Get Well?

Remember the story in Scripture when Jesus healed a man who had been waiting at the pool of Bethsaida for 38 years? He was waiting for the water to stir and all he had to do was beat everyone else into the pool. Then he'd be healed.

Jesus asks him what appears to be kind of a stupid question. He asked, "Do you want to get well?" From our vantage point the answer has to be 'yes, of course'. But I'm not sure it was all that easy.

Do you want to get well?

Here's why I don't think it's an easy answer. This guy has 38 years of monotony, of lack of meaning, of no work, no travel, no intimacy. 38 years of no options. 38 years of never having to live into what author Mark Buchanan calls the ‘weight of others expectations’. And Jesus asks him to change all that. At first glance, it looks like a good deal. Another look says it's not so good. Why? Because saying 'yes' means everything changes. Everything. It's a leap into the unknown. Life changes forever.

I wonder if all that ran through that man’s head before he said ‘yes’. How much of him wanted to cling to what he knew best even though if was far from an ideal life? I wonder.

Do you want to get well? Do you want to be freed from whatever holds you back? Do you want God to heal you of what's tearing you up? Here's my take. I find people fit into four categories.

Category 1. People who don't want to get well. They're satisfied with being unwell because it's what they know.

Category 2. People who don't want any part of God's healing. They don't think their life is out of synch. They compare themselves to the dysfunction of others rather than God's best. Compared to everyone else they're OK. They don't want what God offers.

Category 3. People who know they need God's healing. They want to say 'yes' but that means things will change. So they say 'no' and continue to say 'yes' to what's not giving them life transformation.

Category 4. People who say 'my life's got to change'. They want to get well and they know that trusting God and walking in obedience might not necessarily be easy but it's the road that leads to healing. They say 'yes'.

So, do you want to get well?

Lots of people say 'no'. Others wait for a more opportune time. Others say 'yes' but hope that nothing will really change. And others say 'yes' knowing that things have got to change.

Ted's Passing

Ted Kennedy passed away last night. I wasn't going to say anything until I read a post by an influential media person this morning. Basically, he said that the death of Ted Kennedy was good for America. I'm sure this person saw Sen. Kennedy as the embodiment of a liberal agenda. He was the enemy. Now there's one less of 'them'.

Is that the way we should look at a person's life? I don't think so. It's ugly. Before I go further let me say that I'd be equally chagrined if some articulate conservative voice was dismissed in a cavalier manner by some liberal spokesman in the hours after his/her death.

I wonder if we ever see the full dimensions of a person's personality in our sound-byte culture. I was interested in Jim Wallis's take on Ted Kennedy. Wallis, by the way, is a Christian who has a strong social justice bent (for those who need labels). He wrote in a blog post that ...

"In the aftermath of the 2004 presidential election, the Democrats were roundly accused of losing the “moral values voters” in America, and of being the party of “secularists” who were hostile to faith and religion. The very first Democrat to call me and ask to talk about that accusation and how to change the moral debate in America was Ted Kennedy. He invited me to his home, where he and his wife, Vicki, engaged me in a long and very thoughtful conversation into the night about the relationship between faith, morality, and politics. Their own deep Catholic faith was evident and their articulation of it very impressive. Our discussion was not partisan at all — it was not about how to win religion back for the Democrats. Rather, we focused on the great moral issues facing the nation, and how we as people of faith needed to respond to them." http://blog.sojo.net

That's not the Ted Kennedy most people knew about. Maybe it's a side some don't want to know about. Maybe he should have showed that side more often. Who knows? But for all my conservative friends who might just believe that this is a good day for America because of his death I beg to disagree. We need strong voices on each side of the aisle. When we lose one we lose a bit of our capacity to have that durable system of checks and balances we hold so dear and know is so necessary for our republic to thrive..

Ted Kennedy needs to be remembered. He mattered to God. He carried a big voice and a sizable stick for a lot of years. Flawed? Absolutely. Patriot. I think so. Formidable opponent for conservatives. You bet. Did I agree with everything he stood for? No, of course not. In fact, there were times I wanted to throw a shoe at the television screen when I heard him speak. Other times, I wanted to applaud. Bottom line, I'm glad he spoke up. I'm glad he fought for what he thought was right. It helped take the rough edges off my own thinking.

Growing up as a Catholic kid in northern Wisconsin the Kennedy family was a beacon of hope for me. At one time no one was sure a Catholic could ever win the Presidency. When JFK was elected it was a good day. We felt like we knew the family. Now, the last of the brothers is dead. A part of the history that shaped me and millions of others is gone.

So, for anybody who's saying 'It'a good day for America.' Hold your tongue. Some opinions are best unexpressed. A family has lost one of their own. We've lost a piece of our history. Allow those who grieve to bury the dead.

What's Next?

Since I’ve announced my intent to work half time with an urban ministry the question most asked is “Are you moving into the city?”

Not yet. We’re committed to living in the burbs for two more years. John needs to finish high school. During these two years, however, we’ll be prayerfully and thoughtfully thinking about ‘what’s next’.

I’m chuckling as I write all this. “What’s next?” In two years I’ll be 61. And God has given me a desire to think about ‘what’s next’. I’m blessed.

Just having that desire gives me the hope that God isn’t done with me yet.

Here’s what I observe. I see a lot of folks in their 60’s, 70’s and beyond who buy into a culturally prescribed dream for their life. It means that when you’re at a certain age you ‘retire’. You head south. No asking God about ‘what’s next’. No down on your knees reflection of how your gifts and talents can be used in the next phase of your life. Nope. There’s a look at the balance sheet and if it all shakes out ‘retirement’ is around the corner.

What does ‘retirement’ mean?

Is it a biblical concept?

Is it a time and place where those who have much just fade into the sunset?

I talked to a guy the other day who is retired. It sounds like he has a boatload of money. But I got the sense that he knows that God is not done with him yet. Sure, he has the time and discretionary income to do some of those things he always dreamed of doing but he also has a sense of some divine direction to his life. That’s because he’s intentional about his life. Retirement, for him, means reengagement in a different way, not checking out.

He’s asking ‘what’s next’.

Another old friend sounds like he’s retiring comfortably. What’s fun is to hear about how he’s using his time. He’s putting roofs on Habitat homes. He’s going to a Christian camp and fixing the plumbing. He’s climbing mountains and reflecting on the glory of God.

He’s asking ‘what’s next?’.

I think of John Perkins, who is considered the godfather of racial reconciliation. He’s out speaking and traveling and pushing people to think ‘anew’ about the world we’re living in. He must be pushing 80.

He’s asking ‘what’s next’?.

I remember a gal from my Young Life days. I think her name was Kay Mac. She was a pioneer in her younger days. As she got older and less mobile she used to get on an exercise bike and plot her distance on a map, praying for YL staff, kids, and volunteers in each town she pretended to enter.

She asked, “what’s next’?.

I don’t have a boatload of money. Won’t have a lot of discretionary income. I think that’s God’s gift to me. Who knows what I’d do if I had both time and money? Would I still have a desire to ask ‘what’s next?” Hopefully, yes. But I don't know. And the truth of the matter is that I want to live life with a sense of expectancy, always asking the question “O Lord, what assignment do you now have for me now?"

I'm not sure what 'next' will mean for me in a few years. Maybe it will be the city. Maybe into an under resourced community. Maybe not.

My prayer is, though, that whatever is next will be a little counter cultural. That it will stretch me more than coddle me. My hope is that ‘what’s next’ will advance the kingdom and bring me closer to this great God of ours.

Big Changes for Mike

I’ve had several adventures. Leaving home to go off to college was one. Leaving the midwest for the west coast was another. Starting Young Life in the state of Nevada was huge for me. One of my favorite books is named. "If you want to walk on water, you’ve got to get out of the boat". Written by John Ortberg, it’s a call to the adventure we call faith. For the longest time I’ve felt God whispering that another adventure awaited me, a new thing, a step out of the boat.

I’ve long had a fascination with urban life. The hustle and bustle, the noise, the smells, and the diversity of people intrigue me. By the millions we visit city centers. A big city captures our imagination and confuses our sensibilities. We delight in its pleasures and shrink back in fear from those things in it that we don’t understand. Over time, through a variety of experiences and relationships, I’ve learned that I have an urban heart.

For a few years now different friends have talked to me about coming to work in an urban ministry. The timing and situation just wasn’t right. Until now.

Breakthrough Urban Ministries www.breakthroughministries.com is planted in an under resourced neighborhood on the west side of Chicago called East Garfield Park. It is a ministry growing in both size and influence. They operate a women’s shelter, a men’s shelter, and various educational and recreational programs. Breakthrough's staff love Jesus and try to be salt and light working alongside community residents. The hope is to break ground shortly on a Family Life Center which will house a clinic, a school, and a gymnasium. There’s lots going on. Lives are being changed.

Arloa Sutter http://arloasutter.blogspot.com/ is the founder and Executive Director of Breakthrough. Anita has known her for a long time. I met her about three years ago on a trip to Israel. Our friendship grew. Several months ago Arloa came to me with an offer. “How would you like to come to work for Breakthrough at half of what you’re making now? And I’m going to ask you to raise that money yourself.” How could I resist a pitch like that?

On Breakthrough’s website you find these words. “At Breakthrough we are seeking to create an intense, cutting-edge ministry environment that inspires each staff member to individual and organizational greatness. It is our hope to provide the culture where you can contribute your gifts for the benefit of all. Our staff provides great training and opportunities for many marginalized people, but our impact doesn’t stop there. Breakthrough’s culture transforms and challenges staff, board members, and volunteers as well. If you are seeking meaning, purpose, intense challenges, diversity, and unity in a Christ-centered organization we invite you to apply.” God was tugging at my heart. They were talking my language.

And so, we talked and talked about my gifts and talents and what Breakthrough needed. Finally, a job description began to emerge. I’m going to be the Director of Spiritual Transformation. It’s a new position. Very simply, I will be developing “next steps” for over 1400 volunteers, donors, clients, college interns and partner churches -- so that they can dive deeper into a greater understanding of what the Scriptures say about justice, poverty, race and how we live out God’s call in a world filled with great need. You’ll see me developing seminars, workshops, retreats and vision events to help folks broaden their understanding of God’s heart for the poor and what He is doing in the city.

This is right in my sweet spot. I have a deep passion to put people into positions that force them to think, to pray, and to seek God. I believe that many of the misconceptions and misunderstanding between rich and poor, black and white, urban dweller and suburbanite are the result of having so little meaningful contact with each other. I also believe that issues of race, poverty, and justice are near and dear to God’s heart. Maybe God can use me to help bridge some of the gaps. I will be part pastor, teacher, facilitator, spiritual director and team leader.

Christ Church of Oak Brook, my home base for about nine years, has walked with me on this journey discerning this new call. I’m grateful for their support, understanding, and encouragement. I’ll still be working half time at CCOB as a teacher and one of the team leaders for 2HC, our newest contemporary worship service. Additionally, I’ll stay involved with Higher Ground, a singles group I started about eighteen months ago. We’re already brainstorming how some of what I’ll be doing for Breakthrough can be offered to folks at CCOB.

To be honest, I’m a little scared. Even though I see God’s hand all over this I get up some mornings asking myself some hard questions. You see, losing income isn’t all that exciting to me. Raising my salary has me shaking in my boots. I’ve never been good at asking for things for myself. I know full well the line between faith and foolishness is often a slender one. And yet, I hear God saying “Go for it.” And so I’m am being asked to do what I’ve been telling you to do for a long time, “Trust God”.

I’m blessed because Anita is standing with me. What a great wife she is. She thinks following God’s leading is the only way you should live life.

So, that’s it. Starting either October 1 but no later than November 1 (depending on my fundraising efforts)I’ll be entering into this new adventure.

I’m hoping that a lot of you will stand with me both in prayer and financially. I know you’ll pray with and for me. In all honesty, I’d love to get some e-mails or responses saying “Hey, in addition to my prayers tell me where I can send a check.” That’s a hint by the way. :)

One more thing. There were times in this process that I wanted desperately to say ‘no’. There was a part of me that just wanted to fade slowly into the sunset of retirement. Saying no would have been disobedience. Don’t ask me how I know this I just do. I know what it’s like to be disobedient to God. I’ve done it before. That isn’t where I need to be.

On October 30th Breakthrough has its annual banquet. I’d love to fill six or seven tables with my friends. I’d like you to see the work that has captivated my heart. Let me know. Bill Hybels is the speaker. Babbie Mason is the musical guest. Anita and I would love to have you join us. Be careful though. God might mess with your head and heart asking you to step out of the boat into your next adventure of faith. He does that you know.

Town Hall

Somebody asked me recently …”Why don’t all the members of Congress hold a town hall meeting?”

Hmmmm. Could it be that those who don’t are the smart ones? I mean, why would anyone want to hold a meeting and be yelled at, berated, booed, hissed and not listened to? What sane person would schedule something like this? I wouldn’t.

America has forgotten its manners. We no longer know how to talk about things with civility and dignity. It’s actually quite frightening.

Something has gotten in the water in America. After you drink from it integrity and civility gets flushed out of your system. Maybe it’s the influence of the media pundits who have done a wonderful job of doing other people’s thinking for them. Or maybe it’s the fact that we’ve forgotten how to be reflective or that we don’t read much anymore and don’t know how to take the time to develop a ‘considered’ opinion. Whatever it is integrity and civility are casualties. We pay for it all day every day.

It’s incredible what’s happening. Groups of people are hating other groups because they think differently. Imagine that!!! How could we ever get to a point in a free society where people might have the audacity to believe and think differently? What’s America coming to?

Don’t you love the fact that we’re bringing name calling back into a hallowed position on the American landscape? We’ve missed it haven’t we? It’s good to turn on the TV and watch a pointed finger being followed by a hissed put down. What did we do when we weren’t labeling people as socialists, tryrants or nazis? We’ve missed years and years of unexpressed hate. So, like you, I’m glad it’s back. I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for Joe McCarthy. If we’re inventive enough maybe we can bring back some racial and religious epithets giving them new life for new generations.

And I love the e-mail machines quoting unknown sources but saying what they say with conviction and venom. Stirring emotions and fear they too help us dream great dreams and point us in the direction of ‘happy days are here again’.

The truth is that we’re becoming thugs. Our weapons are words shouted at the top of our lungs, followed by gossip, rumor, innuendo and vile looks of disgust that thwart any attempts to promote understanding let alone reconciliation. The great prophet Pogo was right. “We have met the enemy and it is us.”

America is at its best when we are good, when we fight fair, when we dialogue, when we listen, and when we seek common ground. We’re not doing that very often anymore.

And leading the charge of incivility oftentimes are people who call themselves Christians. Blogger Brian McClaren said "But we Christians, it seems to me, have a high calling – to be radically committed to integrity and civility, even (especially) with those with whom we disagree."

Does integrity and civility mean that we don’t ‘fight’ for what’s right? Nope. It just defines the tone and establishes some behavioral boundaries. But when something is being done that we don’t think is right then we need to go at it. But going at it doesn’t mean we act like children, throwing tantrums in the public square. My word, what does that prove?

Thankfully there are good people on both sides and all sides of many issues who very quietly but with great resolve try to hammer out what’s best for the common good.

America is in deep water these days. Our economy is fragile, our moral compass is trying to find true north, our mistrust of the government is off the charts, and we’ve become entrenched in a ‘me first’ mentality.

How we choose to engage with one another in the public square of ideas might chart our destiny far more than the conclusions we reach on any specific piece of legislation.

Work

Work is what we do to pay the bills, to raise the family, to make us feel good about ourselves, to get us through school. It defines us to a great degree. No conversation with a stranger goes too long before someone says “What do you do for a living?”

Studs Turkel, Chicago’s own late oral historian once made the observation that "Most people live somewhere between a grudging acceptance of their job and an active dislike of it." We also know full well that for many in our high driving society that ‘work consumes’.

Whether we love it or hate it work oftentimes sucks us into its vortex with disastrous consequences. It provides a validation that keeps us pressing harder and longer. It can entice us away from more pressing issues in our life and it can pay for indulgences that we want to believe creates Sabbath but doesn’t. And thus, work needs focused redefinition and a time of rest from it.

For anything that consumes us, preoccupies us, and/or worries us is in danger of becoming an idol that we serve, standing in the way of our primary goal in life i.e. to know, love, and serve God. In it’s own strange way, whether we love it or hate it, work can become what we worship. It’s true for the homemaker that obsesses about her kids, or the student who obsesses with their school work, to the factory worker who spends far too much time whining and complaining about the work that that he/she does, or to the executive who loves the limelight his/her work put her in.

For all of us the work we do can be an idol. And then it becomes a sin. And sin robs us of joy and keeps us unsure of our focus. It moves us away from God.

Some love their jobs. Most have days when we don’t love what we do. It’s at those times we should remember this story from Mark Buchanan’s book The Rest of God.

When you have had one of those take this job and shove it days try this. On your way home, stop at your pharmacy and go to the section where they have thermometers. You will need to purchase a rectal thermometer made by the Q-Tip company. Be sure that you get this brand. When you get home, lock your doors, draw the drapes and disconnect the phone so you will not be disturbed during your therapy. Change into something comfortable like pj’s or a sweat suit and lie down. Open the package containing the thermometer and carefully place it on the bedside table so that it will not become chipped or broken. Take the written material that accompanies the thermometer. As you read, notice in small print this statement: “Every rectal thermometer made by Q-Tip is personally tested.”

Close you eyes and then say 5 times. “Thank you, Oh thank you Lord, that I do not work in quality control at the Q-Tip company.

No matter what we do for a living …from homemaker to homebuilder …we are asked to make our work a holy calling.

In the Garden immediately after the Fall the world of work changed from something life-giving and glorious to something that was going to be difficult …’the ground will produce thistles and thorns for you and you will eat the plants of the field …by the sweat of your brow you will eat your food.”

In other words, work was now going to cost us something. It wasn’t going to be quite as glorious. Sin tainted it. Yet, God still wants to redeem it.

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3: 17

And when we do our work in the name of Jesus something happens that’s noble. Even the most mundane of tasks can become very holy.

Jesus never valued some types of work above others. I try to do the Lord’s work. Anita has a radio program. That is her Lord’s work. We’re in very visible Christian ministry. We carry a label on us. It’s clear what we’re supposed to be about. I’m very thankful you all don’t have to wear that label.

I’m thankful that we are all called, however, to or placed somewhere. There, we get to do the Lord’s work. It might be as a student, as a homemaker, as a doctor, or a lawyer, a lab tech or a financial consultant. No matter what we do we now all have a similar job description. We are to make Him known in what we do. We are to let our light shine.

And personally, I’m very happy that there are people who get to serve in other ways differently than I do. I love the customer service rep at Comcast I met one day when I was at wits end …she served me. I found out she was a believer. I’m grateful that the night I had a heart attack people had chosen medicine as a profession. I’m grateful that not everyone is a minister when my plumbing goes bad.

Wherever we are, whatever we’re doing God can use it. Even in quality control at the Q tip factory.

In Buchanan’s Rest of God, he tells the following two stories.

Martin Luther said:

The maid who sweeps her kitchen is doing the will of God just as much as the monk who prays-not because she may sing a Christian hymn as she sweeps but because God loves clean floors. The Christian shoemaker does his Christian duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes because God is interested in good craftsmanship.

Os Guiness tells the story of a young mother and widow living in Scotland in the 1800’s. She fell into desperate circumstances and one day she went down to the river to kill herself. But as she stood on the bridge, she looked up. She saw a field across the river and a young man was plowing it. He worked with such skill and care and concentration that she became absorbed in the sight of it. Her fascination turned to wonder, and her wonder to thanksgiving, and her thanksgiving to a sense of purpose. She rose, went forth, and lived a long and productive life.

There is sanctity in honest work. There is something in it that pleases, not just the eyes of men, but the heart of God.

When we work well and for the Lord we make Christ known. ‘Tis good. It’s redemptive.

Disobedient

Are we willing to unplug, pull back, refresh, renew, slow down, pick flowers, and to have no agenda? No? What if God asked you to do it? What if if He asked you to do it because He knew that your life was out of control? What if you could tap into God's replenishment strategy for your life?

God says to those willing, “I have a way.” Keep the Sabbath.

Do we need a Sabbath? I don’t know about you but I certainly do. I need a place to rest. And I especially need a rest from that which consumes my life. It’s represented by my laptop and my Blackberry and any clock within gazing distance.

Here’s a dirty little secret. Pastors and church workers don’t believe in Sabbath. Not really. We talk about it. We give sermons about it. We give it lip service. But we don’t practice it. You see, most of us are delusional. We actually think God can’t do His thing without us. That why so many church leader leave the ministry in droves each year. They’re too exhausted to continue. They never found an adequate replenishment strategy for their lives. They ignore the hope and promise of Sabbath.

We suffer from the taint of sin that has infected the rest of the world. And so, we do our own thing, walking in disobedience to the Lord.

I came to the conclusion this week that despite my mental assent to the principle my actual unwillingness to keep Sabbath is one of my deep sins. My desire to keep plugged in and wired up is greater than my desire to be obedient to the God who asks me to keep Sabbath. And I confess that I am, more often than not, more weeks than not, willfully disobedient. I say, in effect, that I can figure things out on my own and I’m quite capable, thank you, of holding on to all the worry and anxiety of my life and not make myself available for the rest of God.

Stupid me.

I was reading in Romans this week.

Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God Romans 8:5-8 NLT

When I read it I trembled a bit. Honestly. It says that when the Spirit is controlling you-you experience peace and life. It’s real clear to me that when I use words like tired, busy, stressed to describe my life that I’m not walking in the Spirit. I’m bowing to another god, making an idol to worship. And it shakes my world.

Why? Because what it means, at least in this area of my life, is that I’m not controlled by the Holy Spirit. For if I were, I’d be obedient to Sabbath and I’d be describing my life as something different than stressed, worried, hassled and tired. Could it be that regarding Sabbath that I am hostile towards God? For if I was truly in love with God I would embrace his call to Sabbath and I don’t.

Sabbath is both a day and an attitude. We don’t set aside time for Sabbath unless we have the heart for it. And we really don’t have a heart for Sabbath unless we set aside the time meant for it. Observing Sabbath is an obedient act that leads us into further obedience and helps us to discover the rest of God. And when I don’t do it I’m thumbing my nose at God.

I live in disobedience. I don’t do Sabbath because I love being plugged in and wired up. I’m used to having my life ruled by the clock and the calendar but, in all honesty, it doesn’t serve me well.

I know I want to honor God.

My sinful nature does not want to please God.

Sabbath keeping pleases God.

It’s a bit of a conundrum. The habit of my life is to do my own thing. God beckons me to something different.

I'm choosing Sabbath. Stay tuned.

Divided America

The recent brouhaha in Cambridge, MA brought to light some festering wounds here in America. It didn’t help that the President failed to calibrate his words well when he chimed in. But the issue of racial profiling and the divides between Americans who look differently from each other are significant.

I know. I know. We’re all supposed to be Americans and we should get rid of the descriptors of race but we don’t. The designations linger. They won’t go away soon.

Let’s face it. There are still deep, racial hurts and practices that are both overt and covert in our land of the free. I know racial profiling still happens. Keep your eyes open. You can see it in plain sight. Are people ever steered from buying homes in certain neighborhoods? Sure. It happens. Will two or three black youth out for a walk in a pre-dominantly white neighborhood attract attention? Absolutely. Will I feel like I don’t belong when I walk down the streets in Pilsen? I guarantee you that I will feel the color of my skin.

We live in a racially charged world. Still. It’s not make believe.

The truth is that when we don’t know someone as an individual, when we don’t know their heart and when we can only see the color of their skin certain attitudes and biases express themselves. We go to the nearest stereotype. And so, a black man in a white neighborhood is suspect, and white people don’t feel safe in the middle of the black community, and middle eastern folks feel the stares and the mistrust. We respond to the deeply held beliefs about race and culture that have been ingrained in us. The problem is that those things which have been ingrained in us aren’t necessarily true.

I'm convinced that race issues are going to be around for a good long while. As someone who is white I need to look at some things. On my list, at least, is the whole notion of ‘white privilege’. Why have so many of the cards been dealt in my favor over and over again? The field hasn’t been level for everyone.. Still isn’t. There are some deep rooted inequities in our system. But the truth is that I’ve benefited more often than not from those inequities.

Have I ever been treated differently in situations where I was in the minority? Absolutely. Sometimes better. Sometimes with disdain. Sometimes I’m stereotyped. I know what it’s like to be in a racially awkward situation. But the truth of the matter is that being conscious of my race is not the reality of my day to day life.

I also fully recognize that we are a land of immigrants. My Irish ancestors were looked down upon and often treated quite poorly. Each group that came to America has their story. Often enough people will say to me “We played by the rules and assimilated into the wider culture. Why can’t others do the same? We didn’t ask for set asides or handouts or entitlements. We made it by hard work and the sweat off our brow.” And then there’s the kicker follow up question. “Why can’t they?” They, of course, is code for anyone who is unlike us.

There’s no denying the hard work that immigrant groups contributed greatly to building this country. That should be applauded. Hard work and playing by the rules are good things. Did it help at all that the color of our immigrant skins was the color of the dominant culture a the time? Did it help that we could move into neighborhoods and assimilate easily? Did it help that historically that laws didn’t exclude us because of the color of our skin? Was that of any benefit? I think we were playing on a different field. It wasn’t necessarily easy but the truth is that the laws of our country didn’t keep my forefathers and mothers from enjoying the benefits of their labors. Others were not so lucky. We had access. Others didn’t. And even thought we’ve made great progress in the past 50 years the truth is we still have a ways to go.

And so when we look at other people and demand that they just gut up, pull their pants on one leg at a time and forge ahead, making good decisions, work hard and change their future we are speaking the language of the privileged and ignoring the reality of many. There’s lots of folks who are gutting up, working hard, and trying to make good decisions but the pressures of their current reality are so great that they feel like they’re running in place. We can say that they need a hand up not a hand out but the truth is that they need both and much more. If there was an easy solution we’d have found it by now.

Although the President’s back yard beer session felt awkward and contrived one piece of information emerged from it. The professor and the policeman had already sat down and begun to talk. Doesn’t surprise me. Everything I’ve been able to read indicates that they are both good men.

That’s what we’ve all got to do. Talk. Experience life together. Move intentionally out of our walled off daily lives and experience life in a racially mixed world. That won’t be easy. Many of the conversations will be hard. Stereotypes will need to be confronted. Realities faced. Difficult questions asked and answered.

One of my great fears is that the racial divide will get wider and wider. I sense a lot of anger that have racial implications if some of the mass e-mails I receive are any indication. That anger is going to lead to trouble unless we try to see the world through each other’s eyes. That’s just going to be hard face to face work. I wonder if we’re willing to get the job done. You see, we really don’t like to do what’s hard.

Last summer I went on the Justice Journey, a week long tour of the civil rights sights in the south. Our group was about half white, half black. Standing next to African American men and women, looking at old photos of demonstrations, of lynchings, and of lunch counter confrontations, was a ‘light bulb’ experience. My friends on the Journey experienced those pictures in a way that I either couldn’t or wouldn’t. Intellectually I had an understanding of such things and my heart had been touched through other experiences but something happened, in those moments in the civil rights museum, that grabbed my heart in brand new ways.

We all need to have our heart grabbed on these issues. All of us. Then maybe what comes out of our mouth will lead to healing not division.

Who am I?

People have asked me whether I’m a liberal or conservative. So, what do you think?

My voting history is all over the place. I have been known to almost always split a ticket. I’m more interested in character and ability than party loyalties. I started life as a Kennedy democrat. Breathing in Minnesota air brought me the ideas and ideals of McCarthy, Humphrey, and Mondale. Bill Proxmire was a favorite of mine while I grew up in Wisconsin. Nixon made me ill. Couldn’t stand the lies. Chuck Colson, however, has influenced me. Loved Johnson for his Great Society ideas but was not so fond of his Viet Nam policies. Thought McGovern should have been president. Carter was overmatched in the White House but is still making creative noise today. Reagan surprised me in many ways. Was sorry Libby Dole didn’t make a bigger impact. Loved Bush’s down home spin on things but thought he lost control during his second term. Clinton was interesting. A moral failure who was still able to still get people cheering. I voted for Obama and was hoping Palin would add spice to the campaign. She didn’t.

After reading all of the above I realize that I grew up in a world that, for the most part, marginalized women in the political process. Glad that’s changing.

Conservatives have a shrill voice. As one professor said, “They write with fisted crayon.” Nasty, but I think there's some truth in it.

I wonder if liberals have boundaries or core convictions. I mean if you believe in everything don't you really believe in nothing.

I believe in giving back and leaving a legacy.

Greed created the economic mess we’re in. And greed isn't good.

I’m less concerned about a public display of the Ten Commandments than I am with living them.

I’m not for big government but for enough government. I’m worried that the current debt load we carry as a country will burden the young. I think trickle down works but runs out of trickle towards the bottom of the economic ladder. Then what do we do?

I don’t believe the end of school prayer was the end of civilization as we know it. I don’t think being American is the same as being a Christian.

I don't believe Madelyn Murray O'Hare is still alive and trying to force the FCC to shut down Christian radio and TV. Nor do I believe the government is trying to keep secret hidden pools of oil, enough to solves the oil problem for the next 50 years.

I love living in this country but I'm not an 'our country right or wrong' kind of guy. When good people remain silent democracy implodes.

I’m not afraid of ideas.

I’m a pro-life guy who believes it needs to be a consistent ethic for all stages of life. It's that seamless cloak Cardinal Bernadin used to talk about.

I’m an evangelical Christian who loves and appreciates Catholic thought and action.

I think we’re going to have to build bridges of engagement with Muslims.

I don’t have any firm convictions about ‘end times’ stuff. That means there's some churches I couldn't join. That seems silly but it is true.

Immigration discussions have an ugly sub-text of race. They do. Be honest.

I think most Christian movies are sub-par and not very good at all. I said most, not all.

I believe the church is the hope for the world but wonder why so many church leaders keep on doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.

Some poor people feel entitled. Most feel trapped by a system that doesn’t work for them. It's a big issue.

The richer you are the more you can cocoon your life. I think that's sin.

What happens around the globe is our responsibility. “To whom much is given much is required.”

I believe in personal responsibility. Bad people who commit crimes need to be segregated from the rest of society in humane ways.

The American dream is not Jesus’ message. Really.

I’m not a fan of Rush Limbaugh or Larry King or Bill Maher. I love to think for myself and not have someone else think for me.

I believe in global warming and that evolution is not anti-bible.

I love to say really liberal things around conservatives and argue conservatively around liberals.

I think no one in heaven will be able to claim they got there on their own. They’ll have to bow to Jesus, and only Jesus, on that one.

I believe in term limits.

I think Palestinians make some valid points.

I believe everything the Nicene and Apostles Creeds tell us.

I like diversity but admit diversity makes things more complex.

My life’s purpose is to assist people in finding meaning for their life. That means I don’t think many people have found meaning.

I don’t believe in retirement unless it’s a move towards something else that has Kingdom value.

I believe suburbs exist for a lot of different reasons. Many of them not good.

As a Christian I have to care about the environment.

The systems I’ve benefitted from have beaten down others.

We need to learn from the past so we don’t recreate its mistakes. However, the more we live in the past the duller we become.

I believe the Bible is the Word of God but I think proof texting is messy and dull. When we use the Bible as a hammer we miss the point.

I don’t think everyone who has marched down an aisle is saved but I love what it represents in a person’s life.

I believe women should be in church leadership. More churches that won't have me.

Racial profiling happens a lot.

I love to express my opinion but realize when I do conservatives will think I’m too liberal and liberals will think I’m too conservative. I don’t like to be written off.

And there it is. Am I liberal or conservative? For sure, I know I don't march in lock-step with some of your ideas. That's a good thing. It's that 'iron sharpens iron' thing we read about in the Scripture.

The problem is that some want all of us to walk in tedious rows of political, social, and faith conformity. Ugh. So Stepford. That's why we end up walled off, belonging to churches that are insular, lacking impact. We live in gated communties of fear and only follow those people and movements that reflect our own tunnel vision. Boring.

We’ve forgotten how to dialogue, to admit that other good people can come to a different conclusion about any number of things. That’s especially true when it comes to matter of faith, politics and Cubs vs Sox. Some who read this are ardent, way to the right Republicans. Some who read my stuff are evangelicals who tend towards fundamentalism. Others of you have abandoned faith altogether and hold firmly to not believing anymore. Some are left leaning Democratics. A few of you are Catholics who mistrust evangelicals. Some cringe when anyone says that evolution isn’t anti-Bible. And when I say I believe in global warming some of you say ‘that’s right’ and others are quick to be on your knees to pray for me.

So, if you just read something that makes you think I’m off my rocker, lost my salvation, or sliding down a slippery slope into oblivion don't write me off or anyone else for that matter. There's a better way.

By the way, I'm not sure if I'm a liberal or a conservative. Actually, I think I'm a bit of both. The bottom line is that I'm a Jesus follower who has a deep appreciation for what has gone on before me. I value living in this country where freedom runs so deep. I also think that there's a boat load of issues in our culture that need us all to be on the front lines wrestling with finding answers. I cling to orthodoxy because it anchors me to live creatively and passionately in the here and now. Some of what I believe might need to be rethought. Challenge me. Some of what I believe compels me to challenge you. It's all good.

Domestique

When I lived in Nevada I rode my bike a fair amount to stay in shape. One of our local celebrities was a young man named Greg LeMond who was to become the first American to win the biggest bike race in the world, the Tour de France. In fact, he won it three times.

One day, a friend of mine and I, decided to duplicate a good chunk of one of Greg LeMond’s favorite training runs and we embarked on a ride around Lake Tahoe. It’s about 75 miles at altitude. The terrain was up and down and had some significant climbs for us amateurs. I walked away from that ride with a whole new appreciation of how fit world class athletes have to be. It also began a love affair with the Tour de France. I watch as much of it as I can.

In the Tour de France and other major cycling events most of the riders have virtually no opportunity to win the race. Each team has nine riders. One is the christened leader. The rest are called domestiques, each a world class rider in their own right. Some are great climbers, some sprinters, some can keep a great pace. Their role is to do whatever it takes to help the leader win the Tour de France. They are to spend themselves physically in order for the leader to draft behind them. The leader of the team stays on their wheel when the going gets tough. The domestiques help pull their man up the mountain and back down. They sacrifice their ego to support the leader. And everyone knows what the role demands. Do a good job as a domestique and perhaps you’ll get a chance to lead your own team someday. That’s what happened to LeMond and Armstrong. But for most riders they toil in a fair amount of obscurity year in and year out on bike racing’s biggest stages.

In show business they call this being a second banana. On rock tours it’s the warm-up band. In pastoral circles it’s the associate. In a bank it’s the vice-president. On a high school football team it’s the offensive line. It is what it is. There are people who have very distinct gifts and talents. Without them the star attraction wouldn’t shine as brightly or would be less effective. There’s no way Greg LeMond or Lance Armstrong could win the Tour de France with his own skills and abilities. They needed help. And in this year’s race 7 time champion Lance Armstrong is serving as a domestique not as team leader.

This year as I watch the Tour de France I’m reminded of its insane difficulty. I’m also reminded of the roles team members play both in the big race and the races within the race.

When I watch the Tour de France I delight in the dozens of sermon illustrations it provides. It also get me thinking about who I am and the roles I’ve played and will be asked to play. Just like you I have gifts and talents. Sometimes I’m upfront and center stage. Sometimes I’m backstage. Sometimes I get the spotlight on me. And there are times when I get to shine the spot light on someone else.

Each role is good and necessary. Sometimes it’s important for me to be upfront and leading and sometimes I get to play the ‘domestique’ role. Both are satisfying in their own way.

The Tour de France reminds me so much of all the ‘body of Christ’, gifts and talents stuff in the New Testament. There’s ‘magic’ when we understand and operate with the understanding that no one person can do it all and that God doesn’t expect that from anyone. It’s a reminder that this life is far less about the ‘me’ than it is about the ‘us’.

Tomorrow is a crucial stage in the Tour de France. The leader of the race will have an opportunity to become a ‘domestique’ helping a teammate or two ascend to the platform in Paris. It will be interesting if he’ll be able to or want to do it. Sometimes when you’re out front you don’t want to give up the spotlight even for a minute. The sacred text talks about things like that. It says stuff about servanthood, humility, and the importance of the first being last. This is good stuff to remind ourselves of in a dog eat dog world with everyone racing to the finish line forgetting that the race is easier won when we work together, keeping our eyes on the One who's supposed to be the team leader.

Where?

You’re in a tough spot, needing help. It dawns on you. Talk to God about it. So you do. And you wait, and wait, and wait some more. Still no answer. You get to a point where you just give up and walk away. And you mutter to yourself “Where’s God when I need Him?”

It’s a big question. “Where’s God?”

Everyone asks it, even those who don't believe. We're wired to seek God even when we deny He exists. So, from those who claim no belief, to the less spiritually mature, to seasoned followers of Jesus the question is asked 'Where are you God?' Then the wait begins. Those wanting immediate answers and none is forthcoming often walk away disillusioned or at least shaking their head in some form of discouragement. Others, who know God is never rushed, continue along the ancient paths content to wait but still longing for answers. The 'silence of God' is part of the spiritual journey. It's not a lot of fun but it's definitely part of it. We have our choices. We can murmur our discontent or continue to wait with expectaton for God to speak.

We’re living in a world where people are screaming for answers from God.

Where’s that job?
How will I ever retire?
Why am I sick?
Why does life have to hurt so much?

When the ‘customer service God’ they call to doesn’t deliver then the disillusionment kicks in.

As a pastor I deal with people’s disappointment with God all the time. They want answers. “Why doesn’t God come through for me the way I want Him to?”

The truth is we believe more in divine magic than in a relationship with the divine.

We call out to a ‘magic wand’ kind of God thinking that we’re in control. And the true God of true God is not swayed. He’s not into games. He’s into relationship. And He’s not willing to lure you into relationship with cheap parlor games. We’re asking Him to prove Himself. He already has.

Does God care? Yes, He does. Why does He act at a snails pace sometimes? I don’t know. He does. Am I willing to trust a God who moves slower than I’d like? What about if it’s really slow? What if it’s ‘slow’ with a ‘no’ when it gets to you?

Can you trust that kind of God?

Do you really have a choice?

You see, trust means trust. Pretty profound, huh. It’s a radical thing when you trust in the midst of uncertainty.

Those questions linger though. Should we pray for a job, for healing, for our future, for others? Yes. What choice do we have? I mean, we could give up. Then what? Would you feel better? I wouldn’t.

Scripture talks about waiting and wandering. In the big story people waited and wandered for long periods of time. 40 years for many. 400 years for some. Waiting and wandering. Wandering and waiting. His people looked up to the heavens and wondered.

They found other gods, other hopes, and different dreams. They led nowhere. And then God, in His timing, sends them a message. He tells His people that He hasn’t forgotten them, that He still has a hope and a future for them. He tells them that there’s a reason for the wandering and the waiting. And He tells them to trust Him.

I don’t understand God’s timing. I do understand my unwillingess to wait and wander. You see, I’m a good middle class American. I want what I want when I want it. That usually means now.

Now doesn’t mean much to God. He’s got a different view of things. His now might be weeks, months, or even years away. In the in between time …that gap between my prayer and God’s answer I need to learn how to live. With hope, with expectation, with yearning.

The truth is that I’ll get sick, someday sick enough to die. The economy will take its toll on me. People will disappoint me. God will feel both close and distant. None of this ultimately matters.

A long time ago I told God I’d trust Him with my life in good times and not so good. I knew enough of Him that I felt He was trustworthy. Nothing has changed. Like you, I wish God’s timing was my timing but every the truth is that I need to lean into ‘your will be done’ thing we Christians are fond of reciting. Maybe there’s more peace and contentment in that than we even realize.

In the meantime when I sense more of God's absence than presence I need to go looking for the Divine in all the familiar places. For me that means music, in believing friends, in the comfort and challenge of wise authors, in worship, in repentance, in prayer, through creation, in certain geographical places, through service and mission trips, the arts and the reading of the sacred text. I go to those spots where I have met God before. Often something happens. I am strangely warmed. There are glimpses of the intimacy I crave. And I realize that the absence I'm experiencing is the result of ignoring certain habits and avoiding certain experiences. I am the one absent, not God.

Living vague and sketchy

For about six years I lived in the state of Nevada. I lived north, in Sparks which is right next door to Reno. Great place, great people, beautiful scenery. Every once in while you’d get the sense that the wild west of yesteryear was still right around the corner. People came to Nevada for a lot of reasons. Some to find their fortune, others to lose a fortune. Some came for a fresh start. And others came to hide out, hoping not to be found.

Occassionally, I’d sit down with someone and as ask them questions about their past. Sometimes folks were very forthcoming. Often enough the answers I got were a little vague, very sketchy. I wondered why. Then it began to dawn on me. Nevada is a big state with few people. It’s a great place to disappear. Buy a single wide mobile home, park it in a desert valley next to some other single wides and no one would notice. No one would care. Just fit into the landscape. There were people in Nevada that had a past they wanted to escape from. “ Don’t ask, don’t tell” was the mantra long before ‘what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.’

Moses moved to the biblical equivalent of Nevada. It was a place called Midian. It was a good place for a murderer to hide out, buy a trailer, grow a beard and start life all over again. It had to be a tough move. Moses went from the penthouse of Egyptian society to a nomadic existence in the middle of nowhere. He had a past. It probably served him well to be vague and sketchy.

And then God found him. Spoke to Him. Stopped him in his tracks with a 'burning bush message'. He not only found him but he had a ‘mission’ for him. Moses didn’t want any part of it. It meant going back to Egypt. It meant staring down one of the most powerful people in the world and then attempting to extricate thousands upon thousands of people who knew nothing but slavery and take them on a journey towards a future they weren’t even sure they wanted.

God was disrupting Moses’s life.

I’m convinced God is in the ‘disruption’ business. And that’s a good thing. It’s a sign of love.

If truth is told we don't like disruptions. Of course if God wanted to disrupt my life tomorrow and say to me ...

Mike I want you to be the pastor of the Caribbean. I’ve got a place in Arube, right on the beach, for you and the family. Nice salary, medical, good pension. I’ve also got a yacht and a crew because I expect you to check up on my people in Grand Cayman, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Antigua …don’t go any further north than the Bahamas. I don’t want you to come close to getting chilly. Make sure my people are doing OK, that they have what they need. OK?

I think I'd like that kind of disruption. Unfortunately, that's not the way God seems to work. OK, maybe if you’re a TV preacher he works that way but not in ordinary lives.

Nope, God looks for you. He asks for your heart. And then he messes with your life and we don’t understand why half the time. Oh sure, God loves to love on us. But almost always He’s calling you to someplace or something where you’ll have to trust Him.

And the truth is we don’t want that because it’s disruptive. We want a big house and a nice car. He might want you in a trailer park in a desert valley in the middle of Nevada. We want a nice retirement. God says “I’m your retirement plan”. We want more. He says less is more. We're committed to being busy and God says 'slow down so you can get to know me'. We commit ourselves to being laid back and God asks us not to squander our talents.

Let me be blunt. Most of us don’t want to hear what God will say to us unless it’s on our terms. That’s especially true if we’re lucky enough to be living high and well and relatively secure.

And so we hide ….trying to create a cocoon of safety. It works as long as we forget that God is on the prowl.

In all honesty, I want to be Pastor of the Caribbean. Many of you would love to be on my staff. Those jobs don't exist.

Moses faced the business end of God over and over again. He interacted with God. He saw God’s anger and frustration and He saw God’s provision. God called Moses from a hideaway in Midian to one of the great adventures a person ever was called to undertake.

And Moses didn’t want it. He made excuses. He asked God to send someone else. When push came to shove Moses was God’s man for that time for that mission. Just as Moses was feeling OK about Midian God forces him to change direction and focus on going back to Egypt.

Why does He do things like that?

1. Because He loves us.
2. There’s work to be done.
3. He needs to call our bluff or challenge our priorities in order for us to become more like Him.
4. He’s prepared us for some specific mission.
5. He knows we’re growing soft.
6. Because our comfort isn’t necessarily integral to His purpose.

All these things. You could probably add a dozen more.

Let me repeat. Most of us don’t want to hear what God has to say to us unless it’s on our terms because we value our comfort more than we desire doing God’s will.

And so we hide and hide and hide …ignoring the burning bushes calling out our name.

Moses is a good example. He didn’t ignore his burning bush. He went, certainly not sure of himself but with enough trust in the God who was leading him.

I don’t want to go sometimes. Uncertainty reigns. When I do go I learn to trust God all over again. Sometimes I hide. I rent myself a singlewide trailer in the middle of my mind and pretend that no one notices me. I want to live in a vague and sketchy kind of way. God always notices. Always beckons.

Let the fun begin.

Talked to a friend today. She was born in another country. We talked about America and whether or not our country would ever return to 1980’s-90’s prosperity. That appears to be the goal if you listen to both politicians and pundits. We both agreed that what we had will probably never return.

Does that make you sad or does it invigorate you?

Prosperity. It’s an interesting phenomenon. Some get rich. Their wealth is supposed to trickle down but it doesn’t trickle as far as we'd like to think it does. Many get poor and poorer. So, a return to prosperity is economic good news for some but not for all. Those on the + side of prosperity don’t like to hear such things, especially if they are Christians. Hearing should cause a leap into action. For some it does. For most it doesn’t.

Our world is changing. 40 years from now white American will no longer be a majority. Western Christian culture will be influenced greatly by eastern Christian thought and practice. What was, won’t be any longer. Those who can’t adapt will spend time yearning for what was. It’s not coming back.

For Christians, our notions of the Gospel have been read through the lens of prosperity and individualism. Others in our world read the Gospel through the lens of ‘good news for the poor’ and the value of community. These different readings are destined to collide. One is about me, the other is about us. Different perspectives.

I wonder if we’re ready, able and willing to engage in the cultural paradigm shift that’s taking place. My guess is that we’re not. Many churches won’t make it. They’ll get old and they’ll die. Many individuals will hold on, encouraged by well meaning but misguided spiritual guides, to a gospel that was created in our image and likeness instead of grabbing hold of a gospel that can transform us into His image.

This is big stuff. What does the old song say …”I wish we’d all been ready.”

Our meism doesn’t allow us to consider much beyond what we already know. Because we think we’re the center of the universe we don’t read much, don’t engage much in interesting conversation with those who are different, and don’t care much about what’s happening in the world unless it impacts our pocketbook. That’s going to be the death of us.

There’s a whole world out there that is reading and learning, and engaging. For them, life is bigger than prosperity. There’s issues of compassion, justice and poverty. We talk about how we can return to a time when we can get ‘rich’ again. The rest of the world reads the gospel and wonders how we can spread the ‘riches’.

So, I wonder what’s going to happen. Who’s going to wake up and start to look at themselves and their faith and start to wonder if what they believe and what shapes who they are is going to be adequate for what’s coming straight at us? My guess is that it’s not going to be many.

I’m wondering if Jesus isn’t going to use the ‘few’ to revive our western hearts and soul into a more transforming vision of what it means to a Christian. Then, let the fun begin.

Beautiful Day

What a beautiful day.

A bike ride, Cubs win, dinner outside with Anita, some interesting meetings with good people and another beautiful day promised for tomorrow.

We traveled just a few miles to eat. People, people everywhere. There were bike riders, moms and dads with their kids, an old car festival, young lovers. parks filled, softball games, Dairy Queen lines and lots of smiles.

Days like this are so good. So needed. Is this what heaven will be like?

I sometimes live at a frantic pace. Even today, I had a small group, then a meeting and even a wedding. But it felt more manageable. Do you think good weather helps put things into perspective or does the promise of good weather help us to manage our time better?

Tomorrow promises to be good. We're heading out after church to the Chicago lakefront. We'll ride bikes, enjoy the skyline and delight in some people watching.

Monday, the race begins again. I have a day filled with decisions, meetings, and obligations. It's OK. That's part of life.

Maybe weekends like this remind us of the need for Sabbath. I'm reminded of a book written by Mark Buchanan called 'The Rest of God'. Clever title and a good read. He reminds us that our yearning for the rest of God requires us to actually rest. It's part of the rhythm of a maturing believer. Go, go, go is not the mark of maturity. It's a sign of a life out of whack.

So, three cheers for Sabbath reminders, for nice weather that helps us slow down, for the hope of maturity, and for the longing for something more.

'Twas a good day.

Oh yah, the Cubs beating the Cardinals was frosting on the cake.

No Yellow Jersey

After watching a portion of the Tour de France I asked Anita if she thought I might be past my prime bike riding days and whether or not I should shoot for the Tour next year? In her typical fashion when I talk nonsense she laughed at me and dashed my dream of riding into Paris wearing the yellow jersey. So if preparing for the Tour de France isn't my raison d'etre what is?

I've written about this before but am increasingly becoming agitated by a world that just seems to go along in order to get along. Satisfaction with the hum-drum, what amuses us and what doesn't inconvenience us is the order of the day.

I still think it's not a silly to think about such things as purpose and meaning. I'd rather live with a sense of meaning and purpose than without. I mean who wouldn't want to have a keen sense of why they're alive and what they were created to do and be?

My guess is that plenty of people don't know nor do they care. Whenever I mention the subject a lot of folks just roll their eyes and look at me with that look that says 'who cares?'.

I think God Cares.

Scipture shows pretty clearly that God uses us to fulfill His plans. He doesn't need to but he chooses to. He expects us to be uselful, helpful, and at least somewhat focused on the things He cares about. It's surprising, however, the number of people who don't think about such things.

It's all apparent that God wants us to use our talents and giftings. It's like he nudges us in the midst of us being surprised and/or wrecked by and something and He says "You could do something about this." That's why you see people getting all excited about feeding the world, teaching kids, visiting prisoners, coaching soccer, praying for the sick, etc. etc. They find their God ordained 'sweet spot’. My friend Robin Chaddock calls it their 'divine assignment'.

Scripture warns us, however, that we have an enemy who wants to kill, rob, distract and destroy. In any way possible he wants to dissuade us of any notion that this sweet spot exists. And we are easily dissuaded and distracted.

How many times have we given up on something because someone has said or done something that's discouraged us? We just give up. Don't try anymore. Sometimes I feel like the rookie third baseman who's in an 0-20 slump. The boo birds are the only ones I seem to hear. And the enemy of good wins another battle. I'm sidelined.

Distractions keep our eyes off our 'divine assignment'. I know all about distractions. I have three. One's called TV. Another is called cell phone. The internet is my third nemesis. Although each have value each keeps me preoccupied, often ignoring what's most important. That great TV show (the one that's going to give me a glimpse into the culture I say), the ringing phone, and the vitally important hourly check of Facebook all give the appearance of urgency. Usually they never are. But they occupy lots of time, lots of thought, and plenty of my resources.. I wonder how often they keep me from what's truly important - my 'sweet spot'?

Busyness also keeps us from God’s best and from living with a sense of purpose. It’s almost a badge of honor to say “I’m busy”. Adults with older parents love it when their parents ‘stay busy’. It seems to be a sign of health and well being. Unfortunately, a steady dose of 'busy' keeps people from seeking God’s direction. Instead of filling life with meaning and purpose people just try to fill their calendars.

Drive to a casino sometime. Go in. Look at all the retired folks in the middle of the day who are 'busy' feeding the slot machines. They're busy but I think unfilled. I know. That's a judgment. There's nothing wrong with diversions. There is something wrong with a life wasting away. Busyness fills a calendar with often unrewarding activities. At the end of the day there can be a sense of emptiness . Purpose, on the other hand, fuels our need to give our life away. And a noble life purpose seems to lead to something bigger than busyness. It paves the way to leaving a meaningful legacy. There's nothing empty about that.

Most people, when pressed, will admit to spending most of their time reacting to whatever life throws at them. Not very purposeful. And life throws discouragement, distractions and busyness at us in massive quantities but mission and purpose isn't thrown at us. It's discovered. Discovery requires work. And prayer. And counsel.

Too many don't want to discover anything new, especially if it involves work, honesty before God or being vulnerable in front of others. We don't want want to do it. Afterall, we're spending a lot of time being distracted and busy. Who has time to discover our life purpose and mission?

I’ve read in a number of places that those who do best in life have a sense of purpose.

Bill Hybels wants churches to thrive.
Bono is wrecked by the AIDS epidemic.
Ron Santo wants to find a cure for juvenile diabetes.
Wendy Kopp of Teach for America wants to end educational inequity.
Catherine Rohr wants to teach inmates how to never return to jail.
I know some business people who live to bring integrity into their workplace.
I know moms who want to raise Godly kids not spoiled brats.

Even thought these people all have other things that occupy some of their time they remain focused on what appears to be some God-ordained sense of purpose and vision for their life.

When I watch purposeful people the sense I get is that they are able to focus on what’s important in their life. There's discouragement. Sure there are distractions. Sometimes purposeful people find themselves filling their calendar instead of living their dreams. That’s true for anyone but when push comes to shove they do what’s important, those things that feed their purpose and sense of mission.

OK. I'm not in the Tour de France next year. No yellow jersey for me. But there is a race I need to be in. So do you. There's some need out there that God knows you can meet. In the process you'll have to battle discouragement, distractions and busyness. It's a battle worth having. Know this. There's something out there for you. If you do it, you will start to live again.

Engaged and Involved

If you have ever been to Washington D. C. I’m sure you’ve seen and experienced the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial. It was designed by a young woman, from Chinese descent, named Maya Ying Lin. That mirrorlike wall of black granite contains a roll call of deceased soldiers. Every name beckons you to touch it and in reaching see relected your own image in the polished granite.

When Maya Lin's design was first unveiled, the backlash took everyone by surprise. One veteran called it "a black gash of shame." Another called it called it "the most insulting and demeaning memorial to our experience that was possible," Another noted that the design was a "nihilistic statement that does not render honor to those who served." It was alleged that the selection panel was infiltrated by Communists. Some veterans groups lamented the fact that the Lin design didn't hoist a flag. Of Chinese descent, Lin had racial epitaphs hurled at her - slurs filled with hatred and insensitivity.

A controversy over the appropriateness of the memorial had begun. The government stepped in, appointed a committee and with the decisiveness of a bureaucracy muddied the water further by authorizing the commissioning of a second memorial - call the "The Three Servicemen," which was a more traditional, oversized, statue of three soldiers much along the lines of the Marine Corps Monument, with its bronze soldiers raising the flag over Iwo Jima.

For more than three years the fight raged over these two memorials. Maya Lin fought the concept of a "second" memorial”. She thought it was unnecessary. Politics. When it became clear that the issue had become such a political hot potato that the only way to get Lin's sculpture built was to put in the other one, the question was where. Opponents wanted it placed in the vortex of the V-shaped wall, with a flag stuck on top. In a moving speech before the government commission, Lin stood her ground and refused to change her design. Finally Lin agreed to this compromise: Go ahead and install "The Three Soldiers" near the entrance to the memorial site; but don't invade the wall's space and give people room to experience, participate, and interact with the monument. And that's what happened.

The rest is history. The outpouring of emotion that greeted Maya Lin's memorial continues to this day. It has done more to heal the oozing wounds of the Vietnam War than any other single thing. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial collection now contains more than 250,000 items, artifacts, and mementos left behind by pilgrims to the wall. Ironically, Lin's greatest critics have now become her greatest fans. Vietnam vets now see her as one of them, and every major veterans group has passed resolutions either apologizing for their earlier treatment of her, or thanking her for hanging in there when their own members mercilessly attacked her.

This snapshot is a mini-case study of America and the perils and promise of freedom.

America desired to do something good - to honor fallen service men and women. But good intentions often gets intertwined with the deceitfulness of the heart. Thus the debate that freedom mandates is sometimes filled with tension, rudeness, misunderstanding, racism and compromise which doesn't always lead to what's best but rather what is expedient. It gets messy. For those of us who like things neat and clean freedom is problematic. .

The woman who designed this memorial intrigues me. She had deep convictions that withstood deep attack. She didn't back down in the face of almost overwhelming obstacles. She also had an interesting slant on what a memorial should be - she wanted her tribute to be interactive. That tells me she understood something about the true heart of America. Our history, I believe, tells us that people need to be involved and engaged in order for our republic to work. And their hearts touched.. That's what happens at the Viet Nam memorial. If you've ever been there you see a living drama - where those who come to visit - become, in a sense, part of the memorial.

Freedom is like that. It needs to be engaged. It's an interactive experience, not passive. Freedom is at the core of both the American experience and the Christian life. We are free to choose … it's a God given gift that needs to be EXERCISED thoughtfully and prayerfully - for Freedom, outside the context of moral law, is nothing more than a license to do one's own thing even at the expense of others. That kind of freedom honors no one.

On the 4th of July we celebrate our freedom, our nation, and our citizenship. They deserve to be celebrated. Understand this though. Even though our country has roots deep in Christian thought and experience we are not a Christian nation. The reality is that we live in a multi cultural, pluralistic country. We are one among many. Our country allows for diversified expressions of thought, of worship, and of practice. There are those Christians who don't like that reality but it is a reality. And on this 4th of July questions of how we live, work, and witness within an increasingly pluralistic culture deserve reflection.

Some people choose to live with the pluralism in our midst by withdrawing. Driven by fear. Many Christians advocate this position. Let’s eat at Christian restaurants, have our tires changed at a Christian garage, get in shape at the Christian health club and buy our books and videos at the Christian book store. Somehow, I don't think we honor God when we retreat into a Christian sub-culture that proclaims the message "you're bad-we're good". Hunkering down, doing our Christian thing and pointing fingers at the rest of society is, at best, counterproductive.

Others dive headlong into the cultural delights of this day and age without reference back to the authoritative voice of Jesus. That becomes dangerous.

There is another way. A better way. It is basic to the freedom we enjoy as Americans. It is also at the heart of the biblical message. What is it? With the Holy Spirit as our guide we are to be engaged and to be involved - striving to be God’s agent within this culture.. When we are engaged and involved we begin to better understand the obligations that free people must attend to in order to live as responsible citizens both in our country and in the kingdom of God.

When I was in college Spiro Agnew was Vice-President of the United States. He argued against anti-War activists and in particular the press corps that he considered partisan calling them "nattering nabobs of negativism". He thought they were emblematic of but a tiny, insignificant minority who paled in comparison to the "silent majority" supporting our involvement in that war. It was that silent majority, Agnew believed, that was the true heartbeat of America.

The Vice-President, I believe, was sincere in his belief but failed to understand a fundamental democratic principal. When silence becomes apathy that silence thwarts the debate, engagement, and involvement freedom demands. Those who remain silent lose ground to an active vocal minority.

The silent majority in the Revolutionary War, for example, did not want to fight the British. An active minority won the day. Many of whom, by the way, were Christians. And the United States was born.

In the 1960's a silent majority of people cared little about Civil Rights. A movement started, deep in the south, by a band of determined men and women …an active minority, literally putting their lives on the line, that took a struggle for freedom to center stage and men and women of color took their rightful place on the American landscape.

In this time and place we live in a world beset with issues. There is Terrorism. Poverty. Racism. Right to life and right to die concerns. Broken families. Educational reform. Health care reform. Business ethics. Welfare issues. Crime. Immigration. And the scope of the problems we face in the days and weeks and months ahead dare not be underestimated. These are issues that have both international, national and local impact. It’s big stuff. Complex.

Sometimes we are guilty of wanting to provide the quick fix to complex and substantive issues. Let's just get a famous personality to go to schools and tell them not to do drugs. Let's get everyone to sign an abstinence pledge and then we’ll never have to worry about teenage pregnancy. Let's put the Ten Commandments up in every classroom and behavioral problems will disappear. Let's bring back prayer to the schools and little Johnny and Suzy will have the moral compass that is lacking in their life.. Let's point a finger at Hollywood and boycott everything that appears sleazy and America will be OK again.

It's not that easy. Sin is too deeply rooted in our culture. No, the answers lie in a more intense and relational approach. These issues before us will be discussed and policies formed not by a silent majority but rather by active and committed people willing to make their voice heard. The resolution of big issues will call for good people to log quality time at the decision making tables. That begs the following questions. Are the variety of Christian voices in our culture poised to make an impact in relational ways? More importantly … Are you, Christian, willing to do your part? If yes, remember this.

When we choose to be engaged and involved there will be battles won and battles lost. That’s what happens in a republic like ours. But if we are not at the table we lose by default. That’s not a great way to lose. Too many Christians leave the table before the main course. They give up …pointing fingers, getting involved in the pursuit of our own pleasures …retreating to our religious ghettos -hoping God will make all the yucky stuff go away or that somebody else will do our dirty work for us.

It doesn’t work like that. It’s about engagement and involvement - it’s about long obedience and staying at the table even when it feels we can’t take it any longer. But when we stay at the table we get sharper, we listen better, we win the right to be heard, you influence decision making and you often learn to love people you thought were your enemies. And God smiles. Without a place at the table our voice won't be heard. And perhaps even more importantly we won't be able to listen. When we don't listen we don't understand. When we don't understand we battle stereotypes and caricatures. And then we battle shadow and not substance. And there is just too much substance, these days, to be wasting our time fighting boogeymen.

I wrote this several years ago. I don't have my original notes anymore. Some of the info about Maya Lin and the controversy surrounding the Memorial comes from an original source that I no longer can find but I wish I could because I'd like to give credit where credit is due. Although I doubt that I'm quoting anything word for word I just wanted to acknowledge that I wish I could cite the original source inspiration for the first four paragraphs./strong>

Too much I

I was thinking about Debbie today. The 30+ year memory of her came suddenly into my consciousness. Debbie was in my youth ministry program. She committed suicide.

Debbie was not a pretty girl. She was short, bulky, and had zits. She wasn’t a great socializer. She was on the fringes. I liked her.

If memory serves me well she had a great experience on a retreat. It was an experience of community that lasted, unfortunately, only as long as the car ride home. I knew she longed for a carry over experience. But true community proved elusive for her.

After high school Debbie went away someplace for school. She found a drug crowd. They accepted her. She found that if guys got high enough they found her attractive. The sexually intimate exchanges that followed gave her a sense of belonging and love. She wasn’t being loved. Just used.

For some reason or another Debbie came home. The changes in her exasperated her parents. One night they had enough. They kicked her out. I remember a phone call “Please come get me.” And on a very frigid Minnesota winter night I found Debbie. She was alone and afraid.

I helped her get into a treatment center. Her drug use was killing her. She was getting better but something happened and she ran away. When I tried to find her word came back that ‘she was ashamed of what was happening in her life and she didn’t want to face me.’ I sent back word ‘tell Debbie that I care about her no matter what.’

Late one evening a few weeks later a phone call came late at night. “Mike, we found Debbie. She’s dead. She found an abandoned barn and hung herself.”

At the funeral I remember someone coming to me and saying something along these lines. “Wasn’t that a horrible sin that Debbie committed?”

I lost it a little.

I remember saying something along these line.. “I think we have to take responsibility for some of this. Debbie was part of our church, our ministry. She felt alone. Not included. The only place she could find community is with people who wanted the drugs she could buy. It’s not right. Debbie died of loneliness. She felt abandoned. Her life couldn’t get traction. Suicide wasn’t the answer. Never is. But she felt she had run out of options. Why did she feel so alone when so many of us were all around her? Is there anything we need to own in this?”

Debbie came to mind today. I’m reading a book that I’ll write more about in the days ahead. Part of the author’s discussion revolves around the individualism that runs rampant in today’s church. Individualism stakes out the territory of ‘I’. As long as I’m OK, and me and Jesus are good …then it’s all good. Unfortunately the gospel says a whole lot about ‘we’. That’s hard for us to grasp.

Debbie longed for community. She found it once on a retreat but the mountaintop became a valley. She found it in ‘drug friends’ but she was being used. She couldn’t find it in her family. And at her death some in the church wanted to talk about what they perceived to be her sin, not her life. And it was clear that we didn’t want to use her death as an opportunity to repent of our lack of caring.

That was a long time ago.

Community is still elusive for so many. We capture it occasionally on a mountaintop. We desperately need it in the valley below.

I serve at a big church. People say ‘hi’ all the time. And I wonder. How many Debbie’s are here? Who’s close to losing it? Who’s afraid to come out of hiding? Where are the models of transparency? Where’s the ‘we’ in our definition of community?

Hide and Seek

In the book of Jonah, we read about a man who wants to play a game. The game is called Hide. He thinks he’s a really good player. But he’s playing his game against someone who plays a game called Seek. And he’s the best there is. There’s no one he can’t find …no one, absolutely no one. And He won’t stop until He finds whoever is hiding. It’s not in his nature to quit.

Jonah is the hider and from my perspective is kind of a punk. I don’t know if I’d like him if he moved next door to me. He’s trying to second guess God all the time, he’s disobedient, he thinks he can fool God, and he thinks his game of Hide is better than God’s game of seek. Jonah gives half-hearted effort and when he doesn’t get his way he gets all pouty and throws himself a pity party.

I identify with Jonah. That probably makes me a bit of a punk too. No comments on that please. I like to hide from God. Sometimes I don’t go all out. And I’ve been known to get all sulky and pouty. I'm not proud of this identification. It's painful to write the words. It is accurate however. Thankfully ... hiding, half-hearted effort, sulky and pouty is only an occassional description. I have better moments.

Jonah was being asked to be a prophetic voice, to go into the proverbial lions den and let the meanest, baddest people in the middle east (the Assyrians) know that they had ticked God off and God wanted them to change. Jonah was to remind them of their wickedness and turn their attention to a good God. It’s like one of us being asked to walk into Bin Liden’s camp to tell him and his friends God’s not happy with them.

Jonah didn’t want to go on his ‘mission from God', a mission that was going to require him to use words and not merely be a presence. I get why he wouldn’t want to go. I’d probably say to God

“You want me to go where and tell them what?”

Jonah knew if the Assyrians took God’s message seriously that God would have a big enough heart to give them a second chance. Jonah wasn’t so sure that a second chance is what they deserved. Jonah, I think, thought that God was for the Jews, not for those people over there. And so instead of going into a hostile environment to deliver a hard message that might result in the Assyrians getting a second chance…Jonah decided to run and hide.

Jonah heard pretty clearly from God. He decided not to act on what he heard. Because whatever he heard wasn’t what he wanted to hear.

I don’t know what Jonah was praying about on the morning he heard from God but it wasn’t about Ninevah I don’t think. What Jonah had on His mind wasn’t close to what God had on his. I learned a long time ago that God just might ask us to do something we’re equipped to do but not be something necessarily something we want to do.

That's something to file away. If you find yourself going through life only doing what you want to do …stop …because if you’re only doing what you want to do… well, that doesn’t sound like someone listening to God. Think about it. God has a history of calling people to things beyond what they ever imagined possible.

Noah, build me an Ark.

Moses, confront Pharaoah.

Esther, risk your life.

Mary, bear my son.

Peter, feed my sheep.

Jonah, go to Ninevah

It’s a pattern.

So, if you’re praying tonight and you’re asking God whether or not you should buy a Mercedes, or help in choosing your next outfit to buy, or what you should do with your life don’t be surprised if God says:

"Nope, not a Mercedes. You’ve got too much already. Buy a junker. Take the money you’d save each month and give it to the poor."

"No new outfit. You can’t wear everything you’ve got as it is. No, the reason I’ve got you hear at Nordstroms is because of this salesperson. She’s hurting. Needs a friend. She’s broke. You’re here because I want you to go to her, love her up, tell her about me."

"What you’re doing is fine. But I’ve created you for something more. Make a choice. Do you want your way or my best?"

These aren’t the answers we want. What we want God to say is "shop till you drop, live extravagantly even at the expense of ignoring people I put in your path. And of course, …do your will not mine."

I think Jonah wanted God to say. “I’ll let you go. I’ll find someone else. Spain is lovely this time of year. You deserve a break today.”

God loves us too much to tell us stuff that won’t make us more like Him and advance His purposes on this planet of ours. Our problem is that we’ll pretend not to hear and just go ahead and do what we want. That’s hiding. And God will find us, doing whatever is necessary to get our attention.

Slowly, but surely, I’m learning that it’s better to listen sooner rather than later. The truth of the matter is that God is good. Whatever He asks is His best for me you that moment. Why hide from that?

Dad's Day Musings

Comedian Ken Davis, I believe, is the one who told this story.

One day, while holding my baby daughter in my arms, I made the biggest mistake of my life. I closed my eyes. When I opened them, I was in a dorm at a college helping her to arrange her room. And then, kissing her good-bye, I got in the car and left wondering how all this could have happened so quickly.

On Dad’s Day one remembers stories such as these. They remind us of the quickness of life. One day we’re placing kids in car seats, the next day they are in the drivers seat, and in a heartbeat those children hold their own son or daughter in their arms and we pray they don’t blink. The cycle continues, moving at what seems to be the speed of light. .

Introspective sorts of people think about such things. In the thinking and remembering they wonder about how they did as the parent to the children entrusted to them. Different people use different measurements.

Some might ask.

Are my children successful?
Where do they live?
Can they afford to give their children everything they’ve been given?
Can I brag about them?
Are they well educated?

I prefer these.

Do they love God?
Do they give back?
Are they making a difference?
Will they leave a footprint?
Will they sacrifice for the common good?
Will they care about those who lack essential resources?
Will they teach their children well?
Are their passions and abilities being used to meet some important need in our world?
How generous are they?
Will they choose to live where they can make an impact?
Will they have a deep desire to continue to learn and to grow?
Will they confront evil?

Different questions for different people.

If Jesus is to be believed the first set of questions don’t matter much. The second set are far more important. They point to the priorities of the kingdom, not the world.

I love my kids. Looking back, I did some good things. I also did some not so good things. Of course, I’m not done being their dad yet. In little ways I can still influence their lives. Daily I can pray for them. I also trust that God loves each of them far more than I can ever imagine. He will also be nudging, encouraging, and even disciplining their lives.

My kids grew up too fast. I blinked.

Now, as adults, their lives are filled with choices. They will stand at numerous crossroads during their lifetime. The decisions they make at those times will be important ones.

This world will woo them with promises of instant gratification, the adulation of peers and the gratitude of the marketplace. The kingdom of God beckons them to a life of adventure, a long obedience in the same direction and a chance to leave a legacy of faith, of caring, and of deep impact.

May God give my children and yours the wisdom to grab hold of what will last forever,

Always Questions

One of my favorite stories in Scripture is out of the Book of Mark. Chapter 2. It’s the story of friends who bring a paralyzed man to Jesus. The last time I spoke on that passage some questions came to my mind. How would you answer them?

Do I expect that God is going to move in incredible ways right here, right now? Here’s the truth. I go to church week in and week out fully expecting not much to happen. I talk a good game but when push comes to shove do I really expect God to do something quite remarkable right here right now. Seriously. Do I believe that my God can break out and do something in someone’s life …maybe yours …now, today? My big fear is that I’ve become a spectator at a religious game.

If I really believe God can still move powerfully ...well then, who’s mat am I carrying? Who am I praying for so intently that I’m begging God to do something in that person’s life? And am I willing to be inconvenienced, to push through the crowd, and to climb onto a roof because my love for someone else and for God is so strong I can’t do anything else?

Do people matter to me? Really matter. And do I pay attention to those who interrupt my day and disrupt my patterns?

Am I willing to give up my membership in the religious referees club? Would I be willing to give up my right to declare a penalty when God acts in a way that breaks the mold I’ve created for him or when you break out of the culturally Christian mold of what a person of faith should look like?

Would I be willing to climb onto the mat myself when I’m hurting and allow your faith to carry me? Am I willing to all your prayers to become mine when I can’t find the strength to utter them myself?

And do I really believe that God can heal me inside and out? I’ve often wondered what the paralyzed man would have said …when someone asked him about ‘what happened’ back there. What would he have said about the ‘sin’ thing? Did it feel like Jesus took a backhoe to his insides and cleaned him, put him back on his feet and made him like new? And if he had a choice would he choose that inside healing over the more obvious physical healing? Is that what I really want?

And my answers.

I want God to be bigger than the box I’ve put him in.

I want every gathering of believers be a place where we walk away and go ‘whoa, this is a dangerous place.’ There's a sense that God's on the prowl, always to be trusted but never safe.

And I want my faith to be big enough that someone could hitchhike off it if they need to.

And I want to be the kind of person that’s always looking and praying for people to bring to Jesus.

Just as all people matter to God I want all people to matter to me.

I want Jesus to clean up the junk in my life because all the garbage doesn’t serve me well.

And I don’t want any part of the religious referee’s club. Because I don’t want to be so religious that I’m not real.

How about you?