"Ding dong, the witch is dead!"?

We've all been reminded, and consequently rethinking, about the events of 9/11 almost ten years ago. In my nearly six decades of breathing, it is the only national tragedy that surpasses that November day in Dallas when we lost our President to a crazy man with a gun. The images of those airplanes slamming into those towers and knowing that hundreds just died right before my eyes, and the horrible sight of those giant buildings collapsing down, one floor at a time, taking the lives of WTC employees and hundreds of rescue workers, are burned into our minds as permanently as that iconic picture of the USS Arizona exploding on December 7, 1941.
Many of us have another image burned into our heads. One that many have forgotten about and I haven't seen replayed on the News yet. It is the video clips of people who hate America celebrating and cheering after hearing the news about the 9/11 attack. To them, it was a great victory. To them, the 19 Muslims who hijacked the four planes and turned them into suicide bombs were martyrs and heroes. To them, the man identified as the leader and architect behind the attack was idolized as a champion and super hero. I remember my anger building up as I watched them cheer and dance and thinking to myself, "Where's 'The Bomb" when you truly need it?" I'm glad I didn't let the sun go down on that anger, but the mental pictures are still there.
And now Osama bin Laden is dead. After nine and a half years of hiding and mocking our military and intelligence people, his body has found a cold grave in the depth of the sea. I am glad that justice was served, and that the world is a better and safer place. I deeply admire the soldiers who went in there and got it done, and all the support people who helped pull it all together. I am proud of our soldiers and the success of our country.
Please excuse me if I don't feel the call to dance and cheer. I don't want to look like those people who danced and cheered in 2001 when my country was attacked and my fellow country-men where massacred. I don't want to look anything like them. I don't want to criticize any American who has been cheering and dancing, but it makes me uncomfortable. This isn't a football game. This is life and death. This is about people who are walking and breathing one second and the next standing before God to give account of themselves. I can't see Jesus celebrating over someone being killed, even if it was justified - even if it fits the biblical definition of "Be sure your sins will find you out."
Thanks to a well known movie, and a vivid imagination, I also have a mental picture of people cheering the order "Crucify Him!" Of course, there is no comparison, but there is a principle of propriety, seriousness, and eternity that makes any death nothing like a college pep rally.
Can you imagine Osama explaining himself to God? That's heavy stuff! But then, each of us will do the same thing.

God's Incredible Family!

For the month of May I will be presenting a short series of lessons on God's Incredible Family. It is my belief that much of what we struggle with as a church (everywhere) can be traced back to its transformation from a simple family to an institution. Along with becoming an institution the church then became a place, a time, a keeper of orthodoxy and traditions, and the definer of faithfulness, evangelism, giving, and worship. Those were never part of the intended purpose of of God's people getting together. In today's culture of individualism, anti-institutionalism, and consumerism, the more the church protects and pushes that agenda the more the unchurched and marginal members are turned off to "church".
We must recapture the biblical concept of God's family! There is a reason God used the family image to define, describe, and direct his people. It is the natural conclusion of love. It is the the only group identity where people are, and stay, bound to one another, because love is what you are not just what you feel. Families thrive and remain committed to one another even when they get angry, strongly disagree, get irked with one another, and can't agree on what TV shows to watch. They don't split and start the Eastside Smith Family verses the Westside Smith Family. Because they are family they love each other even when it doesn't feel good. They support each other even when they really don't care much about watching soccer, dance recitals, or graduations. It's what families do. They each have responsibilities and they all do their part to take care of family treasures, property, and the family image in the neighborhood. Everyone helps to pay for what the family does. The older or more mature the young ones get, the more they contribute. It's what family do. Rules are sometimes needed and understood, guilt rarely works, pulling together in hard times is a no-brainer, and love is always the tie that binds.
If you want to see what a church family looks like, read Acts 2:47 and remember how those early Christians just wanted to be together and use every tool God gave them to help each other grow spiritually. Instead of trying to come up with a new set of goals, vision statements, and borrowed Church Growth ideas, why not ask the simple question, How can our church be more of a family? How can we be defined by our love for one another rather than a one hour program on Sunday morning that we can't all agree on anyway?
Maybe those people we are trying to reach with the Good News of Jesus are really looking for a family and not a religious corporation. God is "our Father" not our CEO. The Bible, especially the New Testament, makes a lot more sense when we hear the Holy Spirit talking to a family rather than an exclusive Sunday morning club.

Building Integrity

This is the final lesson in this series. This one is already on our web page - I listened to part of it yesterday mainly because I'm getting my next voice treatment this Friday and I wanted to hear how my voice was sounding. I was a little surprised at how much time I spent using Daniel as my example of integrity. Good stuff, but it really is just the intro. I feel very blessed and humbled about this series. I am thankful for the years of experience that God gave me in order to share things I never could have earlier in my live. I would love to share these with any church that might like to have some kind of family seminar, retreat, or workshop.

Building Integrity
Introduction:
A. Examples of "little" things we do that compromise our integrity with our children
B. Read about Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego in Dan. 1-6
C. Integrity is like trust - fragile and hard to repair
D. Integrity or lack of it, reveals the real us
E. How can you teach what you don't have? Yet we all want our children to have it.
F. Where does it come from?
1. Integrity comes from a deep desire for honesty. (Genuine & total!)
A. Integrity is what you are when no one is looking
B. What is your integrity worth to you? An overpayment? An IRS refund? Etc.
C. Keep your word at all cost! Be obsessive about being honest!
2. Integrity comes from a deep desire for consistency.
A. The misery of inconsistency, yet we learn to live with it?
B. Who would question your integrity? Why? Are you okay with that?
C. Integrity should drive you - not anonymity!
D. Build it intentionally! Use opportunities - discuss what is right & why? Pray.
3. Integrity comes from a deep desire for peace.
A. Integrity is the gift you give yourself.
B. There will always be misunderstandings, but there doesn't have to be guilt! Look at the charges against Jesus - misread & misunderstood, but all wrong.
C. Phil.4:4-7 God wants us to be at peace - with Him!
*The best way to teach the value of integrity is to be at peace with God and your kids see it.
4. Integrity comes from a deep desire to please God.
A. The deception of pleasing self:
B. The pressure to please others:
C. The peace of pleasing God first:
Conclusion: Integrity is what happens when we fully embrace the presence of God

A Different Kind of Egg Hunt

It is still amazing that a tornado swept through north St. Louis County, just a few mile south of us, damaging over twenty-five hundred homes - several hundred totally destroyed - and there where no fatalities. The pictures that they are showing on the local TV news look like a war zone. The tornado hit the airport closing it down for Sunday and causing Donna to reschedule her return flight until Tuesday. Another "ripple effect" of the storm was that it turned our Saturday morning Easter Egg Hunt into an indoor activity - without the hunt. It was way too wet, and it did cut the usual number of children who attend by half. It was still a great event with lots of wonderful sharing, teaching, and connecting with scores of families from our community. I took some pictures, many of which ended up being out of focus and had to be deleted. You can see the decent ones on our church web page at http://www.florissantchurchofchrist.org/ and click on Church Photo Gallery and then on the blue "Easter Egg Hunt". I am so thankful and appreciative of all the folks who put so much work into making this great annual event so wonderful. It is one of the best planned and executed events that we do all year, and we did touch the lives of a lot of our community friends.

Another "ripple" in the storm involved our friendly goose who has been sitting her nest in our back yard for the last three weeks. We've been checking on her several times a day and were looking forward to seeing her little babies swimming behind her in our pond. Not gonna happen. Saturday, I noticed she was gone - for more than just a break - and walked out to find her eggs out of her nest and just on the edge of the pond.

The nest was just off this picture at the lower left corner.

I remembered waking up in the early morning darkness to a lot of honking from multiple geese - or at least it seemed like a lot of geese. It may have just been a very upset mom. I assumed it was another animal that knocked the eggs out of the nest, because we've seen that happen before, but then I noticed that the nest was washed clean without any feathers or nesting material at all. After the worst of the storm Friday night, I stepped out on the back porch and I could hear the pond's overflow spill-way roaring with flooding water. I think the nest just got flooded and washed away. Mom and Dad were gone and they have not returned. I guess we were a lot closer to the storm damage then we thought.

Why Are Churches Declining?

I'm not sure which is more discouraging; hearing folks complain about the widespread decrease in church attendance, or hearing what some think is needed to reverse the trend. I believe that part of what most churches are experiencing has it's roots in the turmoil of the sixties (decade not age group). That was when, I believe, church members first started wanting and asking for changes in the assembly. Words like "relevant" and "contemporary" started being used to defining what people were seeking. And that, for churches that blur the distinction between God's commands and man's comfortable traditions, set the stage for decades of arguing, struggling, dividing, and polarizing as churches gradually began to define themselves by their worship styles, preferences, and purposes. I repeat it regularly every time the subject comes up, but as long as you define yourself by your style of worship on Sunday morning, the less you look like Jesus and represent the Body of Christ.
The second, and bigger element in the "why are things changing" department, goes back several centuries. Even as a historian I don't dare venture a guess as to the date. But somewhere, Christians getting together to grow in love for one another and to help each other grow in Christ was replaced by a passive, non-participatory, one-dimensional, formal worship service, with times, places, and specified rituals to perform. Attendance not only became the definition of faithfulness, the assembly of the saints became a receiving experience and not a giving opportunity. It stopped being about helping others grow, and became the single most important part of our religious experience - and "IT BETTER MEET OUR NEEDS OR WE WILL TAKE OUR BODIES AND OUR BOUNTY TO A CHURCH THAT DOES."
Now we have workshops, retreats, books, seminars, degrees, and experts to tell us how to "meet needs" on Sunday morning and attract larger numbers to our "sacrifice of praise to God." I believe with all my heart that one of Satan's greatest victories was not having so many bars, brothels, and bad people, but simply turning the words of Jesus up-side-down. Jesus said, "It is more blessed to give than it is to receive." Satan got us all to believe that didn't apply to our assembly time.
Today we are seeing, I believe, the natural evolution of "what's in it for me" as people simply say, "I don't need it." In their minds, if it was all about attracting them, meeting their needs, and entertaining them for an hour or so - it's not working any more. Remember, we are the ones that said it's all about the Sunday worship, and we are the ones who grew up believing it's supposed to do things for ME, and we're the ones who expected that worship service to be all things to all people thus making it a perfect prescription for judging, for church-hopping, and for failure.
A simple tool for building love for one another and for God should only be judged by how well it helps people develop a deeper relationship with Jesus. Yes, I know there are mega-churches with tens of thousand of members. I praise God for anything that glorifies Him. But are they mega-churches because they are attracting people to Jesus, or because they've got the "best game in town"? I don't know - I'm just asking.
The Hebrew writer said that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." If the church is the body of Christ, shouldn't we "really" look just like His body looked in the beginning? Back when Christians getting together was all about giving instead of receiving? We might be surprised to discover how attractive that is to a world with "needs."

The Missing Point?

Wednesday morning is my usual sermon preparation day. I like to think that my gradual transition over the years, from finishing my sermons on Saturday night to actually having them done four days early, is sign of maturity and being more conscientious, but it's actually more about my shear love of what God has called me to do. This week, since we were in Arkansas the first part of the week, I actually spent part of Tuesday afternoon preparing this week's lesson on Building Integrity. It is the final lesson in my eight part series on Extreme Makeover: Building Better Homes. I knew I'd be on the road Wednesday morning, (again, my usual sermon prep time) and I wanted it done so I could stay on my usual track and routine of weekly tasks.
I've said all that so I could make this point - the down side of finishing early is all the additional ideas that come to me over the next four days. I plan on that, and most of the time I jot them down in my sermon notes and use them on Sunday - unless they are too big and I know I don't have time to include them. Printing a final draft of a sermon, is like sending a manuscript off to a printer. The moment you say it's finished, you find things you wish you could add. Or to put it another way, it's like buying a dozen Krispi Kream doughnuts and telling yourself you're only going to eat one. Later you add the forgotten clarification of - I meant one - at a time.
I don't know if this will make it into Sunday's lesson on integrity, but here is a "Rootism" that has been on my heart today. Our integrity is defined and diminished by what we don't care about. That may not seem incredibly profound - until you start realizing what you DON'T DO THAT YOU SHOULD. If integrity is what you are when no one is looking, what does that say about us when we don't do things we should, because we don't care about them. We do the BIG STUFF - the SEEN stuff, but what about doing what is right when no one sees us? Picking up trash, rather than disgustedly thinking, "Someone needs to pick that up!" What about helping someone who dropped something, or who is having a hard time getting into their car with children and groceries? What about using that turn signal to let others know what you are planning to do? What about wiping off the sink in the public bathroom after you wash your hands?
The list is endless. It's all the little things we see, or choose to ignore, and - without saying it - we just don't care enough about it to do what's right! Doesn't that speak to the very essence of integrity? It's not just about telling the truth and not cheating on your taxes. It's being driven by a heart that is at peace with God. A heart that doesn't see burdens and guilt avoidance, but just consideration and compassion. A heart that truly wants to be like Jesus.
God tells us "As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man." (Prov.27:19) Head integrity is image management. Integrity in the heart, is instinctive thoughtfulness.

Building Faith

(I am out of town today, so I don't have access to my usual picture file. If you've forgotten what the Extreme Makeover logo looks like, just scroll down a couple blogs and you'll see it.)

Extreme Makeover - Building Faith (The lesson is on our web page)
My Top Five passages in the Bible about family: Joshua 24:15; Eph.6:4; Prov.31:10-31; 3 John 4; and the one I want to emphasis for this lesson, Matthew 16:24(...gain the whole world, but lose your soul) Building faith in our family is the most important thing we will do as a family. Move it to the top of your list before it's too late. Make it important!
Four Principles To Remember About Building Faith In Our Families:
1. Faith building means you are on a journey together!
A. At first, we are kids raising kids - learning and growing ourselves.
B. Recognize it as a process we all must go through on our own. John Westerhoff's, Will Our Children Have Faith, talked about the four levels of faith: Experiential Level, which is faith through your parents our someone who mentors you; Affiliative Level, which is being part of a groups, so it's really a group belief; the Searching Level, which is testing and doubting parents beliefs; and the Owned Level, where we seek God ourselves and know what and why be believe. Unfortunately, in some families, Jesus never left the church building.
C. Keep it a sense of growing together - I'm not perfect, I make mistakes and apologize, and to make it clear it is worth it.
2. Faith building is learning by observation not obligation!
A. There is a danger in fundamentalism, institutionalism, and legalism when they define "church" for young people. Lose respect for externals, rebel & reject meaningless acts or rituals, and they heat the inconsistency of church parents vs. at home parents.
B. Dolores Curran, "Faith is rarely passed on because of nuances in doctrine and theology. It is passed on because of the difference it makes in daily life."
C. Our goal is to guide them from us to Jesus.
3. Faith building comes from a positive and meaningful joy parents have about their faith!
A. What makes you happy makes your kids happy - they adopts our joys
B. Negative beliefs, critical opinions, unhappy & selfish members, and un-Christ-like comments bombard our kids = why they aren't going to church as adults!
C. Meaningful? Do they see me drawing closer to God? Do they see - Col.3:8-17?
4. Faith building supports family bonds, but it is not a prerequisite!
A. Love, support, & inclusion are what families do! Even if they don't share the same beliefs. Even if one or more loses their faith!
B. Open doors bring healing and hope - closed ones don't!
C. Jesus shows us how to deal w/ faith building in his disciples. Patience, love, & forgiveness w/ Peter! Available & understanding w/ Thomas. Grace is who we are, not just what we have!
Conclusion: No parent wants their child to fail. What about lose their soul? Matt.16:26? Move faith to the top of the list of family priorities. Who will pay for your attempt to "gain the whole world" for yourself or for your children?

When Will I Get It Right?

When I comes to understanding God's will, as it's recording in the Bible, everything depends on interpretation - the way you choose to see it. Unfortunately, very few people ever read God's Word with completely objective eyes. Most of us had a great deal of "prerequisite" ground work done to our brains, long before we started reading just for ourselves. And, depending on what kind of ground work it was, you may see or interpret scripture completely different from many others - even whole huge populations of people. (PB = Pragraph Break) If you believe it's a book of laws, rules, and binding patterns, you read it that way - looking for new laws, rules, and patterns that you might have missed, and to reinforce the ones you've always known were there. If you were taught that Christians have an official and formal worship, you will interpret many verses of scripture to be referring to that event, and you will have a basic assumption that there must be acts or prescribed rituals that must take place and must conform to what God expects. Because you started out with those basic assumptions, which you were raised to accept, you will interpret lots of scriptures to be referring to that formal worship rather than just Christian interaction in general. (PB) Others read the same passages and see God simply wanting his people to be together and support each other in their commitment to have a deeper relationship with Jesus. One person sees principles of love building, and other sees binding patterns that can not and must not be changed or omitted if one is to be doctrinally correct, which to many, is the same things as being saved. (PB) It sure does seem that everything depends on interpretation. What if I pick the wrong one? Since I have changed or modified my interpretations many times through the years, how many other, or more, changes do I need to make to get it right? With so many different interpretive approaches to understanding God's Word, which one is right? Are any of them completely right? (PB) Maybe everything doesn't depend on interpretation. Could it be that more than anything else God just wants people to seek him as best they can, with what they have, and with all their heart? No, everything doesn't depend on interpretation. Everything depends on the grace of God.

Building Traditions

It is understandable that folks who have read any one of my three books on worship might conclude that I am anti-traditions. I'm not. In fact, I love traditions! I love family traditions, AND, I even love church family traditions, but what I don't like are traditions that become law and/or are elevated to a position higher than God's will (or made synonymous with God's will). In the family, they can and should be valuable tools to help build family togetherness. Traditions can be a wonderful tool for good or a selfish tool for destruction. A good contrast is Matthew 15:3-9, where Jesus condemns the traditions replacing God's will, and Luke 2:41-42 where Jesus' family honors the customs of God's people.

Here are some thoughts to remember about traditions in the family.

1. Traditions are for bonding not binding! (A good way to determine when a church traditions is good or bad too)

A. This is why some children grow up and limit family ties while others deepen them.

B. The difference between burden and bonding - duty vs. belonging?

C. Bonding is a sense of belonging and closeness.

D. Problem: the potential conflict between "freedom" and "belonging" since they are both powerful emotions that are also direct opposites.

E. Balance: keep it fun, meaningful, and loving (not laws).

2. Traditions should foster family values!

A. Togetherness - enjoy it, plan it, anticipate it!

B. Thankfulness - for each other, for memories, and every day together.

C. Christ Centered - Jesus is an official member of our family. (Eph.6:1-4)

3. Traditions are to be cherished not worshipped!

A. Cherish your uniqueness - our family chooses to do it this way!

B. Use the tool, don't let the tool use you! Focus on the principle or value you want to foster in your family.

C. Keep it simple, memorable, flexible, and doable! Things change, so must our traditions. Remember, it's the little things that count the most, and they will change with age and needs.

D. Warning: age appropriate traditions may not have anything to do with the number of years a child has lived. Their heart decides when they are "too old" for something that means a lot. Try having a Family Trivia Night where children can show how much they know about you and your family history. It's also a great way to teach it. Remember, some traditions are ageless and timeless - if they still bond the family together.

Conclusion: Don't just choose to get married and choose to have children. Choose what kind of family you will have. Use traditions to help build it.

Spring Sprang

This may be more for family than anyone else, but this is our cherry tree nearly in full bloom. It doesn't last long, but when it does, it's a beautiful sight. Clearly Spring is upon us - finally. We had a big thunder storm early this morning that turned the pond brown, and I'm trying to decide if the grass is too wet to mow for the first time this Spring. Decisions, decisions? Anyway, the white blossoms of our cherry tree are always gone by the time any family comes to visit us. Every year, during the week of our musical, the cherries are ripe and ready to be picked. We usually let the birds do it. They love us for that.

Our front yard azaleas only last a short while too, but they are pretty.

These are the three trees on our side yard with the pond in the back. It's hard to tell, but the first one is red, the second pink, and the cherry tree is white.

Here is the real Spring story. This goose has made a nest right at the boarder of our yard and the common property around the pond. She has been sitting on her eggs for a least a week now. She rarely leaves the nest, but when she does, she and her mate will come charging back to protect it if you try to get close to it. So far, no one has messed with her. Not even some people who have walked their dogs back there, but they've all been on leashes so far. (See the white crane on the other side?)

This is as close as she will let me get. A zoom picture from our porch. (Can you see the turtle just to her right?) What worries me the most is what the HOA lawn care workers are going to do when they come to mow around the pond, which they will either today or next couple of days. I thought about putting up some kind of markers or signs, but she won't let anyone get close. I don't think she'll be as courageous with the big riding lawn mower when it arrives. I don't know what to do. I guess it's true, I'm not my goose's keeper.

The One Left Out

I put together my lesson for Sunday yesterday. My plan is to share the main points on my blog next week, as I have been doing since the series began. This topic is very different from the other seven on the Extreme Makeover list. All the other topics are qualities or virtues what we all need to care about and grow in, but this one is - well, a concept or an idea that can be either good or bad, depending on how we use it. I'm talking about traditions. Traditions are a tool to use that can support all the other qualities on my list. In the family, traditions are a very important part of building togetherness and closeness, and give us warm memories that we cherish and want to pass on to the next generation. I had a lot of notes of things I wanted to be sure and cover in this lesson. I was able to include most of them in the outline, and as usual, it's probably way more than I need to be covering in one lesson, but that's the nature of dealing with huge subjects in just one lesson. The one "note" on my list that I didn't put into the lesson was the importance of respecting the traditions of others. It's just too big a point to make as just a passing sub point in one sermon. Still, I think it's very important. I especially think it's important because I've already made the point in the lesson on Respect that you don't have to agree with someone to respect their opinions and view points. I spent too many years being judgemental, critical, and smug about people who practiced traditions that I didn't subscribe to or doctrinally agree with. I don't have to agree with it, and I have no business assuming that because I don't participate or agree, the ones who do must be ignorant, insincere, or shallow. Gut check! Is it really about the tradition or the heart? Because something looks strange or doesn't make sense to me, does that mean it's not honoring God when it's coming from a sincere heart? Many scream, "It's has to have biblical authority!" Would you like to dissect a Sunday morning communion and find out how much of what we do comes from our traditions and not the Bible? The heart is the most important report card to God. I believe He respects any attempt to seek Him, glorify Him, and become more like Him. As long as the tradition isn't made law and elevated above God's will, I should respect it. Paul did that on several occasions, and no one was tougher on legalism than he was. Maybe I can find space in my lesson after all. (Sorry - blogger's still not accepting any Return/Enter Breaks - hope that's not a new tradition!)

Blog Smog

Okay, before I start getting TOO impatient, for the last two weeks my blog has not allowed me to use any line breaks/returns. It's in the blog, but when I hit publish it takes out all Returns. I've pulled up the Edit screen and re-did the returns multiple times, but it always takes them out when I hit publish. I've tried everything I can think of and could play with, including all the recommendations in the HELP emails section. Any ideas? It's hard for someone who thinks in outlines to see them destroyed by a computer glitch. Hope it doesn't bother your reading of the blogs. Sorry. PS. Just for fun, I have a Break/Return after every sentence in this blog! I'm not laughing.

Building Responsibility

The lesson should be on our web page, but for those who might be interested in a "bare bones" overview of my lesson on Building Responsibility this past Sunday, I offer the following. The Rich Man and Lazarus, in Luke 16, gives us an excellent example of how responsibilities, or lack of being responsible, has consequences. My bud and co-worker Jerry, pointed out to me that if we didn't know the whole story, all of us would have labeled the Rich Man as "responsible". Great point. I did address that, without referring to the story, in Main Point #3 below. What is so important about being responsible? At the very least it includes... 1. Survival = even the world expects it 2. Self-respect = we all know we need it 3. Character = be a person of convictions 4. Maturity = it's value increases as we grow 5. Accountability = there will be consequences My premise is: Healthy parents train and teach their children the joy and self-respect that comes from developing a sense of responsibility. They must see it in their parents. Things to remember about building responsibility: (a primary source was Dolores Curran's, Traits of a Healthy Family) 1. There is a direct connection between being responsible and having good self-esteem. 2. Being responsible is more than doing chores. 3. Being responsible doesn't always mean being neat and tidy. * Typical definition from parents: neat room, done homework, compliant * A responsible child is one who is trying * Do not equate success & achievement w/ being responsible! (i.e. Rich Man) 4. Responsibility must be matched to capabilities. 5. Responsibility must be enveloped by affirmation. 6. Responsibility can't be learned without experiencing the consequences of irresponsibility. * Over-protective parents who accept or cover the cost of their child's irresponsibility are picking the temporarily easy way, the temporarily guilt-free way, the always wrong way. * Mistakes, failures, & poor choices are learning experiences - never made better by more bad decisions. * Be their parent now so they won't need a parole officer later! * Learn soon, save long-term! * Irresponsible children become irresponsible adults * One counselor said, "Either you raise your children full-time for twenty years, or else you end up raising them part-time forever."

2012 Plans

Come with us! We try to take a special vacation every two years - usually a cruise of some type. It takes that long to save for it or to pay off the last one. We tried to brake that rule by sticking in a cruise on this last off year and found out that we, nor any of our travel companions, could afford it. So now we have our next one booked and mostly planned. Since we loved our last vacation so much - due to it being in the middle of Winter - we decided to plan this next one during the same time period. There's nothing like a warm weather vacation in the middle of the bitter cold St. Louis Winter. Our plan is to take an eleven day cruise next February (5th) out of Brisbane and cruising the Fiji Island and other South Pacific islands. Originally we wanted to do a Holy Land/Med Cruise, but with all the turmoil in that part of the world, and with the higher cost of that cruise, we switched to looking for a warm weather trip in February.

We'd love to have you with us. You can look up the details at Princess.com and click on Cruise Search. Right now we only need a dinner table for six, but we'd love to reserve a larger one to include you. I'm so excited about it that I'm actually looking forward to next winter.

New Command? Yeah right!

I haven't always cared as much about love as I do now. No, I'm not talking about romantic love, or family love, or even love of country. I'm talking about theological love - the love that is God, defines and describes God, and becomes the bench mark of our closeness to God. It was always easier to think of love as obedience or commitment - or even faithfulness, because those are, or can be, visible, measurable, and judgeable. And besides, it was always so hard to deal with love as "doctrine" or "church" because it just didn't "feel" right for "real men" to talk so much about love. I mean, love is for women and chic-flicks - right? Love is that goofy feeling you have when you're so star-struck over a girl you can't even talk straight - right? And then there was all that weird business about loving your enemies! What's that all about? I don't feel like loving my enemies - or the...poor... the unclean...the different... or even that weird-socially-inept-church-member, who just doesn't know how to fit in. And who needs love when religion is all about following established-correctly-interpreted-biblical-patterns. It's better to be right than to be loving - right? I even remember purchasing books on love - because I was "supposed" to have them - and I intentionally shelved them for a future time when I knew (even then) that I'd be more interested in the subject. (What was I preaching back then? Ouch!) Something happened - I mean other than aging! I finally figured God out. Oh He was clear - I was just muddy with doctinal correctness. No matter what I read, studied, preached, taught, or thought about, I kept coming back to the Genesis point that it is all about knowing God - and God is love. No one, from Adam to after-life, can know God without knowing love. The patriarchs were impatient, Israel was legalistic and forgetful, and Christians want to win the debate. We all have done a miserable job of understanding and developing the love of God. When Jesus called loving one another "a new command" in John 13:34, we thought He was talking about emphasis. After all, how could it be "new". It had been around from the beginning - how could it suddenly be new? Sounds more like a rehash doesn't it? The reason it was new was because the pursuit of God no longer had anything to do with laws, rules, Temples, priests, sacrifices, and ceremonial performances. Love was now the only tool we needed to know God, please God, and be like God and "one another love" was the best way to learn it. Once we realize that love (God's love) isn't a feeling but a choice - a decision to act - all that worldly feel-good romance oriented thinking about love goes out the window. We only know God to the extent we know love! Everything else is only tools to use to help make that happen. Now my only question is, how did I miss that for so many years?

Building Trust

Building Trust (Sermon is on our Web page)

Trust is an integral part of our life - from trusting our mechanic, our dentist, to trusting everyone who is driving on the same road as we are. Spiritually, it is the foundation of our walk with God. A great example of trust and loss of trust is seen in Matthew 14:22-33 when Peter walked to Jesus on the water. My favorite OT verse on trust is Psalm 20:7 and the NT is Romans 15:13. I also like the NIV in John 14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me."

As a life quality or as character, trust is the most important, most fragile, and the most difficult to repair. Trust is: a firm belief in the honesty and reliability of some one or thing; a confident expectation and hope placed in someone or thing, and something entrusted to a person. Spiritually, it's God. God is love = trust; 1 Cor.13:7 "love always trusts." It is the message and purpose of the Bible - God can not violate a trust - He is the ultimate in trustworthiness!

My "Dirty Dozen" ways a trust is violated or broken (just to name a few). A trust as been violated when...

1. You don't tell the truth or you misrepresent it.

2. You judge or criticise without communicating and finding out all the facts

3. You don't keep your promise or commitment

4. You break a confidence

5. You gossip (violate the trust of the one talked about and the one talked to)

6. You leave someone out who should have been included

7. You speculate or assume w/o communicating

8. You don't speak up and/or defend a friend or a loved one

9. You fail to respect the feelings of those who expected you to

10. You ignore or forget something that is very important to friends or family

11. You humiliate or demean friends or family in the presence of others

12. You don't practice what you preach

Why is trust so important? There are THREE FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES OF TRUST

1. Trust is the foundation of integrity! A. Every act of distrust destroys character B. Integrity gives inner joy & peace - distrust steals it C. Your values or lack of values define you * Why did Peter "weep bitterly" after his third denial of Jesus?

2. Trust is the foundation of our relationships! A. Closeness is determined by trust B. W/o trust there is no relationship - only co-existence C. Guard trust at all cost! No compromise! No rationalizing! No excuses! * Remember Adam? "The women you gave me..."

3. Trust is the foundation of our walk with God! A. "I made you - trust me!" Seek Him! B. "I love you - trust me!" Seek Him! C. "I will take care of you - trust me!" Seek Him!

Conclusion: Do you trust Him to sit on the throne of your heart?

Label Busting

Labelling others is so convenient and tidy. You don't have to mess with truth, facts, or interacting - you just label. It's generic judging. You can lump all liberals, can all conservatives, and profile all progressives. It's easy, non-threatening, and universally accepted. Unfortunately, it's disrespectful, prejudicial, and un-Christ-like. If that doesn't give us pause, what about the fact that labeling is illogical, relative, and absurd. Since labeling is judging, the judging is nearly totally dependent on who is making the judgement rather than some absolute basis from which to compare. "I am right - normal - in the middle, where all right people should be," our unspoken brains declare, "and everyone to the left of me is a liberal, to the right are the conservatives, and anyone who thinks they're ahead of me is a progressive." So the labels change, depending on where the one who is doing the labelling stands - at that point in their life.
A liberal is no longer someone who questions the authority of the Bible or the reality of the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us -it's the folks who do new things in their assembly. The conservatives aren't those loyal to God's Word, but those who refuse to change anything they did in the 50's. The progressives are just the folks going faster than us. They would all be better if they were "just like me."
I've been labelled all three at different times by different people and for different reasons. I think I am all three, at different times and for different reasons. If I had to pick one, it would be the one I've almost never been called. Spiritually, theologically, and as far as church stuff goes, I'm a "dyed in wool conservative." Why? I'm am only driven by one thing, and that is loyalty to God's message. That loyalty has caused me to throw out some things I have been taught in the past, and it has caused me to rethink everything I've ever learned through the years. Some of those things were reinforced, while others where adjusted to fit my understanding of God's will. If the Bible says it, I believe it, but I may not believe your interpretation of it, just like I don't believe some of the conclusions I held twenty years ago. Still, I can't tell you how long it's been since I had a REAL discussion about scripture with someone who disagreed with me or was upset about something I taught. We don't argue scripture anymore, we argue preferences.
Where God allows liberty, I'm all for being liberal. Where God wants growth, movement, and a "living and active" church to match His "living and active" Word, I'm all about being progressive. Ask me to ignore His Word, replace His truth with our traditions, or promote law when He calls for Spirit - and - like I said, I'm a conservative.
Have you ever thought about how much Jesus was a "label buster"? His people were saying, "Those Samaritans are worthless," and He told a story about one who has become an icon of neighborliness and compassion. His people were saying, "Women are not very important - they're just property," and yet He offered "living water" to a women that his disciples were surprised he even talked to. The world labelled Tax Collectors, the blind, the sick, the adulterous, and the thieves, and He said, "Don't keep them from coming to me."
Yes, I still catch myself occasionally using labels to define groups, churches, and others who don't stand exactly where I do. I'm working on never doing that, but old habits and old sins die hard. If I'm going to use labels, I need to use the labels that God uses, like "saved," "Kingdom," and "names written in the Lambs Book of Life." Now that's a label to long for.

THE WEB PAGE IS READY!

While it's still a work in progress, I'm glad to let you know that our new web page is up and running. The long address is http://www.florissantchurchofchrist.org but I'm told you can get to it with just the florissantchurchofchrist.org and not all the front stuff. Many parts of it are underconstruction, but we have a great volunteer who is willing to keep working on it and keep it updated. In fact, it already has Sunday's sermon on it - the one I wrote about this morning in the blog below this. It does have the song before the sermon on it too, but you can move the little dial and it will fast forward past it. There will be a lot of changes and improvements made, so please be patient if you check it regularly.

Building Respect

Building Respect

Respect includes honor, consideration, caring, concern, recognition, courtesy, attention, and regard. For God, respect is worship - a 24/7 life giving in sacrifice to Him. For Christians, respect can easily be defined as the way Jesus treated others.

While the Bible is all about respect (because it's about God), my favorite illustrations of respect include: 1) David's refusal to kill Saul in the cave because he (Saul) was "God's anointed"; 2) The Centurion in Matthew 8 who showed respect for Jesus' power and authority; 3) The Prodigal son, in Luke 15, when he was back before his father.

Some helpful things to remember about respect:

1. Respect must be valued, sought after, and recognized as foundational to all of life's important qualities. It is a Christ-like quality we must want and one we need. All other qualities rest on us choosing respect (i.e. Christian Graces, Fruit of the Spirit, etc. all require it to build on).

2. Respect begins with self-respect. We are God's masterpiece and we can't begin to love Him and others until we truly love ourselves - like He wants us to. That means don't allow others to disrespect you (just deal w/ it in a Christ-like way).

3. Respect must be consistently modeled if it is going to be successfully taught. Model a person who possesses self respect. Remember what is seen is more powerful than what is said. Always show respect to and for your children. Deal w/ disrespect immediately! If you don't expect it and require it, your children won't give it to all other authority figures (i.e. police, teachers, elders, etc.). God command them to show it, that means parents MUST model and teach it!

4. Respect for others has no exceptions! It's for all (1 Pet.2:16-17) and we must have it to please God. Remember His lesson to Peter in Acts 10 = NO PARTIALITY! Don't pass on your prejudices to your children. Grow w/ them! Respect differences in personalities, interests, and opinions. Respect individuality in each child/person. Respect individual decisions.

5. Respect is not approval! Jesus showed that with every person he met - regardless of their sins - even sexual sins. But he never approved their sins! Sin does not negate respect no matter what culture has taught us about some sins ( i.e. homosexuality). Respect, but don't approve all groups, those who are different, different beliefs, and the property of others.

Conclusion: We always think about Moses having to show respect for God at the burning bush encounter. Have you ever thought about how much respect God showed for Moses? He was reluctant, unwilling, full of excuses, whining for help, and weak! What would you have said to him? God answered and dealt with every concern. Have you ever thought about how much God respects you? Especially when you consider what we really deserve?

Street Gangs In Calgary

Roving street gangs in Calgary, Alberta. They're looking for trouble.

Here they have commandeered the front yard of a peace-loving suburbanite.

Isn't it amazing how many things in life people look at totally differently? For twenty-five years I've spent countless vacation days and thousands of dollars traveling to Colorado to hunt elk and I've had years where we never saw any. I have come home with elk for the freezer four times, but some of us (who shall remain nameless) have never brought home any delicious elk meat. I'm just saying, it's a quest, a goal, a hobby, and an adventure - and just a fun time for a bunch of guys to be together hunting in the mountains of Colorado. In the suburbs of Calgary - elk are pests, and the homeowners get upset when their shrubs and gardens are eaten, and their green yards get fertilizer that is un-spread and unwanted.

Everything depends on your perspective, and your values. One persons pest is another persons prize. Have you ever looked around your house and thought about all the little (and sometimes big) things that you wish were improved, fixed, replaced, or just different? Whatever it is, there are whole nations of people who would feel like they were living in the lap of luxury to have that very thing. With affluence comes complacency, and with complacency comes ingratitude and with ingratitude comes ungodliness. When that happens, we are a long way from seeing things with God's perspective.

Maybe we don't need to "stop and smell the roses" but stop and count our blessings. That pesty elk in your yard would be considered "yard art" in some places, just like that dripping faucet would be considered a life saving spring in some places.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17

Building Affirmation

Building Affirmation

Affirmation is an essential part of our self-esteem. It includes encouragement, reinforcement, praise, support & acknowledgement, and a steady diet of "I'm with you" (security), "You're important" (significance), and "You can do it" (competence). For biblical illustrations I used
1. God's patience and repeated reinforcement of His covenant with the Patriarchs.
2. Abraham and Isaac climbing up Mt. Moriah w/ the knife, wood, and fire, but no sacrifice. Abraham's answer to Isaac's question about where it was, "God will provide." He had come a long way - with God's guidance and affirmation for many decades. Now he was affirming Isaac.
3. David in all of Psalms 23 - talk about feeling God's affirmation?
4. The ultimate - God's affirmation of Jesus at His baptism and transfiguration
5. Paul - over and over - Phil.4:13 & 19, and many more.

Another fancy title: Mike's Five Proverbs of Affirmation
1. The best way to receive affirmation is to give it to others. The personal affirmation we receive from guiding & helping others is simply the principle Jesus taught when He said, "It is more blessed to give than it is to receive." Acts 20:35
2. Criticism that is not deeply rooted in affirmation is destructive and deadly. Oft forgotten by church folks. It was always Paul's practice to praise and encourage first. "Misery loves company" so there will always be folks who tear down rather than build up. Eph.3:29
3. Affirmation is an unselfish act, but when it becomes self-serving - it's only and act. (Nuff said)
4. Affirmation is the easiest and purest form of giving. It's not about money, but caring, giving effort, time, and thoughtfulness for others. It's doing what Jesus would/did do. (Matthew, Zaccheus, Woman at the well, children, etc.)
5. Affirmation is the joy of sowing followed by the rejoicing of reaping! Plant seeds of "I'm with you," "You're important," and "You can do it," and then water, feed, and protect. The results are maturity, strength, confidence, and new affirmers. 1 Cor.3:5-9
A family that only shares a house, food, TV, bills, and nothing else is sick and dying. The same is true for a church family. If we are not affirming one another, which is one of the main ways we help one another develop a deeper relationship with Jesus, we are just a house.

Random Monday Thoughts

I sure thought that we were finished with all this stuff. It's still pretty, but after the long winter we've had and with spring only a week away, this is a little surprising. Oh well, we don't control nature here any more than they could in Japan last week. This will be gone in a matter of hours. In Japan, they are talking about thousands of bodies still to be found. We all are praying for them.

If I could box and package yesterday, and pull it out anytime I needed a "pick-me-up," I'd do it in a heartbeat. God blessed us with an incredible Sunday. It was a great day of being with our church family, inspiring one another, and sharing some great experiences together. And to top it off, we had a great evening with our young adult small group. We have really enjoyed getting to know them all better, and hopefully share a little wisdom and inspiration. If nothing else, we always have a wonderful dinner that Donna prepares for the whole group every week. I think they especially like her homemade bread. They are a sharp group of young adults, who love God and are serious about seeking a closer walk with Him.

One last random thought: over that last several months, several have asked me about our church web page and when it was going to be active again. It's ready, with a new layout, and a new administrator at church who will keep it updated and fresh. He has my Sunday morning lessons loaded and ready to be downloaded or listened to, and many other things, but...you knew that was coming...we are waiting to get ownership of the web name, which was actually owned by the former members who administered it for us. For some reason it's taking a long time. Anyway, I hope to be able to announce that it's ready and open any day now.

Just Wondering

The church is changing. It always has and it always will. Yes I know that Jesus and his Word don't change. I had one of my earliest debates over Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever." But people change, and because people change, cultures change. The church always tries to stop it, as it seeks to keep doing what it's always done with many totally expecting the same results, and others thinking great changes will happen. Which one is the real insane one? We've spent the last twenty years bickering over whether the worship style of the post World War Two era was immutable and eternal, and now, most of us have moved on to a deeper and more scriptural understanding of church things. And yet, we've evolved into a whole new set of expectations from Joe Christian about what church is supposed to be and do.
Are you having trouble getting members to come out for special events? Have your "old fashion" pot luck fellowships gotten farther and farther apart with less and less enthusiasm from members? Having any trouble getting people to sign up to be involved in things? Thank goodness for parents who sign up to make sure their kids have a great children's ministry at church. But what happens when those kids move out of the children's ministry? Are those same parents willing to help, or have they "paid their dues" and taking a break - a long, long break?
I'm really not whining or trying to paint a negative picture of the church - though those who don't know me will assume that is what I'm doing. No, I'm just trying to understand what has changed. I'm not frustrated or depressed and yes, I'm still at one of the most wonderful churches in the world. I just see changes happening all over.
Here's what I see, as I put my sociological & theological hat on. It looks to me like we have a clash of cultural perspectives that are bumping into each other at church like an old Bumper Car ride. First, there is the lose of loyalty and commitment to anything institutional, and unfortunately, with all the chest pounding about being a restoration movement, we've let the church become an institution that members are called to support, rather than a family that supports members. So, we see detachment and a lack of loyalty. Second, as I've said before, we live in a consumer society, so church is no longer a tool to pool resources, it's another "what do you have that I need" commodity that all to often can't compete with TV, sports, family activities, and reruns of Seinfeld. Thirdly, there are those who have expectations that church can hang on to all the old things that church use to do that gave so many great memories of simpler times. The cure is more pot lucks, more traditional Bible classes, and narrower options for helping people draw closer to God. It's not all bad, but then again this isn't the 1960's. And the last element in this mix are the folks who just want to do what ever it takes to grow spiritually. They don't have any ax to grind, and they don't HAVE to have their way, but they don't want some external activity to define their walk with God. They have spiritual families, they do personal ministries of compassion for others, and they see themselves a walking with God 24/7. They see the church as a tool for helping others, for promoting togetherness, and for doing things that only a larger group can do, but again - their spirituality is not defined by their church.
The mix is bigger than these four, and most folks are really a combination of two or more, but the real question is, how can a church like that build for the future? Call me old fashion or simplistic, but I believe the answer is and must always be that - it's all got to be about Jesus. Knowing Him. loving Him, and becoming like Him. That will always be the only real standard for any group of God's people - regardless of how the culture changes.

New Series of Lessons

1. Building Communication

I began a new lesson series last Sunday about qualities that will help us build better homes. While it is primarily a family/home series, I'm making a special effort to focus on relationship building principles in general so that everyone, even singles, can get something from it. I know several in my church family check my blog regularly, so at the risk of boring them, I thought I would share the highlights (main points) of each lesson when I get back to my office on Tuesday mornings. I hope they will encourage and bless you.

Anyone who has ever heard me preach/teach for any length of time, know that I emphasize communication a lot. In this lesson I simply shared two absolutes and then five traits.
Absolute #1: Your relationship is only as strong as your communication. If you don't talk, you don't know one another, and if you don't know one another, you won't care about one another.
Absolute #2: (Surprise!!!) If you don't communicate you speculate! Fact! It's never about doing nothing (because you don't talk), because you WILL fill in the needed information with speculation, which is easier, fearless, judgmental, selfish, and nearly always wrong.

Mike's Five Traits of Communication (I know - it's not very catchy)
1. Make conversation a high priority. Reorganize your priorities, make good choices, and be intentional. (Use bed time, car time, table time, and alone time)
2. Leaders model priorities. If parents don't talk, the kids will walk. Loving parents model healthy communication. If you want to hear from your kids when they become adults, make sharing important now.
3. Communication drives relationships not the TV. TV isn't bad, well not all of it anyway. Use it, control it, learn to have fun and talk about it, but don't let it rob you of real living. Watching shows about dysfunctional families won't help you have a better one.
4. Learn to be a listener! Talking is not always communication. Be honest, courageous, and patient. Learn to respond rather than react. Reacting is all about you, & kills communication. Responding is seeking to understand why they feel the way they do. Listen with the heart.
5. Always keep the doors of communication open! Seek to understand. Don't close the door with anger and impatience. Develop a pattern of reconciliation - a way to heal the relationship.
Conclusion: What sustained the Father & Son through those terrible hours when they couldn't talk? What they KNEW about one another! What will your loved ones know about you when they can't talk to you any more?

Yes Indeed - Just A Seeker

"Bottoms up!" I don't know if you can see the ducks in the above picture, but they are both upside down, probably seeking food and not doing synchronized swimming. One of my oft-shared comments that is oft-shared because it's so profound is, "People are the only part of God's creation that can choose to not glorify God by the way we live." When anything does what it was created to do, God is glorified. These ducks are glorifying God because they are doing what God created them to do. When we do what God created us to do, God is glorified. Unfortunately, the single most important thing that God wants us to do - the thing that makes us different from every other created thing - is the one thing many don't do, and many others only partially do - seek Him!
Seeking God - seeking a relationship with our Maker - is the reason we were created. With all the fussing and arguing about doctrine, essentials, and "who's in and who's out," the one thing that transcends everything else - the one thing He wants to see when He looks into the heart of any person - is, are we seeking Him.
One of the many passages of scripture that many know, but few of us seem to digest, is Hebrews 11:6. It is one of those John 3:16 type verses. "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that He exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
As I was preparing last Sunday's lesson about "What Are You Looking For," I used this passage to show what God wants us to be looking for. IT IS ALL ABOUT SEEKING HIM! In this simple verse, the Holy Spirit tells us exactly what God is wanting from us. It tells us what seeking God means.
1. It's a relationship not a religion! Many have a system of beliefs, but not a walk with God.
2. It's a reality based on faith! The presence of God must be real and sensed.
3. It's redemption given by grace! He does all the work. We MUST want it!
It's that simple - yet that profound. We complicate it, and we diminish it!
We can (the Holy Spirit said "must") seek a relationship with God the same way we seek a relationship with anyone we want to have a relationship with. Just think about what it takes to have a relationship with anyone - then apply that to God. That's seeking!

Law And Older

A friend at church, who is a police officer, sent this picture to me the other day. It looks like any picture of a policeman on a motorcycle, but if you look really close to the word just above the rear tire you will see that it says Chaplain. I replied to him that if I got one of those, I might still be a Police Chaplain today.

I have a lot of great memories of my days as a Police Chaplain from 1980-88 with the Fairfax County Police Department. It was nice to represent my church, help and support our local police, and learn how to deal with extreme crisis situations that I never would have experienced in normal ministry. In some ways, it was also my way of serving my country since I never spent time in the military, which I had always planned to do as I was growing up.

I am thankful for the friendships, experiences, and opportunities to serve that it offered me. I think I was widely accepted by the guys at my station, and they called on me regularly when they needed my help. I also have a lot of difficult memories that occasionally pop back into my head at weird times. Memories of being at the scene of suicides, homicides, fatalities, accidental deaths, and deaths by natural causes. The toughest ones, ever after all these years, are the ones involving children and teens. I can tell you from experience that TV can never capture the real world of crime, tragedy, and personal loss that is at real life scenes. As much as I like them, all the CSI, NCIS, and Police dramas miss the mark more than they hit it. And then there were all those death notifications that I did, especially those first couple years of being a Chaplain. I was good at it because I learned how to do it right. I even ended up teaching a class on how to do it for officers and investigators. It was nice to feel like I helped and was there to guide folks during traumatic times, but it was emotionally draining - especially when I didn't do it regularly. That may sound strange, but the more often you do those kind of things, the better the mind is at coping with it. When it was once a month in stead of once a week, it was much harder to walk way and put it behind me.

Anyway, the picture did bring back memories. Every time I look at it, I am proud of the little framed collage hanging in my office with my Police badge, pocket insert, pins, and a couple pictures of those Chaplain days. Donna had that made for me several years ago, and it reminds me of some very special classes I took at the famous University of Hard Knocks.

The Great Church...

I have a couple of old preacher friends who like to introduce other preachers as being "from the great church in ___________," or "from the great _________ Church of Christ." It's a nice way to be complimentary, if somewhat hyperbolic, when one is given to using superlatives a lot. I applaud the compliment, while having questions about the superlative.
What IS a great church? Or, what makes a church great? I have felt, and written several times, that our view of church growth comes from the world and not the Word. So, I would say the same is true about church greatness too. When was the last time you heard about a small town congregation of God's people, who love each other, have a reputation for serving their community, and don't know or care if others see them as liberal, conservative, or have their names in the new Where the Saints Meet book, being referred to as "a great church"? No, we all know that "greatness" usually comes from being large, trend setting, attractive, progressive, and well known. And there is nothing inherently wrong with any of those things, but - they can easily have more to do with quantity/greatness rather than quality/greatness.
How would Jesus define a great church? I believe He would be looking at only one thing - is that group of disciples doing what He intended for them to do? If a congregation of God's people are not fulfilling His purpose, there is nothing great about about them, whether it's a family of fifty, five hundred, or five thousand. A great church is a family of God's people helping one another develop a deeper relationship with Jesus. Are they growing in love for Him by learning to love one another? Are they passionately seeking Him and sharing Him? Are they using the tools He gave to carry out His purpose, or are they worshipping the tools and performing ceremonies that have nothing to do with deepening relationships with Him or each other?
Let these two passages define what a "great church" is in God's eyes.
"All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had." Acts 4:32
"Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have a sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God." 1 Peter 1:22-23
A great church is defined by love, and what that love compels each disciple to do.

North Pole C of C

A Job Well - Hired!

Generally, I truly enjoy doing house repairs and remodeling. It's very satisfying to look at a finished job and have that "I did it" affirmation warm your heart. In spite of that, there are things about DIY house stuff that I dread and, frankly, I find intimidating. It's jobs that have the potential of turning into huge, complicated, and labor intensive chores. You know - the simple little job, that you set aside thirty minutes to finish, and end up spending the better part of a day on. I've had that happen several times with plumbing repairs or changes, or when you remove something and find out that underneath it was a floor or wall or steps or such like, that had to be replaced. Oh the stories I could tell! It happened, again, on Saturday. A simple plan to strip wall paper off the ONE WALL in our bedroom that had it, paint the whole room, and have a nice surprise for my wife when she got back from a trip to Nashville. NOT! I couldn't get that wall paper off no matter how hard I tried. Gallons of spray and chemicals, two trips to Lowes, and five hours later - I had three feet of wall stripped. That's three feet out of eighteen, and the wall board looks like it got in a hatchet fight and lost. I had a professional come out yesterday and finish it for me. It took him two hours. Now I've got patching, prep painting for the stripped wall, and two gallons of non-surprise to put on the wall. Oh well - something about "plans of mice and men" keeps running through my mind.
Fear of complications? I wonder how much we DON'T do because of that? Make new friends? Volunteer to help a ministry? Commit to a small group? Just maybe - draw closer to God? After all, He's probably got some expectations that could - well - complicate our plans. I'm just glad that He didn't shy away from complications. Like what it took to pay for my sins and allow me to be with Him for eternity. He had to start planning that before He said, "Let there be light."
Sometimes we have to embrace the complicated if we want to grow. Remember Acts 14:22? "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God."

He Doesn't Sing

This blog really isn't to show off my new deer mount that I just picked up Friday. Well - maybe a little. But it's mostly for the benefit of our grand children, who not only need to see Papa's new deer trophy, but that it's replacing the familiar singing deer that has been in our computer room for four or five years. We had a lot of fun with that singing deer. Especially when we used the portable microphone and had all the kids thinking the deer was talking to them. That worked for a good while, but they eventually figured out that someone was pushing buttons to make that thing talk. I'm not sure that Ashlyn ever got over being afraid of it - though she really liked the songs he sang. Well he's been moved to the basement and will probably be retired. His mechanical parts are not working so well, and he make a lot of noise when he moves - kinda like me. It was a nice gift from my hunting buddy Danny, and we got a lot of laughs out of it.

See! No electrical cord coming down the wall on this boy. And if he does sing, I'll run with Ashlyn.

Living In The Now?

I am a lot more aware than I used to be of time and life slipping by. It doesn't bother or frighten me. I embrace death as a necessary part of being with God for eternity. But as I was doing my morning walk today, I found myself reflecting on - what I call The Numbing of the Now. Don't misunderstand me. I believe we need to live in the "here and now" and we must treasure each day as a gift from God - making sure we don't waste it by living in the past or dreaming about the future. Still, there is something deceptive and blinding about only seeing life as now.
As you get older, you begin to understand and feel the results of how you've been living over that past whatever years you've had. Maybe you never thought you'd live to be sixty, seventy, or eighty years old - but all of a sudden, that's what you are, and your quality of life is dependent on how you've lived during all those other years. People can live just fine in their thirties, forties, and fifties as overweight, sedentary, smokers, and feel no need - at the time - to change their life-styles and correct bad habits. After all - they feel fine! They have no idea what it will feel like to desperately want to be there for their child's wedding, or live to see that grand child graduate from college. Those things are not NOW! They are too far off and, they rationalize, there's plenty of time to change things before then. One day - then becomes now, and the law of sowing and reaping has no compassion or sympathy for our abuse, neglect, and poor self-control.
I'm healthy and active and feeling as good as I did twenty or thirty years ago, but I know it can't last forever - and that's okay. I may have to pay for too many hamburgers, too much chocolate candy, and too many trips to our favor Mexican Restaurant. I'm not sure I can say "It was worth it," but I'm not going to whine about "Why me" either. There will always be things I want to be around for, but you can't go to Heaven and still do everything you want.
So why am I writing this? Because I can and I want to, but really it's a challenge to those who are in that 20 to 50 age group who are still "living in the now". How do you want to feel when you're seventy? If you are doing things that are self-destructive now, you will pay later. Be wise. Learn from those who have gone before you, and get your head out of the now - at least long enough to add quality of life to your quantity of years.
(Coming Soon - Part Two: The Power of Prune Juice)

Not a rant - just a perspective!

Opps! I missed Valentines Day - again! I guess my wife will have to wonder, for another year now, if I truly love her. At least that is what the jewelry, florist, and candy commercials imply. Let me see now? A thoughtful and memory making Anniversary surprise two months ago on December 14th doesn't count, and I guess that means the thoughtful, and not so inexpensive, Christmas present (and I don't ever purchase a gift for anyone that doesn't have A LOT of thought going into it) - just six or seven weeks ago can't possibly say "I love you" like a box of chocolates in February. And all of that pales to insignificance if there wasn't the daily words, touch, and acts of affection that are part of our marriage. Could I do more? Absolutely! Do I need an arbitrary calendar date to do it? Maybe - if I need it or just want to use it. But should I feel guilty for not spending money on my wife on a day that has no significance or specialness, beyond the fact that the commercial world wants me to purchase their products? I don't think so. Sure, through the years we've occasionally exchanged cards, gone out to dinner, and did something special, but after thirty-eight plus years, we don't need anyone to define the depth of our love for each other. Don't get me wrong. It's never a bad idea to do something good. Still there is part of me that resists and resents someone else telling me when and how I should show it. For me, it's like the National Day of Prayer. Good thing to do - okay! But, how can you have a DAY for something you do every day?
It's like I've been saying for several years now about the things Christians do when we come together. They are tools to use not rites to perform - or laws to obey and get off your check-list. Hey - Valentines Day is a wonderful time to REMEMBER to show love and appreciation. Use it - if YOU need to. Just don't turn it into a test of love or a source of guilt.
Thoughtfulness is quite possibly the most important element in building a marriage. If you need a reminder, like Valentines Day, that's great. But, you're going to need a lot more thoughtfulness than that - over the course of any twelve month period, if you're serious about building a great marriage.

Make It Happen?

Is it possible to MAKE yourself be Christ-like? I suspect that is what we all try to do - at least some of the time. And yes, there is a place for MAKING yourself do what is right, but no one has the gigantic reserve of self-control that it would take to completely and consistently be like Jesus all the time. Even if a person could do such a thing, it wouldn't make them really Christ-like because it would be egocentric rather than Christ centered. It would build self-righteousness rather than God's righteousness. It would cheapen grace.
The goal is to develop the spirit of Christ in our life not just imitate Christ in our actions. Pretending to be something you really aren't won't hold up when things get tough. Paul warned about the temptation we all feel to conform to the patten of this world. We automatically assume he is talking about "outside" the church, but isn't there just as much a draw to conform to church people - to gain acceptance and affirmation - to dress, talk, and act like what is expected of church people? Isn't it easy then, to assume that since we no longer conform to the outside world that we must therefore be "transformed" since we are part of the "church world"?
That is not what Paul was talking about in Romans 12:1-2! The transformation he was talking about involves "the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will." That is a changed heart and not just a change in peer group. This transformation is us being formed into the likeness of His Son!
I have reflected in amazement for decades on why it is that some Christians can become so un-Christlike when discussing things about the Body of Christ? How can children of God justify being unkind, uncaring, and be a ruthless control freaks in the name of Jesus? Unfortunately the answer comes back to the fact that a life "conforming" to Christ is not a life transformed by Christ. If His spirit isn't there, His love will not be there either.

Random Trip Thoughts

If you check my blog regularly, you've probably noticed that I haven't written a blog in the last week. We were in Dallas from Thursday until mid day yesterday (Tuesday). It began as a trip to do an elders retreat for a congregation in the Dallas area, but events - not the least of which included snow - caused the retreat to be cancelled. So, we got to have a wonderful visit with Pat, Deborah, and the boys, and then I preached for that congregation on Sunday morning. It was a nice, stress-free trip, and a great visit with family. Snow caused us to change flights several times, and the Wednesday through Sunday evening original trip, ended up being a Thursday through Tuesday morning trip. Let me share some random thoughts about it.
* I love Southwest Airlines! No baggage fees, no charges for changing flights, and a much easier terminal to get in and out of than the big St. Louis main terminal. And they fly to every city where our family members live!
* I always assumed that if I got to play in the snow with any of our grand kids it would be if they visited us in the Winter and it happened to snow. Just maybe - it might happen in Nashville. I never dreamed it would be five inches of snow in Dallas. Snow angels and snowball fights on Friday! All gone on Saturday. Just the way snow ought to be.
* I am again amazed, and blessed, to see what wonderful parents our kids have become. I am very thankful to get to see what amazing Mom's our girls have become, but equally thankful to see what incredible Dad's and husbands, our son-in-laws both are. I know it's just a matter of time before I say the same about our daughter-in-law. (No pressure! No hurry!)
* After getting to meet with some brethren from two different congregations in Dallas, I am just reminded again that there are some wonderful people in churches all over the world. I knew we had people like that at home, but it's good to remember that God's people are loving, caring, and kind - and they're everywhere. I'm especially thankful for the ones that love our kids and grand kids.
* Churches are constantly changing. They have to - it's the only way to stay alive. I was just reminded of that as I spent time with a church I haven't been with in six or seven years. The interesting thing is, they probably don't even think they have changed. Change is often so gradual and slow, that when you are in the middle of it, you don't see it. That reminds me - again - how important patience is.
* Finally, yes Dorothy, there's no place like home.
* No wait! Have I said, "I'm ready for Spring"?

Winter Whining

Yes, I could have chosen to make it a productive day, but that's not what I did. It was a snow day! And not only that, but we were planning to fly out this morning (Wed.) and spend the rest of the week and weekend with family in Dallas. I have a speaking appointment there this weekend, which I'm prepared for - so I don't even have a class or sermon to prepare this week. Again, it was a snow day! A chance to veg - so I did. And of course "veg" doesn't have anything to do with what I might eat. We were house-bound, with nothing really pressing to be done. So what do you do in a situation like that? You eat! Waffles and sausages for a late breakfast! Then leftover quesadillas from Chili's for lunch! Then peanut butter brownies covered with chocolate frosting for an afternoon snack - with coffee of course. Then end the day with venison, potatoes, and squash (oops - how did that veg get in there?). It was a food fest coupled with a History Channel buffet - capped off with watching a DVD of Red and last nights recording of NCIS. Life is good.
This morning we found out that our flights were cancelled and we can't fly out until tomorrow afternoon. So this morning I'm doing a few things at the office before we go to Las Fuentes for lunch and home for more History Channel and peanut butter brownies. I need Spring to come! Not just to save us from this long and tiring Winter, but to save me from looking as big as one of the dump trucks driving up and down the roads.
I did shovel snow last night, and again this morning, so I haven't been totally sedentary. In fact, I'm pretty sore from shovelling too hard last night. Our nice neighbor from across the street (the Christmas lights people) came over and helped me get the sleet and ice off our drive last night. We used flat-nosed dirt shovels to scrape the ice off. He's younger than me, but of course, I had to shovel as hard and as fast as he did, and show that being five months short of sixty doesn't mean I'm getting old - but - today - I feel old and sore, and ready for Las Fuentes, brownies, and more History Channel.