All this effort to erase Jesus from the holidays has me a bit discouraged this year. I've seen many of the articles claiming that Christmas was never a "Christian" holiday to begin with, but so what? I think it pretty safe to assume that Jesus has been the central figure of Christmas for the past couple hundred years... To erase him from the season in order to be politically correct and "tolerant" seems a bit ludicrous.
Instead I would hope that people could learn to see God's goodness every season, especially this season. Here is my solution:
Everyone should watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas"... Especially the part where Linus stands on stage and shares about the real meaning of Christmas. That'll fix things.
Have a wonderful, focused, and purposeful CHRISTmas my friends.
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Living God's Story
Shared a cup of Joe with a new guy in my church today. Seems he has been coming to our faith community for about 3 months now. 3 months of attendance... 78 days clean off Meth and Pot. He has tried before to get sober, but this time it has been different. Different because this time he is not trying to make it on his own. Now he focuses each day on trying to live God's story.
He said he's never been to church till now, but he did read the Bible cover to cover a few years ago while he was in jail. After he read the Bible he read a Stephen King book. Stephen King was more exciting... until now.
He told me that one Sunday the God thing suddenly made sense, this whole living God's story and not our own thing. So he decided to surrender his will, his life, his addictions to God instead of committing to change them. The journey is still not easy but he has found that it is easier to wake up and surrender to God's story than to wake up and commit to living his own.
What would happen if we all lived that way? Instead of trying to be a better person, what if we just surrendered to His person?
I think I might try that tomorrow morning....
He said he's never been to church till now, but he did read the Bible cover to cover a few years ago while he was in jail. After he read the Bible he read a Stephen King book. Stephen King was more exciting... until now.
He told me that one Sunday the God thing suddenly made sense, this whole living God's story and not our own thing. So he decided to surrender his will, his life, his addictions to God instead of committing to change them. The journey is still not easy but he has found that it is easier to wake up and surrender to God's story than to wake up and commit to living his own.
What would happen if we all lived that way? Instead of trying to be a better person, what if we just surrendered to His person?
I think I might try that tomorrow morning....
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
A Visit to Atlanta
Last week I had the opportunity to travel to Atlanta. Wow, there are some really cool people down South. I even got to have grits, just like my grandma used to make! It was NASCAR championship weekend coupled with college football rivalary weekend so things were amping.
My flight left at 11:30pm from Seattle. With time changes and a layover in Charlotte I was scheduled to arrive in Atlanta at 9:30am. Red-eye flights hurt the eyes, but feel better in the wallet. Actually since the church that invited me was covering the flights I could have taken something less painful, but flying red eye meant one more afternoon with my wife and kids. And they are worth it.
So this is what's cool. I was sick for two days prior to departure. Kinda that flu bug I suppose. Over the course of the two days it moved from my chest straight into my sinuses. The night I was leaving my head was pounding and I was talking like a bald guy with a metal bucket over his head. None-the-less I grabbed my Kleenex and luggage and trotted off to the airport.
No kiddin', as I was walking down the walkway to board the plane I felt a little "pop" in my head and whammo! my head was clear. Sinus pressure and cold symptoms disappeared. God's so cool.
So my buddy Eric and I went to the men's retreat and saw God do some really great things. 35 men willing to get real and open with God and each other. The message of authenticity resonated in our meetings regardless of each man's career status or race. It was cool.
Sunday morning I shared at large Atlanta area church. There I found 700 people who LOVE to worship and serve their city with the gospel. Perhaps the most powerful experience I had was sitting in on the pre-service intercession gathering. I often enjoy sneaking in on intercession meetings when I am a guest. It gives me a chance to sense the spiritual climate of a church. These guys and gals where not interested in building their own kingdom but God's kingdom and I could sense God smiling upon them. I felt tingly all over. :-)
Sunday night I shared at an emergent church service. Great vibe and the pastor is one right on brother. No pretense about him, just a love for Jesus and his family. That evening I shared some of my story and God's redemption in my life. I heard later that during my teaching on of the gals in the group said, "Hey, I've heard that story before. I think he stole it from Relevant Magazine!" Then she realized that I WAS that guy in the magazine article and felt sorta bad for judging me. :-)
Next stop: Emerging Leaders Intititiave gathering in Seattle! God's on the move. The message and the lifestyle of authenticity seems to be resonating with many these days... regardless of age, denomination, or gender.
Live the Life my friends. And thanks for praying for me.
My flight left at 11:30pm from Seattle. With time changes and a layover in Charlotte I was scheduled to arrive in Atlanta at 9:30am. Red-eye flights hurt the eyes, but feel better in the wallet. Actually since the church that invited me was covering the flights I could have taken something less painful, but flying red eye meant one more afternoon with my wife and kids. And they are worth it.
So this is what's cool. I was sick for two days prior to departure. Kinda that flu bug I suppose. Over the course of the two days it moved from my chest straight into my sinuses. The night I was leaving my head was pounding and I was talking like a bald guy with a metal bucket over his head. None-the-less I grabbed my Kleenex and luggage and trotted off to the airport.
No kiddin', as I was walking down the walkway to board the plane I felt a little "pop" in my head and whammo! my head was clear. Sinus pressure and cold symptoms disappeared. God's so cool.
So my buddy Eric and I went to the men's retreat and saw God do some really great things. 35 men willing to get real and open with God and each other. The message of authenticity resonated in our meetings regardless of each man's career status or race. It was cool.
Sunday morning I shared at large Atlanta area church. There I found 700 people who LOVE to worship and serve their city with the gospel. Perhaps the most powerful experience I had was sitting in on the pre-service intercession gathering. I often enjoy sneaking in on intercession meetings when I am a guest. It gives me a chance to sense the spiritual climate of a church. These guys and gals where not interested in building their own kingdom but God's kingdom and I could sense God smiling upon them. I felt tingly all over. :-)
Sunday night I shared at an emergent church service. Great vibe and the pastor is one right on brother. No pretense about him, just a love for Jesus and his family. That evening I shared some of my story and God's redemption in my life. I heard later that during my teaching on of the gals in the group said, "Hey, I've heard that story before. I think he stole it from Relevant Magazine!" Then she realized that I WAS that guy in the magazine article and felt sorta bad for judging me. :-)
Next stop: Emerging Leaders Intititiave gathering in Seattle! God's on the move. The message and the lifestyle of authenticity seems to be resonating with many these days... regardless of age, denomination, or gender.
Live the Life my friends. And thanks for praying for me.
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