A Pot of Stew

A Prayer for Grace

2012-01-28T22:35:00.001-05:00

Dear God,

We thank you for your abundant grace so freely given to our broken selves and world. While we wait for eternity to fully realize the depth of your forgiveness and grace, we pray that we might learn to draw strength from it today. We work so hard to be right, but let us not forget the priority of compassion and forgiveness. Fill us with your grace so that we might truly put others before ourselves. Your grace allows us to find contentment. Free us from unrestrained consumption, the belief that because it is available that it is good. Remind us that though all things may be permissible, that all things are not profitable. Give us grace to resist our temptations. We rely on our own strength and will too often seeking our own definition of good. Without your grace, no amount of good is good enough, for only through you can we find redemption.

We lift to you this morning our burdens and needs God. We know that you hear the cry of our heart. Give us ears to hear and a heart to listen in return. Your way is the way of peace and fulfillment God, we pray that you set our feet on that path as we look to our Savior Jesus as our guide. We pray for our world, and troubles faced by our brothers and sisters of which we’re not even aware. We pray for our nation and thank you for a system in which we our voices may be heard. May our voices reflect the voice of hope, joy, peace, and love. We pray for our community that we might forge relationships and connections that allow us to share life together, celebrating the good and mourning our losses, and continually striving to realize thy kingdom come. We pray for ourselves, that you would reach into our very souls and shape us into the people you would have us to be for we realize that community, nation, and world will never be any better than the individuals who populate them.

We pray for your blessing God. Give us knowledge for our minds, strength for our bodies, and courage and compassion for our hearts. We ask for this not for our glory, but yours, that we might be your people in this world. You are our God and for this we are thankful.

Amen.

An Advent Prayer of Joy

2011-12-10T22:03:00.000-05:00

Psalm 126

A song of ascents.

¹ When the LORD restored the fortunes ofZion,

we were like those who dreamed.² Our mouths were filled with laughter,
   our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
   “The LORD has done great things for them.”
³ The LORD has done great things for us,
   and we are filled with joy.
⁴ Restore our fortunes, LORD,
   like streams in the Negev.
⁵ Those who sow with tears
   will reap with songs of joy.
⁶ Those who go out weeping,
   carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
   carrying sheaves with them.

Dear God,

May this morning bring us assurance of the eternal joy we have in you. In the midst of this advent season, among all of the displays of our world we’re given a message of joy. Bright colors and catchy songs pervade our lives and tell us we should be happy. Yet even the coming of Christmas doesn’t end our worries in this world. We lift our troubles before you this morning God because as much as we try to hide our suffering behind polite smiles we need you in our lives and in our world. We pray for the day when polite smiles aren’t needed and we beam with a joy that comes from restoration.

Be with us God as we mourn the losses in our lives. In this season we cherish our time with loved ones, but the absence of some grows even larger in our hearts. As we deal with physical struggles we ask for comfort. When our bodies break down, we pray even more that you rest in our soul and give us peace. Politics and economics bring spirit crushing anxiety when governed by the rules of the world. We pray that you help us to practice God’s politics and live in a heavenly economy that brings life and light into our lives and the world.

Fill our mouths with laughter, fill our tongues with song, for the Lord has done great things for us. We need look no further than our hands can reach from left to right to find proof of your faithfulness to us. We thank you for the life-giving relationships in our lives. Through good and bad we thank you for our friends and family. We curse the traffic and hate the crowds this time of year, but help us to notice the friendly smiles, the people who hold a door for us or offer their spot in line. Right after you made us you said it was good, let us remember that and hope for the day when humanity will be restored in all of the goodness in which you created us.

Until that day God may we seek your will and strive to live out all of the goodness that is in us through the grace and goodwill of your Son, Jesus. In all of our troubles remind us that God is with us. As we prepare ourselves for Christmas and remember the birth of Christ, help us to draw strength from the knowledge that just as you entered the world through a baby to draw us close to you, that we may continue to allow Christ into this world through us. You have done great things for us Lord, and we are filled with joy. Amen.

A Prayer of Rest and Forgiveness

2011-09-25T20:51:00.000-04:00

Dear God,

We come to you in thanksgiving. May our hearts and minds rest in you. We thank you for stillness. As we sit in your space give our bodies rest from a week of work, school, and play. Clear our minds of all the clutter we've filled them with this week. Help us to give away all of our thoughts that we may think only of you. We pride ourselves on our independence and how well we take care of ourselves, this might not be all bad, but relieve us of that pressure so that we may rely wholly on you.

Thank you for taking care of us even when we don't recognize it. Help us to see you for all that you are to us. More than a good idea, more than a set of values, you are the God who created us and longs to draw us close.

Forgive us for the space we create between you and ourselves. Forgive us for ignoring you because we're so content with the way things are. Forgive us for the hurt we cause each other because we're so wrapped up in ourselves. Forgive us for misrepresenting you and causing others to doubt you. Forgive us for our overconsumption. Forgive us for turning negative when things don't go our way.

We know that you are with us, may we remember this and let it drive our words, thoughts, and deeds, daily. We preay for our world, that we could truly find peace and understand how living together should work. We pray for our country, that we could make wise decisions with civility. And we pray for our church, that we would bring your light into this world, reflecting the glory of the God whom we serve.

Break our hearts for the things that break yours God and give us a submissive spirit that we might be shaped into the men and women that you have intended for us to be. We ask all of this in name of our Savior who taught us to pray, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And, forgive us of our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory. Forever, Amen.

Really Pat?

2011-09-16T15:10:00.000-04:00

You may have heard the news about Pat Robertson's latest offensive comments. This time it didn't target gays or foreigners, but the diseased. In a recent television appearance, Robertson replied to a caller asking about how he should adivise a friend who had decided to see another woman because of his wife's advanced Alzheimer's.

I grew up fundamentalist, so I think I know the answer here. Tell the friend to stop, ask forgiveness, and love on his wife until death. From birth to seventeen years old, I attended a good old King James, Bible Believing, Independent Baptist Church, three times a week, every week. That makes over 2500 sermons before I even became an adult, and most of them had something to say about sex, drugs, and/or rock and roll. Don't take me the wrong way, the people of that church showed love and care with their actions, but the message out of their mouths came clear. Adultery and Divorce are wrong.

I've never been a big fan of Robertson, but I thought he would at least get this one right. But no, he said "I know it sounds cruel, but if he's going to do something, he should divorce her and start all over again, but make sure she has custodial care and somebody looking after her." He admits that marriage is until "death" but then says that Alzheimer's is like a living death. So that makes it ok I guess.

This is so wrong, and the reason why I believe Christians (yes, I am one) need to understand the source behind their convictions. For starters, our nation is great, and I love family, but let's be clear. I believe in a man, who I also believe was a God (the God even). That this God-man lived on this earth and suffered death at the hands of his creation. Miraculously, he didn't stay dead. He returned to this earth until ascending into heaven. If you're not a Christian, that sounds foolish. If you are, it probably doesn't sound foolish enough. If you really believe that (and I do) its a pretty big deal. Bigger than a pledge or blood relationships, or all of the legalistic morass we let ourselves get bound up in.

Let's look to some reason. If said wife has "lost her mind", we might conclude that she is no longer "like the living", therefore a covenant relationship like marriage may be voided on those grounds. She is less than human, not deserving the same right to expect faithfulness from her husband as one who possesses full mental health. If that's the case, then how can you argue that a fetus in the womb possesses full life that can't be violated. Is the potential of life more valuable that the fulfillment of life embodied in its final journey to death? Does the fetus deserve any more the right to birth than a person deserves the right to maintain full dignity and humanity even unto death?

Too much self-serving logic going on here. Of what value is life? Can we argue over it's beginning at conception or birth while we sit idly by watching execution take place? How did a discussion of Alzheimer's take us to capital punishment? Shane Claiborne wrote just today a defense of Grace in the face of death. Should we dismiss the Psalms and get self-righteous over the fact that King David, guilty of murder, should have never been allowed to live long enough to write them? Should the bulk of the New Testament be rejected because the writer, Paul, would have willingly accepted the penalty for his crimes if his conversion had been true?

We need to think! Humanity, infused with the very breath of God is exceedingly deep, but we flippantly decide who is deserving and who doesn't have the privilege to the rights of that humanity. We are too ready to set our minds firm on issues of abortion, death, the right to life, and dying with dignity when these issues deserve deep and mindful consideration and soul-searching.

But unfortunately for many, it's just a whole lot easier to find out what Pat thinks about it.

A Prayer for Sunday, September 11, 2011

2011-09-10T22:02:00.002-04:00

Dear God,

When words fail to meet our need to express our desires for you we are grateful that you know us even better than we know ourselves. When we can’t even know what we should be asking from you we are thankful that you have known what we need even before we were born. We come to this place today to connect with you. Bless us with the knowledge that you are in this place, that you are with us. May our worship be pleasing to you.

We come today with an acute mindfulness of this date, ten years past the day our world changed before our eyes. Even today we try to make sense of what happened and our reactions to that day, both collectively and individually have yet to find an end. Help our children to understand the significance of what they can’t remember, to know that comfort and safety are gifts to show gratitude for and not to be taken for granted. As we pray and hope for comfort and safety for our children, we also recognize the value of struggle; as we struggle in this world may we do so together, walking step by step with you.

May you lead us to forgiveness God. We may never know how much debt we owe to you. The trials you’ve led us through in this life that we’ve failed to attribute to your hand or the trials to come in eternity that according to your promise you have overcome. As we pray for our children we offer the same prayer for ourselves. Your grace has brought us safe thus far, may we understand the significance of what we can’t remember, to know that your sacrifice in the body of Jesus has brought us from a living death into eternal life. With this measure of forgiveness let us know that nothing is unforgiveable to us, the children of God.

You are a God of beauty, of restoration, of making good out of ugly things. We reflect today on the ugliness of September 11 and pray that through your spirit we can turn this tragedy into a victory of love over hate, peace over war, sacrifice over selfishness, humanity over evil. You have given no less to us, from us no less is expected.

We want this God, to walk in the light of forgiveness and mercy, but we know that it can’t be done from our own strength and will. May we follow your will on this path.

Amen.

More Memories

2011-08-28T17:16:00.003-04:00

After the last post about memory and songs, it seems that every time I turn on the radio I hear something that takes me back. Not the songs that you hear everyday, but the ones that seem to happen randomly and take you back to those moments that reside in the back of your brain. The memories that you've filed away and might never recall again until something happens to trigger it.

Here in Charlottesville, the UVa students moved in just a week or so ago. After reading several facebook posts from residents complaining about the traffic the students brought to town I got in the car for a quick trip to the supermarket. What did I hear but "Here's Where the Story Ends" by the Sundays. That song was an anthem for my last summer at home before leaving for college myself.

I worked at KFC that summer. The worst job I ever had. My parents had lobbied for me to return to the factory, but I insisted on something different. (Parents 1- Me 0; they were right) There was an assistant manager at the store. She was 35-40 years old, mother of a few, former husband in jail, and on top of it, I didn't find her attractive. I was only seventeen. I'll spare the details, but she started behaving rather inappropriately toward me and I was scared.

On my last night at work, I showed up over an hour late. A friend of mine had already quit, and skipped out completely on his last scheduled shift. This manager's shift ended as mine began that day. I couldn't bring myself to just cut out, but I thought after a half hour or so she would think that I had decided to skip out like my friend. She didn't. She waited up to see me. I went back into the kitchen and wouldn't come out, and she wasn't allowed back since she wasn't working. At the end of my shift she was waiting in the parking lot.

I got into my car and cranked it while she stood in the door trying to talk. I didn't hear a word of what she said, but the tape playing in my car would leave a memory etched into my brain that remains to this day. "It's that little souvenir, of a terrible year." I finally pulled out of the parking lot leaving that job and everything about it behind.

Several weeks later I remember sitting in my new dorm. I'd brought the tape with me and played it in the room as my roommate arrived. We made small talk, but the interaction was awkward. I'd just bought a fan that I needed to assemble, so that occupied my hands and gave me something to do. When the track played on the tape, I remembered just how awful my last summer at home had been. I sat on the edge of my bed and looked across the room at this new face listening to the words "Here's Where the Story Ends." and I new that every chapter of our lives can be closed with those words, but the story really never ends. It becomes a part of our life and prepares us to create new stories that we will take with us forever.

Memories and Melodies

2011-08-19T23:17:00.001-04:00

Ever notice how strong of a connection certain songs make to episodes of your life? Last week I heard "Veronica" by Elvis Costello on the radio. I either haven't heard that song in a long time, or just haven't noticed, but this time it evoked a flood of memories.

The summer after my sixteenth birthday my parents expected me to get my first job. They always agreed that I wouldn't have to work during the school year if I could find full-time employment during the summer that paid a decent wage. Growing up in Bassett, Virginia, the easiest option was the factory.

At the time, Bassett was home to at least five furniture factories. My mother's three brothers, my father, brother-in-law, and nearly every other male I could think of in my family worked in the furniture business. Factories were wide and tall brick buildings with smokestacks and tiny windows hiding most of what went on inside. The only clues about what happened in a factory came promptly at noon and three-thirty every weekday, shortly after the horn that was heard across the entire town. Worn, tired, and dirty men and women would rush out of the buildings, their demeanor and appearance making it clear that whatever went on in a factory, I didn't want any part of it.

School started at 8:20, so getting ready to punch the clock at 7:00 on my first day of work was no small task. I worked in the same building as my father, but we didn't ride together. His routine involved getting to work early enough to read for a while in his car, gather briefly with friends in the break room, and punch the clock at 6:55 to make sure he wasn't late. (Punching in earlier meant you'd have to be paid for the time and the company didn't allow that. Punching in later than 7:00 meant your time would be docked and my father wouldn't allow that.)

I intended to roll into the parking lot, exit my car, proceed straight to the time clock and punch in when the horn sounded official Bassett time-- 7:00. Riding to work that morning, "Veronica" played on the radio. The lyrics have nothing to do with the memory, but I found it catchy enough to stick in my brain for the summer.

The tasks required on the assembly line were mind-numbingly monotonous. I couldn't help but sing "Veronica" over and over. My brain was empty and idle within minutes of my first day of work. Gluing the same wooden block into piece after piece of furniture. Screwing identical blocks into identical dressers for hours at a time. Standing in the same spot, rotating at the hip to retrieve drawers from a stack to shove them into the moving dressers until the entire line had run. I knew that I wasn't going to like the job and I didn't.

So why does this song that reminds me of working in a drab, dark factory in my youth? That experience of several summers taught me so many life lessons. I worked with people whose lives were stuck in a dead end. I learned the value of persistence and hard work to pull out of the holes you find yourself in. I also learned to love the people who were stuck. The people who no one ever saw behind the brick and mortar, working like bees every day to produce. I learned what it was like to work for the sole reason of earning a paycheck and knew that working for money alone could never lead to fulfillment in life.

Most of all, I learned to appreciate my father. I think he worked for Bassett nearly 50 years. I loved working in the same building as him and watching the respect he'd earned. On paydays, I heard so many people complain about how little they made in one breath while talking about how much they'd spent on alcohol in the next breath. I never knew how he managed to keep his mind and body fresh, but somehow he found a sense of pride in a job well done and created life-giving relationships with co-workers. He retired on the day that I finally finished college. He'd never even made it to high school.

I worked in a factory for three summers and hated every minute of it. My father endured what I could not for one reason alone: a loving commitment to family. I would have never understood the depth of this commitment if I hadn't experienced it myself. So while I hated every minute, I wouldn't give back a single second. It's why I smile when I hear "Veronica" today.

I've been absent from A Pot of Stew for over a month now. Mostly because I've spent so much time travelling this summer, but I've also been doing some other writing. I've been working on a few articles, of course I've written a few posts at The Teaching Underground. I've also been working on a novel. No idea where that will go, but I'll let you know if it gets off the ground.

Turn off the Dark

2011-07-16T12:52:00.001-04:00

I'd never been to Broadway before last week. I'd never been to New York before last week. Two years ago, October 2009, U2 played a concert in my hometown of Charlottesville. I wanted to take my son to a concert, so I bought tickets for the Philadelphia concert the next summer. Little did I know that Bono would injure himself and the show would be postponed for another year. I held on to the tickets and we made plans to go last week. My wife wanted to make it a family trip, so we decided to spend a day in New York before heading to Philadelphia.

Ever since she travelled to New York a few years ago to see the Lion King on Broadway, she's been wanting to see another show. Our youngest son is so into Spider Man we figured that would be about the only option that he would manage to sit through. Considering that Bono and the Edge composed the music I figured that it would be only fitting to see the show the day before the U2 concert. I found discounted tickets on-line two days before the show about 3/4 of the way back in the Orchestra section (right side, row U).

The show was phenomenal. The live action/high flying choreography was part graceful, part daredevil. The characters of Spiderman and the Green Goblin flew both across the stage and overhead, as if the audience was a part of the show. The set managed to evoke a comic book feel without becoming campy. The set created quite a sense of depth and subtley became almost as much a part of the story as the characters. The cast was excellent, but Patrick Page in the role of the Green Goblin was the most memorable. His villianous voice perfectly matched the dialogue and music. The character added just enough comic relief to add a laugh or two without turning the show into a comedy.

The story was not the strongest. The music added emotion and weight The deeper Spiderman themes of Choice and Responsibility were present, but certainly not developed. However, it was a cohesive story, coming to a satisfying ending.

Any U2 fan will recognize the fingerprints of Bono and the Edge all over the musical score, from the instrumentation that seems to borrow several riffs from U2 songs to the vocals that seem perfectly created for the voice of Bono. Several scenes include clips from U2 songs as incidental music: New Year's Day from a car stereo, Vertigo in a dance club, Beautiful Day on the telephone while on hold. The soundtrack, like the show, finds a great balance of strong emotional pieces balanced with several more light-hearted songs.

That was the highlight of my first visit to New York. Until I can convince my four-year old son that he can't cling to a wall, the memory of Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark will remain. As far as memories go, this is one that I'm not in a hurry to lose. The concert on Thursday was pretty good too. More on that one later.

Relationships- The Glue of Humanity

2011-06-24T22:10:00.000-04:00

So what do you do in the summer?

As a teacher I hate that question because I always assume that it is seeded with contempt that I've got three months of vacation. First of all, June 15 to August 15 is not three months. Second, I don't just lay around the house all summer catching up on the soaps or lounge by the pool all day.

This week, the first full week of summer vacation I traveled with twenty-two teenagers to Southeast Roanoke. While there, we ran a day camp for children in a rather neglected community. I got to watch a sixteen year old spend her mornings working with a three-year old autistic child. I saw a fourteen year old deal with a child who came to camp every day with a different name. A rising eigth grader bonded with a third-grader who still showed the effects of an unlucky birth to a crack-addicted mother. We painted the porch of a WWII veteran because his elderly neighbor cared enough to seek out help and struggles against the odds to make a neighborhood neglected by the city look presentable again. We entered the house of a woman who had a hard time getting rid of things, and help her pack things away and clean up her house. Calming her anxiety was a bigger struggle that sorting through the accumulated stuff.

I learned last week that relationships are the glue that holds humanity together and when relationships are neglected or put on the backburner for other things-- humanity breaks apart. I went to the home of one elderly lady. When she started down the front porch steps to meet me I was afraid that she would fall. Her feet were too sore for shoes. Looking down I could see that her greatest need might be as simple as someone to trim her nails. A lawn mower sat in the lawn, but grass was growing over its deck. Her mental health matched her physical health. She didn't understand that we were offering our services for free. She insisted that her grandson would take care of it. He is a landscaper. He just cant work on her lawn as long as he has paying jobs that take the time. Her neighbor knew her two sons. Apparently they were alcoholics that caused her more harm than good. In this poor old woman, I saw a soul without another soul to care for her. Society has neglected her. No one desires to have a relationship with this lady.

The veteran that I mentioned before, he's no better off. He was so eager to share stories and talk, probably more so than getting his porch painted. It seemed that his only companion was the nurse who came to his house every day to take care of him.

We spent our week in a pocket of poverty. It wasn't as bad as it could get, but compared to my lifestyle it was bad. These pockets are easy to overlook. They're out of the way. We keep them clustered away from the paths that we cross daily. As long as we have food on our table and clothes on our back, we can lay our heads in our comfortable beds and sleep well at night without a thought for the children who aren't sure what if anything they will eat for breakfast in the morning. When we grab a to go cup of coffee and drive to our next destination it's easy to forget the poor old lady who can't get around because she can't get shoes over her untrimmed toenails.

We drive by, we walk by, we fly over, but we seldom stop. Stop to just see and hear America, the world. Outside of our immediate five senses we allow ourselves to become ignorant of the reality of life. We build an excellent buffer with our nicely trimmed lawns, personal automobiles, membership only swimming pools, and comfortable if not pretentious churches. A buffer that we mistake for reality to mask and hide the ugly realities that we'd rather not think about.

It's not that we should all be considering "selling everything and giving it to the poor", at least I'm not so sure that Jesus meant that command for everyone. It's easy to think that our job is to go in and fix the problems. Jesus didn't do it that way. Jesus entered our humanity and lived it with us, and continues to live it with us. He didn't die to end human suffering, he died to enter suffering with us so that we may overcome in time. He performed many miracles, but he didn't end poverty, hunger, or oppression. He endured poverty, hunger, and oppression. By doing so he intertwined the fate of humanity with the fate of the divine. He created relationship with the world.

That is true relationship. Enduring the hardship and walking alongside those in need. Being willing to suffer with another and not just thinking that because I wear better clothes, have my own car, and extra cash on top of it that I can just use my resources to rescue others from their difficulties. Whether it is poverty of the mind, body, economy, or soul, none of us possess the ability to rescue another but through our willingness to live life together in genuine relationships with others. Relationships that intertwine our fate with the fate of others.

Relationship is the glue that holds humanity together. I would bet that where we find humanity in ruins, not just places where people are poor but places that seem empty of hope, we also find that the root of that ruin lays in broken and unhealthy relationships.

That's what I've done and learned so far this summer. I've got a few adventures still ahead. I like seeing the counter numbers and site traffic climb when I post frequently, but lately I've gotten comfortable knowing that when I only get around to posting only every few weeks or once a month I'm only going to get a few readers. But I've got a lot to do if I really believe what I just wrote about relationships. I'll try to post a few more times this summer if you're interested. I've got a few family trips, a week at a youth camp, and a big U2 concert to attend this summer.

So what do you do in the summer?

A Sunday Prayer to Reclaim the Reality of God

2011-06-05T13:42:00.000-04:00

Acts 1

⁶Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
⁷ He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
⁹ After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
¹⁰ They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ¹¹ “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
¹² Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk^[a] from the city. ¹³ When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. ¹⁴ They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Dear God,

Weekends like this remind us that sometimes when things come to an end it isn’t the end at all, but a new beginning. We thank you for being the God of fresh starts and new beginnings. We thank you for being the God who will even work goodness through death. When we forget that you have that kind of power, remind us God and help us to keep the faith.

Lord we just read today a story about your son, who walked among us, died because of us, and through your power ascended into heaven from where he came. Don’t let us sit here today and just pretend we believe this, because if we really believe something like that really happened how can we be comfortable with just being comfortable. Help us to ponder the reality of what we have heard and let our hardened hearts break under the weight of the mystery that God almighty cares about us and desires relationship with his creation.

We don’t get lost when we follow the leader; may you be the leader of our lives. Help us to pursue you with an unfailing faith in your goodness, with a hope that we can become what you intend for us to become, with a love that overflows bringing blessing to all of your creation. Forgive us for our boredom when we stop considering the power of your story and think it is familiar. Forgive us for our apathy when we confuse a comfort that keeps us in our seat with blessing. Forgive us for our selfishness when we strive to make ourselves first not remembering we’re headed for last place in that direction.

Most of us are here today for something. Whatever the reason we came, I pray that we all would seek first your kingdom and your righteousness, that we would be willing to follow you into death so that we may learn what it means to live. May we draw strength and encouragement from this community of faith as we journey in the path of God together. For this we pray together the prayer that Jesus taught his followers to pray. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us of our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

To The Class of 2011

2011-05-27T19:24:00.001-04:00

For the next few weeks, important people across the nation will stand in front of graduates and their families delivering thoughtful and articulate speeches to the class of 2011. I may never make one of these speeches, but after teaching the class of 2011 for the last nine months I decided to draft the speech that I would give them.

To the class of 2011:

Too many people will tell you today that you are our future. You’re not.

Thank you very much, but I have my own plans for the future and depending on yours they may intersect, but no, I’m not looking out with excitement about your potential to take care of my world tomorrow. I want you to change your world today.

You are not the future. That would mean that everything you do today has no other value than what it prepares you for at some future time. After today, some of you who’ve been in my Friend queue on Facebook will make the cut and I will confirm our friendship. But I’ll let you in on an important secret. Most of you have been my peers for months. I learn from you, I grow because of you, I become a better person because you were a part of my life. Now that you turn the tassle from left to right it merely becomes a matter of formality.

Maybe if you’d known this earlier you would have acted more like it. The classes you skipped, the tests you didn’t prepare for, or the homework you either half-way did or borrowed from a friend aren’t really the behaviors I expect from my peers. That’s ok though, just because I’ve called you a friend doesn’t mean that you don't still have some growing up to do. I have a little of that left myself.

But remember, you’re not my future, you’re your own present. So act like it.

All this future talk can lead you down the wrong road. For a long time, us adults were pretty immune from the whim of fad and fashion. It seems that technology has changed this as well. We’re motivated by the next best thing and constantly try to stay ahead of the curve. You’re graduating, it’s time to ignore the curve. Don’t spend your life chasing the tail of the world hoping to hop on it’s back for a ride. Learn who you are, embrace your identity. Whether it’s rooted in family, faith, or passion, embrace your identity and let the world chase your tail, and hop on for a ride.

Everyone will tell you that you’ve grown up in the information age, but the information age is coming to an end. Instead of chasing what’s next, discover what is enduring. The values that never go out of style—creativity, excellence, and generosity. Simply put, create stuff; do it well; and share it. Maybe you’ll make a few bucks off of it, but if you haven’t noticed, we’ve created a pretty rotten economy for you to inherit. Financial success is no guarantee, so you might as well work toward fulfillment. You’re more likely to find it than wealth, and really, if you find it, you’ve found wealth.

To everyone who graduates today, stand up if you were accepted into the college of your dreams; if you’re proud today of the accomplishments you’ve achieved in your sport or performing art; if you think of all your classmates and someone comes to mind that you’ve helped become a better person; if you’ve fallen in love or found a best friend; stand up if you’re just glad to be graduating and finally have high school behind you. ( I assume that includes everyone)

If you felt sick when the rejection letter came, have a seat; if you remember a moment when you forgot a line, hit a wrong note, or just blew a big game; if you’ve hurt someone in your class in a way you wish you could take back; if you’ve been heartbroken, or broken someone’s heart, or ruined a friendship by doing something stupid; if you’ve hated most every moment you’ve endured to make it to graduation today. (Again, I assume this covers everyone)

Congratulations to everyone who was able to stand tall! And also for taking a seat. You’ve experienced life. A rich series of events both bitter and sweet, sometimes all at once. Don’t fail to enjoy and savor the good, but don’t run from and hide from the bad. These are the moments that have made you the person you are and will continue to make you until death. Grab hold of them and own them. Be comfortable with yourself; and when someone asks about your future show them how you’re living it instead of telling them what you hope it will be.

Abraham Maslow said “I guarantee that if you strive to become anything less that what you are capable of you will never find happiness.” I believe that every one of you have something to offer this world. And we need it now. Don’t wait for tomorrow. Do something, do it well, and share it with the rest of us—today and for the rest of your life.

When I Try to Sing This Song

2011-05-23T22:28:00.000-04:00

The title is the first line of the song "Gloria" by U2. Bono follows it with I try to stand up, but I can't find my feet. I've felt that way lately with A Pot of Stew. Sometimes the urge to write comes, but ultimately writing is nothing more than an expression of ideas. Ideas are important and deserve thoughtful articulation. Too often we clutter the landscape of ideas with mindless chatter and incessant words. I have more than enough ideas floating around in my brain to fill the interwebs with post after post after post, but I don't want to cheat my ideas and add further litter to the information superhighway.

The fleeting nature of the 21st century disturbs me. We rush so much to be the first or to create something fresh that we no longer take time to ponder and reflect. In my Psychology class I teach that normal human anxiety is essential to anticpating and preparing for what it to come, while normal human depression is a natural response to significance, slowing our lives to understand the significance of what has transpired. Perhaps we are in a state of technology induced anxiety. I've opted out of the race for a time.

Maybe it would have been polite to explain my absence from APOS before hand, but the idea really hadn't taken shape until I partially realized what I was doing. I grew tired of "disposable" writing, fresh for the day and discarded on the trash heap of digital content. The break has been good.

In the next few weeks, I'd like to write about several books I've read during this break. I've also been working on a post for graduation. I want to share several conversations I've had with a friend regarding faith. I've heard from nine or ten people in the last month who read APOS, and honestly, it is humbling to know that even one person is interested in what I have to say. So thank you, and I hope to post again soon.

In the meantime, enjoy an awesome song from and awesome band.

A Celebration of Death

2011-05-02T20:15:00.000-04:00

The world is abuzz on May 2 with the news of Osama bin Laden's death. Many of us waited eagerly to hear the unknown from the lips of our President on Sunday night while many awoke on Monday morning to the revelation that the embodiment of terrorism and hatred of America was no more. In a fallen and imperfect world, sometimes there are no good decisions to make. The death of bin Laden might have been needed to bring justice to those who suffered loss on September 11, 2001. For others it may not be justice as much as much as justification that for the last decade our military efforts abroad have not been fruitless. Perhaps the death of bin Laden restores our belief that when America sets for itself a goal, that goal we will reach.

We could argue that killing Osama bin Laden is an ironic way of showing the world that violence will not be tolerated. We could say that after ten years, the murder of bin Laden is vengeance more than justice. We could assert that in ten years of war, the United States is responsible for more innocent lives than bin Laden himself.

I can understand both sentiments.

I don't think the response to bin Laden's death in either case is joy. Relief, for sure. Satisfaction, I can understand. I cannot believe that the proper response to any death is one of Joy. Even if given that Osama bin Laden deserved this death, that his demise was demanded in the name of justice-- we have just lived through a failure of humanity to be accepted with gravity, not embraced in jubilance.

The only beauty in the story of death lies in the new life it has the potential to bring. Only in the promise of restoration, reconciliation, resurrection can we ever find hope in death. May we one day rejoice in celebration of reconciliation.

The Day After

2011-04-25T06:08:00.005-04:00

Easter is over, unless you are among the select few home from work because "Easter Monday" still means something. The kids are coming down from their sugar highs and we gear up for grilling out and sporting the American flags as the Memorial Day/Fourth of July holiday season is upon us. We are winding down from our school years and preparing for family vacations. Beaches and pools beckon us. And likely, church pews will empty. Our charity and consideration for others so present during the winter season of Thanksgiving and Christmas wanes and our minds turn toward escape and relaxation.

I'm not sure if this is a fair description of what happens now, but for myself it becomes very easy to slide into this rut. But today I think about what the day after resurrection means. For Jesus' disciples, Maundy Thursday through Saturday must have been so confusing and sorrowful. Easter Sunday would be incredulous and jubilant, perhaps so much so that they were stopped in their tracks. But what about the day after. The realization that the man in whom they had cast their hope, who had apparently died and left them abandoned and alone in their folly, had indeed defeated death and returned from the dead only to ascend before their eyes into heaven.

Do we really believe that? Because the idea is pretty crazy. Crazy enough that starting with the day after, Jesus followers had to honestly start asking themselves "what now!?" Really, do you just drop your jaw and say "wow, Jesus just died and came back to life and I'm watching him ascend into heaven" and then just go back to whatever you were doing, or just start moving on toward the next "normal" holiday or season in the year. The disciples knew this required action and they followed Jesus instructions to "go and make disciples." They built the church and established the legacy that would sustain the Christian faith for millenia. That's what they did the day after Easter. (ok, I'm using the word day in a metaphorical sense, but the question remains)

What are we doing the day after Easter?

Risen

2011-04-23T22:15:00.001-04:00

Psalm 37:40

The LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.

So on this Easter eve I come to the end of my journey. Forty verses in Psalm 37. I'm not a big fan of analysis; when we break things apart they lose their identity, but for this Psalm I have done just that. I do think that working with individual verses has been tough at times, but now at the end, I feel that I get the message of this Psalm-- the whole Psalm better for having done it. So this verse comes at the end of a Holy Week. Saturday night, almost 36 hours after noon Good Friday. I imagine the disciples, restless and weary, a dead messiah in a tomb, thinking about what the day after Sabbath would bring.

Then I think of all the messages of Psalm 37. Patience, trust, abiding, righteousness. I know that when I wake tomorrow, the tomb is going to be empty, but in my life, I wake many mornings wondering "how I'm going to move the stone." The women walked toward the tomb with that same thought on the first Easter. How could you maintain faith in those circumstances? But they still did not desert their Lord, they were faithful even in His death and just like Psalm 37 promised, they received the reward of Good News. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed.

Thursday

2011-04-22T05:32:00.000-04:00

Psalm 37:39

But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;
He is their strength in the time of trouble.

"Waves of regret, waves of joy, I reached out to the one I tried to destroy. You, you said you'd wait till the end of the world." It is Maundy Thursday, and that quote is a line from a U2 song. It refers to Judas, who would dine with Christ on Thursday, and partake in the "Last Supper" with our Lord. Today, we remember our time with Christ as he shares the truth that he is the bread of life; the way and the truth. We have no righteousness in ourselves, but only from the Lord. Tomorrow, we remember the day that the world failed to see the only source of our righteousness as we look to our salvation.

Justified

2011-04-21T05:38:00.000-04:00

Psalm 37:38

But all sinners will be destroyed;
the future of the wicked will be cut off.

So many ancient religions seem to focus on not only creation but destruction. We've come to see destruction in a negative way, hardly wanting to associated it with a deity. Creator and destroyer, tear down and build up. Could we be facing our destruction as sinners? Does this mean I will be destroyed? Perhaps it does, and maybe I should look forward to it. Maybe the only way to have a future is to allow the sinner in me to experience death cutting away the future of wicked with only a justified self to walk into the future.

"Justified until we die, you and I will magnify.... Magnificent!"

Future

2011-04-20T05:31:00.000-04:00

Psalm 37:37

Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
there is a future for the man of peace.

This verse contrast nicely with the previous verse. The temporary versus the permanent. The valuable versus the truly valuable.

How do we find a future? A real future that lasts and not just a few extra minutes to do more of the same. We stop looking for the wicked, we stop fretting over others, and we consider, observe. Who is blameless? Who is upright? We have many close examples in our world and from history. Certainly they are good to follow, but God has provided the blameless and upright for us to observe and consider.

With our eyes set on Christ, not caring for directions or map, but one step at a time following the only righteous and holy one into our future.

Short

2011-04-19T05:15:00.000-04:00

Psalm 37:36

but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.

On several occasions I've dealt with the grief of losing a student or former student. When a student dies, you remember the petty things that you used to get caught up in, or how the behaviors that once drove you crazy no longer seem so severe. You realize that while education is invaluable and important, there are other things that matter more. That is the balance it takes to be a good teacher. You must realize at the same time how important you are and how unimportant you are to the life of a student.

Life can be the same. It is valuable and precious, but it isn't everything. This verse indicates that what we might think is everlasting will fade away. The trials of today have been overcome though we must still endure them. This world will pass away, at least the world known to us. May we spend our time on things eternal.

Soil

2011-04-18T05:14:00.000-04:00

Psalm 37:35
I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
flourishing like a green tree in its native soil,

I've never had much luck with plants. I think much of my trouble is not understanding the right timing, placement, and soil preparation. Most of the time I just stick a bush or plant in the ground somewhere it is going to look nice, and then forget about it. I suppose that anything can flourish in its right place. That is probably why Paul described the "fruits of the spirit." If you simply drop a seed in its ideal location, it can grow like crazy. But when you're planted out of your element, it takes much more work. Sometimes I feel like this is the work of a Christian. To learn to grow out of our native soil.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Cross

2011-04-17T22:15:00.001-04:00

I had the most unusual experience today at church. Of course, today is Palm Sunday, a celebration of Jesus triumphant entry into Jerusalem. It marks the beginning of Jesus journey to the cross. Churches across the world wave palm fronds and remember the crowds shouting "hosanna, hosanna" to welcome the King. The rest of the week takes a turn for the worse as Jesus partakes in the Last Supper with his disciples before his arrest. Afterward he is turned over to the authorities and in no time, that same crowd is shouting "crucify him."

Our pastor chose to mark the alternate designation of this day as "Passion Sunday," rather than jumping from the celebration of Palm Sunday to the celebration of Easter. Without crucifixion there would be no resurrection. For this Sunday, our scripture was a lengthy passage from Matthew. I've read it many times, Jesus before Pilate leading to his crucifixion. I guess that sometimes familiarity is a bad thing. I had to read the scripture for the congregation and right in the middle around verse 26, I came to a realization as if I were reading this for the first time. Reading this passage about Jesus, being led as a lamb to the slaughter-- at least sacrificial animals were treated with some level of dignity and respect-- reading this passage I teared up and had to stop. In that moment I clearly realized that I wasn't reading just a story on the page, but the story of a world gone mad, a world ready to snuff the very Son of God. And even worse, I am a part of that world. Not only do I live in it daily, I contribute to making it what it is. This is the lesson of Holy Week, and the reason that Easter means so much.

¹¹ Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
   “You have said so,” Jesus replied.
¹² When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. ¹³ Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” ¹⁴ But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.
¹⁵ Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. ¹⁶ At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas. ¹⁷ So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” ¹⁸ For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.
¹⁹ While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”
²⁰ But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.
²¹ “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.
   “Barabbas,” they answered.
²² “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.
   They all answered, “Crucify him!”
²³ “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
   But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
²⁴ When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”
²⁵ All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”
²⁶ Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. ²⁷ Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. ²⁸ They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. ³⁰ They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. ³¹ After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. ³² As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. ³³ They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). ³⁴ There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. ³⁵ When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. ³⁶ And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. ³⁷ Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
³⁸ Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁹ Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:11-54, New International Version, ©2011)

Anxiety

2011-04-16T06:20:00.000-04:00

Psalm 37:34
Wait for the LORD
and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

Patience comes up again. Waiting requires submission and trust. Impatience can be a sign that we aren't confident that things will work out so we start making our own plans. Usually in our anxiety we make poor decisions and act on impulse rather than reason. Sometimes I live my spiritual life this way. I start moving because I'm ready to see things happen so I forget to wait on God and His way. The result is usually bad. When I wait, and keep His way, I begin to get a glimpse of the land that I will inherit.

Trials

2011-04-15T06:53:00.000-04:00

Psalm 37:33

but the LORD will not leave them in their power
or let them be condemned when brought to trial.

We spend so much time worrying about others. What they think of us, how they judge us. Sometimes the world beats us down so bad we accept its judgment of who we are. This verse lets us know that with God, we are not under their power, that their judgments mean nothing. The condemnation of the world is not the condemnation of God. It reminds me of Jesus words in John- In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.

Paranoia

2011-04-14T06:54:00.000-04:00

Psalm 37:32

The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
seeking their very lives;

That sounds pretty paranoid. This Psalm talks much about the righteous, but Paul tells us there is none righteous, no, not one. So does that make me the wicked. I'm sure that I fit that category at times, but I am convinced that I have a righteousness that comes not from myself, but God's grace. I really don't think that "the wicked" are sitting around plotting a way to kill me, but I do think that often the ways of wickedness subtly slip into our lives and drain it.

I've been trying to live more healthy the last six or seven months. I remember a scene from "Super Size Me" where Morgan Spurlock downs a large McDonald's meal and gets sick from eating so much. When I first saw that I thought it was crazy. I could knock back a large McDonald's meal without missing a step. But now, I understand. It is easy to let our bodies become compromised by the food we eat without ever realizing the slow toll it is taking on our lives over the years. Over about sixteen years, I put on nearly thirty pounds. Those pounds come on slow and unnoticed, but if I'd kept up the pace, by the time I turn 55 I would have weighed 260 pounds. Hardly healthy. If I eat an value meal today, my body will protest.

We allow the same thing to happen in our spiritual lives. We let things slip in that seem to be no harm, but they slowly eat away at us. When our lives are in order, our souls will protest, but when we let our spiritual health slide, those same things just keep slowly stealing our lives until we're basically dead.

Heart

2011-04-13T06:47:00.000-04:00

Psalm 37:31

The law of his God is in his heart;
his feet do not slip.

When I think about the law of God being in my heart I think of the phrase "I know that by heart." Odd that when we refer to something memorized we say "I know that by heart" and not "I know that by mind." When we really practice something and get good at it, we don't think about it any more. That's why it is so enthralling to watch a master musician perform, or awe-inspiring to watch a world-class athlete at their craft. There is an effortlessness about their mastery.

People don't watch me play guitar, because with the exception of a G and C chord, I cannot play by heart. I play by mind, and my efforts are clumsy and forced. You could tell by watching me that I know what to do, I'm just not very good at doing it. If we could have the law of God in our heart, our lives might look just a little bit smoother. Watching us live might be a joy as we effortlessly navigate the trials of life.

Folly

2011-04-12T05:21:00.000-04:00

Psalm 37:30

The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks what is just.

Justice and wisdom. Justice seems like folly in a world gone mad.

Reparations, amnesty, debt relief, free trade, open immigration, adequate housing, access to health care, fair trade, right to work, right to life, right to education, redistribution of wealth.

Dwelling

2011-04-11T05:19:00.001-04:00

Psalm 37:29

the righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.
I find it interesting that dwelling seems to be the most important descriptor of what we shall do in this land that is inherited. There is so much to do with land: farm it, subdivide it, build upon it, work in it, but over and over it is dwell. We walk this earth for a finite season; so short we’re not even dwelling here, we’re on our way. Forever scares me and sometimes I’d prefer to think that I will have an end. But I don’t think that we will. If this land relates to our eternity, then what shall we do—we shall dwell; abide. The journey will be finished; the struggle behind. We shall dwell in the house of the Lord, forever.

Treasure

2011-04-09T05:19:00.000-04:00

Psalm 37:28

For the LORD loves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.
They will be protected forever,
but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;
So much of what we find in scripture is a reversal of our perception of reality. He who gains his life will lose it type of thing. I wonder if we don’t find the same here. The just are looking out for justice… for all. The wicked are looking for justice… for themselves. I think that we err this way with our patriotism sometimes. We are so bent on protecting our home, our borders, our children; that the children of the world suffer in war zones, refugee camps, sweatshops and brothels.

We disparage immigrant workers because we “can’t take care of our own.” But there aren’t very many of our own starving compared to the world. If we devote so much of our time on Earth to protecting—we clearly aren’t looking out for our treasure in heaven. Perhaps the faithful are doing just that, looking out for their treasure in heaven because they certainly don’t have anything of value in this world.

Superstar

2011-04-07T05:17:00.001-04:00

Psalm 37:26

They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be blessed.
In our world, we like to think that our children come first. I’m not so sure that is always the best; for us or them. When we spend much of our time elevating our child above others, making sure our child has the best, making sure out child doesn’t miss an opportunity.

A few years ago I attended a kindergarten program at my son’s school. You could hardly see from the back because of all the parent’s standing to video the show. And they all had to have their own video because their child was the star.

The righteous are generous and lend freely; living a life of giving openly displayed for their children. They don’t horde their possessions to shower their children, they allow their children to join them in sacrifice and love for others instead of love for self.

Trouble

2011-04-06T05:16:00.001-04:00

Psalm 37:25

I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.

This one is tough. Will the righteous not face hardship? Do the oppressed and violated somehow have a hand in their fate because of their lack of faith? The horrors of warfare, holocaust and genocide; were they all wicked, deserving to be abandoned by God?

Are we not even told by Jesus that in this world we will have trouble? Yes, and we are also reminded that He has overcome the world. Jesus spoke to us about living water, and the bread of life. He urged us to store up our treasures in heaven, and asked what it is to gain the whole world at the cost of one’s soul.

Perhaps we expect a physical solution to a spiritual problem?

Stumbling

2011-04-05T05:11:00.001-04:00

Psalm 37:24

though he stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand.

I guess it would be important to understand the difference between a stumble and a fall. I’ve done both. When I stumble, it startles me for a moment. My heart rate goes up, my muscles jump to attention. I look around to see if anyone saw it, whether it counts or not. Sometimes I feel stupid and I’ve stumbled because I didn’t pay attention or was doing something I shouldn’t have. Sometimes I’m thankful and my stumbling makes me more mindful of my steps as I continue. I stumble a lot; I’ve got a weak ankle and it turns frequently. I drop just a bit and catch myself.

Sometimes I fall. When I fall, it doesn’t even matter if anyone is looking. When I fall it usually hurts, and sometimes leaves a mark. Usually my clothes get dirty or torn. If I’m going somewhere, often a fall will derail those plans or at least severely alter them. Sometimes when I fall I try things in desperation to keep myself upright and that usually ends in disaster; I pull something or someone else down and make a mess.

God tells us that if He delights in our ways, we may stumble, but we will not fall. I know what it is like to fall, and I sure want to stay on my feet; even if I trip up from time to time—it’s just not the same as falling.

Firm

2011-04-04T06:02:00.001-04:00

Psalm 37:23

If the LORD delights in a man's way,
he makes his steps firm;

Firm steps. That’s what we all want, to walk without slipping, to progress without faltering. God will do this for us if He delights in our way. If he is pleased by how we live. This is another one that seems to just make sense. Sometimes it is my “stumbling” or “falling” that teach me the most. When I am travelling in a way unpleasing to God I should rejoice that my steps are not firm, that I will likely slip and fall at any time rather than continuing on in the way of destruction.

I’m reminded of the Tower of Babel when God said, we’ve got to stop them; if they’ve come this far imagine what they might do next. Only when our ways please the Lord will our actions serve to truly build up ourselves and humanity, and only in those ways do we deserve to walk with a firm step.

Little Easter Reflection 3

2011-04-03T10:51:00.001-04:00

I'll never forget several years ago, an interim pastor at our church invited everyone back the next week for Easter by saying it is the day that we celebrate "God's greatest joke on humanity."

I thought it was brilliant. Death, the ultimate end of humanity, the fear of all, the proof that we are broken and finite-- defeated by death itself on a Cross. How ironic that the King would bleed and die to save. I'm reminded of Paul's words that the wisdom of God seems foolish to the world.

We've lost that. It was foolish to die on a cross when He could have destroyed all who opposed Him, it was foolish of Him do heal the soldier's ear who was there to arrest him. It was foolish to open his arms in love to the embrace and kiss of Judas. The love of Christ for humans appears foolish in our view of the world. If it wasn't so foolish, we'd probably show much more of this love than we do.

We've come to look at Jesus death and resurrection as tool for entry to heaven that we are thankful that he did it; don't totally understand why; but unwilling to accept it as the example of wisdom in our own lives.

Some might be offended by referring to Easter as a joke. When we refuse to love like Jesus but expect him to save us by His death- that is when we truly make a joke of Easter.

Curses

2011-04-02T05:53:00.001-04:00

Psalm 37:22

those the LORD blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be cut off.

Blessings and curses. These words take us back to Abraham. God told him that he would be blessed to be a blessing to the earth. But those who curse him, God will curse also. God has entered the world of humanity to show it the way. This way will lead to blessing, a way that brings us closer to God. The Hebrew Bible shows us how impossible it is for humans to follow this way of God. It leaves us wondering how God can decide who to hand out His blessings and curses to. He first blessed one who understood that a blessing from God was for others as much as self. Through inheritance this blessing continued through generations and a people meant to be a holy priesthood showing God to the world.

God told Abraham that whomever blessed him, God would also bless and whomever cursed him, God would also curse. I think that then as it is now, the status of blessed or cursed often comes from the choices that we make in relationship to God. We choose to claim our inheritance through Christ or we choose to seek another way. Being cursed and cut off seems harsh and cold, but if I have spent my life avoiding God and moving away from Him, would I even want to inherit the promises He’s given?

Generous

2011-04-01T06:04:00.001-04:00

Psalm 37:21

The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;

Does anyone borrow and not repay? Of course it happens, but I bet if you compared the number of people who think someone owes them money with the number of people who think they owe someone else the numbers wouldn’t match up. At best we may think “oh yeah, I really need to pay that person back,” but we probably never say “they’ll never see that again, it is all mine now.” I guess at the heart of this is the fact that I feel righteous by this verse. I don’t borrow money from people, and I always honor my household debts, that’s one point, but I also think that I’m pretty generous compared to most people in my situation.

But any scripture that makes me feel “good” causes me to worry a bit. I know that I can’t measure up to God, so when I start feeling like I’m getting close I think that I must be missing a point somewhere. So how have I borrowed, and not repaid? I think about the land that I walk on, and the small piece of property that I claim to “own.” Can I possess a piece of God’s earth and claim my own sovereignty over it? From whom do I borrow this land? I think about my education and the knowledge that gives me a title. Does this knowledge belong to me that I should hold privilege because of it and earn my way to comfort and luxury? I think about the institutions of school and church and government that have afforded me values, ideals, and prosperity; I consider these mine, but do I take the time to consider the backs that were broken and the lives that were given and taken for this.

Ultimately, I consider my life. Do I consider it my own, to spend as I see fit? Have I borrowed this life from my creator without a thought of repayment or have I given all, generously given all that I am in recognition that there is nothing in me apart from God.

Reliance

2011-03-31T06:49:00.001-04:00

Psalm 37:20

But the wicked will perish:
The LORD's enemies will be like the beauty of the fields,
they will vanish—vanish like smoke.

I find this verse much easier to understand in the context of verse 19. We’ve just been given assurance that in times of trial, the righteous will be satisfied; the righteous will have at least “just enough.” But, the wicked will perish. To our 21st century ears this seems so harsh, and to others, it points to the “schizophrenic” nature of Christianity: a loving and just God willing to punish so harshly.

I see it differently. The universe has an order. As creator of that order, God communicates truths about it for us to understand. It can be difficult to follow God and rely on Him in times of prosperity. The Hebrew Bible constantly reminds us to “remember” how God brought us from captivity and how easy it is to forget our God when we’re living in the land of “milk and honey.”

When times are good, it is hard to follow God, and many of us choose not to. We were just promised however that those who follow God in the good times will be preserved in the bad. We’ve learned to rely on God with food on the table, so now we can easily rely on his provision when the cupboard is bare. He will sustain us. But the wicked, we’ve been living for ourselves and exploiting the fat of the land. I’ve gotten by on my own, but now, there are times of trouble, and I’m not good enough to make it on my own. I am a sheep without a shepherd. So while the righteous continue to live on the sustenance of God, I perish in the famine thinking that I can somehow make it on my own.

Satisfaction

2011-03-30T06:45:00.001-04:00

Psalm 37:19

They will not be disgraced in times of adversity; 
they will be satisfied in days of hunger.

On the surface, this sounds pretty nice. If I’m one of the righteous, I won’t suffer like everyone else, my God will deliver me from all hardship.

Not quite. It seems that we will face days of adversity and hunger. Hearing that I will be satisfied in days of hunger doesn’t say to me that I can always expect a full belly. But I can expect my needs to be met. The problem is, we spend too much of our time worrying about our wants being met. We get consumed with a fear of losing our comfort and privilege that we’ve mistaken it for necessity.

This gives us a false sense of reality that in hard times we’re really suffering and struggling when the truth is that now we can not only trust our God to provide, but we can experience the grace of our God’s provisions. Times of adversity and hunger can become the times that strengthen our faith immensely as we learn to rely on God to satisfy rather than on the world to indulge.

Grace

2011-03-29T06:44:00.001-04:00

Psalm 37:18

The days of the blameless are known to the LORD,
and their inheritance will endure forever.

That’s quite daunting. “The days of the blameless are known” but who among us are blameless? Every measure that we devise shows over and again that next to God’s holiness we fall way short. I doubt there are wasted words in the Bible. If there were no blameless to be known, this just wouldn’t be here. Can this verse be talking to me?

I’m so glad that inheritance is used again here. It reminds me of so much language from the New Testament about our inheritance in Christ. It reminds me that I am blameless through the grace of Christ.

So much of this Psalm relies on the conditional; it seems that so much of our world is based on conditions. If, then; over and over. The very operation of our universe seems to work on a very cause and effect, conditional set of principles. It’s almost like conditionality is a natural law. If being blameless is the condition for salvation then we’re all lost. And that is the beauty of grace, entering a system of conditions and breaking the back of sin and death. Forever.

Submission

2011-03-28T06:43:00.001-04:00

Psalm 37:17

for the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the LORD upholds the righteous.

Sometimes it can be quite difficult to live a holy life. That is such an understatement. It is always impossible to live a holy life. It seems so much easier to live my way; do what I want; and look out for myself. If you’ve been reading these posts so far, you’ll probably recognize that last sentence as pretty close to the definition of wickedness that I’ve talked about so much. So by now I should know that no matter what sort of power I seem to exercise over my life; and most certainly over other’s lives, it will surely not hold.

While the righteous way seems more difficult, we’re promised that the Lord holds up the righteous. I wonder if in times when we feel as if God is letting us down, as if we’re living a holy and righteous life and still flailing; maybe we’re still striving in our own ways. How many of us can truly give up those ways to completely yield to God.

Little Easter Reflection 2

2011-03-27T09:54:00.000-04:00

I admit that I'd never really even heard of lent until I was over twenty years old. I didn't have any understanding actually of the role of sacrifice and self-denial in Christian theology. The metaphor of being in the desert meant nothing to me.

I remember March 1991; I'd not missed an Easter service in my life. We were a very regular three time-a-week church family growing up, so it wasn't just about Easter, but there was still that sense and understanding of something special about Easter. This was my first year of college, and I had grown ever so spiteful of my faith. I wasn't backsliding, I was consciously and intentionally working to destroy my faith. I didn't want it. It was worthless to me. March had been amazing. I'd travelled to Florida with new found friends, hosted several guests on our return, and saw them on their way Easter morning. I'd gotten so caught up in the excitement that I didn't even know it was Easter until noon.

I took a walk by myself. The first time I'd really let myself be alone without some sort of distraction for a while. On my walk I sensed a great feeling of emptiness and despair, but I could not shed thoughts of Jesus. Looking back I feel like I knew that I would be running from God for quite some time, but He was holding on and watching all the way. I feel like I have a better understanding of being in the desert because of that experience and the years that followed, and for some reason, the video posted below brought all of the memories of that days experience rushing back to my brain.

Weight

2011-03-26T06:41:00.001-04:00

Psalm 37: 16

Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked;

This one seems easy. Even if it isn’t much, what I have in righteousness is greater than all the wealth of wickedness. We get so obsessed with quantity in this world that we often neglect the power of quality. I guess that is what a throwaway society does to us. I want more and I want it now. But a closer look at this verse seems to throw us a little quantitative curve. Not only is the little that the righteous have better than the wealth of the wicked; it is better than the wealth of MANY wicked. I think of the ancient Egyptian belief of one’s heart being measured against the feather to determine one’s fate in the afterlife. I imagine an army of wicked men one the scales, balanced on the other side against a single, lonely righteous man.

One who had lived a life of weight. The weight of God’s righteousness. A single life of great value in the kingdom of God. And I think, I want to be that type of man.

Pierced

2011-03-25T06:31:00.000-04:00

Psalm 37:15

But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.

Swords and bows; this seems to be the tools of wickedness. We all have a pretty strong arsenal of swords and bows in our life. Swords and bows are weapons of offense, not defense, but in many of our lives, we’ve learned that the best defense is a good offense.
For me, it is usually words. I’ve developed a pretty keen ability to fire away some of the most hurtful lines, usually delivered at just the right moment to gain some sort of advantage over others.

But where does this get me. I usually find myself filled with hurt and regret when those weapons have been used. I’m broken. History provides numerous examples of the oppressors weapons of choice coming back to defeat them. The non-violence movements of Gandhi and King are excellent examples, but even looking at the fall of empires shows us that when we rely on weapons of offense, the tables are quickly turned.

This also leads me to think of our own nation at this time. Our swords and bows have so often taken the form of economic superiority. Would it be a surprise if the world of economics also became the sword that pierces our own hearts?

Oppressors

2011-03-24T07:46:00.001-04:00

Psalm 37:14

The wicked draw the sword
and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose ways are upright.

It seems odd that the poor and needy could be “brought down.” One would think that the poor and needy are already down. But we see countless ways in which the poor and needy are constantly kicked down.

A few months ago I was in a car accident. No fault of my own, I stopped to avoid a car that was in the middle of an intersection running a red light. While stopped, a truck hit me from behind. Through no fault of my own, so I assumed that everything would be taken care of. Luckily, I have insurance. I am wealthy enough to give someone money each month to hold in case something bad happens. Luckily, I can afford a policy with a low deductible of $250. If I weren’t blessed in this way, what would I have done with an undriveable vehicle needing $2500 in repairs that I couldn’t afford. How would it have affected my job without reliable transportation. Two months later and I still only have compensation for half of the damage. But I’m not complaining. Just sad to think of how this event could have been so devastating for someone else not in my shape.

I don’t bring down the poor and needy or slay the upright, but I am so vested in a system that does. I don’t draw the sword, I just let an institution or an idea draw it for me. Too often I get caught up in my individual piety and forget that this world is bigger than me. It really is quite hopeless to see myself as one of the wicked described in this verse. It really is quite hopeless. Hopeless.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (1 Peter 1:3)

May we strive to be like Christ in whom our hope rests. Living in this world, but not of it. Fighting the system of oppression and seeking a new way of life given through the resurrection of our Savior.

Laughter

2011-03-23T07:33:00.001-04:00

Psalm 37:13

but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.

It sure does seem harsh to find our Lord laughing at the fate of others. But I do think that in the context of this chapter, it isn’t quite so. This chapter provides repeated warnings against fretting over evil doers and getting too wrapped up in their goings on. To put it in perspective, here we have God, laughing.

We can laugh at things that are of no consequence. Or when we are confident of the outcome and know that something is harmless. A few years ago, my football team, the University of Virginia Cavaliers played the USC Trojans. We were just out of our league in this game. From the opening kick-off, it was clear that we didn’t have a chance of winning. On one hand, had the USC fans and football program laughed at and ridiculed us it would have been humiliating. But, on the other hand, they could afford to relax, not get so worked up over a bad call, laugh it off when one of the opposing players got a little hot.

I think that God’s perspective of the wicked is much like that. He knows what is coming to them. He knows they can be a thorn in the side of his children. But he also knows the final score, and in the big picture, they’re not making as much noise today as it really seems.

Plotting

2011-03-22T07:32:00.001-04:00

Psalm 37:12

the wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;

At first glance, it is easy to take this verse to justify all of the hardships we face in the world. We can feel a little better in our pain knowing that the wicked are gunning for us. But I think that it may also provide a check. How often do we plot against others or clinch our teeth in their presence. In this entire chapter, we see the righteous as meek and gentle, the evil are the one’s who are engaged in… well, evil.

But perhaps the very act of plotting and gnashing puts us in the same category with the wicked. Maybe Psalm 37: 12 and other verses like it should encourage us to be mindful of how we react to others instead of giving us reasons to expect persecutions and hardship. Sometimes we even come to expect this treatment from others if we live a holy life. So much so that we live on the defensive and begin to plot and gnash; I think that might have just created a circle.

Peace

2011-03-21T07:48:00.001-04:00

Psalm 37:11

But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy great peace.

So if, people are always looking for a fight, they’re probably going to find it in someone else who’s ready to fight. In a survival of the fittest scenario it would seem that the fighters would eventually kill each other off. So who does that leave? The meek. And if the meek are all that is left, who is left to fight? Ergo, great peace. This seems pretty logical to me.

But we still drive ourselves and our will directly into the selves and will of others. We drive ourselves toward our own will instead of God’s and inevitably we butt against something, usually someone who derails our path. Do we yield? No, we fight. And in the process, damage is done, wounds are given, and life is sucked out of us slowly. The meek will enjoy great peace.

Little Easter Reflection 1

2011-03-20T09:50:00.002-04:00

My earliest memories of Easter are green pants and a yellow shirt. I hated dressing up when I was a child, but I never minded putting on my Sunday best for Easter. One year I remember my mother buying me a bright green pair of dress pants with a yellow polo style shirt to match. I remember loving putting it on and wearing it. I don't remember much else about that Easter, or any other Easters from my childhood, so I don't really know why this outfit stands out in my mind so much.

I also remember that as soon as I got home, the clothes were changed because the last thing I wanted to do was get myself messed up and dirty. That's kind of what salvation is like. Christ cleans us up, we put on "the clothes of Christ" and are made into something new. That's what Easter is; the making of something new and fresh and clean. God has entered my life through Christ and I am a new creation. Clean and bright. Why would I want to go out and get that dirty?

Looking

2011-03-19T07:47:00.001-04:00

Psalm 37:10

A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.

We fretted a lot in this Psalm over the wicked. Now God promises that they will not be found in a little while, but what do we do? We still fret. The wicked have all gone, and now that we have the land, what are we doing? We’re looking for them.

So much wrong and evil finds us in our everyday life, but we make it so much harder by looking for trouble. The Lord’s Prayer asks that He “deliver us from temptation” but we are so filled with self will that don’t recognize our need for this deliverance. Do we need evil in order to be good. Sometimes it is easier to bemoan the presence of evil knowing that by comparing ourselves we can come out looking good. But when we stop looking at evil and turn our eyes on God we find ourselves poorly lacking.

We find that in ourselves we can’t make it. And we learn that we must turn to our Savior.

Inheritance

2011-03-18T06:43:00.001-04:00

Psalm 37:9

For evil men will be cut off,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

We make jokes in our family about who gets what when my parents die. Some of you might think that is nothing to joke about, but I think it has become a little bit of a defense mechanism. If we make light of dividing our parents belongings when they die, we put out of our minds the very likely reality that they will die. In a healthy relationship, the inheritance is the last thing we want to think about.

An inheritance can seem like a long way off, maybe we even do such a good job at denial that it seems like it will never happen. I think our reward with the Lord often fits this pattern. It seems so far off and distant, that we really lose sight that we will have an inheritance in due time. At some point in the future we will be so well off, that all of the trouble we’ve endured will seem small. But we allow it to get out of sight. Out of sight out of mind. And we seek our own will; to take what we think we deserve now rather than waiting for something even better (that we don’t deserve) later.

Creativity, Gratitude, and a Big Win

2011-03-17T13:30:00.000-04:00

Creativity, I believe, is the very image of God in every one of us. Whether expressed through the words of a story on the page, hard work and effort to run faster than before, or in our relationships with others that nurture and sustain humanity. We find no greater honor on this earth than for others to recognize this creative gift inside of us and value its goodness.

But it can also be devastating when this creative impulse gets overlooked or meets with derision. This fear of rejection often stifles our natural creativity. I know this fear, and even today sit anxious about how the public will judge my creative work.

Earlier today, the Hook, a local weekly newspaper here in Charlottesville announced me as the winner in their annual short-story contest. John Grisham judged and declared my story the winner. I am abundantly honored that he found value in my work. The newsmagazine will publish my story this week, and while I’ve written on this blog for several years and published a few articles elsewhere, I find myself oddly self-conscious about this one.

I’m hopeful that public responds positively; I’m hopeful that the public responds at all. I would like to thank Hawes Spencer and the Hook for sponsoring this contest. Also, Stephanie Garcia who took the time to interview me and write some very kind things about me in the Hook. Of course a thank you is in order for Mr. John Grisham for reading the stories and taking the time to judge them. And I want to thank my wife, the only eyes to see this story before Mr. Grisham.

And thank you. I appreciate all of you who have followed and supported my efforts at writing through A Pot of Stew and Teaching Underground; if you are new to this site, I thank you for your eyes today and hope that you will visit again.

Headstrong

2011-03-17T08:18:00.001-04:00

Psalm 37:8

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.

How many times will we find this word “fret” in the Psalm. What do you fret about? I tend to fret when I don’t think that things are going to come to the conclusion that I think is best. I tend to think that things aren’t going to come to the best conclusion when they don’t go according to my plan. I don’t know if you are the same, but simply put, this means that I fret because I think that my way is the best way.

When I worry that things aren’t going to turn out for the best, I get angry. Usually it is a person that stands in the way of my plans (the one’s that lead to the best outcome). This means that I have an individual outside of myself who is causing my life to be less than it ought to be. I get angry. My anger expresses itself in wrath, be it words, actions, or passive aggression. My attention is turned onto a person or a group that I think stands in the way of something good and my resulting behavior to correct that person ends with an outcome worse than if I had given up my way from the start.

This Psalm says so often; trust, wait, don’t worry, don’t fret, be patient, trust, trust, trust.

Trust that God’s way is always better than my way.

Wait

2011-03-16T08:15:00.002-04:00

Psalm 37:7

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

What is the secret to comedy?

Timing!

OK, that joke probably makes no sense at all in writing. Timing is so vital to everything in our life. As a teacher, we often pose questions and wait. We don’t wait for an answer, we wait for time to think. Too often the overzealous student pipes in before the question even leaves your lips wanting to please with an answer. Others will focus too much on details and run the class down an unrelated path. But when it works right, the students have had just enough time to think, process thoughts in their brains, and with just a few prompts from a teacher AHA! That’s it!

Waiting patiently on the Lord allows us to reflect. If we’re told to be still before the Lord, it is on him who we reflect. Pondering his being waiting for his prompts and hoping to gain his insight. But often, we jump ahead. We think we already know the answers so we blurt them out and try to move on to the next thing. When we’re expected to go deeper, we get impatient and start to look around. We see the rest of the world moving, moving , moving. “OK God, I’ve got it, now let me go. Look over there, look at what they’re doing.”

Do not fret.

Be still.

Wait.

Patiently.

Shine

2011-03-15T07:19:00.002-04:00

Psalm 37:6

He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

A sunset is settling, relaxing. But the sunrise, if you’ve had a good night before, the sunrise is energizing. This verse says that the Lord will make your righteousness shine. As a result of trusting the Lord, (see v.5) he will make our righteousness shine. Our righteousness will wake up the world, energize the masses, and bring on a new day. By noon, the shadows are all but gone, the sun overhead, everything is in the light of day. Our cause of justice will light the world, exposing all of the dark places for what they really are. Does your life do this? Mine sure doesn’t seem to most of the time.

I think it goes back to the trust. I remember a time when I’d lift my son up to a bar on the play ground; higher than both of our heads. He liked to hang as long as he could before telling me he was ready to drop. I had to catch him, and the easiest way was for me to hold the back of his legs and ask him to let go, dropping his head and shoulders into my other arm. If I didn’t do what I said, he would end up head first on the ground. It took a lot of trust. At first, he’d try to drop straight down, kicking his legs free of my arm. The result, I’d more or less break his fall but he still crashed. Then he’d drop, but instead of letting me catch him he’d contort and try to get his arms around my neck. The result, I’d crash with him on top of me.

Perhaps without trust, we end up ok, but not really how God intends. We’re mostly peaceful and happy, not crashing too hard. We feel God’s presence in our lives, but our righteousness doesn’t shine like the sunrise or our justice like the noonday sun.

Commitment

2011-03-14T07:17:00.004-04:00

Psalm 37:5

Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:

Commitment means a great deal to me in my faith life. I first committed myself to Christ around six years old. I’m sure I didn’t understand all that it meant, but I remember that with all my heart I wanted to live in God’s way. I did my best for most of the next eleven years, but then I really fell hard.

As a young adult I struggled to shed my faith. I not only rebelled in my behavior, but in my mind I tried to leave this immature belief in God behind. I was mostly successful, but my heart would never agree that Jesus was not real nor present in my being. So after about four years of struggle I gave up, and ignored my faith. This time of my life was perhaps more dark than the period of struggle.

Finally, after about four more years, everything changed. EVERYTHING CHANGED! My world was turned upside down and I didn’t discover faith, I discovered that commitment means something and my faith had been reawakened. I discovered that even when I tried to break my agreement that Christ was not going to break his. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do! He will act, he will abide, he will provide. And even when we break our commitment, he finds ways to show us that he is worthy of our trust.

A Prayer for the First Sunday of Lent

2011-03-13T05:07:00.002-04:00

Dear God,

We enter your presence humbled that you will hear the needs of our heart. We thank you for our many blessings. You have given to us in abundance. All that we need your hand has provided. But like spoiled children, often the more we have the more we want. Forgive us for our sin Lord.

Thank you for inviting us to join you in this journey of Lent. Christ himself set us an example who being in very nature God, did not consider it something to use for His gain, but humbled himself in obedience even unto death on the cross. May we remind ourselves of this self-sacrifice during this season of Lent. Teach us to be thankful for and faithful with what we have and free us from the never-ending quest for more. May we remember that just because it is possible for us to buy it, to eat it, to own it, or to keep it, that sometimes it truly is better to sacrifice.

This week has touched our hearts with yet another disaster stealing many lives and disrupting countless others. In tragedy so large we don’t even have the language to know what is needed. We want to pray for a fix, but what is broken cannot be restored without fault. But we know that you have a way of making things new in ways even better than we can imagine. We pray for your healing and restoration in the pacific.

We also pray for our own hearts and minds, along with those around the world. These tragedies can shake our faith. As we travel this Lenten journey and face tragedy both global and personal, may we remember that you are not a God removed from our suffering. We know that Jesus wept while here on Earth, and we take strength from knowing that our God was, is and will ever be with us.

We are a people of blessing, may we live lives worthy of your call God. We pray these things together and offer you the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray,

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us of our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

Desire

2011-03-12T08:00:00.001-05:00

Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

I think the order of this verse is important. Delight in the Lord comes first. I think that we like it the other way. When we get the desires of our heart we are pleased with God, but when we don’t get our way we start showing displeasure. Unfortunately when delighting in the Lord doesn’t come first, the desires of our heart tend to be self centered, self serving, and short term. In the long run, it is probably good for us that we do not get the desires of our heart when we do not delight in the Lord. When I am not delighting in the Lord, my desires are probably wishes that would result in a great deal of heartache for myself and others. On the other hand, when I find myself delighting in the Lord, I find my ways closer to His ways and the desires of my heart become worthy enough to see the light of day.

Trust

2011-03-11T08:00:00.004-05:00

Psalm 37:3

Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

To trust is to truly agree that someone is who they say they are. I’m not just talking about identity, but character. That’s why it is so hard to find trust in our world. We spend so much time trying to manage our image that very few of us really show the world who we truly are. Maybe that’s why trust is such a hard thing for us when it comes to God. Trust in the Lord and do good. Doing good doesn’t seem like the right thing to do. Sure we want to do good and we want to be good, but when push comes to shove, we want to do what is right for us.

That’s when it all starts going wrong. Trusting God allows us to believe that His path is the path to peace. It allows us to believe that even though our way seems to make sense, He has a better idea. It is the path that allows us to “dwell in the land” of safe pasture rather than meander through a world of uncertainty.

2011 Update: It is difficult to read this post on March 11, just hearing the news from Japan and knowing that many people in Hawaii are anticipating destruction. In the wake of Earthquakes, Tsunamis, and flooding, these words about safe pasture seem empty. Of course some will say these destructive acts of nature are "God's will" or some divine punishment. I can't help but think that God's intention is to walk beside his people in times of joy and in times of sorrow.

This is the lesson of Christ that we celebrate this Lenten season-- God was among us, suffering with the least of us, not escaping the hardships of this world but enduring them and overcoming them in the end. Events such as today shake our faith, but rather than causing us to believe that a Tsunami is evidence of the absence of God, I believe that it is an opportunity to discover the presence of God looms even larger in the midst of crisis.

Grass

2011-03-10T08:00:00.004-05:00

Psalm 37:2

for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.

I’ve never had much luck with grass. It grows where I don’t want it, and it dies where it is supposed to grow. The thing about the grass though, is that just like all “green plants” it has a growing season. Unchecked it can grow like crazy. This verse refers to the “evil men” and “those who do wrong” in the previous verse. We like to think that evil has such an immediate effect, but just like the grass, before it withers, it grows. We gauge our life too often on how good things are, thinking that we must be in God’s will if everything is going well. And then when it crashes we start looking for the reasons that it all went wrong.

I mentioned my luck with grass. I can easily drop a handful of grass seed and water on a brown patch and see daily results of growth. Sometimes I get excited that I’ve finally succeeded. But just as quickly as it grows, the brown patch returns. This is comforting to think that while the wicked may prosper for a season that a day will come when it gets its due reward. But I also fear that there are places in my life where the green grass grows. Places that I mistake for goodness because of how it looks today. Places that will soon wither and die away.

Surely, He Has Borne Our Grief

2011-03-09T20:50:00.001-05:00

This post originally appeared last year on Ash Wednesday. I thought it would fit well with my daily posts on Psalm 37 during Lent this year.

Growing up Baptist, the liturgical traditions are not always the most familiar to me. Of course, yesterday, Ash Wednesday marked the beginning of the Lenten Season for the Christian church. Only as an adult did I learn about the practice of giving things up for Lent, and even later than that about the observance of Ash Wednesday. Though I've participate in Ash Wednesday observances, several things struck me differently this year.

First, if you read this blog often, you'll remember that I've had a bit of an infatuation with the book of Job for about a year now. If you watch the t.v. show Lost, I'm convinced that the plot has something to do with the plot of this book. I seem to be finding "Job" in many areas of my life, but the more Job comes to mind, the more his story points me to Christ. As I received the ashes last night, I remembered that Job, after hearing from God says "my ears had heard of you now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes." Faced with the tangible reality of God, Job recognized the only possible response was to acknowledge that God is God and he is not, to see the greatness of God compared to the frailty of man and experience the gratitude of grace that God is indeed mindful of us.

Second, I noticed a phrase from our pastor for the first time as he said he would "impose" the ashes. It seems so strange that we would enter the Lenten season with an "imposition" on us. Indeed, the act of giving something up for Lent may in itself seem like an imposition on our daily life. But this is a beautiful idea. Christ has imposed himself on us, and taking the sign of the cross on ourselves becomes a sign that we willingly accept the "imposition" of the cross. Jesus said that we must "take up our cross daily." Sounds rather unappealing that Jesus would become an imposition on our life. Who wants that?

I do. I will take the imposition of the cross, the burden of Jesus, become a slave to Christ, because the impositions of the world on my life are far too taxing, the burdens I create for myself too heavy to bear, and the masters of money, food, media, and habits demand more than I can keep up with. May your Lenten journey show you the way to the cross, where you may lay down your life to save it.

⁴ Surely He has borne our griefs
      And carried our sorrows;
      Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
      Smitten by God, and afflicted.

⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions,
      He was bruised for our iniquities;
      The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
      And by His stripes we are healed.

Reward

2011-03-09T08:00:00.007-05:00

Psalm 37:1

Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of those who do wrong;

Sometimes I wonder how much of our righteous anger is really about envy of those who do wrong. We spend so much of our time condemning certain behaviors that I think that it might be wise to first examine ourselves to determine if we’re being so judgmental because deep down inside we hate seeing “them” having so much fun. Watching others suffer because of their wrong-doings and evil deeds reminds us of why we try to walk the straight and narrow. Seeing evil reap its due reward in the short run motivates us to seek goodness. But it doesn’t seem to happen that way. When we look out on our world and see how evil people seem to prosper, our temptations become that much greater.

We’d like to see a world where the cost of evil is easily seen, but we don’t. For now we simply have to trust the promises of our faith and strive to seek God and His will in our lives instead of feeling cheated because we’re not allowed to do things that everyone else is getting away with. Rather than fretting over or envying those who do wrong, our hearts need to be set on things above, our eyes set upon Christ and the path He’s laid for us, knowing that it is the best path regardless of what we see around us.

2011- I first wrote this a few years ago. Reading it today, I can't help but think of Charlie Sheen. I'm usually pretty annoyed by the celeb-gossip news of the day, but I've been strangely taken by his story. It makes me wonder if part of our infatuation with Mr. Sheen doesn't reveal our own hearts. Do we secretly enjoy his meltdown as a just reward for his behavior, or are we rooting for him to overcome? I said in the introduction to these posts that Christianity is a story of creation, fall, redemption and restoration. I pray that I can have a heart that sees the image of God in every created human, hoping for restoration rather than waiting in anticipation for judgement.

Mardi Gras

2011-03-08T06:36:00.002-05:00

I knew about Mardi Gras long before I ever had a clue what Ash Wednesday or Lent were all about. After watching "Easy Rider" in college, my friends and I swore that some day we would celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans. That never happened-- probably a good thing.

You may not know that Mardi Gras marks the end of "Carnival" which literally means "farewell to the flesh." The very next day marks the beginning of a very somber period of reflection in the Christian calendar. As with Advent before Christmas, the period of Lent marks a remembrance of Christ's journey to the cross. We already know the end of the story, and often this familiarity breeds apathy. There is great value in making the effort of immersing ourselves in the story that we might fully understand how it is reflected in our lives.

For many Christians, Lent is the season of giving up, but whenever we create space, something moves in to fill it. Without mindfulness of purpose, the sacrifices we make for Lent become vain. Several years ago I made the effort to read through Psalm 37 during the season of Lent, writing daily reflections on each verse of the psalm. This year I want to revisit this Psalm and post my daily thoughts. Each day between now and Easter, I will share my reflections on the 40 verses of this psalm. I hope this will be an encouragement to others who have chosen mindfulness in their Lenten journey.

As always, if you wish to add your thoughts or comment on any of these posts feel welcome to do so.

A Prayer for Transfiguration Sunday

2011-03-05T22:10:00.001-05:00

Good Morning Lord,

We lift our voices high this morning singing praises to you alone. Glory be to you, our God.

You are there with us on days that are filled with joy and on days filled with sadness. On bright, sunny days and on cloudy, rainy days. During our times of busyness and those times of rest. You are with us on days that begin and continue to feel chaotic and on days where everything goes smoothly.

We pray for patience... we pray for understanding... we pray for peace... and we pray for love.

Our Father, you have provided us with mountain top experiences where we feel so incredibly close to you and we thank you for these moments. Thank you for the grace moments that remind us that you are real and that we are your children. Thank you for coming close to us and loving us--
unconditionally.

Help us to let these moments empower us.
Help us to love others as you love us.
Help us to be the hands of Christ and serve.
Help us to react and go without hesitation.
Continue to be with us in our moments.

We pray these things as you taught us to pray, Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power forever and ever. Amen.

*Thanks to my wonderful wife for this post, she wrote this prayer.

What I Learned at Church This Week

2011-03-05T08:20:00.000-05:00

After the early service at church last Sunday, I had a conversation with a friend. He commented on a prayer I'd offered in the early service. I suppose a little more of my life crept into this prayer, because as I talked with this friend he expressed that the idea of servant-leadership really spoke to him and that he had really been trying to work this out in his own life as a business leader, a husband, and a father. Those last two stuck out to me, because that is what I needed to hear from God this Sunday morning.

I stood there drinking coffee, in the transition time between services thinking about how God comes to us in the most unexpected times; or is God coming to us all the time and we're just not paying attention. So I decided for the rest of the morning to take note of everything that God was trying to tell me that morning at church. Here is the list:

1) Servant leadership is not just a concept for the nation and world; it's probably even more important in the home.

2) Sports and other activities can be a burden or a blessing, it is really depends on what you make them. (learned from non-lesson related conversation in SS)

3) Children are capable of great creativity and great beauty. But they are also capable of the opposite. (learned by watching kids participate in the worship service)

4) Trying to serve your self and serve God leads to either guilt and self-loathing OR obsessive doubt and anger toward God. (learned from the sermon, but it wasn't really the main point, or even any point)

That's just in one Sunday, and only #4 is related to the sermon. I may post about each of these in the future, but tomorrow I plan on a second round of taking note of what I learn in church. I know that lot's of people question the value of "Sunday morning church" and see it as more of a relic than relevant, but I really believe that God honors our commitment of time and community and uses this time to both bless and prepare us on our journey. I look forward to what tomorrow brings.

⁸ Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
   for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
   for to you I entrust my life.
⁹ Rescue me from my enemies, LORD,
   for I hide myself in you.
¹⁰ Teach me to do your will,
   for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
   lead me on level ground.    (Psalm 143)

What the Hell Rob Bell?

2011-03-02T14:55:00.000-05:00

Pardon the title, but it appears that a prominent religious leader, Rob Bell, has stirred quite a nest of hornets by raising this very question, even prompting John Piper to declare "farewell Rob Bell" in his twitter feed. If you're not familiar with Rob Bell, he's well known for a series of short Christian videos known as Nooma. I have enjoyed these videos for several years in addition to podcasts of his sermons. He is also the author of several books; I've read Velvet Elvis and Jesus Wants to Save Christians (For fellow Central Virginians, this Rob Bell is not to be confused with our long time House of Delegates Representative)

One of the most telling illustrations from Velvet Elvis challenges Christians to stop looking at their faith as a wall with individual bricks making up the elements of our faith. For one, when these small elements of our faith are broken, the wall's integrity is compromised. For two, when we build a wall, we want to stay inside of it and protect it. Bell argues that Christian faith is more like a trampoline. When a spring or two (the elements of our faith) give out, the trampoline is still just as functional as before. And unlike a wall that we defend, a trampoline is a joy that we invite others in to play on.

Bell says that certain doctrines should not "make or break" our faith. As an example, he uses the Virgin Birth. I remember him taking much heat for that. He didn't disavow the Virgin Birth, he simply showed that with this metaphor of faith that even a doctrinal tenet as strong as the Virgin Birth should not be such a strong part of our faith that if it turned out to be untrue that our faith as well would be proved untrue. (On a side note, it appears that the 2011 American Catholic Bishop's "New American Bible has remove the reference to Virgin Birth from Isaiah 7:14)

But apparently, his statements about the Virgin Birth didn't go nearly as far as the claim in his new book at upsetting the Christian community. His new book Love Wins is due out April 1, and the short video promo and news release about the book this weekend was too much for some to handle. Here's what the publisher says:

In Love Wins: Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, Bell addresses one of the most controversial issues of faith--the afterlife--arguing that a loving God would never sentence human souls to eternal suffering. With searing insight, Bell puts hell on trial, and his message is decidedly optimistic--eternal life doesn't start when we die; it starts right now. And ultimately, Love Wins.

In this video trailer, Bell asks "Is Gandhi Really in Hell?" Seriously, what Christian wouldn't be ready to tackle that question. These are the types of questions that should shake our faith to its very foundation. How many good Christians have lived a life of anxiety worried about the eternal soul of a loved one? How many people struggle with the question of what happens to little babies that die and what is the age of accountability?

LOVE WINS. from Rob Bell on Vimeo.

These are questions that I'd rather avoid; on one hand, the answer could be one that I find hard to live with, but on the other it could be an answer that contradicts much of what I have been taught my entire life about heaven and hell.

Apparently the reaction to Bell's new book in the "twitter/blogosphere" rated among the Oscars in terms of popularity over the weekend and the beginning of the week. It's kind of crazy to think that so many people are ready to attack his theology before the book is even released. As the title says, Love Wins, not only that, but truth wins, and if I find myself on the wrong side of truth I want to surrender before dying defending a lie that I've come to believe.

So I don't know what Rob Bell has to say about the Christian doctrine of Hell, but I am quite grateful that he has chosen to wrestle with the question. I hope that the rest of Christendom will just as eagerly pursue the truth with humility. I can neither stand in defense or judgement of Bell's theology, but I will always support the value of asking difficult questions.

A Manifesto for Restoration

2011-02-28T07:33:00.000-05:00

"The Good News About the End of Christian America" reads the text across the front cover of Gabe Lyons' The Next Christians. Many would argue that "Christian America" has always been a myth, but myth or reality, that mindset pervaded the evangelical Christian community throughout the second half of the twentieth century.

For this reason I found myself skeptical reading the first two chapters. Lyons' described recent changes that would indicate that what once was an idyllic Christian environment has come undone in recent years. I was wrong about Lyons' intention. Rather than bemoaning the demise of "Christian America" and describing the twenty-first century method of fighting it, Lyons' embraces the challenges of a new century and the opportunities to reframe the Christian narrative in a restorative framework.

Lyons describes several subgroups of Christians, grouping them all into two main categories: separatists and cultural. The former reacts to the broader world by withdrawing and criticizing. The latter integrates into the world at the expense of the gospel. The Next Christians represent a third way forward. This new way forward is neither progressive movement leaving the old behind nor a reactive movement rejecting the new to hold on to the old.

The next Christians practice restoration by fully living out the call of Paul to "be in and not of" this world. They do this by being provoked, not offended; creative, not critical; called, not employed; grounded, not distracted; in community, not alone; countercultural, not relevant. This third group of emerging Christians are neither separatist or culutural, reclaiming the full gospel beginning with creation and ending with restoration.

Within this clear and easy to follow framework, Lyons' fills out his description of The next Christian with moving stories of people living out this type of faith. Some are familiar like the story of "To Write Love on Her Arms" and the simple Christianity of Shane Claiborne. Others are surprising like the story of Kevin Kelly of Wired magazine. Still others are personal acquaintances with first names only. These stories turn an interesting but lifeless structure into an engaging and inspiring work.

The Next Christians encourages and equips the reader to begin a journey of engaging the contemporary world in a Christ-like restorative fashion.

Disclaimer: this book was received as a complimentary copy for review by the publisher.

A Sunday Prayer for History

2011-02-26T18:06:00.000-05:00

Dear God,

In a world of smoke and mirrors and shifting sand, we thank you for being the Rock on which we stand.* The passing of time brings loss and change, enough to shake the most steady soul, but you are ever with us. When we fail to cope and berate each other give us peace within our hearts. Remind us when we provoke our children, lose patience with our spouses, and complain about our work that we are a people of blessing. Keep us mindful of your promises to us that our hearts may grow thankful and not bitter.

We continue to fret over money. Paying three dollars a gallon seems unfair, and we hate to be burdened this way. As we deal with economy and make hard decisions we pray that you would show us the way of simplicity. In our thanks for food and drink, family and friends, community and health may we learn that is enough.

We honestly pray for our leaders. They have such tough decisions to make. May our voices inform them and not deflate them. Give them wisdom to lead. We pray as well God that when political answers are not the end of our problems that you would give us the wisdom to lead. We are the body of Christ on earth, may your Christians practice the discipline of “Thy Kingdom Come.”

Thank you God for being our Rock, for today we stand at the end of history and the beginning of future and we don’t know what it may bring. We give thanks for the people of North Africa and the Middle East that they have found a voice and the world can now hear what they call for. But we pray for peace to come, along with an end to oppression and tyranny. May the people of Africa and the Middle East gain the freedom they desire that we have taken for granted. As troubling as the affairs of the world may be, and as uncertain as they leave our future—from political changes in Africa to growing populations and economies in Asia may we remember to rest our hope in the future on you, that we may know that all things will work out for good.

We pray for the earthquake victims of New Zealand, and those coping with the aftermath of flood in Australia; and as we consider the world, we lift also the needs of our friends up to you God. We know of many who have received word in the last weeks of serious health concerns for themselves or for family and we pray that as their worlds change in a way that will render them forever different that you would be their strength.

And we pray for your Church dear God, and our little part in it. May we be the agents to drive change for your Glory instead of the reactors that infuse anxiety into the world. We can do this through your will, and for this reason we pray the prayer you taught us through Jesus, our Saviour: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us of our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever, Amen.

*credit to Jerry Varner for this line, a youth minister and friend from Richmond.

The Best Commercial Ever

2011-02-23T21:12:00.000-05:00

I'll never forget the first time I tried Miracle Whip. I had recently graduated from college and lived on my own in an unfinished basement in Harrisonburg, VA taking classes at JMU. It was my first experience grocery shopping completely for myself. I wanted mayonaisse for my sandwiches so like any good starving unemployed college grad I went cheap. Little did I know the mayonaisse that I bought wasn't mayonaisse at all-- it was Miracle Whip, and it was awful.

It's odd how little experiences like that in life stick out in your mind and remain in your memory. I don't think I've even thought about that experience until tonight when I saw it, the best commercial ever. In an age where everyone tries their best to convince the world that they are the best this commercial is a breath of fresh air. When organizations dress up their performance and use smoke and mirrors to impress the public, politicians polarize constituents and pretend the world is black and white, a product that tells the truth just might make a difference.

Sure, they're just trying to sell a product, but for some reason it lifts my soul to see them do it so honestly. I could force an object lesson here, or relate this to some greater truth, but that in itself would run contrary to the ideal of this post. I'm just writing about how much I dislike Miracle Whip and how cool it is that the folks that market Miracle Whip are ok with that. So from now on, they're ok with me. (But I'm still never eating the stuff again.)

Embodiment as a Spiritual Discipline

2011-02-21T21:42:00.001-05:00

I remember the "good old days" of sitting in the "gifted classrooms" at the county administration building in middle school programming the Apple II to make my name flash on the screen. Flash forward six years, and I'm sitting in a lab of computers ten times as big trying to get the command right after the DOS prompt to find WordPerfect so that I could complete my first word processed paper in college. Shortly after graduating I was using the internet and e-mail, and today I am resisting the urge to upgrade so that I can do so on a device that will fit into my pocket.

I'm certainly not at the head of the curve by any means, but like many (would it be presumptive to say most) I am certainly experiencing the ever increasing pull of connectedness offered by modern technology. I am in the middle of reading a book called "The Next Christians" by Gabe Lyons. I'll write a review of the book later, but chapter 8 is titled Grounded, not Distracted. I encountered a new concept in this chapter that would serve all of us well in the changing world of the 21st century.

Lyons describes the concept of being "embodied, not divided" by sharing a story about Kevin Kelley, a senior writer for Wired Magazine. To paraphrase, Kelly shares that God chose to be embodied in Jesus relating to his "creations" by being present with them. Perhaps this would be another way of saying incarnational, but 1)does anyone really use that word, and 2)the idea of embodiment fits so much more nicely with the idea of the true church being the body of Christ on earth.

The basic premise of the idea of Embodiment is being truly present for others. I notice this problem most acutely when I find myself at the counter of a store and the attendant takes a phone call while providing service to me. I once had a parent take a phone call in the middle of a parent-teacher conference. (I am a teacher if you didn't know) Most of American adult culture bemoans the teenage addiction to devices, but the over-30 crowd is quickly surpassing our youth in their attachment to technology driven connection.

Abstinence may be the answer for some, but the basic rules of embodiment as spelled out by Kelly and related in Lyons' book sounds like a great plan for beginning to notice our surroundings.

Priority One: Face-to-Face. If you are able to be physically in front of another person, they should have your full attention.

Priority Two: Voice-to-Voice. Without the visual "accountability" of physical presence it becomes increasingly important to refrain from engaging in other distracting behaviors such as watching the television, viewing your computer screen, etc. Again, full attention to the person you are engaging with.

Priority Three: Screen-to-Screen. Even here, we should be mindful that communication is a vital part of relationship. We should keep this communication as brief as possible and recognize that there are limits to what can be communicated effectively this way. And as always, the person with whom we are communicating deserves our full attention.

I doubt that Embodiment will achieve the status of traditional disciplines such as prayer and fasting (indeed, perhaps it shouldn't) but as Christians in the 21st century, striving to be "in and not of" this world, the discipline appears to be a Christ-like practice. The discipline of embodiment should keep us aware of the needs that God places in our lives enabling us to better serve as the body of Christ on earth.

Lyons' suggests that this relates to the story of Daniel refusing to eat the King's food. A practice which seemed counter-cultural and certainly not mainstream led to blessing not only for Daniel, but for the lives that he touched. Perhaps discipline in our use of technology, counter-cultural as it may seem, will serve to bless not only our lives, but the lives of others that we interact with daily.

The Gathering

2011-02-19T23:08:00.001-05:00

For the last few months, several young people at our church have hosted a gathering on Saturday evenings aptly called-- "The Gathering." Tonight I had my second opportunity to attend. It is quite a unique experience. Walking into the Gathering, the informal nature of the event is evident, but despite the informality, it is not disorganized. The attitude is also rather loose and laid back, but certainly not irreverent.

The service is primarily music driven, but we also took the time to vocalize prayer requests and time was spent reading from the Bible and praying. Usually when you attend a religious service with children their behavior can become an issue and minor disruptions cause great stress, but with the atmosphere in this service the children were not a problem at all. In fact, they were included in part of the service tonight as the leaders invited them to participate with rythm instruments in one of the songs.

What I most appreciated tonight was the worshipful experience. Several people gathered, shared a bit of their lives with each other, and worshipped God without the normal distractions of "church." We didn't have to follow a bulletin or be mindful of the myriad other activities going on in a usual Sunday morning. I found myself acutely aware of the words. Words that resonated in my mind through this service. Words that just don't seem to fit in our world anymore-- faithfulness, mercy, grace, joy, hope.

I applaud the three young adults who have initiated this experience for our community, and hope they find encouragement as they continue. If you live in this community I would encourage you to join in this experience in March on the 26th and in April on the 30th. The Gathering meets at Chestnut Grove Baptist Church in Earlysville at 4:00. It is a wonderful time of experiencing God, friendship, music, and coffee.

Justice and Mercy Redux

2011-02-17T22:05:00.000-05:00

Over the summer I posted a link to a sermon I gave at our church. The text for the sermon was Micah 6:8 and the title "Justice and Mercy." I also noted in a previous post that our church staff is currently involved in a study using the Kairos Lifeshapes tools. The most recent shape we've looked at is the triangle as a tool for managing our relationships.

The three basic relationships in our lives are up, in, and out. Up refers to our relationship with God, in to our relationship with a closer circle of friends, and out to our relationship with the larger world. Jesus reflects this balance in his relationships, spending focused time alone with God, time in the company of a few disciples, and time among the crowd. It only makes sense that we would strive for the same type of balance in our own lives.

The resource we use for this study compares the angles of the triangle to the three commands from Micah 6:8. At first I didn't see the connection, and even felt like I had spent time trying to understand Micah 6:8, and this didn't seem to fit with my understanding. The connection between walking humbly with Our God and the "up" portion of the triangle seems obvious. But acting justly being an outward focus and loving mercy being an inward focus doesn't fit quite as nicely.

But then I got it. Just last month I posted a video of Cornell West on the Colbert Report with a little commentary. One of the quotes I shared was as follows: "Justice is what love looks like in public, just like tenderness is what it looks like in private." If the "out" angle of the triangle represents how we relate to the world, this makes perfect sense--Justice is what love looks like in public. And the "in" angle of the triangle represents how we relate to those we are closest to--Tenderness is what it looks like in private. (I'm taking liberty of associating tenderness and mercy) The power to do both comes from the love of God which we draw from our upward relationship because after all, God is Love (1 John 4:8 & 16).

So may we learn to balance the relationships in our lives, acting justly in the world, showing mercy to those we love, and walking humbly with our God.

Redeeming a Holy Mess

2011-02-12T22:54:00.001-05:00

The subtitle of Matthew Paul Turner’s biographic novel, Churched, reads “One Kids Journey Toward God Despite a Holy Mess.” Turner takes the reader through a journey that calls to question just what effects the peculiar faith experiences of our childhood have on our future conceptualization of God. The book describes the author’s childhood deeply rooted in the world of Baptist Fundamentalism. That word fundamentalist makes many people cringe, but I can totally relate. I was a fundamentalist too.

When I read the words “I’m hear because Jesus doesn’t like men having long hair, and my hair is long” I knew that I shared more than just a last name with Turner. I doubt the testimony of one can validate the stories of “Churched,” but as far as the fundamentalist upbringing that I experienced, Turner was dead on, and the hair was only the beginning. If reading this book you find it unusual that a pastor would actually craft sermons around the virtues of hairstyles, I can say, the author is not overstating for effect.

As I read stories of Matthew’s youth group going door to door evangelizing, it brought back vivid memories of flooding the grocery stores to hand out tracks, or even sitting in perfect strangers living room with my dad as he explained the path of salvation to anyone willing to listen. Just when I thought our stories couldn’t be more similar, Matthew describes his church’s decision to open its own school to provide an alternative to the secular institute of education. Our paths diverge on this experience and I am still thankful today that my parents chose to continue my education in the public system.

Turner’s story simply unfolds relatively chronologically as he describes various episodes of his life from the time his parents first connected with the Independent Bible Baptist Church. From the moment of this connection, the family’s life merged with the life of IBBC . It is not as if the church consumed the family so much as the family lived through the church, faith was not the most important part of life, it was the very context through which life was lived. This too rings true to my experiences of childhood.

A more disturbing thread that makes its way through the book is the fundamentalist preoccupation with judgment and Hell. But without understanding the depth of belief in the fundamental truth that without Christ, the soul is destined for eternal suffering, one cannot appreciate the ultra-evangelical and morally disciplined behaviors that seem alien to outsiders.

An outsider to this experience may find some of these episodes disturbing and messy. I’m sure that Matthew found them so at some points of his life. I certainly looked to my fundamentalist past with disdain for a season of my life. Turner says “there were times when I envied my father for having the right personality to be Baptist. He was stubborn, could be closed-minded toward anything that wasn’t his idea, and was fully convinced that Pentecostals were a bunch of nut jobs… Dad found something in our church that gave him hope. Regardless of where it comes from, someone else’s hope is difficult to devalue.”

I attended the funeral of my aunt a short while ago, and the pastor of my parent’s church officiated. All of my years of hating church and looking back at my experiences with resentment faded away. Behind the façade of strength and confidence I saw the struggle of faith that plays out in all religious traditions. More so, I saw the hope that only comes from this frailty and understood the role that this Independent Fundamental Baptist preacher played in God’s big plan for spreading that hope. In that moment, I appreciated him, the church, and the messy fundamentalist history that my parents bequeathed to me.

Somehow, after reading this book, I believe that Matthew Turner may share this appreciation with me. If you’ve never experienced fundamentalism, the honest, bittersweet, and sometimes ironic retelling of the episodes of Matthew Turner’s life may help you appreciate how God can works through any holy mess.

Disclaimer: this book was received as a complimentary copy for review by the publisher.

Sharpening Your Sword or Practicing Your Tune

2011-02-07T19:43:00.000-05:00

For the last month, our church staff has replaced the normal weekly staff meeting with something closer to a Bible study. I stop short of calling it a Bible study because it is slightly different than that. The book that we are using is titled "Kairos," and it uses the "Lifeshapes" tools for understanding life. It is important to understand that these "Lifeshapes" are not sacred, but they are excellent tools for applying the sacred to our lives.

The first shape is a circle. Imagine your life as a timeline. This is chronology, based on the word Chronos. Compare that to the word for time that Jesus used when he said, "The time has come, the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!" (Mark 15) Jesus uses the word Kairos, translated time, but more like a defining moment rather than the chronological passing of a clock. As we move along the "chronos" of our lives, we encounter "kairos" moments. At these moments we step off the line at the tangent point and enter the circle. We observe, reflect and discuss so that we may plan, act, and be held accountable for our actions, moving forward in our "chronos" having grown from processing our "kairos."

I've just come through a personal struggle that has lasted for about three months. I won't explain details, but several weeks ago, the situation was getting close to coming to a head. It is one of those situations that even though you want more than anything for the situation to change, chances are you are going to have to make the best of a situation or make a dramatic change in your life. I saw this as a "kairos" moment that I brought to our group for discussion.

I faced an opportunity to meet personally with several people to discuss our current situation. I felt reluctance to engage in this conversation because of the potential consequences. I knew that I needed to either confront the situation or let it go-- letting go would be the easy way out, but I doubted that I could just let go. I also worried that I had become so involved that communicating in a non-emotional/calm manner would be difficult.

The group pointed me to the story of Joshua and the Battle of Jericho. God promised the city to Joshua and instructed his people to march around the city for seven days. On the seventh day, the priests sounded the horns, and the walls came down. I was in a confrontational posture. I was absorbed in self. The group pointed out through this story that perhaps this situation required that I practice my tune rather than sharpening my sword. Instead of approaching this meeting as an act of war, perhaps it would be best approached as an act of worship.

I don't think this situation is resolved, but taking the time to pause the "chronos" of my life to process a "kairos" moment gave me a new perspective on the entire situation and a metaphor that will serve me well in similar situations. Sometimes we shouldn't spend so much time sharpening our swords, instead we should be practicing our tune, a joyful noise that brings glory to God.

It's Real!

2011-01-28T23:19:00.000-05:00

This week started off pretty poorly when I heard the news of the Taco Bell lawsuit claiming that their ground beef really only contained 33% beef. I thought back to all of the tacos and burritos that I've consumed at "the Bell" with disgust. But thankfully, the record has been set straight. It turns out that Taco Bell officials assert that the lawsuit is unmerited, as the beef used at Taco Bell is 88% beef.

That sure did make me feel better, knowing that instead of 67% filler and other stuff, I had only been eating 12% filler and other stuff. In all seriousness, after reading an ingredient list, it really doesn't seem that the Taco Bell meat is full of nastiness that you would be afraid to eat, but it does lead one to question again just how our food gets from pasture to table. To think that an animals meat can be processed and repackaged to the point where when we finally eat it more than ten percent is actually something other than meat is an unsavory thought. I reviewed the Omnivore's Dilemma in a post a few months back, and a story like this makes me appreciate the book even more.

On a side note, apparently Taco Bell has been proactive in deflecting criticism. Here is a commercial from their new add campaign. Click the link to find more related videos on YouTube if you find it entertaining, but honestly, you could probably catch the drift and figure out where it's going in about thirty seconds. More after the break:

Just a few weeks ago, I rediscovered "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids" on Netflix with my children. I shared the discovery with a few co-workers. We marveled at how the show resembled a Public Service Announcement more than entertainment. When I remember the cartoons of my childhood, I appreciate the positive message that so many of them conveyed. I learned positive social interactions from Albert and the Gang; grammar, math, science and history from School House Rocks, and even G.I. Joe reminded us that "knowing is half the battle."

This add campaign seems to hearken back to those days. Unfortunately, its purpose is to mask the seriousness of a message that needs to become a part of the public dialogue. It also serves to further manipulate the public into a false sense of dependence on the corporate machine that so drives the American economy and culture today.

To be fair, Taco Bell does not appear to be acting in an unreasonable or unlawful manner, nor does their product seem to be unsafe for consumption. They do not appear to be misleading in their response to the accusation. But I still have this nagging desire to move my diet away from the corporate/factory model of food production and consumption so ubiquitous in our world today.

Thinking of this post in terms of my blog title, it is so easy to take the quick and convenient route to our sustenance. But if we truly see our bodies as the temple of our Lord we should certainly take more care in what we put in it; and if we see ourselves as caretakers of God's creation we should be more mindful of how our choices in consumption affect that role.

West, Colbert, and a Fresh Perspective on Love

2011-01-24T21:45:00.000-05:00

I ran across this video of an interview with Cornel West by Stephen Colbert. I don't watch very much Colbert, and I've only heard of Cornel West. After watching this, I'm inclined to learn a little more about Dr. West. The clip is well worth the watch, and just under seven minutes long. I've paraphrased some of my favorite quotes below.

The Colbert Report

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West says I don't want social engineering, I want social justice. Social justice is allowing for the love to flow so that poor people have the same dignity as investment bankers.
-How many people vilify the poor who live off the government but somehow think it's ok to bailout failed businesses. What is the difference in a beggar who chooses to make a living off of handouts and an unscrupulous businessman/woman who chooses to make a living by exploiting others. It seems that one is honest about his or her intentions while the other succeeds in wearing a veneer of respectability.

Colbert summarizes a point of West's book, Hope on a Tightrope saying "I hope things will get better, but I have no proof. Optimism is evidence-based."
-This is a beautiful description of hope and how it leads us to strive to make things better. Too much optimism leads to complacency-- hope drives us to action.

I'm a militant for tenderness. Justice is what love looks like in public, just like tenderness is what it looks like in private. Love is a steadfast commitment to the well-being of others.
-We've bought the lie about love. We've grown to think love is something self-serving and self-gratifying. We love because of what we get out of it and when we stop getting, we fall out of love. We think love is a feeling and forget that it is wrapped up in expression. No wonder we're left empty when the feeling is forgotten. Without the expression, the feeling has no power. We've forgotten what love is.

³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,but do not have love, I gain nothing.
⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.
1 Corinthians 13

I don't know what kind of a person Cornel West is, but in seven minutes he's made an impression that will last. May he find the path of God's blessing and spread the message of love to the world.

A Prayer for the Church (and the ordination of servants)

2011-01-22T22:36:00.001-05:00

Dear God,

We pray that you bless our gathering. We know that we can’t just keep on doing our own thing and hoping that you’ll approve. Give us the heart and mind to seek you and your will for our lives and our communities that we might follow the path of blessing that you’ve set before us. May our gathering be blessed because we’re on this kingdom path.

We give you thanks for bringing us here today, for all the simple things that we take for granted. From the air, food, and water that keeps our bodies alive to your Holy Spirit, scripture, and Christian community that keeps our souls alive. We thank you today for your church and our small part of it. We thank you for the blessing of friendship, guidance, and support provided by this family. We also thank you for the opportunities offered through this body to spread your blessing to the world. We ask that you continue to fill our cups and fill our cups and fill our cups so that we can spill out all over the world because your love will not be contained.

We give you thanks also for the Christian men and women of your church who bear the blessing of call. For those who hear and respond to your call of service we give you thanks.

Please keep us honest and true God. We may think we speak the truth with our lips, but we come today with lips proclaiming love for you. May we not make ourselves liars by ignoring the plight of the poor. Help us to stay true to you by serving others and worrying less about whether we’re getting our fair share. Because we love you God, may we not forget the prisoners and assume that handcuffs and manacles are always the just reward and Christian answer for errant behavior. God we pray that we learn to take a break from trying to get ahead so that we can push others toward your kingdom.

As we deal with each other God may we lift in all that we do. I pray that we never serve as an obstacle or stumbling block toward each other. Give us the words to encourage, the actions to support, and the courage to hold accountable in ways that would bring glory and honor to you.

Today we set apart a few of our own. Through your call, they take on the role of servant. They choose not to set themselves above, but to dedicate themselves to you in service to your church. We know that you can do great things through people, and we pray that you would do great things through these people that we lift up to you today.

You are our creator and provider, and we owe all we are to you. May we all be your people in word and deed. Please hear our prayers to you.

Amen.

Room

2011-01-20T20:01:00.002-05:00

I just finished my first book of 2011, a book called Room by Emma Donoghue. I appreciate books that disturb. Some books lead you down a dark trail, but manage to make everything sunshine and rainbows by the end as if every story has a happy ending. Other books just delve into depravity and offer no signs of redemption to bring value to the story. I hate both of these types of books.

In Room, Donoghue avoids both of these traps. By this point, you may have a clue about the plot of this story, but if you don't, I would prefer not to ruin the experience for you. Often while reading this book I teetered between hopefulness that something good could come out of this and fear that the end would be tragic. At times I even felt a sense of guilt, feeling that the author had gone too far in inviting the reader into this depraved situation.

Usually I would only find value in a book like this if some sort of redemption plays out by the end, but even that is a little ambiguous. What I truly appreciate from this book is the view of how resilient the human psyche can be and the question of how we create reality from the circumstances of our environment.

I actually finished the book and began this post two weeks ago, but the impact of this book cannot be truly appreciated in just a few days. I'm sure that I'll be processing this one for quite some time.

Stopping To Grieve

2011-01-13T21:05:00.000-05:00

Today I was able to mourn with a friend. We never look forward to death or funerals, but the denial of death is unhealthy. Like it or not, it is a part of life. This doesn't mean that it is to be celebrated or masked as some happy or normal occasion. Death is an abberation. This is why we mourn; to recognize the reality that the only certain part of life is ugly and painful.

It hit me because of this: the funeral was in my hometown. It isn't a busy place. Some may call it backward, I wouldn't go that far. My son was with me. We were a part of the procession from the funeral to the graveside. My son (eleven years old) had a hard time understanding all of the cars along the way that stopped for us. Not only at intersections without a police directing them, but oncoming traffic, stopping simply out of respect for our procession.

I told him that sometimes in the face of death, the only appropriate response is to stop. After all, that's what death is-- ceasing to exist in this world. We stop to recognize it. We can't continue our lives in the moment and go on being normal to deal with it. If the realization of death doesn't stop us in our tracks, at least for the moment, I don't think that we are adequately considering it. Not to be morbid, or to live in dread, but to recognize that at some point we too will move from this life into the next. Whether approached with hope or dread, that point will be the most significant point of our lives.

So I grieve for my friend who has lost a parent, but I give thanks for the moment to reflect on the beauty and fragility of human life.

⁵ I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
⁶ I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning

Psalm 130:5-6

Opportunity Cost

2011-01-09T23:12:00.001-05:00

So that's what has been on my mind for several weeks now-- Opportunity. Several years ago I read the book Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. One of his points is that success is a combination of excellence and opportunity. We easily point the finger of luck toward the successes of others, but often choose to attribute our own to hard work and effort. But without the opportunity, all of the effort in the world is lost; and without effort, opportunity is wasted.

My third-grade daughter began to prepare for a social studies test before the winter break and the concept of "opportunity cost" was a difficult one for her to get. It is the idea that some choices have more than a monetary cost, but you give up something else when you make them. Sometimes we foolishly prepare for opportunities that we don't want to miss (e.g. playing the lottery) but other times, we consider foolish, those who do not prepare for the opportunities that are certain (e.g. health insurance).

The news this week fits well the idea of opportunity. We discussed the story of Ted Williams, the Man With the Golden Voice earlier in the week in my high school leadership class. Mr. Williams was given an opportunity when someone with a camera chose to give him help, but if his "God-given talent" was simply "ordinary" he would have been just another panhandler getting a couple of dollars from another stranger. But Mr. Williams was able and prepared to take advantage of the opportunity. Now, once again, he is faced with numerous opportunities that are his to take advantage of, or to lose.

In the other major news of the week, opportunity knocked on both sides of the door. In the tragic shooting that took place in Arizona this weekend, a disturbed young man prepared for an opportunity to add to the depravity of our world. But even in the midst of this depravity, redemption comes through heroism. Patricia Maisch and others who followed the lead of this average 61 year old woman made quick work of an opportunity and brought a tragic event to an end. This tragedy also presents an opportunity for our nation. An opportunity to honestly discuss the eventual outcome of consistently dehumanizing and objectifying one another in the name of politics.

Tonight in Bible study, we looked at the story of Peter and John healing a lame man from Acts chapter three. The two men were on their way to the temple for prayer at 3:00. Probably their normal routine, something they'd done daily for most of their lives. They crossed a beggar. Probably one of many, maybe they'd even seen him before. But today, they stopped. The Spirit of God was with them. This lame man just wanted a few bucks. It would've been easy to avoid him, or toss a few shekels in the cup to make your conscience feel better. Not today. Because these two men were prepared for the opportunity by being open and obedient, this lame man stood and walked for the first time in forty years.

I think that would be the best way for us to approach the opportunities of our life, keeping an humble attitude, submissive to God and responsive to our surroundings. Compare this to the attitude of self-promotion, submissive to no one and responsive only to our own needs. This is the difference in an opportunity fulfilled and an opportunity defiled.

A Pot of Coffee

2011-01-04T22:51:00.000-05:00

Maybe not a pot, but at least a cup. The last three days, my family has been entertained by a coffee maker. Funny thing is, I'm the only one in the house that drinks coffee. Last year, I decided to take my coffee maker to work, saving an extra few seconds in the morning by brewing my coffee at work was worth the sacrifice of figuring out a different plan for the weekend. I managed most Saturdays to cope with a visit to the coffee house or convenience store on the way to football, soccer, etc. Other Saturdays a cup of Starbucks Via would do the job. I almost feel guilty about getting my Sunday coffee fix at church. I find myself very dissapointed when I run a little late and miss out on it.

So for some reason, my non-coffee drinking wife along with two of my three children arrived home Sunday afternoon with a brand new Keurig coffee maker. They bought "k-cups" of tea, hot chocolate, and coffee. But this is the greatest part: my son spent Sunday evening separating the coffee from the tea and hot chocolate. He then pulled out all of the decaf and flavored coffee because I don't like them. When I came home from church on Sunday night, he said "want me to make you a cup of coffee dad?" (and that's not the last time either)

Several years ago I saw an old friend at the movies with his teenage son. I told my wife then that if I ever have a teenage son willing to go to the movies with his dad I'll be satisfied with life. I don't think I need for that to happen anymore, because the sound of your child asking unsolicited if he can brew you a cup of coffee, well, that's about one of the best things in the world.

A Quiet New Year

2010-12-31T10:13:00.002-05:00

As I sit at home in pajama pants on New Year's Eve morning, I notice, for the first time, the buzz about this day. All of the morning talk shows are prepping folks for the nights festivities- from the best food to prepare to hang-over preventions for the morning. Cities around the world are taking care of last minute details for their first night parties, some have already begun. I'm trying my best to opt out.

I've had my share of New Year's parties. Lots of them were fun, but largely unfulfilling. I really appreciate the ones where I had a chance to really connect with a few good friends and family. But I am really starting to appreciate the virtues of quietly ringing in the New Year and getting off to a well rested and healthy start on New Year's Day.

Prince sang "tonight we're gonna party like it's 1999" and I've often looked to the end of the New Year with a sense of finality. The year is done, go out with a bang. Many people recognize the holidays of many non-Christian religions begin at sundown; the day begins at sundown. Think about what this means, in our ancient past, the beginning of the day began with rest. I pray that no matter how you celebrate New Year's eve that it will provide you with the rest and energy to face 2011 as the best you that you can be.

My Favorite Books of 2010

2010-12-29T11:50:00.002-05:00

I've referred to several books from time to time on A Pot of Stew, but considering how much I enjoy reading I haven't really given too much space to the books I enjoy the most. Here are the ten favorite books that I've read in 2010. Some are old and some are new. They aren't in any order other than the rough order in which I finished reading each one.

The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives

by Leonard Mlodinow

The subtitle of this book says it all. We attribute so much of what happens in our lives to talent and ability, but Mlodinow says that many of the success stories (and failures) of the world can be explained by simple principles of statistics. I understood that we are all marked by success and failure experiences. When those successes come early, we are much more likely to weather the storms later on than when the failures come early and we give up before we even start. Just like flipping a coin. Five tails in a row just isn't enough information to decide that your coin is more prone to tails than heads. So don't give up so quickly.

Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior
by Ori and Rom Brafman

What could possibly lead over 50% of a French game show t.v. audience to respond that the Sun revolves around the Earth? It was the French version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" and apparently the audience did not think the contestant worthy of the prize if he didn't know the moon revolved around the Earth, so they mislead him. This book is full of stories such as this, backed up with explanations for these behaviors from the world of Social Psychology and Behavior Economics. I read this book right after Predictibly Irrational and The Drunkard's Walk, and should have given it a little more space, but it was still an enjoyable and interesting read.

The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

by Timothy Keller

After thinking I had read too many psych/social science books in a row, I turned to religion. I am no fan of apologetics, but Keller's insight on the Christian faith appealed greatly to me. I get the impression that he is a pretty conservative guy, but he manages to express the Gospel story in a novel and easy to understand way. He explains why "Jesus is the only way" without alienating. His answer to "why does a good God allow suffering" satisfies the intellect without insulting the soul. My intent focus on the dual concept of Justice and Mercy came directly from this book.

The Book of Dave

by Will Self

The tone of this book reminded me of "Trainspotting." It was not an inspiring book and I found it a little on the dark side, but from time to time that can be a good thing. The book can be hard to follow, bouncing back and forth from present day London to a post-modern (if not post-Apocalyptic) world and using language/dialect that can be sometimes hard to follow. Reading the book is an experience as the pieces of the puzzle are revealed leading the reader further into understanding exactly what is happening. Without giving too much away, the psychotic journaling of a London cabbie going through a painful divorce and custody process manages to have a profound impact on a dystopic (I don't really know what that word means, but it sounds right for this) world many years later.

The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Reasons for Faith

by Francis Collins

I first heard about Francis Collins when I read a blog post about how a number of individuals at a National Youth Ministry conference got a little worked up over his keynote address. Francis Collins was a former head of the Human Genome Project. He grew up across the mountain from my current home and spent some time at UVA. He is a renown scientist and devout Christian and finds no conflict in the two. In this book he explains how his faith has developed along side his growth as a scientist. I greatly appreciate his point of view and draw comfort from his experience. Anyone who finds that a literal reading of the Bible, especially regarding creation, leads them to struggle in their faith would benefit from this book.

Batman: The Long Halloween

by Jeph Loeb

It's not a comic book, it's a graphic novel. At least that's what I tell myself to feel better about reading SuperHero books. It all started last year with The Watchmen. Ever since, I've really started getting into comics. After reading The Watchmen, I read several other Alan Moore works, and one of the Frank Miller Batman novels. This was my first venture outside of Moore/Miller, and I really enjoyed it. A killer strikes on Halloween and continues through the major holidays of the year. The book is a real mystery, leaving the reader wondering just as much as the crime-fighter who the culprit will be. The book reads like a journey throughout an entire year that changes the lives of all the characters involved.

Linchpin: Are You Indespensible?

by Seth Godin

I read this book at the beginning of the school year and it really inspired me for a while. The main idea of the book is alluded to in the title. Rather than behaving like a cog-- an interchangeable, ultimately replaceable part-- we should strive to become Linchpins. We do this by, among other things, creating art and sharing it with others. The definition of art here is pretty loose, but essentially we all have the opportunity to go beyond what is expected to create something of true value that will make us stand out and those around us better. The book even inspired me to write this piece titled "Teaching and Donuts" on a different blog.

Omnivore's Dilemma

by Michael Pollan

Early in the year, I stumbled upon a free down download of the book Food Rules and loved its simple advice for eating. For example, if your grandmother wouldn't recognize it as food, don't eat it; regarding cereal, if it turns your milk a different color, don't eat it. This book was short and pithy, full of excellent advice for better health. Later in the year, I watched the movie Food, Inc. with my son, and really started thinking about the food that I consume. Michael Pollan was involved with both of these, and I had talked about Omnivore's Dilemma with a farmer friend of mine, so when I saw it displayed in our school library I decided to read it. This book impacted me more than anything else that I've read this year. As Pollan traces the origin of several meals, the true cost of the food we eat is revealed. We should all consider the food that we eat more deeply-- this book doesn't propose to tell you how you should think about your food, but it definitely frames the ethical, moral, social, and health issues that every human should consider as they consume the food that will sustain their lives.

Blackest Night

by Geoff Johns

This is another graphic novel. If The Long Halloween was a first venture outside of Moore/Miller, this was my first real superhero book outside of Batman. This book features nearly all of the DC characters, some of whom I've heard of before (Flash, Green Lantern, etc.) but others of whom I haven't a clue. I knew enough to know that I didn't know everything that I needed to know to fully "get" this book, but it was still great to sit as an adult and enjoy the action and adventure without getting caught up in the cerebral efforts of reading. As terrible as this sounds, no matter what the book itself is like, the pictures and art alone are enough to make the book a worthwhile read.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

This was one of the first books downloaded on my Kindle. Best of all it was free. This volume contains numerous short stories featuring Holmes and his sidekick, Dr. Watson. I've been reading on this book all year between reads. It is a great filler with stories that can be read in just a few sittings (or sometimes one). I am nearing the end, but I've loved short stories ever since elementary school and I would love to find more collections like this one.

That's my list, I know that at least a few people are reading this blog, so step up and share a little back-- What were your favorite reads of 2010. You don't even need to explain, just list if you want. I've got 365 more days coming in 2011 and I'd love some reccomendations. Click the comment link below if a comment box is not showing. You may post anonymously or using an account, but let me know if you've encountered a "must read" this year, or if there are any "must reads" on your 2011 reading list. Happy New Year.

All Is Well- Christ is Born

2010-12-24T22:32:00.000-05:00

This Christmas Eve, I'm reminded of the same thought that came to me on Maundy Thursday this year. It's going to be ok. The paths have been set straight, the voices have cried out in the wilderness, the advent is fulfilled and the Christ is born.

The time of setting captives free, of restoring sight to the blind has come. The last shall be first and the first shall be last. It is time to bless those who curse you and seek first the kingdom of God. Take up your cross daily. This birthday has turned the world upside down, and it might seem strange at first, but this is only the beginning.

Merry Christmas 2010.

The Deadliest Year?

2010-12-20T11:25:00.000-05:00

Maybe it is just my current state of mine, but in the grand scheme of history, I haven't been to impressed with the "naught" decade-- 2001-2010. We started with 9/11 and we end with the news that more people died from natural disaster in the year 2010 since the Ethiopian famine of 1983. Over 1/4 million people this year have died from earthquakes, hurricanes, etc.

I remember the Ethiopian famine. Along with the Mexico City earthquake of 1985, it was one of the first events that gave me a real sense of suffering in the world. When I think about events that have shaped who I am, I have only recently begun to understand how important these "news" items were in shaping who I am.

I don't know why at eleven years old I cared so much, but the media hype from the formation of "Band-Aid" in 1984 and the release of "Do They Know it's Christmas" caught me. I was taking a journalism class through an enrichment program our school system offered at the time and wrote an article about the effort and spent much of my time in the winter of 1984-85 following the song as it charted around the world raising money for famine relief. American musicians followed suite in 1985, releasing "We Are The World" and in July I was glued to the sofa watching the spectacle of "Live Aid."

This was the event that introduced me to U2, and the idea of a social conscience. I had saved ten dollars that summer and when the Mexico city earthquake struck that fall, our church took a special collection for the tragedy and I didn't hesitate to give all ten dollars to the cause.

Over 200,000 of the deaths this year were a result of the Haiti earthquake in January. On January 3, our church packaged over 30,000 meals for world hunger relief and days later, tragedy struck Haiti and every one of those meals were sent. As much as I hate tragedy, it seems to bring out the good in people. We respond when others are hurting, but too often we find it easy to ignore the suffering in humanity. Marx said that "religion is the opiate of the masses" but he was wrong. Comfort is the opiate of the masses. In 1985, Bono sang a cutting, ironic line in the song-- "but tonight thank God it's them instead of you."

Christmas, 2010- enjoy your family and friends and presents, but don't ignore the reason that Christmas is so important. Our world is broken and can only be fixed through the advent of Christ. Enjoy peace, joy, hope and love, but in seeking these be mindful of how these can be pursued and shared together; a humanity bound in suffering but able to overcome. I pray that this "deadliest year" will impress upon some eleven year old in the way it impressed upon me in the 80s. Merry Christmas.

An Advent Prayer of Love

2010-12-19T00:19:00.000-05:00

Dear God,

Thank you for hearing us. We open our mouths and hearts in prayer not always knowing what to say, but knowing that we need you. When times are hard, and our brokenness is clear, we are grateful for your presence. Sometimes I wonder if we need you even more in the good times. When all is well, it is easy to say Praise to You with our lips, but in times of trouble our hearts cry out. Keep us mindful of your presence and your providence always in our lives. We lift our prayers to you God, we simply present you with our needs trusting that you will know the answer, that you will take care of us.

Two months ago we noticed decorations in stores and even Christmas music here and there—some of us thought it was too soon. And now it is the Sunday before Christmas. Where has the time gone?

We are hopeful in the ability of your Advent to redeem the time. When we look back on all of our efforts and striving we hope that it will come to good, when we stop to consider our present, we hope for relief, and when we look to our future we hope for salvation.

We find peace in the knowledge of your advent. Somehow we know that whatever may come our way; all of our hardship and suffering, grief and loss, it’s going to be ok. Jesus birth has set things right once again.

Your advent brings us joy—rarely does the birth of a child, the creation of new life disappoint. When we consider the Advent, and the birth of our savior we recognize that on Christmas day, not only was a new life created, but New Life was created for humanity.

We may never fully understand the Love that was shown by your gift given to the world on Christmas, but we give thanks that we can receive it with open hearts. Hear our voices around the world, a thankful chorus of humanity—in every children’s pageant, in every carol sung, every bell that chimes, with every Merry Christmas wished, we celebrate the day you were born unto us.

Amen.

It Happens Every Year

2010-12-12T22:01:00.001-05:00

It's the children's play at church. That is what it seems to take every year to bring me to the place of recognizing the weight of Christmas. Ironic that a simple children's musical with catchy songs and a few subtle jokes could have such an impact. The title of this year's play-- "Arrest These Merry Gentlemen"-- if you don't get the pun in text, try singing the line to the tune of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and you'll begin to get it. My son played the role of the sidekick to the town sheriff. He was the "rookie cop" named... you guessed it, Rookie.

But my favorite set of roles were the Shepherds. My daughter was a shepherd, her name was Vince. A shepherd named Vince you ask, well, she stood in the middle of Frank and Merv. Frank and Vince and Merv-- I don't want to insult your intelligence, but just in case you missed it, Frankincense and Myrrh. Amidst the joyful noise of children's voices and clever puns that many of the actors are too young to get, God speaks.

Nicodemus had a hard time understanding what Jesus meant by being "born again."(John 3) Jesus said "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 13:3) When I watch the children creatively tell the story of Jesus' birth every year, all of the mental exercises that I labor over all year long wash away and I simply know-- Jesus was born on Christmas Day. Simple as that, on Christmas, God became flesh and entered humanity. It is a story simple enough for a child to tell and rich enough to ponder for a lifetime.

I spend so much of my life intellectualizing my faith, thinking deeply about the meaning of Jesus, but when I hear these children proclaim the Good News-- my intellect takes a back seat and I know that all is well; Jesus was born on Christmas Day-- Salvation is Here!

Christ in Us

2010-12-05T22:20:00.000-05:00

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. Brothers and sisters, pray for us. Greet all God’s people with a holy kiss. I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. (1 Thess. 5:12-28)

Often when reading the New Testament epistles I find myself amazed at the language these letter writers used to explain their understanding of Jesus. They deliver their exhortations to love one another and live in submission with the passion that only one who had experienced Christ first hand could do.

It is easy to just “read” the Bible without remembering where some of these words come from. The same Paul who sought out Christians for persecution, who made it his job to payback what he saw as wrong made a complete turn after a direct experience with God, and he encourages us to do the same in this passage. Paul tells us to rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances. This would be easy for us to say, but Paul lived it; he was jailed, beaten, and persecuted but showed thankfulness and joy through it all.

Could words like this come from anyone who had not experienced the glory and the grace of God first hand the way Paul did? I don’t think so.

This is why advent is so important. By taking a yearly journey of anticipating the coming of the Christ we reflect on why we need a savior. By reflecting on the reasons for the birth of Christ our minds turn as well to the Second Coming. We gain a new appreciation for what Jesus means for us individuals and the world.

Authority OR "What Does Wikileaks Have to do With Advent"

2010-12-02T05:00:00.001-05:00

¹ One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. ² “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?” (Luke 20)

In our world, authority only comes two ways: a) someone takes it or b) people agree to give it. Every generation struggles with the question of legitimate authority. Even today, we are in the midst of an “authority crisis.” Have you ever used “Wikipedia” online? Imagine the ability to search every encyclopedia in the public library for a topic and getting results in seconds.

Some teachers discourage the use of Wikipedia because it does not carry the “authority” of Websters, World Book, Groliers, etc. The authority of Wikipedia comes from the millions of users who not only search for entries, but contribute to the knowledge base through both addition and deletion of content. Authority is no longer isolated and concentrated, or protected.

Even in the news lately, we are troubled by the news about "WikiLeaks," essentially a “wiki” site for information leaks around the world. Leadership can no longer operate behind a wall of separation between themselves and the people. Authority is no longer isolated and concentrated, or protected. We began a movement toward democracy over 200 years ago, but we are still moving closer toward it today.

It can be scary to live in a time of uncertainty and questionable authority. We value autonomy, but we also search for guidance and wisdom in "authority." The same was true in Jesus' day. On Christmas, this humble baby was born that would shake the idea of authority in his world. The Roman political leaders and Jewish religious establishment had cornered the market on authority, but this authority was far from legitimate, especially when they tried to dismiss the wisdom of Jesus.

Authority today increasingly resides in the hands of the masses, the populace of the world. From rise of democracy in the governments of the world to free-flowing information on the internet, the sources of authority are moving from the few to the many. But the question of whether authority belongs in the hands of the institution or the individual is irrelevant and misses the point. The masses are just as prone as the elite to abuse of power, freedom, and authority. Whether human authority is in the hands of the many or of the few, we still face the danger of dismissing the Son of God.

We are in a new age of change and uncertainty, once again searching for authority in our world. In this age of diffused authority may we remember that hope for humanity was born on Christmas day.

An Advent Prayer of Hope

2010-11-28T21:03:00.000-05:00

Dear God,

We have come into your house with gladness, may you hear the praises of our hearts. We give you thanks for all that we have enjoyed this week, time off from work, more and better food than usual, and the company of family and friends. While we are thankful for all of this may we also know that our joy doesn’t come from holiday, our joy comes from you. The sounds of this week turn our minds to Christmas, whether we like it or not, the songs, the colors, the symbols and the sales are upon us. We pray that in the midst of our cultural expressions you would give us a keen focus on our spiritual expressions of hope for the coming messiah.

As we enter this season of advent, we come with hope. I’m not sure about everyone God, but when I look at the world I only see glimpses of hopefulness. It is troubling to see people in other countries oppressed because of their beliefs, not allowed to speak out against their leaders. It doesn’t make sense to see poverty and its results homelessness, hunger, and poor health. It hurts to see death at the hands of each other through wars whether between nations, ideologies, or individuals who can’t get along. I worry that I am aware of all of this because I have been blessed with much privilege. Too often the privilege I exercise is the privilege to do nothing.

I have hope for what you can do in the world. I have hope for what you can do in me. I have hope for what you can do in us. You came into this world to change it, to redeem it. May we open our hearts to this change. When we sing O Come, O Come Emmanuel, may we express the hope of our heart that you would enter our lives as you entered the world and reconcile us to you. In doing so God, may we stop looking into our world for glimpses of hope and look to your kingdom coming down on us daily bringing hope and redemption to our broken world through people just like us, your children, your own.

May we give our lives to you God. May you take every minute we give to you, every thought that centers on you, every action taken in your name, and every cent that is offered to you and bless it as hope, eternal hope which comes through your son, our savior, Jesus. O Come, O Come Emmanuel, Amen.

Mastery

2010-11-24T11:01:00.000-05:00

If this is your first visit to the A Pot of Stew, this post is part two of a look at Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose-- I haven't read his book yet, but according to several internet videos featuring Dan Pink, these three motivators drive innovation in the 21st century.

Of course I can't just leave it at that, I've got to connect it to my faith somehow. My last post was about Autonomy, so now it's on to Mastery.

Jesus says in John 10:10 that he came so that we may have LIFE, and depending on the translation that we may have abundant life or life to the fullest. We will have Mastery of our lives. This can lead us to dangerous ground, and I am not a proponent of "prosperity theology," so what does it mean to master our lives to get the most out of them.

For most of my life I've appreciated analogies that compare life to sailing or surfing. Sometimes the right opportunities come our way and we position ourselves to take advantage of them. Sometimes the situation is tough and we find a way to make the most of it. But still, sometimes we realize we are at the mercy of the winds and tides so we hunker down and simply get through it. This I believe is the full life. Learning to appreciate the ups and downs, the thrills and spills and taking control where we can but recognizing that the ultimate control is not in our hands.

Mastery is different than manipulation and some people try to manipulate life. They have the illusion that it is completely under their control and this false assumption is bound to destroy their sense of mastery. Mastery is different than control. Every system that is under "control" is a potential disaster when things go wrong. Mastery is different than authority. Too often authority is based on a precarious balance of power and submission.

My best understanding of mastery in life could be expressed in the prayer of St. Francis:

"Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can, and
the wisdom to know the difference."

Autonomy

2010-11-21T22:13:00.000-05:00

It's been over a week since I promised a little insight on the Dan Pink video that I posted. I thought I would give a little time to folks to watch it and come up with your own thoughts. (Do you really believe that?)

I narrowed in on Pink's view that traditional theories of motivation-- carrot and stick-- aren't as strong as we'd think. To really motivate people to complex and innovative tasks requires autonomy, mastery, and purpose. This works well when we work for people who give us this triad, but I think we can all find these elements in our lives.

Autonomy is the freedom to direct your own actions, to control your own destiny. Most of us think we are in short supply of this. When I think of autonomy, I get a picture of Jesus, sitting in front of Pilate:

² “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
³ The chief priests accused him of many things. ⁴ So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”
⁵ But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed. (Mark 15)

Jesus sat on trial in front of the governor of Judea. Pilate didn't seem too interested in this "Jesus" case and I think he was just looking for a reason to dismiss it. Jesus found himself in a position in which most of us would be compelled to provide a defense, and then reframe it when it didn't work. This is true autonomy, to recognize that nothing of this world demands a response in the face of God's kingdom.

When I think of autonomy, I think of the Apostle Paul writing from jail urging people to bear patiently with one another, addressing his audience with Grace and Peace. He writes some of the most encouraging words of hopes while suffering unto death in chains. That is autonomy, the ability to live the freedom of the Kingdom even in the face of imprisonment in this world.

The ways of the world take our autonomy away-- we are bound to acquire more, driven to the next best thing, forced into retaliation, backed into deception, oppressed into misery, and pushed into anger. We only have one ultimate source of accountability and that is to our God. Jesus promised abundant life, and this is how we take it, by claiming the autonomy and freedom in this world that comes from giving it away for the sake of the next.

Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose

2010-11-13T12:40:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted in a while, and just embedding a video seems a little like cheating, but this one is changing the way I think about life just a bit. Among other things, what would otherwise just be another lecture becomes quite engaging with the animation. I've used this video in a leadership class that I teach and I've been thinking about how the lesson intersects with my own life. It is around ten minutes long, but worth the watch. I'll give you my thoughts under the video.

My take-away from this is that traditional ideas on "carrot and stick" motivation is a bit over-rated. The trio of Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose motivates us to excellence. Believe it or not, I think this applies to our faith as well. I plan to think about this some over the next few days and offer some thoughts about how these understandings reflect what we may already know about our faith.

The Pope Makes Forbes Top 68

2010-11-06T10:12:00.000-04:00

"There are 6.8 billion people in the world. Here are the 68 that matter."

This is how the list begins as Forbes rank the top 68 people who are making a difference in the world. Of all sixty-eight, only two would be recognized and counted because of their faith-- The Pope and the Dalai Lama (I won't count Osama bin Laden, lots of reasons). Most of the top sixty-eight are political leaders or those who deal in money. But I do think that while the Tim Geithners and Ben Bernanke mix politics and money, several of the top sixty eight deal in money because of their abilities to innovate and fill social needs in our society-- Walmart, Facebook, Apple.

But every Sunday, how many millions of Christians pray "Thy will be done, Thy Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven." If so many of us are offering those words, then why aren't more of the 68 people in the world who matter making a difference for God? Perhaps they are but we can't see it.

Prediction: Obama Re-Elected in 2012

2010-11-04T19:01:00.000-04:00

I've tried to avoid the political, but I'm afraid this time I can't. Living in Virginia's 5th District, I have seen quite a bit of Venom lately-- from the politicians and from the citizens. Our lame duck representative seemed to seal his fate by voting in favor of the Obama health care plan. Across the country, the people voiced disapproval of the current Democratic leadership in Washington. Let's face it, things aren't going very well right now.

I found out that on average, the President's party loses 3 Senate seats and 34 House seats in mid-term elections. Of course, there have been some real outliers to skew this average, but I'm young enough to remember big losses for both Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Already we have a President posturing for cooperation and an opposing party, claiming the mandate of voters, expecting to turn back the policy of the last two years. Sounds like 1994 all over again, and just like 1994, the President will weather the storm. If the incoming party succeeds in bringing change, the voters will resist and if they fail to make progress, the voters will voice frustration with more of the same.

We continue to have faith in a system that is flawed. I don't think that we should give up on it, but I think that we need to be careful that we don't let ourselves become flawed by the system. We provoke each other to anger and attack individuals, neglecting their humanity. We expect too much from our leaders and in turn suffer from frustration. Obama did not create the ills that we face today, and he did not even make them worse. The new Congress will not make them any better.

I will continue to make my voice heard, and encourage all to do the same. I even engage in political discussion (some may call it debate), but please understand that as long as our choice is Democrat and Republican we are essentially arguing the same position. The sun will rise, the sun will set.

What it Means to be American- Election Day 2010

2010-11-01T22:55:00.002-04:00

I am an American. I'm reluctant to call myself proud, but I will always recognized that I am blessed. I'm reluctant to use the word proud because I did not do anything to earn the right to be an American, I just happened to be born in the right time at the right place. I will own all of the baggage that comes with being American, from treatment of Natives to wars that I disagree with because I also own all of the prosperity that living in this land has afforded me. I cannot say that I am always proud, but I am always American, and always blessed.

America is not a shining city on a hill, or the last great hope for the world, but she has become a land where good men and women can become those things if they take the responsibility of blessing and do not mistake it for right or privilege. We have the freedom to live, almost as freely as we would choose, I pray that we would choose to live in order to make this world better for having been a part of it.

I would pray that freedom of speech would be used to check our government and demand the common good and not to exploit and demean in the name of entertainment. I would pray that the freedom of religion would be used to draw us closer to God and not to generate wealth. I pray that freedom of assembly would be used to gather as like-minded individuals to provoke change for the better and not to rally fear and hatred. I pray that our right to petition would be used to promote change and progress rather than to demand our entitlements and voice discontent without real desire to change.

On the eve of this election, I pray that every American would exercise a right to vote. Even if it means going to the polls and casting a blank ballot in protest of a flawed system. I will exercise my right to vote because pride or blessing, every dollar spent, every criminal imprisoned, every bullet fired, every mother helped, every hurricane victim housed, every bill that becomes a law, and every law that changes lives rests not only on the shoulders of the decision-makers, but squarely on the shoulders of this decision-maker whose responsibility it is to make a decision tomorrow.

Redeeming Halloween

2010-10-31T23:06:00.000-04:00

We just finished our annual "big bash" Halloween party. Every year for the last who can remember how many, we've had family and friends over for a big Halloween celebration. We've always lived in a close neighborhood, so the Trick-or-Treating is good. Even before we had parties, it seemed that we ended up with friends over who crashed the neighborhood because they lives so spread out.

This year, we were worried because normally we meet with the Youth at church on Sunday nights. It didn't seem right to cancel a Youth meeting for Halloween, but we felt like we would be letting our friends and family down if we didn't have our annual trick-or-treat party. So we did the reasonable thing and just invited the Youth.

So we had an interesting mix of pre-schoolers, third graders, fifth graders, teenagers, and parents. We cleared out our garage, set tables on the driveway, and rigged a projector and speakers in the front yard. We ate, sent kids out for candy, and watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" all while giving candy to the passers-by.

There are lots of hang-ups surrounding Halloween, but this evening allowed us to open our home to not only our friends, but the entire neighborhood. We went door-to-door, talking to people we normally see through a car window travelling at 25 mph. People who we only know from passing came into our yard and conversed. It seems to me that we need more, not less of this in our world. So if it takes Halloween to facilitate this, I would say it is time to claim the holiday and redeem it for something good.

Waiting on Obama

2010-10-29T16:50:00.000-04:00

It is late afternoon, October 29. I'm sitting at my house waiting on Obama. I could run to the airport in less than five minutes. OK, I should be able to run to the airport in less than five minutes, but today, it might take ten. Either way, it is close. But I'm torn. If I sit here too long, I fear that I may get stuck. There are only two ways out of my house and there is a chance that when the President arrives they will both be closed.

I want to walk out to the street and take a chance on seeing the motorcade, but am I really that starstruck that I would take pride in saying "I saw a limo, I think the man was in it?" I couldn't imagine having to live so separated from reality. That highways and airports would close for my arrival. That my only interactions with people who aren't tightly controlled or mightily important would come through a tinted window. Why must leaders be so separate from their people?

A friend of mine takes a small measure of pride in pointing out Obama to a group of high school students dining in Union Station a number of years ago. He pointed and said "that man is going to be President." Obama was quite accessible. Is he that different today?

It is a shame that we take the humanity away from our leaders, celebrities, and others who keep a high profile. We turn men and women into figures and lose all touch with the reality of who they are. We build a wall because we can't accept them as our equals, we insist on making them better, or expecting so much out of them. It is obvious when it is a President whom I can only view from a distance. But, where does it start-- how much do I do this to teachers, preachers, police and local politicians, could this be where the walls of division begin?

Obama Comes to Charlottesville

2010-10-28T20:31:00.000-04:00

Unless you live in Washington, D.C., it isn't every day that a sitting President graces your city. Tomorrow, October 29, Barak Obama is scheduled to speak at a rally on the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville. He will be stumping for the current Virginia 5th District Congressman, Tom Periello.

I have lived in Virginia's 5th District all of my life, despite the fact that my current home is over one-hundred miles from my hometown as the crow flies. For many years the seat was held by long-time Democrat, Virgil Goode from Rocky Mount, VA. Southern Virginia Democrats have been an interesting breed, holding on to their conservative roots until only recently. Goode in fact became a Republican a number of years ago and served under this moniker until his defeat in the last election of 2008.

Early in this race, it seemed certain that Periello would not succeed in the bid for re-election. The voters in this district have voiced major discontent with Periello's vote for the Obama health care plan. Perhaps the most unfair criticism being that he discounted the voice of his constituents. I can't believe that anyone was surprised that he voted for this plan. He is a mostly liberal democrat, and he has most open about his political leanings.

As the race proceeds, it looks more like Periello may have a chance to pull it out. Unfortunately, that means the rhetoric has reached a fever pitch. It troubles me still that good people could believe that a single person or even a single party has so much power that the social, economic, and moral stability of a nation can rest on their shoulders. Things seem to have gotten worse in the last few years. Face it, with the last decade opening with September 11 and ending with economic disaster, we're coming down from a pretty harsh period of history. I can't look to any policy from the last two years that has substantially made life any worse.

I can understand why people may be disatisfied with our current political situation, but I don't understand the anger. Our problems are deeper than party lines. And so far, we've yet to find a viable candidate for any office who seems to be able to rise above this fact, and it seems that even the voters haven't figured this one out yet.

When a Non-Fisherman Goes Fishing

2010-10-24T21:04:00.000-04:00

This weekend I went fishing. I don't fish. So why did I go? Honestly, I think I went because I like fish. I never fish from the ground in lakes, rivers, or the coast; I probably haven't fished like that in seventeen or eighteen years. But this is the third time in the last five years that I gone fishing from a boat on the ocean. It's pretty expensive and quite a lot of trouble for a couple of filets.

On my previous two trips I got sick. There is nothing fun about throwing up over the railing of a speeding boat. Not to mention that when you get seasick, everyone seems to have suggestions for what to do about it. Even worse, people tend to be quite judgmental when you get seasick. They openly question why you didn't take any medicine (even if you did), or expect to get an account of all that you've had to eat and drink for the day. Ultimately it becomes a measure of your manhood, and those who didn't get sick seem to feel at least a little superior to you.

I decided that this trip would be my last if I couldn't handle the water without vomiting. I borrowed a friend's prescription medication and started taking it the night before, but I was still quite nervous that the sea would get the best of me. As we boarded the boat, and stood on her at the dock I could already feel my legs and body adjusting to a new kind of balance away from solid ground. But as the day progressed, my stomach remained calm and I made it through healthy and whole. One of our partners didn't. I guess it's not a trip unless someone wretches over the boat. I'm just glad it wasn't me.

We caught our limit and set off for home, about an hour and one-half trip on the ocean. With limited space to stand on deck, and all seats taken in the cabin, I spied a cushioned bench below deck. As the vessel skipped and jumped across the water I lay my head on my balled up sweater and halfway fell asleep. It reminded me of the time when Jesus lay sleeping in the boat while all of the disciples fretted over the storm that was thrashing their ship.

I think I saw this story in a new light, after my experiences. I found no rest on my first two trips as my body revolted against the sea. Finally, I managed to "weather the storm" and realizing that I was out of harm's way, it wasn't too difficult to retire below deck and allow the rocking of the sea to send me to sleep. I would have never appreciated that nap as much if I hadn't been through so much to get there.

The Limits of "Why"

2010-10-19T13:01:00.000-04:00

Normal dialogue between my three year-old son and I:

"Dad"
"Yes son"
"Why do we have mouths?"
"To eat"
"Why do we have arms?"
"To carry things"
"Why do we have heads?"
"To think with"

...but yesterday, he added this one to the list:

"Why do we have God?"

I paused, and my other children started to offer answers such as "to keep us safe" and "to make sure we have what we need." But I still wasn't too quick to answer, or even to comment on my other children's answers. Most people are aware that younger children function from an "ego-centric" point of view; they tend to see the world from their own perspective alone. So these kind of questions are not out of place.

But I was taken aback because many times our questions about God are framed from this same point of view. "Why does God allow this?" "How could God do this?" "Why doesn't God make himself more clear?" The only answer my son can accept about "why we have eyes" would be an answer that speaks to its utility to him. I could try to tell him that why is not as important as how we use them, or explain that the purpose developed out of a need, or any number of deeper points. For him it is just a functional question- what does this mean for me?

If our primary questions about God center on the concern of "what does this mean for me" then the only answers we will ever have ears to hear are the answers that speaks to Gods utility for us. To really begin to understand the reality of God and to fully understand what it means for us we must get beyond ourselves and open up to the bigger reality that God was not created for humanity, but humanity for God.

Rescue

2010-10-14T21:50:00.000-04:00

For the last few days, people around the world have been wrapped up in the story of thirty-three Chilean miners. Certainly, many have followed this story for the duration of the ordeal, lasting over two months. From the beginning, I found it amazing that these men managed to survive for seventeen days without outside contact. Following the wisdom of their leader, the men rationed food to ensure survival.

In my opinion, this is where the rescue began. Buried in the depths of a dark and hopeless existence, one man remembered his humanity and the humanity of his friends. He demanded sacrifice and expected his men to prepare for life rather than death. It would have been easy to figure out the best way to live your last few days, or struggle to find comfort in the face of imminent death. But these men, set out with a will to live.

This is just one life lesson we can take from this experience. In the face of hopelessness, the right thing often appears to be the foolish thing. As we live this life, too often we are resigned to our deaths. Birth simply begins our slow journey to death. We should prepare for life instead of death; think of others as much as ourselves, appreciate moderation, find humor even in desperation, and pull together to make the most of every situation.