What does it mean to be a follower of Christ? I find myself asking this question more and more lately. I look at the world around me and I look at this thing we call the church and I find myself wanting… imagining that there has to be something better… something more… real, uncut, raw and organic.

Continue Reading

Every 4th of July my wife and I go spend the weekend at her dad’s houseboat. It has been something we have been doing for a few years and it makes for a great time for relaxing.

Now, the 4th of July weekend is one of the busiest times at the lake. I love to wake-board and we are usually hard pressed to find water that is calm enough to make a good run. Generally we have to drive a mile or two back in order to find decent water.

Everything is just so busy…

Which makes me appreciate the mornings all the more on the lake. The last few years I’ve tried to make it a habit to go out on the lake at least one morning of my weekend stay, but not in a ski-boat… no, I prefer my mornings on the lake in a good old fashion kayak.

Well, this particular morning I decided would be my kayak extravaganza. So, I got up while steam was still rolling off the water and made my way out to a familiar cove I had been to the year before.

The year before I had found a cove that was one of the most peaceful places I had been to on the lake. It was only about a 1/4 of a mile away from the boat and it reached deep into the surrounding woods. I remember how much fun it was and since I was in a kayak I was able to go so much farther back into the cove than I ever could with a ski boat or jet ski.

So, ready to go back to my familiar cove I made my annual trip. The water was still as glass and only a few other boats were out but they were far enough away that we didn’t disturb each other.

As I was paddling along, I remember how hard and how fast my paddle was going through the water. I just couldn’t wait to get back to this cove. I just kept looking forward to the sound of silence and watching the fish swim below my kayak. The closer I got the faster I would paddle and that’s when it happened.

If you have listened to any of my teachings before then you probably have heard me talk about those moments where God out of nowhere runs up and gives me, what I used to call, a holy kick in the butt.

Well, this was one of those moments. Inside, I heard him say, “your missing it”. Wondering what I was missing I just kept listening and that’s when it made sense. I was missing the best part of going to the cove, the part of getting there. I was in such a hurry to get back to that place I remembered that I was missing the part of enjoying the trip getting there… and I realized that this had to do with more than just my annual kayak trip.

How much of life do we miss trying to paddle our way to some destination. Many people live their lives everyday for tomorrow or the hope of, if this happens… then I will be happy, or when I get to this place in my life and have these things then I can feel complete or whole… and what we don’t realize is that while we are in hopes for tomorrow… today flashes by us… and without today we will never get to our tomorrows.

God made us to live every moment of our lives. He made us to love him and be loved and every breath that we have is a gift that holds so much more than we allow ourselves even to notice.

You see, the best part of any story is not the ending but the process that leads up to the ending…

Take a minute to think of your favorite story or movie. Now take the first 5 minutes and the last 5 minutes, and imagine everything in-between never existed. No matter what story it is, it wouldn’t be that great if all we knew was the beginning and ending.

For a story to be great we need what’s in the middle. We need the ups and downs and twists and plots.. we need to not know whats behind the door just yet so the climax is all the better when it is revealed. A great story teller chooses meticulously what the reader sees and knows as they go through the story. He writes it as a painting and each word in itself may not sound like much but when they are all added together it paints a beautiful picture and a beautiful story.

God is writing your story…

2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. – Hebrews 12:2

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. – Jeremiah 29:11

I learned a lot about life from my kayak trip that 4th of July weekend. I learned that life is meant to live today and that the small passing’s, the relationships and people we meet along the way, the experiences, the choices, the way we live our life here and now all makes up the real story of life and if we are not careful.. we will miss it all.

Let us live our today’s to the full so we will live see our tomorrows come true, let us remember that our faith has an author and if we live by faith then we are given the opportunity to live the greatest story of our lives, let us remember to slow down and notice whats happening around us… the people in our lives… the opportunities God gives us… remember that God is God… and remember what happens in the middle of any story is what makes the ending…

May the painting of your life show the goodness of God and the fullness of his words be made visible in you.

So we had a huge thunderstorm a few nights ago. I would have to say thunderstorms are one of my favorite things. I could sit and watch a thunderstorm for hours. The sound of rain falling on the roof, the claps of thunder that can be heard for miles, the flashes of lightning that design the night sky,the woosh of Little Kitty running through the dark room…

Continue Reading

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately. God is trying to teach me something… something about myself and something about other people. From what I’m getting so far is looks like it is all coming back to one thing… Value. I’m seeing it everywhere and in all kinds of people… people I know and people I don’t know as well. Everyone is living to feel valued… loved… accepted by someone… everyone lives hoping that somewhere out there in this thing they see as their life there is some hope, some inkling of purpose and value.

People will do anything for it. Anything.

Something inside of us needs to know that we were created for something and that this something somehow is connected to someone that gives us great value. People try to find their value in so many different area’s. I work with teenagers… many have broken homes, bad family relationships, feel lonely… confused… hurt… angry… and sometimes even numb. I would venture to say that teenagers are not the only ones that feel like this… it just seems that they show it more openly than the “grown up” world.

In this giant web of feelings and emotions it seems people try to find something that makes it stop… not go numb but makes the sense of worthlessness morph into value… even if its only temporary. It only shows how meaningful value is to people and how much we need it. To know someone cares about us and if we get up in the morning… to know that there is something that makes us feel like we are smart, funny, accepted… fill in the blank. It only shows that we were created, made, designed, molded to need and crave someone to value us. It’s in our makeup, it’s in humanity… it’s people, bare and open with nothing else cluttering up who they are… it shows who we are and our dependency on the value we need.

Like I said earlier I’ve been seeing this concept more and more around me, in the people I know and do not know. I watch many teenagers give their entire heart and soul to someone else… usually called a boyfriend or girlfriend, in the search to feel valued. Now, if you are a teenager reading this blog… Do not shut me off… here me out. This is important, it matters I’m not anti boyfriend/girlfriend if it is right…

They get completely wrapped up and consumed by this other person. They think about them all the time, write songs for them, send them letters, myspace their love for them, announce to the entire world that “they are their everything, one true love, their purpose”. They open up their entire heart to them… all their feelings, hurts, time, failures, successes, and questions… They give this other person everything about them not knowing that when you lay down your everything you do not always get everything back when you pick it up… Sometimes you get less and sometimes you get back something entirely different than what was laid down. Time goes by and something happens that causes the relationship to fall apart and die. They are left hurt and bare with nothing else to offer anyone around them that feels new and fresh and valuable… so they pick up the pieces of their failed relationship and that’s who they become… they become the pieces of what they once were and they no longer feel as complete and whole as they once did… instead they struggle to fit together who they are and what their purpose is with all they have to work with… pieces. Pieces to a jigsaw puzzle of their life that they.. know… nothing… about. They are left with the hurt of trusting this other person with their value and being disappointed… let down.

The problem, the danger was not in having a boyfriend/girlfriend… it is in what they gave… everything. It’s dangerous to give another person all your emotions and love without knowing what they will do with it. It happens though because they need to feel valuable. Maybe their home life sucks, maybe they don’t feel beautiful, maybe they are just angry with not knowing who they are, who they were created to be, and life sucks on this side of the fence, to them, so they do whatever they can to find someone who will tell them, They Matter and are loved. And, when they find that person that tells them what they so desperately need to hear they are ready to fight the entire world to have it. In their eyes it’s this person they would fight so hard for but when you look at what’s underneath it’s really them fighting for what they do so desperately need… value and the sense of it they get from this other person. Not knowing that this other person needs value just as much as they do and neither of them are the source or understand enough about value to give it to the other in a means that is lastingly meaningful and eternal. So, this is why they give their everything to this other person because they are constantly trying to be a source of value to the other person and the only way they feel they can do this is by opening up themselves more and laying down more and giving more just to hear one another say I LOVE You and You are my everything… they.. you were not created… to be the source of value to another person… you were created to receive value and in turn be a conduit to show others the real source of love and value…

You were created to be loved and give love.

God made you because he felt in himself that he wanted someone to love and that would love him back. He made you out of himself when he breathed life into you. The scriptures refer to God as love… he is the source of it. God made you out of himself, which is love, so you could love him back. And in doing so you would find your value, your purpose and feel complete because you were doing what you were made to do… Loving God. There is so much more to this than what I can go into just here, perhaps another day.

So, where does this leave you if you are picking up the pieces of who you once were. Perhaps you have already laid down everything and learned the hard way that you do not always get everything back. Where does this leave you?

Like I said God made you to be loved and love him… this is where value comes from and this is where you can give your everything without fear. Even if your everything is already broken. Cause, when you lay down your everything you do not always get everything back when you pick it up… sometimes you get less and sometimes you get back something entirely different than what was laid down. When you lay down your life and everything to God what you get back is something entirely different than what you laid down… Since he is the one who made you… he knows which pieces do not belong to his picture of your life and he knows how the pieces fit together to make the beautiful picture that he originally intended. What you get back is restoration to life as you were created to be… Loved to give love… This is where you find value.

Now, may you find the pieces of your life are not the end, may you lay down your everything to this God who loves you for you, may you find your value not in someone else but in the beautiful picture God made you for, and may you find that when you lay down your everything, broken or not, you sometimes pick back up something that looks entirely different than what you laid down.

So we’ve been talking about faith lately in Sunday School. What it looks like, how it works… how we put it into practice in an active and real-life situation. It’s definitely been an interesting topic and we have had some good discussion on it. The kids have responded well and it seems like this topic of faith has led us into a place where we can see how faith is embedded into us… it’s part of us… and when we understand it better it doesn’t seem as silly any longer… but that is all for another blog entry.

Today, being Easter, every pastor is talking about the resurrection and God’s completion of salvation for his creation. As I was browsing around in Luke I ran across something interesting.

In Luke 22 we are told the story of Jesus’ arrest and how the disciples ran away in the heat of this moment. One disciple sticks out though, Peter. If you have been in the church for any period of time you already know this story I’m referring to. Peter disowns Jesus three times while hiding out in the court yard where Jesus is being accused; even though he told Jesus that very day that he would never disown him and would die for him; it’s at that point Jesus tells Peter he will disown him or reject him three times before the rooster crows (or the day is over).

Luke tells the story like this:

“54 Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. 55 But when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. 56 A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.” 57 But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said. 58 A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” “Man, I am not!” Peter replied. 59 About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.” 60 Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.”

Now, let’s pause here for a second and take a deeper look at the story we are reading here and the people involved, Peter for the most part. Try to picture this… Peter is this rough edged, straight forward, tough, tell it how it is fisherman guy. He has lived his life working hard and by the many stories we get from scripture we can tell he is also very passionate about what he believes. He has worked in the family business for a while simply because he did not make the cut in the schooling system of his time. The Rabbis of that day basically told him they knew he loved the scripture and torah but he just didn’t make the cut to go to the next level of teaching. Peter knew scripture, he loved God… but he wasn’t one of the elite’s in his day.

So, this young man, just like any other young man of his day, did what he only had left to do… work in the family trade. Every young man wanted to sit under a great Rabbi and be his disciple. They all wanted to hear those words “Come follow me” but the sad reality was only a few heard those words and Peter was not one of them. So, what we have left is a young man who, in societies eyes, didn’t make the cut.

What surprises me is Jesus chose his disciples from men like this… the one’s who didn’t make the cut. It’s no wonder then why Peter dropped everything when Jesus said to come follow him. Jesus said the words Peter had always wanted to hear. Now, from this point on, I’ve always found it funny the relationship between Jesus and Peter. To someone just reading by it could seem weird. One minute Jesus is telling Peter how he is going to build his church on this rock (referring to Peter) and then not even a few paragraphs away he’s telling Peter to get behind him satan.

Then there’s the whole scene when the soldiers show up to take Jesus in the garden and Peter goes for the sword and cuts the mans ear off. I can guarantee you he wasn’t going for just an ear, he just missed. But this shows us a deep picture into this man called Peter. He’s passionate but at the same time still trying to figure this whole thing out. He’s eager to learn, he’s quick to jump (remember the whole walking on water thing) he’s a rough around the edges man trying his best to be like his Rabbi… then when it all comes down to this one moment of denying Jesus… he fails… it’s safe to say Peter was crushed.

He was devastated by what he did. This is the same man who when Jesus asked “who do you say that I am” nailed it, saying You are the Christ. “The Christ” is the greek equivalent of saying the Messiah or the Hebrew equivalent of saying “The Anointed One”. Basically, Peter nailed the big question gold star style and Jesus commends him saying that man had not revealed this to him but only Jesus’ father. Peter realizes that Jesus is this Messiah they have all been waiting for for so long. He realizes Jesus is the Messiah he heard stories about as a kid, he’s the Messiah his grandparents talked about and he’s the Messiah he read about so much in the scriptures. This same man who realized such a great thing, has just denied the very one that he put so much faith in.

This is all about to come together, I promise… so bear with me

Think about this, Peter has spent the last 3 years of his life learning, living, and experiencing life with Jesus. He has seen the dead raised, blind see, broken walk and countless other things we don’t even know about in the scriptures. He has put all his stamina and passion and life into the faith that this man is who he says he is. For three years he has seen Jesus do great things and now he is seeing this king, this Messiah about to die… and he knows that he could be right there with him. He’s scarred, confused, and like many of us when we feel backed into a corner, just wants to get out and make everything stop just so he can think, so he can process all this madness. But, he doesn’t get that chance people keep saying he is one of the followers of Jesus and Peter in this state of confusing and fear denies him… and then Jesus looks right at him when he did it for the third time… This would crush me. It would be like having a parent or anyone really important to me watch me deny a sacrifice they had made for me or watch me deny them as my family.

Now why have I gone through this long drawn out explanation of Peter and what does it have to do with faith. You see, faith is not just one directional… God has faith is us. If I was God and I was going to save humanity and I needed 12 people to trust my teaching to, and trust this task to, and to trust to tell others about it… I would probably go for the elite, the best of the best, the smartest of the smart. the best spoken, best presenter, best personality, best of the best student…. But that is not what Jesus did. He chose the low… the rejects… the one’s that everyone else said were not good enough.

You see, Jesus could have chosen anyone but he chose these 12 guys who didn’t make the cut; just like he has chosen us. When you sign up for this Christian gig it’s much more than just being about heaven and hell and which one are you going to. No, it’s about keeping the story going… keeping the movement moving… it’s about faith and knowing that the God of the universe has placed faith in you and me to fulfill this task he has given us… to share his story, his love and his journey to restore mankind. That’s great faith put in small people. Our faith in God is important but it’s also comforting to see how he has given faith in us to share his story with others. Not that he can’t but that he has chosen to allow us to do it.

God doesn’t have to put faith into us to complete his task. No, for that much he could just do it himself, he is not going to be any less of God if we failed. But the neat thing is he lets us see his faith in us… even though he already knows the outcome… so for him its not so much faith… he knows the end… but for us, it give us value. It’s like having someone believe in you to accomplish a task even though they know you can do it…. you don’t know though…. but that belief empowers you and enriches you to do better because you have someone bigger, smarter, and more able telling you that they believe you can do a fine job at this task. It’s something that makes us feel valuable. It’s something that when we think about it reminds us that we have someone cheering for us in our corner, even if the rest of the world isn’t. And, it’s something that causes us to do better than we ever thought we could simply because the one who is putting faith in us… believes we can do it.

So this easter, remember that you are a work of faith and love. Remember that your imperfections are not bigger than God and remember that God has given faith to you to be active in sharing his story. Remember that God doesn’t have to put faith in you, but chooses to and that you have someone rooting for you in your corner knowing that if you just get up and try you will surprise yourself… because He knows you can do it… it’s just getting you to a place where you can see what he has seen all along, even when the rest of the world doesn’t.

Technorati Tags: devotional, faith, teachings

Well, I’ve been asking for it all year. There have been a few times that I thought we were about to get hit but they were only false alarms. But, now… it’s happening. The snow has finally come.

Now, where I live if we see a snow flake or even feel like one could form, school is canceled and everyone runs to Wal-Mart to stock up on the essentials (toilet paper and milk – I think one may be a little more essential than the other, but I’ll leave it up to you to decide which one that is:)

As the years have gone by it seems like we get fewer and fewer snows. Whenever it happens it makes me start remembering my childhood and how I would anxiously watch the local news station in the morning hoping I would see a glimpse of my schools name under the canceled list. I think this is something we all, as kids, have been through a few times. For that much, I sometimes wish it was the same for work. Pop on the tv to see if work was cancelled or not. Unfortunately that never happens.

It seems like as kids knowing how to anticipate and get excited over the simplest of things came natural. Snow brought excitement because, well first off no school, but also because it meant sledding and snow ball fights, friends and forts, all to end by telling our stories of the day while drinking hot chocolate. These were all things that we just couldn’t do any time we wanted… we had to wait for them. Sometimes it would only happen once a year but when it did we were ready… at least I know I was.

I think a lesson can be learned out of remembering. The snow reminds me to take time to stop and enjoy the change going on around me. Just to take a minute or two to watch green turn to white and the air become thick with flakes. It reminds me to remember… remember stories of times with family and friends of the last snow; because I know eventually the snow will be gone.

The same thing can be seen at work in our spiritual life. God wants us to remember… and take time to stop and watch how things around us are being changed. To remember that He is in control and just because our day may not look sunny that doesn’t mean it still isn’t be beautiful. Things change in our lives, jobs change, hobbies change, tasks change, minds change, things change… it’s what we do when things change that matters. Do we stress out and beat our heads against the wall trying to fix everything or do we take time to watch the snow, and remember… knowing that this change could very well be one of those changes, just like the snow, that may only come every once in a while, providing us with opportunities that we normally would never have.

Technorati Tags: christianity, devotional, teachings

Ok, so I’ve been thinking about this one for a while. My job gives me the opportunity to talk to many different churches and help them with their needs. Honestly, I really enjoy it. What I do not understand at times though is how many churches put building before ministry.

Now don’t get me wrong, I do not think these churches just sit around a round table (or square one if you prefer) and decide that they are just going to put building and growing before ministry…. I think it comes under disguise. Not their disguise or that they try to hide it but instead I believe it’s more of a spiritual attack type of thing… with a good mix of pride.

Now, you might be asking… where is all this coming from. What’s the source of my frustration with this issue. Well, like I said… I talk to a lot of churches. Most of the time about a product that I offer. I can not tell you how many times I have heard this response, “Well, I know this would help us so much (this being whatever they see as being a direct need of ministry) but our church just started a building program and we have absolutely no budget. We are having to cut costs and stop spending so we can make this happen.”

This kills me, not that they didn’t buy my product or that I was even put on hold, no, what gets me is that I see this so much in the church today. A church starts to get excited and sees some growth and in response to that they leverage everything they have to go the route of building a new facility with what they see as the blessing of God. But most of the time THEY CAN’T AFFORD TO BUILD!

Now, I know that there are cases where building is necessary and is in order to perform. I’m not questioning that. What I do question though is when building becomes everything. When it requires the church to cut back on ministry to save money for a building, when it gets to a place where the ministry can not function with the resources it needs because of budget crunches, and when ultimately it becomes the desire of the church to build the new building more than it is to change a community by showing them Jesus. By the way, Jesus is not shown through a building, he is shown through people.

A building will never change a life… Some might argue this that a beautiful building creates an atmosphere to experience God, but I believe that is a bunch of Hoakie… A building houses people and is a tool available for the most part to accommodate our desire for comfort. Again, don’t get me wrong. I do not believe buildings are bad, I question the motives and timing for building at times. I like air conditioning and padded seats… come on if I had the choice between that and a rock I would choose the padded seat. But building can not become the desire of the church. If that happens the church essentially sets up a new idol that they desire more than God.

I’ve seen too many churches split over silly things like buildings, carpet color, stained glass or not, pew name plates, hymnals, and fill in the blank, I’ve seen too many churches screech to a halt in their reaching of their communities because they believe “if they build it they will come”, I’ve seen too many people leave the church because opinions and pride went way too far over things that did not matter.

There will come a time when building is right… when it fits into place and does not crush the church in order to accomplish it. The most important thing we can do as the church is show people Jesus. I don’t want to see the church become like a Pharisee and neglect the more important matters like Justice, Mercy, and Faithfulness by focusing too much on the less important things.

Technorati Tags: church building, Ministry

So, I’ve decided to start this blog… well, let me be politically correct “I am finally starting this blog”. Yes, I’ve been planning on starting a personal blog for a year now and just have never got started. But today is the day, its been done, I’ve finally started. Whew! I gave procrastination a giant drop kick into the nearest hole. Or, something like that…

Well, for those of you who somehow stumbled upon my little piece of real estate here in cyberspace, you are probably wondering who I am and what is this whole blog about. That’s what the about page is… well about. There you can find out a little more about me and what this blog purpose is for>>>hmmm, that sounds so buisnessy.

To tell you the truth, this blog is really a means of me getting my thoughts out. I’m a thinker. Sometimes too much of one. I love to take something (a teaching, puzzle, problem, scripture) and turn it upside down, all around and see what is behind the scenes. I love the process of discovering… and then teaching. I also love hearing… hearing new perspectives on things… if you have one, feel free to share it; a perspective on something that is.

There is just something about discovering something new in places that have always been around you that fascinates me. It makes me feel like I’ve found hidden treasure. And since I definitely don’t wear eye liner and call myself Jack Sparrow this is about as close as I get to finding hidden treasure.

I love theory, and questions. As time goes on and blank space becomes new posts, I encourage you to engage into this with me. Ask questions and then ask questions about your questions… if that makes sense. I believe a question opens us up and allows us to find something new. Like this question:

“What is your name and what makes you… you?” >>> Feel free to answer:)

I can find out a lot just from asking. Sounds so simple, huh?

Well, that’s all I have for now… not really anything super enlightening in this first post. But, maybe more will come as time passes. Time… that’s an interesting topic.

Technorati Tags: starting a blog

Here is a great website for all of you who wish you were a little more polished on your graphic design skills. This company provides good looking stock layouts that you can purchase and use for a wide array of projects. I have a ministry friend who just used this company to purchase a template for the Sunday Morning Bulletin. If you are interested you can go to www.stocklayouts.com to find out more.

Tags: bulletins, newsletters, church graphics, church graphic design

I’ve been listening to a teaching series by Joe Mcgee lately. I learned something really interesting while listening to this series. He was talking about life and migrated over to talking about sin. In Greek terminology, sin was an old archery word. Every archer tried to hit the center of the bulls-eye on the target; or in other words “hit the mark”. The distance from the bulls-eye to where the arrow actually hit was called the “sin”. So, in Greek times this word sin meant you missed the mark by “x” amount or “by this much”.

This means that in the Greek culture, when sin was talked about they instantly gained a mental picture of missing the mark with an arrow. Really interesting. I have always loved metaphors and parables, because they help you really grasp the full meaning of a teaching and continue to remember it long after it has been spoken. So, hopefully this helps you understand another viewpoint of what “sin” was seen as.