True Faith

I've used this quote before. It's a good one.

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Focus on a "Couple of Things"

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Steve Jobs, the biography by Walter Isaacson, is out.  I saw one of our parishioners at Costco carrying in and surprised I didn't have a copy in my cart as well.

Eventually....

In an interview Isaacson talked about the effect Jobs’ cancer had on his life focus.  It brought a lot of things into focus for him.  This is what Isaacson says:

He talked a lot to me about what happened when he got sick and how it focused him. He said he no longer wanted to go out, no longer wanted to travel the world. He would focus on the products. He knew the couple of things he wanted to do, which was the iPhone and then the iPad.

I've not read the book, but one thing you can say about Steve Jobs is that he was focused.  Sometimes it got in the way of relationships.  Sometimes it got in the way of business partnerships.  But the guy was focused.  Here was someone who wanted to "make a dent in the universe" and he was willing to let everything that would get in the way be pushed aside.

And, I think we can argue that the "couple of things" Jobs was focused on, the iPhone and the iPad, were game changers.  They changed the playing field of cell phones and computing.

If you could focus on just a "couple of things" that would really put a dent in your universe (if not the entire universe) what would they be?

For me, the two things over the last 10 years have been my family and my church.  That's kind painting with a broad brush there.  But I'm not sure I've been more focused than that.

What if, instead, I narrowed it down?

What if my "couple of things" were quality time with my kids and preaching?  Arguably, I could use work on both.  And both could make a dent in my own universe.

Revolting Through Orthodoxy

“In an age which has jettisoned all its traditions, the only rebellion possible is orthodoxy.”

Peter Kreeft

(HT/SD Smith)

God Gives Himself Fully

"An infinite God can give all of Himself to each of His children. He does not distribute Himself that each may have a part, but to each one He gives all of Himself as fully as if there were no others."

 

A. W. Tozer

 

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Zombies Attacked Our Church Sunday Night

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Well, to be honest, they weren't actually "zombies."  They were persons acting like zombies.  And, to be clear, they weren't the "Night of the Living Dead" - type zombies either.  They were very much alive, but infected by some horrible virus that turned them into rabid monsters.

But, why were they in church?

A new outreach program?

An odd sermon illustration?

The result of a particularly bad worship experience?

Not exactly.

I have always thought it best for clergy folk to hang out with non-Christian, or at least non-church going people.  Too often we can get wrapped up in our own religious worlds and forget that there are folks out there who believe differently or believe nothing at all.  And it's a good thing for us to find a group of people we like to interact with who aren't going to be the people you see in the pews (or chairs, as it were) on Sunday morning.  They have different expectation and can offer different perspectives that aren't so rooted the usual religious stuff.  It's not so much about evangelism as it is relationship and friendships.

I like hanging out at the coffee shop.  It's "The Grind" and is run by a guy known as "Gator."  I like sitting there, coffee in hand, iPad on lap, interacting and chatting with the folks who make their way down to get a latte or Americano or just to tap into some WiFi.  Gators's a great guy and I've loved the staff he's had work in his shop.  So, I go and sit and make small talk.  The point, really, is not evangelization, but friendship and keeping me from being so insular in the work of being a pastor.  I enjoy those folks.  I call them "my coffee shop friends" and I do care about what they have going on in their lives, how their various businesses are going, and what brings them joy.  And I truly believe they care about me and what I have going on.  I love it.

Well, Gator is a creative guy.  He's somewhat of a nerd and a fan of pop culture, things about which we have wonderful discussions.  Well, he's also a man obsessed with making a movie.  He has a storyboard that flows through several notebooks, each scene mapped out entirely.  It started, first, as kind of an Alaskan wilderness survival movie, since that's something he knows a few things about.  But, it evolved into something more than that.  The reason persons were trying to survive in Alaska is that there has been an outbreak of some virus that causes those infected to turn into rabid-Zombie-like creatures. 

I got involved because Gator said he'd like me in his movie.  He wanted to have a scene with zombies breaking in the door of the church were I and some others have gathered for safety.  I would be all dressed up in my clergy attire...what Gator calls my "uniform."  The scene was to have me holding back the door with zombie hands trying to get through.  And then three zombies would breach the door and run towards the folks gathered at the front of church where we we have a couple of guns and an ax.  There would be, he assured, no zombie contact.

I didn't want to do this in the new church since I'm not sure I could have handled the imagery in that space I've worked so hard for.  But I also didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to support Gator and his friends and participate in something that was going to pull in community members I've only shared coffee with and, frankly, whose company I enjoy very much.

So, Sunday night we filmed the scene in the old church.  We had two of my girls with me.  We had four other church folks and several of the coffee-shop crowd, including three zombies.  The zombies had chocolate syrup for blood, since it was filmed in black and white.  People acted frightened behind me.  I learned more about holding a shotgun than I'd ever learned before.  And, in the end, the zombies never touched us.  It was over in 90 minutes and then Gator apparently spent all night piecing together 90 seconds of video.

In advance, I did tell a couple of our church leaders that I was going to do this at the old church.  I thought I should explain myself to a few folks first.  I'm not sure everyone would have appreciated this.  But I had fun and I think some of my non church friends appreciated that the church was able to help them out.  I got to share some of my life and what's important to me while they got to share some of their life.

That's why zombies attacked our church on Sunday night.

And it was a blast.

What's Wrong With the World? I Am.

Cover of What's Wrong With the World

When a newspaper posed the question, “What’s Wrong with the World?” the Catholic thinker G. K. Chesterton reputedly wrote a brief letter in response: “Dear Sirs: I am. Sincerely Yours, G. K. Chesterton.” That is the attitude of someone who has grasped the message of Jesus. 

– Tim Keller, Prodigal God

This is How Disciples Are Made

Loved this video.  I think it illustrates quite well the paradigm shift many churches, denominations, and individuals are talking about.  It's looking at a more missional understanding of church. It's a little "American-centric" at the end...but if we overlook that I think it's helpful.

Enjoy.

Practicing the Way of Jesus: The Jesus Dojo

So, we're looking at Mark Scandrette's book, Practicing the Way of Jesus for our discipleship group. It's in the very first chapter that he really got my attention for what it missing in contemporary discipleship and what we need to replace it.

So many of us want to live in the way of Jesus--pursuing a life that is deeply soulful, connected to our real needs, and good news to our world. Yet too often our methods of spiritual formation are individualistic, information driven or disconnected from the details of everyday life. We simply are not experiencing the kind of transformation that is the historically expected result of the Christ phenomenon. If Jesus of Nazareth demonstrated and taught a revolutionary way of love that is actually possible, alive with healing and hope, then we need a path for experiencing that revolution in the details of our daily lives. Simply put, I believe we need to recover a sense of immediacy and action in our spiritual practices. Perhaps what we need is a path for discipleship that is more like a karate studio than a lecture hall. (14)

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Obviously, Wesley's class meetings and the current practice of Covenant Discipleship comes to mind. Also the new monasticism that is embodied in the work of Shane Claiborne or Elaine Heath. But, where I've always struggled is, outside of having to go join up with a group of like-minded monastics in some inner-city mission, how do we incorporate this into the life of the church today. I'm hoping Scandrette helps.

He says this is like Jesus teaching in a karate dojo. In a karate dojo, people don't just sit at the feet of the master with a textbook in hand, learning all the facts about karate.& Instead, they do it.

You can't learn karate just by watching, and we can't learn to follow Jesus without practicing to do what he did and taught. Jesus didn't just communicate information or ideas, but declared "I am the way" and invited his disciples into a new life that was fueled and inspired by his example, teachings and sacrifice (John 14:6).... So a Jesus dojo is a space where a group of people wrestles with how to apply the teachings of Jesus to everyday life through shared actions and practices. (p. 16)

We'd like to have that space. We need to have that space. For it's in that space that the proverbial rubber meets the road and discipleship happens to change lives.

That's what's at heart here. Those of us who say we're following Jesus, should really live our lives in a different way. At the end of the day, we need to say that following Jesus made a difference in our lives today...that it mattered. People are skeptical of faith that isn't exhibited in life and, for much of the church, me included, there has been a disconnect between what we say we believe about Jesus and what our lives look like. There hasn't been much of a "Jesus-Shape" to our lives.

Knowing the transformational promise of the gospel, it is fair to ask whether a person who claims to have a relationship with Jesus exhibits more peace and less stress, handles crisis with more grace, experiences less fear and anxiety, manifests more joy, is overcoming anger and their addictions or compulsions, lives more consciously or loves more boldly. (14)

It is fair to ask this. It is fair to ask if life is different because you are madly in love with the Jesus who first loved us. And, if it's not, then it's fair to explore how it is that life can be different.

That's what our new group is exploring.

In a twist of the Apple Computer marketing phrase, we don't just want to "Think Different," we want to "Live Different."