Category: Christian Living

  • Fire is Free

    Photo by Harsha K R via Flickr (Creative Commons)

    I was listening to a message by Rob Bell a few years ago and someone posed the question to him, “Why do people drive for hours to be a part of Mars Hill.” His answer was profound and simple: “People will drive from miles around to see what’s on fire.”

    Very true, isn’t it?

    When I read the book of Acts I am sucked into the story of both the fire God started and the massive attention that fire drew wherever the Apostles traveled. Sure, there was spectacle on the day of Pentecost where God dropped tongues of fire on believers as they were indwelled with the Holy Spirit.

    Yet they only grew by a few thousand that day.

    By the end of Acts there were tens of thousands of believers. (Maybe more?) They had unleashed a virus of forgiveness of sins and restoration of relationship that the Roman army couldn’t stamp out. By Acts 28, what started as a small fire in Jerusalem was spreading. God had captured hearts whereas other gods and kingdoms tried to capture their bodies– and the Romans simply couldn’t shut down a virus that spread with love.

    Because of the division between Luke-Acts we lose sight of the resolution of the story of Jesus’ ministry. While the credits roll and Easter is celebrated at the empty tomb, the story isn’t over!

    The story is really just beginning.

    It was a virus so strong that within three centuries it would topple the most powerful and dominant empire the world has ever seen.

    The empty tomb is the climax. But the unleashing of God’s people by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit are the resolution.

    Why did Jesus come to earth? Surely, to seek and save the lost. Surely, to make a way for salvation of all who seek him. Of course those are reasons He came to earth.

    But it was also to unleash a fire through his believers that can’t be stopped.

    For 2,000+ years the fire has burned as the only hope of the planet spreads. While evil has appeared from every direction over millennia the fire has spread. Even as martyrs were literally burned at the stake they passed the flames on with their love. The fire is shared from father to son, neighbor to neighbor, classmate to classmate, and homeless man to executive.

    A lot of people I know are disappointed in God today. A new year has dawned and they look at the resources they have available, they scratch their heads, they look at the agenda God has laid on their heart, and they cry silently– God, there is no way I can do this with the resources I have.

    Unfortunately, too many of my friends in ministry woke up this morning wondering if God has still called them to a life in ministry.

    To both, I have this simple reminder from Acts: Fire is free.

    The great Hope of the world flows from the pores of our weakness. While we may be depressed by a lack of resources or even a lack of a job– be encouraged the your greatest calling spreads fastest through people with no resources, no stock piles, and nothing left but a flickering flame.

  • Towards Simplicity

    Photo by Steve Minor via Flickr (Creative Commons)

    ‘Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free,

    ‘Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
    And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

    ‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
    When true simplicity is gain’d,

    To bow and to bend we shan’t be asham’d,
    To turn, turn will be our delight,

    Till by turning, turning we come round right.

    Simple Gifts – Elder Joseph Brackett, Shaker

    This has hardly been our theme song for 2010. Yet, Kristen and I have made some serious moves towards simplicity this year. Ever since I read Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline, I’ve been fascinated by the concept that less is more in my life.

    The Simple Things

    • Quantity time with the kids, individually. As the kids are getting older we are making sure to schedule time for mom and dad to spend big chunks of time with each of us 1-on-1.
    • Gardening. I can’t tell you how many deeply simple Biblical principles have been illuminated to us through our garden this year. For me, the biggest one has been– You have to prune daily, you have to weed regularly– Otherwise good things will take over your life and bad things will choke out your growth.
    • Staycation- I suppose not everyone lives in a vacation destination quite like we do. But there was something so beautiful about renting a house 45 minutes away and spending a week with family.
    • Financially sound – I was shocked when I looked at some graphs on Mint.com the other day. I told Kristen, “We did a really good job this year. We’re ahead in every category and on target or ahead in every goal.” It’s amazing what can happen if you’ll just live within your means. In 2010, we were able to give or save 25.4% of our income.
    • Meaningful roadies- In November, I lamented a lot about being away from home 14 weeks in 2010. (27% of 2010) At the same time, most of those trips were really meaningful. And not all of that was away from family. (Including the mission trip with Kristen, probably the most valuable trips of our marriage.)
    • Friendship – It’s incredible to have a life full of friendships. (Or as a co-worker calls them, “Adam’s bromances and brarriages.”) While having a bunch of great friendships is huge to me… nothing has made me more excited than to see Kristen develop some deep friendships with a few women in our community group.
    • Real food – We’ve far exceeded our desire to buy/grow 25% of our food from organic sources in 2010. While it might not sound immediately like a step towards simplicity: Going to the farmers market (and even visiting the farm where our food comes from) has not only connected us to where our food comes from– we feel a lot better. There’s nothing finer than enjoying a salad or eating fruit that you’ve grown yourself.
    • Acting on convictions – Putting what you believe to action really is a step towards simplicity. That might not sink in at first, but remember that regrets and the conflict caused by sitting idly on your convictions creates stressful complexity. All year long I’ve asked myself, “Am I making the most of this opportunity? Am I acting on my convictions? Will I regret it if I don’t say that?”
    • Towards a small world – No doubt, I have many friendships all around the country and around the world. But taking the step to try to focus some of that energy onto the block we live has been rewarding. We’re looking to allocate more of our time/resources towards that in 2011.
    • Journalling – I’m headed into my seventh year of journalling my life online. This little discipline has transformed my life. It’s really interesting when I interact with people who are thinking about starting a blog. “When will I have the time? What will I say? Will people read it?” I come at it daily with the exact opposite thoughts. The time I spend journalling brings me life. What I write just comes out of my life. And I don’t care if anyone reads it.

    It’s funny how simplicity is different for everyone. When I think of my life, filled with a calendar full of meetings, digital gadgets, hours online per day, on and on… I still consider it grounded in simplicity. Perhaps that makes me a digital simpleton?

    I don’t have grandiose plans to drive this further in 2011. With baby #3 coming soon I think we’ll just be happy to hold on to the progress we’ve made in 2010. You know, keep it simple.

    What steps towards simplicity are you taking? What are things you’d challenge me towards in 2011?

  • Overstanding God’s Word

    The book of James will punch you in the face. Repeatedly. This passage from James 1 came up at our retreat last week and was freshly illuminated to me.

    Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. James 1:22-25

    Our students were doing an inductive study of Mark 4. And one of the groups was asked to act out and explain verses 21-25. When presenting, a student said something like this,”You shouldn’t just hear the Word and put it on the shelf, or even under something. You should put it over everything else you are doing.”

    That hit me like a ton of bricks. How many times am I tempted to just understand God’s word? God’s not just asking me to understand the Bible, He’s asking me to “overstand it” by putting it above everything else.

    So simple a 16 year old can teach it to me. But incredibly difficult to live out on a daily basis.

    Oh, that I might be a man (and we a people) who doesn’t just understand your word, but is bold enough to overstand it by putting it into action.

  • Nativity, Defined

    Photo by Grand Canyon NPS via Flickr (Creative Commons)

    Nativity – the process whereby someone becomes a native.

    Christmas is one of the most confusing holiday’s on the planet. It’s half religious and half a celebration of solstice. The secular vs. religious scales have tipped back and forth over millennia.

    That’s a historically accurate tension.

    If you are feeling it this year. Welcome. You are in good company. Grab a glass of eggnog.

    Some people think that Christmas is a religious holiday that’s been ruined by secularization. In fact, it’s a secular holiday that’s religious people have tried to hijack since the 3rd century when Rome turned to Jesus.

    Sometimes Christmas is about revelry. And sometimes it’s about Jesus. Right now it’s a little bit of both, isn’t it?

    Centuries ago, Christians strategically capitalized on a holiday which felt like it had something to do with the incarnation of Jesus. Every pagan group in Europe had celebrated some variety of a multi-day winter solstice festival, some marked by the giving of gifts, and as Christianity became the dominant religion in the area we just tried to rebrand it as being all about Jesus.

    Every element of our modern Christmas celebration is irreligious and about revelry. The tree, the carols, Santa Claus, the yule log, the Christmas parties, the gifts, the traditional foods, family togetherness. These are all pagan festivities we’ve adopted into a pseudo-Christian hybrid holiday we call Christmas.

    The tension you feel is because tension is the intention of the season.

    Imagine how it must have felt as Jesus stepped out of heaven and into the arms of a teenage mother? Uninvited game changer. He ruined the reputation of a young woman. He entered the world as a family disgrace. And the political powers didn’t like who people said he was to become so they had every boy his age killed. Like it or not… Jesus’ arrival changed everything. His process of coming here was just as messy as the messiness you feel at a family Christmas celebration this December.

    That is nativity at it’s core. The process of becoming a native. Uncomfortable. Foreign. Out of place. Contradiction. Frustration.

    And just like Jesus dealt with the tension and contradiction of becoming a native, he asks us to do the same by doing things which seem counter-intuitive. Instead of Good News being about us, Jesus asks us to be Good News to our neighbors. Instead of Good News something we privately keep to ourselves, Jesus asks us to live a life worthy of sharing. Instead of living a life about our family, Jesus invites us into a community of new family.

    There’s a lot of tension in this season we call Christmas. It is by design. The tension you are feeling is the tension of bringing Good News into a broken world.

    Ask yourself today, “How am I being Good News today to my neighbors? What can I do to be Good News to the family next door?“

  • Why did Jesus come here?

    It’s a perfectly logical question for this time of year.

    The incarnation of Jesus: God becoming flesh in the form of a baby. St. John covers this pretty good in chapter 1 of his gospel account.

    Here’s a hint: It didn’t have anything to do with Christmas. How do I know that? When Jesus was born they didn’t celebrate birthdays. His parents didn’t even use the Roman calendar we use to declare his birthday as December 25th. Maybe somewhere someone wrote down the day Jesus was born. Heck, we’ve got a 1 in 365 day chance that he was born on that day. But considering they used a 360 day calendar it’s safe to say that Christmas isn’t really about Jesus’s birth.

    So let’s instead focus on the incarnation of Jesus the Christ. All of that birthday stuff is just a distraction from the really good stuff.

    Christmas, from a religious holiday perspective, is about Jesus bringing the Good News to earth.

    I’m pretty sure the incarnation of Jesus has nothing to do with having his birth celebrated by giving one another gifts financed by debt. Oops. Sorry, too personal?

    And I surely know it had nothing to do with putting a ton of your churches resources into putting up decorations and hosting a pageant. God didn’t take on flesh as an outreach event. Yeah, I’m looking at you.

    The incarnation, a quick review

    1. John 1:12 – “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” [Let’s be honest, we like this statement best because it has to do with us. It’s OK, it’s good news to us. It’s awesome news to become a child of God!]
    2. John 1:9 – “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.“

    The Good News of Jesus is personal. I’m an evangelical and boy do I like that! It’s all about me, baby!

    Or is it?

    John 1:9 is oddly inclusive. It implies that it’s not just about me. And it’s not just about bringing people to church so that they can be exposed to the message of Jesus.

    The incarnation of Christ includes bringing a more general Good News to the earth. To everyone. And for those of us (myself included) who see the incarnation through an evangelical lens… this idea messes with our theology a little. We talk a ton about personal salvation and accepting Jesus into our heart. But John makes it clear that there is some general good news brought to the whole world through Jesus’ light.

    Think about the physics of bringing light into a dark room for a second. Let’s say you are in a dark movie theater. It’s full of people… a thousand of them. And suddenly the screen goes pure white.

    Who does that white light effect? Just the people who chose to be effected by the light? Of course not! Everyone who was in darkness is effected by the light. Personal choice has nothing to do with it. Everyone in the room was in darkness and is now experiencing some sort of the benefits of the light shining.

    So, as we think about the incarnation of Christ we must think about “What does it mean that Jesus brought light to the whole world, practically?”

    It’s a lot to chew on. And I’ll step away, asking you to reflect on these two passages which I think move believers towards the reality that Jesus is asking us to bring Good News to our neighborhood more than he is asking us to grow our church. (Specifically, he is expecting Good News to flow to your neighborhood through you.)

    Mark 12:28-31 – “One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

    “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

    I love how the teachers of the law ask him a singular questions in Mark 12 and he gives them two answers. Take that!

    Ephesians 5:8-12 – For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said:

    “Wake up, sleeper,
    rise from the dead,
    and Christ will shine on you.”

    I love how Paul says, “You were once darkness.” Not, “You were once in darkness.” No, things were dark because of you. We’re all in the same boat there.

  • Perspective

    That’s what 2010 has been about.

    My life was turned upside down multiple times in the past 12 months. All of which I’m entirely grateful for.

    Haiti – On January 12th, as news flooded in that much of Port-au-Prince had crumbled in an earthquake, I prayed a crazy prayer. I asked God to comfort those who were dying, bring emergency help if possible for those who survived, and if He wanted I was willing to go.

    Little did I know that 5 weeks later I’d be standing amidst the rubble. We helped where we could. We prayed with people and met plenty of pastors looking for aid. But the thing that rattled me more than anything was to feel a nation suddenly turn their heart towards God. An emotion leapt out of every person that sang in the streets, “I’m alive, so I can celebrate! I’m alive because of Jesus! I will celebrate even though I have nothing!” The only way I can describe that is that it felt like I’d been given the opportunity to dip my toe in a river of God’s benevolence. It’s was more powerful than anything I’d ever experienced.

    My perspective was changed when people who slept in tents on the rocky bare ground asked if they could pray for me. That re-defined what it means to be poor.

    Baby – One Sunday in late June the game was changed. “I’m pregnant.” Two words that I’ve wanted to hear for a long time but never really thought I’d hear again. Over the next few months we’ve had to wrap our minds around what it’ll mean to have a baby in the house again. Unlike with our first baby the question we’ve been asking ourselves is, “How little stuff do we think we can get away with acquiring?” There are, of course, bigger questions to be answered. How will this baby change our family? How will we handle child care? Will this baby finally have curly hair like Kristen?

    My perspective was changed when the reality set in that this is an opportunity to apply what we learned with Megan and Paul. In many ways we’re brand new parents.

    Openness – For some reason I’d kept a muzzle on myself. I suppose I had a fear that if I really opened up and said what was on my mind– instead of what I thought people wanted me to say– that people would like me less. And I certainly felt the sphincter effect on my creativity as more and more people began reading my blog after Marko left YS.

    Then, late last year I woke up and realized something. “I just don’t care. I need to be 100% me 100% of the time. This is who God made me and I need to be gaudy in that. Let the chips fall where they may.” It’s been interesting to see the results in 2010. I’ve written things in 2010 that I literally done with fear and trembling… and time and again those things have been affirmed as not just OK… but words that people needed to read. More good things have happened as a result of trying to be true to myself than I ever would have thought possible.

    My perspective was changed when I internalized that the world has enough pretenders. Sometimes you need to do things that are counter-intuitive to break through a barrier.

    All of this has given me new ears to listen. New levels of obedience. And an overwhelming excitement for days to come.

  • Abram’s Call: An advent monologue

    Photo by Stephen Weppler via Flickr (Creative Commons)

    [Lights up]

    [The main character, Abram, walking his dog through his middle class neighborhood.]

    [His phone rings, the ringtone is Usher’s OMG]

    [Abram bounces his head to the song as he pulls the phone out of his pocket.]

    [Abram’s glances at the caller ID and stops cold. He raises his eyebrow for a brief second, thinking about letting it go to voicemail.]

    Abram: Ah, man. I don’t really have time for this today. Give me a break… OK, whatever.

    [Abram swipes to take the call]

    Abram: [With a little frustration in his voice] Hello?

    God: Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

    Abram: You don’t even say hello anymore? For once it’d be cool if you would at least say who it is. [pause] OK, OK… what do you want me to do? Leave the country and go somewhere? What do you mean by “leave?” You mean go for a little trip? Or do you mean I need to pack up my house, quit my job, and move? Are you OK? Have you been creating planets again? A little more clarity would be nice here.

    God: I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you.

    Abram: [pausing, looking inquisitively at his dog, who just raised his leg to pee on a bush.] What does that even mean? You don’t even say hello, you tell me to leave the country…. and now, a great nation? All I ever asked you to do was to help me be a better dad. A great nation? I’m not into politics. I don’t want to become a great nation… I just want to now how to talk to my kids about the tough stuff… you know… sex and why the Cubs suck. Stuff like that. [Pause, catching up to the reality of who he’s arguing with.] Any way we can talk a little bit more about the blessing part of it and a whole lot less of this moving somewhere else bit? I mean… I’ve got my kids in a great school. There better be one heck of a blessing for me to talk about pulling the kids out of school. You know, I’ve got a wife. I’ve got to sell her on this idea. Blessing, yeah… talk about the blessing some more.

    God: I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

    Abram: [Letting out a little doubtful snort] You want me to tell that to Sarai? Have you met her? [raising eyebrows and envisioning getting punched when he tells her.] She’s pretty comfortable in our neighborhood as it is. She loves our house. She’s got a whole bunch of girlfriends. Our kids our happy. We’re safe. And you want me to go home and tell her that leaving all of that is going to make our name great? She’s gonna throw that back in my face, you know? And I don’t think I like the sound of “you will be a blessing.” I can’t sell that to her. She’s going to want to here that you are going to bless us. Not be a blessing, get a blessing. Work with me here, G.

    God: I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse.

    Abram: [turning his heart from despair, slowly to more of a realistic tone.] Well, now we’re talking. Sarai’s gonna dig this part of it. So when our kids start at a new school and the other kids tease them because they don’t look right, don’t dress right, and live in a neighborhood they clearly don’t belong… you’re gonna have their back. And you’re going to make it pretty obvious that people are getting blessed because they bless my family, right? I’m getting the idea that you aren’t asking me if I’m willing to do this… so you’re starting to speak my language.

    God: And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

    Abram: [long pause, having been stunned into thinking deeply about those words] Whoa. OK… so what’s you’re saying is that if I go home and convince my wife to move from a house we love to a place to be determined later… that every person on the planet will be blessed through me? I’m not even sure how to respond. I guess I get to respond just by doing it, right?

    [Abram realizes that God has hung up]

    Abram: Hello? You still there? Yeah, I’m out here walking the dog… this canyon must have a dead zone or something. You’re breaking up.

    [Pulling his phone down, he sees the screen displaying “Call ended.”]

    [By this time, the dog has gotten tired of standing on his walk. So he’s laid down on his side. Abram puts his phone back in his pocket, stares off into the distance some more.]

    Abram: [under his breathe] Yeah, easy enough for God to call me like that. Now I’ve got to go home and try to convince Sarai. How would God know? Not like He has a wife.

    [Pulling on the leash and getting the dog going.]

    Abram: Come on. Let’s go. Good dog.

    [Light out]

    Narrator: So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

    Genesis 12:1-5

    Epilogue: It’s one thing to take the call. It’s another thing to put the call into action.

  • The Strategy Gap

    Wanted: Christians willing to love neighbors.
    Pay: None.
    Experience required: None.
    Training: None.
    Location: Work from home.
    Starting date: Immediately.

  • Are you willing to love your life?

    I’ve gotten a fresh round of criticism lately and most of it flows back to a single source: There are people so grumpy that it annoys them that I am happy.

    It’s as if we’ve grown so accustomed to whining about everything that we now have decided to whine about people who aren’t whining.

    Maybe our entire country is depressed?

    People seem pessimistic that optimism is even possible.

    Beyond Content

    I love my life. And I’m not afraid to state it.

    Critics– Go buy some cotton candy and watch kids on the merry-go-round for an hour.

    2009 sucked in many ways but galvanized one important thing: I am comfortable with who God has made me to be, come what may.

    And in releasing that anxiety God rewarded my life with a flood of blessing.

    Why am I happy? I’m challenged in new ways all the time. And I love that. I’m learning all the time. And I love that. I am doing things that matter. And I love that.

    My bills are paid. My kids are safe. Our family is growing. I take joy in the simple things. I take joy in being charitable with my time and treasures. I stop and smell the roses. I have many things in my life I could complain about but I simply chose not to.

    Find someone to high five and give them one! Glory to God!

    And yet I know it bugs people to say that I’m happy. In some Christian circles happiness really isn’t allowed… only contentedness. If you are too happy that is somehow sinful. This reminds me of the Puritans, who forbade comfortable furniture because being too comfortable or sleeping too well would somehow lead you to sin.

    Happiness is not bad. Jesus’ sermon on the mount contained something we call the beatitudes. This was a list of counter-culture things that should make us happy! (Read Matthew 5) Blessed is just a fancy way of saying, “Happy.” Reread the beatitudes and insert that word. It’ll rock your world.

    See, happiness is an attitude I chose. It comes from within and not from circumstances. It’s why I can walk around a tent city in Port-au-Prince and meet widows who tell me, “I don’t have anything but I am happy. In Christ, I have everything I could ever need.”

    Say it with me, “I love my life.”

    I’ve met too many church staff members this year who have chosen dissatisfaction as their attitude. It’s as if nothing short of being the most famous person in the world. Loving God and serving his people in their town just isn’t satisfying. We sit down and they list 25 things that are going great in their ministry. But that one thing drives them to dissatisfaction and bitters their whole life.

    You can smell it on them. Literally, it is a stench of dissatisfaction. It’s hard to be around.

    My advice? Chose a new attitude today. Join me in choosing happiness.

    Write it down. Declare it to some people. Make today the day you chose happiness.

    Actually say it out loud, right now. “I love my life.”

    Maybe it’s the first time you’ve ever said that out loud. Practice it a few more times… “I love my life.” Say it again and again until it feels natural.

    Kind of freeing, isn’t it? Go ahead, text it to your spouse right now. “Baby, I love our life.”

    Happiness comes from within. It is absent from circumstances. A happy person is happy because they’ve chosen to be happy. And choosing to be happy can be one of the most powerful, life-changing things you could ever do.

    Go and tell

    Imagine the joy it would cause if people in your life to know that you’re happy? Think about the sweet lady in your church who has told you over and over again that she prays for you daily. Or your boss. Or your mom. You know– the people who really care about you and your happiness.

    Let it be known that you love your life. Write, “I love my life” as your Facebook status today. Post it on Twitter. Print off a sign and put it on the doorway to your office.

    I dare you. Chose happiness and change your life. It can start today.

    O, that we would live a life worthy where the Gospel has fully penetrated even to our attitudes.

  • Resetting Priorities

    I’ve been thinking about this concept of priorities for my life in ministry.

    Here’s the list I see all the time:

    1. God
    2. Family
    3. Our vocational ministry

    I actually think that’s entirely jacked up and unhealthy.

    Here’s the priorities I think God is calling those of us in vocational ministry to:

    1. God
    2. Family
    3. Community (a fellowship of friends)
    4. Loving your neighbors
    5. Our vocational ministry

    I know that for folks in vocational ministry… this is almost heresy. And in some ministries that’s almost like resigning your position.

    But I’m left to wonder. If all that people in my community see of me is busy, busy, busy… Maybe I’m not living a life worth following?

    Jesus said, “Come to me, all who are weary, and I will give you rest.” In a world which seems to spin faster and faster in every moment… that’s a promise most people need.

    The question for me is simple:

    “What do I have to change in my life to show that a life with Jesus provides rest for the weary?”