Murph's Place

Snow, Tebow, Cowardice and other Brain Blurts

2012-01-21T16:23:00.000-06:00

We had a modest snow in Chicagoland last night Enough to snarl traffic and compel me to rev up the snow blower. I actually don't mind shoveling and snow blowing. It's actually one of the few things I do that has a sense of finality to it. I can look at our walks and driveway and can actually say 'well done'. I can see the result of my labors and I like what I see. If only all of life were so easy.

Interesting to hear the Republican front runner claim that he didn't make much last year from his public speaking. Only a shade under $400,000. Chump change I guess. Think people. Think.

It's said that fear can make cowards of us all. We saw that play out tragically in the cruise ship disaster in Italy. Of course, I wonder what I might have done. The impulse to save our own skin is pretty strong. I do think we have a world full of cowards who stand up for just about nothing but sure can talk a good game at a cocktail party, on a radio talk show call in, or around the water cooler. I'm asking myself this week if their are any 'ships' I'm currently abandoning. Who needs me to get 'back on board'?

It looks like 2012 might be an economic roller coaster. News from around the economic world isn't bright. Who or what am I trusting these days? Not the euro, not the dollar. Thinking that we're all going to need to hunker down with God, in community, and with our eyes alert for helping out those in need.

I'm not looking forward to the 2012 elections. It's going to be nasty. Nasty isn't the means to the end that we need. There are some fundamental issues at stake this time around. I have a sneaking hunch that the way we talk about issues and to each other is going to need to change. Nothing on the immediate horizon leads me to believe that either side is going to look for win/win solutions. How have we lost the ability to sit down, at opposite sides of a table, and civilly make progress on issues?

I like Tim Tebow. I'm not sure if he'll ever amount to much more than he already is as a quarterback but I love his heart and his genuine love for those on the margins of life. May his tribe increase ...along with his arm strength. And for all who make fun of his love for God I'd love to hear you articulate your core beliefs in some sort of winsome way.

Rules change. No more timeouts in the last two minutes of any game. Coaches should teach their players how to adjust on the fly in all kinds of game situations. Pet peeve of mine. That's one of the reasons soccer is the world's game. It depends on the players being coached up so that they have to think for themselves in tight situations.

Speaking of sports. I get tired of coaches who are applauded for their 16 hr. a day work ethic. I'd prefer that they get a life, keep their marriages strong, and know their kids. Why do we desire role models who live insanely?

I was listening to a Christian radio station the other day and every inference was that political conservatives are good and liberals are bad. Who made that rule? Those kind of inferences don't play well in most Christian circles. Nor does any inference that liberals have everything wired and conservatives are all whacko.

I was listening to a sports talk show last week. Some of the callers really do need to get a life. Is it possible to care too much about a game? The answer is _____________?

Reading "The Hunger Games". Bravo. Well done. Nice punchy style, moves well, riveting story line, and raises heaps of issues very much germane to what we're facing in the good 'old USA and for that matter the entire western world.

To not lose track ...

2012-01-15T16:50:00.000-06:00

Author Frederick Buechner once said "To lose track of our stories is to be profoundly impoverished not only humanly but also spiritually."

Tomorrow, many will have a holiday. It’s in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.. And, I for one, am glad we honor his life and accomplishments. I don’t want to lose sight of his story.

The life and work of Martin Luther King paved the way for much of what we enjoy right now. Every time I see a group of young women play high school or college sports I am very thankful. I grew up in a time when young women didn’t have access. As I sit with co-workers at Breakthrough around a leadership table I’m thankful that there are not just white faces looking back at me. When we toured the Martin Luther King Center a few years ago in Atlanta I had to chuckle. Our guide was a white man. And he was blind. He wouldn’t have had that job unless others stood their ground and demanded equal access to opportunity. Martin Luther King would have been smiling and proud.

These things are the good result of what civil rights workers called ‘the struggle’. The struggle for opportunity. The struggle for access. The struggle for color blindness. The struggle to see all people as having worth. The struggle to help the spiritually and morally blind to see again. The struggle to wrestle power from those who abuse power. And it was done, not for the hope that someday, a national holiday would be proclaimed and schools would be closed. No it was done with the hope that America could live into its belief that all men and women are created equal. That they are children of God.

King and the civil rights community believed that every person deserved to be free, to be treated as persons not things, and to be valued as full members of the kingdom of God. And in order for that to happen people like us would form a ‘beloved community’ where diversity is embraced, where the content of one’s character is more important than skin color; where love, justice, and peace emerge as the preeminent norms for all relationships; and where institutional power is humanized by moral values so that justice reigns.

That struggle is not complete.

There are great divides still in our world. In big and small ways we find people at odds. Sometimes it’s economic divides, sometimes geographic, sometimes ethnic, sometimes sexual and still there are racial divides. We cannot sit comfortably, in our world, when we know the world is a mess for others. And I think God wants us to walk into the midst of those messes by standing against injustice and by changing the world through one act of love after another.

The civil rights movement was a turning point in the life of America. It opened doors, clarified mission, and called an entire nation to reconsider what it means to be the home of the brave and the land of the free. It would be a shame if we lost the meaning of this story for in many respects the ‘struggle’ continues. May we choose to be part of it.

www.mike-ascend.blogspot.com

Leaning right?

2012-01-03T20:28:00.003-06:00

I'm a conservative. Maybe not in the way you define it but I'm pretty well convinced that I lean to the right. You see, I have a high regard for what happened long ago. The lessons of the past need to inform the here and now. If not, we're doomed to keep repeating the failures of the past. I believe government needs to serve the needs of the people and to do it with grace, dignity, and some degree of frugality. Smaller government is better unless it can't get the job done. Then bigger might be necessary.

And because I am a conservative I value the life of every individual. Those unborn. Those on the margins. Even immigrants. Whether they are here legally or not. Whether they are working or not. I care about gay people and straight people too. I care about those who act stupidly and those who are hurt because they are surrounded by abusively mean people. I'm a big fan of the Christian scriptures. Those words tell me that all people matter to God. All people. In fact, I matter to Him. And there are times when I wonder why.

I believe, however, that people who matter to God often do things that show their disdain for Him. And I believe we all will reap what we sow.

I'm not a big fan of taxes except when a police officer arrives quickly and the roads I travel are smooth. Then I thank God for the opportunity to pay for those comforts and am willing to pay more.

It doesn't matter to me that children don't pray publicly in public schools. For I know millions pray privately and that private prayer is not something that can be thwarted.

As a conservative I vote for both red and blue. Who really believes one party embodies all that conservatism embraces? Only ideologues I'm afraid.

I embrace term limits except for those office holders who are doing a really, really good job. Then, I'm open for more of the same.

As a conservative I believe that when a government official apologizes for national arrogance he/she is quite possibly doing the will of God. My country right or wrong has always been a silly mantra.

I believe that people and nations need to be reconciled to each other. I believe that's what the Bible teaches. I'm conservative enough to believe that God trumps country and that any attempt to place country on the same mountaintop with divinity is an exercise in both futility and idolatry. And yet God wants us to be good citizens.

I'm against entitlements but understand why some are necessary. And I'm wise enough to know that whatever is supposed to trickle down the economic pipe all too often ends up getting stuck somewhere and stays stuck.

As a Christian conservative I know that the church isn't up to the task of caring for the needy. Anyone suggesting otherwise has never compared church budgets to the gross income of its members. There's a gap between rhetoric and pocketbook.

As a conservative I believe that God helps those who helps themselves except when they can't and then I'm expected to step up to help. If I'm too busy conserving only my way of life then I'm way too busy.

As a conservative I'm embarrassed about what happens on Wall Street. I don't believe that prosperity is a signal from heaven that God loves us more. If anything, prosperity is a signal that we should be giving more.

Shrill conservative voices lack thoughtfulness and groundedness. I cringe when I hear them. I believe that complex problems are not easily solved by cutthroat decision making.

Am I really a conservative? I think so. I believe that choices should be rooted in an authoritative source. That source is consistent with all that is good throughout history. And it beckons me to live within what Jesus called the unforced rhythms of grace.

Perhaps that's what it's all about. Graceful conservatism. An appreciation of all that has been good and noble and true and a desire to build upon all that goodness, nobility, and truth ...gracefully.

Of course, graceful conservatism isn't that many degrees separated from graceful liberalism. Nor should it be. What's lacking in our lean to either right or left is a grounding in something/someone that anchors our thoughts, our dialogue and our action. My hunch is that most people who lean to the point of almost falling over don't know why they believe what they believe. And it shows in their interactions with anyone who believes differently. Therein lies the problem that plagues us. We just don't know anymore. And our unknowing is creating quite a mess.

I Have Issues

2012-01-01T12:17:00.000-06:00

Two words have been in the back of my mind for awhile. I'm beginning to think they are God's words for me in 2012.

The first word is ...deeper. I think it means to go deeper in the things that matter to God.
Deeper in those things that will make a difference in my own life and in the life of those I care about. Things that will help me to think, pray, and serve with more effectiveness.

In order to go deeper there are some things I need to deal with. They are things that prepare me to live quite well in the shallow end of the pool but totally unprepared to dive into the deep end. In other words, I have issues. For those of you who know me well that doesn't come as a huge surprise. It doesn't surprise me either. The big question is whether or not I will remain content to play in the shallows even though I know I'm being called to the deep. Maybe you can relate.

The second word is ...bolder. I have seen a distressing habit developing in my life. I'm holding back too often. I'm not saying what needs to be said. I'm not writing what needs to be written. I'm not acting decisively when decisiveness is needed. If there is a valley that needs to be crossed on the way to 'wimpiness' I fear I might just be smack dab in the middle of it. It's not a good place to be. It's a place of fear.

It's interesting, In order to be bold I will need to go deep. In order to go deep I will need to be bold.

Two words. Good words and desires for 2012. Let's see what God does with it all.

Finding the Life God Intended

2011-12-28T13:57:00.000-06:00

Today, I realized something about myself. It’s not something I’m happy about. I find that I’m settling for what is all too often and not fighting for what’s best. I see crazy things all around me and I’m not stepping towards being part of the solution. I’m holding back instead of coming out swinging. I’m doing too much talking about making a difference instead of being a difference maker.

It’s easy to sit back and watch isn’t it? Name the issue and we can persuade ourselves that it’s beyond our influence. We really are narcissistic people for the most part aren’t we? It’s all about us.

Why are we mad at Congress? I’m thinking that basically it’s because their inability to act keeps us from having what we want. It has very little to do about the inspirational fiber and fabric of our life together I don’t think we want Congress to do what’s right if that means we might have to think and act differently. Do we? We want every law, every movement to benefit us. We don’t want them to be brave at our expense. We are the entitled ones. And when we don’t get what we want when we want it we throw our own little hissy fits in the hopes that, once again, it will be enough to carry the day.

I wonder if we will ever live noble lives as long as we only think of ourselves. At the heart of all that plagues us these days is good old fashioned selfishness. It’s all about us. And that’s what we fight for. Our wants, perceived needs, our mistaken goals, and culturally saturated interpretations of religions creeds, writings, and traditions.

And we are people who play it safe. We allow the talking heads on TV and radio (secular and religious) to think for us and then we parrot that particular party line to others who listen to and watch the same vacuous personalities who care not a whit about noble causes or goals. And we never put skin in the game ourselves. Or not enough skin that makes it necessary to trust God.

I’m struck by how much the scriptures of the Christian faith are a ‘call to action’. They call us to live on the edge of adventure and to use power and influence on behalf of those who have less. And that means going to bat for millions who have no voice and who would be satisfied with 5% of most of our net worth. But selfishness keeps us in safe places, tithing to ourselves, playing safe little religious games and critiquing anyone brave enough to dive into the deep end of the pool.

At the end of the year 2011 I’m surprised about how I’ve allowed the status quo to shape me even when I know better. It’s amazing (in each and every setting I’m in) how much I’ve quieted my voice. Have I forgotten how God long ago asked me to step up and out for the sake of the kingdom?

We’re facing 2012 in the face. I’m asking God to point out to me what’s standing in the way of being the man He wants me to be. Do I need more courage? Is sin robbing me of effectiveness? Bad habits? Laziness? Indifference? Whatever it is I want to be cured of it.

What about you? Ask God what’s standing in the way of being the man/woman he wants you to be. Listen. Listen again. Ask others to listen with you. And when you hear the voice of God act on it. He will ask you to shed some things and he will adjust some attitudes. Then ask the good God for a vision of how he wants you to live your life. Listen hard to this one. For if you are entitled you will find your life being challenged. Honest. Guarantee it. But jump into the vision for it’s there you will find your life. That’s my aim, by the way. To recapture the life God intended for me.

Check out my blog Murph’s Place at www.mike-ascend.blogspot.com

I'm Voting For

2011-12-11T19:04:00.003-06:00

I've been following some of the national election coverage and keeping an eye on local developments It's a bit discouraging. National trust in elected officials is at an all time low. Its understandable. If the election were tomorrow I'd choose to vote for candidates who believe that:

1. People matter. All people. White people, black people, brown people, straight people, gay people, citizens, immigrants (legal and not) the young, the old, the rich and the poor.

2. Some of those people might need more help than the others. Sometimes it's their own fault they need help. More often it's not. Bob Pierce, the founder of World Vision, once said that "our hearts should break over the thing that break the heart of God". From my vantage point I want to err on the side of grace, not judgment. I'm not suggesting we abandon the law but when the law turns its back on those in need we disobey God.

3. Sound byte answers aren't really answers. They sound silly too.

4. Waste and mismanagement is killing us and it can't continue to happen.

5. It's possible and desirable to find common ground with the other party. This is a no brainer I think.

6.The discouraged majority is looking for high road leadership.

7. The courage to make tough decisions is desirable.

8. Signing a pledge is not a leadership strategy. In fact, it limits your creative options.

9. You don't have to have a ready answer for everything. And anyone who thinks you should doesn't understand the complexity of the issues before us.

10. The problems we have will require a shared sacrifice to fix. That means the average voter is going to have to realize that we are going to have to be part of the solution. That solution is going to cost us all.

11. A moral compass should be acquired. There is a higher authority who is available for consultation.

12. We're not playing games. The economy, terrorism, corruption , entitlement issues (the most entitled seem to be those of us who have much), global hunger, disease, sex trafficking, a crumbling infrastructure, health care, etc. are not issues to be trifled with.

What's on your list? What are you looking for in your next alderman, state rep, congressman, senator, and president. Do you really know? If not, why? For if we don't know what/who we want we can only blame ourselves for the mess we'll find ourselves in.

As a person involved in Christian leadership I feel a deep obligation to talk about the issues of our day. You'll notice in this post that I'm not asking you to cast your vote for a particular party or candidate. That isn't my role. I am asking you to care deeply enough about the elections coming up that you will approach it prayerfully and thoughtfully. Many people are giving up on the political process. Not this time around ...please. Your list might be different than mine. That's fine. I'm OK with that. I'm not as OK with people who are allowing some political commentator, religious programmer, or cynical punditainer make their choices for them. That's not why God gave us a brain and a heart. We are called upon to make informed choices rooted in a clear understanding of the issues and the variety of options before us. To make uninformed choices seems to be a waste of the giftings God has given us.

Improbable

2011-12-04T07:49:00.000-06:00

Have you ever been pursued. Have you ever been pursued by someone meaning to do you harm? I have. It was in high school, freshman year. Two friends and I were chased by a car load full of guys who were tanked. These guys had a reputation for being mean spirited and always liked to pick on people they considered to be weaker. The chase wasnt long. We were on foot. They were driving. We zigged when we should have zagged and ended up cornered in an alley where the guys proceeeded to beat on my two friends. When it was my turn someone recognized me and realized his father and my father were friends. I got a reprieve. But my palms were sweaty and my fear was off the charts.When you’re afraid the pursuit can create quite a bit of an anxiety.

During Advent we talk often about the child Jesus being forced into exile by Herod the Great. He saw the child as a threat to his throne so he pursued him. I can imagine that leaving Israel for Egypt was anxiety ridden for Mary and Joseph. When you stare danger in the face that’s part of the equation.

I wonder if Herod would have been as quick to pursue if he understood completely who this child really was. Let’s go to the book of Revelations (19) and take a back of the book sneak peak at the child in the manger in full throttle Godness.

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

In the scriptures we get many glimpses of Jesus. Perhaps none is more dramatic than this passage in Revelations. The child pursued by the evil king Herod ultimately reveals Himself as the King and Lord of all. This picture of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is stunning in its portrayal of strength and ultimate victory.

Would Herod have been so brazen if he knew he was chasing God?

It's almost inconceivable that any earthly power would attempt to stand against Jesus if they had the full picture ...right?

As improbable as it sounds people do. We do. You have. We will. History is littered with the stories of men and women who dared to think they were beyond the reach of God. People who, like Herod, made war on God by attacking His creation.

As human beings we have this amazing ability to delude ourselves.

A few months ago we were at a conference on Coronado Island near San Diego. We were there when the Navy Seals finished their pursuit of Osama Bin Laden. Since the Seals are trained on Coronado we decided to go down to an Irish Pub for dinner the next day, where Navy Seals hang out. I remember looking at those guys ...cut, fit, big, big necks, square heads. And I said to Anita, “You know what’s scary? Every year, probably several times a year, a group of guys get liquored up somewhere and someone brazenly says “I bet those Seals aren’t all that tough without all their guns and knives. Let’s go find out.” And so they do. My bet that 100% of the time that they were right. That the Seals aren’t as tough as they thought they were ...in fact, they were tougher.

It’s mind numbing isn't it ... how we’re willing to take on what we know we shouldn’t and often shy away from taking on what we should. How many, by word and deed even today, show the same kind of disdain Herod did for God?

If I had been in charge of the coming of Jesus I think I would have been inclined to have sent him on his white horse all tatooed up and forget the baby stuff. To have Him come in power and not hidden. I would have had Him look the powers of this world in the eye and dared them to come against Him. For good reasons God didn't choose me to orchestrate His entrance into the world. Instead of a show of power he came to continue his pursuit of us cloaked in humility and vulnerability. As improbable as it sounds ... He comes under cover. No white horse. No army. The Scripture even tells us:

There was nothing attractive about him,

nothing to cause us to take a second look.

He was looked down on and passed over,

a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.

One look at him and people turned away.

We looked down on him, thought he was scum.

But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—

our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.

We thought he brought it on himself,

that God was punishing him for his own failures.

But it was our sins that did that to him,

that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!

He took the punishment, and that made us whole.

Through his bruises we get healed. Isaiah 53

The improbable choice of God was to identify fully with us. It was from what looked like a place of weakness that he would continue his pursuit of us. He chose to meet evil with improbable strategies . To play the game without exercising divine prerogatives.

The strategy of God was to walk among us as one of us, inviting us to embrace our true mission and identity.

And what does He say to us? My understanding of the good news tells me that he’s saying something like this.

When I made you you were good and created to do good. Sin damaged you and tainted all of creation. Nothing is as I intended it to be. I'm here to heal you, redeem you and restore you. I’m here to invite you to join me in the ongoing work of healing and restoration that will release the creation from the bondage it is in. Will you join me?

In that invitation is the gift of Christmas.

www.mike-ascend.blogspot.com

Hate Talk

2011-11-20T15:36:00.000-06:00

The whole thing only took a minute or two or three but it was chilling. With eyes to the ground, rolling a case of some kind a young Asian man was being verbally assaulted by a couple of quite inebriated college aged guys. It was in Champaign. Anita and I were walking back to our car after an Illini football game.

The verbal assault which called into question heritage, race, and style of speech was ugly in its intent and motivation. The more vocal of the two thought he was being cute and funny. The quieter one primarily giggled his approval. I'm sure they both thought they were being manly and clever. I saw childish and mean spirited.

I stopped long enough to see the Asian man scurry away, out of harms way. And yet I wonder, even now, how the violation of his personhood and the accompanying fear might impact his life. Will he brush it all off or will he forever be looking over his shoulder?

Some might say that it was the beer talking. Nope. I was seeing the drunkenness only revealing what was deep in their heart. And it scared me.

I've seen the hate mongering gene up close and personal many times. It's present in all our lives (that sin thing again). And when it's unleashed it looks ugly. The ugliness can take many forms. It could be verbal taunting, funny little stories with a racial twist, stereotyping, profiling, redlining or even hiding behind the walls of a gated community to escape 'them'.

I've been saying privately to people that my deepest fear is we're only an incident or two away from some sort of mammoth class and racial struggle. The racial and ethnic divides are deep and wide in our country still. Even on college campuses that major in tolerance and diversity. I wonder how much of our struggles with immigration policy, poverty, pluralism and terrorism are rooted in unresolved racial and ethic fears, hurts, and wounds? A lot I think. How deep is our desire to bridge those divides or are we content to maintain them?

In the Book of Ephesians we read that we are God's masterpiece. Yesterday, I saw a masterpiece of God being treated as worthless junk. And it was wrong. Yet, it happens every day, all day.

The line between my indignation and my participation in hate mongering is probably a thin one. I'm capable of much ugliness. It's truly only by the grace of God that I manage to care about doing what is good and noble. And I'm not sure that I always succeed. Today I'm doing well. We'll see what tomorrow brings. My prayer for myself and for you is that we will see hate mongering in all it's manifestations and be bothered by it. So bothered that we will stand up against it. That's risky business. It's also kingdom business And if we see 'hate' taking root in our personal lives let's stand against that too asking a good God to renew a right spirit within us.

My Penn State Story

2011-11-14T15:25:00.005-06:00

Today I left Breakthrough around noon to head back out to the western suburbs. I passed a young man and woman. They appeared to be arguing. I slowed down and watched through my rear view mirror. I saw him violently shove her. Then he threw a giant roundhouse punch that landed on the side of her head. More shoving. Then a slap. No one else was in sight.

I know what I wanted to do. I wanted to keep driving. And I almost did. But I couldn’t. So, I turned the car around. Pulled up near them. Opened my window and asked the girl if she was OK. No response. I asked again. The young man then started yelling at me. Swearing. That was fun.

The good news was that my presence stopped the violence. I pulled up the block a bit but didn’t leave. I called 911 and then flagged down a passing squad car. The police officer immediately turned around to deal with the situation. When I saw him engage the couple in conversation I left.

I’m no hero. There was a tug of war going on in my head about stopping or driving away. Interfering in something like this in an urban neighborhood can be a dangerous thing. I remembered thinking …he might have a gun? Would he assault me? But I came to the conclusion that I was the only person around who could stop this man from further harming this young woman. So I intervened. Today, I’m able to look in the mirror and know that I did the right thing. But I almost didn’t. I could have called 911 and not stopped but sometimes 911 isn’t always quick to come in some urban neighborhoods. That wasn’t the best option. God was telling me I needed to intervene. But I almost didn’t.

Last week the news about Penn State broke. I understand better today how hard it is to step up in the moment to stop something horrible. Hard isn’t easy. It is necessary though for good people to do hard things in order to stop injustice. That means facing fear, praying for courage, and asking God for protection. When we don’t lean into our fear and respond with some degree of courage people often get hurt.

On Sunday I was listening to a Christian radio station on my drive to church. I heard the host saying that he had heard about the Penn State child abuse incident but was choosing not to listen to any news details about it. There was a bit more said that made me wonder if people were being invited to check the issues of the day in the narthex of their church. I was hoping and praying people wouldn't hear that it doesn't matter what was happening out there in the world. Or that that all we needed to do was "Praise the Lord" in our holy huddles and all the bad stuff will go away. If so, I was going to be seriously ill. I was upset that perhaps some would actually believe that it was OK to close their minds and hearts to matters of serious consequence.

In a subsequent good conversation with that host I was assured that the message I heard wasn't the message intended. I will choose to believe in his intention and his heartfelt concern for the victims and his deep love for God. And yet I heard something that caused a strong reaction. Thinking through this I wonder if I wasn't filtering what I was hearing through an all too familiar and unsatisfying grid. Too often the church can close its eyes and ears to the world around them, waiting for the culture to get bad enough soon and then the Lord will come back and take all the good guys away, rescuing us from all things ugly and sinful. While I believe fully in the coming of the Lord again I also believe that we are kingdom builders in the here and now and required to deal with the world as it is as ambassadors of Christ.

I’ve always believed that people of faith need to know what is happening around them. I, too, want to praise the Lord but I believe that God wants me to care about the things that matter to Him. Kids being raped in a shower room matters to God. Such things should inform our worship and bring us to our knees crying in the midst of our outrage and springboard us to action. To close our eyes to the evil in our world is a sinful act. I was reminded of that when I saw the first punch to a woman’s face today. Who was God going to use to protect her? The finger, this time, pointed to me. Tomorrow, maybe you.

www.mike-ascend.blogspot.com

Unhappy Valley

2011-11-11T11:11:00.000-06:00

The news out of Happy Valley was grim this week. In the wake of a grand jury report detailing sexual abuse of young boys a sports icon was fired. He was not the perpetrator of the crimes. In fact, he reported one incident. But he failed to take the 'extra steps' necessary to stop fiendish acts from recurring. He took the procedural step in the right direction but not the courageous step to ending the abuse once and for all. I'm reminded of the Amelia Earhart quote "Courage is the price life exacts for granting peace. The soul that knows it not, knows no release from little things."

As I listened to sports radio this week I was stunned by many of the callers. Many claimed to be heroic figures who would have stopped the nonsense in its tracks if they would have observed the heinous crimes being committed. Talk is cheap. In a world filled with a multitude of horrors bar stool heroes are a dime a dozen. Real heroes and heroines don't have time to call in to talk shows or flex their muscles in front of mirrors. No, they are out in the trenches dealing with injustice and not just posing as protectors of the innocent and oppressed.

How many of us lack the courage to step out in faith to stare evil in the face? Too many. We get wrapped up in our comfort and trivial pursuits while all around us people who Jesus loves are being hurt, starved, abused, tortured, enslaved, belittled, and imprisoned? And we do and say nothing. Often, we put our heads in the sand and our hearts and minds on cruise control and refuse to look at the world the way Jesus sees it. It's wrong and it's sinful.

Joe Paterno said that he should have done more. He's right. But he got caught up in worshipping an idol he helped create ...big time college football. And in order to right the wrong his coach created he would have had to take his eye off the idol and do the right thing even if it meant knocking the Penn State football idol off it's pedestal. He didn't. And now he is suffering the consequences of it all. It's sad because I think Paterno did a lot of good along the way. But in this instance he lacked the courage to the right thing, in the right way.

There have been times in my life when I've been courageous and stood up to evil. There have also been times when I backed away and wallowed in varying degrees of cowardice. As hard as the courageous times were (and they usually are) I don't ever regret stepping up. My times of cowardice carry deep regret as its reward.

To those abused at Penn State we send our prayers that a good God will heal them. May justice be swift for the perpetrators. And for us ...may we open our eyes to the evil around us and may we rise up to become the answers to the prayers of those who suffer.

Trash god

2011-10-09T17:48:00.000-05:00

"Believe me: I am in my Father and my Father is in me.".

That's from the 14th chapter of the book of John. It's Jesus speaking. He's saying "Know me and you’ll know the Father you’ve been dealing with since the earth was created. He is in me. I’m in Him. Believe in me. Trust me on this. I am the road, the way. So believe in me. Trust me."

And in that 'ask' we are presented with a problem.

We struggle with trusting Jesus because, for most ... He's a stranger. We know about God but don't know Him. We don't know the 'me' we're supposed to be trusting and believing in. Why?

I'm guessing we're too busy creating God in our image and likeness instead of being shaped by Him. And so we have a culture filled with all kind of fake gods. There's a Republican god, a Tea Party god, a Democratic god, a rich god, a social justice god, a liberal god, a conservative one and a god who we expect to chase and fetch just like a dog. We have a god that we want to ratify any decision we make, a god of blessing and not sacrifice. But it’s not the real god. It’s a caricature of the real thing. We bow to little gods who look remarkably like us, are safe and controllable and who never ask us to adjust our thinking or our lifestyle. We're so busy with these itsy bitsy little gods that we don't have time to focus our attention on the real deal.

The gods we create are ultimately untrustworthy. I think we know that we can’t really put our faith and trust in them but we do anyway. And when we do, we get mad when they disappoint us because they aren’t up to the big challenges we face. And then, so many of us, try to blame the real God because he didn’t rescue us from the consequences of our actions. Go figure.

"Believe in me", Jesus says. "Trust me." It’s God beckoning us to intimacy I think. Real intimacy.

So how do we get there. Let me suggest two important steps.

1. Crush the itsy bitsy little gods that have replaced the real god in your life. Seriously, just trash them. They are just idols. Honest, your political god can't heal the ache in your heart. Neither can your economic god. Neither can the one who tells you it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you believe in something. Nope. Trash those gods.

2. Search for the real God. Make it an authentic search. I'd urge you to start by rediscovering Jesus and in the process rediscover yourself. And the starting point is the New Testament. Read it with the intent of falling in love with the real God, not the caricature. In the process you'll a lot about yourself. Eugene Peterson says "the bible reads us as we read it." It reveals things about ourself and it reveals to us the personality and work of God.

And then daily give as much as you know about yourself to as much as you know about Jesus and pray for the desire to grow in your understanding of yourself and this good God who loves you so much.

As you grow in your understanding of yourself and of God you might start to notice some gaps between who you are and what you’re sensing God wants to do in your life. We need to pay attention to those gaps. That's where God wants to do his work in our lives.

Author and speaker Margaret Feinberg does something interesting as she travels around. Quite often she’ll ask a complete stranger, her Muslim taxi cab driver, the president of a big corporation, priests, rabbis, and just regular folks this one question. ... “What do you love about Jesus?” Just about everybody has something to say. And actually, most people are quite fond of Jesus not so fond of Christianity.

So this got me thinking if we are going to believe in and trust Jesus we can only do that if we know Him. Describe him. Sense him. Feel him. It’s about the relationship. So, here’s the question. What do you love about Jesus?

My hunch is once you discover the real Jesus believing and trusting in Him will change your life and it will make it easier to trash those little itty bitty gods you serve. Then watch out. You'll be a force to be reckoned with.

Being Curious

2011-09-25T08:47:00.003-05:00

It's amazing how narrow in outlook people are content to remain. Ask someone:

Politics? Nope. Not interested. All crooks.
Race relations? Not my concern.
Hunger? I'm not hungry so why should I care?
Have you read ...? No time.
What about the euro? It doesn't impact me.
Entitlements? People should get a job.
Religion? To each his own.
Sex trafficking? What?
Educational equity? Don't know what you're talking about..

There's a whole lot of shrugging of shoulders, rolling of eyes and dramatic utterances of 'whatever' these days. Or there is the parroting of a very narrow political or religious perspective that hasn't really been though through very carefully on our part. And I wonder ...have we forgotten how to be curious?

I don't expect people to know about everything but I do expect people to know about more things than they do. We live in a global community. Our lives intersect in very interesting ways. Issues are complex. Without a desire to know about things that matter we are in danger of living lives of extraordinary selfishness and dramatic sinfulness. Without curiosity we are in danger of retreating to ugly little ghettoes of pop culture tweets and text messages where we know a whole lot about things that don't really matter.

What do we need to be curious about? A good starting point is to be curious about the things that break the heart of God. For instance, we need to be curious about things like the plight of the poor, the widow, the stranger and the orphan. That would lead us to ask questions about the distribution of resources, the best ways to deal with immigrants, and the state of health care. And those questions should lead us to an exploration of the issues and asking "how does God want us to respond.". And why do other good people disagree with me? Is there something I'm not getting?

Good prayer is about curiosity. We ask. Where should I go? How should I act? What should be my response be? And we look to a good God to speak, to open doors and opportunities.

I want to be known for being curious. For asking questions and not accepting pat answers. For being uncomfortable with the status quo and for wrestling with mystery. That means I must have habits in my life that include reading widely, listening to opposing points of view, and digging deeper to discover root causes of issues before me, and then accepting and diving into how God wants me to respond. More about that in my next blog.

In Community

2011-09-23T10:57:00.000-05:00

I remember something ‘big’ happening to me just prior to leaving for college right after my graduation from high school. It was bigger than big. It had life changing ramifications. I needed to talk to someone. But as I looked around me I couldn’t bring myself to trust anyone within my friendship circles. Maybe it was embarrassment, perhaps fear, for sure confusion reigned in my head. So, instead of seeking help I hunkered down and closed in on myself. I needed others but couldn’t bring myself to share what I needed to share. I needed to share a secret but didn't have anyone I could trust. Talk about feeling lost.

Hunkering down and closing in on myself became a pattern. Occasionally, I'd gather my courage and venture towards openness but most times I found that what I shared got mishandled and used against me. So I hunkered down deeper thinking that what I needed was within myself. It was a lie.

I'm sharing this because I'm writing a series of blogs about what I want to be known for. Thus far I've declared that I want to be known for being present to God and available to others. I now add a desire to be known someone who lives 'in community'. What does that mean? I think it means helping to create community. It means appreciating the communities I already have, It means allowing myself to be known within those communities and to extend myself to know others. It means being nourished and nurtured by community. I think it means being rooted in community.

'Doing life alone' isn't what I want to sign on for. Been there. Done that. Not satisfying.

Let me confess something. I have some very idealized notions of what 'community' is all about. During the course of writing this I've come to realize that my idealism has gotten in the way of appreciating what I already have. And I have plenty. I have been blessed with all kinds of community experiences. What I often lack is an appreciation of them and what they mean for my life. I am blessed.

Now there's a part of me that yearns for a deeper sense of community. That yearning may lead to something new or perhaps God using me as a change agent within existing communities. In all honesty what I long for scares me a bit for it will require something more of me and force me to ask some questions about why I hold back from that which I need.

At the heart of all this,of course, is an understanding that God didn't design us to do life alone. That's never been part of His plan. It's life together. As I look at the world in which we live I have a sense that we're all going to have to rethink notions of community again. The economic, emotional, and spiritual realities of our immediate future are going to force us together in dependent ways. I think we are all going to need to be known for being 'in community'. That's going to require some major paradigm shifts and massive behavioral and attitudinal adjustments. It sounds scary but it also sounds like a great opportunity.

Available to Others

2011-09-18T09:08:00.000-05:00

Available. Lots of people are available. Go to any singles bar and you'll find everything from newly available to desperately available. "Just give me a call if you need anything" people will say but not everyone really means it. Lots of folks are not really available but want to give the appearance of availability. I'm like that some time but I'm not proud of it.

One of the things I want to be known for is my availability to others even when it's inconvenient or what they're asking is out of my comfort zone. So I've got to ask God for help dealing with a major strain of selfishness that has managed to root itself far too deeply in my life. I've got to learn to get over myself and move towards others.

Now don't get me wrong I'm not a complete mope but I'm also not where I know God wants me to be. It's a growing edge and a golden opportunity. And I'm thankful for that.

Of course, none of us can be all things to all people and as a means of protection we've learned to set up boundaries. Boundaries are a good thing but only if we're not hiding behind them. I know people who have great on-the-surface boundaries but live selfishly and indulgently. That's not God's way. Good boundaries are necessary to help us steward our time, talent and treasure and not to keep us from the stewardship of our lives.

Even a cursory look through scripture cements the idea that God wants us to live our life for others. Even those we don't like. Even our enemies. We usually skim across those verses, pretending they're not really there. Silly of us isn't it?

I'm beginning to realize that God wants us to live lives of extravagant love. To live with open minds, open hands, open hearts, open calendars, and open pocketbooks. Too much of many lives is closed off to the possibilities only openness allows us to see. How available do you want to be? More importantly, how available does God want you to be?

This is the third in a six part series asking the question 'when all is said a done what do you want to be known for?". A couple of days ago I suggested that I want to be known as someone who is present to God. You can read the previous two posts by going to www.mike-ascend,blogspot.com

Present to God

2011-09-16T18:44:00.000-05:00

In a recent blog post I wrote about what I wanted to be known for. www.mike-ascend.blogspot.com The first thing on my list was being known for being present to God. To me that's at the center of God's purpose for every persons life.

Present to God. Words come to mind like attentive, quiet, listening, centering,solitude, disciplines, interactive, speaking, and being. All things, by the way, that don't come easily to me. I battle against them. I'd much rather do than be. I'm much more adept at talking about God than I am in experiencing Him. And that's not serving me well.

I do 'faith' for a living. I work for God. But if truth be known much of the work I do for God has it's origins in my own needs and wants. Obedience plays a role. I know enough about God's will to dutifully do the right things in the right way and often, even, with a good heart and humble intentions. But do I know God?

I can't know God unless I'm present to Him. Neither can you.

Have you ever been around someone who knows God? I have. More than a few. Some quiet. Many not. All wired differently. The common denominator has always been 'quality time alone with God'. Not just quality time either. It was good chunks of time in the presence of God. Those times were daily. Sometimes twice a day. I remember one of my bosses in Young Life named Tom Raley. Tom gave to the Lord the first hour of every day and the last half hour before going to bed. It was the habit of his life. Each day being in the presence of God was eagerly anticipated.

What is my habit?

What's yours?

We put ourselves in the presence of God so His presence can infill our life. That's where the power we are all looking for comes from. We're at our best when God is working in and through our life and we are responding to the promptings of a surprisingly talkative Holy Spirit.

So when all is said and done and people said at my funeral ..."Mike was attentive to what God was prompting. He allowed himself to cultivate the habit of being present to God." ...well, there would be far worse things that could be said, huh? Not a bad thing to be known for.

I watch people live their lives in amazing ways. Some good. Some not so much. So much of what I see is people living reactively without purposeful intention and reflection. People live life fast. Too fast. What would happen if we all slowed down and habitually placed ourselves in a quiet place allowing God to love on us and whisper his desires into the weary and broken places of our life? We would be transformed I think.

Known For

2011-09-15T11:39:00.002-05:00

What are you known for? Aside from your shiny personality, dazzling smile and smart wardrobe what are you all about? What defines you?

I've been thinking about that lately as I've been attempting to write a personal mission statement for this stage of my life. I've been asking myself ..."what do I want to be known for?" I wanted to do it in 20 words or less. Here's what's energizing me.

Known for being:

Present to God
Available to others
Rooted in community
Curious about issues
Effective in Response

And if this is what I'm going to be known for then how do I order my life in order to make this happen? What are the habits, practices, and disciplines that support my sense of mission? And am I willing to have my calendar and bank account reflect my commitments?

I've got a ways to go in each of these areas. I know a lot about God but do I actually know Him? Who are those others I need to be available to? Who do I need to be doing life with and where? Am I willing to remain socially responsible and intellectually curious? Am I walking my talk?

What do you want to be known for? In twenty words or less can you zero in on what you want your life to stand for?

I think it was Socrates who said that the unexamined life is not worth living. That's true. Knowing who or what really gets our attention and focus can help drive us to the next best thing God has for us. Too many just kind of drift along in life. Intentionality is lacking.

Try it. Grab an hour. Take out pen and paper or your tablet and in twenty words or less state definitely what you want to be known for by those both near and dear and others you encounter on the journey. And then take some time asking what needs to change in your life so you can make that happen.

By the way, this is both life-giving and flat out scary. I've got a list of questions and concerns in my journal about each of my 'known for' that excites me about where I'm heading in one moment and makes me want to hide in a closet the next. Kind of thinking I'm right on the edge of adventure. Not a bad place to be.

Time to Roll

2011-09-11T13:19:00.000-05:00

I remember September 11, 2001 very clearly. It was my second week working at Christ Church, I was living in Evanston at the time. I was in my car at Golf road and Harlem when I turned on the radio. And I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I remember pulling up to the church, anxious to be with a community of people, and immediately joined others to watch events unfold. There wasn't a lot of talk. Just people riveted to the horror we were witnessing on the screen. Then we were informed that one of our staff members, Jeff Mladenik, was booked on a plane that was flown into one of the towers. The horror became even more chilling for now one of the terrorist victims had a face and a name.

9/11 changed everything. For awhile we came together as a nation to pray, to comfort each other, to find answers. And in the days that followed we caught a glimpse of the beauty of lives submitted to the authority of self-giving love. We remember the rescue workers and the volunteers who flocked to helped. We witnessed open-hearts and joined hands all across America. This was a change we needed. We came together. And when we heard stories of courage and sacrifice such as those passengers on the plane that crash landed in Pennsylvania we were awed by bravery. And like Todd Beemer we were ready to roll. We were inspired by selfless giving.

Church attendance doubled on the Sunday following the tragedy. But within a short period of time attendance waned, and the closeness of community began to splinter again. A mood swept through our country. We felt less safe, more fearful. Some say we began to distance ourselves from each other. We knew the world had changed profoundly and we struggled to come to grips with a meaningful response.

Throughout the past decade the ripple effects of our national tragedy continue to wash over us. Fear and mistrust continue to manifest itself in all kinds of ugly ways . Now ten years later we find ourselves in the midst of a global economic crisis, a mistrust of government and institutional authority, rampant incivility on the airwaves and in the halls of power, a war against terror that seemingly has no end, and racial and economic divides. For many the American Dream has been dashed and they find themselves ill prepared to adapt to a changing world. And many wonder if our moral compass has been lost.

Of course there are signs of hope and goodness but I think it's safe to say that 9/11 ushered in a sobering reminder of what evil can bring and keeps bringing into our world. The Way of Terror leaves a very unsatisfying aftertaste in our mouth. Even the hunting down of Osama Bin Laden didn’t fill the void many felt. The fruits of terror leave us feeling empty and unsure. We try to rally around the flag, stay positive, anchor ourselves to the next best new idea or the hottest political candidate but we often find ourselves wondering, in our quieter moments, if anything can refocus our attention and reorder our priorities.

It's remarkable, isn’t it, what a small band of fanatics, submissive to evil authority, can do to change the psyche of the entire world.

Scripture tells us that we should not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good. How can that happen? I believe that there is a path leading to freedom and of hope. It's the Way of Jesus. At our church we're going to take the next year looking at how He wants us to live and where He wants us to go. It's an opportunity to get our bearings again. To check our maps, to look for the trail markers, to look at our compasses, to find true north again. We live in a tough world but we live in a world that comes with a promise for those who love Jesus ...don't worry, I will never leave you or forsake you. He reminds us that we are His masterpiece, created to do good. And guess what? There is a lot of good that needs to be done.

I want to say clearly that the Way of Jesus is the pathway to real life but I can't promise you that if you walk this path that the world we once knew will magically reappear, that your bank accounts will be full again, that your house will sell, and terror will disappear. I can't promise that. Nor would I want to. I think many of the things that are part of our American Dream aren’t necessarily central to the good news Jesus proclaimed. Here's something that is central.It's Romans 12 from the Message.

Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Let me paraphrase the paraphrase. God wants us all in walking along His way. Period. Allowing our lives to be a fragrant offering. Allowing Christ and His teaching to define us. Not our allegiance to some political philosophy, not our lack of contentment, not our anger, nor our fear. He wants us to be lifted up, not dragged down. And we can’t be lifted by becoming adjusted to every cultural whim and fancy or becoming mired in a world of unforgiveness or vengeance. God wants us to be defined by what happens on the Way of Jesus through the person of Christ Himself. He and only He is the hope of the world. God wants to define us and shape us so that we are more and more like Christ. He might use our club membership, our politics, our work, our play, our position, and our use of money to help accomplish that. And he might not. He might want to strip us of our props or redeem them for His purposes so that nothing challenges His authority in our lives.

I get this sense that God wants us to roll with Him because He wants to use us to change the world as we know it. It means being all in, deep in. I'm reminded of the words attributed to Dwight Moody who said (and I’m paraphrasing a bit) "The world has yet to see what God can do with a man or woman fully consecrated to Him. I want to be that person." I wonder what would happen if we dived into the deep end of the pool of discipleship. Could we change the world? G.K. Chesterton once said: "Christianity hasn't been tried and found wanting. Nope. it hasn't been tried." There's some truth in what he said. I don't know about you but I want in on the trying. I actually believe we can change the world. It's time to roll..

Unsettled

2011-09-04T17:21:00.000-05:00

The speaker at our church today talked about loving others. Our last song was about how much God loves 'us'. It's not that the song and message don't work together on some level but I was a bit unsettled as I prepared to send our crowd out the doors.

I remember saying something like this. "Yes, God loves us. That's true. But he also loves 'them' and we've all got a 'them' in our life. And if this love relationship with God is going to mean anything we've got to learn to love those we point our fingers at." And then I prayed us out the door.

I'm still unsettled and I'm not entirely sure why. Perhaps it's a reaction to an individualistic, pietistic response to faith. You know what I'm talking about. It's about Me and Jesus and asking for His blessing to continue to do the things that aren't really good for my soul and are actually sinful but I feel I'm entitled to do them.

Part of the unsettledness is also a reaction to those who try to take the whole of the Good News (and it's more than personal salvation) and gerry rig it into teensy eensy pieces to justify a political or economic philosophy that can be the antithesis of what Christ actually intended.

And I am unsettled because I'd rather sing about how much God loves me much of the time instead of considering the 'them' God is always concerned about.

And I find myself guilty of self serving pietism, proof texting to justify lifestyle and attitude, and doing far too much talking about the walk instead of walking the talk.

Next week I preach on the ten year anniversary of 9.11. It has special relevance for our church because we lost one of our staff members who was aboard the plane that crashed into one of the Twin Towers. We knew early on he was on the plane and it made the day all the more chilling. And I am unsettled about what to say.

It's not hard to talk about the emotion or the feelings of that day in history. And we will. It's good to recall and remember. But many will want a rallying cry to America the Beautiful. And as much as I love our country I worry that patriotism trumps Christ for way too many. And I need to remind people of the way of Jesus which is often more than waving the red, white and blue. And in the case of 9.11 the specter of 'them' still remains and how do we find ways to love those we are naturally inclined to marginalize and perhaps even hate.

Let me be clear. Terrorism is not of God. Terrorists need to be brought to justice. Whether it happens in the classroom where a child is bullied, in a home where a wife is abused, in the words of drive by gossipers, or in the intentional taking of life by hate filled factions terrorist actions are detestable. Utterly detestable. And yet I know that world.

I've never plotted to take a life but I've done other things that have diminished another human being. And it was wrong. And at time like that how thankful I was for a God who forgives and people who loved me despite what they saw and helped me to become a human being again.

I wonder in our post 9.11 world how willing we are to make steps toward understanding, towards reconciliation, towards bridge building and open arms. The 9.11 terrorists took the willingness to trust away from us. And that inability to trust is killing us. Trust needs to be restored one interaction at a time. When we live with a mind-set that labels people 'us' and 'them' we miss out on opportunities to build the Kingdom of God. We can't afford to miss those opportunities any longer.

Pray for me this next week for the right words, the right attitude, and the right degree of biblical challenge. Pray that my unsettledness can be used by God to call people to a higher purpose and instill in them a desire to help build a country that cares about the things God cares about.

Shaped Differently

2011-08-31T11:32:00.000-05:00

Incoming first year students at colleges and universities have had their minds shaped by events quite different from what shaped mine. Thanks to Beloit College for this interesting look-see into the lives of today’s 18 year olds. So, here goes.

1. There has always been an Internet ramp onto the information highway.

2. Ferris Bueller and Sloane Peterson could be their parents.

3. States and Velcro parents have always required that they wear their bike helmets.

4. The only significant labor disputes in their lifetimes have been in major-league sports.

5. There have always been at least two women on the Supreme Court, and women have always commanded some U.S. Navy ships.

6. They “swipe” cards, not merchandise.

7. As the students have grown up on Web sites and cellphones, adult experts have constantly fretted about their alleged deficits of empathy and concentration.

8. Their schools’ “blackboards” have always been getting smarter.

9. “Don’t touch that dial!” … What dial?

10. American tax forms have always been available in Spanish.

11. More Americans have always traveled to Latin America than to Europe.

12. Amazon has never been just a river in South America.

13. Refer to LBJ, and they might assume you’re talking about LeBron James.

14. All their lives, Whitney Houston has always been declaring, “I Will Always Love You.”

15. O.J. Simpson has always been looking for the killers of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman.

16. Women have never been too old to have children.

17. Japan has always been importing rice.

18. Jim Carrey has always been bigger than a pet detective.

19. We have never asked, and they have never had to tell.

20. Life has always been like a box of chocolates.

21. They’ve always gone to school with Mohammed and Jesus.

22. John Wayne Bobbitt has always slept with one eye open.

23. There has never been an official Communist Party in Russia.

24. “Yadda, yadda, yadda” has always come in handy to make long stories short.

25. Video games have always had ratings.

26. Chicken soup has always been soul food.

27. The Rocky Horror Picture Show has always been available on TV.

28. Jimmy Carter has always been a smiling elderly man who shows up on TV to promote fair elections and disaster relief.

29. Arnold Palmer has always been a drink.

30. Dial-up is soooooooooo last century!

31. Women have always been kissing women on television.

32. Their older siblings have told them about the days when Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and Christina Aguilera were Mouseketeers.

33. Faux Christmas trees have always outsold real ones.

34. They’ve always been able to dismiss boring old ideas with “Been there, done that, gotten the T-shirt.”

35. The bloody conflict between the government and a religious cult has always made Waco sound a little wacko.

36. Unlike their older siblings, they spent bedtime on their backs until they learned to roll over.

37. Music has always been available via free downloads.

38. Grown-ups have always been arguing about health-care policy.

39. Moderate amounts of red wine and baby aspirin have always been thought good for the heart.

40. Sears has never sold anything out of a “Big Book” that could also serve as a doorstop.

41. The United States has always been shedding fur.

42. Electric cars have always been humming in relative silence on the road.

43. No longer known for just gambling and quickie divorces, Nevada has always been one of the fastest-growing states in the Union.

44. They’re the first generation to grow up hearing about the dangerous overuse of antibiotics.

45. They pressured their parents to take them to Taco Bell or Burger King to get free pogs.

46. Russian courts have always had juries.

47. No state has ever failed to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

48. While they’ve been playing outside, their parents have always worried about nasty new bugs borne by birds and mosquitoes.

49. Public schools have always made space available for advertising.

50. Some of them have been inspired to actually cook by watching the Food Channel.

51. Fidel Castro’s daughter and granddaughter have always lived in the United States.

52. Their parents have always been able to create a will and other legal documents online.

53. Charter schools have always been an alternative.

54. They’ve grown up with George Stephanopoulos as the Dick Clark of political analysts.

55. New kids have always been known as NKOTB.

56. They’ve always wanted to be like Shaq or Kobe; Michael Who?

57. They’ve broken up with significant others via texting, Facebook, or MySpace.

58. Their parents sort of remember Woolworths as this store that used to be downtown.

59. Kim Jong-il has always been bluffing, but the West has always had to take him seriously.

60. Frasier, Sam, Woody, and Rebecca have never cheerfully frequented a bar in Boston during prime time.

61. Major League Baseball has never had fewer than three divisions and never lacked a wild-card entry in the playoffs.

62. Nurses have always been in short supply.

63. They won’t go near a retailer that lacks a Web site.

64. Altar girls have never been a big deal.

65. When they were 3, their parents may have battled other parents in toy stores to buy them a Tickle Me Elmo while they lasted.

66. It seems the United States has always been looking for an acceptable means of capital execution.

67. Folks in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have always been able to energize with Pepsi-Cola.

68. Andy Warhol is a museum in Pittsburgh.

69. They’ve grown up hearing about suspiciously vanishing frogs.

70. They’ve always had the privilege of talking with a chatterbot.

71. Refugees and prisoners have always been housed by the U.S. government at Guantánamo.

72. Women have always been Venusians; men, Martians.

73. McDonald’s coffee has always been just a little too hot to handle.

74. “PC” has come to mean personal computer, not political correctness.

75. The New York Times and The Boston Globe have never been rival newspapers.

www.mike-ascend.blogspot.com

Masterpiece

2011-08-24T09:13:00.000-05:00

A few years ago I was on a missions trip to Armenia. Our team debriefed in Paris. I know, I know …a tough gig. I really looked forward to seeing Paris. The reality is that it’s a gorgeous place. It's a postcard picture every time you turn around. I was really looking forward to some things …the Eiffel Tower, the Arch de Triumph, a boat ride down the Seine River and I was really looking forward to the Louvre, that magnificent museum filled with art treasures. I was especially interested in seeing the Mona Lisa.

So I walked into a room. I saw a small mob of people in front of what looked like a pretty small painting hidden behind thick glass, guards on either side, security cameras at the ready …and there it was the Mona Lisa …DaVinci’s masterpiece.

I mean it had to be a masterpiece. Everyone said it was. The art world raved about it and the security around it said ‘this is important". That it’s worth treasuring, worth protecting, worth preserving.

The Louvre owns the Mona Lisa. Try to destroy it and the full wrath of the museum and their security will descend upon you. Try to steal it and you’ll be caught and you’ll go to jail. It’s under their jurisdiction and their authority.I doubt any amount of money could remove it from their grasp. DaVinci’s genius created it. The Louvre now maintains it and protects.

The apostle Paul once wrote to the small church in Ephesus, located in what we now know as Turkey. He writes:

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

God's masterpiece. His creation. Created by God for His purposes. A long time ago he planned for you to do good. That’s his plan for you. You belong to Him. He has things for you to do. Nothing can separate you from His love. Nothing can deter him in his drive to fulfill His purpose in you. As the Louvre will go to any lengths to protect the Mona Lisa …God will go even further to get your attention, to get you focused on Him. Any attempt to remove yourself from His ownership will be met with resistance. It’s a fact of life. To God you are worth treasuring, worth protecting, worth preserving, worth pursuing. You are far more valuable than the Mona Lisa in his eyes.

You are God’s masterpiece.

I know that I struggle with this concept. I have an amazing ability to see myself as quite a bit less than a masterpiece. I know my faults. There are times when I don’t see myself as a masterpiece. Sometimes I see myself as a paint my number project or some kind of Elvis on black velvet painting. And when I don’t see myself well it impacts my ability to live into all those good things God has created me to be. Even worse, when I don't see myself as the masterpiece I am I can lose sight of the masterpiece you are. And that causes trouble.

We are God's masterpiece. Nice.

Adults Needed

2011-08-20T19:54:00.000-05:00

Let's admit it. We're all wondering if the ties that bind our society together aren't being unloosed. I think we're in a tough spot these days. We don't know up from down perhaps because we're majoring in left and right. We Iive in a society that's confused ...spiritually, politically, ethically and financially. We're adept at pointing fingers but not very keen on introspection.

A few years ago I spent some time studying and teaching a course called "Developing Capable People'. It was developed by Stephen Glenn and Jane Nelson. The premise is that those who make it in this world see themselves differently than those who are struggling with life. Additionally, those who struggle are lacking in some important skill areas. It's not brain surgery.

Those who make it in life see themselves as capable, influential and responsible. These are key perceptions. But along with the perceptions they seem to have developed some important skills. They are self-aware and self disciplined, understanding the need to process feelings and information through some sort of well formed moral grid. Additionally, they know how to deal with both people and systems. That requires some adaptability and flexibility. Listening skills help as well and actually being able to say what one means and meaning what one says is a real asset. Finally, they make decisions based on some well honed judgment skills, tapping into something bigger than their own experience or desires. Have all this and there is a good chance you'll see a functioning adult prepared to make a difference. If these aren't present true adulthood will remain elusive.

So, as I've been watching the cultural landscape recently I'm realizing that many of those making decisions haven't ever become an adult. Too many don't know how to access and/or process feelings. Lots of folks (look at Congress) haven't learned to play well together and the interpersonal skill set of many adult looking people is quite appalling. And it seems like the guiding mantra for a whole lot of folks is to "eat, drink, acquire, blame, and be trendy". Hardly the stuff that inspires anyone to greatness. And if decisions are being made based on what's going to get us more stuff, accolades and trendiness then God help us all.

I wonder if many of our problems aren't parenting issues. Maybe, just maybe, we need to start over ...with just about everyone. I'm not kidding. Maybe everyone needs to be reparented. Few would agree that the Jersey Shores crowd was parented well. And impulse control is a lost art. If you don't believe me just hang around social media awhile or tune into your favorite talk show. Wall Street flunks a whole lot of judgment and ethical tests. Ever try to get someone to submit to authority? Without submission we're all sizzled.

Maybe we're in the mess we're in because what we needed to be taught when we were young just didn't take root in our lives. And it's hard to pass on what we don't have to the next generation. Maybe we can all start to reparent each other. To help each other mature into the people God desires us to be. I have a hunch we need to learn how to be 'more' to each other. That's not easy. It means that I have to admit that maybe I'm not all I think I am. I might need to humble myself so God can do his thing in my life, even now at 61. What about you?

Campaign '12

2011-08-15T13:03:00.000-05:00

I've been paying a bit of attention to the beginnings of Presidential Campaign '12. Here's some thoughts that have been rambling around in my head.

Republicans aren't completely sure how far to the right they want to step and how much they want to be indebted to the Tea Party. Democrats seem to be a bit unsure about how tied they want to be to President Obama. Decisions. Decisions.

The Tea Party, in some quite remarkable ways in a short period of time, got everyone talking about some fundamental fiscal issues. But there's more to the political landscape than talking about money. Not sure this movement has the 'chops' to dive into the murky waters of non budgetary concerns but will need to in order to gain wider credibility. Being a bur in the saddle of the establishment works for awhile but long term more is required.

The President looks like he'll avoid primary opposition although I can't help but think that his Secretary of State might hatch some sort of plan to try and snatch the nomination. If that's going to happen it better be sooner than later.

Sarah Palin. Will she? Won't she? Will it matter?

I'm sure the Democrats would love to see an ideologue win the Republican nomination.

The Republicans think they've got one in the White House already.

I'm thinking that too many underestimate the emotional reaction the President elicits among the marginalized and those feeling disenfranchised. If that emotion and idealism can be mobilized again and turned into votes Obama will be tough to beat. It's a big if though. What a whole lot of folks don't understand is that the President represents the mountaintop MLK and others promised. That can't be minimized. Education reform, health care, a coherent, justice laden immigration policy and other social policy issues continue to be hot button issues for the Presidents base of support.

The American people have to realize that only partial answers come from Washington. Pointing fingers and throwing the rascals out only goes so far. Who's willing to take constructive action on the local level?

Budgetary sanity is a big issue. Character is a bigger one. From my vantage point the lack of character has gotten us into the mess we're in. I'm not sure we're convinced character counts anymore. Whoever takes the moral and ethical high road during the campaign will stand out from the crowd.

How ugly will this campaign get? And if it gets ugly fast how close are we to seeing here what the British are experiencing in their streets? I'm secretly thinking that we're only one catalytic event away from some rather major social unrest. There's a huge cloud of anger hovering over us. It's being fueled by a jet stream of social media that deals in sound bytes and not substantive discussion.. And the coping mechanisms necessary for dealing with that anger aren't part of the everyday habits of way too many in our society.

This has the look and feel of being a perilous time for our nation. I'm reminded of a scripture that's been used almost to the brink of irrelevancy but let me suggest it anyway as a truth we can't ignore.

"Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear them from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land." 2 Chron. 4 (NLT).

Operative words are humble themselves, seek my face, turn from wicked ways. Those are soul searching and gut wrenching words don't you think? We always want the promises of God but often reject the means to those promises. We want the blessings, healing and forgiveness of God without doing the grunt work of posturing ourselves in the right ways before Him.

www.mike-ascend.blogspot.com

Insulting God

2011-08-13T12:45:00.002-05:00

This week I attended the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit. Yep. I was one of 165,000 people at a whole lot of sites all around the world. I was at the mother ship in South Barrington, IL.

First of all, this is one inspiring conference. Great speakers and great worship. A virtual who's who of movers and shakers were in the crowd and then folks like me who are along for the ride. All were there to learn how to be more effective within their sphere of influence for the sake of the kingdom of God. That, in itself is encouraging.

I want to share just one takeaway. Believe me, there were more than one. The last session on the first day is usually reserved for some who's emerging as a leader. This year it was Steven Furtick, a pastor from Charlotte. And he said something that got me thinking about my own journey of faith and the ministries God has entrusted to me. Furtick is all about having an audacious faith ...rooted in prayer and unbound by circumstances. During his talk he said "If your vision of what you're being called to do doesn't intimidate you then it's probably insulting to God."

Did you catch that? He's saying that what I'm envisioning just might be way too small. And the reason I go small is because I can be in control of small things. And I really don't have to trust God. And he said that kind of vision and thinking is insulting to God. I think he's right.

So I wonder how much of my life has been lived 'insulting God'? Or your life? To what degree am I willing to live on my knees imploring and trusting God to come through? Or am I content to dream a wee little dream that requires God to do nothing other than give His passive endorsement. And could that wee little dream actually be insulting to God?

Most people don't dream dreams big enough to need God. Nor do most churches. Our dreams are modest by faith standards. Manageable. Minimizing risk and discomfort.

Years ago when I was on Young Life staff we used to pray that God would help us reach whole high schools. Big prayers requiring big faith. And then that vision would get enlarged and we'd begin to pray for a whole region of high schools. Crazy prayers. God sized ones. Beyond our capacity kind of prayers. They weren't insulting to God.

Insulting God. Crazy concept. Jarring in it's implications. Think about it.

The Rock in My Shoe

2011-08-08T11:00:00.001-05:00

Last week I went to my spiritual director and he asked me to consider what rock is in my shoe that's causing me to limp. That came after the end of a long conversation where he challenged me to live by faith, not by sight. Grrrr.

So, I started to journal and these questions came to mind. I think they are important for me to answer for I truly desire to live into the fulness of who God created me to be. I offer them to help anyone else out there walking with a limp.

What disciplines do I need in my life?

What lies of the enemy am I beginning to buy into?

What habits do I need to coax down the attic stairs?

Who are the people I need around me?

What fears do I need to face?

What sins need to be confessed?

What dreams need to be embraced?

What personal hurts need healing?

What good habits need to be nurtured?

What am I holding on to that needs to be released?

What have I let go of that needs to be reclaimed?

What skills am I lacking?

What am I trusting God for that if He doesn't show up it's going to feel like my whole life is going down the tubes?

Where do I find the laughter and joy?

Random Blurts About Stuff

2011-08-06T16:59:00.000-05:00

Interesting week. The Congress makes a move. Then the markets. Polls are showing there is almost zero approval for the President or the Congress. And no one seems to have high expectations for economic recovery. We've even had our national credit rating lowered. There's still lots of finger pointing but I think people are getting tired of all the fussing and blaming. Here's some of the things That are going through my head.

The Tea Party has some muscle but I'm still unclear if it has a heart.

Is there anyone out there who has the ability to heal the wounds inflicted by politicians on each other?

Why are the American people backing off into little communities of like mindedness?

What if there really is a global economic collapse? Who will step up to lead and serve through all of that?

Will the American people ever get over their insatiable thirst for more?

Greed survives. No matter what it manages to find a way.

I'm mad at myself for not saying and doing more in the midst of these important national debates.

Instant analysis is part of the problem. Having a considered opinion is a dying art.

America needs POTUS to stir our passions towards unity and the common good. But do people really want that anymore?

We know who causes trouble but we're not clear who we can trust to be a peacemaker and reconciler.

The anger is going go kill us.

When will Democrats and Republicans realize that Americans struggle with a big government that acts stupidly too much of the time?

The church has got to step up. More. More yet.

Will the Republicans be able to mount a serious presidential challenge in 2012? I don't see anyone emerging from the pack. Would love to see POTUS go up against a strong challenger in a campaign filled with substance not negativity. My gut says that this is could be the ugliest election ever and some of us will choose to fuel it with our own thoughtless behavior.

Heard that the committee of 12 is going to be populated by folks who believe it's my way or the highway. Say it ain't so.

Anyone else asking God what He's thinking needs to be done?

More and more I'm asking the question "When the times get tough who's going to be my community?"

I think those in leadership these days truly do have a thankless job.

Who are the voices of reason people are listening to? Do they even want to?

Why did it feel like we were being held hostage over the past few weeks?

Money Talks

2011-08-01T14:49:00.002-05:00

So, I heard that Campus Crusade for Christ is changing their name to Cru. I’m also hearing that there’s a whole lot of folks who are hopping mad about Christ being taken out the name. Cru is being accused, in certain circles, of selling out, becoming secularized, holding hands with the devil and I believe replacing the Bible with the Book of Mormon. OK, I’m exaggerating a wee little bit. But they are taking hits. And I know the hits hurt.

Rumors are afloat that a whole lot of wealthy donors, in the tradition of hard headed and hard hearted Christianity, are going to make the ministry pay for the name change by withdrawing funding. That’s the spirit of God at work, huh?

My guess is that Cru made a prayerful change of name... knowing full well that it positioned them better to do ministry in today’s world. My guess is that they knew that they’d butt heads with long time supporters and even lose a few. But it was worth the gamble. It always is when you feel you’re responding to what God wants you to do.

Knowing the ministry a bit I’m pretty convinced that they haven’t lost their spiritual moorings, still believe the same things, and are only adapting to the times. After all, on college campuses they’ve been using the new name for a long time anyway. It’s unfortunate they have to take shots from their friends in the midst of a change. Unfortunately, taking shots is what some people of faith (thankfully, not the majority) seem to do best all too often. If anything the shot takers are the ones who are probably being disobedient to God in the midst of all this. I can't believe that God wants us to use our money as a blunt instrument to hurt a good ministry. Pretty sad when that happens. And it's even sadder when people hide behind a wall of proof texts and what they think is righteous indignation.

I’ve had my issues with Cru over the years. Some theological. Most methodological. But I’ve never doubted nor do I doubt now their commitment to their mission. And I applaud their willingness to adjust to changing times and take the heat for doing so.

I remember hearing a story about Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade, a few years ago. It seems he was watching a new ministry band rehearse. The music had an edge and bite to it. Bright said to some other staff “I really don’t like this at all’. One of the staffers said that the impact of the band was tremendous and many young people were hearing the Good News through them. Bright smiled and said, “Then I like this music a lot.” Gotta love a guy who is not ruled by his preferences. May that be true of us.

A fair amount of ministries are rethinking how they conduct business and mission these days. We need to pray that they respond to God’s leading and resist the temptation to be held captive by their funders. That’s not easy. Money talks. And sometimes what it says isn’t very pretty.

I Guess This is Goodbye.

2011-07-28T13:22:00.002-05:00

I guess this is goodbye. If I'm reading the sign of the times right then everything changes on August 2. The debt ceiling, budget crunch, cap, save and spend debate will officially slap all of us across the back of the head on that fateful day and those lucky enough to die in the next few days will be the blessed ones.

Deep breath people. Deep breath. One more.

Here's my prediction. We'll all still be here on August 3 no matter what happens. The USA will still exist. We won't implode. But we will have to make some fixes. My biggest fear is that the digging in everyone is doing is going to become the new normal. If that's true then we're in bigger doo doo than we even suspect, And it's not economic as much as it is about character.

Here's some thoughts.

1. Please Mr. and Ms. Congressperson take your name off any and all pledges of any kind. Both liberals and conservatives ....just purge your "I have to or I won't get reelected accounts". We count on you to think on your feet and have a willingness to flex every now and again. We know you put pen to paper to curry favor with the zealots supporting you but remember you're supposed to be representing all the people.

2. Please Mr. And Ms. America do us all a favor and at least consider points of view different than your own. Whew. We're talking fatal tunnel vision afflicting good portions of our population.

3. All of us. Let's think of the common good instead of what's only going to be good for us and our particular tribe.

4. Think win-win because this lose-lose and win-lose nonsense is killing us.

5. Remember that the economic mess we're in is the result of some really bad choices over a number of years by a whole lot of political administrations.

6. The mess is ours to own because our leaders gave us what we wanted. We felt entitled to more and we got it.

7. Everyone ask themselves the question "Is there any possibility I could be wrong? If yes, vote in the next election. If no, think about sitting one out.

8. If you're reading this and you're a person of faith remind yourself that the Lord of your life is supposed to be Jesus and not a political ideology. Seriously. I'm a pastor. That's what it says in the scripture. Honest.

9. Ask yourself. "Am I really governable?" If that's true you can't get your own way all the time.

If nothing else, this time of crisis demands taking stock of ourselves, what we believe at the very core of our beings, and our own behaviors. If enough of us did that the we'd be on the way to discovering the opportunities before us. Perhaps, we'd even be putting an end to a good share of the melodrama that is tying our country in knots.

Norway and more

2011-07-24T19:33:00.001-05:00

What happened in Norway stunned us all. It shakes us to our core. It reminds us of Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Northern Illinois. We wonder about motivation and question why authorities didn't see this coming. And we quietly mourn the loss of innocent life. How does this happen?

I don't know. What snaps in a person's concept of right and wrong that validates something so horrendous? How have we failed the perpetrator I wonder? Or did we?

The problem of evil in our midst perplexes me. Even though I know about sin and temptation and the concept of garbage in/garbage out, and the lure of self righteousness I sometimes just want to throw my head in my hands and weep. Can we ever win against determined hatred? And why does God allow such evil to even exist?

We could throw in the towel you know and say enough is enough. We could isolate ourselves and retreat to underground bunkers in Idaho or to double gated communities. Or we can face our fears, pray through our questions and frustrations, and begin to stand up for the sake of righteousness (not in some quirky, sanctimonious way though) in ways that make sense.

What good will that do? Once again, I don't know. But here's my hunch. It's better than standing on the sidelines kibitzing. Maybe we can't do much about random acts of violence but we can sure increase the volume on intentional acts of goodness. But that sounds almost trite, a cliche'. Doable? Yes. Necessary? Yes? Enough? Don't know.

I'm all for niceness, courtesy, fair play and please and thank you. Those should be the normal habits of our life. And they do make a difference. But what if what we're facing something bigger than common courtesy can handle? What if what we need requires more of us?

What if God is actually calling us to a sacrificial way of life? It's that going beyond the bounds of comfort so that we're really feeling the pinch in all areas of our life. It's that place where we're giving to the point that we have no choice but to trust God and other people wonder if we've walked off the deep end of the pier. What if that's the only way to get the attention of a scared world? What if living into our fears is the only thing that will change anything?

Richard Foster believes that the great need for today is growing the number of 'deep people'. Superficiality won't cut it anymore. But I like superficiality. I'm good at it. Going deep and staying deep is not what I'm good at. At the core of my being I know Foster is right. Am I willing to become a deep person? And what happens if I say no?

I'll write more about what 'deep' means. I have a hunch one doesn't go deep alone. There's power in being together on a journey such as this. Would love to hear if this resonates with you at all. Blessings.

Divides

2011-07-23T12:09:00.001-05:00

Jesus asked us to go into all the world and make disciples. The world is a tough place. And because it’s tough some try to pull themselves into a self-made bubble of protection hoping that their personal security system, gated community, or distancing themselves from what they consider trouble spots will keep them from harm. And then they’re not really in the world anymore are they? So how will they make the difference God wants them to make?

Increasingly I am becoming concerned about the divides in our society. Rich and poor. Urban and suburban. Color of skin. Ethnicity. Access to opportunity. They are there. They’re real. They’re not going away. Instead of running away from that which causes us discomfort we have to walk straight into them. But that journey is uncomfortable.

I’ve been thinking recently about what happens when we turn away from big issues instead of trying to understand them. Our natural inclination to organize ourselves around clan, tribe, race, ethnicity, preferences and circumstances tends to create barriers to understanding. When people are isolated they start to believe the worst about those who are different. That belief can easily lead to hate. Look at Rwanda, Nazi Germany, the Klan movement in our country, and even in church splits (often caused by insignificant matters disguised as a fight for doctrinal integrity).

Our world is diverse enough these days that we can’t help but rub shoulders with those who are different. Spend any time in a hospital and you will meet the world. But do we really get to know people as individuals? Or worse yet does the individual we meet become a representative of all people from their particular tribe or nation. I like to tell people that if you meet a ‘white person’ you’ve met one white person. Don’t generalize much beyond that. Same goes with someone who works with an African American. That colleague is an individual who has insights about the Black experience in America but they don’t represent every African Americans opinion about every subject. We are in grave danger of doing severe injustice to Muslim people in our country because of the stereotypes we advance. Stereotypes will bite us in the back side more often than not.

I don’t think I’m an alarmist but I’m concerned that our journey to be in community with like minded and like looking folks is going to prove to be a very unhelpful strategy going forward.

In scripture Jesus pleads for the unity of the body of Christ. We’re taught that we need each other to be complete and that ‘in Christ’ there is no division. And yet we know there are deep divisions because so many carry deep fear about people who are different from them.

As you all know we are facing a budget crisis in our country. Maybe it’s because I actually am getting to know people different from myself I’m finding myself sure of one thing. I’d rather pay more personally than have the ‘least of these’ carry the burden for an economic recovery. I find concern for the marginalized is a deep current leading straight to God’s heart. And yes there are other issues of capping, cutting, pork, and deficit reduction that our leaders need to deal with. But not on the backs of the poor. I find much of our lack of concern for those who have little a little repulsive and wonder if too many who are in power are too isolated from the diversity they claim to represent.

So, what does this all mean?

If we’re going to make the kind of kingdom impact we need to make we need to look at any patterns we have of isolating ourselves from people who make us uncomfortable.

We’ve got to be curious about other people’s experiences.

Quit stereotyping.

Some might need to be involved in an intentional journey talking about race and culture. If you’re in the Chicago area send me a note ...I’ve not some ideas along these lines.

If you’re a parent don’t allow your child to grow in an environment where they are not sensitized to issues of race, ethnicity, and culture.

Put yourself in uncomfortable situations where you’re not the dominant culture expression.

Ask questions of friends and acquaintance who come from a different culture or race background. Ask the questions that will lead to greater understanding but perhaps greater discomfort (for you)

Strategery

2011-07-15T12:43:00.000-05:00

I know strategery really isn't a word. I think either George W. made it up or the folks at SNL made it up for him and it stuck. But I thought about that word this week. I'm involved in the process of helping making a strategic plan come alive. That's vital because too many strategic plans are dead in the water before the ink dries on it's pages (does ink even dry anymore or for that matter is there still such a thing?)

Strategic plans are a tad bit predictable especially in the church/para-church world. Its about crafting a vision statement that informs the mission which gives birth to the unsexy goals and objectives. Of course, the vision is always a variation of reaching the world (or at least a significant piece of geography) coupled with a some sort of creative twist on a love God, love others mission statement. Despite the predictability the exercise can refocus a ministry and even lead to new insights and better methodology.

Strategic plans are supposed to drive an organization to greater heights and depths but the truth is in the non profit world budget restraints often puts a bit of a stranglehold on vision and mission.

As Christians we're fond of saying that there is no lack in the kingdom of God. After all ...God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. But there does seem to be a lack based on the funding appeals lining my inbox. Don't worry, I don't think God is broke. It's just that He chooses to use people as His supply line. And people can be remarkably cheap especially when asked to give even somewhat sacrificially. I know because that 's where I struggle. Maybe you do too. But it's not just sacrificial giving. My wife works in Christian radio and only about 10% of regular listeners bother to support the ministry at even minimal levels. That's true in many churches. It's sad because enormous amounts of time and energy are then required to figure out ways to entice money out of full pocketbooks. Perhaps it's true that the conversion of the pocketbook is the hardest one of all. I'm convinced that most tithing supports programs that gives goods and services back to the giver. That's why, even though I give to my church, I often wonder if I'm just not giving back to myself. Despite my angst I still write my checks but secretly delight in giving to things that won't benefit me.

So, sometime during our strategery session this week at Breakthrough (which has a terrific vision by the way for what needs to happen in East Garfield Park) I began to understand in pretty profound ways the funding issues that get in the way of making a vision come alive. I also felt burdened by all the constituencies needing to be satisfied. This government contract wants to measure this, that foundation has a another set of expectations, the really conservative church that supports us wants certain things to happen, and the liberal church is appalled by what the conservative church is expecting. It gets difficult to fund a vision and a mission and satisfy everyone. And satisfying everyone just ain't going to happen.

But what choice do those who are responding to God's call really have? When God places something on hearts and minds you just can't walk away. If anything you dig in deeper, pray like crazy, keep inviting people into the vision, and look for imaginative ways to get done what absolutely has to get done. And then accept the fact that at any given time that someone from one funding source or another will be disappointed and wrestling with the temptation to turn their giving into a weapon.

Funding a God-sized vision will never be easy I'm thinking. There still is an enemy that kills, steals and destroys. Keeping wallets in the back pocket and unopened is an easy temptation to sell. But I am convinced there is a growing army of people that are choosing to resist that temptation. There just isn't enough of them yet.

Injustice

2011-07-08T16:06:00.000-05:00

My friend Kevin and his wife Helen are kingdom builders. They live in New Zealand but for several months a year they traipse the globe resourcing people, churches, and ministries in very challenging locales. They work for Bright Hope World. www.brighthopeworld.com They believe that God has gifted poor people with enormous gifts and talents. That giftedness just needs to be nurtured appropriately. But they also see injustice after injustice after injustice after injustice. Their latest blog post is worth a read. http://www.getjealous.com/blog.php?go=bigkevandnell&aff_id=15

Injustice. It's when people are treated unfairly. Sometimes once. Sometimes it's often. It's especially harsh when someone in a power position decides to get his/her way at any cost and by any means. We all have experienced injustice in some ways. Who hasn't complained about a lack of fairness somewhere along the line? But what if you never played on anything that remotely looks like a level playing field? What would that be like? What would you be thinking? Feeling?

In all honesty most injustices I've encountered have been speed bumps and not barriers although I know that's not true for all of you who read my stuff. When I read Kevin and Helen's blog this morning I identified with their anger. I've met some of the people they write about. It ticked me off too. I saw Jesus in and through their indignation.

My stepson John is working at Breakthrough this summer. He's met some of the same people Kevin and Helen write about. And now he's starting to see bits and pieces of injustice in East Garfield Park. He wonders about and prays for the safety of the kids he's working with. He s asking the right questions about issues that are only a few miles from our doorstep. So should we all. But do we?

Let's be honest. We're addicted to comfort and the avoidance of pain and inconvenience. What's good for 'me' is a central plot line in most lives. That is, unless you take the scriptures seriously. And when you do you see the message about 'us' written on every page and what looks like a clarion call to mobilize and be attentive to the needs of the poor and marginalized. It's almost impossible to read Scripture and miss God's daring concern for those who have the least. And what do we do with all of that? What do I do with that?

Every day I drive into the city these thoughts run through my head.

1. Big problems.

2. Big God.

3. Big God cares deeply about the Big Problems.

4. Big God wants me to care about what's on His mind.

And when I interact with the people who have experienced true injustice (both personal and systemic) I'm often deeply humbled. I realize that even though I care I still have an awful lot to learn. That's a good place to be isn't it? To remain in the posture of the 'learner' is far better than walking around thinking you're 'learned'.

So what's the bottom line today? Kevin and Helen's blog got to me. Obviously, huh? Make sure you read it. Click on the link or paste the URL into your browser. Their frustration with injustice is stirring something in me that's good. Could it be that once you really begin to care deeply about the things God cares about that everything begins to change? Do what you need to do Lord. Do what you need to do.

Stain

2011-07-07T17:12:00.000-05:00

A couple of Sunday mornings ago I talked about a tough subject. Sin. What follows is an abridged version of my remarks. If you want to hear the whole thing go to i tunes and look under podcasts. Search for ... 2HC: 2^nd Hour Contemporary at Christ Church of Oak Brook.

I’m losing the pigment in my skin. I have a disease. It’s called vitiligo. It's not catchy and by itself it is not life threatening. My hands and feet are spotted and I have spotting under one eye and around my lips. One downside is that losing pigment makes me much more susceptible to skin cancer. So I pay attention and take protective measures. Vitiligo certainly has a cosmetic impact but Anita assures me my modeling days are probably far behind me so it probably won't matter all that much.

It’s the same disease Michael Jackson had by the way. He was often accused of bleaching his skin. I can understand why. The white splotches on black skin is cosmetically jarring and for entertainers certainly not what they wish for.

Tim Keller in his book, King’s Cross, talks about sin being a stain that cuts across all human history and shows up in our lives. Lots of people don't like to talk about sin. Some people I know don't like to deal with the shadow side of their nature. Don't like to hear Jesus talking in hard ways. Or for that matter their pastors.

It’s kind of a downer subject. For the most part we're rather ho hum about sin these days until someone else's sinfulness intersects with our life. And then we're all over it.

Keller says that “According to Jesus, in our natural sinful state we’re unfit for the presence of God.” Most people these days have a problem with this. We don't like looking at ourselves as unclean, defiled, or evil. We think we’re basically good and have fixable issues, primarily cosmetic and certainly not life threatening, and certainly nothing that will keep us from the eternal reward people like us deserve. "And if there is a God," many say, "He is certainly more chummy than holy and that there's no way we stand before him guilty and condemned.”

"Can't we just talk about God's love?" folks wonder. We could but it’s been said that "in the bright sunshine of God's love our shadow begins to emerge and then and only then will begin to understand how great God's love really is.” One of the identifiers of Christian people is that they understand that they are 'loved sinners'.

But we don't even like to call sin .... sin. And we struggle with calling ourselves sinners. We call sin a dysfunction, an undesirable family of origin issue, a result of bad choices, or a chemical imbalance. "Sin is what I do when I'm not being myself," some will say.

Actually sin is something we do when we are ourselves. It's imprint is deep in our lives. It appears to be our default life mechanism and it shows itself in all kinds of ugly ways. It shows up in how we act and how we fail to act.. The presence of sin is so easy to see ...in our lives, in our cultural systems, in our politics, in our history and in our economic life. It's a stain. It's a big deal.

Throughout the story of faith the stain of sin is ever present. It’s a huge subplot. But it's not bigger than the story of the God who loves. He's bigger than sin. He wins you know. And the only stain that will someday remain is a stain called love ...and it's truly quite beautiful. But in the meantime we pay attention and do what’s necessary to protect ourselves …just as I have to do with my vitiligo. Sin is a reality we live with and must deal with but for those of us who love Jesus …it can’t destroy us ultimately. But if we don’t pay attention sin can surely muck up our lives and create havoc on others.

Leadership???

2011-07-06T20:54:00.000-05:00

I'm thinking about leadership. It's both style and substance. My first study of leadership many years ago at a Hennepin County (MN) training seminar told me that a good leader gets the agreed upon job done well but doesn't disempower people in the process. Not a bad definition of a manager but it only hints at what a good leader does and is I'm afraid.

Leadership is more than enough form and function to get 'er done. Although good leaders accomplish plenty there's something about a good leader that speaks to a certain realness that is rooted deep in something substantial. I guess we'd call that a nourished authenticity. Something good seems to always flow into leadership quality people. You can almost feel it and sense it. And out of that flow of goodness comes a fountain of honesty, caring, focused edginess, peaceful power and clear resolve. But that fountain stops once the flow of goodness is blocked.

Many people liken leadership essentials to what's below the waterline in a well built sailing vessel. Many a ship has sunk because too much attention has been paid to how the vessel would look and not enough attention to what would keep it afloat.

So here's my question? OK. First, let me make a comment. I think too many don't really give a rip about below the waterline kind of issues. Now, here's the question. What's below your waterline? Do you even care?

I think that too many just go with the flow of life. Not much intentionality. Reaction instead of proactivity. Passive existence instead of thoughtful engagement. Dull life. Personal leadership is missing. And it's all considered normal. Whew.

Where are the difference makers? Am I one? Are you? Do we even care?

Ho Hum

2011-07-05T20:52:00.000-05:00

I'm weary. Already. The campaign season hasn't even begun and I've had enough. Just heard that the NEA endorsed a candidate already and I'm pretty ho hum about it all.

You need to understand that I'm a political junkie from way back. After devouring Advise and Consent a gazillion times I dreamed of being a political pro. I was a Government major in college, served on the student council four times, worked on campaigns, labored for the city of Minneapolis, marched a wee bit (bit not enough), read the MInneapolis Star Tribune religiously, Time and Newsweekly zealously, and even tried law school for a week or two. I cared. A lot. For a long time I cared. For that matter I still do but in all honesty I've lost my passion for it all.

Why?

I used to understand the rules of politics and government. In it's own convoluted way it made sense. The free for all we have now scares me a bit because it's a bit too free form. There are no rules of engagement anymore. Anything goes. There's nothing to wrap my mind and hopes around anymore. I'm not sure who to trust.

I once believed that with a little give here and a little give there that politicians would find a way to make things good for their country. I'm not convinced that little give and take is possible anymore. There's nothing little anymore in the cravings for power and media attention these days. Please believe me when I tell you that I'm not naive about the political ugliness of the past. But that ugliness was held somewhat in check by a societal standard of right and wrong that permeated just about everything. Now right and wrong is held up as suspect just about anywhere one looks.

We're in a bind I think. We don't trust anymore. We expect and almost appreciate outrageous behavior. And those who hold on to right and wrong often fail to look at the log in their own eye. As a result, there is an absence of a winsome expression of the goodness of God.

Is there a way out? Nothing easy comes to mind. This is a hole we've been digging for a long time. All of us. But here's what I'm thinking. I can start to care again about those things I've been dismissive about. I can ask God for the grace to rekindle old passions and the ideals that originally ignited them. I could actually begin to pray for those politicians that tick me off and if the world needs a more winsome expression of the goodness of God perhaps I could learn how to do it and encourage it within my circles of influence. And when I feel ho hum I could resist such notions because I know that when I'm ho hum that I'm rarely in the center of God's will for my life.

Thoughts on the 4th

2011-07-04T17:51:00.004-05:00

I think it's good to celebrate our history and our freedoms. The USA has had noble moments and will continue to have them. I can't think of anywhere I'd rather live and consider being born in this county as a huge blessing that carries with it some rather major responsibilities. I love the blessing and pray to be brave enough to live into the responsibility.

I'm not a 'my country right or wrong kind of guy'. I've seen my government lie and scheme and watched good people take to the streets in order to right wrongs. The civil rights movement and the protests of the Vietnam War come instantly to mind. Those brave enough to confront 'wrong' often paid heavy consequences. In their own ways they are American heroes just like those who fought bravely against tyranny during World War I and II.

I'm reminded on this 4th of July that my citizenship in the kingdom of God is what informs my citizenship in my country. As a free man I am thankful for the choices that I have. Those choices have to be rooted in some sort of authoritative source. I find that source in the traditions and scripture of my faith. My allegiance to the laws of this country and it purposes are strong but only as long as they don't step on my primary commitment to Christ and His purposes. The ways of Christ are often quite different from the tactics of our economic and political strategists.

The good news is that we live in a country where we all still have the ability to influence policy both locally and nationally. Too many stand on the sidelines thinking their gossipy criticisms actually make a difference. It doesn't and won't. Talk is cheap in both the kingdom of God and in the challenging issues facing our country. I wonder who will step up to the plate and be the 'difference maker' this time around. Perhaps it's me. Or you?

Tonight we will ooh and ah and rank the fireworks this year against the fireworks of our youth. Many of you have already saluted the flag and cheered for war veterans and other modern day heroes. 'Tis a good day. May we live into the hopes of our founders and remain faithful to the calls of God on our lives.

61

2011-06-28T09:48:00.000-05:00

It's a good number. 61. It's my birthday today. I'm thankful for so many having already expressed birthday greetings. Six decades of life.

There are times when I have stood in front of a group of people preaching, or walked the streets of Jerusalem or the village paths in the bush of Africa, or sat in a room with a whole lot of folks who look different from myself and wonder how a little kid from northern Wisconsin ever got to this place in life. Why have I been so blessed?

For sure there have been rocky moments. The divorce was no fun. The heart attack was scary. Dealing with my own particular inner demons has been challenging. I've failed to follow through on a few things and disappointed more than a few people. There are those I've hurt and wounded. Not good.

There have been more than a few dashed dreams and false starts. I never became the second baseman for the Milwaukee Braves, nor charted that career in politics. All early ambitions.

I did get to father great children, start some ministries that have helped people, found Anita ( the love of my life), have known and know truly interesting people, have a platform to express thoughts and ideas and relatively speaking have traveled pretty widely. I've written three books and a few articles and still have wide ranging friendships with people of all ages. I have lived in Wisconsin, Minnesota,
California, Nevada and Illinois. I've been blessed.

Because I consider myself to be middle aged I wonder what the next half of my life will bring. :) At 122 I wonder what blessings I'll be counting. Here's what I pray:

That the Lord will continue to allow me to be involved in significant ministry.
That I can use the advantage of age and experience to build into the lives of those younger.
That the book or four bubbling inside of me will get written.
That I will resist the sense of 'entitlement' that is so pervasive with my generation,
That I might see Israel again (with a side trip to Rome)
That I might visit South Africa.
That I can relish living in a culture that provides so many opportunities to roll up my sleeves.
That I never get stuck in thinking the 'old ways' are the only ways.
That God can use me to help my grandchildren fall in love with Jesus and find places to be people of significant impact.
That Anita and I can figure out that speaking ministry we can do together.
That my 'Johnnies' can win another national championship or two.
That I might live a life of deep joy and significance.
That I live long enough to see East Garfield Park transformed.
That God will continue to use me to link city to the burbs.
That I might grow deep in my relationship with Jesus.

There's more for sure. But more than anything else, I desire to wake up each day with great expectation that God has something of significance for me to live into.

So far it's been an interesting life. But it's not over. Can't wait for what's next. Thanks for all of you who have been part of the ride so far. You have been good to me. Can't wait to see who God brings into my life in the years ahead and the adventures I'll be allowed to be part of. God is good. All the time. All the time. God is good

Books and Stuff

2011-06-22T07:30:00.003-05:00

I've finished reading "The Jesuit Guide to Just about Everything" by James Martin SJ. It's a truly wonderful read. Well worth your time and energy. However, if you don't like to think and if you are bound and determined to believe your way is the only way then, for sure, pick this book up. It might help you grow beyond the narrow confines of your theological thinking. Don't we all need that?

Somewhere in the book Martin talks about community. He speaks of a friend who believes these three principles will help us both build and live in community.

Understand you're not God.
This world of ours is not heaven.
Don't be an ass.

That's about as succinct as one can get. How many times has community been ruined by God complexes, bad behavior, and idealism?

Speaking of books. My wife is the host of Midday Connection on the Moody Radio Network. Periodically, They have a book club. This time the Moody professor who helps host the club picked the book "Dracula". It's been interesting reading the Facebook comments. There's a whole segment of folks that are pretty frustrated with the choice. It stretches their paradigm of what constitutes acceptable literature. They can't wrap their arms around so called 'secular' books having thoughtful and redemptive content. A few skeptical women have chosen to read the book. They can't put it down. Their eyes are being opened.

In all honesty I haven't read it yet either but did download it to my Kindle today. It was free. What can I say? Perhaps I need my paradigms rocked a bit.

My friend and colleague at Breakthrough Urban Ministries, Arloa Sutter, wrote a book called "The Invisible". It's a book about noticing those we often choose to ignore. It's a great read. What's cool is that the study guide was just released. It's perfect for small group discussions and will help prod your thinking about biblical justice issues. Arloa lives out her faith in quite remarkable ways. Check out her web site http://arloasutter.com/

Along the same lines my buddy John Green recently released his book called "Streetwalking with Jesus". John has a ministry to male prostitutes. He's the real deal. I recommend his book and his ministry. www.streets.org

I'm convinced my wife' s book "What Women Tell Me" can help lead a whole lot of women to the freedom they're seeking. Anita (Lustrea) doesn't pull many punches as she talks about God's amazing work in her life. Some real hot topics are covered. She lays it on the line. Perfect for a small group study. www.anitalustrea.com

Finally, check out the Redbud Writers Guild http://www.redbudwritersguild.com/. This is a group of amazing Christian women who are writing fearlessly about issues that matter.

Dad Day

2011-06-19T09:41:00.000-05:00

I won't be with my children this fathers day. The timing didn't work quite well enough this year. But it's not about the particular day or the gifts as we all know.

Looking back, I sometimes wish I could have been more. That I wasn't enough. That my quirks of personality and emphasis somehow overshadowed what was going on in my heart. But there are no do overs. And actually I'm quite OK with that.

My heart overflows with love for my children. It's quite unexplainable actually. It's not that clingy, velcro type of love. I always thought that my role was to prepare them to live into their God given potential. To free them and not bind them. To bless them, not dominate them. Sometimes I did these things well. Occasionally, I stumbled. Always, though, I meant well even in the regrettable times.

I always thought my kids would be alright if they loved Jesus with all of their being and lived that belief out in grace filled, thoughtful ways wherever God planted them. That still remains my greatest ongoing hope. My prayer is that they will never just settle for the American Dream for taken to an extreme there is an inherent selfishness in all of that. There's more that they are created for. Gloriously more. I pray that they will never settle for some cheap, cultural, trinket God who doesn't really exist.

Like many these days our family has been fractured by divorce. That's always difficult even in the most amicable situations. What was intended no longer is possible. A new definition of family emerges. Doable certainly but not without it's awkward challenges. On days dedicated to dads one feels the pain of the brokenness.

I look at my children and see all kinds of things. I especially see the possibilities before them. What lives will they continue to touch? What risks will they be willing to take? Will they look for Jesus at the intersections of life? Will they be the creators of authentic community? Will they wrestle with the deep issues of life? Will they love their own children in their own quirky ways that will remind them of their own father and his eccentricities?

I love my children and their children. More deeply than I think they know. May you forever know you are loved.

Murphbits

2011-06-17T09:47:00.000-05:00

Have opinions but don't be mean spirited.

Let's face it.. The tone of civil discourse in our world has reached pretty scary heights. Like little children at the playground politicians and regular citizens hurl ugly insults at one another thinking that the mean spiritedness is going to win people over. Go figure.

Live simply.

We have too much. More than we need. We're living for our wants and that keeps us from seeing the needs of others. That's not OK. Ever.

Be holy forsaking self righteousness.

Live like God is real and He will transform your life. No need to be showy about it all. Love, grow, worship and serve like crazy. Hold captive your Inner Pharisee.

Be curious.

There's a big world out there. Lots to know about. Avoid living in the center of someone else's opinion. What are you discovering?

Be interesting.

Dullness is avoidable. Care about what is going on around you. Listen for understanding. Argue with consideration. Have considered opinions. Read. Listen to opposing viewpoints. Ask questions.

Be involved.

Find the intersect where your giftedness and a need exists. Jump in. Make a difference. It's not about you all the time. Honest. Open your eyes to God sized possibilities.

Avoid labels.

Dig beneath the stereotype. Sometimes you'll find the label fits. More often you'll find a degree of complexity and wonder that might just impact your life.

Live into the adventure.

There are too many bored people out there. Are you one of them? Seriously, are you once of them?

It's all a slippery slope.

The life of faith is lived on a slippery slope much of the time. It kind of bugs me when people say "Well, that puts us on a slippery slope.". Life does that. Faith does that. It's on the slope where decisions have to be made and faith exercised. The slippery slope doesn't have to represent a slide downward. It can still be climbed. And who knows ... Maybe God wants us to slip and slide a bit because we're climbing the wrong hill.

Live in such a winsome way that others will want to gossip about you.

That means you're a bit out of step with the prevailing culture. You care about the deeper things in life. You don't care about keeping up with someone else. You've got a different agenda for your life and a whole lot of folks won't understand it but will certainly want to talk about it.

Practice sensing the presence of God in the present moment.

My spiritual director reminds me that this is the key to the life of faith. Each moment contains 'enough' and the present moment is all we're currently promised.

Brain Blurts/June

2011-06-16T10:33:00.001-05:00

I've been watching the beginnings of the next election for POTUS. Why am I underwhelmed? Perhaps it's seeing the same words being repeated over and over again and the groundwork being laid for what could be become a pretty nasty primary season. No one seems to want to give in, give up, listen to and/or reason with the other.

I'm reading a terrific book called "The Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything". James Martin SJ is a terrific writer. He reminds me that wonderful things happened in the faith long before the Reformation. And even after the Reformation God has used a variety of streams of spirituality to both inform and renew the others. Not all Martin says sits well with me but that's OK. I need to wrestle with such things. But forthe most part I'm being enriched by the challenge to go deeper and be deeper.

In the back of my mind a sermons is developing. It's about 'sin'. That's a topic I don't have to do a whole lot of research on. I'm an all pro already. It's not a favorite topic for many. Who wants to feel guilty, huh? Guilt, though, is underestimated as a force for spiritual renewal.

Doing some research about the Pharisees recently, I came to the conclusion that 'I is one'. That shook me a bit. I can slice and dice with the best of them. I'm reminded of a story about W.C. Fields. He was discovered back stage thumbing through a bible. He looked up and said, "Don't worry. I'm just looking for loopholes.". That's what we all do. We're always looking for the loophole, something that will allow us to slide through, under or around our call to obedience. And if we can't find one we'll create one.

Around the 4th of July I begin to get a barrage of emails about patriotism. First of all, I'm all for well placed patriotism. I'm blessed to live in the USA. And I am thankful. I'm not enamored with blind patriotism however. And I cannot place God and country in equal positions. God trumps country every time. We forget that all too often. My deep desire is that Americans would find their way to the true God of true Gods. It's been said that America will remain good as long as it's people are good. I think all too often we are guilty of serving a god of our own creation. That god aligns itself along political and class lines. It's not the real God. Our political and social alignments turn us inward, serving ourselves and not others. That selfishness is not good and has disastrous consequences for our culture.

Still wondering how much of the Obama bashing in our culture is motivated by race but is disguised as something else? Not saying that his policies shouldn't be scrutinized and challenged. Just growing increasingly concerned about race issues and the unwillingness of folks to come to grips with their own feelings and prejudices.

Had a conversation with an older guy the other day. He goes to a church that has 23 members. They are trying to save the church building. I asked him if they ever thought about thinking a bit more missionally and actually building the church. Didn't get a great answer.

I'm writing all this seated next to a roaring fire. I'm 'up north' as we say in the Midwest. The sun is trying to sneak through. I'm only a few steps away from a lake. No agenda today. Eventually, I'll hop on my bike or climb into a kayak. There's something about being in the midst of the Creation that renews my strength and brings me back to the basics of life. The frantic push of everyday life saps me at times. God gives me glimpses into what could be every now and then nudging me to a better way for my life.

Doing relationships

2011-06-07T20:15:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I helped celebrate the birthday of a very dear friend. It was a great party filled with reunions with old friends and meeting new folks. My friend and his wife have an extraordinary ability to keep making new friendships and still nurture old relationships.

The birthday boy helped save my life. At a particularly difficult point in my journey he refused to allow me to go through it alone. His attitude, his faith, his demeanor and his laughter helped provide a relational structure that gave birth to some deep healing. At the right time God provided me what I needed by providing me with the gift of a 'friend'.

Last week I talked on the phone with another man who by his own admission knows nothing of friendship. He knows of no one he can turn to in the midst of some pretty painful stuff. As a pastor I hear stories like this all the time and wonder about the relational poverty that is at the heart of so many people's experience. Too many are too lonely. And that loneliness can give way to a seclusion that is unhealthy. Either that or folks settle for shallow relationships in shallow places. Just hang around a bar during happy hour some week night. You'll see some surprisingly good things but you'll also be driven to tears as you watch folks try to fill deep holes with all kinds of things that aren't filling or fulfilling.

What makes some people relationship rich and others relationship poor?

Some people have a broken people picker which leads leads them to people who have no clue about how to bond with another person. The result is that they end up feeling relationally cheated and oftentimes used.

I find that those rich in relationships don't surround themselves with people who believe exactly what they believe. They feel safe with a diversity of opinion and expression. That's rare these days.

Relationship rich people might have strong opinions and convictions but they don't expect others to nod in agreement towards them. Healthy people actually like to debate.

Relationally healthy folks are interesting. They read. They care. They invest. Most people I know who are struggling relationally aren't very interesting. They parrot what others say and can't articulate anything significant that comes from some authoritative place deep inside of them.

As a Christian I can't afford to neglect the relationally needy. It's antithetical to the good news I proclaim. As much as I'd like to turn my back on the relationally dysfunctional at times the Spirit of God beckons me to walk towards them and not away. And in all honesty there are times when I struggle with that.

Not so long ago I was in a needy place. It would have been easy for people to walk away. And some did. Thankfully, not all. God used those who picked me up to help heal my life.

It's easy to love the lovable. It's not so easy to love the prickly and the damaged.

Open our eyes, Lord. Open our hearts. Give us all partners for the journey. Stretch us to see others the way you do. And may our lives be open to those who might require extra grace.

Two Ceremonies

2011-05-27T10:29:00.004-05:00

The contrast was striking. Early last week I attended an awards ceremony at Timothy Christian Schools where step-son John is a senior. Later in the week there was an awards ceremony at Breakthrough Urban Ministries on the west side of Chicago. Both were great experiences and life-giving but each evoked different emotions.

At Timothy Christian there was a quiet assurance that expectations had been met. Smart kids from good families got what they had worked hard for. It was a job well done. The ceremony was heart warming and it honored students who had studied hard and achieved much. I experienced a deep sense of gratefulness for the school, its teachers and its commitment to its mission.

At Breakthrough students were also honored for hard work and measurable accomplishment. It was clear that quiet assurance was being built and that an environment of expectation and accomplishment wasn't yet the norm. “Yet” is the operative word. Slowly but surely neighborhood norms are changing but the tipping point has not yet been reached. But that day will come. It must.

When I watched the young students at Breakthrough I was both thrilled for them and sobered by what I know about their statistical probability of success. Whenever I drive through the neighborhood I see what's waiting for kids if expectations and accountability are low. It's not pretty and in all honesty it's scary. If Breakthrough doesn’t succeed these kids are sizzled. They won't make it in life. They might not make it out of adolescence.

If Timothy Christian fails in its mission the students at their school will still succeed. There's enough parental resolve and access to excellent resources to almost guarantee success. That access, that resolve and those resources are in shorter supply in many city neighborhoods. Ministries, like Breakthrough, stand in the gap along with local churches, caring families, sports leagues, and dedicated teachers, battling for kids, their families and the neighborhood. But make no mistake. There is a gap and there is a battle.

Two ceremonies. Two life giving ministries. I thank God for Timothy Christian Schools. Bravo. Thank God it is succeeding in the mission God has ordained for them.

Thank God for Breakthrough. May success become the norm for the kids and families it serves. May resources flow to it. May the exuberant celebration of hope I witnessed the other night be parlayed into life-long habits leading to mature faith and citizenship.

Brain Blurts for May

2011-05-20T10:08:00.001-05:00

I want to get this out before the rapture on Saturday. My first understanding was that the world would end tomorrow but now the latest from California is telling us that only the rapture will happen? Whew. So, I’m breathing easy and starting to casually pack my bags for the next leg of the journey. By the way, what does one wear for the rapture?

Been watching the political climate change this month. Amazing what the killing of bin Laden did for the President’s public approval ratings. That whole thing was pretty sobering. I’m glad a true villain will never kill again. I didn’t understand the ‘dancing in the streets’ that was going on.

Was disappointed that Trump decided to leave the race he never entered but that he stayed around long enough to help us find the elusive long form presidential birth certificate. That was probably the most important issue facing us as a society. Glad it’s resolved. Why do I think the birthers and the end of the worlders were separated at birth?

Turned into East Garfield Park a few days ago and saw street sweepers everywhere. Litter was gone, drug dealers were off the corners. There’s wasn’t a gang banger to be seen. The park was being mowed. A miracle. Nope. Just the mayor of Chicago coming for a visit. Things that make you go hmmmmm.

Saw da Mayor Daley that day. I was actually moved by being in his presence. Whether you liked his tactics or motivation he was a force to be reckoned with. He was and still is an interesting profile of leadership.

I just heard the Oprah show is going off the air. I'm kind of surprised nobody made a big deal of it. :)

Arnold, Arnold, Arnold ....dude, what were you thinking?

I’m becoming more and more convinced that people are bored to tears with what we’re proclaiming from pulpits and airwaves. I sat and listened to some religious heavyweights this month. Good speakers all but as I scanned the audience I realized that people really weren’t paying attention. Why? They weren't hearing anything that they weren't already committed to. Instead, they were being cajoled to just believe 'harder'. People nodded in assent but I wasn’t convinced anyone was buying it. Where is the winsome proclamation of faith these days? I tell ‘ya. We’ve got to figure it out because people have the church figured out and they ain’t buying what we’re selling.

Scotty or Lauren? I'm thinking Scotty.

I want to urge you to go to your local PBS station and watch the two hour Freedom Riders show. The Freedom Riders, were young men and women (black and white) who road Greyhound and Trailways buses into the segregated south. The intent was to use this non-violent act to help break the back of separation based on color in the early 60's. Many were beaten and jailed for the cause. What bravery. How many of us would step up to challenge injustice like they did? My hope is many of us will because the deep needs of this world aren’t going to be met by us playing on Facebook and getting fatter and sassier. What drives you crazy when you think about it? Could God use your discontent to be the solution to the problem?

Break My Plans

2011-05-10T12:37:00.000-05:00

God wants us ‘all in’. Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper says “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: Mine!” It’s all His.

I heard an interesting story last week about a man named Nicolai, a Romanian song writer and a Christ follower who was imprisoned for some time by the corrupt regime that ruled for far too long in that eastern European nation. Every day of his life this Godly man prayed the same prayer at the start of each new day, even during his torture and imprisonment. ‘God, break my plans.”

The singing group This Hope wrote a song about Nicolai and the chorus says:

Break my plans, shape my heart;

Take my will to where You are;

Move my mind through Your Word;

'Til all that I am lives to love You, Lord

Break my plans, shape my heart …What a bold, dangerous prayer. Break my plans, Lord, and give me yours. Give me your plans Lord for I want your ways to be my ways, your thought my thoughts.

Whew!!! In effect he was praying. I’ll do anything, anytime, anywhere Lord for you. Anything, anytime, anywhere. Anyone want to pray that prayer today?

Break my retirement plans Lord.

Move me to the inner city.

Alter my dreams for my kids so that they align more fully with your purposes Lord.

Adjust my income downward so I can live in greater dependence on you.

Help me to give away more and do with less.

Break my plans Lord. I give you permission to rock my world. Your will, not mine.

Here’s what I’m thinking. Praying like that is hard for us. Or at least it is for me. Cuz I like my plans. And so do you.

Last week Anita and I were on Coronado Island in California and both thought that this would be a great place to cozy down, to live our last days. After peaking at the real estate listings we realized that all we’d need to live within shouting distance of the beach was a cool 3.2 million dollars. But even before we looked we realized we were being taken in by the seductive charm of a truly lovely place. And for us, at least, that wouldn’t be good.

Maybe it was because we had just heard the story of Nicolai that caused us to question what was going on inside of us. Even if we had the money and inclination would living here be God’s best for us? Would God have a purpose for us here? What would God be calling us to? In light of the deep needs all around us would this be the anything, anywhere, anytime kind of thing God would call us to?

Those are hard questions especially for those of us who feel entitled to just about ‘well everything’. For God’s ways, God’s purposes often lead us away from what we think we’re entitled to and rivet our attention on some of the deeper needs of this world, to care about the world the way God wants it cared for, to see it as He sees it.

Because of the influence of my wife and others I’ve been increasingly interested in what is happening to people around the world, especially women. I’ve seen first hand what poverty can do. I’ve been reminded, over and over again, of the global epidemic of sex trafficking. I’ve learned that in some countries a man is not considered a man until he has a son and that daughters are in some ways quite disposable.

And all throughout the world, even in places down the road from us, women wake up each day hungry, fearful, and in bondage. They look at their children and can only hope for medicine and food for them. They live in conditions that would make us weep and raise our fists to the heavens.

And they pray. For God to intervene in what looks like a sure plan for their day. Break these plans, they cry out to God. End our poverty. Deliver us from evil. Give us this day our daily bread. Rescue us from slavery. Save our children. Break our plans for the day. For they are truly awful plans. Bring something new and fresh and life-giving to us.

And I’m convinced that God does want to break those plans. And that he wants to use us to break them … us, men and women willing to have our own personal agendas broken, altered, and refocused. Then, to be used by God as a means to both rescue and empower those crying out to the Lord.

Wholly Weak

2011-04-22T10:44:00.001-05:00

This morning I tried to get my arms around all that Holy Week represents. In many respects I am not ready for Easter. And even thought this is Good Friday my whole being isn’t fully focused on that reality. If anything, I sense that I’m occupying the Saturday between.

By most reasonable standards things are going well for me. I am loved. The work I do is rewarding. I have friendships that are meaningful. My health is good. Still, there are moments when the press of life feels a tad bit overwhelming. It’s that place where there is a to do list that looks daunting, critical questions need to be answered, and there’s a sense that I’m disappointing more people than I’m helping. You can relate. This is not a space that’s unique to my experience. But it’s at times like this that I feel “wholly weak”, incapable of pulling my head out of the sand.

This morning I told God all of this. In measured words we talked about the ‘land in between’ I seem to be occupying. I yearn for Easter’s resurrection and the almost paralyzing emotion of the Cross but find myself a little stuck in uncertainty and ambiguity. A.W Tozer prays what is often my reality:

O God, I have tasted Your goodness, and it has both satisfied me and mad me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want You; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Your glory, I pray, that so I may know You indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, ‘Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.’ Then give me grace to rise and follow You up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long.

Holy Week, I’m learning, will bring us to a place where we’re forced to come face to face with ‘wholly weakness’. The events framed by Palm Sunday and Easter force us to face our wishy washy affections, to examine our habits of life and faith, to deal with conflicting emotions, to delay gratification and to trust God in the midst of the mystery of it all. These are not easy things. But they are necessary things to wrestle with. The ‘misty lowland’ ultimately leads us to ‘majestic higher ground’. That is the both the hope and promise of Resurrection. Will we trust in that hope and live joyously into the promise? May it be so. May it be so.

ATO

2011-04-15T14:59:00.000-05:00

We’re living in a culture filled with squabbles of various types. Often, they revolve around important issues. Sides get declared, tension builds, and voila words start being written and spoken that are quite ugly. Here’s my solution to it all.

It’s called an ATO. That’s right, an Adult Time Out. We make a pledge whenever we feel the need to say something particularly nasty to stop long enough to think, pray and ask ourselves one question. Here it is. “Is there anything I’m missing? You could replace that with “Have I considered why the other side is in such strong opposition to my ideas?”

Here’s my thinking. If I were at Tea Party Headquarters for instance. (I know, I know, they don’t have a headquarters but go with me on this for a bit longer . See, some of you were going to start writing a correction and getting defensive about using the Tea Party as an example ...weren’t you? That’s the time for your ATO) So, I’m at TPH spraying up some signs. Wouldn’t it be great if someone said “You know, there’s some good people on the other side of this budget argument. Are we missing anything?”

Or let’s say you’re in the White House and all hunkered down getting mad at that Ryan guy. Wonder if anyone is saying “Is there anything in his plan we should be paying attention to?”

Let’s take Facebook. At the speed and fury that some people write I’m pretty well convinced they’re not considering the validity, even in part, of someone else’s argument. At the moment of fury wouldn’t it be nice if they took an ATO.

I’m thinking ATO would work around a lot of church board meetings. Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone once in awhile one of the elders would say “Hey, I’m not going to react right away. What Helen just said kind of makes sense. What have I been missing?” That’s an ATO moment as is it is for some of you who are mad that I just inferred a woman could be an elder at a church.

So, ATO is my solution for slowing down the world long enough for people to breathe and actually consider what the other side is thinking and feeling. Wouldn’t that be nice? In the process, we might have more measured responses to both issues and to other people.

For some people as they get practiced in taking an ATO they’ll be able to calm down relatively quickly. Some might need to take day long ATO’s. Others might need to refrain from speaking or writing for months or even years. It all depends how long it takes them to be delivered from their self-righteousness. For each of us it’s different. For many it will greatly enhance their life and influence. It would certainly help take some of the anger out of this world of ours. Now that would be a truly wonderful thing.

Darrell

2011-04-12T17:58:00.000-05:00

Darrell is dead. He died back home in Flint, MI.

I didn’t know Darrell well. Don’t know what the issues were in his life. Don’t know his history. Don’t know how he got to Breakthrough or even why he left. All I know is that I liked him.

Darrell was a short, slight man. He was one of those guys whose age was hard to determine. He talked in a whisper and I’m not sure why that was. Our lives intersected on regular occasions but our jobs were not intertwined in meaningful ways. Our interactions occurred most often because my need depended on his knowledge and wherewithal. I’d need a door open. He had the key. I’d be giving a tour. He had a piece of information. He was always there. Always willing. And I was grateful and always made a point to thank him.

It’s a bit disconcerting when someone dies and you know them but realize that you know nothing about them. Sometimes that is what it is. It’s a combination of the pace of life, roles and responsibilities, and a willingness to stop long enough to engage another human being. There are people you get to know and others you don’t. But when someone dies I sometimes want to wonder aloud about why my pace of life keeps me from at least being inquisitive about someone else’s story. Why do I allow some relationships to remain friendly but utilitarian and others to blossom into real friendship?

My sense is that Darrell had a story and I missed out on it. Of course, I realize that there’s only so many stories one can listen to and there’s only so much time in a day, and…I know all that. But what if my priorities are misplaced and the only true agenda I need is the one God places before me each and every day? Maybe Darrell was a missed opportunity.

Working in an urban ministry and for that matter a suburban church are remarkably the same. Lives cross, opportunities exist and possibilities are set before us. Everyone has a story. Some appear to be very interesting. Some look quite sad. Some are bursting at the seams with meaning and others point to a squandered life. But we never know for sure do we until we enter into that story with that person? And as we enter in we discover the real truth about that life and perhaps even our own.

So, I mourn Darrell. I’m thankful our lives intersected. His kindnesses to me had meaning. Hopefully, my kindnesses towards him were also satisfying. I wish I had learned more of his story but maybe all I was supposed to know is what I currently have. It’s fascinating that Darrell’s death causes me to stop, reflect and write. Perhaps that was one of God’s purposes for his life, huh? Maybe God is using Darrell to help produce a better Mike. 'Tis a good thing if that's true.

To Darrell. Nothing can stop you now.

Budget Squabble to Impact Internet

2011-04-07T10:39:00.001-05:00

Buried deep in the bowels of the Department of Homeland Security the office of Internet Management and Wiring maintains all things ‘internet’. Shortly after Al Gore invented the world wide web IMW was established. It’s budget is substantial but because of the threatened shut down of the government the internet as we know it is in jeopardy of going down.

According to unnamed spokespeople decisions are being made that will impact how, when, and where information is delivered. A secret task force is meeting this morning to determine whether Facebook or Google will be axed from receiving services.

Calls to the White House have not been returned but there is indication of ‘above normal’ activity in the West Wing.

A Republican senator admitted that ‘tough cuts’ are coming and people better get used to living without the internet. The Senator, a Tea Party sympathizer, said that internet access was not one of the original intents of the framers of the constitution.

President Obama’s campaign staff, it is rumored, has hunkered down in Chicago and are examining options for waging an alternative campaign, one without world wide web capability. Word on the street has it that no one on the current staff has lived in a world without internet and thus there are discreet inquiries being made to campaign pros who have actually worked with pen and paper.

A spokesman for Apple said that they will have a surprise announcement next week about an IPad app which will allow their systems to operate without the internet. The app is called 'Big Imagination'.

Wall Street appears skeptical and there was no big run on Apple stock early in the trading day.

The author of the popular blog ‘Geek Rumor, Romance and Technology’ said today that he has “seen the Apple app, and that it’s amazing but frequent users in test labs developed a severe rash and lost 40 points off of testable IQ. That could end up being a huge downside and perhaps even scare away early adapters.”

Apple’s competitors say they have a similar app in test laboratories but will not be able to release what they have until they examine Apple’s product so they can tweak it with slight differences so that it looks like something original.

Affirmed

2011-04-05T18:54:00.001-05:00

There’s something about affirmation. You know, that kind word that lifts you up and makes you believe in yourself again. Today, someone wrote me a very kind, affirming note. ‘Twas a good thing. A blessing actually.

We all need affirmation these days. There’s plenty of reminders out there of the ways we don’t quite measure up. It’s a wonder that anyone holds there head high anymore. We’re pushed, pulled, prodded, and pigeonholed all day, every day. Ads tell us we’d be better off if ______________________. Fill in the blank, huh? If only we were skinnier, stronger, younger, hipper, wiser, better educated, more in touch with our feelings, used the right deodorant, drove the best car etc., then we’d be worth something. Whew!! Who does measure up? My guess is there's a whole lot of folks who are thinking that life is pretty much a fairly arduous uphill climb and don't get a whole lot of encouragement.

I wonder what it would be like to be someone important. I think if I was the POTUS, for example, I wouldn’t want to get out of bed in the morning unless I had some designated affirmers around me. I certainly wouldn’t want to read the newspaper or turn on the news. It seems no one has anything good to say about anyone trying to lead these days. Free speech is a wonderful thing but there’s times when ‘ya wonder about some people’s internal blurting monitors. What ever happened to self-control and self-discipline?

In a world that likes to tear down we need people who will build up. And we need more of them. Sometimes I need to be reminded that I am an unrepeatable miracle of God. I’m one of a kind. So are you. And that’s a very good thing.

Maybe we need to be on the lookout for folks who take it on the chin all too often. How about that waiter or waitress who gets dumped on far too many times during the day? What could we do to make his/her day? Or that cab driver? What affirmation could we throw his/her way? Good tips work. Add some well chosen, affirming words along with it and you’ll make someone’s day and maybe more.

The truth is that I don’t know anyone who doesn’t appreciate a heartfelt thumbs up, a look in the eye thank you, an appreciative nod, and/or a written acknowledgement of kindnesses done and effort undertaken.

Thanks to the affirmers of this world who in word and deed help make this a better place to be. May your tribe and influence increase.

Rich?

2011-04-03T19:32:00.000-05:00

When I read through scripture it’s pretty clear that God wants to use me as a conduit of His many blessings. Often, my obedience to that divine assignment is a little sketchy. I have a tendency to want to hold onto God’s blessing and not share it.

Of course, if God did that to me I’d be furious. I want God to be at my beck and call and blessing me at His every remembrance of me. I don’t want Him to hold back.

Bud I do hold back. And when I refuse to give usually one of these three things is at work: Selfishness, Pride, and a marvelous little something called Sloth.

Selfishness compels me to hoard my time, talent, and treasure. Pride always attempts to make me famous...not God. And sloth keeps me from doing anything much at all and keeps me consumed with only thinking about doing God’s will.

A few years ago I read a story that, frankly, got to my heart. It speaks to the ‘heart of generosity’. My hope is that in sharing it you might be be more willing to go to war against the sins that so easily entangles and get on with being all God is calling you to be. We desperately need generous people in today's world. The needs are great.

The author is someone by the name of Edy Ogen. Enjoy.

In 1946, a month before Easter the pastor of our church announced that a special Easter offering would be taken to help a poor family. He asked everyone to save and give sacrificially. When we got home, we talked about what we could do. We decided to buy 50 pounds of potatoes and live on them for a month. This would allow us to save $20 of our grocery money for the offering. When we thought that if we kept our electric lights turned out as much as possible and didn't listen to the radio, we'd save money on that month's electric bill. Darlene, my sister, got as many house and yard cleaning jobs as possible, and both of us babysat for everyone we could. Every day we counted the money to see how much we had saved. At night we'd sit in the dark and talk about how the poor family was going to enjoy having the money the church would give them. We had about 80 people in church, so figured that whatever amount of money we had to give, the offering would surely be 20 times that much.

We didn't care that we wouldn't have new clothes for Easter; we ended up earning $70 for the sacrificial offering. We never had so much money before. We could hardly wait to get to church! When the sacrificial offering was taken, we were sitting on the second row from the front. Mom put in the $10 bill, and each of us kids put in a $20. As we walked home after church, we sang all the way. At lunch Mom had a surprise for us. She had bought a dozen eggs, and we had boiled Easter eggs with our fried potatoes! Late that afternoon the minister drove up in his car. Mom went to the door, talked with him for a moment, and then came back with an envelope in her hand. We asked what it was, but she didn't say a word. She opened the envelope and out fell a bunch of money. There were three crisp $20 bills, one $10 and seventeen $1 bills.

Mom put the money back in the envelope. We didn't talk, just sat and stared at the floor. We had gone from feeling like millionaires to feeling like poor white trash. I knew we didn't have a lot of things that other people had, but I'd never thought we were poor. That Easter day I found out we were. The minister had brought us the money for the poor family, so we must be poor. I didn't like being poor. I looked at my dress and worn-out shoes and felt so ashamed--I didn't even want to go back to church.

All that week, we girls went to school and came home, and no one talked much. Finally on Saturday, Mom asked us what we wanted to do with the money. What did poor people do with money? We didn't know. We'd never known we were poor. We didn't want to go to church on Sunday, but Mom said we had to. At church we had a missionary speaker. He talked about how churches in Africa made buildings out of sun dried bricks, but they needed money to buy roofs. He said $100 would put a roof on a church. The minister said, "Can't we all sacrifice to help these poor people?" We looked at each other and smiled for the first time in a week. Mom reached into her purse and pulled out the envelope. My sister put it in the offering. When the offering was counted, the minister announced that it was a little over $100. The missionary was excited. He hadn't expected such a large offering from our small church. He said, "You must have some rich people in this church.”Suddenly it struck us! We had given $87 of that "little over $100." We were the rich family in the church! Hadn't the missionary said so? From that day on I've never been poor again.

Where to Error?

2011-03-29T19:30:00.001-05:00

A Facebook and real life friend posed a series of question recognizing that even in our best attempts to achieve balance, thoughtfulness, and wise perspective and action that we do, in fact, err quite often. He asks:

“If the balance is between being too lenient or too harsh, where is it better to err?

Too inclusive or too exclusive?

Too peaceful or too violent?

Defending the vulnerable or defending the comfortable?

We will never be perfect. But I think we can choose our errors better."

If so, how then do we decide where to err? We all do you know. We’re inclined to put too much emphasis on this as opposed to that. We make errors of both judgment and action.

Anita asked me the other night when we finished watching a couple of movies about apartheid in South Africa. “So, if you were a white man in South Africa at the time ...would you stand on the side of justice even if it might mean losing your family’s affection?” A good question. In light of the information provided by the movie we were watching I told her that “justice appeared to be the nobler and more Godly road. If faced with the same circumstances I’d pray for the courage to follow the path of justice.” (Please understand this is in light of the context of the particular drama we were watching)

So, where do we decide to err? Our senior pastor at Christ Church believes that when in doubt we should err on the side of grace. Others can’t abide by that recommendation especially if their version of truth is being challenged. To err on the side of truth is always best from their vantage point.

I’m inclined to believe that it’s usually best to err on the side of the response that is the least harsh but still measured enough to be impactful. I should mention, however, that this is not my natural inclination. I have a very strong ‘judgment gene’ and a highly functional ‘truth meter’. My natural reaction is to be hard, not soft. Unfortunately or perhaps fortunately that has never served me well. My truth and judgment responses seem to always come across as anger, intolerance and scolding. Very rarely (perhaps never) do they come across as thoughtful and affirming.The sad thing is that in my desire to correct that reactivity I have found myself becoming too soft even when the circumstances demanded a harder edge. Where’s balance when one needs it, eh?

The truth is that my knee jerk responses based in and anger and judgment usually cause harm or at the very least elevates the tension. Now, I realize that there are some things I need to be justifiably angry about but even then will I error on the side of having a measured, thoughtful response or will I just unload?

Jack Connell wrote a thoughtful peace on the Christianity Today website. It’s called Ministry Mulligans. http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2011/winter/ministrymulligans.html?start=1

Having to do it all over again he’d be:

More collaborative, less competitive.
Choose more rest, less rush
Choose more friendship, less isolation.

I’d choose to be more trustful and less wary. I’d choose renewal over procrastination and intentionality over reaction. For sure I’d listen more and talk less. I’d follow the nudges of God instead of the schemes of my imagination.

Instead of feeding the shadow side of my personality I’d feed those things God could use for His purposes. It’s sad to think that the purposes of God are not always second nature to me.

I think our senior guy at our church is more right than not. Err on the side of grace. That doesn’t mean one becomes a punching bag or has no opinion. It simply means that one finds his/her power in the grace of God which often looks like a lack of power to the casual observer.

I’m also inclined to believe that it’s wiser to err on the side of those who have lost their voice, who are marginalized, and who are being treated unjustly. The old saying that “Jesus came to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable” still makes gospel sense to me.

And for those who wonder. I would certainly stand up for truth. But in more grace filled ways, asking more questions. There are too many angry people pounding desks, pulpits, and even other people in the defense of God who is very capable of standing up for Himself.

Black Like Me

2011-03-28T11:32:00.002-05:00

I went backwards in time to remind myself of some important things over the weekend. I finished reading a book that influenced me profoundly when I was a teenager.

In 1959 a white man by the name of John Howard Griffin decided to pigment his skin black and then try to experience the world of ‘another’ in the deep south. His book is called “Black Like Me”. Somehow or another I ran across it when I was in very early adolescence and was struck hard by both his courage and the mind numbing reality of racism.

Growing up in northern Wisconsin race was not a big part of our life. Most everyone was white. As a result our prejudices (and there were many) were shared and became our version of normal. There was two black families in our town and several handfuls of native Americans. When I was in high school Cuban immigrants started coming to our high school in very small numbers. I knew children from one of the black families and remember, at age 12, (perhaps after reading the book) to do what I could do to befriend the boy closest to my age. His name was Earl. We spent a day together and soon realized that we really didn’t have much in common so best friends was not our destiny but we always remained friendly. Thus, my first excursion into racial reconciliation.

I remember hearing that John Howard Griffin would be lecturing at what was then called Superior State University. Just 14, I wandered over and took my seat in an auditorium to listen to his story. To this day, I don’t remember much about what he said but just being there, in that room seemed important to me.

Before my freshman year in college I spent time with some other ‘work study’ types on campus. We were trying to earn enough money to actually attend classes. It was my first real experience of multi-culturalism. It was pretty clear that all of us on campus were poor and it was a diverse crew of folks. White folk, urban Black, Puerto Ricans, Bahamians, and residents of Hong Kong. That was the summer of 1968. Eugene McCarthy (an alum)visited the campus this summer I remember, even replacing me in softball game I decided to blow off. I still recall watching the Democratic convention with this mixed group of friends and we all wondered aloud how what we were watching would impact our society.

When our summer was over our little community broke apart. It split along racial lines pretty much. Nothing nasty. Still little nods to each other and occasional conversation but the ‘times were changing’ for sure. And I remember thinking how sad it all was.

Rereading ‘Black Like Me’ reminded me of those days and more. It helped inform the rest of my life.

Sometimes when I look around me I realize how blessed I am to have friends and acquaintances who are different than I am. And I realize that the blessing has happened because God is continually nudging me in the direction of the original vision he planted in my teenage heart. Why is it that I quit law school and started to volunteer at a south side Minneapolis boys club? Why did God drop me into the middle of the San Joaquin Valley where I allowed myself to be loved on by a group of Mexican-American kids, or why was Hug High School in Reno (the poorest of them all) the place where God decided to start Young Life in the state of Nevada? Why Evanston and why the south side of that city? Why Breakthrough?

I think God planted something deep in my heart. It’s like He’s saying over and over and over again something important about the Body of Christ and what my role in it is supposed to be as he seeks to create His version of the Beloved Community.

I went back to my future I think when I reread “Black Like Me”. The reminder of some early whispers of God and his unfailing attention to remind me of those murmurings throughout my life is greatly encouraging. But I'm also realizing that God isn't done with me. He's planted something deep inside of me for a reason. There's a purpose behind what He continues to do. It's quite humbling and invigorating.

Who's Orthodox?

2011-03-24T16:31:00.005-05:00

As I look at my book shelves it's filled with authors who have been questioned and labeled as 'false teachers' or at least 'not quite on message' at times.

McKnight
C.S. Lewis
Foster
Willard
Otberg
Hybels
Carolyn Custis James
Donald Miller
Ruth Haley Barton
McManus
Martin Luther King Jr.
Parker Palmer
Sider
Gordon MacDonald
Yancey
Shaine Claiborne
Tim Keller

And many more. All are under the evangelical umbrella and all suspected by one group or another as possibly theologically dangerous.

Dare I say I also have books by Franciscan friars and Benedictine nuns, Anne Lamott, Brennan Manning, Kathleen Norris, John Piper, D.A. Carson, liberal Methodists, and ‘any war is a bad war' Mennonites. Each and all living out faith in Jesus in ways much differently than others I know. And for sure they are suspect for their theological perspectives in at least some of the circles I travel in.

Could it be that one of the problems with our theological approach these days is that we limit ourselves to listening to only those people we agree with and we are only looking for standup guys and gals with similar theologies and ideologies to our own? And if they are too dissimilar then are we guilty of lobbing grenades of suspicion ...dismissing them, labeling each as being ‘outside the faith’? Just asking.

I can go to certain websites and anyone associated with using spiritual formation terminology is viewed as heretical. That includes folks like Larry Crabb who loves Jesus deeply. Even my wife has a made a ‘watch’ list or two for having certain guests on her program. And I’m saddened for I know how deeply orthodoxy runs in her own life and the lives of her guests.

On the flip side those on the left side of orthodoxy look at right leaning evangelicals and wonder when ‘they’re going to get it’ and accuse them of abandoning the true faith and for allowing false prophets in their midst.

Of course, most of the world doesn’t give a rip about our internal discussions, books, music or movies. They’re just trying to make sense of life and they’re choosing in record numbers to figure things out without the church. And people are leaving the church because the answers they’re getting are just too pat. ‘Trust and obey’ isn’t cutting it for them.

I think there are false teachers and heretical teachings. There are people who say ‘thus sayeth the Lord’ and you wonder what rock they’ve been hanging under and what scripture they adhere to. Drives me crazy.

But I’ve been wondering. What do you think are the non-negotiables of orthodoxy these days? What would make you label someone as theologically suspect or a false teacher? What's the line that someone must cross that immediately invalidates their point of view? I'll be interested in what you have to say.

Rob Bell. How Could You?

2011-03-22T11:55:00.005-05:00

Well, I’ve read Rob Bell’s book Love Wins. Here are some general observations after what was, admittedly, a pretty quick read. I’m thinking that I’ll want to go through it again. I’ve got all kinds of circles, underlines, smiley faces, frowny faces and questions marks throughout the book.

One of my litmus tests for any book,speaker, program or retreat is to asks the question …”Did this help me fall more deeply in love with Jesus?” Rob Bell’s book did help me fall more deeply in love with Jesus. More than ever I want to be in relationship with the “visible expression of the invisible God.”
Rob Bell isn’t a universalist although he flirts with ideas that many devout people have been trained to avoid.
Believers who hold tightly to certain systems and patterns of belief could feel attacked and backed into a corner. This is not a book for people who aren’t willing to think.
I think this would be a great book study especially with people from a variety of theological perspectives. Since we mostly hang out with people who believe the same things we believe that might prove difficult. J
Rob challenges our assumptions about time. What we see as the end … isn’t …according to his thought process.
If you believe that Christian thinking stopped shortly after the Resurrection and began again with the Reformation you’ll struggle with reading this book.
If you believe that God only speaks through conservative, evangelical theology you’ll struggle with reading this book.
Rob Bell does believe in hell.
I don’t think his thinking deserves to go unchallenged. How to do it with dignity and respect is the question though.
He does believe that Jesus is the ‘way, the truth, and the life’.
I think he talks a lot about a Catholic notion of purgatory.
The book is an invitation to live as if heaven starts now.
I don’t believe Rob Bell is a heretic.
This isn’t anything new. I’ve heard some of the same themes in his speaking and in the Nooma videos. This is just a smart, new package with a terrific marketing campaign. My guess is that the Bell kids have college paid for.
If you’re someone who likes to live in a world of ‘theological and biblical tension’ you’ll enjoy this book. It will be like iron sharpening iron.
If you’re an ideologue of any conservative stripe you’ll probably hate Love Wins but it will be good for you to engage with the ideas before you throw the book against the wall and dismiss them entirely.
If you’re a theological liberal Bell's refusal to jump into the shallow end of the universalistic pool might prove to be unsatisfying.
Rob does provide a satisfying perspective on what I would call a more wholistic view of the Good News.

Final thoughts. I’m adequately trained in theological and biblical areas. Despite that, there’s so much I don’t understand. Period. Not just in Love Wins. And so I embrace the mystery of faith as part of the reality of my journey. I cling to the creeds for they give me a firm foundation for life changing belief. The Word of God sustains me with both its clarity of thought and in its ambiguity. I believe that in Jesus God reveals the purpose of His plan and I ask for the Lord's grace to live the way of Jesus in today's world. All that to say ...I'm not afraid of a book that challenges my thinking or system of belief. Nor should you be. My faith is big enough to be challenged along the way especially by Rob Bell who I believe has a good heart.

Please pray for Rob Bell. He’s an influential voice. He’s getting hammered in many circles instead of being engaged. Is Rob right in all that he says? I sense he’s making some educated guesses and perhaps viewing certain things through the lens of his own bias. Like us all he “sees through a glass darkly”. I applaud the courage it took to publish this book. Blessings to him for helping us to think. May our thinking lead us to engage with the God who is and not the God we’ve created in our own image and likeness.

Another War?

2011-03-19T16:39:00.000-05:00

Today our country joins with others to stop evil in Libya. Is it the right call? I guess we’ll find out. It certainly won’t be a popular call for nothing ever is these days. But it’s certainly a gutsy call in today’s political climate.

Should we or shouldn’t we? Can we remain silent when we look into the eyes of a tyrant intent on the destruction of his opponents? Or should we retreat caring for our issues and our people only?

The times are filled with peril aren’t they?

I’m not a fan of war. I’ve always believe that ‘war is unhealthy for children and other living things.’ And yet I know there are times when faced with scurrilous evil that we are called to battle.

We live in a world these days where enemies are rarely defeated. There is no signing anymore of 'surrender documents' these days. Instead, the war goes underground, into the alley way, and into the hands of the terrorist. Hate lives on.

My guess is that we will be at war for the foreseeable future. There is no cutting off the head of evil these days because there is no singular entity to go after. There is now a shadowy network of alliance. When one is defeated another rises up.

It sounds a bit trite to even say this but I must. We live in a global community. Isolationism is no longer an option. Economically our lives are intertwined with others throughout our world. For better and worse, in many respects, we are one. In that, I find both strange comfort and perplexing uneasiness. The comfort comes from the hope that the ‘oneness’ we experience will lead to some rock solid solutions to the problems ailing us. The uneasiness comes from knowing that oneness is always mightily challenged by selfishness.

Some will look to scripture and gaze into the skies for Jesus’ soon return. ‘War and rumors of war’ will galvanize end timers. However, that is very unsatisfying from my perspective. Sitting, hoping and waiting is unappealing and plays into the hands of our real enemy.

So what should people of faith do? I’m at somewhat of a loss as to what to say and I find myself offering only this.

Certainly, we must pray for the Lord’s will to be done. Perhaps a pledge to pray for leaders of the free world who are stepping into unpopular and gut wrenching territory. For sure, for a quick end to what is happening in Libya. We must pray for the protection of innocents. We must pray against evil and ask for the personal courage to confront it wherever we are. And we must ask for the Lord’s help for each of us to the next right thing, in the right way, with the right attitude, and the right motivation. I’m naive enough to still believe that good people doing the right thing can create a world wide tipping point towards good. God is asking us to be ‘kingdom builders’ and the only way we can do that is by behaving like kingdom people.

The whole world is being tested these days. Perhaps if we embrace the story line presenting itself and enter into it determined to help rewrite the plot line of worry, hate, terror and despair God will use our obedience for His purposes. We can still make a difference you know. With God all things are possible. All things.

Never think out loud.

2011-03-16T22:49:00.000-05:00

I’ve been following some of the Rob Bell stuff over the past few days. Here’s what I’m learning. If you are an evangelical Christian don’t ever, ever, ever, think out loud in any kind of public forum about controversial issues. You’ll be thrown to wolves claiming to be sheep.

Rob Bell has written what looks to be a controversial book. He’s dead meat in some circles already. Even people who haven’t read his book are throwing him under the truck and labeling him a heretic. I wonder what that says about us?

The problem with Christianity, it has been said, is Christians. Oh my we can be an ugly, pretentious bunch of malcontents can’t we? We go to battle over our preferences and stand quiet about the Lord's convictions. We gather in little ghettos of paranoia and argue over some of the smallest things. Of course it’s also been said that what’s good about Christianity are Christians. You know of whom I speak I’m sure. They are the ‘wounded healers’ (thank you Henri Nouwen) who in word and deed so evidently follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

But when we are bad we are very, very bad.

Here’s the thing about the Rob Bell controversy. I have hunch he’s saying some stuff that needs to be talked about. Deeply talked about. He’s raising some long dormant issues and showing them the light of day. It’s making the status quo nervous. Maybe deservedly so. For sure, because Bell is an influential voice what he says will be noticed. A meaningful conversation needs to occur. But the conversation won’t happen if there’s a climate of finger pointing and mean spirited accusation. Who wants to be in a conversation when people are shouting and sticking fingers in their ear so they can’t hear?

I’m looking forward to reading Rob Bell’s newest book ‘Love Wins’. Already, based on some reviews, I have a hunch there’s some things I’m going to struggle with. Some assumptions, preferences and convictions of mine will be challenged. I’ll probably have some things to say, perhaps even challenging Bell’s conclusions and thought processes. There’s also a good chance that I’ll be able to endorse good portions of the book. Both in the challenge and in the endorsement I run a risk. For on both sides of the aisle there will be people who won’t want to have a conversation but instead will want to label and accuse. It’s too bad. For those folks are missing out on all the fun stuff where good people exchange meaningful ideas and where minds are changed by persuasive arguments based on rigorous biblical reflection.

Life Changes.

2011-03-13T14:19:00.001-05:00

It changes in a minute. One minute life is as usual. The next everything changes. Everything.

The Japanese earthquake comes on the heels of what happened in Christchurch, the floods in Australia and Afghanistan, and the devastation in Haiti. We sit in stunned silence praying for those who are suffering. Some (I wish most) go online and send some $$$ to our favorite aid group. And then we wait.

Some, I’m sure, point a finger to the sky and scold God. It’s understandable. When we are feeling circumstances are out of control we look for someone or something to blame. God is both available and convenient. Scolding God offers short term relief I suppose but lacks long term satisfaction.

Some others start paging through their Bible looking for prophetic linkages. They are certainly there for the finding but there’s something disconcerting about ‘end times’ fascination and conjecture in the midst of such deep despair and suffering. Those of us who are faith filled, but more cynical, can point to other times and places when the end was supposed to be near but here we are living as unraptured beings still. And we kind of wish the 'prophetmongers' would care more about what is right before us instead of always looking in the sky.

My take. Stuff happens. And bad stuff happens because nothing in this world is operating as it was created to be. We all feel the impact of a world racked by sin. We see it when nature turns a bit ugly, in fractured relationships, in gut-wrenching injustices both personal and systemic, in sickness and finally death. Some despair in the midst of this. Others look for God in the midst of it all and are encouraged to keep building the kingdom instead of shaking our fists at it.

Only a few days into Lent we get smacked upside the head by something ugly and gut wrenching. It should stir our hearts towards prayer and action. At least I hope it does. I don’t pretend to understand what all this means. But when I don’t understand and can barely comprehend I yearn to walk more fully in the footsteps of Jesus. Someday, Scripture tells me, I’ll see more clearly than I do now. But now is not the time.

On Wisconsin?

2011-03-10T17:42:00.001-06:00

I’ve been following the fracas up north in Wisconsin (my home state). It’s a gutsy fight with some huge issues on the table. Unions are up in arms, the Tea Party is calling for fiscal integrity at any cost, Democratic legislators are hiding out, the remaining Republican legislators are starting to find loopholes to advance their cause, and half the state is deciding to hang out in the capitol for as long as it takes. And now legislators are being sent death threats.

I don’t know how to solve any of this actually. My take is that unions have a right to exist and government employees need to be able to organize to gain leverage. And a good union will know that at this particular time in history everybody is going to have to come back to the table to rethink all those things we take for granted. But they need to be at the table because like it or not they still serve as a necessary check and balance to both the excess and the indifference of government.

The Tea Party is learning that not everything they advocate for is really the ‘people’s choice’ no matter what the last election led them to believe. But I’m actually glad they’re around and keeping everyone alert.

I do wish the Democrats hiding out in Illinois would go back home because they’re just going to develop some really bad habits hanging around our politicians. Kind of wish they’d go back to the table. Sure, they don’t have the votes but that’s part of the political process. And the Republicans aren’t winning the battle by finding loopholes either. It’s got be frustrating to be without a quorum but those who live by the loophole usually get strangled by it in the end. Gotta hope the governor in Badgerland will choose to rethink his strategy. He might get what he wants in the short term but the issues are bigger than the here and now. I'm kind of thinking that a bi-partisan approach would garner the biggest wins but I'm not sure we're capable of doing that anywhere these days in these polarizing times.

I’m glad to see people taking it ‘to the streets’ again. It’s reminiscent of the Madison of my college days. After all it’s still by the people and for the people... right?

And I do hope that all the fools sending death threats will be found and justice will be done.

There’s lots of anger up in Wisconsin. I can understand it. We work hard, plan our lives, start living into some dreams and then all of a sudden our goals are blocked. Then we either fall apart or go crazy with our anger.

It’s starting to happen all around the country. We’re starting to settle into the stunning realization that what was ...isn’t anymore. It’s all changing before our eyes. Everything. And we’re not sure what to do except demand that everything go back to the way it was. Aint going to happen.

Sometimes my idealism kicks in and I wonder if we’re not on the edge of a stunning discovery. I kind of dream that we’ll all wake up and realize that God can be trusted and that there’s a whole way of living and being that is staggeringly good. What if we cared more, gave more, loved more, served more, worshipped more, conversed more, did more with less, became more generous, and looked, with habitual compassion, on the ‘least of these’ Jesus talks about? What if we once again lived in communities where everyone, indeed, did know our name? What if my need could be met by your excess? What if we learned to carpool, recycle, read again and worked hard at becoming really interesting people? What if we chose to only elect people who sought for common good and refused to endorse anyone who is obviously out for themselves? What if we turned our back on excess and worked hard to insure that everyone lived in suitable housing and had a decent meal on their table? What if we asked publicly held companies to really act with a sense of justice even if it impacted our own return on money invested? What if we made it a practice to think win/win whenever we were at odds with other good people? What if we all decided to be good people at all times? What if?

I think God is doing a ‘new thing’. It’s pretty obvious he’s allowing the whole world to enter into a huge time of transition including us here in the west. I think the Lord might want us call a time out on advocating for our preferences and opinions and instead use our time to seek Him out and ask some hard questions about how he wants us to live our lives especially in light of the overwhelming needs and cultural issues before us.

I hope my friends in Wisconsin figure it all out. But the mess we’re in all over the country won’t be swept away easily. The solutions of the past might not be enough for the future we’re about to step into. I really believe that the answers we need will ask us to do the very things we don’t want to do. Perhaps then God will have us right where he wants us.

Lent

2011-03-08T21:45:00.000-06:00

Ash Wednesday tomorrow. I know a fair amount of people of faith who don't know anything about Lent. Too Catholic for many more conservative folk of a certain Protestant bent. But for many of us Lent makes sense and it is a good practice.

Lent prepares us for what is to come in the ups, downs and majesty of Holy Week. It is about preparation. It's about getting ready. It's about a spiritual readiness so we can enter into Holy Week with eyes wide open. We get there through some very intentional spiritual practices.

A common Lenten question is "What are you giving up?" The belief is that in the 'sacrifice' one readies his/her heart and soul for whatever God is about to do next. It reminds us of the 'sacrifice' on the cross.

I'm going to do some things that will be good for my spiritual health and that includes giving up some guilty pleasures. I want God to speak into my life. Prayer, fasting, and sacrifice are time tested ways to prepare to receive what God is trying to get me to hear.

Do you ever feel that you're standing at a major life crossroad? Sure you do. At least I hope you do. That's a bit of my naivete I'm afraid. Because I know full well that all too many have very poorly developed spiritual antennae and could be in the middle of the biggest crossroad of life and not even think of listening for God. If that's you. Might I suggest that you wake up. Sorry if that sounds harsh but someone's got to say it to you.

Lots of people use Lent as a means of earning brownie points with God. It's kind of an empty religious tradition that doesn't lead to any sort of life transformation. The best I can determine this spiritual life isn't about 'brownie points'. That's kid stuff. Just about everyone reading this is well beyond childhood. You don't need brownie points. You need a real, honest, authentic relationship with the God who loves you like crazy.

I'm really looking forward to Lent this year. There's some things I need to figure out. So in big and small ways I'm going to press the 'pause' button on my life. I'm going to live with some intentionality fully expecting God to show up. What about you? How are you going to do Lent this year? How do you want God to show up in your life?

Moral Compass

2011-03-03T18:51:00.002-06:00

So what do you think? Anything about either of these situations that bothers you? Encourages you? Makes you wonder?

Brigham Young University center Brandon Davies was suspended from the Cougars' nationally-ranked team for the remainder of the season because he violated the school's honor code provision that prohibits premarital sex, The Salt Lake Tribune has learned.

Davies, a sophomore from Provo High School, acknowledged his transgression to BYU officials on Monday, according to multiple sources.

On Tuesday, the school owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced Davies had been dismissed from the team but was being allowed to remain in school while his situation was under review by the Honor Code Office. (Salt Lake Tribune)

Radio reports said that he turned himself in. (WMVP Chicago)

And in Evanston, IL at Northwestern University this controversy rages. (based on reports from Chicago Tribune and Northwestern Daily)

Northwestern University President Morton Schapiro said today he is "troubled and disappointed" by the live sex toy demonstration on campus last week and has launched an investigation.

He released a statement saying the university is looking into the appropriateness of the demonstration, where about 100 students in a psychology class witnessed a naked woman being penetrated by a sex toy.

Schapiro called the decision by Professor J. Michael Bailey "extremely poor judgment."

"Although the incident took place in an after-class session that students were not required to attend, and students were advised in advance, several times, of the explicit nature of the activity, I feel it represented extremely poor judgment on the part of our faculty member. I simply do not believe this was appropriate, necessary or in keeping with Northwestern University’s academic mission," Schapiro said...

Bailey has defended the demonstration. In a statement Wednesday night, he said "the students find the events to be quite valuable, typically, because engaging real people in conversation provides useful examples and extensions of concepts students learn about in traditional academic ways."

The first response from Northwestern however was from Al Cubbage identified as a spokesperson for the university. "Northwestern University faculty members engage in teaching and research on a wide variety of topics, some of them controversial and at the leading edge of their respective disciplines," Cubbage said in the statement. "The university supports the efforts of its faculty to further the advancement of knowledge."

In his statement, Bailey said he has no regrets about the incident, which has received national media attention.

"Do I have any regrets?" he wrote. "It is mostly too early to say. I certainly have no regrets concerning Northwestern students, who have demonstrated that they are open-minded grown ups rather than fragile children.

Brain Blurts

2011-03-02T18:18:00.001-06:00

The whole Charlie Sheen implosion is horrific to watch. Just heard he's approaching 1,000,000 followers on Twitter. Guess we love watching train wrecks. That's pretty sad actually.

The Academy Awards Show made a run at being relevant with younger hosts, They were looking for a wider demographic. Better material might have helped the relevancy concern . Funny is always good. Glad ‘The King’s Speech’ won best picture. Thought it was pretty uplifting and the acting ensemble was stellar.

Rob Bell has a new book out. Lots of people are really mad about what he’s writing but I don’t know anyone who’s actually read it yet. It will be interesting to see if folks will enter into the debate with any degree of civility. From what I've been able to surmise he's raising some issues people would rather not talk about.

Loved this quote I found on Sojourners. "I want the liberals who despise the Bible to take it more seriously, and the conservatives to do more than massage it for their own interests." - Rev. Peter J. Gomes, a Harvard theologian, author, and Baptist preacher who died Monday at 68. (Washington Post)

Wisconsin lawmakers are hiding out in Illinois. Are they being strategic or are they merely cowering in fear? Something doesn't feel right about what they're doing.

The fiscal crisis in Wisconsin is pitting reform against the unions and all the history behind that movement. This is interesting on a whole lot of levels. Happy to see democracy at work with good people taking a stand. I wonder what the win/win is in all this though? Loved what I read someplace today “What would Jesus cut?” Not happy hearing about death threats.

In Illinois, the legislature continues to do ‘not much of anything’. Glad some things remain constant.

Both the NBA and NFL will be having labor negotiations. Not sure anyone is going to have much sympathy for either side. Multi-millionaire owners talking to multi-millionaire players about deals that only the rest of us can dream about. Hope we don't get any ten million dollar player crying that he needs more in order to feed his family.

The new Mayor in Chicago is going to be a force to be reckoned with. He really does display a steely resolve. I have a hunch that Chicago won’t be his final stop on the political ladder.

That guy in Libya is convinced none of his people are really upset. He also believes Charlie Sheen is acting normally. My guess his life is about to look a bit different.

'Change' anywhere in the world starts a chain reaction impacting us all. Anyone notice gas prices are getting a little scary? We’re experiencing the ‘cost of freedom’. It leads to an interesting question. Do we really want others to be free if it takes money out of our pocket or inconveniences us in any way? Higher costs at the pump is maybe one way we get 'skin in this particular game'.

It’s still ugly in Haiti I hear. How soon we forget. Unlike New Zealand which has infrastructure and stable government the folks in Haiti are starting from ground zero. Let's keep both countries in our prayers.

New grandson Eamon Patrick Murphy is a pretty cool kid. What a life. Eats, sleeps, poops then starts the cycle all over again. Pretty much the way life ends now that I think about it.

Going through physical therapy for a nasty bit of arthritis in my knee. When I stand I sound a little bit like the entire drum line in a marching band. If pt doesn't work, they'll juice it. If that doesn't work I go titanium. Still amazed at what we can do today to heal people up that wasn't available just a short time ago. We're blessed.

First fist fight (say that ten times real fast) of the season in Cubs camp. Feisty group. That probably means a World Series for us this fall. Or not.

Lead Us Not

2011-03-01T13:23:00.001-06:00

Why do wives worry about their husbands available and attractive co-workers?

Why do teachers worry that students aren’t doing their own work?

Why does the IRS wonder if we’re being honest on our tax returns?

The issue is temptation. We all know the line between doing what’s right and good and wrong and bad is oftentimes very slender.

I’ve been thinking about the Lord’s prayer a lot and in it we come to the phrase ‘lead us not into temptation.

At first blush it sounds as if we’re asking the Lord not to tempt us. As if he’s standing there trying to compel us to do something that is evil. We know from Scripture that God isn’t in the tempting business but that He does allow our lives to be tested and trials to be present.

As a result there is no moment of your life that is not a moment when unbelief and disobedience is not a strong possibility. And so we pray as the Message phrases it ...”Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.”

Thomas Merton once told young monks at Gethsemane Abbey. “Behind the attractions and the surface of things in the world, there is a force at work to deceive people - a force of deception. Something’s cooking ...look out! If you stay out of the way of this force -whatever it is - you are better off. And if you go horsing around with it, you are in trouble.”

The trouble is that we might really like the story this force wants to write for us. You know the chapter headings in that story don’t you? Procrastination. Indifference. Greed. Lust. Food. Vanity. Pride. Satan always uses both our circumstances and our desires as plot lines.

Whatever it is the temptation will always be to find happiness and fulfillment in something other than God. The temptation is always to replace God with self in some way, shape or form. Self-preservation, self-concern, self-promotion, self-gratification.

There is an almost infinite variety of temptations. Each is an opportunity to grow and make a God honoring response or to stumble and fall. Temptation is an insidious thing. It waits to prey on us in the most tender of moments.

I read about a couple once who were given the news that their son had an incurable disease. Everyone, as you can imagine, was torn with pity for them, but they remained remarkably calm and uncomplaining. One night as a friend left their house, he paused to express his admiration for their fortitude and spirit. The boy's father looked up at the stars and said, "Well, it seems to be that we have three choices. We can curse life and what it does to us at time and look for some way to express our rage. We can grit our teeth and merely endure. Or we can accept our life as still a gift, somehow, from God. The first alternative is useless. The second is exhausting. The third enables us to go on truly living. Gil Bowen sermon 11.21.99

The temptation was to curse life and the circumstances they found themselves in. To grit their teeth and endure. And I’m sure they considered that. We all would. But they stopped long enough to challenge what that would do to them. And in the midst of what must have been a formidable temptation they chose to live by accepting this very hard set of circumstances. They decided to step into that story instead of the one the tempter had for them.

Or consider something we all deal with ‘greed’. Not long after the movie Wall Street came out everyone was talking about the famous speech Gordon Gekko gave. We refer to it now as his “greed is good” speech. And a whole lot of folks bought into that particular philosophy. And they caved into the temptation to get as much as they could anyway they could do it. And that temptation has ended many a life and gotten us in some pretty deep economic waters and to some deeply murky and ugly cultural plot lines.

About the same time I heard about some enormously wealthy men here in the Chicago burbs. They formed a small group. They called themselves the ‘Bruised Camels’ based on the scripture that says ‘it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to get into heaven.” They knew that their blessing of wealth would also be the place where the greatest attack would come from in their life. And so they banded together to support each other in how they went about making and using their wealth for the glory of God. They stopped long enough to understand the challenge before them and instead of bowing to all that greed represented they instead chose to move in the direction of generous stewardship. They chose the better story.

Bottom line is that the devil wants you to live into the teeniest of stories. Always on the lookout for little pieces of happiness. Settling for eating, drinking, and being trendy. Accumulating stuff. Having just enough God to be ‘religious’ but not enough to change our lives. And God is saying “I’ve got a better story. Let's write it together.”

Buckle Up

2011-02-23T19:55:00.003-06:00

Thoughts about the Reign of Rahm. Day 1.

Yesterday Chicago elected a new mayor. Rahm Emmanuel. Advisor to Presidents Clinton and Obama. Suburbanite turned big city mayor. Known for expletive laced speech Obama once said that because Rahm's middle finger had been accidentally cut off at the joint that he had been “rendered relatively mute”. Perhaps, but he found other ways to express himself.

Chicago seems to like tough guy mayors. It’s the city that works. And it only seems to work when someone grabs it by the throat and hangs on. That’s the theory anyway. Rahm Emmanuel knows how to grab throats. He’s a force to be reckoned with.

I love watching the political process. In this election old style African-American politicians tried to throw their weight behind a consensus candidate. They threw it around but to no avail. Old style got beat and beat bad. In a town that loves the Irish the electorate chose a Jewish guy who some believe doesn’t really live in Chicago. Got to love all the intrigue.

I don’t know what kind of mayor he will be. Living in the burbs one could say it really doesn’t matter. It does. When Chicago catches a cold the suburbs sneeze. And for me me, a good chunk of my life is in the city. I work there. My son, daughter in law and grandson live there and I have lots of Chicago friends and colleagues. So, I want this guy to be a good mayor. A really good mayor.

On the radio this morning the new mayor threw down the gauntlet. He proclaimed that ‘change is coming’. And it’s coming for everyone. All will have to have skin in the game. That’s a tough message. But it’s a good message. I think it’s the truth. Not just in Chicago but everywhere. Everyone knows things are mess. Our fiscal houses are out of order. Moral compasses seem to be out of synch. Civility is at an all time low. If things are going to change ...we’re all going to have to change. I don’t know about you but I’m sure some people will be asking ...”why me?”

“Why me?”. Because we’re in this together. In some strange, symbiotic way if it’s happening to you it’s happening to me. We’ll either live together or die because of each other. Life is a better option I’m thinkin’.

Chicago is going to be interesting to watch. If ever there was a place where special interests really believe they're special - Chi-town is that place. Chicago is divided economically and racially. Lots of important people are in the game for their own interests. And now there’s a new cowboy in town who’s saying the old ways aren’t going to work anymore. If he’s serious (and I hope he is) then buckle up. It’s going to be a really interesting ride.

About the Relationship

2011-02-22T23:08:00.001-06:00

It’s all about relationship.

When the earthquake in Haiti happened I immediately thought of friends who had family in their homeland.

When the earthquake in New Zealand occurred last night I was instantly worried about those I knew in that country. A few years ago we traveled in Uganda with a handful of Kiwis. We have continuing contact with three of them.

Our heart aches when bad things happen to people we care about.

In all honesty, I am touched when natural disasters occur in places where I know no one. But when something bad happens in a country where friends live I’m all ears. And my heart aches in deeper ways.

It’s about the relationship.

I think the reason so many people don’t care deeply about what happens in our inner cities, or in Uganda or Kenya, or Egypt, or India and Pakistan is because strangers are affected. But when friends are in danger it all changes. We care deeply.

I’m always amazed when people become dogmatic about this or that issue. And then I connect the dots and I realize that it’s easy to draw a line in the sand when one isn’t personally invested in people and a place.

I know. I know. There are those who would argue that it’s dangerous to make policy based on relationship. I think making policy without relationship misses the point ...totally misses the point. Any good thing we do has to link heart and mind. Too much heart ...wisdom is lost. Too much mind ...and we miss practicing compassion, rooted in the person and acts of Jesus.

One of my huge concerns is that so many people who are so cocky about how we should conduct both our personal lives and adjust our public policies just don’t seem to be ‘in relationship’ with anybody or anything that challenges their pre-set perceptions. It’s always easy to be ‘certain’ when you live in a bubble.

It’s about the relationship.

I ache tonight for my New Zealand friends. I think often of the craziness and despair that still defines Haiti. I worry for my Israeli contacts and I think and pray often with those I met in Africa. I care more because I know people who hurt and are worried. They are no longer statistics. They are real people.

It’s about the relationship.

Doesn't Exist

2011-02-20T23:47:00.001-06:00

Today one of the other pastors at our church talked about the Supremacy of Christ. He talked from the book of Phillipians and wondered aloud whether or not the average Christian truly wanted to be like Christ or merely admire him from afar.

I think we only want a distant view and actually are wary of Christ like behavior in others. We don’t admire the servant. We adore the powerful. When our President apologizes for wrongs committed by our country the people rise up in protest. “How dare we show weakness” we wonder? And yet when we are weak ...God is strong. Confession, it seems is good for our personal souls but not good four our national health. It’s as if God can’t do His work through the honesty of confession but needs the posturing of power do do His thing. We want Christ in risen splendor but don’t want to see Christ washing the feet of his disciples. We want to be like ‘Trump’ and wonder why someone might trade riches and treasure in for quiet obedience elsewhere.

Perhaps it’s true. We don’t really serve the God who is. Instead we serve a god who anoints our petty little decisions and trades kingdom meaning for today’s riches.

Counterfeit faith is all around us. In the hands of conservatives we must bow to systems of thought that limit the work of a transcendent God. In the hands of liberals nothing becomes ‘truth’ and we are at the whims of whatever is new and trendy.

I think many of us long for intimate relationship with the real God. Many I know find comfort in their political philosophy and link it quite inadequately to their view of Scripture. Christian media is becoming increasingly boorish, often veering radically to the right and playing to people who want to be told what to think instead of teaching them how to think. And I can't decide if I want to vomit or laugh.

Other veer radically to the left. And in that vacuum nothing is valued or treasured. It’s a do good mentality that appears to reject any notion of personal devotion and allegiance and mocks any who hold substantial contrary points of view. It’s a point of view marked by cynicism and sarcasm and is bereft of a true sincerity of conviction grounded in something bigger than we are. It's an increasingly tiring reality that accepts just about everything as 'truth'. And that just doesn't pass the sniff test. Sorry, but it doesn't.

I want to look to Christ. He is the pivotal moment and person of history. Either He is who He said He was or as C.S.Lewis told us He is a liar or lunatic. And if He is the Lord as He claimed He was what does that mean for our lives? I think it means we study His words and His ways and when we do so we realize that He is is not a Republican ideologue nor is He a spendthrift Democrat. He is beyond those caricatures.

Do we know Jesus?

Most people I know don’t know the God who is. They know something about Him but don’t know Him. Perhaps I’m one of them. We know ‘stuff’ about God but much of what we know is made in the image and likeness of our political and sociological perspective and has little to do with the God of the Scriptures.

I dare you. Abandon your self assured points of view and attempt to look at the God of the Bible with fresh eyes and perspective. Who is this Jesus that we talk about? What does He stand for? What does He talk about? Who does He set free? Who does He challenge? What does He embrace? What does He call us to? What and who will He die for?

He doesn’t call us to the Tea Party or to Sojourners. He doesn’t call us to right or to the left. He doesn’t call us to anger or sarcasm. He calls us to Himself. And there we find that this good God transcends what we hold onto and name as the holy grail.

In all honesty I’m convinced that the faith too many of us hold onto is a faith that allows us to remain right where we are. And any faith that allows us to embrace our weaknesses and validate any and all lifestyles and points of view isn’t something worth hanging onto.

Let’s face it. We don’t really want the God of the bible. We want the god who validates whatever we decide to do and be. Guess what? That God doesn’t exist. The God of the Bible is neither wishy-washy nor incoherent. He stands for something. He lifts up the weak and the oppressed. He calls us to holiness through followership. Wealth has little meaning for Him. A life of discipleship means everything. He's beyond both Republican fiscal policy and Democratic social idealism. He calls us to the 'kingdom of God'.

Happy Dance?

2011-02-14T19:36:00.003-06:00

Have you ever considered the danger of democracy? Throughout the middle east we’re seeing people clamoring for freedom. They might get what they dream of. Then what? A country like ours has a disciplined history of freedom and democratic process. We vote rascals in, then out. It’s fairly seamless and certainly bloodless. We take it for granted but it’s become the habit of our republic. We hold free elections at regular intervals. The will of the people prevails. And other than some sour dispositions and ugly innuendo we manage to move easily into ‘what’s next’.

Freedom is filled with rights but also responsibility. A vote is either for a winner or loser. We understand that. What might happen in places where rights are being demanded but the requisite habits of political responsibility might not be yet acquired? It could get ugly.

Beyond that the will of the people in the middle east might easily conflict with the interests we have as a country. Will that be OK with us? If a majority of people in Country X want to vote in a repressive, Muslim government will we be happy that the will of the people has been honored? Probably not. That’s part of the conundrum we’re faced with in today’s world. Hurrah for freedom and democratic elections. Thumbs down if the vote doesn’t go our way. But thumbs up for caring about people living in humane environments.

What we’re watching in the middle east is either the answer to our most fervent prayers or the unleashing of our worst nightmares.

Naively we think that freedom will result in some sort of dance of happiness between a middle east country and the USA. Perhaps all we can reasonably hope for is that there will be a dance and we’ll be invited to watch. It might very well be a dance that we aren’t prepared for and certainly don’t know the right steps or the proper rhythms.

The next few months will be interesting. It’s the beginning, I think, of a huge learning curve for us in the west. Voters, who don’t think very highly of us, might choose to send us a message while trying to reform their country. We probably won’t like what we’re being told in many cases.

What an opportunity for us, huh? We might learn some things about our collective selves that might lead to healthy reforms in our national consciousness. We dare not think that our own house doesn’t need cleaning. For as much good as we do around the world we are still thought of in some quarters as arrogant people who can be truly exasperating.

As others around the world move forward into uncharted waters we have a wonderful opportunity to do some personal and national soul searching. Our own political waters are being churned. It’s good for us to navigate some difficult currents. Maybe God is trying to get the attention of all of us around the world.

It's a good time to be alive. Interesting chapters of history are being written. We can choose to either be a willing or a reluctant character in this fascinating narrative. Stay prayerful. Stay alert. Get involved.

May my will be done ...

2011-02-13T19:27:00.001-06:00

God’s will. Do we really want it to be done?

I think we’d all say yes. But what if that means your world gets rocked and your plans get derailed. Still want it?

We’ve been preaching through the Lord’s prayer at our little worship service in the basement. It’s been quite uncomfortable actually. "Thy will be done" stops me in my tracks. I’ve been wondering if I have what it takes to pray this prayer with any degree of sincerity and/or commitment.

In all honesty God’s will plays second fiddle all too often and the truer prayer is …”May my will be done.” I bet you know what I’m talking about.

God’s will is pretty clear on the macro level. Cyprian and early Church Father says it pretty clearly: “The will of God ...means humility in behavior, constancy in faith, modesty in conversation, justice in deeds, mercy in judgments, discipline in morals. We should be incapable of doing wrong to anyone but able to bear patiently wrongs done to us. It requires that we live at peace with our brothers and sisters, loving God with our whole heart; loving Him as our Father.”

Who wouldn’t cheer for that definition? But when the rubber hits the road living into God’s will isn’t quite that easy.

Here’s what gets in the way of ‘thy will be done”. We love the patterns of this world of ours. We feel entitled. We like going along with the crowd. We’re not particularly thoughtful or prayerful. We can justify just about anything. We conform too easily. And we really want God to be made into our image instead of being made into His. The decisions we make are made to make us feel good, to massage our ego, to mask our pain or to look good to others. And if that’s the habit of our life then praying ‘thy will be done’ is really a stretch for us. And basically it’s a lie.

All too often instead of seeking God’s will for my life I turn to what’s easy and convenient and shy away from commitments that might make my life inconvenient and sacrificial.

The will of God can get lost in the clutter of life. But even amidst the clutter God is still there, His will waiting to be discovered, searched for and discerned.

Discovering the will of God requires an understanding of Scripture, a willingness to distance ourselves from our ego, it requires dialogue with trusted friends, an awareness of the God driven commitments we already have in place ...and a willingness to take a leap of faith and fall into the arms of a loving God and taking our proper place in the story of faith. And that’s the constant wrestling match in my own life. Am I willing to trust God even if appears that I’m out of step with the prevailing culture?

These are weighty things. And sometimes all I can do is muster up the courage to ‘do the next right thing’. I just don’t have the energy sometimes for digging deeper into scripture, or fight with my ego, or even converse with friends. Sometimes all I can do is the next right thing and even that is a stretch. But it always feels good to just take that little step of faith. Sometimes it frees us.

In Busia, Uganda awhile back I met a woman who had taken in 26 boys who had been recruited by the Lord’s Republican Army. These boys (10, 11, 12 many of them) had watched their own parents die and some were forced to participate in those executions. They were then taught to be terrorists. Somehow these children were rescued. Their needs were great. The women we met needed help. She needed to feed these children who struggled to sleep at night because of the nightmares of their past.

And we were there. A handful of Americans and New Zealanders. We were all being called to step into God’s will. I think everyone stepped up to do something that night to help alleviate the pain. It was the right thing to do. But that right thing led to Anita and myself to rethink our giving patterns. How best, we wondered, could we use what we have to reach the ‘least of these’? We live in a world where our comfort might very well be our prison cell and our generosity might be our release from captivity.

I haven’t always believed that the little things are the big things. I’m learning now that they are. Stepping into God’s will is one little baby step at a time (thank you Bill Murray) for many of us. And sometimes that’s all we can do. But at least it’s a step with purpose. And God can do something with that.

Egypt

2011-02-04T19:00:00.000-06:00

Fed up.
Enough is enough.
No more.
He’s got to go.
We can’t wait for tomorrow anymore.

Out of the turmoil in Egypt comes the hope of people who can no longer stand to be oppressed. These are people who are not being paid to riot or stand in disobedience. (Although I’m sure there are some in the mix). No, these are folks who dream of a better future and want a voice in developing that future. They are tired of military and political oppression. Tired of poverty. Tired of not having access to the best of things. Tired of being in the back of the line. Tired of a lack of opportunity. Tired of corruption. Tired of dictatorship.

And I stand back, in the comfort of my reality, and shout ‘Bravo’. Thank you for standing for what you think is right and good.

It’s hard for us to understand what’s happening in Egypt and throughout the middle east. It’s truly foreign to our recent experience. Perhaps the last time we witnessed it was during the Civil Rights Movement. People are so fed up that they are willing to die for something better. This isn’t some relatively miniscule difference between different forms of political expression. This is a fight against tyranny and oppression. It transcends the skirmishes between Democrats and Republicans and Tea Party that sparks our national discussions. Our issues are not life and death kind of things. For the most part we are on the same page in the USA. In Egypt people aren’t even using the same book.

And so, I stand in awe of those people who are standing up and standing strong against evil. They could die for that. And some will. What am I willing to stand up to and for?

I don’t know what’s going to happen in Egypt. This could end up badly for those wanting reform. They could be squashed literally and figuratively. It could lead to free elections. And a free people might choose someone we might not like very well here in the west. But they could choose someone who will help usher in a new era of peace, honesty, and transparency. It’s a bit of a crap shoot.

The world is changing in front of our eyes. What was isn’t anymore The locus of power and influence is changing from the west to the east. Are we ready to adapt to the world that is instead of the world we hope will be? Can the changes in places like Egypt be a catalyst for meaningful change here in the west? What does power and influence look like in today’s global village?

Reform movements spark other reform movements. For sure, some will be fueled by fundamentalists of every stripe. And that scares me. It’s hard to reason with and make nice with crazy people. But reform is inevitable and much of it should be welcomed. Of course if you’re on the receiving end of the the reformation then it gets quite uncomfortable. It’s always tough to look at the warts and malignancies you’ve introduced into a system.

Pray for Egypt. Pray that the poor will be given a voice. Pray that the religious minorities (that includes Christians) will not be persecuted. Pray for wise voices to be heard. Pray for justice to be done. Pray that wrongs will be righted and for human and civil rights to be honored.

Rules of Engagement

2011-02-03T21:54:00.003-06:00

Rules of engagement when discussing important issues:

Don’t try to disguise opinions as fact.

Read enough to have a considered opinion.

Don’t parrot what you just heard on talk radio.

If you’re a person of faith root yourself in an understanding of the whole counsel of God. Don’t prooftext.

Understand that your reading of Scripture carries a cultural bias. Strive to understand that bias.

Understand history.

Please don’t try to pretend you’re objective.

Own your personal biases.

Please don’t generalize.

Seek first to understand. Then to be understood.

Quit pretending you’re learned. Adopt the posture of the learner.

Liberals are not the spawn of Satan. Nor are conservatives.

Don’t try to reason with a crazy person.

Make sure you’re not crazy.

Admit when you’re wrong.

Look for points of agreement.

Apologize when you’ve overstepped your boundaries.

Compliment when appropriate.

Look for win/win agreements.

Don’t make it personal.

Be firm but kind. Stand strong but don't be a jerk about it.

Be willing to change your mind.

If you’re a law keeper practice grace.

If you think God doesn’t stand for anything look again.

All people matter to God. All people.

When talking about cultural issues look to see what God might be saying or has already said.

Be a bridge builder.

Articulate your opinion in a way that makes people want to understand.

Walk away when things get too heated. Come back another time.

It’s always about ‘a long obedience in the same direction’.

Eamon

2011-02-02T17:41:00.001-06:00

Eamon was born today. Eamon Patrick Murphy. My grandson. My son Kevin is the father and Joanie, his wife, is mom. Eamon is Celtic and and it means ‘Prosperous Protector’. May it be so . May he grow to be wealthy in the things of God, generous of spirit, and known to have a big heart and winsome personality. May he protect those things worth protecting and go to battle against those things that oppress people and are inherently evil. And may he be gifted with the discernment necessary to know the difference.

I remember when Kevin was born. It was in the shadows of Circus Circus in Reno. Jaundiced with a pointy head he came into the world and into our life. He’s made me laugh and cry. I watched him grow to be a man and now a father. The love of his life is Joanie. Both are treasures, two of God’s greatest creations. They have what it takes to be good parents.

Eamon will grow up in a different kind of world. It is a world that will be filled with amazing challenges needing strong leaders. Is it wrong to pray that my grandson will be one of those people who will make a significant difference? It doesn’t have to be in big ways but by confidence in the content of his character and the acquired habits of positive and effective influence may he grow into the mission God has for him.

It’s a good day. I’ll always remember the Big Blizzard of 2011. For Eamon arrived. And my heart is glad. Very glad.

Random Discoveries

2011-02-01T07:44:00.002-06:00

I’m not afraid to ‘do’ theology.

Much of the Christian life is improv. That’s hard for rule keepers to accept.

Experts are oftentimes just making their best guess guided both by both their scholarship and their bias. Sometimes it’s more bias than scholarship.

Too many are afraid to interact with Scripture. Really interact with it.

I really like people who have a considered opinion and a listening ear.

Change is hard and inevitable.

Radical conservatives and radical liberals bore me.

Thinking conservatives and thinking liberals make me smile.

All the stuff between Republicans, Democrats, and Tea Party is getting increasingly tedious.

I’m pretty stuck on this “Jesus” thing I’ve found.

Too many are afraid to think out loud. They’ve been judged one too many times.

I think churches that don’t allow women into leadership have some explaining to do.

I still think God’s intention is one man, one woman ...for a lifetime. Realizing how complicated that all is in today’s world.

I can see some good things in the Illinois Civil Unions legislation.

Thanking God for a spiritual director.

I really do hate driving in the snow.

My wife is an absolutely incredible person.

Realizing I don’t care a whole lot about who wins the Super Bowl.

I’m falling in love with the “Lord’s Prayer”.

Had some people over for lunch on Sunday. Really good conversationists are hard to find ...a group of them graced our great room.

If we don’t care about the poor we are walking away from God.

Sometimes when I give to my church I feel as if I’m giving to myself.

Regarding church music. All of should be ‘contemporary’. Lest that starts an argument ...doesn’t matter the style as long as it really is used to speak to real people living in real time.

The church is losing influence. Lucky to be part of one that wants to figure it all out.

Without the influence of the church the world would be a much sorrier place.

When people my age disparage young people I want to introduce them to the staff at Breakthrough.

Regarding Christian radio. Who decided that taped sermon after taped sermon communicates well to today’s world?

TV news during a snow storm is about as entertaining as it gets.

The notion of grace sometimes stops me in my tracks.

Why do I think that I’m entering into the most interesting phase of my life?

I need a new knee.

Working with and being on a good team is a blast.

Maybe this won’t be the Cubs year. Nah. It will be.

Something About That Name

2011-01-30T20:21:00.000-06:00

We've been talking about the Lord's Prayer at the worship service I preach at occassionally. This week I spoke about 'Hallowed be the Name".
I go by a lot of names. I’m ...
Mike
Michael
Murphy
Mr. Murphy
Pastor
Reverend
Soon to be Grandpa
Murph
And Anita’s husband
Different people, depending on our relationship, call me by one of my names. Those who know me well call me Dad, Mike, or Murph. Some, wanting to show respect call me Pastor or Reverend. I like Michael but it never caught on very well. Of course, I’ve been called other things in my life. Hurtful things. But we don’t need to go into that I don’t think.
Several years ago I shared a speaking engagement with Michael Jordan’s mother. Delores. I wondered what I should call her. I didn’t know her well enough to call her Delores. I pondered calling her ...Mother of His Airness ...but settled for Mrs. Jordan. That seemed to work.
I couldn’t fathom meeting the President and calling him anything other than Mr. President. Nor could I be in Billy Graham’s presence and call him anything but Rev. Graham.
There are times when I meet people and I wonder what the right protocol is. And I usually just decide to go with the most formal and the less familiar. For instance, if I ever met the Mayor of Chicago I’m pretty sure I’d say It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Mayor and not say ‘Hey, Richie'. Probably wouldn’t go over well. Not sure what I’d do with Bono and undecided about how best to address Lady Gaga. Not sure Ms. Gaga works for me and just saying anything that involves the word Gaga kind of makes me laugh.
I imagine if I had a relationship with Mrs. Jordan, or Mayor Daley, or Rev. Graham over time I would be allowed to and would feel comfortable with using a first name. But it would take time.
Names carry meanings with it. Michael, for instance, means he who is like God. I like it. It reminds me of a bigger purpose for my life. During my teenage years there was a guy we called ‘Wiener’. Because he was.
In the Bible names are a big deal. They carry weight. They are descriptive. Jesus changes Simon’s name to Peter which means Rock. It says something about how Jesus viewed his disciple.
Throughout the Hebrews Scriptures the people of God tried to name God. And as we read through the Old Testament we discover many names for the Lord. Up until the time of Abraham he was known as Elohim which stands for Creator. To the patriarchs God was called El Shadai (perhaps meaning “God, one of the mountains.”) God revealed to Moses a new name that appears thousands of times in the Old Testament. It was considered so sacred that the Jews never wrote the new name if full nor ever pronounced it. They wrote only its four consonants YHWH. We say Yahweh. Jesus revealed a new name for God, ABBA, which suggests an almost scandalous familiarity with the Creator. For ABBA speaks of a God who is as close as a Father. A dad. Throughout scripture the name of God is seen as holy. It has substance. It stands for something. It is not meant to be uttered absent mindedly or flippantly. The name has deep and rich meanings ascribed to it.
Holy indeed is the name of God. It deserves to be honored.
It’s good for me to be reminded of this. I’m a pretty casual guy and sometimes I forget that I’m praying to a God who is holy. Whose name is holy. He is on one hand very familiar. Dad. And yet He is beyond the familiar. He’s more than a cozy best friend. He is the Lord of Lords, The Creator, The King of Kings,The Alpha and the Omega. He is the bright and morning star. And to remind us of that Jesus tells us that Holy is the name. And holiness always deserves a response. Paul reminds us of that in Philippians when he says that that at the very mention of Jesus’ name someday “every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus, Himself, is Lord.”
We all know that we live in a world that is habitually addicted to misusing the name of the Lord in violation of the commandment which tells us not to take the name of the Lord in vain. We use the words Jesus Christ as adjective and expletive in even the most casual of conversation. Some habitually declare God’s surname as having only a damning influence. And, most people, even though disturbed by such ugly use and abuse of the name of God do nothing to stand up for the holiness of His name. We are too often quiet believing that our witness cannot be used by God to influence behavior.
But hallowed is His name according to Jesus. Throughout Scripture those who encounter the Living, Holy God stand in amazement at their encounter. Just ask Isaiah. Let’s turn to Isaiah 6.
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”
Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
According to Albert Haase, in his book Living the Lord’s Prayer, adoration will almost inevitably lead to what he calls abomination ...where we come to grips with the real us when we gaze into the eyes of a good and loving God. It produces in us a holy tension that produces in us a virtue called humility. Humility helps us to further see ourselves as we really are in light of the knowledge of the God who really is. For Isaiah encountering the Holiness of God caused Him to see His sinfulness, to accept God’s forgiveness and then, and only then was He ready to live into His divine assignment. He was humbled and then allowed to do God’s work.
Author Michael Crossly says:
If God’s name is going to be made holy on earth as it is in heaven, the consecration of God’s presence or name must begin in the ground of our being. In the power of this name everything in our house – be it at the individual, interpersonal, and infrastructural level – must be honored; everything that profanes that name must be resisted. Such is the task of those who belong to the household of that God whose holy name is revealed in the I Am. (Michael Crosby, The Prayer that Jesus Taught Us, Orbis, 2002, pp. 61-62)
This means that God’s name is made holy, not just in our words, but in our very lives. We walk our talk. But our talk does indeed mean something. And when we say Hallowed is the Name, we are recognizing that although our relationship with God might be intimate in nature, it isn’t one of equals. There’s a pecking order. And in that pecking order one of our jobs is to look for all those things in our life that aren’t of the Lord. And those things need to be put to death, resisted and fought against. If we are not committed to doing such things we will profane God’s name.
When we make holy the name of God we should be driven to our knees, then to God's side, and then out into the world. And if that doesn't happens perhaps we have some soul searching to do.

Things I Learned Today

2011-01-26T20:19:00.001-06:00

On the radio I learned that only conservatives can be Christian and POTUS was pretty close to being the anti-Christ. Almost turned the station off but the anger was so entertaining I just couldn't. Sometimes Christian radio embarrasses me because of its inattentiveness to the meaning of Jesus's life.

Discovered that Jay Cutler is a sissy. I learned that from Edgar from Ravenswood, a 53 year old bachelor who lives with mom and plays real football (the fantasy kind) with four other men who live with their mothers and spend their days calling sport radio stations.

Also learned that Lovie Smith shouldn't be rehired as the coach of the Chicago Bears because he doesn't show emotion like 'da Coach Ditka did. Thanks to Ted from Alsip for that life changing moment.

Also learned that you shouldn't ever move to Washington to serve your country if you want to be mayor of Chicago.

I also learned at a little workshop that I'm not in the 'millennial' generation :) but have many friends who are and it is an interesting group of people.

Also got an inkling that all that sitting together last night at the State of the Union was more for show than substance (that surprised me). Not really.

And I grew in my appreciation for both the Breakthrough and Christ Church staff. Fun to serve with people who are interesting and not afraid of talking about ideas.

And I wondered what would really happen if all legislation with earmarks got vetoed. That would test the resolve of many.

And my day isn't even over yet.

Thinking About Us

2011-01-15T16:26:00.003-06:00

The recent shootings in Arizona reminded me how much I yearn for something better than we have. In a me centered world, where we've forgotten how to have civil conversations, and where everything seems to be polarizing there's something inside of me praying for and longing for more times when I experience real community.

In a society that dwells on the ‘me’ to a sinful degree, we have a deep longing for the ‘us’. We want to know that there is someone else who can share our pain and our joy. We seem to long for community but at the same time can resist it.

I’ve been thinking about this as I've been examining the Lord's Prayer. I'm stuck on the first word. OUR.

During Christmas something marvelous happened in Egypt that got my attention. Coptic Christians had been attacked by Muslim extemists. Some moderate Muslim leaders made a promise of solidarity with the weary Christian community. Thousands of Muslims showed up at Christmas Eve services to form a human shield to protect the followers of Christ from attack by terrorists as they worshipped.

“We either live together, or we die together,” was the slogan of those who came to protect worshipers. One student said that ‘this is about us and them”. We are one. The attacks were against Egypt as a whole and I am standing with the Christians because the only way things will change in this country is if we come together.”

The emphais on ‘me’ shifted for a moment in time. And we get a glimpse of something different and begin to believe that there might truly be a better way.

On Monday we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday. Dr. King often talked about a ‘beloved community’ where people come together, pooling their differences in order to discover a God ordained community of healing and helping. And it feels right to us. But it’s hard work. I remember going on the Justice Journey a couple of years ago. Standing in front of a picture of a black man, hanging from a tree limb, with Klansmen smiling and posturing was a sobering experience. It was especially so, when a new friend, an African American, was weeping at my side. I had nothing to say. I could only stand there in solidarity allowing him to process what I couldn’t fully comprehend. I was understanding what the biblical notion of a ‘beloved community’ was all about. It was about embracing the pain as well as the joy. And how ironic it all is when one thinks that many of those murderous Klansmen were probably in church the Sunday before praying 'Our Father'.

In Africa many cultures practice a concept called Ubuntu which states that through our interactions with others, we discover what it means to be human. Desmond Tutu, an Anglican Bishop and Nobel Peace Prize winner once said that "Ubuntu is the essence of being human. It speaks of the fact that my humanity is caught up and is inextricably bound up in yours. I am human because I belong. A person with Ubuntu is welcoming, hospitable, warm and generous, willing to share. Such people are open and available to others, willing to be vulnerable, affirming of others. They do not feel threatened that others are able and good, for they have a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that they belong in a greater whole. They know that they are diminished when others are humiliated, diminished when others are oppressed, diminished when others are treated as if they were less than who they are." (from Albert Haase's book Living the Lord's Prayer)

It’s the same thing scripture teaches us. Romans says “so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

And so when we say the Lord's prayer we are praying the way Jesus prays. It's in the spirit of Unbutu, of the Beloved Community, of the true meaning of the Body of Christ. It's a prayer that battles against the individualism, the meism, and the selfishness that ends up tearing us all apart.

Because Jesus was always in the community of the Trinity He can only teach us His profound reality. And in this time in history, where our country is being ripped apart at times by extreme partisanship and crippling anger and words …perhaps we need to live into the spirit of the prayer Jesus loved to pray. And really embrace it.

When we’re conscious of that first word in the prayer ‘ the our’ we are admitting that we are not praying alone. This is not a private prayer. Look at the text. How many times do you see the words “I” and “Me”. The words “I” and “me” are nowhere to be found. It’s a prayer about the us.

And when you pray it you are recognizing that you are not the only one in the world who has a concern to bring to God. To begin with the word “our” means that we understand that we are part of a community of God’s children all around the world. When we pray Our Father we are confessing that we are a community of people. A family. Formed and shaped by new birth and together being shaped by the Holy Spirit.

Thursday morning I was praying the Lord’s prayer. And I prayed ‘Our Father’ and I tried to have my mind picture believers that I knew …near and far. And I had a visual picture of a woman, named Margaret, who I met deep in the bush of Uganda. She was suffering from HIV, no one sure if she had long to live or not, and she was the spiritual leader of her village. And I had this mental picture of her standing in front of her hut …arms outraised, praying to her Father, my Father, Our Father …and I finally understood what Jesus was getting at. As I prayed …we were praying together …and that felt very right.

Quick and Slow

2011-01-11T19:50:00.000-06:00

It’s one of the great faults of humankind to label and stereotype. We all do it. You’ve heard and said it. “ All New Yorkers are rude, all Catholics worship Mary, all evangelicals are Republicans, all Chicago politicians are corrupt, all Asians are bad drivers, all Black people are good athletes, and everyone from Brazil is a heck of a soccer player.”

I read an interesting article recently about Muslims in Egypt who formed human shields to protect Coptic Christians during Christmas services. It was in response to the heinous attacks Islamic terrorists were making on Christ followers. I was inspired by it. And I loved it because it turned a stereotype on its head.

Some people don’t like to read articles like the one about the Muslims in Egypt. It rocks their world. And who wants their world rocked, huh? We all should. You see, too many of us are stuck. We’re stuck in our politics, in our theology, and are infatuated by our opinions. And we don’t want to change.

My take is that those who are capable of changing their mind are the most fun to be around. You can count on them to apologize when they’re wrong and tell great stories about their ‘stuckness’. Of course, they don’t just change for the sake of changing. Nope. They change because they become convinced that someone else’s sound argument is much more convincing than the idea they’ve been holding onto.

I love having conversations with people who are willing to think clearly and creatively about old issues. Often, the give and take that comes from those conversations helps create some new possibilities in my stubborn mind. Then I can change. And there’s plenty of areas where what I’m holding on to is no longer adequate for the task at hand.

I’m beginning to realize that too much of our country is filled with people who don’t want to change. “Don’t show me no stinking article about Muslims doing good things because frankly I’m just not going to believe it” they huff and puff. And it gets pretty clear pretty fast that a good conversation is beyond possibility.

Sometimes we hold on to positions about things but can’t provide any evidence as to why it’s a valid position. “I just do” someone says and then walks away from the conversation. It doesn’t surprise me that people do this. After all, we’re taught now a days that it’s better to get along by going along. And very few people have been taught the ‘art of conversation’. I actually think, too many, have lost their inquisitiveness. But certainly not their stubbornness.

I remember reading a letter from a guy named Jim. It’s in the newer testament. In it, he urges people to be “quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.” It’s good advice. Everytime I’ve failed to listen I’ve cheated myself out of an opportunity to understand. When I listen I’m more inclined to form good questions. It helps put me in the posture of the learner instead of thinking that I’m learned. And who hasn't wanted to kick him/herself for opening their mouth too soon and motivated by anger?

We’re living in a day and age where a ‘considered response’ is the needed response. Popping off, sound byteing, and the knee jerk reaction have to be replaced by a new normal. May we be at the head of that parade.

Crashed

2011-01-09T07:38:00.001-06:00

Watching the movie ‘Crash’. It’s not the first time I’ve watched it. Nor will it be the last.

We’re heading towards MLK Day. I’m reminded about how easily we stereotype and react. We’re still far too reluctant to take the time to get to know people so we can judge them by the content of their character. In fact, far too many people live in their own personal ghetto, hanging almost exclusively with people who look and act like themselves.

Crash is one of those movies that haunt me. It’s beautiful film making. You have to think your way through it. It challenges paradigms of faith and lifestyle. In one moment, you hate a character. In another, you’re emphasizing with him/her.

Life is like that. What’s real in this moment can change in the next. A stereotype today becomes a friendship tomorrow. What we think is true right now is challenged by circumstance and relationship.

Martin Luther King Jr. talked often about a ‘beloved community’. It is a place where people move beyond their own bias and prejudice and discover something fresh and new and good about another. Is that what we want?

Too many don’t want what new, fresh and good. They like what is old, tired, and predictable. They live for themselves not for what’s good for others. They page through the Scriptures and find plenty of little verses that support their personal lifestyle and point of view. And they have the audacity to call themselves people of faith.

So, I watch ‘Crash’ again and I have to resist the temptation to close my mind to what could be. I so easily fall prey to the folly of my own prejudice. So do you.

This world we live in isn’t served well when we bow to the weakness of our reactive opinions. In my reactivity my ‘sin’ lives large. I judge others. I live with bias. I don’t want to move away from my comfort. But that’ s not the way of God.

The way of God is different. It’s expansively good and forces me away from the narrowness of my cloudy vision. It challenges my comfort and asks me to open my eyes to the possibilities of what could be. And the way of God both scares me and inspires me. It is in the inspiration of God’s way that I must root myself. And so I pray that I ‘fear not’. For my fear paralyzes me. The inspiration of what God is doing frees me. As long as I have breath I want that freedom to give wings to what I know is good.

Missed Opportunities

2011-01-07T10:27:00.001-06:00

I’m starting to write this on New Year’s Night. I had an opportunity to drive to Willow Creek to see a worship concert featuring Kirk Franklin. Didn’t go. OK. Maybe it was the Rose Bowl that stopped me but I really wanted to see Kirk Franklin.

There’s all kind of things through the course of my life that I’ve missed. Sometimes it’s the result of having to make a choice between two or three good options. Lots of times I chose to honor a commitment rather than choosing what might be more fun. Sometimes, though, a missed opportunity is due to laziness and inattentiveness. Procrastination plays a role of course and that leads to some disappointments. More often than not I regret not getting off my backside to experience something good.

I’m ashamed to admit that laziness, inattentiveness, and procrastination frame too much of the life I’ve lived. At the end of every summer I bemoan the fact that I missed too many street festivals, too many concerts, and too many opportunities to host people at our home due to not being proactive enough. The pattern deserves some prayerful attention. Who wants to live with regrets?

Oh, I’m not a complete mope. There’s plenty that I do and experience and I get a lot done. But there’s a whole lot more that I wish I would have said ‘yes’ to. I wonder, at times, what plagues me. Why do I choose to do nothing when doing something else would breathe life into my tired bones?

Part of my issue is that I’m hardwired in the direction of introspection. I’m an introvert. Private time renews me. Most of the time. All too often renewing time moves towards wasting time. That's a concern.

Others I know don’t waste time. They have different issues. They’re always busy (a different kind of waste) They fill their calendars with all kinds of stuff that neither interests nor renews them. Whatever is necessary to ‘keep busy’ is what fuels their being. This should be an issue for them. What is all that busyness trying to hide?

A few people I know seem to live in a nice sweet spot. Busy with what is necessary and restful for the sake of renewal. But it’s only a few. That’s why so many of us have this nagging discomfort with the pace of our life.

Very few of us have it completely figured out. It comes down to life rhythms. What do we need to be doing to be true to who God created us to be, to meet the obligations that we have, and do what’s necessary to replenish lives that do get depleted?

We all miss opportunities. Sometimes it’s because we’re too busy. We rush through life and miss messages and signals from God. Sometimes we’re not busy enough. We’re so busy taking care of ourselves that we ignore opportunities for real renewal and opportunities for serving.

In the Christian church I find both kinds of people. As a pastor I want to light a fuse under a whole lot of folks that need a more noble purpose for their lives. And there are a whole lot of folks whose busyness distracts them from what really matters. How best do you speak to those kind of lives?

I give the appearance of being busy even in the midst of my most slothful times. That’s probably a more practiced deceit than I care to admit. That’s posing. It’s hypocritical. And even thought I just confessed it the question remains as to what I’m going to do about it. And the truth is that I don’t know.

How many of you have something in your life that you know isn’t good for you and you just don’t feel inclined to do much about it. My guess is that this blog is being read by compulsive shoppers, closet drinkers, bingers, chronic status seekers, and bigoted boneheads. Each knows that what they are doing is causing pain either to themselves or to others. And yet they keep doing it.

It’s crazy what we do. I can resonate with Paul when he writes in Romans “It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.”

In so many ways the battle inside me is very real. Just as it is in you. Much of what I battle is just old fashioned sin. It’s crippling in its own way. Blogging about it is a start. It puts it out there in the light of day. But there’s some interior work that needs to be done away from the light of public scrutiny. It’s in the interior of my soul that posturing doesn’t work. The opportunity to deal with those things that limit me in reaching my God given potential are the things worth dealing with.