out the same guy was hosing a lady from the church. That event did two things; 1) it momentarily took the pressure off my attempts at being holy, and 2) it scared the crap out of me because I knew albeit my feet were small (size 8) they were made of clay just like my pastors, but I didn’t have the luxury of hiding them with two hundred dollar wingtips.

Somewhere way back when, the idea of posturing in a holy way or kind of a religious evangelical version of fake it ‘till you make it began to catch on in the circles of people that I was raised with. And that model of doing church or being a Christian worked for a while, until systemic dry rot began to set into the roots and the soul of the church.

Now many years later, I’m realizing that although my feet have not grown, they still are made of clay. I still need a Savior and God still loves me regardless of how holy I appear to those around me.

Granted, I truly desire to model my Lord Jesus Christ in all I do and say, but mark this, I will never measure up to ANY religious standard established by man. I will never be the paragon of virtue that I thought my former pastor was, nor do I ever want to be.

Because here’s the deal: The sooner we get in touch with the fact that we’re all broken and religion can’t fix us, is the sooner we’ll become real to a lost and dying world. Being real in Christ is not about lauding bad behavior or sin, but it is about acknowledging that any and all of my righteousness is like nasty used feminine hygiene products. You know… real biohazard stuff.

What fixes human brokenness is an ongoing friendship with God, based on the shed blood, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ the Lord and facilitated by regular communication with Him. By acknowledging that Christ alone has atoned for my sin and is regenerating me into His image and by acknowledging my complete agreement with Him on all matters – what He says in the Bible and to my heart – this alone becomes the Crazy Glue that will fix all my cracks and yours alike.

Maybe somewhere down the line, should He give us more time, we might just drop the fears and the facades and be real enough to reach a world that is broken and needs fixing. All the while they are hoping that no one finds out they are broke.

Pssst… can I let you in on a little secret? I already know about your feet of clay and I still love you and so does Jesus. Maybe if we just let Him in and let Him make us a sandwich we might finally realize He does love us just as we are. Do you want mayo or mustard on that sandwich? Jesus is waiting.

He alone has the Power to change us. Hmmm… now there’s a load off a pastors heart. I have no power to change the world. All I can do is live the greatest law – LOVE – by the help of the Spirit.

Remember the old saying, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it”? Maybe we should take that thinking out of our religious minds and acknowledge that things really are broke and they do need fixing and Jesus is our only answer.

Stop Scaring Everybody?

Just the other day President Obama used those words in a speech. “Stop Scaring Everybody!” Now he was referring to conservative pundits who were raising some very alarming facts regarding the health care reform issue. I won’t get into a political debate right now, because that is for cooler heads than mine, but I will raise a few points regarding his words. They are indicative of a corrupt and depraved generation.

Does anybody remember the Apostle Paul’s prophetic writings in which he warns Timothy (and us) regarding the last days before the Parousia? It seems to me he wrote of peoples intolerance for truth. As a result, this intolerant population would demonize anyone who taught or held to sound doctrine. They would actually ostracize and ignore the truth.

Sounds like the Presidents words are just one more indication we are moving down the prophetic continuum.

Which raises another thought on repentance; has it become a lost Bible doctrine?

Not only is it a lost doctrine, but also a lost practice. Because we’ve softened the Gospel message, we’ve taken the onus of repentance off the hearer and placed it upon the speaker. That’s right the speaker. We’re the ones having to repent of what we’ve been saying for centuries.

Those of you who stand in the pulpit week in and week out understand what I’m talking about. Especially if you’re close to the Father’s heart and especially if you understand that the clock is ticking.

Isn’t it the truth, today the authority of a Gospel speaker is brought into question, when the speaker “steps on toes” and makes people feel uncomfortable? Because biblical truth can make people uncomfortable or offended, we’re gently told that we need to preach more grace. We’re told that if we offend everyone, we won’t have anyone to preach to, so don’t offend anyone.

But a cursory read of John 6 will reveal that Jesus took great pains at regularly sifting those following Him. As a matter of fact He even said if you really believe in Him and the Father, you would NOT be offended by the criteria He was establishing for Kingdom access.

Many preachers today take out the hard sayings from scripture. They ply a trade of good feelings doctrine, because popularity keeps the coffers full and keeps the followers following. I spent almost 2 full years in a prominent local AG church back in 2001-2002 and not once did I hear a message that included the word REPENT. As a matter of fact, if and when an allusion to repentance or change was found in the text, it was tacitly SKIPPED OVER and the hearers were directed to the dessert at the end of the text.

I raise that example because HOW PEOPLE LIVE and BEHAVE should be indicators of true repentance (Matthew 3:8). Granted, many who find true salvation are simply starting a journey. A journey that requires deep healing, cleansing and deliverance… but in due season CHANGE for the better SHOULD be the results of a life that has embrace God’s THINKING on all matters (repentance).

Because we have multiple generations who now pick and choose biblical truth like it’s some Bible-buffet, we have a generation of church brats that only know how to eat M&M’s and never touch their veggies (you can blame Doug Bryce for my rant).

To end this long post… when you hear our President telling the fact finders to “stop scaring everybody” you can be rest assured that spirit is also in the church.

My thinking is this: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Well it’s not actually mine, but I stand by it. I’d say fear is a pretty good starting place Mr. President. Anyone else?

A Debt of LOVE

Yesterday I posted some thoughts on Entering the Kingdom, debt, priorities, the rich, the poor and lies. This morning I awoke with similar thoughts, but the Lord took my mind back to a passage of scripture that gave me cause to challenge myself and you one more time.

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to LOVE one another, for he who LOVEs his fellowman has fulfilled the law.” (Romans 13:8 NIV)

My take on this passage of scripture is two fold. 1) If at all possible eliminate debt and 2) If you have debt, let it be a LOVE debt.

I think enough wisdom has been disseminated from the professionals regarding our need to be financially debt free, so there should be no standing question about that wisdom, but far less has been said about a LOVE debt.

Why is it that our culture has bought into the lie that financial debt is good and just part of life, all the while thinking that a debt of LOVE is mundane, foolish and at best saccharine and for the weak? It’s likely because true LOVE is so much like God that humanity as a whole marginalizes the art – the Art of God.

The only debt that any of us should look forward to servicing and keeping open is just that The Debt of LOVE. I mean really, can a person ever have enough LOVE, respect and honor? I don’t think so.

Have you ever really sat and pondered the premises of true LOVE? I don’t mean some faux LOVE that operates in the sensualities of life, but I mean genuine LOVE that goes beyond the pleasures of the giver to the entire Shalom of the receiver? When one begins to consider the entire well being of another person or group of persons… that is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to LOVE.

Last Sunday at the conclusion of our weekly service, one of our young ministers had brought the message and I was bringing the benediction. Nathan preached about a coming revolution, a revolution in thought and deed, a revolution that would change the face of the Church as well as the face of our culture; all before the Parousia. I LOVEd what my young friend presented, but as I was about to pray the Lord spoke to my heart and gave me a Word from His lips to my heart. He said, “If you want more… just pour!” (See 1 Kings 17:1-16; 2 Kings 4:1-7 after you finish reading this. Both passages are worth your time and germane to this writing.)

I paused for a moment, seeking to test all things as we’re instructed to do. I was sure He was speaking so I passed along His Word to His people. Amazingly, but not surprisingly the service didn’t end there. There was spontaneous worship and thanksgiving and several other wonderful words of admonition and encouragement were given. After a time of basking in the moment of God’s wisdom and presence, the service ended, but God’s Word DID NOT.

The parallel that we can draw from last weeks Word from heaven and what God woke me for is this. If we will live with an ongoing and outstanding debt of LOVE to everyone we meet and in every circumstance and situation – God the Father WILL provide an unending supply of resource.

Evangelism is far less about 4 Spiritual Laws or a Roman Road or even an EE Outline. As I read it from the Gospels, it looks more like a meal and a friendly glass of wine. As I read it from the Gospels, it looks more like a foot rub and some ointment for the tired feet of a friend. As I read it from the Gospels, it looks more like a confident hug offered to a hurting and broken individual – with zero words exchanged.

My life’s goal is this – LOVE. I know that sounds kinda silly to those who know my ribald humor and my rapier wit (not to mention my loathing of established religion), but I’m not kidding. I firmly believe that we can LOVE people into the Kingdom, but we cannot stop loving them, if and when we find disagreement with their philosophies and values.

Living with a debt of LOVE to a culture that is broken and lost in no way indicates we endorse or agree with said values and conditions, but it does say one thing. While they are yet sinners, we’ve decided to demonstrate LOVE toward them and offer pardon and friendship. For the very act of loving as God LOVEs is true holiness.

And do you know what the Bible says about holiness? Let me quote it for you. “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14 NIV)

For years I thought this passage was subjective and all about my efforts to act “holier than thou” or to put on some posture so that I could eventually get to heaven and “see the Lord”. But that thinking was faulted, for I am saved by grace through faith in Christ alone, not by works of holiness.

Over the years the Lord has revealed His intentions for this passage. Here it is: As I act lovingly toward others, as He acted, they will eventually see that there truly is a God. They will begin to see the Imago Dei in me and just maybe… just maybe… they might believe that He IS. (Hebrews 11:1,6)

So, to conclude my early morning thoughts on debt and LOVE… do everything in your power to eliminate your financial debt. Discipline and determine to be content and godly in all you do, for therein is found great gain. But never ever pay off the Debt of LOVE. For as we service that debt, others begin to see that there really may be a God who LOVEs them and desires a relationship with them. Not just a god who wants their money and will keep them from hell.

Imagine that. I’ve once again broken my promise of short posting, but hey… you gotta LOVE me right? Plus if you’ve read this far, I must have kept your attention.

Agape

Entering the Kingdom

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" (Mark 10:23 NIV)

Take a moment right now and ask yourself if you are rich? Most of us would say no. Most of us might even say by the end of the month, we have more month than money. Unfortunately that’s a fact that is all too common.

But does that indicate that we are poor? Does it indicate that opportunity and the American Dream have slipped through our grasp? Hardly.

About 4 years ago, my wife and I decided to live like no one else, so that someday we could live like no one else (thanks Dave Ramsey). Amazingly enough, little changed in our income streams, but a whole lot changed with our debt ratio.

By determining that we would become debt free (except for our home mortgage)… and that we would continue to live that way… so that someday we would indeed pay off our home mortgage early and retire free and clear… with money in the bank… all on a modest income derived from two self-employment income streams… that goal is coming to pass. All our debts, to include all credit cards, two automobile notes and home equity loan have all been paid off in full. Now cash has become our greatest asset. Not our excellent credit rating.

Why do I bring up the subject of my old thinking versus my new thinking on debt and finances? Because we as American Christians may be fooling ourselves into thinking we have access to the Kingdom of God. Yeah that’s brazen and problematic for many of you readers (the 2 that are out there), but I would contend that because of our lust for stuff and the two lies we believe, we who are rich are actually keeping ourselves from knowing God and letting Him know us.

Let me expound just a bit. Jesus tells us that it is hard for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God (yet with God all things are possible). My contention is that ALL of us here in America are rich, despite how little cash we think we have. If we could understand that by the very lust of our flesh, the pride of life and the lust of our eyes, we may well have shackled ourselves to a destiny far less than God has ordained.

The two lies we believe are “you’re not good enough” and “if you buy this you’ll become good enough”. Madison Avenue has us by the glands and those two lies simply keep us running in circles trying to keep up.

So here’s the rub, we’re all rich, but because we believe the lies, we continue to amass vast amounts of stuff and usually debt goes with it. And as we do, our priorities get all messed up and our ability to do what the rich should do, gets mired down in feigning poverty. All the while we’re so far from being poor it’s pathetic.

Imagine what life would be like with zero debt? Imagine being content as well as being godly? Might I say that the only rich people going to heaven are those who have their priorities in order? I just did.

Most of the people that I know who lament their financial situation simply have too much debt. Whether its consumer debt or they’ve over bought on a mortgage (because they couldn’t imagine living in a home whose square footage is under 2000) or they are too ashamed to have rust on their quarter panels or worst of all they don’t know how to say “no” to themselves or their children. Regardless of the specific reason, debt is killing us, nationally and personally.

The way that it’s killing us is by causing we who are rich, to think we are poor. And because we think we are poor, we think God should feel sorry for us and benevolently step in and offer us some sort of divine bankruptcy opportunity or at least a stimulus package, all the while we are rich, but we’ve simply over spent.

Does Laodicea ring a bell? Maybe we should acknowledge that our wealth has gotten us into trouble and we need to get back to the most important things in life and eternity – loving God and loving each other.

Then maybe, just maybe we will be assured of Entering the Kingdom.

Now go and ask yourself if your debt has affected how you live for Jesus? Are you giving like you should? Are you serving like you should? Or are you consumed with servicing the lust behind your debt?

It’s worth looking into.