Just An Ordinary Girl

I hope you are enjoying a wonderful season of Advent. I am enjoying this countdown to Christmas, but I find myself fighting the same battle every year. I struggle ever year to not get caught up in the busyness of all I have to do. I must discipline myself to remember that the parties, the gifts, the programs, and the lights all point to a moment in time in which God came near. Everything we are engaged in as we prepare for December 25 points to God’s answer of Isaiah’s prayer:

O that you would tear the heavens and come near… (Isaiah 64:1)

One night in an unsuspecting Judean town, God did come near. He came so close, in fact, that a young mother in Bethlehem was able to wrap Him up in swaddling clothes and kiss His face.

Take a moment and re-read Luke 1-2. I invite you to hear the story of that young mother. I invite you into her world. We don’t know much of her other than the limited details that appear in the Christmas narratives and a handful of references throughout the Gospels. However, the more I think about Mary and her role as theotokos, or “God bearer”, I want to know her more. I want the kind of faith that would submit to this mysterious plan of God to save the world.

We forget Mary’s side of the story. We forget: that which ultimately would save the world turns Mary’s world upside down. Even though the angel's message rocks Mary's world, she displays a faith that is OK with that whatever God wants to do. May we confess with Mary:

May it be to me as you have said. (Luke 1:38)

This is the confession of an ordinary girl with extraordinary faith.

Good News and Bad

How many of you have ever had someone say to you: “Well, I’ve got good news and bad news. Which one do you want first?” When someone begins a conversation with me that way I get nervous. I imagine we all squirm in anxiety when it’s our doctor, banker, attorney or accountant who is beginning a conversation that way. I’ve found that the order in which we hear these tidings does not matter. Sometimes they cancel one another out, but most of the time the bad news trumps the good.

As a pastor charged with the responsibility of preaching the Word of God, I’ve got good news and bad news. Which do you want first? Do you want to hear about the economic crisis, the unemployment rate, the famines and food shortages in the world, and the recent death of family members that have touched our congregation?

OR…

Do you want to hear the Good News? Do you want to hear that there is one coming? Do you want to hear that God has a plan? Do you want to join the millions upon millions that have gone before us who have dared to believe that God’s Good News will trump all the bad? Like John the Baptist in the wilderness, I have some Good News to share with you. There is one coming who will baptize us with the Holy Spirit and with fire. In the hustle of this season, I pray we recognize him.

Everything Beautiful

Beauty is all around us. Since moving to Arkansas, I have enjoyed the natural beauty of this place. One of my favorite places to run is the Crystal Bridges nature trail. In addition to the trail, we’ll now be able to enjoy the beauty of the art contained within the museum. There is certainly a lot of ‘pomp and circumstance’ associated with the opening of this facility. It might be the understatement of the year to say: “Our community is very excited.”

As we welcome the opening of this landmark, I’m reminded that beauty is a gift from God. In the beginning God created all things good and they are for His glory. The earth is the Lord’s canvas, and every now and then he will paint a masterpiece in a morning sky or an evening sunset. Moreover, his works of art are sometimes as subtle as a wildflower or an infant’s first smile. These divine expressions of beauty remind us that, “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) As Bentonville becomes the center for American art, I pray that we continue to be a people who display God’s handiwork and the beauty of holiness in our character, our conduct and our worship.

Well Done!

“Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” I’ve always wondered what it would be like to hear our Lord speak those words. Yesterday as I was gathered with friends and family, I believe my heart overheard Jesus speak that commendation to our dear friend, Mary Coleman. The scripture promises that those who are faithful in this life will be welcomed into the life to come with that special greeting. I can’t imagine anyone more deserving of our Lord’s affirmation than Mary.

As many of you who attend BNAZ already know, Mary went to be with Jesus yesterday around 1:40 PM. It is an understatement to say we will miss her. It is NOT an overstatement to say she has impossible shoes to fill. Her ministry and service to this church were simply amazing. Countless numbers of people have been changed and impacted through the selfless and kind service of Mary Colman to Christ and his Church. She served quietly, and many times her work was behind the scenes. Only in light of eternity will we ever be able to fully know how many people were influenced by her thoughtful encouragement, her diligent labor, her servant’s heart and faithful stewardship of all God’s gifts to her.

We are saddened by her loss. However, we can take great comfort in knowing that our faith in Christ that sustains and nourishes us throughout our life is the same faith that promises a transformation of these mortal bodies into ones that are eternal and imperishable. Resurrection is the foundation of our shared Christian hope. The apostle Paul said it like this:

For our perishable earthly bodies must be transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die. (I Corinthians 15:53)

A viewing is scheduled at our church for Monday, September 26, from 6-8 PM. A celebration of her life will be held at the church on Tuesday, September 27 at 10 AM.

Please keep Jim, John, Susie, Paula, Mike, Erin, Kelsie, Kylie and Bethany in your prayers during this time.

This Sunday we will have Worship and Life Groups as usual. I hope you’ll join us in the Lord’s house this weekend. I think it’s important that we worship together as a church family and allow the presence of the Holy Spirit bind us up, strengthen us, and encourage us during this time of loss. We grieve, but thankfully, we do not grieve as those without hope. Our hope is in the Lord!

Until He's Finished,

Pastor Mark

The Blueprint

If you were to build a house, I'm not the man to call for help. My father instilled within me a fear of power tools when I was 5, and I still haven't quite recovered from his detailed description of what would happen if I touched a spinning blade. Suffering from ergalilektriphobia (fear of power tools) is something my boys will never struggle with...I don't own any. (Check that...Lauren has a drill she uses to put up curtains) And somehow, an individual who has no experience in building anything is charged with the task of building our church. Perhaps this is what Paul meant when he wrote to the Corinthians, "God chose the foolish things of the world." (1:27).

Building Christ's church in Bentonville is something I'm a little better suited for. It's also something I am very excited about and honored to do. Over the next 4 weeks I'm going to be sharing a series of messages from the book of Ephesians entitled, "The Blueprint." Here in Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus, he outlines some things that I believe function as God's blueprint for building and strengthening the Church. The blueprint is centered around Paul's description of Christ as the cornerstone and foundation upon which everything else is built:

"In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit." (Ephesians 2:21-22)

With Christ as the cornerstone of our lives and of our church, I hope we can rise to become the spiritual dwelling place of God in our community. For our church to become all that God has designed and purposed it to be, I pray that believers would become disciples. For this to happen, we as a church must embrace the blueprint we find in Ephesians. I hope you'll join us on this journey.

August 21 - Everyone Needs a Plan, Ephesians, 2:14-22

August 28 - Made to Worship, Ephesians 4:1-6

September 4 - Saved to Grow, Ephesians 4:7-16

September 11 - Called to Serve, Ephesians 4:7-16 & Luke 9:1-9

Click this link to see a video about The Blueprint at BNC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oupdOFO_0M

I look forward to seeing you in worship as we build Christ's church together!

Until He's Finished,

Pastor Mark

This Sunday at Church

I hope all of you enjoyed a great Independence Day. I know I did. Luke has added "firecracker" "loud" and "hot" to his vocabulary thanks to the robust celebration of freedom that went on late into the night last Sunday and Monday night.

As I reflected upon some of the values of our country, it dawned on me that our freedom of religion is something very foreign to the world of the Bible. The culture in which the Bible was written, particularly in John's day when he wrote Revelation, was hostile toward religions that did not include allegiance to Rome and the Emperor. In fact, it was very common for Roman citizens to say "Caesar is Lord." The Church in Smyrna understood the incompatibility of having two Lords. One could not be loyal to Rome and confess that "Caesar was Lord," and in the same breath confess "Jesus as Lord." As a result, they were persecuted.

The Risen Lord has a word of encouragement for those that remained faithful in the face of suffering. I believe he has a word of encouragement for us as well. We will never know what it's like to suffer for our faith the way that church in Smyrna did 2,000 years ago, and I doubt we will ever know first-hand of what it's like to suffer the way believers in China do today. That doesn't mean, however, that we are immune to suffering, adversity and trials from Satan. The assault on our soul takes many shapes and forms. Perhaps you need to be reminded that God is in control and that he has a plan?

I hope to see you Sunday...the Risen Christ has a word of encouragement for You!

Pastor Mark

A Weekend of Fasting and Transformation

I missed my day to post due to planning and running the 30hr Famine. Sorry about that.....

As I prepared for this wonderful and tiring event, I was drawn to Isaiah 58.

Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Announce to my people their rebellion, to the house of Jacob their sins. Yet day after day they seek me and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments, they delight to draw near to God. "Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?" Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day, and oppress all your workers. Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high. Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.

Its easy to think very highly of one's self when one is doing something like fasting in public. Jesus seemed to have words to say about this that echo Isaiah's. And yet, the 30hr Famine is not about drawing attention to those who fast. Rather, it is about those who fast getting the attention of as large a group as possible, and then directing that attention away from themselves, and onto those who need justice, freedom, release, those who go to bed hungry night after night, using all of their energy merely trying not to starve. This weekend 42 teens from BNC and Rogers gathered together for the purpose of helping those in need. In the process they learned a little bit about what it means to be hungry, and they also had a really good time. As of right now, your teens raised enough money to feed 14 hungry people in Malawi for all of next year. That's two years in a row that we've accomplished that. They've done more than just dole out money, though. This weekend our teens were confronted with God's message of justice, of jubilee, and they were presented with the opportunity to be a part of the change that God wants to render in the world. You see God is always on the side of the poor, the oppressed, and the hungry. In a small way, our teens offered food to the hungry and satisfied the needs of the afflicted. In doing so, I caught a glimpse of them that looked less like a group of teens, and more like a "watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail." I hope they saw that in each other, and in themselves. I'm very proud of our teens, and you should be too.

Lord, may your light rise in the darkness, and may you chase away the gloom that is global poverty, and make it become like the noonday sun.

Keeping the "High"

Easter is my favorite holiday…partly because I was born on Easter. As Easter is a rotating holiday, it has only landed on my birthday three times but each time has made a definite and poignant mark in life. There is something amazing that happens at Easter. There’s an energy and excitement that radiates within our lives. We shout and declare, “Christ is Risen Indeed”!

For the last few days, I have heard many comments praising our preteens on their performance on the black light routine. They shared how this performance was memorizing, moving and dynamic. They shared how the Holy Spirit has impacted them throughout this performance and how significant it had been to demonstrate the power of Jesus’ resurrection. And I say, “Amen to that!”

First off, “Thank you preteens for leading us in such a transformational way. You ministered to us beyond our greatest expectations. You helped us experience the Jesus’ narrative in a way that drew us into the story and respond to the glory of God as we declared together, ‘Arise, Jesus, my Lord is alive!’”

However with all these comments it made me stop and think…how long will this last? We speak of mountaintop experiences and many of us recognize we can’t live in this extreme. But how can we take this spiritual “high” we experienced on Sunday and continue to allow it to resonate and affect us with a power that energizes us throughout the following days, weeks and even year?

Reading Wednesday’s gospel reading, John 15:1-11, I am reminded that it is our actions that energize us. “I am the vine and you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). It is living out the resurrection that continues to give us the “high.” It isn’t a church service, it isn’t a specific pastor; it isn’t a class or even a great performance.

It is living out the hope of Jesus Christ through each relationship we develop, through each way we give back to those around us, throughout our community and throughout the world. It’s how respond to social justice issues and the equal treatment of all persons. Its waking up each moment affirming that they only way to respond to the new life, new freedom you have received through Christ is through loving God and loving others. And when you make a choice to do this, you choose to live in the resurrection, in the moment—all of a sudden you’ll find that you can live with a “high” that never fades. Because it’s when you “do” and bear the fruit of the resurrection that you are able to experience the life that energizes and radiates and lasts to infinity and beyond…

Good Friday…Not Just a Catholic Thing

*Warning: This post is slightly longer than intended. Read on though – it will do you good! ☺

Many reading this blog are new to Good Friday. For many, when they hear Good Friday, the immediate thought is, “that’s a ‘Catholic thing.’” Well, I’m here to tell you that it is so much more than that – it is a Christ-follower thing. And therefore, it’s a thing for you.

Roman Catholics have made many mistakes and done many things wrong over the years: The Crusades, indulgences, The Inquisition, Mariology, and that’s not to mention some of the many contemporary problems that plague the Roman church, such as clergy abuse scandals, to name only one. We are right to be critical of these things. (But remember, some of these things are our history too, as Protestants trace their theological roots to Roman Catholicism. And, we too have many, many problems, including clergy abuse scandals – we just aren’t as organized and therefore don’t get as much publicity.) And yet, these things do not define, but rather they mar the Roman Catholic Church. Personally, I have many Roman Catholic friends and acquaintances that put my faith and life to shame. I admire them, and their faith. And yes, I disagree with them on certain points as well! But this is not a defense of Roman Catholicism. Rather, I want to say a little about the importance of Good Friday.

Good Friday has been faithfully practiced by the church for as long as there has been a Church. Remember that movie The Passion? (I don’t recommend watching it more than once….) Well, it’s a version of the travelling passion plays that early followers of Jesus would put on in order to share the Gospel. In fact, many scholars believe that some of the gospel narratives in the NT (Mark in particular) are descendant from these early travelling evangelistic shows. The Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church (in all its variants), the Anglican Church, the Episcopal Church, the Lutheran Church, and the Methodist Church, all faithfully remember and celebrate Good Friday each year. And yes, that means that John Wesley would have personally officiated or participated in many such services. These services were essential to the early Methodists who pursued religious revival through their Methodist bands, or small groups. Good Friday has a long, rich, history, that for some is celebrated each year, and for some, like many of us, is being rediscovered out of the depths of our ecclesial heritage.

Put simply, Good Friday is the day each year, when Christians around the world remember the crucifixion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Truly this was the darkest day in history. Jesus – the Messiah – the Christ – our Savior – was murdered, and not just by the Romans, and not just by the Jews, but rather it was both – Jew and Gentile alike that killed Jesus on that fateful day. In other words, all of humanity participated, and so, “all we like sheep have turned away, each has turned to her own way, and the Lord has laid the iniquity of us all upon Him” - we all have blood on our hands. So far, not so good, huh?

And yet, this is precisely what is so good about Good Friday. The day itself would have been terrifying, painful, confusing, or worse. Saturday, would have possibly been even worse still. But then came Sunday, and when that stone was rolled away, and the Angel of the Lord appeared to the two Marys the events of Friday were put into context, and that context was good – it was very good.

On Good Friday, we learn that God, who is not the creator of darkness, can nonetheless use darkness – even the darkest darkness – to bring about the most radiant light. My hope is that if you’re willing to embrace the darkness of Good Friday (Ash Wednesday is sort of a primer for Good Friday…..) then you will be able to better understand and appreciate the Light of Life that shines out for all to see on Easter Sunday.

Church, we have no choice, if we are to truly call ourselves followers of Christ, but to go with Him to the cross, and into the darkness. We do that today – but we do so, fortunately, with the knowledge that the darkness cannot and did not hold Him – and that means it cannot and will not hold us either! And that is very Good indeed!

Passover

One of my favorite things about Holy Week is Maundy Thursday. I love the mystery of this day. Can you imagine being in the upper room with Jesus as he began officiate a traditional Passover meal and reinvent it in a new contextual medium. I love how this meal became a tangible way for Jesus’ disciples to respond to God’s invitation and to experience God’s love in such a sacrificial manner. I love how we are able to experience something in this moment that connects us with one another in a deep and personal way which we fully can’t even articulate. Yet we are fully aware of how this meal bonds and unites us together not just with one another in our church but with all people throughout the world in the past, present and future.

Last night, I had the privilege of leading our children and families in a Messianic Passover. It was a joy to watch children as young as Grace Springer and Paul Snodgrass interact with other children and adults as each person responded and retold the Passover narrative. It was a beautiful sight to watch us all prepare and participate in the rituals-tasting and holding different elements, reflecting and remembering how God has redeemed and delivered us. And it was awe-inspiring to hear us all recite various prayers and blessings together as we shouted out our dependence and praises to Adonai our God.

While we often assume that a Passover meal is only a Jewish tradition, I am reminded how even more significant and powerful this meal can be in the context of Jesus’ saving, self-giving sacrificial death and resurrection. It was a powerful reminder of how I can tangibly experience and re-live a part of the Jesus’ journey toward the cross. And this imagery will last with me long after the close of this Easter week because through this meal I was able to not only experience but participate with and live out Jesus’ missional vision of redeeming all humanity.

Play Ball!

I played baseball in high school. I wasn't great, but I wasn't terrible. I was just a middle-of-the-road pitcher/infielder who could get a curveball over for a strike, make a half-way accurate throw across the diamond from third base and lay down a pretty decent sacrifice bunt when called upon to do so. My greatest baseball skill, however, was my ability to keep a neat and precise scorebook. I know how to record a 6-4-3 DP, a 5-3 PO, and an E-9 with the best of them. Trust me…I had plenty of opportunities to "keep the book." (For those of you who don't speak 'baseball,' that means I wasn't in the starting lineup. Unfortunately, one cannot play the game and keep score at the same time, which means I didn't get too excited when my coach said, "Hey Mark, can you do me a favor?")

I remember trying out for an American Legion team and making it to the last round of cuts. Before the coach cut me he called me over and said, "Snodgrass, you know there's only one thing keeping you from playing college baseball…talent." I went home that evening and gave up my dream of playing 2^nd base for the Chicago Cubs. Like the sons of Zebedee leaving their nets to follow Jesus, I left my glove at the ballpark and became a fisher of men…or something like that. At least I turned pro in something.

I hated facing #15 from Sumter Christian. I don't remember his name, but I can tell you he was left-handed and used an Easton "Black Magic" bat. I wish I could say he was using performance enhancers, but the truth is he wasn't fooled in the least by my 63 mph slide-piece. My 75 mph fastball wasn't too intimidating either. He always hit me well, but the last game we played @Sumter he hit 2 home runs off me that still haven't landed. Seriously, NASA has confirmed those baseballs are orbiting Mars at this point. I think everyone in the lineup knocked me around that day, but those were by far the longest home runs I had ever given up.

I think about facing #15 and a passage of scripture from this week's reading jumps out at me. Remember how Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead? How can you forget, right? The religious authorities and those who opposed Jesus were very disturbed by this. You might say they hated facing Lazarus. Jesus had used his death to hit for the cycle and as a result, many people were coming to believe in Jesus. We read this in John 12:

"So the chief priests make plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him." (John 12:11-12)

I read that this week and thought about how Lazarus was the kind of guy the enemy didn't want to face. His life…and death…and life again brought honor and glory to God to the point that the enemies of Jesus wanted him dead…again!

I want the kind of player the powers of darkness are worried about facing. I want the enemy of my soul to know that every time my spot in the lineup comes up it's going to be trouble.

But before I get too carried away, I have to ask myself, "What did Lazarus do that made him such a threat in God's starting lineup?" The answer might surprise you. I know it did me. Very simply, Lazarus died. It was his weakness, his illness and ultimately his death that gave Jesus the opportunity to call him out of the tomb. This miracle of all miracles drew many people to faith in Christ, but Lazarus had to die so that Jesus could bring glory to the Father and draw others to faith.

I still want to be the kind of follower the devil hates to face. However, as I hold the scriptures up to my life and see the truth of who I am apart from Christ, I'm reminded that there's only one thing keeping me from being that kind of disciple…talent.

"Lord, as we die with you, may our sin, our failures, our selfishness die as well. In dying with you, may you raise us to new life so that we would be the kind of person that brings glory to you and draws others to faith. Amen."

Play ball!

Things Are Not Always As They Appear

Have you ever met someone and because of their first impression decided that this was a person you wanted to be associated with? Or worse yet, have you ever met a person and decided immediately that you didn’t want to associate with this person because of what you interpreted to be their true personality?

I have multiple times. I have met people over the years and immediately decided that we were going to be great friends. Truth be told, something happened in the course of our friendship that hurt the relationship often because I dove too deeply, too quickly without finding out everything about that person. I’ve also made the decision that I was not going to like someone when I first met them only to find out that I was totally wrong. I had prejudged them and I had not given them a chance. Honestly, out of the two scenarios, I am more sad about the latter; I hurt another person because I had not given them a chance.

As we begin Holy Week, I can’t help but wonder what was going on in the heads of the people in the crowd and in the heads of the disciples. Picture Jesus getting ready to go into Jerusalem. Was he full of excitement or full of apprehension? Picture the disciples following Jesus and hanging on His every word and action. And picture the large number of people who are in the city of Jerusalem. There must have been a sense of excitement and a sense of relief that their lives were about to change. Or so they thought. In their minds, the King that they have been hearing about for generations was finally here. This King was going to swoop in and save the day.
I can’t help but wonder what was going on in Jesus’ head as well. He knows that these people are expecting Him to take care of everything. He knows that in many ways, He will disappoint them because what Jesus knows as “taking care of everything” is not the same as what the crowd thinks. He knows that some of the very people that are celebrating His entry into Jerusalem will be the same ones that will turn their backs on Him in his deepest hour of need.

It saddens me when I think about those in my life that I have misjudged. I was willing to dismiss what was deep down because of what I thought I saw on the surface. Did those in the crowd feel the same way when they saw Jesus being tried, beaten and forced to endure great pain carrying his own cross? Did they question why Jesus didn’t just call down a legion of angels to do battle for him? Did they question if Jesus for the “real deal”? Were they willing to go with the crowd because of fear? Peter was. Remember he denied Christ three times.

I wonder if I would have been in that group as well. I wish that I could say that I would see beneath the surface but I’m not sure if I really would. I’ve misjudged before. As I begin this week that will prove to be a week of many emotions, I pray that I will take the time to see people and situations as they truly are; not as they appear to be.

Will you?

So How's Your Lenten Fast Going

You may or may not know this about me, but for many, many years I waited tables. For example, while living in Kansas City, I worked at the Rainforest Café for a year (one of my least favorite restaurant experiences!) and The Cheesecake Factory for three. I enjoyed the latter much more than the former! Typically, I took all my classes all day and night on Monday and then Tuesday night, which allowed me to work Tuesday through Saturday during the day at The Cheesecake Factory. And yes, I worked different church jobs (without pay) on top of all that!
Anyway, during Lent I often am reminded of the funny reactions I would get from people on Fridays when I would tell them the specials. The soup was always Clam Chowder, and we also had a fish of the day. More often than I can count, a person would act disinterested in the specials, and then, as if suddenly struck by some small and painful object in their neck, they would crane their neck and exclaim, "Ohhhhhhh...... I almost forgot, it's Friday, so I can't have meat." Then, having just barely remember their Lenten ball and chain, they would proceed to half-heartedly order something that they would assure me, they were not very interested in. (Now, they would almost always end up enjoying their lunch....it was The Cheesecake Factory after all, but that's beside the point.) Lent, and their Christian beliefs in general, was a burden, rather than a blessing. For these folks, the Lenten fast was not about giving something up, or making sacrifices, in order to intentionally pursue a closer walk with Jesus. Rather, it was just a stale tradition. I don't know how many times I wanted to say, "Listen, as a pastor and a theologian, just order whatever kind of meat you want, because you've clearly missed the whole point, and you're not getting anything out of this!" Rest assured, I kept my thoughts to myself!

But now I won't.

If I might be so bold, how's your Lenten fast going? Has it been beneficial? Have you been able to find time and motivation to spend more time in prayer, more time studying Scripture, more time serving, more time seeking forgiveness? If the answer to one or more of these questions is "yes," then congratulations, keep it up! Or, has it been annoying, tedious, frustrating, or simply unpleasant? Be honest. If your answer to this second set of questions is "yes" then perhaps you need to refocus, or perhaps you need to give up the fast. A Lenten fast, though perhaps difficult, and certainly sacrificial, is meant to be fulfilling, and rewarding. It is meant to help you to draw nearer to Jesus. You won't be able to do this if you are constantly frustrated.

Don't forget, fasting for Lent is not in Scripture, Jesus didn't command it to His disciples, nor is it commandment #11 given to Moses, on Monty Python's infamous third tablet. You don't have to do it, and you don't get extra points for doing it either. I think you will find, however, that a Lenten fast is a great way of refocusing, of getting your priorities straight, and of embracing a life of sacrifice - which is after all, a big part of discipleship. You give up some things to follow Christ - but you gain so much more.

So, you've got about a week left of your Lenten fast. Facebook, meat, diet coke, coffee, talking, texting, whatever you've chosen to give up, I want to challenge you to really make the most of it this last week. Your fast is a chance to remember that God has a call on your life - that you are called to live differently. Seen from this perspective, I would think that the person in the restaurant should have said, "Oh yeah, it's Lent and so I get to shake up my diet for a while to remember just how blessed I am in the first place, and that every good gift comes from God the Father above - and that includes food!"

"For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased. The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." - Psalm 51:16-17

Did He Mean to Say That?

I'm not sure he realized what he was saying.

This week we studied the story of Lazarus in John 11. So much of that story revolves around Jesus' decision to stay in Judea an additional 2 days, a delay that ultimately resulted in the death of Lazarus, brother of Mary and Martha and beloved friend of Jesus. Upon revealing to the disciples that Lazarus had passed, Jesus summoned the disciples to accompany him to Bethany, a trip that was perilous in light of Jesus' enemies in that area who had tried to stone him. There was also much about this trip that now seemed pointless since Lazarus was already dead. Wasn't it Jesus who had previously said, "Let the dead bury their own dead"???

That's when he said what he said:

 

"Let us also go that we may die with him." (Thomas the Twin, John 11:16)

 

"What did you mean by that, Thomas?" This statement has always puzzled me. This is the first of 3 statements from Thomas in John's account. All three times Thomas gets a few lines in this drama they are unique to say the least, as evidenced by his encounter with the risen Christ that earns him the title, "Doubting Thomas." It's hard not to read the skepticism of John 20 into this statement to his fellow disciples. Was he being skeptical? Was he being sarcastic? Was he being pessimistic? This statement may have been a combination of all three. Upon further reflection, I'm not sure he realized what he was saying, however, it was a mouth-full.

Jesus' raising of Lazarus would be the last straw for those that opposed him. John 11 concludes with the opponents of Jesus plotting his arrest and execution. Ironically, the raising of Lazarus results in the death of Jesus. Jesus' promise that this "sickness will not end in death, but it is for God's glory…" is prophetic. God will be glorified through the raising of Lazarus, but infinitely more glory is displayed in the death and resurrection of Jesus – events made possible by Jesus' ill-advised trip to Bethany.

Whether he knew it or not, Thomas is inviting us to experience the death and resurrection of Jesus. Let us go and "die" with Christ.
I wasn't sure why a professor wanted to read a portion of my paper out loud, but that's what happened one day after we had turned in a final project in a class on the Synoptic Gospels. In the paper, I had offered a few comments on an enigmatic statement of Jesus and hadn't given that section of the paper a 2^nd thought – that is until our professor decided to pour effusive praise on my exposition of the text and commend my "creative approach." To make a long story short, that which the professor thought was so great about my paper was actually the complete opposite of what I had intended. Thanks to my poor writing, I conveyed in the paper a polar opposite of what I had intended in my mind. I got an "A" on the paper. However, I was reminded that my academic skills and golf game could both be described by this simple adage: "Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then."

Like Thomas, I had no idea what I was actually saying. The 20^th Century Martyr, Dietrich Bonheoffer said, "when Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die." I wonder if he ever studied Thomas in John 11? It sure looks like it. Whether Thomas knew it or not, that's essentially what he says to his fellow disciples and to us: "Let us also go that we may die with him."
Following Jesus couldn't get any clearer than that.

Growth

Have you ever had a chance to watch something grow?

Sometimes we forget to notice the little steps of growth that take place en route to a finished product - be it a person, a project, or something else. Growth is sometimes hard to monitor. When it is recognized, it is sometimes beautiful and meaningful, but it can also be awkward, and even painful. For this reason, we often want to skip over growth altogether to the finished product. To do so, however, is to miss out on all the good stuff. (Its also quite unrealistic!)

This past week I've been thinking about growth - a lot! The seeds I've planted in our little raised bed gardens are beginning to poke out of the ground, forcing me to not only water them, but also to prune out some of the shoots, in order that a healthy plant will grow. It's painful to cut a healthy little shoot. What did it do wrong? I planted it, didn't I? But the reality is, if two shoots are growing in the same spot, failure to prune back one, will result in two weak plants. Pruning one, however, will result in one strong plant. And so, I prune....
I've also been thinking of my little baby girl who is growing right now. We get emails every week, comparing her growth to the most ridiculously random vegetables and fruits, all for the sake of trying to convey her growth to us. (One even said she was the size of a Sock Monkey this week!) This week we also read that our little girl has finally grown to the size that she would be capable of living were she to come early. Wow, what an amazing thought! (But let's hope she stays put for a few more months!)
And finally, this week, I've been thinking a lot about your growth, about the growth of the congregation of BNC. How can we fulfill our call and commission to make disciples of all the nations? Who is a disciple, and how does one go about making one? What do we need to prune, and what do we need to water? Are we content with what we're doing, or are we ready to journey further up and further in (a favorite expression of mine from C.S. Lewis) with Jesus?
One of my primary jobs at BNC is to shape and guide our efforts at discipleship. I must be honest, for various reasons, I haven't been able to concentrate as much of my attention to that aspect of my job as I would have liked over the past year or so. Now that I am able to, I've been seized by how serious a responsibility that is, and how much work we have to do. Discipleship - your growth (and mine) into the image of our Lord - is one of, if not the, biggest responsibility I have as a pastor. I take that very seriously. We are a church full of disciples, but we must take seriously the call to discipleship, and we must pursue that call with all of our strength, determination, and focus. Discipleship is a never-ending journey. Discipleship is to be our number one priority. This week, I've been spending a lot of time thinking about how we can make that focus a reality.

A few years ago I had the opportunity to be the Interim Pastor for a wonderful group of people in a small town in New Mexico. While there, I preached a sermon series on the Letter of James. While studying James' Epistle to the scattered faithful, the rich, organic imagery struck me. In particular I was drawn to the image that the followers of Christ are to be the "first fruits of the Kingdom (James 1:18, et al....). The followers of Christ, you and me, are to be the first fruits of God's heavenly Kingdom on this Earth. What a wonderful image!

And so, we've come full circle: growth. Growing seeds, growing people, growing disciples. Watering, pruning, discipleship.

Let's not skip over all the small little moments of growth. Let's not ignore the painful moments and only focus on the joyous ones. Let's savor the journey, and let's be intentional about where our destination is, and why we're trying to get there.

May you form us, dear Lord, into your faithful people.

Ashes to Ashes

This week the saying, “from ashes you came and ashes you will return,” took on a new meaning for me. On Monday morning, my great aunt Donna Johnston passed away and with this death I have been thinking about what it means to become ashes. Ashes have no distinguishing color, characteristic or even design. (I mean have you ever heard of people making ash-flakes?) Basically ashes are simply a grey pile of nothingness. They are completely undistinguishable from another lump of ashes.

And yet the in-between time, between ashes to ashes, there is life, variety, creativity, individuality. We are created out of the same elements but through God’s breath and design we were created to live and respond differently. And during our short amount of time on this Earth, we have the opportunity to express ourselves in new and poignant ways.

Working with kids I am reminded of how much we (as a culture) are influenced to look or act a certain way. Oftentimes, children and teens struggle with fitting into a certain mold or expectation. We struggle with wanting to be the “same,” to really look undistinguishable from the other “popular” ones. And yet as I have been contemplating my aunt’s death I am reminded that we all return as ashes.

We begin and end the same.

Yet in the middle we were created to be different. Romans 12:6 tells us that “we have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.” I am reminded of beautiful snowflakes crafts. They all begin with the same white paper and scissors. Yet when each child finishes, no two look the same. We aren’t created to hide or conform our uniqueness. Instead we have the opportunity, no responsibility, to lead with them. Because once our time is over, it is to ashes we return.

I am reminded this week of my uniqueness, of the gifts God has blessed me with and the ability to create a unique impact on this world. I am reminded of how easy it is to want to live on autopilot or to try to conform to a certain pattern of expectations for living. Yet, this is the time I have. This is the time I have to make a difference. This is the time I have to demonstrate what it means to fully love God and others through every aspect of my being. This is our time. May we be challenged to live boldly this week as we seek to express ourselves through living out the great commandment in our own uniqueness.

Is Anyone Listening?

Hello? Is anybody out there? …

Do you ever feel like you don’t have a voice, or at least a voice that is being heard and understood?

"Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.” Isaiah 1:17.

God calls us to make a difference. But to make a difference, we must start by listening to who is crying out. This week, I had the privilege of attending a two day training for not-for-profit leaders. I sat around the table with staff members and board members from various nonprofit organizations in NWA. Some of these organizations are chapters of a larger organization. One organization is governed by the mayor and city council. And some of the organizations are stand alone entities which target specific needs in the community. I saw people who are passionate about the poor, the hungry, the under-educated, those who have been removed from their caregivers for one reason or another, and for the many people in our area with varying special needs.

At one point of the training, we were talking about how easy it is to become tired or burned out because the needs far outweigh what any one organization can handle. As the group started to have its own little pity party, one of the staff members made the statement that because of how their organization is set up, they rarely get to see if they make a difference in the lives of the children they serve. After a few minutes, I spoke up. I let them know on behalf on my family, they truly were making a difference in the lives of those that they serve. I continued by telling them … “The Children’s Shelter” … that my own children benefitted from their love and care before they came to live with us and eventually adopted into our family. What an awesome feeling to be able to share our personal story with the people who helped save two small boys.

Why am I writing this in the BNC blog? Every day we look around and see people who have needs … who are crying out for help. There are people who need help with finances. There are people who need help with food, clothing, utilities, and other basic necessities that most of us take for granted. There are people who need help with their relationships. And of course, there are those who need help with their spiritual lives. I am proud to be part of a church that is serious about making a difference. I’ve seen the food pantry buzzing with people. I’ve seen people willing to step out and offer free counseling. I’ve seen backpacks filled and children sent home with snacks to keep them from being hungry on the weekends. I’ve watched 100 women and men cry when a mother and her daughter was presented with Christmas presents and an entire nursery.

Are we always listening? Do we always hear the cries? No, not always but we get better each and every day.

Don’t think what you are doing is not making a difference in the lives of others.

It is …

De-Connecting

Let me just begin by saying that I am not the exemplar of simplicity. No, I have far too many gadgets, and I have too many cares and concerns (many of which are selfish) to be your example in the ways of simplicity. That being said, I do try. Lauren and I try our best to live fairly simple lives, to be content, and to keep our lives free and clear of excess baggage. This means consistently analyzing our lives, and our belongings, in light of our mild pursuit of simplicity. Lately, I've been doing a lot of analyzing and contemplating what I want my life to look like as we prepare for the birth of our little girl. I've been analyzing the few bills we have (yes, we're contemplating getting rid of cable - I've even contemplated getting rid of our TV's, but I'm just not quite ready for that!) and one of the things I keep going back to is our Wii. The Wii is fun - really fun! My Wii and most of the accessories were gifts given to me over the last few years, and I've loved it! But that being said, I haven't played it in six months (or more). Likewise, though I enjoy it, I don't really want to play it. I'd rather be reading a book, or watching a movie, or doing something with Lauren that will allow us to talk to one another.
So, this week I put my Wii up for sale on eBay. Big news right? Maybe not, but I can honestly tell you that there was quite an internal struggle going on as I held the controller in my hand, debating whether or not to go through with deleting off my information and reformatting the hard drive - the point of no return.
You see, your stuff, or mine at least, calls to you. It begs for your attention, to be a priority. It tells you that you have every right to own it, to enjoy it, and to cling to it. But sometimes, the best thing you can do with your stuff is to give it away, or to sell it, thus de-cluttering and de-connecting from one of your many gadgets.
I have many gadgets, I am fortunate, but I don't need ALL gadgets. A few is enough.
I was reminded of this when I was editing a friend's book on theology and the technology of pop culture a couple weeks ago. Sometimes we need to de-clutter or de-connect. Sometimes we need to ask how much is enough. Sometimes we need to simplify. If I'm going to have this gadget, then perhaps I don't need that gadget, etc..... This might seem simple enough to you, but it is very counter-cultural.
You don't need everything you want, nor would it be good for you if you were to get all that you desire.

One more thought on this note. This week I taught the teens the story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10). The thing that sticks out to me most about story of the "wee little man" from Jericho, is his giving of half of his possessions to the poor, and his offer to give to those whom he had cheated (the number of people was probably high!) four times what he had swindled them for! Wow! I don't know what Jesus said to him as they walked to his house, but it was obviously powerful.
Don't misunderstand me. I'm not giving the money I make from selling my Wii to the poor. I'll be honest with you. I'm going to use it to help pay for the ridiculously expensive tires I just had to put on my car (why are tires so expensive anyway?). Like I said, I'm not the model in all things simple, nor am I Zacchaeus. I have, however, learned to not let my possessions own me. I could give them up - all of them - in a heartbeat, if I needed to. Yes Lauren, even my iPad! :-)
So the message is simple: take a moment to think about your possessions, your gadgets. Do you need all of them? Do they own you? Should you give them away? Or should you simply consolidate, de-clutter, or de-connect just a bit?
The answer to these questions, is most likely yes - in some form. If you go through with it, you'll be glad you did, I promise.

Complete Confidence

By nature I am a very confident person. I’m not afraid to stand up in front of people; I’m not timid of leading large groups or tasks. Confidence is very important to the well being and development of each person. Good parents desire to build up their children’s self-esteem and confidence. We seek to instill the confidence in children to help them feel important, valued and able to grow up to be anything they want to be. And that is a good thing. We all need to live with a good amount of confidence.

However, confidence also has a down side, for example, when we become so confident about our own ideas or opinions that close the doors to other people ideas, insights or wisdom. At some point in our life, we have all done this. We have pushed away those who could have helped us because we were so confident that our way was the right way.

In John 8:12-20, I began to think about this type of confidence. Both parties were confident.

On the one side was Jesus. He was fully confident of his divinity; “my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going” (John 8:14).

On the other hand, was the Pharisees who were also confident. They were confident that Jesus was not the Messiah, “you are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid” (John 8:13).

They were so sure they were right that demanded that Jesus prove his validity by following the book of the law (Deut. 19:15) by providing two witnesses. The irony was Jesus precisely gave the Pharisee’s exactly this but in terms that they could neither recognize nor receive because they could only judge or view things “according to the flesh” (cf. 5:40-44). The Pharisee’s were so confident that they knew who the Messiah that they failed to recognize that he was right there in front of him!

How often are we so sure about something that we miss the greater truth right in front of us? Are you so confident about how the church should be run or look like that you fail to see how God is working in new and maybe even uncomfortable ways? Are you so confident about your friendships that you miss out on some relationships that may push you to Jesus in more poignant ways? Are you so confident about how you should lead your job or family that you push God’s presence into a compartmentalized aspect of your life instead of allowing Him to live throughout all aspects of your life?

I am reminded today that I am human. I can be fully confident in the words and actions of Jesus. But besides this relationship, maybe we should all take a step back and allow God to lead in other areas of our lives. Let’s not live so confident that we push away God’s presence right in front of us.

Where are you from?

I have a friend named Chip. We met in college and were roommates for 2 years before he decided he wanted a dorm room with a view of the Pacific and transferred to Point Loma. He's a lifelong member of the Church of the Nazarene. Lifelong "nazzies" (not to be confused with Nazis) like Chip and I are able to play this game at church gatherings that is very similar to "The 6 Degrees of Separation of Kevin Bacon." Perhaps you've heard of this phenomenon? The idea behind "6 Degrees" is that any actor can be linked to Kevin Bacon in 6 movie connections or less. For instance: Sean Connery was in Entrapment with Maury Chaykin, who was in Where the Truth Lies with (drum roll please) Kevin Bacon. That would be a score of 2. Anything higher than 4 is very rare. What Kevin Bacon lacks in quality he makes up for quantity. (To waste endless hours click on this link: http://oracleofbacon.org/)

Chip and I played "Nazarene 6 Degrees." We theorized that between the 2 of us we could link ourselves to everyone at General Assembly in 6 degrees or less. We tested this theory at this sacred gathering of Nazarenes in San Antonio (1997). We had nothing better to do while our parents were in meetings deciding the fate of our church. As we met people, we began many conversations wanting to know where someone was from. (Knowing a person's hometown, home church and home district is essential.) They would say, for instance, "Colorado." And we would say, "Do you know Natalie from Arvada?" They would say, "I think I went to church camp with her back in the day." And we would say, "Her cousin goes to Trevecca with us."

And there you have it. We connected with that person in 3 degrees. That's basically how our week went. I know it's sad, but we're Nazarene and that's how we roll.

We place a premium upon a person's hometown. Where you hail from reveals a lot about your identity. Whether we realize it or not we make judgments about a person based upon where they were raised or where they have spent significant amounts of time. People in Seattle love coffee. Folks in Texas wear boots. Friends in Nashville all play an instrument and sing on the weekends. Californians are disturbed by the emissions of my car. Whether we realize it or not, we assume a lot about a person based upon their hometown or where they live or how they talk.

This has been going on for quite some time. This is what those who were unsure of Jesus' claims of Messiah said in today's Ashes to Fire Gospel reading:

"But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from." (John 7:27)

Everyone knew that the Messiah would not come from Galilee. Saviors don't hail from little blue-collar towns like Nazareth.

As someone who is pretty adept at "6 Degrees", I wonder if I would have connected all the dots and believed that Jesus really was the Messiah…the Son of God…the Savior of the world. As I read myself into John's story, I have to be honest with myself. I would have missed it. I would have allowed my preconceptions to get in the way of what God wanted to do in the world.

In response to these people, Jesus clarifies that where you are from isn't nearly as important as who you are from:

Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, "Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, but I know him because I am from him and he sent me." (John 7:28-29)

I am challenged by this scripture to know more intimately the one who sent Jesus. I'm tired of trying to know him by connecting the dots myself. Fortunately, I do know this guy from Nazareth.

You Are Not Alone

One of the thoughts for this week was found in Psalm 69:13, 18 …”My prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me … Draw near to me, redeem me, set me free”. Have you ever prayed something like that to God? I have … more often than I’d like to count. No, I don’t sound like that when I pray. My prayers are tend to be more in the form of questions … such as “Why am I going through this”? Or “when will this end”? Or “Ok … I get it. Lesson learned. Can we move on”? Honestly, I’ve found myself praying those exact prayers this week.

The lesson I learned through this reading addresses grief, sadness and often isolation. David is writing to God and he is tired and alone. As the leader, his kingdom is a mess. Partly because of David’s own decisions but also because of his people and the choices they are making. He is in great emotional distress. David looks to God and asks God for an answer. David is essentially putting to ball back in God’s court. He is acknowledging that it is not acceptable for David to act like a child and demand that something be done … right now. I know myself and I wouldn’t be so patient. I would probably ask God to send a few lightning bolts down to shake things up a bit. Ok, maybe that isn’t the right approach, but sometimes it makes you feel better. :)

Instead of stomping his foot (I’m sure he has tried that before and saw he didn’t get positive results), David asks God to do something at an “acceptable time”. David is asking to be heard. He is asking not to be dismissed. He desperately wants God to surround him during his time of sadness and to fix whatever is broken inside of David. Note that David is not asking for God to “zap” the other people. Instead David is asking to be drawn close to God, redeemed and then set free.

I don’t like to be sad. I don’t like to feel isolated or alone. Sometimes it happens because of the choices I’ve made and sometimes it is because God is trying to teach me something. Much like my post last week, when God is trying to teach me something, I know that there is a “change” involved. Almost always, it is a change that needs to happen inside of me. So after a week of asking God if we can “move on”, I’m learning that sometimes God’s answer is “not yet … wait”. While I may not like the answer, I know He isn’t going anyway and that I’m not alone. God promised to never leave me and I’m holding Him to His promise.

So if you’d had a bad week or you are in the middle of some kind of emotional, financial, physical or relationship distress, look around you. You are not alone. Ask God to draw you near Him. I promise, you will find peace.

I've Seen it All

I write this letter from paradise.  Sitting in a beautiful hotel room, looking out over three pools, and a very expensive golf course, getting ready to go to a private, pristine beach.  It's been a long few days for Lauren and I.  I feel like I've seen all that the Prophet Jeremiah wrote about in today's Ashes to Fire passage (Jer. 5:1-9).  

We spent a long day in the hectic, chaotic, sometimes depressing world that is the airport.  People came and went, hustling and bustling, ignoring, lusting, rejoicing, mourning, but always hurrying, always trying to get to where they "need to be," never thinking of others.  Conveniently, they carried their gods with them on their journey.  Gods named Blackberry, iPhone, iPad, Laptop, Netbook, Dulce & Gabana, Coach, Prada, Samsonite, and sometimes a fashionable cross on their neck.  (I'm writing this from my iPad....) 
We stayed for two days and nights with the Church of the Nazarene's missionaries here, at their lovely home, with their modest possessions, sharing in their rich (in ways that really matter) life. 
We visited two very poor communities and our churches there. 
We met amazing pastors and lay people.  One pastor walks 45 minutes each way to her church twice each day (two round trips) just so that she can care for the children in the impoverished community.  Another has built a very modest school building on the back of his church, in which they teach and minister to almost 100 kids each and every day all through the year.  Around 30 of these kids are sponsored through NCM child sponsorships...the others are still in need of sponsorships. We were welcomed into the warm, inviting home of a DS who was eager to have our church partner with a church on his district.  They cooked for us - a feast of a lunch!  

We saw the poor and we have seen the rich.  I've seen the unfaithful, and I've seen "one person who acts justly and seeks truth."  I've seen the lion, the wolf, and the leopard - I've also seen the lamb.  I've seen the houses of prostitutes (from the outside of course!).  In this place, over the last few days, I think I've seen it all.  

During Lent we reflect upon our sinfulness.  Sin is, after all, the great equalizer.  In the faces of all I've seen, as well as the face I see in the mirror, I've seen sin.  In the words of Scripture Lauren and I read together this morning, I read and felt judgement.  If you were honest with yourself, then you did too.  And yet, I'm reminded of the one thing that makes us all even more equal, the one thing that trumps and is more real than even sin: grace.  By the grace of the Father, made known to the world in the Son Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, grace has come into the world!  Now and forevermore, grace is the most real thing thing that exists!  Amen!  

You, no doubt, know judgement and condemnation, but do you know grace?  Do you know grace today?  Jesus tells us to stop searching for it, even in the Scriptures (this means the Old Testament, for when He said this, the only "Scriptures" there were, were what we now refer to as the Old Testament) and to instead be found out by it - to be found by him!  In the words of Charles Wesley, "Amazing love, how can it be?  That oh, my God, it found out me!"  

Grace can find you anywhere, but there are places and situations where you will be more receptive to it.  I believe the Dominican Republic is one of those places.  I hope you'll get the chance to come here soon to experience it for yourself.  

I've seen it all, and no matter how dark things might get, no matter how pervasive sin may be, grace is greater still.    

Finding Delight amist the limitations

Okay, so we are moving into third week of Lent. We are approaching the mid-point and I don’t know about you but I am amazed at how my body is adjusting to the changes I’ve made. (In the Springer family we have given up a variety of things—no caffeine, chocolate, processed foods, added food coloring…. Now don’t think we are being martyrs! In fact most of this is because of a new diet restriction Grace has been put on, but that is an entirely different story).

As a family, we are learning how to cook all over again as we figure out what foods we can and can’t eat. Most people’s responses when they hear about our diet restrictions offer words of solace and almost sympathy as they immediately focus on the limitations of this diet. However, I am thankful and even take delight in this change. Sure it has been difficult, sure I would enjoy not to cook at least three full meals a day—but through it I have been able to see a fullness and variety of foods that I had had never experienced before.

And as time has passed, I’m also noticing how much my body isn’t craving things that it used to. In fact it is pretty amazing how adaptable I am becoming. I have actually looked forward to eating things such as fresh bell peppers and quinoa! And each night, I have noticed I am thinking less and less about making cookies and cakes to finish off our meals. In fact, I would say each day I am thinking less and less about what I gave up and instead thinking more about what I am able to enjoy!

And isn’t that what giving up things is all about? Quite naturally our focus shifts from a inward focus of what “we are missing” and instantaneously our focus shifts outward to simply enjoying the moments, the presence…or more importantly savoring all of what God has created us to experience.

And this made me think—how often do we tend to stick with what is familiar and comfortable that we miss out on the fullness of God’s beauty and grace? How often do we settle for what is familiar rather than pushing ourselves to experience new things?
We often talk about having desert experiences because through them we are able to reach the mountaintop, however I’m challenged today to see the joy and beauty amidst the desert. We don’t need to wait until Easter or the end of this Lenten season to experience the fullness of God’s presence. He is already here and probably more prevalent if you are ready to simply look from a new perspective! What can you more fully experience because of what you gave up?

The John 3:16 Guy

We've all seen him. He's a mainstay at big-time sporting events. Somewhere in every crowd is that guy…you know…the guy with the wig on and the sign that reads, "John 3:16." I'm not sure who decided this would be a good idea, but for whatever reason someone determined that instead of personally inviting friends to church, holding up a sign in a large crowd with a Bible reference on it would be more effective. My guess is the person with season tickets directly behind "John 3:16 Guy" is not a big fan of "Stadium Evangelism."

Why dress up in a wig and hold this sign up? Why choose John 3:16?

The psychological make-up that would convince a person to dress up and make a scene at a public sporting event is something on which I'm not qualified to commentate. The rationale behind choosing John 3:16, however, is well-within my field of expertise.

It's a verse God-fearing church folks have quoted all their lives. It may be one of the first verses we commit to memory in Sunday school. It's a beautiful promise of scripture:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

For many believers, understanding this promise has been the first step of faith into a relationship with God. I'm not sure how many people "John 3:16 Guy" has converted through his sign ministry, but I can only imagine that bringing people to faith in Christ is his intention. Undoubtedly, this is the most common way we hear and read this passage.

This week, in our Ashes to Fire readings, we were taken back to the night-time rendezvous of Nicodemus and Jesus. As Jesus explains what it means to be "being born again", or as another translation says "being born from above", he says something to unbelieving Nicodemus about the significance of what God has done to provide eternal life. In the course of this dialogue, Jesus shares with Nicodemus what we know as John 3:16. At the end of this conversation, Nicodemus and Jesus bow for prayer, and Jesus leads him in the sinner's prayer…

…oh wait.

John 3 actually concludes rather anti-climatically. Nicodemus leaves this encounter with Jesus just as lost and unbelieving as he was before. I heard John 3:16 in context this week. It is part of a larger conversation – a conversation Jesus had with a friend. Nicodemus wasn't converted. He didn't "walk the aisle" or "pray through at the altar." He did, however, converse about the love of God that gave his one and only Son for a lost and dying world. Now that's something I'd like to hear more about.

I wonder what the church would look like if we made the truth of John 3:16 a part of our everyday conversation. We don't need more sign-holders…just some folks who are willing to sit with friends and talk about God.

Ash Wednesday Reflections

Ash Wednesday is one of the highlights of my year.

I’ll never forget the first time I participated in an Ash Wednesday service. It was my first year at Point Loma, and I was working on Jim Manker’s youth staff at San Diego First Church of the Nazarene. Jim is the best youth pastor I’ve ever known, and I made it a priority to watch and learn everything he did. When late February/early March rolled around (I forget when exactly Ash Wednesday fell that year) Jim told the teens that next week, they’d be participating in an Ash Wednesday service. They didn’t seem to know much about what it was, and, frankly, neither did I! The service was unlike anything else I had ever experienced: dark, quiet, contemplative, and more than anything else, mysterious. That night I was reminded that I was a sinner, that I was finite, and that I was in need of grace more than ever.

You know, I don’t think holiness makes much sense separated from routine times of confession, such as Ash Wednesday. I’ve heard people say that “holiness folks” should not participate in Ash Wednesday services (I’ve also heard them say that we shouldn’t say the Lord’s Prayer. Imagine that….) but I think that the exact opposite is actually the truth. Holiness folks must [read an encouragement, not a demand] participate in Ash Wednesday, and in Lent.

Every year since, in locations around the world, I’ve had ashes imposed upon my forehead as a symbol of my mortality, my fallen, sinful nature, and my dependence upon the grace of God. “Remember it was from dust you were created, and to dust you shall return.” This is the possibly the most true statement of mortality that can be made. Mortality, therefore, is defined by these two things: createdness, and death. The journey of Lent, which begins anew each year on Ash Wednesday, is a journey through these two realities, made all the more stark in that it is a journey conducted under the shadow of the cross. And yet, no journey that is darkened by the shadow of the cross of our Lord is complete until the darkness is chased away, forever, in the glorious light and life of the resurrection. For this reason, we proclaim the mystery of our faith, “Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.”

Ash Wednesday is a humbling experience, it is a sobering experience, and it is an experience that should instill in each and every one of us the hope of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior - the firstborn from the dead – and therefore our own.

So, in the end, Ash Wednesday is about hope, plain and simple. Collectively and individually we remember our status as created beings, dependent upon a creator; we are forced to accept that our lives, grand or mundane, are finite and will end; and thus we learn the stuff of the hope that is the Christian faith.

Change

Do you like change? Does change make you uncomfortable? It does for me. I don’t care for change and when I do experience changes in my life, I want a very detailed description as to why this change has to happen and whether or not this change is going to be good for me in the long run. Now, it helps to understand that I am a planner. I like a plan. No … I’m sorry, I need a plan.

Over the years, God has taken my “need” for a plan and turned it upside down. In my mind, I envision my live as a book and God tore that page out, crumbled it up and threw it in the trash. He is saying to me that I do not need to write in permanent marker in the pages of my life … I need to use a pencil with a large eraser. I can dream and I can make plans but I need to be flexible enough to get out the eraser and rewrite as needed. God reminds me every day that when I make a plan, He has a bigger plan in mind. One that helps me grow both spiritually, emotionally and unfortunately more often than not in maturity. I say unfortunately because in my experience, growing in maturity often is difficult and more often than not, painful.

A very wise friend made a comment this week about how difficult it is to change in the church. We change every day at work. Our boss give us a new plan or new guidelines and we accept them for what they are, follow the rules and move forward without much thought. So why is it so difficult to accept change when it happens in church? Why do we become irritated because we are asked to get out of our comfort zone to do something that we’ve never done before? I believe this is about control. In our jobs, often we relinquish control over to our bosses because that is how things are. In our church, this is different because this affects our lives … who we are, what we believe. Relinquishing control over to God is difficult. Allowing ourselves to be open to things God wants to introduce us to can be difficult. We become vulnerable and transparent. What if we don’t understand? What if this new thing at church exposes us to areas that we are not comfortable or areas that we don’t understand? What if someone sees that I don’t have it all under control? What if … what if …

So this is what I propose … what if we allow God to be the Lord of our lives? We know our church leaders continually seek God’s guidance in everything they do. How freeing would our lives be if we put down our permanent markers and picked up a pencil to write in our book? Allow God to change us and to help us grow.

Having ENOUGH.

Excess. We all have areas in our life where we hold onto too much. Maybe it's clothing, electronics, or for me, it's food. Now I'm not just talking about over-eating, I'm also talking about the kinds of foods we eat. Think of the meals you ate this week. I imagine you ate meals with additional sauces, spices and even side dishes that complimented each item on your plate. Think about it...when was the last time you simply had a plain piece of chicken, no flavoring, no additional ingredients. We often turn our noses up at this, however as we begin this Lenten journey, I have been reminded that this is how so much of the world eats. Food isn't extravagant or excessive--it is simply enough.

Most of the world doesn't eat in excess they simply eat what is available and in ready supply. And the amazing thing (now here's the real kicker for us) they are grateful for these meals. These simple meager meals are ENOUGH.

I am reminded of how the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years. During this time, God provided manna for the Israelites to eat. Now in the book of Exodus, this manna was described as having a honey-like taste, however can you imagine eating this exact same meal for forty years? I don't know about you, but I'm sure this taste would become old and even unexciting. I'm sure I would be looking for new ways to cook this or even what I could add to it to change the flavor or texture. Yet I think God was intentional to provide the same meal to the Israelites. Through this meal, the Israelites discovered they had ENOUGH. God had already provided them everything they needed to be satisfied.

Oftentimes for Lent, we choose to give something up. I find it amazing how we struggle to give up this ONE thing however these Israelites basically gave us EVERYTHING they had, even down to their meals when they left Egypt. It was like God was stripping them to their basic essentials to work in their hearts and minds what it means to be fully dependent on Him and to find complete satisfaction in His presence.

That's a hard concept for us to fully understand because we have been given so much. However, I am challenged by this. Especially in light of the fact that most of us will "re-add" whatever thing we gave up during Lent immediately after this season. It's like we immediately gravitate to these excesses in our lives. What would it look like if we didn't simply eliminate these excesses for forty days but allowed this to be a continual shaping process as we seek to find new areas in our lives that we need to strip away. Imagine what it would be like to continue to live with less, yet feel more satisfied than before. Imagine what it would be like to simply live with ENOUGH.

Creation is Telling a Story

Creation is telling a story. It’s a story you’ve heard and seen before, and yet, creation is faithful to tell this story again and again. As I drove to the office today, I began to hear this story again: trees have new buds on them, flowers are beginning to bloom, grass is becoming green again. Spring is coming, and I must admit that this might be my favorite chapter. The transition the world makes from winter to spring reminds us that dead things can live again. This is the story that our Father’s world is faithful to tell each year.

The church has a story. It is a story that proclaims that dead things can and will live again.

Last Wednesday night we gathered as a church body to hear some very unsettling news: “From dust you were created, and to dust you shall return.” This is a liturgical way of saying, “we’re dying.” We’re dying of our sin, of our self-centeredness, of our guilt, and of our infidelity to God and others. The prognosis is grim, but thank God, the church has a story to tell.

Like the regularity of the seasons, the Church must be faithful to proclaim this story. For those who are dying, we must hear again how Jesus confronted Satan in the desert, how he made the lame to walk again, how he changed water into wine, how he raised Lazarus from the dead and how he gave sight to the blind. Like Peter, we are summoned to walk on the water with Jesus. Like Matthew, we are invited to retire from tax collecting. Like the Sons of Zebedee, we are called to leave our nets and become fishers of men. As we walk in the footsteps of the Master, we are invited to find our place in this story and to be immersed in the redemptive activity of God.

At this point in my life, I’ve heard creation tell its story 32 times. There are some things about this telling and re-telling that never change. There is a season for cold, for flowers, for splashing in the ocean and for harvesting crops. I find myself caught up in the same rhythms of life year after year. And yet, each year is markedly different from the others.

Likewise, the Gospels haven’t changed their proclamation of who Jesus is or what he did. Matthew still has 28 chapters. Mark is still the shortest of the four. Luke continues to give us “an orderly account” with physician-like precision. And John will always present a side of the story that is missed by the other three evangelists. I’ve heard the Church tell these stories before. The facts remain the same, the places haven’t changed, and all the major players remain unaltered. Each year, however, it is as if I’m hearing them for the first time.

The church is telling a story. It’s a story you’ve heard before, but then again, maybe you haven’t.