Archive for February, 2009

24
Feb

I’m Not Catholic…

By Chris 0 Comments
Categories: Church Plant and Faith

But I observe Lent.  I keep Lent because I’m a follower of Jesus.  I respect the journey, not so much the ritual. If you keep a daily planner or schedule your weeks around a purchased calendar you can’t escape the influence of the seasons of the church.  These seasons revolve around the life of Jesus (birth and his death).  The purpose of these seasons is to infuse our lives with meaning that adds depth to our journey of faith. 

 The season of Lent involves Jesus’ death.  Beginning tomorrow, Ash Wednesday, we enter the Lent season.  Lent began as a time of preparation for baptismal candidates who would be baptized on Easter Sunday.  But since these baptismal candidates were part of a living community of faith (like Graceland), the entire community was called to preparation.  So, Lent, a season of preparation for Holy Week and Easter, begins on Ash Wednesday, and culminates with Holy Week.

 Why would a Christ follower, who has no roots in Catholicism, practice Lent?  Because these season invite us to participate and move past the regular cycle of “day in and day out” and the week to week to engage a larger, historical and meaningful event.  Lent is a season of deep reflection that ends with a great celebration of Easter.  It incites in us the sacrifice Jesus made for us as we fast.  As we find quiet corners in our day to speak with God, we share the same silence as Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Likewise, as Jesus stood between us and God we show justice toward others during Lent (as we should 365 days a year).

 Today, some people give up a vice of theirs, add something that will bring them close to God, and often give time (or money) toward charitable purposes or organizations. Without doubt many misuse these seasons but even unbelievers sin of Fat Tuesday and make temporary sacrifice until Easter.  I believe God honors any desire, no matter the reason, that draws us toward Him rather than static or backward motion.

That is why I observe Lent.  I encourage you to do the same.

18
Feb

What is Love?

By Chris 2 Comments
Categories: Church Plant and Random

Okay, so I’m on some love kick!  But since I’m leading a missional community and many of the people involved are returning to Jesus or investigating faith the subject of love and relationships are all around us.  I find myself thinking about the difference between love, lust, infatuation, passion, desire, even obsession.

Here are some thoughts.  I’ll keep with Infatuation and Love to avoid confusion.  But I believe Love is clearly different once looked at from a distance (which is the hard part). So you could replace any word (lust, passion, desire, obsession) for Infatuation.

Infatuation is the instant desire that is in fact a primitive, biologically based drive, like hunger or sex. My wives favorite quote is “Love is friendship on fire.”  I like that.  Love is friendship that has caught fire.  It takes root and grows, one day at a time.

Infatuation presents feelings of insecurity.  You are excited and eager to see them, but not genuinely happy.  There are nagging doubts, unanswered questions, parts of your beloved you would rather not examine too closely for fear of spoiling the dream.

Love is at home with imperfection with quiet understanding and mature acceptance.  Love is genuine and rejoices with the truth.  It is real.  Love grows and nurtures the object of that love.  You are warmed by their presence, even when they are away.  Love always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres even when miles separate you.  Near or far, you know they are yours and you can wait.

Infatuation says, “We must get married right away. I can’t risk losing you.”

Love says, “Be patient.  They are yours.  Plan your future with confidence.”

Infatuation has an element of sexual excitement. Whenever you are in one another’s company you are hoping it will end in intimacy.  It has a sense of self-seeking and you become easily angered when it doesn’t turn out as expected.  It can be rude.

Love is the maturation of friendship. You must be friends before you can be lovers.  You find kindness and selfless rewarding in love.

Infatuation lacks confidence. When he’s away, you wonder if he’s cheating.
Sometimes you check.  Infatuation records unprovoked wrongs.

Love means trust. You are calm, secure, and unthreatened. She feels your trust and it makes her even more trustworthy.

Infatuation might lead you to do things you’ll regret later, but love never will.

Love lifts you up. It makes you look up. It makes you think up. It makes you a better person than you were before. Love never fails.

 Reference cited: 1 Corinthians 13
17
Feb

Movie and a Show

By Chris 0 Comments
Categories: Family

This past Sunday our Simple Church talked about John 3.1-21.  If you’ve been a follower of Christ very long (or not so long) you know that these verses encompass the famous John 3.16.  You can find this verse at many sports games being waved somewhere close to the goal post or free throw line.  Any case the verse speaks of God’s love for us.  It actually reads that “God so loved the world that He gave…”  The scripture says a lot more but I want to stop here, because giving is the ultimate language of love.

I think this thought is appropriate for this previous weekend.  Valentine’s Day was this weekend and if you have a significant someone than you probably celebrated some act of love (1 Cor 13).  But I don’t believe there is any act of love greater than the act of giving.  And in a world that evolves around two economies: time and money.  It’s the giving of time that can have no equal.

confessions_of_a_shopaholic_ver2I bring these two economies up because this weekend I realized how much I truly love my girls (wife: Summer and daughter: Tatum).  They are the most important people in my life on earth and I can not conceive of loving anyone more.  So when I gave time to be with them in two venues of entertainment and found myself asking, “What I’m I doing?” I quickly recognize I’m loving my girls in the moment and showing them how much I love them by giving myself.  So what did I do with them?

Saturday night I watched “Confessions of a Shopaholic” with Summer.  If you know me that was torture!  The joy I found was hearing my wife laugh out loud and pull me close during the “mushy” parts.  I’m not a big teen movie buff (I can hear Summer now saying it wasn’t a teen movie, but if felt like one), I prefer action and story depth.

elmo08_300Sunday night we went downtown as a family to watch Sesame Street Live: Elmo’s Green Thumb.  Now this was not actually bad.  It felt kinda cool with all the families and the joy of watching children light up with the characters walked on stage.  When I was a child you couldn’t tear a stuffed Grover doll from my little hands.  He was in every picture.  So there was a bit of joy when I saw him take the stage.  However, it took Tatum about five songs before she released the death hug on her mother’s neck and watch the show facing forward. By the end all we could hear Tatum saying was “Where Elmo?”

I actually loved my Valentine’s Day because of the joy my girls gave me.

13
Feb

Valentine’s Day Fuss

By Chris 0 Comments
Categories: Family

moment077I’ve been looking to write about fighting in marriage for awhile.  Since Valentine’s Day is this weekend – couldn’t think of a better time (my wife is now laughing or frowning). I think this subject is very serious.  Growing up I observed many different types of martial aggression, much of what was hostile. So before getting married, and since, I’ve tried to relearn what is constructive in an argument.

Let me give a disclaimer: My wife doesn’t fight; well, she doesn’t fight back.  She gives a little attitude when she feels it’s necessary (or not), but rarely doesn’t she actually argue. Nevertheless, it’s essential your argument ends well no matter if words or silence is exchanged. How you end an argument can determine the enduring success or failure of your relationship.

Control.  If anything I’ve learned it’s important to keep your cool and maintain control.  It’s never appropriate to be childish, abusive or immature in an argument.  You have every right to your feelings and communicating your feelings, but only when it’s helpful, not smug, and taking yourself lightly.

I’ve always told Summer that we are going to fight or disagree about something, it’s only natural.  But it’s how you fight and the desire outcome you have for the fight.  Do you want to resolve the issue or get even, revenge, or power?  If you have to win then that means your spouse has to lose. Everyone loses when we have those attitudes. This is no competition, it’s a partnership.  God said two became one.

Here are some rules to fight by.  I think every book, website, and marriage guru suggests some form of these so they all get create.  But here they are again.

Keep it private.  Fighting in front of your children, friends, or strangers is embarrassing. It scars children emotionally for life and because you couldn’t control yourself until you could speak privately.

Stay on Issue.  Don’t use this issue to air out or bring up old grudges.  Practice using boundaries around subject matters so that a fight doesn’t become a free-for-all.

Be Real.  Deal with the issue not the symptoms.  And be honest and truthful with each other – nothing false. Communicate what is really bothering you or you will end the fight feeling more frustrated.

No Name Calling. Stay focused on the issue, not on attacking them personally so you feel more powerful or proven.  Don’t let the fight degenerate into name-calling.

Remain Clear.  What do you want when the disagreement is over?  If you don’t know what you want when it’s all said and done — you won’t know if you achieved it.

Let Your Partner Save Face.  How you end is crucial.  Recognize when they are ready for the argument to be over – maybe in the form of an apology or a joke – and give them a way out of the disagreement that doesn’t require them to feel the loose. Also accept that some issues will not be resolved now and your partner has the right to space to think and reflect.

lioness-wiefKeep Balanced.  Remember that not every disagreement means putting on the gloves.  Not every issue demands intensity.  You do not have to get mad every time you have a right to be.  Your partner can sense your emotions without you screaming or shouting.

Over By Bedtime.  My wife and I have an unsaid rule that arguments should be temporary, so we don’t let them go beyond bedtime.  Sometimes we want to sleep on it (she is a processor), but we don’t allow the ugliness of an argument to stretch beyond going to sleep.  Somewhere I remember the saying “don’t let the sun go down on your anger” (Eph 4.25-27; Psalm 4.4).

I wish I could say I’m perfect in all things martial discord.  I don’t claim to be a good husband, but I’m learning to be better.  I love my spouse as I’m sure you love your own (or will someday) and believe the best fight is the one that ends with both satisfied and eclipsed by love.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

11
Feb

Stories

By Chris 0 Comments
Categories: Church Plant, Faith and Random

I’ve been thinking about “story” a lot recently; specifically our nation’s story.  We have a first African-American president in Obama and his been compared to Abraham Lincoln, which is electrifying as we celebrate 100 years of the NAACP (Feb. 12. 1909). Of course, tomorrow is Lincoln’s birthday (2/12/1809) and I’m reminded of the Gettysburg Address where Lincoln quoted Thomas Jefferson’s words found in the 1776 Declaration of Independence that read, “all men are created equal.”  These are the same words Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the women’s movement leader, affirmed in the 1848 Declaration of Sentiments and that Martin Luther King Jr. cited in the 1963 “I Have A Dream” speech.  These words have long been apart of our nation’s story

 As a church, Graceland People, believes everyone who calls themselves followers of Christ are called to minister, so we avoid titles and systems that elevate one person over another spiritually.  In the Kingdom of God and Graceland People we are all equals. 

 God has long used story to communicate his redeeming purpose.  Perhaps, the greatest gift of story in the Bible is of Christ but also the linear theory of history with its implication that life can get better and avoid decline and the idea of the equality and dignity of each individual that culminated in the statement that “all men are created equal.”  

 As a community we value everyone’s story.  We encourage everyone, anyone, who has a story to share it with others.  In the future we will posted such stories on our church network website at www.GracelandPeople.com. 

 If you have a story of life, redemption, or what God can do and is doing please share it with others – share it with me.  I would love to hear your story, become apart of your story so we can share a story together.

I look forward to reading your story.

09
Feb

God’s Example

By Chris 0 Comments
Categories: Ethics and Random

Recently, I was reminded how hard it can be to be first at something.  If the actions bring goodwill and success than the measures are worthwhile, but if you find failure and shame in the actions you carry regret.  You really don’t know until you take the first step.

 As you read the Leviticus 24 account of Israel you have a sense of rule and command, but also a sense of a God way ahead of culture.  A loving God who is calling for His people to be better then themselves and their surroundings finds an object lesson among His people.  Right in the middle of perpetual decrees about feasts, light, and bread you find God’s object lesson.  Someone always has to go first and for this son of an Israelite woman and Egyptian man you find God’s example.

 We don’t know his name but we know he blasphemed The Name.  His Name carried much reverence and pride in the people of Israel.  We know today that His Name was so reverence that they used a sub-name to protect themselves from abusing The Name.  So this day when this son of an Israelite woman and Egyptian man with no name broke out in fighting between him and an Israelite it was serious.  See the son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name of God and cursed.  They brought him to Moses.  We don’t know the son’s name but we know his mother’s name was Shelomith. 

 So what does a man like Moses do with a son of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian father?  This son has the blood of the oppressed and the oppressor running through his veins.  He is both native and foreigner so do the rules still apply.  This son will be our first so how do we treat him?  Do we treat him different?  This will affect Israel and how they treat others forever. So the scripture says Moses put the son in custody waiting for God’s will to be revealed to them.

 God says take the son outside the camp and everyone who heard him blasphemes must put their hands on his head, and then the entire congregations stone him.  God says tell everyone there must be accountability for anyone who blasphemes the Name of God.  It makes no difference whether he is a foreigner or a native, if he blasphemes the Name, he will be put to death.

 What follows is the instructions how to treat those who kill, mistreat, or hurts others.  It’s here the famous words ring, “life for a life…eye for eye, tooth for tooth.”  You know “do unto others as they have done unto you”…or at least that is how we remember it. 

 This act of blasphemes is strong words and disrespect of God.  The act of blaspheming goes much deeper than words and deeds to the root of man’s heart and lack of regard for God.  We would hear again in Numbers 15.30 that blasphemes leads to being cut off from a person’s community.  Mark 3.29 that blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can not be forgiven.  And last Luke 12.10 that everyone who speaks words against Jesus as Man (his acts on earth) will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

 In spite of the gravity of the sin God didn’t just have him stoned; he had the community get involved.  It was that heavy and serious to God.  He called to everyone to participate, to remember and respect.  I guess the moral of the story is being careful of your regard of God. Last, if you’re going to be the first at something, and be the class example, try to avoid the unforgivable.