Fall Off the Log: 4 steps to dealing with controversy

This is not another post about Phil Robertson or A&E.

To be quite frank my opinion is irrelevant. I don't know all of the details, and my blog, twitter and Facebook will do nothing but boost my ego or loose me a friend if I write something controversial about this topic. Same goes for all of us.

What this entire situation does do is force us each to do a bit of self evaluation. This is a situation in which many of us will, as one of my favorite college professors would say, "fall off the log." We'll pick a side and then argue, debate, and likely complain for a good long time.

The issue is less about which side we take and

 more about how we take that side. 

I've said before, human beings are reactionary. We're emotional, and while emotion is wonderful, it get's us into trouble. We get offended and react instead of listening, pondering, accepting criticism, and then acting. We should remember those four things.

1. Listen: A friend in college once said "you only have the right to an opinion if it's educated." This statement has nothing to do with your degree of schooling, it has everything to do with your willingness to listen. Until we know both sides of the issue we shouldn't address it. Truth is not necessarily found in the facts of the situation, sometimes it is found in the perceptions, emotions, attitudes, and preconceived notions. 

2. Ponder: My biggest weakness, we should each think before we speak. A brand new idea is usually a bad one. -not because the idea is necessarily bad, but because the first words out of our mouths are not usually the ones we'll wind up going with. 

3. Accept Criticism: Before we start a campaign we should find a few trusted friends on each side of the issue and run it by them. Accept their criticism and grow from it. Allow them to help us learn how to disagree in a loving manner. 

4. Then Act: *And only if, after all that consideration, the action is still worth taking.* We need to be people who take thought out, calculated, prayed out, action. Emotionally reacting to something is like slamming the door on your mom when you're arguing. Whether you had a good point or not you're not going to win now. Because it was disrespectful. 

**While we're on the topic of disrespect, being disrespected does not give us the right to disrespect others. Yelling matches never solve anything. 

What has made this entire scandal so outrageous is not what Phil Robertson said and not what A&E did, it is how people have reacted. This situation would be much easier, and un-clutter my news feed, if we would listen in love instead of yell. (or thoroughly read and type in all caps since most of this has taken place on the internet.) 

We're going to fall off the log on lots of issues. Let's do it well. 

Two Factors of Identity Crisis

We live in a world that has set our youth and young adults up for confusion. 

Here's how:

1. American culture is largely based on success and accomplishment. Everything about our history and our values leads us to believe that we can pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and make something great of ourselves. From George Washington to Jackie Robinson, our heroes, some underdogs- some just determined, are men and women who have pushed the idea of excellence to a new extreme. In the same way we have given accomplishment a very strict identity, a pay grade, and to some degree a body type. 

2. Our culture teaches students to "be who they really are." As we express to our children what matters by our culture, we tell them that they don't have to be great by anyone's standards but their own. We tell them that social norms and status quo's are meant to be broken and they can be anything they want to be. In other words we tell them that their accomplishment isn't what defines them. 

We have given young people a mixes message -a paradox- so it's no surprise that many of them (us) are confused. We tell them they can be anything, that they are perfect just the way they are, then they go to school and still get made fun of because they're not athletic or overly smart, or they still don't get recognition because they aren't pursuing normal standards of excellence. This leads young people to an inevitable identity crisis, where who they want to be and what they are expected to be collides. 

This is the crisis that youth and young adult workers find themselves dealing with on a daily basis. 

This is the reason so many teens don't know who they really are.

This is why identity in Christ is the most powerful message we can teach as Christian leaders. More than ever before our peers need to know who they are and what makes them valuable. They need to know they were made in the image of God, and the God in whose image they were made died because he thinks they are that valuable. 

Hide and Seek

One of the most beautiful stories in all of scripture is found in Genesis chapter 3. Here we find a story drenched in controversy and grace with a twist not even the most astute observer would predict.

To summarize Adam and Eve had it perfect, doubted who they were made to be, chose sin, and were about to get caught. Like any mature adult would do when they're about to get caught they hide. Which is a ridiculous idea in the first place because they hide from God. It seems like a lot of work for nothing to me. They sew together leaves to make clothing and hide in some bushes so the all powerful creator won't notice that anything's wrong.

When we consider the details of the story it's a pretty odd picture. It reminds me of kids playing hide and seek. We adults have very little imagination when it comes to playing games, but kids on the other hand take the most enjoyment in the imagination. They run around the yard pretending bushes are forests and blankets are deep caves and they bury themselves, convinced that they will never be found. It would be a boring game if our parents didn't play along. No kid would have fun if dad walked into the bedroom, saw the obvious child shape under the covers, and just pulled them out. No, even though Dad knows exactly where the child is hiding there is something powerful about the seeking.

That why the story in Genesis is so beautiful. God seeks his children. He didn't need to. He wasn't lost, and they certainly weren't fooling him with their pitiful disguises, but he sought them. He called out for them. God didn't rip away the covers to expose their shame, He called to them. He asked them to come out because His first concern was his children, not their punishment. He wanted to hear their voice, not just tell them what they had done wrong. Even in his justice his primary concern was relationship with His children.

God is still seeking us. We don't have to hide, our imaginary fortresses of pride and accomplishment aren't fooling anyone. God is seeking us.

Like 19:10 "For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost."

Forgettable Generation

The amount of articles one can find either defending or attacking the millennial generation is astounding. Whether it be sarcastic twenty somethings who are tired of being called lazy or abrasive 50 somethings who are tired of having basement dwellers, there are volatile voices pointing fingers back and forth.

It's getting old.

When you begin comparing scars between generations what you will find is that you've got a bunch of people who are all human. Each one with social, economic, and religious stressors that push in one direction or another. Each one no better or worse than the one before, and really not that different either. If the millennials were born in the 70's they would probably have experimented with psychedelic drugs, ruined the eco system, and tanked the economy. (because all of those things happen in one generation of course... oh wait) If the boomers were born in the 90's they would live in their parents basement and work part time at Starbucks.

Why? Because each generation does what normal humans do with the circumstances they are given. You can't blame some one for doing the best with what they have. This finger pointing is just proof that each generation is still very capable of pitching fits and tattling like children.

If there is one great danger the millennial generation is facing it is this: spending more time complaining about our world than  doing something about it. We're in danger of being entirely forgettable.

Myself and my peers love being "aware" of the need in the world. We love buying Toms and shopping at 10,000 Villages. We love knowing that our light roast single origin coffee was purchased sustainably from an environmentally friendly farm that helps orphans. To over simplify it's this: we love supporting other people's efforts to make the world a better place in a way that eases our conscience.

This leads us to use controversial hashtags, wear mildly offensive t-shirts that question the norm, and make a big deal online or at a rally about the problems we see. That is not a bad thing. In fact holy discontent is a good thing. As believers we should look at the world and be unhappy with the injustice that we see. Here's the caveat: We only have the right to complain if we're willing to do something about it.

It's not that we shouldn't spend our money through responsible organizations like Toms. It's that we shouldn't pass the responsibility for change off on other people by purchasing expensive shoes that make us feel like world changers. Buying Toms is great, but the shoemaker is bring about change by making the shoes, I'm just buying shoes.

We must each find our place in making a difference instead of wearing tshirts that quote Ghandi. We're in danger of being forgettable because we're in danger of not doing anything. It's time to do something. It's time to live our values instead of just buy them. If your passion is the environment, keep buying organic, but do more than buying food. If your passion is ending human trafficking, do more than wear the tshirt. If your passion is helping the hurting, then go physically help someone.

Changing the world is our responsibility, yours and mine. The Holy Spirit doesn't use people who don't do anything. 

Three things we need to know about the church

Church is a dirty word sometimes.

In fact there are many places in our culture where you could scream the f-word without a second glance and say "church" and get a dirty look. More interesting is that the reaction to "Jesus" and the reaction to the church would not necessarily be the same, proving the misconception that is engrained into our society.

Here are three facts that might help guide our understanding of what church truly is.

1. Church is Us: The church is not a building, the church is not an event, and the church is not an activity. The church is people who are in life changing relationships with Christ and with each other. Local churches are simply singular expressions of this over arching truth. A local church is a group of people in life changing relationships with Christ and each other who align with a certain calling and commit to accomplishing that in their community. There are many variations of local churches, because there are many types of people that need to be reached. Hate denominations? don't. They are proof that God is more concerned with reaching people from any walk of life than He is with all of us getting it right.
2. Church is Messy: Why? Because you and I are in it. Of coarse the church is full of hypocrites, fake people, and judgmental jerks. It's also full of addicts, pervs, bad parents, good people, and killers. That is not proof of it's irrelevancy, it is proof of God's overwhelming grace and free new beginnings.
3. Church is Essential: Because relationships are essential. God made Adam with everything he could ever want including personal, physical access to God, but he still said "it is not good for him to be alone." We need each other to learn, to remain accountable, to bear our burdens, I could go on. The easiest way to ensure that your faith won't last is to try to do it alone. But let this be noted- Sunday morning worship is an event, not church. It is an event that provides worship for a community, the gospel for those unreached, teaching for the body, and a catalyst of shared experience for deep relationships to be formed. Sunday morning (or whatever time your church meets as a large group) is essential as well, but Sunday morning doesn't cut it. Showing up on Sunday morning simply means that we attend a social event, not that we are part of the church. Life changing relationships are the point.

**Hanging out with Christians also does not constitute being part of a church. It  only means you spend time with people who are part of the global church. The local church is our lifeline. Hanging out with likeminded people is good, being a part of a gathering with a mission, well founded teaching, and empowering structure is necessary. This is why from the beginning there were men in charge of the giving; there was a council of leaders; Paul appointed pastors, apostles, teachers, and other roles; and guiding structure was put into place. The local church is a manifestation of the global church that empowers people with like callings to make maximum impact on their communities and the world. 

Value

Where we find value is the most influential aspect of our lives. 

Where we find value is the most observable aspect of our lives. 

Where we find value is the singular aspect of our lives that will attract people to Christ or distract people from him. 

There is a story in scripture about a young man who was very wealthy. He was rich. He was young. He was a ruler. Hence the name of the story- "The Rich Young Ruler." Basically this guy was hooked up. 

Our boy, henceforth referred to as the RYR, asks Jesus a very telling question: "How do I inherit eternal life?" Besides enlightening us to the fact that he was probably a trust fund baby it reveals something more telling. The RYR believed in Christ as the key to eternal life. He came to Jesus asking him about salvation. Reading on we see that this guy not only asked the right questions, he followed all of the laws. He was a good guy, and rich. (where my single ladies at?) 

But Jesus pressed further. The following statement from Jesus is often used by pastors and extremists used to tell Christians that in order to follow him we should sell everything we have... because that's what Jesus said.... But that's not the heart of the passage. Jesus was asking this man what he really valued. 

Jesus looked at this man and said "You believe I can give you eternal life. Good. Do you believe it enough to invest in it? How much do you really value what I have to offer?"

The RYR walked away very disheartened because his values did not match up with his belief. He came to Jesus seeking eternal life - something more valuable than anything he owned. But it became very obvious that this man did not see enough value in Christ to sacrifice his safety net. 

The question I've been asking myself lately is "does my life look like I actually value Christ?" As Christians we claim that Christ is the answer to eternal life, the hope of the world, and the only way to have peace and joy, but do our lives prove that we value that? Or do they reveal that church is cool, but we should probably not invest everything there just in case? 

Few people would buy stock in a company if they knew the CEO or employees didn't invest there. Few people will be die hard fans of a team that doesn't play like it values winning. Many people will trust in anything that someone is willing to risk everything for. 

Does my Bible collect dust, or does is look like I believe it is the word of my God? Am I engaged in my church like it's the body of Jesus Christ on earth, or do I attend it with about the same intrigue as I attend the movie every Friday? Does my spending look like my money could further the Kingdom of Heaven, or does it look like it could help me out just in case my faith doesn't?

The secret to church growth, sharing the gospel with friends, missions work, and life is finding our value in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When people see that our Savior and our church are valuable enough for us to truly invest in- without a backup plan - they will wonder and want the value that we have. When they see that we value status, stability, decor, or music genres more than our Savior or the people He wants to save they will be turned off to everything we claim. 

We claim to believe in an almighty God, where we find value will prove it. 

The Millionth blog about the VMA's (why Miley might not be as bad as we thought)

You're probably tired of reading about the VMA's.

I am.

Plus this blog is weeks late, and what I'm about to say isn't new.

There is something disturbingly wrong with the way culture has responded to the Miley Cyrus incident. Miley's performance was pretty gross. No way around that.

But it was also not very different from what millions of other young people her age have done in an attempt to gain attention,  earn respect, and prove independence. The primary difference between her and the rest of college aged America is that there are no video camera's documenting our awful decisions. Even if there were no one knows our name or cares enough to tweet mean things about it. 

Yes what Miley did was wrong and nauseating. Yes, she should be prayed for. Yes, it looks like she's on a pretty dangerous -yet strangely familiar- path. I'm not defending her actions, I'm simply saying that I see myself in her. 

I've done some stuff that I really wish I wouldn't have. I've tried to prove I was grown up in ways that completely proved the opposite. I get it. I'm not saying that all college students go off the deep end freshman year, and I'm DEFINITELY not saying it's okay. I'm just saying what she did really isn't that shocking. 

What is shocking is that Robin Thicke is allowed to be on stage with a young girl, or within a hundred yards of a young girl. His actions were disgusting, demeaning, and unacceptable. As far as I'm concerned he took advantage of a young girl who was trying to find her identity and then used her mistakes for his own pleasure. Sounds a lot like date rape. 

But few people are blogging or tweeting or using sermon illustrations about him. I think it's because then men of my generation are straight up wusses. Calling him out means we have to quit listening to his catchy songs, asking our girlfriends to make exceptions, and talking about girls like we talk about cars and football. It means we've got to man-the-heck-up!

What gives me the right to say this? nothing. 

My past is full of stories where I was no better than Robin Thicke. The only thing that allowed me to marry the most beautiful woman ever and finally live a life dedicated to purity is the grace of Jesus Christ. But that grace is what we must stand in. The grace that takes people like us and turns them into people like Christ. Through that grace we need to set the bar higher for the men of our generation. We need to say that objectifying women simply isn't acceptable. We need to agree that women are made in God's image and should be treated as holy. 

We need to pray for Robin Thicke. We need to seek God that he would realize his need of Christ's love. We need to not allow this egregious example of the state of our culture to be acceptable and unnoticed any longer.

How would you respond to Robin Thicke?

How will you take a stand?

4 Leadership Lessons from Collide

This past weekend I had the opportunity and privilege of helping lead a large event in Sioux Falls, SD. The event was a blast, God proved himself in a mighty way by bringing at least 30 people to himself, and a youth movement was catalyzed in our city. This weekend I was exhausted and empty, but completely in awe of Jesus. There are lots of things I could write about as lessons from these last few months of planning, but I'll stop with these four that stand out.

1. Clearly Communicate Vision: It is absolutely imperative to know why we are doing what we are doing. Decide the vision from the get go. Make it clear, concise, and measurable. Cut out everything that does not directly accomplish the vision. If there is not a clear reason that guides the whole event toward the vision for each individual piece then that piece is unnecessary and distracting.
2. Stress Isn't Worth It: In the end stress only clouds our judgement and causes us to not be able to enjoy the thing we are stressing out about. Worry less, worship more. As Christian leaders we are doing things that we firmly believe are from God. If God calls us to it and equips us for it then God is also responsible for it. That does not mean we should be lazy, it simply means we should not freak out over something that isn't even ours.
3. Rest is Essential: It's impossible to not stress if we are running on empty. It doesn't matter how busy we are we HAVE to put in time to rest and recover before, during, and after whatever it is we are leading. When the leader are tired and stressed they lead tired and stressed.
4. God Always Goes Big: Big to God is just sometimes very different than big to us. We could be thinking that big means thousands in attendance, but God could mean big as in connections across the country and initiation of movements... or He could mean big as in small. In the end God does what He knows is best and if we are serving Him we can trust in that. 

Redemption and Gift Cards

I love gift cards. A gift card is like free money. Some people think that a gift card is a thoughtless gift, as if someone doesn't even know you well enough to buy you a good gift.

I'm pretty okay with that.

All you have to know is that I generally like the outdoors, music, or food and you can make me happy.

Where it gets bad is when someone doesn't even know me well enough to get me a decent gift card. Like the very nice people who got "my wife and I" a bed bath and beyond gift card. My wife is very thankful for the present you got her.

The idea of redemption is spoken of throughout scripture. Christians sing about it and preach about it, but I think it's one of those big words that remain vaguely defined for us. I think that because it was true for me for quite a while. So I put my college degree to use and did some biblical research.

I realized, to my dismay, that the word for "redemption" in the original language doesn't have some sort of crazy beautiful hidden meaning that can't be uncovered in english. (Pastors like it when there are cool hidden meanings cause it makes us sound smart.) It just means "redeem" or "ransom."

Like a gift card. A gift card is something that you redeem. Why? Because it has value. Like a coupon or a discount code. It has value, but that value is of no use until it is used for what it was designed for.

That is redemption. God looks at us and sees value. He sees something that is of great use, something that can do good. Something that is worth it. But He knows that it will never be of use until it is connected with what you were made for- Himself.

Sin has broken us, it has separated us from what we were made for. Until we are brought back to relationship with Christ we are like Wal Mart gift cards at Best Buy- useless.

But Christ redeems us and brings out the value that is locked inside us and unreachable. That value is the image of God himself- who we are made for.

Galatians 4:4-7
4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.[b]6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,[c] Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

3 Reasons to Pray Boldly

Let me tell you a quick story. I've been a student ministry pastor for about a year now. When I began ministry I felt a distinct word from God that we needed to have a baptism service in about 6 months. We put it on the calendar and started preparing for the service. With the word about the service came the unshakable feeling that we needed to plan to Baptize 10 people, and we need to make that number known. Now 10 people may not seem like a bold number but for a smaller youth group in a highly churched culture 10 people is a big number. I was scared. Less scared and more concerned about my image really, because I knew that when we started proclaiming 10 people and only got 5 I was going to look dumb. You probably know where this story is going, but I'll tell you any way. Up until the week of the baptism we had about 6 people in line. We spent 6 months planning and advertising and got 6, and then the week of the service 3 more people added. I thought "9 is close enough. That's basically 10. Praise the Lord." The day of the Baptism our lead pastor stopped me at church and told me that one more person had called to sign up and we had 10 people.

Since that day God has been pushing me to approach him boldly, to ask him for greater things. The fact is that God is concerned with our tiny requests, but He is powerful for the bold requests. Most of us, myself very much included, ask God for things and then do everything we can to bail God out. We make sure that what we asked for either will happen or doesn't matter. After all the creator of the universe needs us to give him an excuse... I think God is calling his people, church leaders and church members, to start praying risky prayers.

1. We Have His Heart: Scripture is full of passages in which it becomes clear that God loves to do good for His people. He is our Father. If human, broken, messed up fathers can love giving good things to their kids how much more does the perfect God in whose image they were made love giving good gifts to his kids. We have his heart because his heart is for us. In Hebrews 4 we are instructed to approach the throne of grace with boldness because we have an intercessor, Jesus, who understands everything we need.
2. We Are Aligned With His Heart: God calls us to his mission in the world by his power through his love. Why in the world do we timidly pray about him accomplishing through us what He has already told us He desires to accomplish through us? It is not God's heart to give each follower a great retirement plan, but it is his heart for each follower to leave a significant impact on the people they can reach. Why do we nervously ask God for power to show His love? Why do we humbly ask to change our schools, workplaces, or families? That is God's heart and mission! He already wants to. Ask Him like you know the Almighty God wants to change your city.
3. He's Huge: He's God and he loves us more than we could ever understand. He has all resources at his disposal but we ask him for 200 bucks to pay the rent like it's going to drain his checkbook. Approach boldly because your God cares for you. He is growing you and teaching you. He desires your good. He doesn't usually answer exactly the way we thought He should, but He does answer.

Last thing- Boldness is not arrogance. It's not claiming what you think you've earned or deserve. It's reaching out to Jesus who died to prove to you just how dedicated he is to you. We need to start praying bold prayers to see the kingdom of heaven break into our lives and overtake our world. 

Homosexuality: How Do Christians deal with the issue?

Lets begin with a bit of clarity. The issue of homosexuality is more than a sin issue. It's more than a morality issue. It's more than a right or wrong issue.

It's a human issue.

It's a human issue because we are dealing with human beings.

Human beings are innately sexual creatures. We've been so since the beginning. In fact one of the first things we were commanded to do was be fruitful and multiply. Then theres the song of solomon. Which makes the point unavoidable. When we talk about homosexuality we are not talking about an issue, an epidemic, or a choice. We're talking about human beings who, like all human beings, find there sexual tendency closely linked to their identity. It's part of our brokenness. Sexuality was directly affected by the fall. Our sexuality instantly brought shame when sin entered the world, and anything shameful is hidden, and anything hidden is easily confused.

That being said no straight person defines their self by "heterosexuality." We call ourselves firemen or musicians, or we say we're married or love our dog.
If we don't make our sexual orientation our greatest divider for those who call themselves straight, why should it be the primary definer of someone who considers him or herself gay?

By allowing homosexuality to be the buzz word of identity and the pinnacle of "sinful culture" we have perpetuated to people that need the love of Christ that it is their sexuality that defines them instead of their creator. When we start with sexuality instead of humanity we will always end at depravity instead of the image of God. It has nothing to do with homosexuality being sin, it has to do with homosexuals being humans. When we attack homosexuality we are reinforcing that identity is sexuality, then telling people that their identity is detestable to God.

So we need to stop.

We need to learn the power of our words.

We need to stop dealing with the issue of homosexuality and start dealing with the issue of introducing people to Jesus. People. All people. All are loved. All can be forgiven. All can be redeemed. None have to do it on their own. None have to do it first.

Does that mean homosexuals can be Christians?

well... yes.

Does that mean gossips can be Christians?

yes.

The good thing is that it also means you and I can be Christians.

When struggling with a sin disqualifies a person from being a Christian I'm out. So are you.

Temptation is not sin. Jesus was tempted. That means being tempted to look at porn isn't sin. That means having an attraction toward porn isn't sin. That means having the attraction to a member of the same sex isn't sin. Acting on it is.

But lets be real. David had an affair and killed a guy to cover it up. He was a man after God's own heart and wrote most of the Psalms. The cross of Christ is more powerful than any human issue.
But for some reason we think that homosexuality is going to tear apart the church? No. There is no sin, no struggle, no human issue that is greater than our God or more powerful than his cross.
That deserves an amen.

The more we worry about homosexuality instead of worrying about people meeting Jesus the farther we tear the wound.

Sin cannot keep us from his love. Accept him and trust him first. He'll deal with the sin as we grow close to him. It won't be easy. But it also won't be a losing battle.

Helping people enter into and grow in a relationship with him is the only issue Christians need to worry about. We do that by loving them, serving them, telling them, accepting them, befriending them, discipling them.

Yes, homosexuality is sin. That is an unavoidable truth in scripture, but there are a lot of sins in scripture. None of them define someone more than how much Christ loves them. Sin has never kept God from pursuing, accepting, forgiving, and THEN changing humans. The first step is Jesus. The middle steps are Jesus. The last step is Jesus. Worry about Jesus. He's the only one who can take care of any sin.

Highlighting the wrong passage- Why you should get a new Bible

I was talking to a good friend not too long ago and she told me something very interesting. She said that she had to get a new Bible. She said that she couldn't stand looking at the Bible she had written in and highlighted for her whole life any more.
Why?
 Because she had highlighted all the wrong passages.
She said that when she was growing up she was so concerned with what she had to do, how good she had to be, and what sins she had to avoid, that the most highlighted, underlined, and noted passages in her Bible were the ones about discipline, avoiding sin, and working out your faith.
She said it was so prominent that when she looked at her Bible her eyes were instantly drawn to all that she had to do to be a good Christian and past all that Christ does to make us who we're made to be.

Wow. That's powerful. I wonder if maybe we should all get new Bibles.

Many of us have grown up so focused on what we have to do that we completely over look what Christ has done for us. We hear about free grace, unfailing love, and freedom and we look for the fine print because nothing is really free. We're so concerned with our performance that we gravitate to our duty to the dismissal of what Christ has truly done.

The fact of the matter is that salvation starts and ends with Jesus. We are the recipients of something free. We do nothing to earn it or deserve it. What we do comes out of what Jesus has done and life change comes from exposure to who Jesus is. The more we try to change the more trapped in our guilt cycle we become. The more we know Jesus the more like him we become.

Maybe we should all start over with a clean bible and empty margins. Maybe we should start highlighting what Jesus has done and what his spirit is doing. Because really nothing we do deserves to be highlighted compared to that.

God works himself out in us as we expose ourselves to him. Our new life has been gifted to us by him. We take it, we don't make it.

Ephesians 4:22-24

The Message (MSG)

20-24 But that’s no life for you. You learned Christ! My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.

No, actually, I'm not tracking...

I'm about to admit something that might get me banned from some churches.

Lots of hymns creep me out.

There I said it. I feel better.
I'm all for metaphors and hyperboles and singing about the blood of Christ that washes away sin, but I think a lot of the songs that we sing just plain freak some people out... and some things we say too...

Imagine you get invited over to a party by a friend and all of a sudden the DJ puts on a song about taking a dip in a fountain filled with some guys blood. I hope you'd be freaked out.

I don't think hymns are sinful, and I'm sure there are lots of people that really connect with those lyrics. I'm also sure those people grew up in church or have gone there for long enough to get all the subtle hidden messages tucked away in those songs.

I just think we need to be careful. If our primary job as a church is to reach people with the Gospel of Christ and make them into disciples we should probably be careful about the things they hear and don't understand when they walk through our doors for the first time. I think sometimes Christians speak their own language. We assume that everyone knows the Bible story we're referencing, we assume that people understand that the blood that flows is not sadistic and the mansion in glory isn't all we think about. We assume to much, and we all know was assuming makes of u and me...

I think we need to be careful. To think about how people feel when they walk into our churches, and if they're going to be introduced clearly to the gospel by the things we do, or if they're going to spend the whole service wondering what the heck an "ebenezer" is.

You could always just go read Deep and Wide by Andy Stanley instead of my blog though... He says it a lot better than I do. I'd recommend doing that. 

Sports Parents

One of the best parts of my job as a pastor is being involved in the lives of the people I minister to. For me specifically, since I work primarily with youth, I get to attend sporting events. I've begun to notice a few trends in parents who watch their students play. There are many different types of parents, from those who threaten to sue the officials for one more bad call to those who sit quietly and wonder what all the fuss is about. I decided, for the sake of clarity, that I would create a set of categories so next time you are at a game you know exactly who you're sitting by.

1. "My Child Carries This Team on Her Back" 

- aka: "Single Child Family" "Private School"

- Characteristics: This parent is yelling. Not cheering. Yelling. At the refs. At the coach. At the other team. Every time their offspring sits on the bench to take a water break it becomes a personal offense against generations of Smiths. Oftentimes this parent doesn't know or care what the score is, they just know it would be higher if their kid were on the floor.

2. "Run Down the Field and Hit Another Basket"

- aka: "Brought My Knitting with me" "Jack, did you bring your cup?" "My Son Thinks You're Beautiful"

- Characteristics: This parent is also yelling, but not to be confused with parent 1, this parent is cheering. This parent is cheering for everything. Baskets. Touchdowns. RBIs. Fouls. Defense. The Cheer leaders. Your 8th grade crush. They may not know if this is basketball or track but they do know that their team better win... as long as the other team doesn't have to lose. 

3. "He Reminds Me of Me When I Was His Age"

- aka: "Dad" "The Unpayed Assistant Coach"

- Characteristics: You'll find this person somewhere between screaming advice from the drills his child was coerced into doing after school and mumbling statistics from the state tourney in '83. You've also seen him sitting on the bleachers during practice spewing well meaning advice to the team and muttering about how much more they used to run when he played.

4. "I Want to Cheer But I'm Just Not Sure"

- aka: "It's the Thought that counts" "You're always a winner in my heart"

- Characteristics: Sitting next to someone with anxious eyes, fidgety hands, but hushed silence occasionally broken by the first few syllables of "Way to Go Kid!"? You're sitting next to parent 4. Ever supportive on the inside but ever timid on the outside, parent four thinks the world of her daughter but just isn't sure if it would be right for her to yell or when the appropriate time to cheer is. She will also be caught making horrified faces at parent number 1 because she doesn't understand how they could be so rude.

5. "I'm Here for Ya Son... While I check my email"

-aka: "Hey Mrs Cheerleading Coach, I'm Bill." 

-Characteristics: He's the one guy shouting out advice that is helpful, but irrelevant. "Defense is the best offense"... while his son's at the free throw line.

Who else have you seen at high school sporting events?

3 Reasons Confession is Important

I have a confession. That confession is that I do not really like the idea of confessing.
I much prefer a comfortable arms length relationship with basically everyone. It's easier that way. If there are certain things no one knows then there are certain things that no one has to know about. And if no one has to know about it then I can pretend it doesn't really exist.

Secrets Secrets are no fun. But they are very helpful in keeping up peoples perception of me.

But then again I am a pastor which means I really do need to teach and accept the whole Bible, not just the parts that I like. There is that verse in James that talks about confessing to one another and praying for one another so that we may be healed.

Darn.

This verse has been running through my mind lately. I wonder what it would look like to live a life where we actually confessed to one another and prayed for one another. I wonder how my life would change if I lived with nothing to hide. A life with no dark closets where I keep all the stuff I can't force myself to throw away, but hope no one ever finds out I actually owned. That closet where most of us keep that members only jacket or studded belt from high school or that shirt that had shoulder pads... Some of us just still wear them like there's nothing that needed to change... (which is for a different blog post whether you mean shoulder pads or unforgiveness).
What would life look like it I didn't try to convince everyone that I wasn't weird and just admitted that I really don't want to get rid of that leather jacket I'm never doing to wear again, just because it's nostalgic? What would life look like if I didn't try to hide the fact that I struggle with things? If when my accountability partners ask "how's it going?" I said more than "pretty good lately, you?"?

Anyone uncomfortable yet? Or am I the only one who has used "pretty good" as a really broad and vague term before?

What would it look like if we actually confessed?
I've got a pretty good idea. I bet if we really started to confess to people that we trust then those people would really start to pray for us. I bet healing would come pretty soon after. I bet I'd never really be worried about what people find out ever again too.

Here are three reasons I think that.

1. Keeping deep secrets is like holding a lit match in one hand and a gallon of gas in the other. You're perfectly safe as long as things go like you planned, but the second you trip everything you knew is blown to bits. And we all know just how often life actually goes as planned.
2. It is impossible to really effect someone when you have them at arms length. Try it. Stand up straight exactly arms length away and try to push someone over without getting any closer to them. Unless you have inhumanly large fingertip muscles that's impossible. In order to have an affect on someones life you have to lean into them. In order to pray for real healing you need to see the hurt. And your prayers when you lean in will accomplish a lot.
3. Because you can never be confident in who you are and who you were made to be until you realize that you are loved in spite of your flaws. Jesus Christ knows literally every thought you've ever had. He knew them before you were even born. He died for you before you thought them, even though He knew you would think them. You can't mess up your way out of his love, and in true Christian community when you are in honest confession, trying to grow and seek healing, you can't mess up your way out of love.

**I'm not implying that we should start posting facebook statuses about our sins. Privacy is important. What I am implying is that a doctor can never help a problem until you tell him where it hurts and that the coughing might come from the chain smoking. To continue that analogy doctor patient privilege is a big deal. You need to be able to really trust and depend on the people you confess to.

So I'm thinking about a life with nothing to hide. It's scary. I don't like it.
But I think it might be worth it.
What do you think?

James 5:16 "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

Captivated

The most important thing a Christian leader can do is be captivated by Christ.

There so many things crowding our vision. It is easy to let our lens get fogged up by the things we are doing and leading and loving and serving and completely lose sight of Christ.

Sometimes we do so much for Him that we forget Him.

We must be captivated by Christ.

It is out of Christ that we will find rest, restoration, identity, calling, energy, motivation, and the ability to give wholeheartedly to the things we are most passionate about.

That means being willing to stop looking at what we feel like we need to do and simply be overcome by our Lord again.

I need to be captivated by Christ yet again.

"One thing I ask from the Lord,

    this only do I seek:that I may dwell in the house of the Lord    all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord    and to seek him in his temple." -Psalm 27:4

Enough

I constantly find myself in internal conflict. 

I find myself conflicted because I know in my head and my heart the never ending grace of Christ, but I still find myself trying to carry my own burdens. 

And they are heavy.

Sometimes it's as if I think I can be good enough if I try hard enough.

Sometimes it's like I think that God needs me to be better.

Sometimes it's as if I forget the cross. 

Sometimes I see the overwhelming reality that I can never be good enough for Christ, I can never remove my sin, I can never overcome my brokenness. 

It is then that I see that Christ is always good enough to make up for me, always strong enough to cover my sin, always great enough to overcome my brokenness. Christ is always and forever enough to save me. I never have to be enough, because He is.

People don't need to see perfection in me, they need to see growth. They need to see grace. 

They need to see that even though I never will be, Christ is enough.

"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." Romans 8:1-4