Searching for Meaning and Purpose...

In our world there are tons of questions we are stuck dealing with. How did we get here? What's the point of me being here? Why did I just do that? But often, the toughest question we have to deal with is: why do bad things happen to good people? I mean, right now I'm in that line of questioning because of some things that are going on in our family. Why would God ever allow that to happen? Why wouldn't He answer the prayers of people who love Him? It just seems so unfair... I feel that we, as American Christians, have bought into a couple lies that our parents probably told us were lies from day 1. The first, is that "life is fair." That concept actually comes from an eastern spirituality where good deeds are rewarded and bad deeds punished, thus creating a universal "karma" that is either negative or positive. While some might think the Bible supports this concept, it doesn't. In fact, it's from the Bible we see that life is not f

So yesterday we talked about what Mighty God meant in terms of the name.  But as the GI Joe's would have told you in the 80's: "Knowing is half the battle" (yes, I did just reference the ubiquitous PSA's at the end of my favorite childhood cartoon in a sermon; so sue me!)  When it comes to God's Word, knowing means jack squat.  The most important part is what it means to YOU.  So, what does it mean to us that Jesus is, "Mighty God?" First, it means His power is at work IN us.  There are a lot of ways to describe this and lots of verses talking about it.  This is simple to point to in our youth center, because the logo verse on the wall sums it up well: Jesus, will ignite the kingdom life, a fire, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out. Luke 3.16  (MSG).   Paul also had somethings to say that I think we need to see: For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.  Philippians 2:13 (N

___________________________________________________________ "For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called:          Wonderful Counselor                     Mighty God,                              Everlasting Father,                                     Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9.6 (NLT) ___________________________________________________________ As we started last week with Wonderful Counselor, we continue today with Mighty God. Now first, where do you hear the word, "might" (and not as in "I 'might' go to the movies" but as in strength or power)? If you're anything like me the answer comes from two places: church and when talking about the military! We hear things about "military might" and sing about how our God is "mighty to save" but what does it really mean? We don't actually know! When asked, most students stare at me and then som

This morning I read an article that encapsulated a lot of my thoughts for a while, and I cannot write like I would normally. Even with the Advent focus, I cannot seem to avoid regurgitating what I read this morning because it is that important and affected me that deeply. So, instead of reading something from me, take a look at this article from Relevant Magazine and Craig Groeschel: A Christian Atheist

___________________________________________________________ "For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called:        Wonderful Counselor                      Mighty God,                              Everlasting Father,                                          Prince of Peace ."  Isaiah 9.6 (NLT) ___________________________________________________________ This is the so familiar Advent refrain. But in its familiarity we forget what it really means! Think back to Moses or Jacob in their encounters with God: they made a singular request that related to the belief structure of the day. Both asked, "What is your name?" Perhaps because they wanted power over this God they were meeting, perhaps because they actually wanted to know; I'm not going to make that call. Regardless, God gave them a name: Y-W-H (I know, I'm not writing this as a Jew but still think it's better that way!)

" But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. " 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV) In our resumes and university applications, credit reports and Facebook profiles, political campaigns and music tastes, we are goaded to flaunt our strengths. Intrinsic to our culture is the philosophy of boasting in strength. Submission to this cultural spurring proves to be a great obstacle to the modern Jesus-lover in his relationship with the Divine. For God views the strength of man as wholesale folly and chooses the weak things of the world to shame the wise. Thus, Biblical instruction contradicts our very habit–– as always–– and we're left at a disadvantage by the very things that we thought enabled us. No longer should we fall into the trap of trying to woo God's eye toward our shabby "good" but, instead,

As far as books about the church go, this is one that ought to be required reading! I thoroughly believe their thesis, that to effectively speak into culture (and to maintain some kind of relevance and authority) the church must become a heterogeneous body composed of every ethnicity, not the homogenous body it currently is. This is the image of heaven, when people from “every tribe, tongue and nation” will be joined together as one, being the body of Christ and enjoying Him forever. As background, I work at a church that has very little (like two to four people out of 200) diversity. On an average Sunday in our little town, we have one to three Hispanic individuals, one Asian, and possibly one other race represented. Are there a couple of Anglo's who add diversity to our congregation because of their immigration? Yeah. Do we do a lot of things to allow us to build bridges (how many churches that are 90+% white and English speaking invite Mexican pastors who speak very litt

I was thinking this morning about the current state of my life, where I've come from, where I've been, where I'm going, and came to a couple of conclusions. I realized that I have come a long, long way in many, many ways; while in many others I have regressed to a startling extent. That was rather frightening in a couple of respects, because I also caught a couple of those things as I worked towards prepping the series we're going towards, called "Retro" (and as a reminder here, God speaks all the time, the question is whether we listen or are looking for what He has to say!). It reminded me of a couple things which you get to share (oddly enough, I suppose that's why this is called a "journey of faith" because we drag each other along the road whether we want to or not!) today. The first thing I realized in my evaluation was that I am a much better overall person, yet no better spiritually. Why? I read my Bible, I pray, I mean, I'm a

This morning I started with this reading: ___________________________________________________________ Bumping Into God By John Greco " In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever. " Joshua 4:6-7 TNIV IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, when the nation of Israel crossed through the Jordan river into the Promised Land, God told them to place twelve stones at the site as a memorial. He wanted them to remember what He had done for them and to tell their children. Their stories had bumped into God's, and the pile of stones would serve as a way to bring it up in conversation: "Those stones? Yeah, those are from when God delivered our people. I was there you know." The stories of people meeting God don't end w

It's the time of year where Judgment House is rolling and the "turn or burn" message gets a lot of attention! Last year it was intense enough that some of my junior high kids cried, but this year I was very pleasantly surprised at more message than scare tactics (no dude with a chainsaw cutting someone in half while telling people to "repent or die!"; never really had that but thought it sounded like the idea some have in mind). The idea that students need to make a choice now or face eternal consequences is absolutely true and important, but the angle they took this year resonated with me. Instead of a basic presentation of how some people think they're good enough (such an incredibly powerful lie of the enemy!), some are bad and don't care, and some are saved this year they hit on a theme that is often missing in many students lives. Yes, their choice today matters, but the choices they make throughout the rest of their lives is just as importan

There are a lot of things that leave me speechless, but some truly take the cake. One of those was listening to people discuss the potential "Lesbian, Gay, Transexual, and Bigender Heritage Month" in my hometown. While I'll admit, Norman has always pushed the progressive side of things as a college town, this kind of blows the rest out of the water. Why? I also saw some comments from an individual regarding the recent "purple pride" day for LGBT students. The comments were, incendiary to say the least, but refreshingly honest (despite their hate filled content). Both have been reactions to the recent rash of suicides of LGBT students (high school and college) that people link directly to their sexual orientation/preference (the overall high teenage suicide rate would have no correlation at all). If you've read my blog for a while, you'll know that I'm not some raging homophobe and that I am a Christian. Here's what I've been thinking

Romans 12 talks about becoming a " living sacrifice " but do we really live that way? First let's define terms and figure out what they mean. First off, a sacrifice meant something dying! In Judaism it meant an animal getting killed to atone for someone's sin. In Greek culture the sacrifice was often given to achieve favor. In some pagan cultures the sacrifice was a child or sex given to receive fertility. By any means, the readers of the day knew that this was a permanent idea, generically involving loss (thus the saying, "no pain, no gain" is about as close to the idea as we often get!) of something important to us. Second, the readers would know that a living sacrifice was impossible, because the animal would not sit there and be burned alive! The idea is something very alien, yet very familiar to the readers then. Today, we cannot fathom what it really meant. Especially the fact that Paul is asking US to be that living sacrifice. At its mos

The New Testament is full of the analogy of "running" or "walking" as a descriptor of faith. Have you noticed that? Just like my stories about football seem to dominate my mental pictures, running and other athletic analogies dominate the writings of Paul. He must have been an athlete or loved the games! As I think about it, it could also just be the fact that it is such an apt descriptor of what faith actually is like! Today I talked with the 46! middle school students who came early to JumpStart about what God asks us to do in terms of faith... Let's see what God had to say to us: Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one

So the title of this post might have you wondering what I'm going to be talking about, but it's something that springs out of the series we've been running through in Jr and Sr. High. As we look at the low expectations people have of teenagers versus God's expectations (and who He made each of you/them to be!), it's amazing how much it resonates with my students. So many of them have been assigned a lesser role (or had no role assigned to them at all!) because of their age and what most people "think" teenagers ought to be capable of. But, the thing is they can do so much more! However, that's not what we're looking at today... Safety nets are an important part of life in many occupations. Trapeze artist for example, is a job where not having a safety net could mean death. I know working as a lineman and climbing telephone poles and such for a living, as much as I hated them sometimes, my safety harness and belt kept me from a lot of pretty

Here are some thoughts from by Ed Gungor courtesy Relevant Magazine: " I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief! " Mark 9:24 TNIV For many people of faith, the idea of experiencing doubt at all makes them very nervous. They view the questions that rise in their minds as evidence of a lack of faith, which surely disqualifies them from being authentic believers. So they shove their doubts into their subconscious in Pollyanna-ish fashion. But what if it's not true? What if honest doubt is actually the essence of faith? What if real faith has doubt in the mix, as a coin has two sides? That would mean struggling with doubt is not a lack of faith; it would actually be faith! I think it is healthy to be uncertain every now and then. Frederick Buechner wrote, "Every morning you should wake up in your bed and ask yourself: 'Can I believe it all again today?' ... At least five times out of 10, the answer should be 'No' because the 'No' is as im

After taking a couple days to look at fatherlessness (which is about a lack of community) I wanted to come back to this discussion of community as the church. When we talk about church, we most likely mean the building our congregation worships in. I know when my kids talk about "going to church," it means driving over to the church building proper. However, the conception the early believers had was far different! They didn't have a building, they didn't have paid staff, they didn't have respect or tax exempt status, and yet that was when everything was "on fire" (yes, I did just use that pun, try not to kill me for it!) as the Spirit had just come down and they were " adding to their number daily ." What made the church grow then versus now? Was it better cultural relevancy? Was it their social justice pursuits in aiding those " who had need "? Was it passionate people? Was it great coffee? Or is there something we overloo

One of the major things that has motivated me in recent years has been the plight of the "at-risk" students, particularly guys. I mean, how many students can I claim come from a two-parent home, much less one where both parents form a functional family? In semi-rural/suburban Kansas it's startling how the numbers play out but across the nation it's much worse. Just look at theses numbers regarding fatherless kids: • 15.3 times more likely to have behavioral disorders • 6.3 times more likely to be in a state-operated institutions • 4.6 times more likely to commit suicide • 6.6 times more likely to become teenaged mothers • 24.3 times more likely to run away • 10.8 times more likely to commit rape • 6.6 times more likely to drop out of school • 15.3 times more likely to end up in prison while a teenage • 73% of adolescent murderers come from mother only homes • Daughters who live in mother only homes are 92% more likely to divorce I've been involved

So after hitting a bit on some of the critiques of the church (hypocritical and anti-gay in case you missed it, look back at Part 1 ), we're back with three more: too political, irrelevant, and judgmental. We'll start with the easy one, "too political." This comes from many who are fighting the "culture war" and who have been part of either the moral majority or any other Christian political cause. As people who believe in Christ, we do, honestly and with some humility stated here, know the best possible way. I mean that (the honestly and with some humility part too!). The way of Christ is the best of all possible ways and is the fulfillment of creation. I mean, every single thing revolves around the person of Christ (like the sun in our solar system), was made in and for the person of Christ, and receives its fulfillment in the person of Christ. Therefore, we receive our fulfillment (as does the fullness of Scripture) only in the person of Christ: r

After yesterday's random ramble (I'm not entirely sure where I was planning on going when I started that, but it finished somewhere else entirely!), here are some important thoughts on community... First off, community is one of the basic principles of life, but particularly of the Christ-follower's life. If one follows Jesus, they are in community. In fact, Jesus established a community we like to call "the church." The church is otherwise known as the body of Christ, but is more known today as hypocritical, anti-gay, too political, out of touch/date (code for irrelevant!), judgmental, and more [read Gabe Lyons and Dave Kinnamon's book UnChristian to learn more]. Now, each of those critiques is honest, important, and something we need to deal with. If not, we (meaning all of us) will render God's community as something devoid of power and very much the irrelevant antique some think it is!). Let's start with the first: hypocritical. I know w