Category: hmm… thoughts

  • That Slimy Boy

    Photo by Jon Ovington via Flickr (creative commons)
    Photo by Jon Ovington via Flickr (creative commons)

    While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:6-7

    The incarnation of Jesus is messy business. Like, the physical act of it. Not pretty. As we approach the sterile corporate approved holiday of Christmas that we celebrate today, maybe we need a step back to remember just how messy Jesus coming to earth really was?

    I don’t know if you’ve witnessed child-birth personally. But I’ve seen it and it isn’t beautiful. It’s popular to say child-birth is beautiful… it isn’t! I don’t know where this notion comes from. It’s interesting, it’s miraculous, I’d even call it cool– but it is not beautiful in the sense of a Monet painting or the Christmas display at Marshall Fields or the Cubs winning the pennant. Child birth is anything but beautiful.

    And modern birth is a lot safer than it was back 2000 years ago. Even in today’s modern hospitals child-birth is still bloody, agonizing, stinky, and otherwise unpleasant. I can’t imagine child-birth outside of a hospital. Maybe you can. But to me it just seems really scary.

    Now put yourself in the shoes of a teenage girl. Away from home, pregnant for the first time… and your water breaks. Wonderful. Labor and delivery of Jesus was not in a hospital, hooked up to monitors, comforted by nurses and a lovely drug man offering pain management. Jesus was born outside of the inn. The text just highlights that there was no room for them in the inn, so Jesus could have been born in a barn or a cave or just outside.

    And who can blame the innkeeper? If you showed up at my house with a woman in labor– I’m not about to give you a room in my house so your wife can drop all that stink and nastiness in one of my rooms for a couple bucks. Would you let them into your place of business? I think not.

    We think of Jesus’ physical arrival in such clean modern medicine ways, don’t we? Let’s not lose sight of the blood and agony of Mary so quickly.

    • A young woman in a lot of pain.
    • Since she was traveling for the census, her mom probably wasn’t with her.
    • It’s reasonable to think that Joseph and Mary traveled with his family. So maybe Jesus was born within the presence of his grandmother or aunts? The text doesn’t say. Either alone completely– or this virgin was bearing her goods to her husbands relatives. Talk about awkward.
    • She sits down or squats to deliver a baby. No birthing suite. In the ancient world they let gravity do much of the work.
    • If modern child-birth feels touch and go, imagine child-birth in the ancient world? Hell on earth. It’s not like they had the option of a C-section.
    • As Jesus’ little head pops out we have no idea how scary that moment was for everyone there. But I will guarantee you no one pulled out a little suction thing and sucked the fluid out of Jesus’ nose.
    • No one felt safe enough to ask Joseph, “Would you like to help deliver your child?” I will guarantee you that. Joseph probably wasn’t even allowed to be present.
    • After delivery, no nurses took the baby to wash him and wrap him up to lay him warmly on mom’s belly while a doctor uses sterile instruments to clean up. How did they get that cottage cheese stuff off of him?
    • If Jesus was born in a stable or barn, let’s hope there wasnt’ a dog. They like to lick stuff like that. My dogs runs around and licks when the kids spill cereal. Yeah, let’s hope there wasn’t a dog present. There probably was.
    • No big moment when the doctor asks Joseph if he’d like to cut the cord.
    • The “it’s a boy” moment was just a confirmation of what the angels already told Mary & Joseph.
    • No one pulled a sterilized Jesus aside to check his Apgar score.
    • No balloon bouquet or digital pictures of the infant fly around the world so that family can instantly know the baby is healthy and mom is OK. Word probably traveled fast back to Mary’s family… but a couple of days at the very least.

    The act of Jesus coming to earth– slimy at best. Death defying to say the least.

    And yet, on December 25th, the entire world pauses to remember this moment. Messy, bloody, gross, and scary. The act of remembering, symbolized by the exchange of gifts and family celebrations, is celebrated in almost every country in the world! Even people who are diametrically opposed to Jesus celebrate Christmas.

    Black Friday. Mall parking lots. Santa Claus. Candy canes. Shopping lists. Ham. Credit card debt. Somehow God is in all of that, too? Something like 30% of retailers cash flow comes in the 30 days surrounding Christmas.

    That’s a lot of cash spent remembering a baby people don’t believe is the Savior of the world.

    The act of incarnation. God becoming flesh. 2,000 years later it is still sending shock waves, isn’t it?

    Messy, slimy boy.

  • 5 Clarifying Questions

    As another week begins and another year winds down I hope that you are pausing long enough to reflect on who you have become, who you are becoming, and the trajectory/pace you are taking.

    If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. — Luke 12:28-30

    Where have you set your heart?

    Ask yourself these questions:

    1. If they stopped paying me to do what I do… would I still do it?
    2. Am I proud of what I’m doing?
    3. Am I doing something worth dying for?
    4. Am I doing something worth living for?
    5. If I were to go back nine years, am I on the path of things I dreamed about for ten years in the future?

  • December Nights

    Yesterday my family went to December Nights. At the heart of San Diego’s tourist industry stands Balboa Park. It’s a very cool complex of museums, gardens, and of course the San Diego Zoo. Like residents of most tourist destinations, very few San Diego residents regularly go to the tourist industries epicenter. I don’t know what that is, but it’s the same reason why I lived in Chicago for 8 years but have never been to the top of the Sears Tower.

    Once per year, the residents of San Diego go to Balboa Park for a community festival called December Nights. As Midwesterners, we laugh at the Santa Claus’s and hot chocolate stands among the palm trees… but for San Diego folks this is about as cold as it’ll get and they are feeling the Christmas spirit.

    It’s an event filled with wonderful food stands, choirs and dance troupes, and vendors peddling their art.

    It’s also filled with SoCal flavor. Yuppies bring their foo foo dogs. Families bring their kids and grandparents. The singles scene crowds into the 21+ booze area. Political nut cases try to get you to sign their ballot petition. Kids sell candy, some for legit causes some for illegitimate causes. Someone in the parking lot was likely selling weed. Vendors walk around trying to sell you stuff that you don’t want. (But at least they have nice candy canes!) It’s really the same crowd you’ll see at the beach, baseball games, or any other street market in the city.

    Perhaps the most fun thing about living in a tourist destination is being a local who gets to play when all the tourists go home?

  • The power of editing

    The unsung heroes of any book, movie, magazine, or television show are the people behind the scenes who edit and frame a story into something that people will want to watch and talk about.

    For instance, take a look at the trailer for the 1988 movie, “A Cry in the Dark.” (You know, the one with Meryl Streep when she says, “A dingo ate my baby!” “the dingo’s got my baby.” [Thanks commenter])

    Here is the original trailer, put together by the UK-based company who made the movie, CannonFilms.

    Here is the U.S. theatrical release version shown to American audiences, put together by Warner.

    The video is probably 90% the same. Same shots, same scenes used. But with a few copy edits, a different voiceover actor, and different background music… the trailer comes across much different.

    I bring this up for two reasons.
    1. The difference between a lot of things being appropriate for one audience or the other is often times in the minor details.
    2. When you watch or read a story be aware that somewhere, someone is editing it to convey a message.

  • Let’s not talk about 2009 too much, ok?

    Let's never speak of 2009 again

    It’s not been an easy year. There have been some highlights… but a lot of lowlights. I can’t think of a period of time with more tears than 2009. I know I’m looking forward to a fresh start in 2010. Anyone with me?

  • Christians are Bad Tippers

    Photo by garryknight via Flickr
    Photo by garryknight via Flickr

    The other day I was reading Steve Dublanica’s blog, Waiter Rant, in which he had a post entitled “Who are the worst tippers?“ Essentially, Steve was querying his reading audience… people who make most of their money from tips… who are the worst tippers.

    And the comments were revealing.

    There seem to be two kinds of bad tippers in the United States.

    1. People from countries where they don’t tip.
    2. The after church crowd.

    But the worst? Sunday Church goers who sit for hours and hours and leave 3 bucks on a $40 bill.

    What does that say about believers that we think so little of the people who serve us that we, as a people group, are known as cheap?

    ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ Matthew 25:45

    Let’s review. Here’s a link to some tipping ettiquette. This is what is expected, to not do at least this is rude.

    If you are going to go to lunch after church and hang out for an extended period of time, it is also customary to double tip on your table since the server is actually losing another table because you’ve stayed so long.

    Let’s presume that we, as a people group, are doing this because we just don’t know any better. But now that you know that “we” are known as bad tippers, I’d hope “we” adjust our behavior accordingly. I’d hate to presume that we really are cheap jerks!

  • Life Schmooshing

    life-convergence

    “How do I keep my private life private with social media?”

    When I pull away all the onion layers for people learning about social media, this is their core fear. They wrestle with two primary realities.

    1. Why would anyone care about what I am doing?
    2. How do I control the message?

    I’m not saying that every person who uses social media has something to hide. But I am saying that nearly every adult is increasingly aware that their use of the internet can be a both an asset and a liability– often times at the same time.

    I call it “life schooshing.” When I want to come across as intelligent, I use the phrase “life convergence.”

    Rather than fight it I suggest you learn to embrace and manage it.

    In the past, we could have a public persona and a private persona. And because theose spheres of influence rarely collided it wasn’t a big deal if those lifestyles didn’t line up with one another. A pastor could be a complete Republican hero on Sunday morning, while privately supporting the most liberal Democrats with his money. No one would ever know or ever care to know!

    The internet has changed all of that.

    Now? You’d be an idiot to try to keep all of these spheres apart. Your high school friends on Facebook will call you out. Your family will call you out. Your church will call you out. Your co-workers will call you out. Worse case scenario, your sins will call you out.

    Two realistic choices for dealing with life schmooshing.

    1. Go Amish. Unplug from social media. Don’t have a Google account. Stop using Facebook. Don’t comment on people’s blogs. Pretend Twitter doesn’t exist.
    2. Embrace incarnational living. It’s not a bad thing to have all of your life converge together. Trust me. It’s more blessing than curse. If you truly want to be a person of integrity in all areas of your life… social convergence is a great thing!

    What are some ways social media is helping your spheres converge in healthy ways? What are some fears you have? What about concerns of privacy?

  • Rest

    Convention season is over. As you would expect, I am exhausted.

    My mind is marshmallow. My heart for the conventions is that I am there to serve and minister… And that I want to leave every ounce of myself “on the field.”

    All three cities left me physically spent. But in Atlanta I made a special effort to open myself to time with attendees. As a result I did a lot of listening and praying with fellow youth workers. This has left me emotionally drained. I have so much going on in my mind, but it just won’t come out in written word.

    The next few days I will be pretty absent. I just need to rest, think, pray, and be present with the most important people in my life.

    Until then, my feet will be up, I am turning it off, and I will see you all again soon.

  • The weeks to come

    This is convention week. For the 5th time this year I will travel to a convention center to run social media. Two DCLAs (for students) and this is the third NYWC. (for youth workers)

    I have the best job in youth ministry. I get to meet youth workers from all over the world and remind them that even though their jobs are hard and thankless… they are being used by God to further His Kingdom.

    Awesome.

    What’s different about this week is a little pre-convention trip to Pittsburgh on Tuesday and Wednesday. (Host of NYWC 08) There I’ll be hanging out with Travis Deans and a bunch of youth workers in the Pittsburgh area. Travis is hosting two meetings of youth workers and I’ll have the opportunity to speak to them and with them. Such a blast! Travis and I lived on the same residence hall floor at Moody. That seems like about 10 billion years ago but I guess it was 1994-1996. We reconnected last Fall in Pittsburgh and I was stoked to learn that he’s been doing youth ministry since graduation! I will see if I can muster up a story about Travis to embarrass him. I may have to make one up.

    Wednesday night I fly down to Atlanta. The last U.S. convention is always the largest so that will make it a lot of fun. Since Thursday is normally my travel day to convention I will be working from my hotel room all day on normal work stuff. That said, I do have one detour planned! I’ve been a user and fan of Mailchimp for a couple of years. Their offices are in downtown Atlanta and I hope to pop in on them Thursday to see where they keep the monkeys.

    Friday through Monday… you won’t hear from me but I’ll be covering NYWC. (lots of live streaming of our rich line-up of speakers) Typically at convention, I’m busy all day with convention work and meal times are dominated by lunch with people I only see once per year. It’s hard to explain working through a convention season, it goes by fast and slow at the same time. I’ll blink and it’ll be Tuesday morning.

    I fly home on Tuesday the 24th, picking up a rental car, and heading home to do some laundry. Wednesday through Sunday… we’re headed to San Jose for Thanksgiving! My cousin and his family live up there and we thought it’d be a blast to hang out with them over the holidays. (And see the Notre Dame vs. Stanford game.) The last time Kristen and I were in San Jose was 2000! So I’m looking forward to that.

    The crazy thing about the next 2 weeks of travel? It’s my last scheduled trip. Last year, I had a similarly strangle travel schedule before the holidays… then didn’t leave San Diego county for almost 6 months!

    Blog posts during the next two weeks will be typical. Sporadic and random.

  • Dogs Welcome Home a Soldier

    Even if you aren’t a dog person, this video is rad.

    HT to Mark