Paying Attention

Just received an update from Kevin and Helen, missionary friends from New Zealand.  They oversee a number of projects for Bright Hope World in Asia and Africa.  You can follow their exploits at http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?go=bigkevandnell&aff_id=15

I’m always struck by their observations of people and the lands they travel.  Having spent a week with them in the bush of Uganda I know of their commitment to the poorest of the poor.  They live out the gospel in incredible ways looking for ways to encourage local Christians and to seed worthwhile projects that will help provide a healthy economic framework for familes and entire neighborhoods/villages.  They have a very wholistic way of looking at Scriptrue.

I’m struck, at times, with how stuck we are in our approach to God’s word.  We read it, at times, in such a pietistic way that we miss out on the social dimensions of God’s intent. Others, of course, do quite the opposite, missing out on ‘being’ in that personal relationship with a God who loves them like crazy.

Tomorrow I start teaching a class at our church called “Justice and the Everyday Christian”.  My original title was “Glenn Beck is Wrong” but was considered a bit too inflammatory. Although with just three people currently registered I think the first title might have packed the room.

What does doing justice really mean in an ordinary life?  That’s the question isn’t it.  Certainly it means being ‘just’ in the way we live, where we currently are.  Surely we are intended to bloom where we’re planted.  But leading a life of justice also requires asking tougher questions.  Perhaps we’re planted in the wrong place and our gifts and talents can be used elsewhere.  Self-satisfaction can keep us from having our heart break over the same things that break the heart of God.

We’re getting better at seeing the world I think.  We make modest attempts to ‘fair trade’ our purchases and to give more generously.  Some trek like I did to Africa  to see first hand what God is doing in those place.  Others regularly invest in inner city neighborhoods partnering with ministries who work with people on the edges of the American dream. More than a few are using power and influence to help dismantle or at least challenge ongoing systemic injustices. This is all good. I think I’m part of this crowd. I’m aware, active, and growing in my understanding. And unfortunately I want to pat myself on the back for that.

There’s another part of me, however, that is almost afraid to ask God ‘what more is required of me’. I like making modest attempts at things.  Could God be asking me or you for greater sacrifice and/or investment?  That’s a huge question isn’t it?  It’s not for the faint hearted.

Throughout Scripture God asks people to do difficult things.  He asks for bold devotion and almost heroic contribution.  He demands heart commitment and extra mile compassion. God asks for more than a sinners prayer.  He asks for a life well lived.  When we live well we pay attention.

Maybe that’s it.  Maybe the ongoing habit  for anyone who wants to live wholistically  in today’s world as a follower of Christ is to keep on paying attention.  And to pay attention not just to what’s convenient and self-serving but also to those things that are inconvenient, requiring selflessness.  Maybe that’s at the heart of being a Christ follower.

My friends Helen and Kevin pay attention.  God sends them on adventures, often heart breaking ones in some of the ugliest places in the world to meet some of God’s most precious people. .  I know people who are extraordinarily kind.  Because they pay attention God blesses them by putting people in their path who need tender kindnesses lavished on them. 

And I know people who don’t pay attention and they try to find meaning in the clothes racks at Nordstroms or in caffeine rush of Starbucks.  That’s not where the heart of God resides no matter how hard we try to convince ourselves of that. 

Tomorrow I will teach on ‘justice and the everyday Christian’.  I’m thankful for the people who will show up.  I’m betting they are listening to the stirring of God in their heart.  Why else would they want to explore such a topic?  And I will tell them that the #1 rule for people who want to live justly is that they must ‘pay attention’.  And when they do they must listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. They can’t be surprised if the Holy Spirit asks ‘even more of them’. And then they must step into the adventure of faith in a bold new way.

Vote

Tuesday is coming.  Election day.  Are you going to vote? My guess is that a whole lot of people will ride this mid-term election out. Too bad. Kind of un-American really.

I’m voting this time  because it’s my obligation as a citizen to do so.  That’s not very compelling, I know, but it’s as real as I can get.  I’m trying to figure out who to vote for.  In all honesty, I’m not inspired by my choices.  In some races it’s a little bit like voting for the political version of the movie ‘Dumb and Dumber’. I could vote for ‘none of the above’ those instances but that little noise of resistance won’t even be heard.  In this election I have to make the most educated choice I can because my heart isn’t beating hard for anyone. But vote I must.  People have died for the right to vote.  Many around the world still don’t have an opportunity to vote in a fair and free election. By showing up and casting a ballot I’m saying that democracy still means something to me.  Not voting isn’t an option for me.  It shouldn’t be for you.

In all honesty we have a lot of ‘not so good’ candidates these days.  Politics is not for the faint hearted.  And so many good people who are excellent leaders are refusing to play the political game.  Even if one does step forward can they count on other good people to go to the polls and cast a ballot?  There are good candidates however. There really are. Finding them isn’t always easy but it’s important for us to look and to look beyond our normal patterns and habits. It means that we take the time to inform ourselves.  That’s more work than the grumbling we usually do.  It’s necessary work though.

This should be an interesting election.  The Democrats will lose ground if historical trends continue. The Republicans will gain some. And the rebel factions in this election are making the political scene a bit dicey this time around. 

I've been watching the ‘Tea Party’ with some fascination.  I don’t love all the rhetoric and tactics I’ve seen.  I do enjoy the fact that the political establishment is sitting straighter and taking notice.  The ‘Tea Party’ movement might be the needed corrective for a system that’s gotten too fat and sassy for its own good. Will it have long life as a movement?  Hard to tell.  If it’s successful it runs the risk of becoming what it despises.  In the meantime, it might be the stimulus for needed reform.

 A lot of you who read this are people of faith.  Many of you have a ‘litmus test’ that candidates must pass.  I have my own litmus test.  I’m looking for the candidates who will fight for a more just society regardless of political affiliation.  Are they willing to look at points of view different than their own?  Can they change their mind?  Do they care about the marginalized?  Do they care about the very things that break the heart of God?  Are they a man or woman of integrity? I don’t expect every candidate I vote for to be 100% in lock step agreement with my political and religious point of view.  I’m looking at character.  If someone is willing to listen and isn’t afraid to change their mind then that person has a leg up on someone who’s rigid in thought and practice even if we’re closer to agreement on key issues.

Bottom line.  Vote. That’s what good citizens do. Encourage others to vote.  And continue to pray for the leaders of our country even those you don’t like.  Leadership is tough these days.  The issues are many.  Solutions aren’t necessarily easy to come by.  God’s help is needed.

Preacher Remorse Day

I know stuff.  Some of it is useful. Lots of it isn’t.  At times, the stuff I know has been helpful to people.  Other times not so much.  There’s lots of stuff I don’t know.  For instance, I don’t know much about quantum physics.  Actually, I know nothing about it.  Women confuse me.  Anita, however, continues to be a good guide.  I know stuff about God.  Probably more than the average person but if truth be known …there’s a whole lot about God that I know I don’t get.  However, by profession and calling, I have the privilege of telling people what I do know and confessing my ignorance about what I don’t.  That’s always humbling.

At our church we’re preaching through a series called ‘God is…’.  You know the drill.  God is love.  God is sufficient.  God is good.  God is holy.  I played a fun, little ditty by the Michael Gungor band yesterday  about what God isn’t.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WybvhRu9KU   According to the band God isn’t easily boxed in.  That’s much to the chagrin I’m sure of people who have the habit of doing such things.  I guess it makes life easier to ‘box’ away.  It’s just hard to remember where you’ve put everything after awhile.  Trying to remember that God loves us all …lesbians, terrorists, conservative, liberals, Protestants,  Catholics, Mormans, Jews, Muslims, and even the guy who didn’t stop at a stop sign and almost hit me yesterday isn’t everyone’s favorite pastime.  We like to play games with winners and losers.  God’s love seems to favor ‘losers’ and it doesn’t make sense.

So, yesterday I stood up and stated that God is love.  I believe it and don’t have to convince myself of it.  But as I stood up yesterday I realized that I didn’t have the words in my heart to adequately express what I know to be true.  So, I danced around it a little bit and far too quickly moved to life application issues.  “How then do we show God’s love to others?” Today, I’m a little ticked at myself for doing that.  I should have stayed with the main course for awhile longer.  And there’s the dilemma for me.  I’m going to be really honest here.  Maybe I don’t know enough about God’s love to speak with any authority about it.  Again, I believe God is love and I’ve certainly experienced it and seen it in action but yesterday I felt like I couldn’t put words to it.  And in all honesty, I worry that the little bit I said yesterday was all I know.  That bothers me.  Don’t get me wrong.  I think it was OK stuff but today (preacher remorse day) I’m bothered about not being able to dive deeper, at times, into important subject matter.

Part of the problem for me is that I know myself pretty well. As a result of upbringing, personal experience, failure, and sin ‘love’ is something I know exists but have a hard time accepting.  Like many, I don’t think I’m very loveable.  My wife tries to convince me otherwise and I have many friends but there is something inside me that resists ‘love’.  Intellectually, I get it. Emotionally, I put up walls.  That keeps love from getting in and being released.  And at times I wonder how a good God could love me. 

Despite my bewilderment I know God does love me.  I believe the truth of the biblical text.  I have experienced his love on numerous occasions.  In my marriage I feel secure in Anita’s love.  But those darn walls.  Sometimes I think they are everywhere.  Most certainly, at times, they get between my head and my heart. 

I’m reminded of a story about Karl Barth I believe. Someone asked this brilliant man what he knew about God.  He thought for a moment and then began to sing:

Jesus loves me this I know

For the Bible tells me so.

That’s what I cling to oftentimes when everything else is a bit murky. Jesus invited me into His heart a long time ago.  I said ‘yes’.  Sometimes all I can muster is the objective truth of the written word.

I felt compelled to write this morning.  To work this all out.  Like a written confessional.  It’s good for my soul.  A sign of God’s love I think.  A bit of angst goes with being an introvert.  My hidden ‘extrovert’ needs to think out loud.

By the way, I think the sermon went just fine. At least it is lingering with me.  That’s always  a good thing.  Sometimes the message I think is intended for others is really meant for myself.

Blessings.

Election Day Coming

Watching the TV ads I’ve learned that one candidate is damned because he’s earned money in his lifetime (how dare he), another is a liar, a third is unprincipled, another didn’t anticipate the economic collapse, another is incapable because he’s a friend of Obama, and another because he supported Bush.

Like little children in a playground shouting match grown-up people are saying just about anything that comes into their head these days.  It doesn’t have to be thoughtful or principled but it has to be well executed and hard hitting.

The problem is that whatever they’re slinging is starting to pile up and the smell throughout America is nauseating. 

I’d love to see an ad that has a candidate looking into the camera saying something like this.

 “I’m running for ______________________.  I have an opponent.  He/she is a good person.  The truth is that he/she will probably do a good job if elected.  The reality is that we’re basically on the same page on a whole lot of issues but not all.  We have different perspectives specifically on education, health care, and immigration. Most everything else we’re on the same page.  On some of the big issues neither of us has the one right answer. We have opinions and convictions but both our positions probably need to be adjusted. There’s a lot we don’t understand.  Adjustments come by listening.  That’s what I promise to do.  If you vote for me I’ll listen.  I’ll listen to you and I’ll listen to others in the legislative body. I’ll listen to the experts in the field and to those who will be impacted by our policies.  As I listen I might change my mind on some things.  When I do I’ll tell you about it.  I want you to know that I’ll value each and every vote I cast.  Without sacrificing my family or my health I’ll work hard.  Wherever I can I’ll try to build a bridge to the other party and give credit where credit is due.  I’ll be cautious about spending your tax money but I will have to vote to spend it. That’s one promise I can make.   Some of you won’t like my votes.  Tell me why.  And I’ll tell you why I felt compelled to vote the way I did.  Even if you don’t like my reasoning you'll know exactly where I stand.

So, I want your vote.  Look carefully at my position papers and those of my opponent.  If you think he/she is the best candidate vote that way.  But don’t just vote for me and against him/her because of your habit of always voting for either a Democrat or Republican.  That doesn’t work very well anymore.  Vote for the person you have the deepest conviction about.  As I said, my opponent is a good person.  I’m proud to be in the political arena with someone of his/her character. 

See you on election day."

Would love to see something like that.  Honesty and authenticity instead of half-truth and innuendo.   OK, I know, I know …I’m an idealist.  In a perfect world principled people with good ideas and great character run campaigns that inspire and inform.  The trouble is that we live in an imperfect world and our political arenas are not always populated by smart people guided by heartfelt principles. And so mud slinging and truth twisting because an accepted norm.  And that troubles me.  For when it becomes an acceptable campaign tactic it sends a message to one and all that we’re settling and giving a thumbs up to sleaze.  Ugh.

I’m realizing more and more that somehow, someway those of us who care have to speak up and ask for ‘better’ from politicians.  The free swinging anger of the ‘new’ right wing and the patronizing, sardonic attitude of the left are all part of the same problem.  We don’t know how to ‘say what we mean’ in ways that are both clear and civilized. And that scares me.  We know how to mock, shout, grimace, tell lies, manipulate facts, and create a firestorm of public opinion.  I’m thinking that civilized folks can do better than that. 

Me and Mandela

I just finished reading Nelson Mandela’s autobiography.  It called ‘Long Walk to Freedom”.  I’m late to the table on this read.  It was published in 1995.  It was profoundly thought provoking.

Mandela was on a mission.  He once said: “During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to the struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”  To be willing to die for that which you live is a riveting testament to a life well lived.

Mandela spent ten thousand days in prison. He was a political prisoner. ‘Free Mandela’ became a rallying cry as Black South Africans struggled to overthrow the oppressiveness of apartheid.  Awarded the Nobel Peace Price Mandela eventually became the leader of South Africa and a spokesperson for the marginalized and oppressed world wide.

Ten thousand days in prison.  That’s a fair amount of years, closing in on three decades.  With a compromise here, an accommodation there, a wink and a nod at the right times Mandela could have become a free man at just about any time during his incarceration.  Yet he chose not to nod, wink, accommodate or compromise.  The price of doing so was too great.

Mandela was fighting a ‘system’ that was unjust.  Until that system changed and was in fact eradicated there could be no accommodation in his eyes.  The only option was to stay the course and allow his imprisonment and the imprisonment of other like minded men and women to speak loudly about the tyranny of the ‘white’ South African regime.

Imprisonment became a source of power and influence.  It reminds me of the upside down kingdom strategies of Jesus.

We live today in world where there are unjust systems.  How many times have I adjusted to and accommodated those unjust systems?  How many times have I chosen to remain silent instead of using my position of influence to speak against injustice? How many times have I chosen to remain blind to the marginalization of people within a short driving distance of my home?

John F. Kennedy once wrote a book called ‘Portraits of Courage’.  I didn’t make it in.  And the truth of the matter is that my accommodations and indifference are not the acts of a courageous person.  They are the acts of someone who is indifferent.

I want to be courageous.  Not indifferent.  But all too often I cower in my corner of the universe failing to challenge ideas and systems.  And yet I’m not comfortable with my indifference.  It smacks of the ‘apathy’ I truly appall but have adapted to.  I want to be a difference maker.

To be a Christian means that I can’t wink and nod at those things that are wrong in today’s world.  Yet, some would persuade me that hiding in a little religious corner and doing exactly that is the ‘way of God’.  Maybe.  But what God.  Certainly not the ‘God in the flesh’ I’m committed to following.

A self serving  faith gives me permission to sit still, stay complacent, and find some Kumbaya friends to make nice with.  I have a hunch that complacency, sitting still, and holy huddles weren’t what Jesus was talking about.  How many of us have settled for a faith that has very little to do with what Jesus was all about?

Tonight, I’m asking myself “Am I fighting for those things that are worth dying for?”  And if I’m fighting for something noble can I win the battle if I’m willing to wink and nod my way to make easy, thoughtless accommodations?  Something worth pondering.

Good God?

Last week my favorite college football team (The Johnnies from St. John’s in Collegeville, MN) lost to their arch rival St. Thomas in overtime. It was in front of a record crowd for Division III football (16,421). The loss probably knocked them out of the playoffs.

Sometime during the game I remember asking God for a victory. And when they didn’t get it ….I wondered about the goodness of God. Why would he give victory to the Tommies when we all know my alma mater probably is filled with more righteous people than our big city opponents?

OK. Maybe I didn’t wonder about the goodness of God when victory was snatched away from us. I was disappointed. And I bet there were some rabid fans who looked to the heavens, shook their fist, and wondered ‘why’.

I know that happened. Because that’s what we do. We wonder much about the wisdom, the integrity, and the goodness of God.

One of God's faithful missionaries, Allen Gardiner, experienced many physical difficulties and hardships throughout his service to Jesus. Despite his troubles, he said, "While God gives me strength, failure will not daunt me." In 1851, at the age of 57, he died of disease and starvation while serving on Picton Island at the southern tip of South America. When his body was found, his diary lay nearby. It bore the record of hunger, thirst, wounds, and loneliness. The last entry in his little book showed the struggle of his shaking hand as he tried to write legibly. It read, "I am overwhelmed with a sense of the goodness of God." (from sermonillustrations.com)

“I am overwhelmed with a sense of the goodness of God.” Whew. That’s a mouthful. Considering his circumstances that’s a big mouthful.

Is God good? We ask the question all the time. I wondered about it when St. John’s missed the extra point. 9/11 got us thinking about it. So did Katrina.

We hear it phrased in this way “If God is good why …”

If God is good ….?

I know a fair amount of people whose faith is weak, easily shaken. Their faith is strong on picnic days when the sun is out and the breeze is gentle. Their faith weakens when their plans are thwarted. when the promise of a good day morphs into heavy rains and high winds. And the praise of a good God becomes a whiny complaint. We wonder aloud and mutter “what good is God? Why is there rain on my parade? “

So Is he? Is God good? And the truth is many people aren’t sure that He is. And so they play the blame game, accusing God of being not good, malicious in intent, a manipulative force in our lives bent on blocking our goals and ruining our fun. Helpless, God seems, in the face of racisim, poverty, illness, despotic political systems, rising taxes, and the plaintive pleas of football fans.

If God is not good then the world we live in becomes a paralyzing, terrifying place filled with dread of unfair treatment and capricious divine judgment. It is a world lacking hope.

I believe in a good God. I see that goodness permeating the Scriptures and I’m reminded of God’s goodness everyday through the lives of good people, living out their faith in both simple and heroic ways.

And today I want to state unequivocably …God is good. He is always good.

When we look through the Scriptures we get a lot of mixed messages, at first blush, about God. The God of the Old Testament appears to have a habit of smiting, drowning, challenging, inconveniencing and attacking people. I’ve had people say that the Old Testament God has ‘ issues’ and that thankfully he took advantage of some ‘anger management’ seminars. Thus, the New Testament is a little easier read.

But the truth of the matter is that throughout the Scripture we see a good God in search of his wayward children. He deals with those children in historical and culturally appropriate ways. He speaks their language. People in a primitive culture understood the power of nature, the uncertainty of day by day living, and the power struggles that resulted in invasions and occupations by enemies. It is, in and through, their cultural understandings that God tends to get His people’s attention.

Francis Chan says that "The whole message of the Bible is not about this God in Heaven who wants to take from you. It's about this God who wants to give to you. And if you miss out on that, you're gonna miss the whole point of your life.”

It doesn’t take long to see the goodness of God in virtually every part of Scripture. He walks alongside, he cajoles, he gives second and third and fourth chances, he sends messengers and signs. He writes his signature on the canvas of creation.

Is God good? Scripture screams of his goodness page after page after page. And that’s why when we come to the end of our rope, when we’ve exhausted our own resources …we seek comfort in the goodness of God as revealed in the word of God.

Is God good?

Look no further than the closest example of the people of God at work. A hundred of my churchmates are running for World Vision in the Chicago Marathon this weekend. They’ve raised in excess of $60,000 to be used in a village in Africa. The goodness of God is flowing through this effort. And these good people are a force for good.

Phil Yancey writes that “if someone in Africa is asked what a Christian is they might say "Well, I'm not sure, but there's this hospital van that comes here once a month and has a cross on it and they treat our wounds."

Another might say, "Well, I'm not sure but these folks came and they dug a well for my village and now we have something to drink.”

My friend Lori in Reno is quitting her job that gives her a stable income to dive into the poorest neighborhood in the city. Why? A good God is nudging her to use her gifts in behalf of the most marginalized.

The people of God, filled with the goodness of God, do good things in every nook and cranny of our world. We are the only ‘text of God’ people often see.

Is God good? Yep. Do things happen that make us scratch our head and wonder why? All the time. But I'm learning that what I don't understand isn't going to kill me. Living with a world view that views God as 'not good' might be hazardous to my health.

Questions. Hard questions.

I'm in the second week of facilitating a discussion among a diverse group of wonderful people about the important issues of our day and age. We're going to be tackling at least a few of the following questions tonight. It sets us up for a continued, honest dialog about such things as race, ethnicity, privilege, power, and class.

As you know I believe that unless we figure out ways to really talk together instead of hurling slogans, rumor, innuendo, and hate around ...we're in a deep pool of water with no way out. Hard questions among people desiring to come to some common understandings is one way to bridge the gaps in today's culture. Feel free to use them in your own journaling, in a home group or Sunday School class. If you can bring together young, old, rich, poor, white, black, brown and yellow the discussion will be richer.


The first time I realized there were people different from me in the world was…

What does the current economic recession mean to the rich?

What does the current economic recession mean to the poor?

If you consider yourself a person of privilege how does that impact the way you look at the world?

How does racism manifest itself in today’s world?

Talk about how you think class divisions and racial divisions in our country are impacting people.

Is social justice really part of the gospel message of Jesus?

Can someone truly be a follower of Christ if they don’t care about people who are on the margins of life? Who's on the margins?

What does racial reconciliation mean to you?

When you drive through a ‘city’ neighborhood and see a group of young men on the corner wearing white t-shirts what runs through your mind?

Have you ever felt you’ve been denied opportunity because of your race or ethnic background?

How has a relationship with someone truly different from you impacted your life?

Do you ever get confused as to why people of another ethnic or racial group act the way they do?

When people you know say ‘times are tough’ what do they mean by that?

It’s said that ’10:00 Sunday is the most segregated hour’ of the week. What’s the problem?

When you pass by a gated community what do the gates represent to you?

How has the amount of money you have or the lack of money impacted your life?

Do we live in a society where there is equal opportunity?

Many people who drive into the ‘inner city’ for the first time find themselves feeling apprehensive? Why do you think that is?

Have you ever felt you were being watched or targeted because of your race or ethnicity?

When someone points out that ‘so and so’ lives a life of privilege what do they mean?

When someone points to someone else and says ‘that person feels entitled’ what do you think they mean?

Is life more fair for some than it is for others?

When Jesus talked about the ‘least of these’ what was he talking about?

When you ask the average suburbanite about the ‘inner city’ what are they thinking?

When you ask the average person who lives in the ‘inner city’ about people who live in the suburbs what are they thinking?

If God called you to ‘give away all that you have’ in order to follow Him what would that mean to you?

What does ‘living the good life’ mean to you?

Would living in a diverse neighborhood appeal to you? By diversity we mean diversity of class, age, color, sexual identity, religious faith and educational achievement.

What ‘stereotype’ of you bothers you the most?

Have you ever thought that your race, ethnicity or gender ever got in the way of opportunity?

Do you think you’ve gained opportunity because of your race, gender or ethnicity?

In what ways do the people you know exhibit fear of people who are different from themselves?

What do you think being poor means to someone who is rich?

What do you think rich means to someone who is poor?

In many urban neighborhoods schools are not good, food is hard to get, there are safety concerns, and jobs are hard to come by. What causes such things?

Stirrings

My wife has a great job/ministry. She gets to talk day after day with some of the great thinkers in evangelical Christianity. Those kind of thinkers don’t ignore the contributions of mainline Protestants, Roman Catholics, and the Orthodox. Her truly interesting guests have dived into the treasures provided by pre-reformation scholars and practitioners and are wise enough to know that God has been at work outside the confines of evangelicalism and certainly within that movement in great ways.

One of the great treats for me is to sit down with Anita and listen as she talks about her interactions with those kind of guests on Midday Connection. These are the kind of people I want influencing me.

Last week Anita had a couple with wide and deep ministry influence and experience on her show. My guess is that they are 70ish. They continue to have an influential ministry mentoring many. They are good thinkers. They planted some questions in her mind about where she and us were investing ourselves beyond our personal ministries. We spent some time talking about the questions they posed. The next day, on my commute, I spent some time pondering what I now recognize as the stirring of the Spirit. Three questions are flowing in, through, and around me.

1. Who are the people Anita and I are choosing ‘to do life with’ (as a couple) in an intentional manner?
2. Who are the men I am choosing ‘to do life with’ in such a deep way that I am truly known to them and they are known to me?
3. Who are the next generation of leaders I’m investing in for the sake of the kingdom?

These are questions of community, accountability and transparency, equipping and legacy. And I don’t have great answers to them.

Let me be truthful. I know a lot of people but am so busy that I am close to almost no one. Much of my work with people has a work/ministry focus so I am always bothered about how far I can go or even should go to reveal the deeper things of my life. That’s a struggle for many in ministry. And I struggle, internally, about whether or not I truly have any wisdom and insight to pass on to a new generation. For that line of thinking I am chastised by my wife.

I’m realizing that I have some deep longings.

I long for community but my introverted tendencies draw me inward and busyness traps me. I long for accountability, authenticity, and transparency. And I am realizing that I have fewer years left in my life than I’ve currently lived. So, there is a longing to give away what I have learned and am learning to others.

In some respects that happens in my current life. I am surrounded by such good people both at Christ Church and Breakthrough. And I have opportunity to counsel, mentor and encourage within those settings. I am a blessed man. Certainly, issues of community, legacy, and accountability are addressed to some degree through these ministries. But not totally.

Sometimes, what one yearns for is beyond the ‘work’ environment. Sometimes I just desire to be Mike …without title or job description and the accompanying expectations.

Anita’s interview with that ministry couple was a challenge to think differently at this stage of our life. It was an invitation to think a bit more selfishly about our own wants and needs without neglecting the commitments already established. Perhaps it’s time to look beyond work/ministry environments and obligations and ask ourselves basic, hard questions.

What do we need? Desire/ Want?

That’s hard to answer. Sounds selfish to some extent. But we are at a stage of life where we’re realizing that asking these kind of questions aren’t selfish at all. They are necessary. We’re wondering if we can create something for ourselves that might be a blessing to us and to others. And if God is stirring all this in our hearts is He doing the same thing with others we know?

My guess is that some of you reading this might need to ask the same kind of questions. At this stage of your life …what do you need, want, and desire in order to live into God’s call for you? I’d urge you to consider such questions and to be open to what the Holy Spirit might reveal to you.

I'll keep you posted about our journey.

Is lost the new normal?

Those who know me well know that I’m not a big fan of cultural theology that proclaims that it doesn’t matter who or what you believe in as long as you believe in someone or something. When someone says all you need to get to heaven is a desire to do good, go green, watch Oprah, love Bono and choose a spiritual path …and any path will do… I’m a tad bit underwhelmed.

All through the Scripture we find God deeply concerned about men and women and even entire nations who act independently of His counsel and direction. And from His perspective God thinks people are lost, like sheep without a shepherd, and needing to be found. And we’re lost because of this thing called Sin that is active and alive and wants to keep us hiding from God and living apart from Him. It has ramifications for eternity and on the current quality of our life. Lost is a big deal. Huge.

I know this about lost. It’s not fun being lost. It’s not fun being called lost. And I’ll do just about anything to make sure I don’t get lost …I’ll even ask for directions (hope I don’t get booted out of the man club). If I could have invested in anything during the past few years it would have been a gps company. Even people who never go anyplace have gps. I mean, they never leave their neighborhood and they’re punching in their destination to go to the same restaurant they’ve gone to every week of their life.

GPS is in because people know that being lost is not fun.

When my family moved to the Chicago area 27 years ago they ventured on the L to go do the loop. They missed their stop and ended up deep on the south side of Chicago. A kindly woman approached my family and after inquiring where they were headed shook her head and said ‘you’re way off course’. And explained how they could get back to the loop. She was very kind, for not only did she give directions, she offered to stand at the station with them because she didn’t consider the stop safe.

Lost is not only not fun but it can also be dangerous.

In the 15th chapter of the Book of Luke Jesus has just finished interacting with Zaccheus, a tax collector. And from the perspective of the religious score keepers of the day and age Jesus has once again done wrong. In their eyes, Zaccheus was a sleezy, slimy guy.. He was a pawn of the Romans and an enemy of his own people. And he was a very obvious slime ball because he was dealing with people’s pocketbooks. And if anything gets people’s attention it’s someone who can impact their personal ‘bottom line’. Some things don’t change.

The religious leaders had this quaint notion that ‘faith’ was for those who toed the line, who kept the rules, who at least attempted to create a façade of righteousness. And then Jesus came along and turned those notions upside down. Not only does he talk with Zaccheus but he hangs out with him and in the process Zaccheus makes some dramatic changes in how he ‘does life’. And then Jesus makes this very dramatic announcement “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

To seek and save the lost. What a personal mission statement, huh? I mean that’s very dramatic. So, let me ask you a question. Do you think people you know are lost? And if they’re lost do they even know it? Do they even care? And should we care about lost people? Could you yourself be a little lost?

I was lost at one time. Didn’t even know I needed a Savior but I did. And then after I met Christ I periodically managed to wander away from Him. Every once in awhile, God has had to come find me again because where I was heading wasn’t good. I was even hiding from God and I needed to be reminded that He loved me.

At times I feel a little bit like Charlie Brown in one of his encounters with Lucy. Lucy comes up to Charlie Brown and does something that is very unusual for her. She says, “I love you.” But Charlie Brown keeps responding by saying, “No, you don’t.” And each time Lucy answers a little louder, “Yes I do, I really love you.”But Charlie Brown has been rejected so many times he keeps saying, “It can’t be true.” So in the last square, Lucy has reached the limit of her patience and she screams out in a loud voice, “Hey stupid, I love you!”

That’s a message God sends me often. And I’m thankful.

Being lost means that you have a problem. You’re not where you’re supposed to be. If it really doesn’t matter where you are and all paths are the right path …why would Jesus care about Zaccheus? Or me? Or you? Because he loves us. We matter to him. Lost people always matter to God.

If someone’s lost, by the way, that doesn’t mean that that person doesn’t contribute to the common good, aren’t fun to hang out with, aren’t moral people, aren’t helpful or are not well read or don’t have great insights, and can’t be pillars of the community. That’s not what it means. It just means that when you’re lost you’re not at ‘home’ with Jesus. You’re living far from God and not being the disciple He wants you to be.

Lost people include those who don’t know they are lost but really are. It includes those who know they are lost but are having such a good time where they are that they don’t want to be found. And it includes those of us were once found but figured out a way to get lost again. Some lost people are notorious sinners and are easy to indentify …bin Laden, Hitler, and Idi Amin come to mind. Others are the kindly school principal, the helpful policeman, and the good Samaritan who helped us when we locked our keys in the car. It doesn’t matter what title they hold or what kindness they do lost is a spiritual condition that manifests itself in a variety of ways. But basically it boils down to living life with God being a stranger. And even really nice people do that. And it’s a problem. For our purpose is to be known by God and to know Him and then to live in a way that says we belong to Him.

Jesus talks about ‘lostness’ in another part of the gospel of Luke. It’s in Luke 19 where Jesus talks about three lost objects – the sheep, the coin, and the son. All represent people who are spiritually lost. According to pastor Tim Keller …”They are lost, yet they are lost in quite different ways. The sheep is lost through foolishness, the coin through thoughtlessness, and the son through willfulness.” It’s a very nuanced look at the problem of sin in a person’s life and how it contributes to getting us lost.

Jesus tells us stories like this to help us understand that lost is both an innate part of the human condition but it’s also due to foolishness, sometimes thoughtlessness, often it’s a willful embrace of another path and sometimes it’s a combination of all three. The end result is that we end up where God didn’t intend for us to be.

Ever feel lost? What takes you off the path? Is it your foolishness, your thoughtlessness, your habit of being inattentive, or are you a stubborn, strong willed person who makes very conscious choices to do your own thing at the expense of experiencing God’s best?

Last week I sat down to talk with a young man I had just met. We met at a conference. He opened up to me and said that he wasn’t doing well spiritually. His disobedience to God was putting him on a perilous path. I mentioned to him that it sounded like he was lost. He said, “Yah man, that’s it. I’m feeling lost.” And he said it with great sadness. I’d love to say that our conversation fixed his life but it didn’t. I don’t know exactly what the disobedience was all about but I’ve got a sense that it was sexual sin. He said, “I’ve got to stand tall. Quit buckling.” And then we were interrupted by the conference and I didn’t see him again. But I couldn’t get over the sadness I saw in his eyes. It’s haunting me even today.
What will it take for him to confess to his foolishness and admit to his stubbornness? Will he be open to being found or will he live in a land called ‘lost’ where his profound sadness will become his new normal?

‘Lost’ is not a good place to be. No matter how we gussy it up and try to make it pretty Jesus is making it very clear that when someone is lost, far from Him, then there is a problem. Heaven wants the lost to be found.

Shelter

Many moons I took a group of adolescent guys on a winter camping trip. We picked a weekend in late January and met in the hinterlands of northern, MN. Our intent was to camp out in tents all weekend. We hadn’t counted on the weather being as brutal as it turned out to be. When we started our hike to the camp site the temperature was 30 degrees below zero. The temperature for the weekend would not get above 10 below zero. As we neared the place where we were going to put up our tents we realized that we really needed better, more secure shelter. Only a few of us were adequately prepared for the brutal, brutal cold. If we didn’t find adequate shelter we could be in some serious trouble. Luckily, we found a nearby cabin …part of a Boys Club camp …nothing more than an uninsulated cabin for children. But as we peered through the windows we saw that it had a small stove. We broke the lock to get in and made the security of that small cabin, our shelter, our refuge from the frigid cold for two days. At any other time it would not have been my first choice. That weekend …it felt like the Hilton. By the way, we made things right with the owners of that cabin.

A few weeks ago I was coming back to the burbs from the city. I was in Hillside when some huge winds and rain came rumbling in. I pulled into a Walgreen’s. Seeking shelter. I wasn’t the only one. There were others who knew that was happening out there was bigger than their capacity to handle it.

We know about shelter. Any port in a storm sailors are known to say. But not all ports are good for the long haul, not all shelters are adequate for extended periods of time and not all shelters can stand up against deep cold and high winds. No, not any port will do. We know that. For many of us have pulled into ports that we thought were safe and secure but instead proved to be unsteady and filled with peril.

In the 73rd the writer shares his frustration and anger.. He’s been looking around and wondering why people who indulge themselves seem to be happy and those who obey the rules are getting the short end of the stick. I’m sure we can all relate can’t we?

And then the psalmist goes into the sanctuary of the Lord and exits a different person. Contrite. He confesses to a bitter heart. And out of that confession comes a clear resolve..

Then I realized that my heart was bitter,
and I was all torn up inside.

I was so foolish and ignorant—I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.

Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.

Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth.

My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.

Those who desert him will perish, for you destroy those who abandon you.

But as for me, how good it is to be near God!I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.

So, the big question today is this. Do we live in the shelter of God? And especially, when life gets tough, when we’re surprised by circumstance, when we’re humbled by uncertainty, when we’re beaten down and scrambling, and when life seems unfair … is our first instinct to find shelter in God, to be near to Him or is the shelter of God only an abstract concept? Do we seek to be near to God or do we distance ourselves from Him when the road gets tough? Is the shelter of God our normal resting place?’

A few weeks ago I was at Breakthrough Urban Ministries where I hang out a couple of days a week. Arloa Sutter, the Founder and Executive Director, had bad news for the staff. She said that the recession had finally caught up with us. We’re at the edge of our resources. For the second year in a row she announced there would be no raises. In addition, a couple people would lose their jobs. No longer would the organization be able to afford matching payments in the 401 c plan. Hard news for many people already on the edge of a financial precipice.

When she was done talking. Someone asked if we could pray. And we did. And I wondered what kind of prayers would be prayed? What I heard amazed me. The prayers were prayers of great thanksgiving. Of praise. Thanking God for where He’s worked in the past, how He has met people at point of need, and how he is already at work in the midst of this bad news. One man begin to cry and repeatedly said "Thank you Lord, Thank you Lord. You are so good to us. You are so good."

In the break that followed. Arloa said, What just happened? I said “You just kicked people in the teeth and now they are thanking God for it.”

And I thought. How could this be? So I’ve been thinking about it. I’ve come to these conclusions. My friends were jumping into the arms and shelter of a God they knew. Intimately. They prayed Scripture. Which they knew. Intimately. They were in the habit of taking in the word of God. They were able to shout, “You know what you’re doing God. We’re trusting you.” Because they’ve trusted before. It’s easy to pray, “I’m in your arms Jesus” when you’ve been in the Savior’s arms before. Their identity was secure in the refuge of a God who knew them and they knew Him. Their memory was sharp about the ways God had met them at their point of need previously. They believe that even though everything is going crazy all around you …that when you are in the arms of God nothing can harm you. Nothing.

That’s why apostle Paul could say in Corinthians 2. We will be afflicted, perplexed, struck down and even persecuted in this life but affliction doesn’t have to crush us, being perplexed doesn’t have to lead to despair, being persecuted and struck down doesn’t mean that we’re forsaken or destroyed. Paul believed, deep in his being, that there is safety in the shelter of the kingdom of God. What about you?

Conversation

Last night Anita and I went to a small dinner party. There were four couples. It was a good night. Tasty food. Laughter. Some really good conversation.

I want to talk a bit about that really good conversation piece of the evening. Of late I’ve been lamenting the lost art of conversation. Last night I found it again. Here’s what happened. People kidded each other. Questions were asked. Tough subjects were covered (the mosque, the essence of democracy,terrorism, how to find meaning in life, children, faith, etc.). Smart and kind people were discussing some dicey issues and if truth be known not everyone agreed on everything. But there was no scurrying for cover, no fear of thinking out loud (at least I think not) and no need to convert someone else to a particular point of view. There was a nice exchange of ideas. It felt good. It was free and easy.

I've been at other gatherings where the food was tasty and people were happy. But it wasn't free and easy. No way was I going to talk about the mosque, faith, the care and feeding of children or the meaning of democracy. Why? Because it wasn’t safe. There was an unspoken party line that everyone was adhering to. Conversation was stilted, polite, but frankly boring. Everyone was on their best behavior so there were no contrary opinions or even gentle probing of issues and ideas. For sure, there was no invigorating give and take. Most people kept relatively quiet, smiled nicely, talked about the Cubs and the Bears and when it was all said and done were probably thankful that they had walked through a minefield and walked away relatively intact.

Over the past couple of years I’ve learned, that for the most part, most people don’t want good conversation and the thrill of the engagement. We have entrenched positions and are not eager to hear what others have to think. It’s a sign of the times. Additionally, I think most people have forgotten the value of a good question and the probing that’s necessary in order to discover what another really thinks and feels.

Christians stifle conversation all too often. In some faith circles there is a certain ‘group think’ everybody buys into. Whether that ‘group think’ tilts to the right or to the left doesn’t really matter. It pervades the culture of faith and anyone who does want to think ‘out loud’ and take a contrary point of view usually finds out its best to get along and go along. Too bad. We miss out on the variety within the body of Christ. And without hearing the other point of view we never get to that messy 'iron sharpening iron' the Scripture talks about.

I’ve often thought that the most interesting place to have ever been would be around a campfire with Jesus. I bet it was a rich conversation. Good questions. Some interesting give and take. Laughter. Moments of deep silence. I just have a hunch that Jesus loved the probing insight, the practical application question, and even the impetuous comment. It was part of the discipleship process.

So, last night was a good night. No world problems were solved but I felt listened to and taken seriously. I think others did too. How good is that?

Thinking about Elections

If the news last night was accurate indications are that Tea Party’ candidates are catching some wind. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out in November. Those elections and the next Presidential campaign should be interesting.

The GOP can't be happy that the right is getting crowded with splinter groups and the Democrats can’t pretend the deep discontent brewing across the nation is just a right wing skirmish. Maybe that crowding and that discontent will be the beginning of the end of business as usual. I'm not all that hopeful however.

It would be nice if both the GOP and Democrats started to realize that the 'same old-same old' is ticking people off. Playing to the cameras, lack of win-win solutions, brow beating, and name calling are taking its toll on the electorate. Unfortunately, it's giving life to 'haters'. It's scary to think that big mobs of people, all lacking impulse control, want to take back the government. Out of the frying pan into the fire, heh? Unfortunately, the existing political system plays to that hate and in their own ways encourage it.

The President began his term with great hope and optimism. I’ve got to give him ‘props’ for dealing with tough issues and handling a fair amount of heavy abuse. Charisma and perseverence isn’t going to be enough from this time forward, however. The administration has got to figure out a way of building some legislative coalitions to get the job done. Of course, that’s been the problem from the get go. No one has wanted to build coalitions and so we’re in this tedious position of trying to persuade heavily entrenched ideologues to compromise. Ain’t going to happen.

My guess is that the net impact of the fall’s election will hurt both parties. The Democrats will lose some congressional ground and state houses for sure but the GOP will also find itself playing in a congressional ballfield where some of their 'would be' teammates won't want to play by the existing rules. It could result in a do nothing congress of mammoth proportion. Of course, it could also lead to needed reforms. Those reforms are needed.

Democrats and Republicans alike have forgotten how to work together to the betterment of the country. That's already damaged our country and if the rhetoric doesn’t cool off in the next few years we’re going to be faced with a very divided country that doesn’t know how to ‘reason’ together. That’s what’s most scary to me. When we loose our ability to gain consensus then the lunatic fringes will fill in the gap.

I'm a big believer in America and our innate sense of goodness. We're losing our grip, though, on goodness. We don't know how to reason together anymore and civility is a lost art. We're dealing with very difficult issues and the discussion has been hijacked by too many who are acting only out of their self-interest and lacking the wisdom of history and the desire to look at something beyond their myopic point of view. Thus, we have too much posturing, finger pointing, and shouting instead of reasoned argument by people who seek first to understand.

Institutions, like the church are going to have to step up in major ways. More pulpits will have to have the courage to call their people to civic engagement without the limiting agenda of one or two issues that someone in Christendom has labeled as 'the issues' of the day. Are there enough faith leaders willing to lead beyond narrow parameters? And even if they're willing to lead is there anyone out there who has learned how to follow?

For people of faith I think we lead in the days ahead when we seek first the kingdom of God instead of trusting in the latest and best sound byte or headline.

The next couple of years should be very interesting.

Achy Day

Sick. All through the day yesterday I was starting to get achy. Last night I was just so tired. Laid down and then the chills hit. Of course, that’s a precursor to high fever. Thankfully, the fever broke after a few hours. Today, I’m recovering. Napping. Taking it easy. Beat. I’m sure I’ll be fine tomorrow but today is one of those ‘blah’ recovery days where energy and desire are both low.

Not too many years ago I would have forged ahead and gutted ‘today’ out. I wouldn’t have adjusted my schedule but instead forced myself to go ‘full steam ahead’. Perhaps age and wisdom have truly wedded together somewhere deep inside me. If so, it’s certainly taken long enough.

It’s funny though. I have so much to do. Seriously, a lot. My to-do list is as long as my arm and both legs. And even though I know I don’t have the energy to really deal with much of anything (except writing my blog of course) I’m feeling discouraged about my lack of productivity. Instead of cutting myself slack, I’m heaping on guilt.

Maybe it’s shades of my Catholic upbringing and evangelical nurturing. “ If nothing else works,” I think I was taught,” start feeling guilty about something. “ Then, if memory serves correctly one is to “beat yourself up for not living up to expecations.”

I’ve been taught well how ‘to do’. I’m learning how ‘to be’.

If life has taught me anything it’s that ‘to do’ never ends and is a very exacting taskmaster. ‘To be’ is an art form that is only taught by the Spirit. “Come to me”, the Scripture says, “and learn the unforced rhythms of grace.”

Sickness is a show stopper and it’s a reality revealer. When I just can’t summon the energy ‘to do’ I’m reminded about how much of my life ‘doing’ has consumed. And in the ‘doing’ I lose touch with just ‘being’.

I’ll get to my ‘to do’ list I’m sure. Hopefully, I won’t disappoint too many people in the process. But in the present moment which is all I’m really guaranteed I need to deal with what is immediately before me and the good God who is here with me. In truth, that’s all any of us can do. We practice the sacrament of the present moment. And then we let tomorrow deal with tomorrow.

Mosque

There’s lots of talk about the mosque near ground zero. Should it be built or not? It sounds like the proposed center has every legal right to be built. The big question is whether it’s wise to break ground.

But bigger questions and issues swirl through my mind.

I get e-mails. I view Facebook postings. Most are from people calling themselves Christian. There’s a disturbing message coming through. It goes like this.

Terrorists caused the destruction of the Twin Towers and huge loss of life.
Those terrorists are Muslim.
All Muslims are terrorists.

Flawed logic. Coming from people of ‘faith’ it’s disconcerting to say the least. And out of this flawed place comes far too much rumor, innuendo, misconception and flat out lies.

I wrote on a Facebook thread recently that if I ever died in a terrorist attack I’d want to be remembered by friends and family with fervent bridge building efforts towards those who killed me. I wouldn’t want my memory to be tarnished by finger pointing, taunting, and exclusion. I certainly wouldn’t want a holy war to erupt. Christ beckons us to travel a more costly path.

Listen, I know there are extremists in the Muslim camp. They are ugly, ugly tools of Satan. We need to be ‘wise as serpents’ in strategizing against the dangers they bring. But we dare not put the label of extremist on all who pray to Allah. And we’re doing that. In the process we are creating an even greater divide.

Throughout history we have labeled certain people groups as ‘them’. Ask the Jews, ask African Americans, the Irish felt it, so did the Italians, certainly Hispanics. ‘Them’ are always portrayed as the enemy of 'us’. And we have paid the price for doing that. We will pay the price for doing that now.

Could it be that a whole lot of folks are just flat out afraid of the world that is changing before their eyes? We now live in a pluralistic culture. What was will never be again. The times have changed. And they are changing rapidly. But our Jesus hasn’t. He says:

Love your enemy.
Forgive.
Go the extra mile.
Don’t be surprised when you encounter evil.
Do good.
Pray for those who persecute you.

I don’t know what the right solution is regarding the ‘mosque’ in New York City. All I know is that there’s a lot of ‘hate’ being wrapped in red, white and blue. Hate isn’t the American way. It’s certainly not the way of Jesus.

If I was a Muslim listening to the rhetoric of recent days I’d be defensive and afraid. I certainly would not be open to embracing the Christian God. And I’d be very wary of even those who say “We don’t mind that a mosque is being built. Just not there.” America has a long history of NIMBY (not in my back yard). And so how close will be too close to ground zero …five blocks, a half mile, a different borough, a different state, or a different country.

I lost a colleague in the terrorist attack on America. Our church staff watched in stunned silence on 9/11. I can’t even imagine what it’s like for families who sat horrified knowing a loved one was dying and they were helpless in doing anything about it on that horrible day. So, I’m not trying to be cavalier about all this and it might be the wisest and most healing thing to not build that particular mosque in that particular place. Frankly, I don’t know. All I know is that a lot of the discussion around the issue is not the most uplifting.

‘Hate’ keeps us in a prison of bitterness. That’s not God’s place. And that’s not where we should land. I’m just thinking that the people of God need to have a different perspective and a different attitude. I’m not seeing that in the e-mail barrage of late. Hate is winning and it’s trying to disguise itself as the ‘cross of Christ’ wrapped in patriotism. Nope. Don’t buy it for a minute.

Saturday Afternoon Rant

I’m not an end-times nut. I have some aversion to the “I’m not predicting the end is coming but I’m packing my bags” type of folks. Some days though I wonder about the end of days. But I don't think I'm supposed to sit on my back deck, eyes to the heaven, waiting for the final trumpet.

It’s going to surprise me, I think, if we don’t end up just killing each other. There seems to be no end of stupid extremism all over the globe. The leadership of North Korea isn’t playing with a full deck, the Taliban are nasty, nasty fellows, and even in our country liberals and conservative don’t want to play anything less than win-lose games that ultimately will make us all the losers. Add to this all the climatic issues erupting all over the globe (anti global warming people take your shot) plus a growing mistrust of institutional power and we’ve got some real issues in our midst.

So, what do we do? We could shrug and say "Well, that's the way it is. Out of my control. Nothing I can do." But I think there is. If I read Scripture with any degree of discernment I still think God's people have a key role to play even in the most depressing of time.

Let me suggest three things.

Don’t give up. Fatalists abound. You see them and hear them all around us. The religious ones often wrap themselves in prophetic literature and just can’t wait for the next bad report on the news. Then they text and post to their little club of end-timers and look to the sky for their rapture and they're appointment with Jesus. They bide their time by listening to people just like themselves, finding support for myopic points of view.

Non-religious fatalists often wrap themselves in their apathy and indifference. "It's all going to hell in a handbasket" you'll hear them say but when asked to make the world a better place they check their smart-phone and mutter "I'm busy." Ugh. What a horrible way to live. They’ve given up.

Here's the deal. The Kingdom of God is here. We are to live into it with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. If we play little theological games that nobody really cares about and/or buys season tickets the 'Wide Wide World of Apathy and Indifference' all kinds of nasty things will happen to the good people God loves. We can and must continue to make a difference.

So, get on the solution side of something you care about. And if you don’t care then pray to our good God for both a pulse and a conscience. There’s plenty of solutions needing to be discovered and constant care that needs to be given Pick an issue ..the environment, orphans, abuse, poverty, slavery, hunger, injustice, education, immigration, etc. etc. Those are big things. Sure, you might be in charge of choosing the paint for the walls of your pre-school and think you’re busy but I’m saying we’ve got to attach ourselves to a bigger vision. We can do the normal things of life with our eyes closed. Of course, we coach our kids team and we support the PTA and we clean up the neighborhood park. And that might be the season of life you're in. If so, do it well and to the glory of God. But for many of us there is a growing sense of outrage about something happening in this big world of ours that is driving us absolutely crazy. I'm saying we need to dive into that deep discontent and then see what God does.

Get radical in your love of God. I think we play around with this thing called faith. At least I do all too often. I want to go deeper. So do you I bet.

We've abdicated 'faith' and let it become the playground of the nut-job, the apathetic, and the institution. That's why so many are walking away. They can't handle the anger or the lack of focus. Let's take it back. Let's quit praying to the God we've created and instead allow the the real God to shape us into what He wants. Too many people piddle around with stuff that doesn’t matter and ignore the radical call of God on their life. God loves us with a radical kind of love. Why wouldn’t we think He wants us locked in and focused on the Kingdom agenda He’s laid out?

Reunion

I went to a family reunion a few weeks past. Lots of driving for four hours of family time. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

There are people in our life who anchor us. There are places we remember that call us back. I needed to find that anchor and those memories again.

The Murphy clan is not an ushy, gushy share your feelings type of people. Like many with Minnesota roots feelings are acknowledged to be part of the human condition but just not shared in public. Our family isn’t particularly nosy so gatherings are relatively safe and tempers only flare up when contesting who’s closer in bocce ball or whether one is safe or out on the softball field.

But they are my people.

We gather together where we’ve always gathered. We go to Hermantown, to Mary’s place. Mary is my aunt. She’s lived in the same house all of her life. She's never wanted to live anyplace else. For me, it evokes a 'sense of place' that is sacred in my memory.

The simple brick home was built in 1937 as part of FDR’s plan to help end the depression. The rules were simple. The head of household needed to be working but the family still needed to qualify as being poor. And the family had to be willing to ‘work’ the ten acres allotted them. So my grandfather and grandmother and their four boys found a home. A few years later my aunt Mary was born. The original 1,000 sq. ft., three bedroom home has seen no expansion. It is what it was for the most part except for some needed interior remodeling.

The family is larger now but only four live in Hermantown. And the rest of us are scattered. We’ve had marriages and divorces, births and deaths, disappointments and intrigue. Mary Murphy is running for her eighteenth consecutive term as a state legislator. My family consists of pipefitters, ski champions, a liquor store owner, ministers (that’s me), teachers, principals, government workers, milk truck drivers, financial planners, a lawyer, business people, a school counselor in training, executive assistants, a social worker, a nurse, bartenders, a realtor, writers, a radio talk show host …and more.

Out of a tiny home in a tiny place in northern Minnesota our family has degrees of varying stripes from St. John’s, St. Benedict, St. Scholastica, American University, Fairfield, St. Louis, Wisconsin, Georgetown, Loyola Chicago, Illinois, Hope, Missouri, National Louis, Bowling Green, UNLV, and Moody. In the next few years we'll have a UMD and Minnesota grad.

Our family is filled with athletes and musicians, readers and wonderers. My aunt would die if she thought we had spawned Republicans (she introduced me to Hubert Humphrey back in the day) although I'm quite sure both red and blue our represented in our midst. We have stay-in-one place types and those who like to wander. Some love God deeply. Others probably not. It's a Catholic family for the most part but some, like me, have chosen other Christian pathways.

It's not about the degree or the job as we all know. It's not about political persuasion or sense of adventure or not. All this is part of the ongoing story of a family on the move. I just find it fascinating to think about the diversity of vocation, avocation, conviction and education. Kind of amazing when one thinks about it. And the good news is that, for the most part,we appear to be pretty solid folk making a positive footprint in today’s world. Not all families can claim that I bet.

So the reunion was good for me. It reminded me of my roots and gave me a greater appreciation for my own journey of faith and life. That always has value.

Sometimes when we think of America we get caught up in the big issues of the day and age. And these are things we need to be paying attention to. Sometimes, though, it behooves us all to just stop long enough to see the bigger picture. It’s helpful to remember and to return to those places and people that have meaning. It helps give perspective. And it reminds us that there is an awful lot that’s good and beautiful in this world of ours. And the Murphy family from Hermantown is one of those good and beautiful things.

Why worry?

I know what worry can do. A couple of years ago I had a heart attack. After clogged arteries and other physical things were ruled out it didn’t take a genius to figure out that stress had been wreaking havoc on my life. I had made some tough ministry calls, made enemies of the wrong people, doubted my judgment in a few areas, and made some relational and leadership missteps. It wore on me. And instead of seeking the kingdom of God where everything was still AOK …I decided to worry. And worry took it’s toll. The doc said “It’s a shot over the bow of your ship.” Don’t ignore it.

And so I had a choice. I could go back to what got me into trouble in the first place …the worry that led to my stress that effected my body or ….seek first the kingdom of God.

There’s a cultural narrative that many of us buy into. It goes like this.

If I keep my nose relatively clean, work hard, go to church, pay my taxes, contribute to charity and involve myself in the community I deserve a good life. In other words if I keep the rules I like to keep then I should get rewarded for keeping them. I bet you buy into it in one way, shape or form.

The problem is that life gets rather discouraging when someone gets a bad medical diagnosis, denied a promotion, or don’t make the A list or A team That’s not the payoff we’re looking for. We feel entitled to a smooth road. And when we don’t get that smooth road we get ticked, angry at times. We point fingers, worry a lot and decide not to trust a God we really don’t know very well.

This is an entitlement narrative that clashes with an even cursory reading of Scripture. The biblical narrative shows us rather conclusively that bad things, do indeed, happen to good people and that God’s ways aren’t our ways. When push comes to shove the ‘entitlement narrative’ can’t help us in both the tough and eternal places of life.

The apostle Paul points to a biblical perspective that can shape our lives in helpful ways. It’s a theology of the kingdom of God. Paul was able to withstand much because He knew who is was and what kingdom was shaping him. And it wasn’t the kingdom of the Roman culture. Nope it was the kingdom of God. He says in Corinthians 2. We will be afflicted, perplexed, struck down and even persecuted in this life but affliction doesn’t have to crush us, being perplexed doesn’t have to lead to despair, being persecuted and struck down doesn’t mean that we’re forsaken or destroyed.

Paul can say this because who he is and where he lives his life isn’t rooted in self-serving personal philosophy.

Paul had his identity as a child of God. He knew Christ dwelt within him and that he was living in the unshakeable kingdom of God where God is good all the time and all the time God is good.

If, like Paul, we can live in the reality of God’s kingdom knowing we are loved and cared for by a good and gracious God then life begins to make sense and many of the things that occupy our thoughts and dreams and cause us stress, strain, and hour after hour after hour after hour of worry begin to get smaller, even go away.

In this world of ours recessions will come and go, illness strikes, grades go bad, promotions are denied. basements flood and people die. These things challenge our deep seated sense of entitlement. Life doesn’t feel safe or secure. It’s easy to become testy, frazzled, stressed and worried.

The more I think, pray, and read none of these things can harm those who live in the kingdom of God for their identity and residence is secure. In God’s kingdom, there is a sense of security even in the midst of the most difficult things. That’s why Paul was able to say. “To live is Christ, to die is gain.” There’s a way of looking at life that is from God’s perspective not our own. It requires us to seek the kingdom of God in all things. If we die, we step into the arms of God and our destiny. If we miss a promotion we can learn how to trust God for something better, perhaps different. If our basement floods we can see it for what it is …an inconvenience and a pain. It's not the end of the world. In all things we seek the kingdom of God. In all things. All things.

How many times have we heard of people living in the kingdom who serve as an inspiration as they faced inevitable tough times? We wonder why they are not angry with God and testy with us. I think it’s because they are linking their story to the bigger narrative. They know who they are and where they are. They are God’s child, with Christ at their center, and they live in the unshakeable kingdom of God.

And that’s why throughout Scripture God says ‘don’t worry about anything’. And it only makes sense if we are rooted and nurtured by the kingdom.

My spiritual director tells me often to live in the present moment, in the presence of God. He tells me that this is the key to the Christian life. Nothing more. Nothing less. He urges me to stop worrying and to start trusting and to live righteously, doing the right things in the right way with the right attitude. Now. He's right. Worry doesn’t add a single hour to my life or to my satisfaction. In fact, it diminishes it.

I’m realizing that I can waste this moment with worry or I can seek God and His kingdom. The truth of the matter is that we have to learn to deal with whatever the present moment gives us. Satan wants us to avoid the sacrament of the present moment. And so worry becomes one of his tools keeping us from entering into whatever the present moment has for us. The present moment is where God beckons us. And He says: ‘Don’t worry. Trust me. I’m good. All the time. All the time I’m good.'

P.S. Read the three books by James Bryan Smith called The Good and Beautiful God, The Good and Beautiful Life and The Good and Beautiful Community. Excellent.

Costly

Years ago I read a book called “The Cost of Discipleship”. It argued against notions of cheap grace. The book was written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor, who was killed by the Nazis at the very end of World War II. Bonhoeffer was safely ensconced in the United States and could have very easily chosen to ‘ride out’ the war but instead chose a much costlier road by deciding to return to Germany. He became part of the conspiracy to kill Hitler. That involvement led to his death by hanging.

Eric Metaxas has written a biography of this pastor, martyr, prophet and spy. It’s simply entitled Bonhoeffer. Read it. Grapple with it. Be challenged by it.

Throughout the book I wondered how I would act and react in the face of great tyranny. If evil has a face it must be that of Hitler and his cronies. Cruel and unmeasured the Third Reich marched headlong into acts of cruelty that when spoken of today still stun our sensibilities. And yet men and women stood up against that evil conspiring to encourage the downtrodden and to bring evil to its knees. So unspeakable were the crimes against humanity that men like Bonhoeffer struggled mightily with how to be a person of faith in the midst of it all. Many realized that it would take the power of God to combat the denizens of hell that draped themselves in Nazi brown.

The essence of Bonhoeffer’s theology could be summed up by two words. Only God. And, thus,those who believed in Jesus were called to follow a path of complete and total surrender to His cause no matter what the cost. Christians were those did the will of God. Radically. Courageously.Joyfully. Dietrich Bonhoeffer lived that kind of discipleship life and it is the reason we remember him.

In today’s world we rant and rave against anything that inconveniences us. All we need to do is open the paper or click to a website and discover what we’re for or against on this day or the next. We bicker and scuffle about a variety of issues. Christians are in the fray staking out residence on both the right and left and in the safe middle. When push comes to shove our blustering, much of the time, is just that …bluster. We will slap a bumper sticker on the car and send an occasional e-mail to congress but that’s about it. It’s too easy to go along and get along. Our commitments are neither radical nor courageous and thus rarely joyful.

We have become tame here in the west I think. Nothing seems to challenge our resolve and our faith in such a way that makes us want to change, challenge or rise up. We know little of costly faith but live magnificently well with the adornments of cheap grace. And we pay the price for all of that. I have to chuckle whenever I think of missionaries from developing countries arriving on our shores to deliver us from our soft notions of discipleship.

Of course, there are exceptions. Many of them. Maybe even you (just don't assume it). We know them because they often give up security and privilege in order to live more simply and differently emboldened by a gospel agenda. Their example challenges our thinking and lifestyle. There are those who have discovered a ‘holy discontent’ and move with determination to remedy wrongs and to heal the broken often going to battle against the current faces of evil. We are encouraged by their witness for it stirs something in our napping souls.

So, as I finished Bonhoeffer today I wondered about myself. I’ll let you wonder about you. Am I someone who lives in such a way that is bold, courageous, radical and joyful? Or have I settled for slip-sliding down the slide of cultural contentment and cheap grace Christianity? Has my faith become all about ‘me’, my lifestyle, my dreams, and my hopes? Have I become so inwardly focused that I can’t see ‘Jesus in a distressing disguise’? Do I accommodate evil instead of warring against it? Have I bought into a message of the gospel that allows me to stand pat? Pretty nifty questions I think. Harder answers.

Ah, what a great read Bonhoeffer has proven to be. It’s challenged both my thinking and my heart. Can’t ask a book to do better than that. I hope you'll read it. May it mess with your head and heart the way it's messed with mine.

Free Agent Madness

The whole NBA free agent thing was a little out of whack wasn’t it? Millions of dollars were spent by the media to cover a story about sport franchises wanting to offer millions of dollars to young men who already had millions of dollars.

Now, I enjoy sports as much as the next person. I’ve played and coached just about every major sport and enjoying rooting for a whole lot of teams. I watched the World Cup final today and saw Lance get knocked out of the Tour de France. So, I’m not anti-sport. Nor am I dull about the huge economic and positive emotional impact sports teams can have on cities both large and small all across the country. But this whole feeding frenzy over LeBron, Dwayne, Chris, et. al. went a tad bit over the line. It was too much emphasis on something that shouldn’t matter all that much.

Maybe it’s a sign of the times that we play up and obsess over who signs what contract where. In some ways, it sure opened doors for discussion around water coolers all across America. Perhaps it helped take our mind off of weightier matters. But when push comes to shove it was pure overkill.

Even fan reaction to who signed who was a little crazy. I’m sorry. When a basketball player switches jerseys it shouldn’t cause pain, blame, tears or over-the-top angry letters. But in the case of LeBron it did just that. And you want to just look at those who are in tears and on the verge of dangerous anger and beg them to get a life.

Listening to sports radio is always hazardous to one’s health. I’ve always thought that some stations hire personalities who are just little hooligans who are as dangerous, in their own way, as the gang bangers who indulge in drive by shootings. The vacuous nature of the sports landscape came to full fruition this week as stations filled valuable minutes with hearsay, rumor and innuendo. Such things, however, seem to fuel the American dream and psyche these days.

I think what finally busted my chops was realizing that gazillions of dollars were being spent on not much really while real needs go unmet in communities all across America. It doesn’t seem right that we can give athletes 80 million dollars and not care about schools that are underfunded. Things really are out of whack.

There’s no real answer to any of this. I’m not advocating a boycott of anything. And if someone has good tickets to the Bulls, Bears, Fire, Sox, or even Cubs …I’ll take them off your hand. I guess this whole week just reminded me of what’s important and what’s really not. Free agency isn’t on the ‘real important’ list. And we somehow made it bigger than it ever deserves to be. Maybe that’s what saddens me. We have this amazing ability to inflate the unimportant and to keep our eyes closed to those things that really matter.

It’s a little wake up call. The only good news is that the Bulls got Carlos Boozer. He’ll help lead the Bulls to the championship next June. That will be worth fixating on …right?

Really?

Spending some time with the Sermon on the Mount recently had me thinking: “Is Jesus serious about all this?”

Specifically, I was spending time reflecting on the loving enemies and not seeking revenge passages. It’s a hard sell. Culturally, most people are acclimated to striking back, getting the upper hand, looking strong and taking no enemies. We’re taught that at every turn. “Eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth” makes sense except, of course, when it’s our eye and our teeth someone is coming for.

Jumping into the cultural cauldron of his time Jesus tries to teach a new love language and I wonder how much people were really buying into it. He was saying that it’s important to go the extra mile and to turn the other cheek. He was trying to teach both the language and actions of the kingdom of God. And that involves often doing both the unnatural and unthinkable.

Read Matthew 5: 38-48. It’s a clear call not to root ourselves in the laws of reciprocity but instead to root ourselves in the habits of the kingdom.

At first blush it does look impractical. Who wants to get run over and taken advantage of? Who wants to be stepped on? Who wants to be seen as a second class citizen?

Then comes the ‘aha’ moment. Have I just taken a kingdom possibility and made it only about ‘me’? Isn't that what most of us do all the time? Isn't that our default position? We don't like this tax because there's 'less' for me? We don't like this company policy because it means "I" have to change?

It's not about me. It's not about you. It's about God and His Kingdom. Is it possible that God’s purposes could be better served in the midst of us being stretched, pulled, run over, cheated, manipulated, and inconvenienced? Could it be that my sense of entitlement stands in the way of God revealing Himself in rather remarkable ways in and through my life?

If we were truly Kingdom people what would others see in our response to unjust situations?

What I’m realizing about myself is that I can put myself right into the middle of a passage of Scripture and belligerently look Jesus in the eye and say, “You’re wrong. This won’t work.” Or I can say, “Ok, this might work but immediately start looking for the loopholes. And I have to wonder why I’m so quick to doubt Jesus and is my insatiable quest for loopholes making me the modern day equivalent of a Pharisaical theological hair splitter.

As long I’m being belligerent and seeking loopholes I won’t get it. And what I need to get is that sometimes I’m vindictive and unforgiving. I seek revenge and don’t want to walk one mile let alone two. I want to hold grudges and not pray for my enemies. It’s my lack of love that creates a bit of a living hell for those in my relational networks. And when I don’t allow Jesus to write a new kingdom language on my heart I fall dismally short of what citizenship in the kingdom of God needs to look like. And if I don't allow Jesus to script something new in me I'm admitting that I have a better way. Sure I do.

It’s been said that the way of Jesus hasn’t been tried and found wanting. Nope. More often than not it hasn’t been tried. Jesus is always about the kingdom of God and in that kingdom people think, speak, and act differently and they do so even if it is at odds with the rest of the culture. So …

Instead of striking back you allow someone to hit you again.

Instead of carrying someone else’s burden one mile you go two.

Instead of an eye for an eye for an eye you love and pray for your enemies.


We have to understand that Jesus is not whistling in the wind. Jesus is saying that this is what kingdom people do. They aim higher and live differently. And they take it so seriously that it becomes the habit of their life. And those habits will allow us to seek first the kingdom of God. That’s the goal. Of course, I’m not talking about being a chump or arguing against fleeing from abuse or not standing up to evil. Not at all. But is there a ‘kingdom response and way’ we all too easily ignore? I think so.

Years ago in South Africa the Sermon on the Mount became the means to the end of a particularly ugly chapter in that countries history. Apartheid stripped the majority non-white population of many rights. It led to corruption, false imprisonments and insane violence. In 1994 free elections were held and Nelson Mandela was elected president

Mandela ended up appointing Archbishop Desmond Tutu to head the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a Kingdom of God way of bringing ugly truth to the light of day without exacting revenge.

The Commission allowed both victim and oppressor to meet before a tribunal. If the oppressor faced his accusers and confessed to wrongdoing he/she would not be prosecuted for crimes committed. Mandela took heat from many about the lack of justice in the process. Mandela believed that his country needed healing more than justice. He knew that any attempt to punish would only continue a deadly cycle of retribution. So, he chose the harder road.

On many occasions victims and oppressors met on this common ground. And many times you could see God visibly at work. Instead of hate, love won out. Instead of revenge, forgiveness was offered. Instead of rage, reconciliation took place.

When that happened justice was probably not served well. People didn’t get what they deserved. But when grace descended the earth became a bit more like the kingdom of God. And it gets our attention.

Nations certainly need to pursue justice and establish strong laws. There comes a point when justice and law keeping reaches a dead end. Justice helps us manage and order life but more is needed. It is the power of God welling up to go beyond hate and getting even. Ghandi said it well “Keep on with an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth and the whole world will soon be both blind and toothless.”

Jesus set forth another way. It’s a way of grace. Paul tells us “Do not be overcome with evil but overcome evil with good.” We are called to be dispensers of God’s grace. We are never more like the Father than when we love those who don’t love us. And we’re never more thankful than when we are loved when we don’t deserve it.

The way of love, the extra effort, aiming for more than just keeping the law is the kingdom pathway.

What does this mean for you? Not sure exactly. For me, it means taking a look at those 'it's all about me' attitudes I hold. And examining my amazing ability to point fingers at anyone but myself has to be put on the to do list. Maybe even exploring any lingering roots of bitterness towards others needs to be brought to the Lord. Certainly, I have to contest for my 'heart' for it so easily buys into the easy answers the culture hands me. I'm more adept at modeling 'an eye for an eye' than praying for those who do me harm.

Tough scripture demands tough introspection. Living it out isn't a legalistic journey. I read recently that those who love God's word need to become good at improv. More on that some other time.

Let me know what you think.