Category: Christian Living

  • Five ridiculously hard steps to a better you


    Tim is right. There is a whole lot of lying for the sake of SEO in blogs these days. While there might be five easy steps to creating a Facebook page for your business, there aren’t five easy steps for everything.

    Becoming a better you is ridiculously hard. I know it not from issuing advice but from walking through a few difficult seasons in my own life and finding success, happiness, and satisfaction on the other side.

    Here are five ridiculous hard lessons I’ve learned towards become a better me:

    1. You often have to say no to the wrong opportunity when you have no idea when the right one might come along. For me this has meant, several times, shoving off into the great Lake of the Unknown with no idea if I’d end up where I needed to or have the financial resources to keep going.
    2. Sometimes you have to do things you are dispassionate about in order to get to things you are passionate about. Sure, I probably look like I’ve lived a storied life. But I’ve had jobs I hated. And I’ve done countless things I hate in order to finance what I love. Walk around any art museum and you’ll see that most of those people didn’t become famous until they were dead. All of their life they did work they hated to pay for the work we adore after they are gone.
    3. Being the smartest person in the room is not nearly as important as being the hardest worker in the room. Some of my friends joke with me that I never sleep. That’s not true. But success has never come easy for me. Any success I’ve achieved has been the result of ridiculously hard work. And today’s success only got me here. To get somewhere else I’ll need more and more hard work.
    4. You can’t figure it out on your own. When I make big decisions on my own I usually make a mistake. But when I take the time to add plurality to my decision making process I make wiser , better informed choices. That’s a frustrating, personal, slow, arduous, and humiliating experience. It’s not that I don’t know what’s best for me. It’s that I’m so “in it” emotionally that I have a hard time seeing the bigger picture or asking the really obvious questions of myself. Left to my own, I make a decision and then generate a full-proof construction to justify my decision.
    5. Failure is not the enemy. Failing to see the opportunity in everything is. Albert Einstein said, “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” Thomas Edison said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” We consider them both genius’ but maybe they mixed their natural born intelligence with a unique ability to fail well better than their peers?
    What are some ridiculously hard lessons you’ve learned on your way towards success? Let’s learn from the wisdom of the crowd by sharing a comment. 

  • Grace is a form accidental to the soul

    Any substance is either the nature of that of which it is the substance, or a part of its nature. In this sense, matter and form are both called “substance.” But grace is higher than human nature. It cannot then be its substance, nor yet the form of its substance. Grace is a form accidental to the soul. What exists as substance in God occurs as accident in the soul which shares in divine good, as is obvious in the case of knowledge. But since the soul shares in divine good imperfectly, this participation itself, which is grace, exists in the soul in a less perfect mode than that in which the soul exists in itself. Such grace is nevertheless nobler than the soul’s nature, in so far as it is an expression or sharing of the divine goodness, even though it is not nobler than the soul in respect of its mode of being.

    Nature and Grace, Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Question 110 Article 2

    Photo by Lawrence Lew via Flickr (Creative Commons)

    Four questions:

    • Is grace a quality of the soul?
    • Was it in us at birth?
    • Is every action of grace learned behavior?
    • Or is it given to us as an exhibition of the Holy Spirit’s work through us?

    Last night, I was driving home from Costco and Ikea with Megan, and we listened to an interview with Jessica Chastain about her role in Tree of LIfe. She made a few interesting points which I’ve been chewing on.

    • The film is spiritual, not religious as it’s not calling someone to conversion. I don’t know if she was just trying to be politically correct or not. But Jesus made an important distinction between those who know about God and those who have a relationship with God in Matthew 7:21-23. In Jesus’ eyes, knowing about God without looking to conversion is pointless.
    • Grace is at war with human nature. I really like this distinction. It’s not Ms. Chastain’s– she doesn’t take credit for it, it comes from Aquinas. Her example had to do with getting slapped. When you are slapped by someone your nature’s response to to fight back. But graces response is to return a slap with love and compassion. What’s revealing to me about that is how little of that I see in Christian culture. Oh, that we may be a people who respond to one another with love and compassion.
    • Grace is not owned by Christianity. While Ms. Chastain made an attempt to argue that grace is a universal religious expression she couldn’t be further from the truth. This is a uniquely Christian response. While I’m certain other religions have a form of grace… the response she described  is uniquely Christian grace.

    Here’s what I know: When God’s grace shows up it takes your breath away.

    You experience it or you witness it and– in your humanity– you try to replicate it in how you live your life.

    But when grace arrives and it’s from God it comes out of no where and leaves you in awe.

  • My Own Casey Anthony

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    You’re familiar with the command to the ancients, ‘Do not murder.’ I’m telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother ‘idiot!’ and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell ‘stupid!’ at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill.

    Matthew 5:21-22 The Message

    I don’t live in Florida. And I barely keep up with the news. In fact, the first thing I heard about the Casey Anthony trial was that people were upset that she had been acquitted on charges of murder.

    There’s no way I can put myself in her shoes, having stood trial, and been declared not guilty on accusations that I’d killed my own child. As the foreperson read the verdict you could see her breath taken away. How her knees didn’t buckle I’ll never know.

    In that moment, either a burden had been lifted or one had been applied. Either way– she wasn’t going to go to jail.

    Tears were natural. I don’t know if I could have stood up to that moment with my future literally written on a piece of paper for a woman to read like she did. She stood there and took the verdict. And in the moments afterward I am sure her mind raced… “Now what?”

    There hadn’t been a next step in her life. But suddenly, in a breath, there was.

    I’m not Casey Anthony.

    While I’m not Ms. Anthony– I am Mr. McLane. And I can put myself in my own shoes. My shoes aren’t much cleaner than hers.

    According to Matthew 5 I am a murderer. And one day I will stand trial and be found guilty on hundreds of counts of murder according to Jesus’ standard. I’m a hopeless case. As I think about my trial, there may be some counts in which I’d plead guilty. And there might be others in which I plead innocent. And, who knows, there might be some in which I’m guilty of both the charge against myself and providing a false report to try to get myself out of trouble for committing the crime which I’d been charged.

    I’m my own Casey Anthony

    I have no idea what really happened with the real Casey Anthony. But my life is full of excuses and lies and manipulations of fact, too.

    Just like her I need a second chance on life. Who am I kidding? I need a 4,635,128th chance on life.

    That’s what is so amazing about second chances in Jesus’ eyes. I might be a hopeless case. But, hanging on the cross, Jesus bore my punishment so I could continue on. In a breath and suddenly, tetelaste, my second chance on life was given.

    Just like Ms. Anthony’s life– from this day forward– her life will be defined by what she does with her second chance.

    So will mine.  So will mine.

    Check out more stories in this series at People of the Second Chance

  • If Your Phone Could Talk

    We used to say you could tell a person’s priorities by looking at his checkbook. I’d submit to you that today you can tell a person’s priorities by how he uses his phone.

    If your phone could talk… what would it say about you?

    • Who is he talking to?
    • Who is he texting?
    • How is he talking about people?
    • How does he talk about people via text?
    • What is he looking at when no one else is looking?
    • When is he using his phone?
    • Does his phone fill his hand more than the hand of the one he loves?

    Here’s what I know about technology. One day your phone will tell on you. One day everything you’ve posted on Facebook may become public. One day everything you’ve ever Googled may be public. E-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g.

    One day… it will all tell the whole story of you. Every key stroke on that device could one day be exposed. Every text message, direct message, email, and Facebook message could one day become public.

    I believe your smart phone is amoral. It’s can be used for noble or ignoble purposes. My hope is that as I use my phone,  (and technology like it) I use them as instruments of Good News in how I conduct my personal, family, and business affairs.

    The story your phone tells is up to you.

  • If in Doubt… A Prayer for the Week

    He spoke to the Woman: “Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?” Genesis 3:1b

    O, the temptress. I hear you in the shadows. You slither into my lonely moments and whisper in my ear.

    And yet… despite you. To spite you. Stomping you out! Ignoring your coy tactics! I make a choice. I rest in my choice. I cling to my choice.

    I will not allow your sneaky voice of doubt a defining foothold. No whisper, seeking clarity, will recast my mission. I will not be defined by you, I will define you!

    Instead:

    • If in doubt… I’ll teach the Bible.
    • If in doubt… I’ll say I don’t know.
    • If in doubt… I’ll take the challenge.
    • If in doubt… I’ll spend time with people my own age.
    • If in doubt… I’ll compliment and encourage instead of criticize or question.
    • If in doubt… I’ll be bold with what God’s laid on my heart.
    • If in doubt… I’ll invest in people instead of projects.
    • If in doubt… I’ll go with less planning, more doing.
    • If in doubt… I’ll say yes to a wild idea.

    Yes, these are scary times. And scary times make counter-productive doubts seem reasonable.

    I’ve made a choice to stand as a crazy man, convinced that God can use me to change things. Circumstances mean nothing. Opposition is a joke. Logic is often illogical. Realism is veiled fatalism!

    While it seems natural to teeter-totter, like Thomas, between faith in what God can do and doubt in what I can barely allow myself to dream about God doing– I reject doubt’s gravitational pull and fling myself forward in faith.

    Let doubt not define me today. Instead, allow me to define my life as one who overcomes doubts with  radical, ridiculous, simple, and audacious faith.

    Lord, hear my prayer.

    Lord, hear our prayer.

    Amen. 

  • Keep it simple

    Discipleship – One of the most straight-forward concepts in Christianity. Instead of keeping it simple we turn it into a complicated mess. How hard is it? A person comes to you and wants to grow in their relationship with Jesus. Cool, tell them to find a Bible, read the book of John, and lets meet in 3 days. In the process of trying to make it easy (with a process) we make it hard.

    Bible study – Another straight-forward concept. To lead a Bible study you need a couple of people, a Bible, and maybe a notebook. Pick a starting point, any starting point, read a section and ask the text… who, what, how, when, where, and why? In the process of trying to make it easy (with tools) we make it hard.

    Community – We are hard-wired to form community in our DNA. It couldn’t get more simple than following your instincts. Share life with some friends, be open to making new friends, and take care of one anothers needs. The only thing hard about it should be the relational stuff. You don’t need a pastor to teach you how to do this, or a program at church, or anything else. You just need to do it.

    Sometimes I wonder why we make things so dang complicated?

    I know one reason: Making simple things complicated keeps people busy/employed/powerful/empowered.

    When in doubt– keep it simple. 

  • Radically Local

    Photo by Doc Searls via Flickr (Creative Commons)

    I don’t drive my car very often.

    We are a one car family and I choose to take the trolley to work most days. I’ve learned to love the slowness of riding my bike and taking public transportation.

    When I do drive it tends to be with the five of us crammed into our Passat. A fun and usually noisy experience that I’ve learned to adore.

    But, the other day was different and found myself in the car alone. And I did something even more rare… I turned on the radio and surfed some channels.

    I found a local station that just plays local bands. Their commericals said something like this, “Sure, we could be like everyone else and copycat the LA stations. But we’re local. We’re San Diego. We favor local music over commercial hits.”

    It was cool. Fresh even. And something deep in me resonated with the knowledge that I was hearing music on the radio you wouldn’t hear on the radio anywhere else.

    Radically Local

    All of this is a movement towards local. Farmers markets have become popular across the country– a celebration of locally grown foods. Food trucks are all the rage– cooking up local eats in a way that is both local and mobile. Local food chains are a growing market. Local festivals are as strong as ever.

    In the past 3-4 years people have grown a taste for all things local. And increasingly people are radically local and radically loyal to locals.

    It is a pendulum swing against the rapid nationalization of the past decade. You could get a Chicago style pizza in LA. You could get buttered grits in Seattle. You could get a Krispie Kreme donut at any gas station in North America.

    And for a time I think people thought that was novel and cool. But people tired of this trend quickly. It was awesome that in the same restaurant they could chose between a Texas steak, a Pad Thai, or Kansas rub BBQ ribs until they woke up to the realization that while novel, it wasn’t authentic. People began to realize that convenience was coming at the cost of destroying what made their community interesting.

    And the pendulum has swung the other way.

    People’s preference now shifting towards local. And people are getting radical about local. It starts with food and music. But it won’t stop there.

    God’s call to become radically local

    I have an assumption that God is smarter than I am. He isn’t surprised by the street I live on or who my neighbors are. I’d like to think that God has you right where He wants you for His purposes. When Jesus was asked what the Greatest Commandment was Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind and love your neighbor as yourself.”

    We aren’t called to hide from our neighbors. Or pretend they don’t exist. Or justify that since our neighbors are weird or jerks or old or drunks that they aren’t the neighbors we are supposed to love.

    That’s radically local. It’s too easy to focus on what we do at church or what we do when we are leading teams or what we do when people notice or even what we do to serve the greater community as “loving our neighbors.”

    Loving your neighbor is often private, small, and even simple.

    Simple, minor, radical local— love.

  • Adam’s 5 Rules for People I Do Life With

    Doug Fields recently posted this picture after his trip Kenya, to visit his son Cody, who took some time off from college to serve in a ministry there.

    These are the rules of some street kids who self-govern their community.

    Doug closed the post by asking, “What guidelines would best enhance your closest relationships?”

    I chewed on that question for a whole day. I could quickly come up with 1-2 but 5 just weren’t coming together. During this mornings jog I finally settled on these 5.

    Adam’s 5 Rules for People I Do Life With

    1. Tell each other the honest truth – We all have enough people in our lives who blow smoke.
    2. Show up – In one another lives, in our prayers, and in our home.
    3. God’s Word is true – It’s radical, scary, and comforting. But most importantly it’s true.
    4. You’ve got to listen – We will make space to hear you, really hear you.
    5. Call each other out – Real friends help each other grow.

    What are yours?

  • Real Life Ministry: Real Hurts

    Real Life Ministry: Why does serving Jesus sometimes hurt so bad?
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    If it didn’t hurt so much sometimes it wouldn’t be personal.

  • 1-2-3 Jump

    Photo by Carla MacNeil via Flickr (Creative Commons)

    Moses. Abraham. David. Joshua. Daniel. Jonah. Isaiah. Nehemiah. [Insert your Bible heroes name here____.]

    There is one important reason that you know their names and not the names of the thousands of people God may have called at the same time. People with higher status in their day. From better families. People who were probably more recognizable as they walked the face of the planet. 

    God gave those men an opportunity to do something for Him.

    And they jumped. They actually did it.

    We don’t know if God had called others who didn’t listen first. But the point is that you know their names because they jumped.

    They heard God’s voice in the desert or in a burning bush or through a prophet or in prayer or in the belly of a whale.

    And they acted.

    They could have heard God’s call and ignored it. And God, in His grace and benevolence, may have allowed them to live a very nice and safe life.

    But they didn’t.

    They heard God’s voice, turned around, and… jumped.

    Here’s the thing that blows me away: That same rare voice heard in the desert or the belly of a whale or in a burning bush… He lives in us as we are indwelled by the Holy Spirit.

    The question for us isn’t: “Where will we have to wander to hear the still, calm voice as He lives inside of us.” The question is… “When He calls us to do something, do we jump?”

    I don’t know what God has called you to do today. But I have committed my life to the idea that when I hear the still, calm voice– sometimes loud, booming, audacious voice– that I will jump.

    Jump first. Let God count the cost.