Searching for Meaning and Purpose...

___________________________________________________________ "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 ove...

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...

My newest kiddo is here! Today Nicholas Isaiah came to join the fray, making the Matt Schaffner clan 6 strong (Me, Kathryn, Gavin, Audra, Gabriel, and Nicholas!). He was 6lbs 14 ozs and 19" long. It's awesome to witness/be a part of new life. Seeing someone so helpless who is ours come to be, is incredible. But, I am also amazed at the parallels to spiritual life. When someone meets Jesus and begins to follow, those of us who have been around a while and are mature (we'd better be or else there's something wrong with everything we do to see "growth") are there to help and nurture. Why? Because someone who is new to the Jesus thing are like a baby (spiritually) and are unable to fend for themselves! That means some mature believers need to step into that person's life and be mentor/parent figures in a spiritual sense. But, have you ever seen that happen in your church? Probably not very often! As a youth worker, I hope that my students get to kn...

I know I'd been doing this series of posts on "Problems with God" but, as life has a way of doing, it interrupts our best laid plans. My interruption wasn't pretty, nor has it been fun, but it was something that made me think, a lot. Our lives are filled with interruptions, but it's how we respond that makes us who we are. Some interruptions are good things: marriage, kids, good news, church, etc. Other interruptions are bad things: our screw ups, others screw ups, death, sickness, grief, church, etc. But, each interruption leads us to a place where we must change. When our life is interrupted, the path we were on can be returned to, but we will not be the same because of that momentary (or momentous) interruption. We'll unpack some interruptions and where they lead as well as Jesus' response to life's little interruptions. First, the interruption in my life most recently dealt with someone else's screw up. Yeah, that screw up affected me, b...