Giving Thankfully

Been wrestling with the word thanksgiving this week.  When I think of thanksgiving I think of this time of year, when we give thanks for all we are blessed with.  I have a roof over my head. I am thankful. I have food on my table. I am thankful. I have clothes on my back. I am thankful. I have family and friends. I am thankful. Paul tells us to "give thanks in all circumstances." So... this time of year we pause to give thanks...

Here's my struggle... When we take out special time that is designated to do something we make sure we do that thing really well during that time.... BUT, it takes the emphasis off the fact that we should ALWAYS be doing that thing whether it's during that special time or not.  Make sense? It's spirit day at school... we go all out painting our faces and dressing up. Shouldn't we always have school spirit though? Not just on spirit day?  It's Mother's Day. We honor our mothers.... Shouldn't we always honor our mothers?  Valentine's Day... We share love with those that we love. Shouldn't we always show them love?  It's Thanksgiving day... We give thanks for all that we are blessed with... Shouldn't we always be giving thanks?  Give thanks in all circumstances!

Makes me wonder if we are really grateful in the first place?  If we were really grateful, wouldn't we show it on a regular basis.  And if we were really grateful for all that we have wouldn't we notice how little others around us have? And if we really noticed how much we have in view of how little those around us have don't you think we would do something about it? You see? If we were really grateful for how blessed we are we would be anxious to bless others... 

So... Maybe Thanksgiving's focus shouldn't be so much about sitting around a table gorging ourselves on turkey and mashed potatoes while we thank God that we aren't in the same boat as those less fortunate than us... feeling bad for then... kind of... not bad enough to really do anything about it though... or else we WOULD do something about it. 

We do good... kind of... at giving thanks... But if we were really good at giving thanks, maybe we would start GIVING THANKFULLY... Thankful that we are blessed enough to be able to give. And I am not talking about just giving out of the leftovers... You know what I mean? Someone comes to the door on a can drive... so we go to the back of the pantry and find the dusty can of chicken broth that expired last year and give it away so we don't feel guilty for not giving anything... because a dusty, expired can of chicken broth makes such a good meal.  Or we donate the old pair of jeans or the coat with holes in it and stains up the front... We give our leftovers... What if God would had that attitude with us? They're not worth me sending my best.  They don't need my only beloved.  They ought to be grateful for this old nasty can of chicken broth from the back of my pantry.... Hmmmm?

This holiday season... I want to focus on GIVING THANKFULLY rather than just giving thanks... Because the Father gave thankfully to me.

APATHEISM, Father forgive us...

(Disclaimer... I am not apologizing here for what I am saying, but I see the following attitude not as an attitude attributed to my particular church only, but to the church in America as a whole with very few exceptions. Not making excuses, just making honest observations... If this attitude weren't present in today's church, things would be VERY different in this nation. If you are reading this as a part of the church community I am directly a part of and ministering in, please don't see this as judgement, but, if you are feeling upset, it could possibly be conviction... The Spirit of God calling you to something more... Join me in this, what Platt would call, "Holy discontent" and don't run away with your tail between your legs, but step up and say, "Father, what do you have for me today?" and do it!)

Last week I was introduced to a term I had never heard before... APATHEISM... I’m not sure where I heard it. I believe it was while reading a blog or scrolling through Facebook, but I can’t get it out of my head.  Apatheism... a combination of “apathy” and “theism” referring to an apathetic view of God.  The idea that “ya, I believe in God, but I just don’t really care” that is rampant in today’s society.  As I’ve been thinking about this word I have been wrestling with some things:

1. Where does this attitude come from?

-Is it because we have been raised in a “Christian society” where people were just expected to have morals and belong to a church? And, since that attitude is changing in today’s culture (seems like there are more people who don’t go to church these days than do... the question isn’t “where do you go to church?” anymore, but “DO you go to church?”), people have just decided that it’s easier to just not care. 

-Could it be because real relationship with Jesus leads to life change?

-Maybe it’s because following Christ closely involves risk? 

-Maybe it’s just because they just don’t see the urgency of it... They don’t realize how important it really is. (Could this be the church’s fault?!)

      2.Is this attitude of apatheism just present outside the church?

-NO! I think a big part of the problem is this attitude WITHIN the church! When there is a need in church for a volunteer and the response you get is “I’ve already done my time”... that shows apatheism. “I don’t really care if there is a need. I’ve already ‘earned my salvation’” so why should I give up my study... where i’ve been for 30 years... after all I have to learn what the Bible says so I can live it out! (Problem is... by the time we know the book well enough to live it out, we won’t have enough life left in us to make it happen!)

Recently our church took part in the My Hope Campaign with Billy Graham... a campaign designed to bring Graham’s evangelism rallies into the home by hosting small private parties where a video is shared and an invitation to salvation is given.  We provided our church with resources and training... Over 350 names were written down of people we were praying for, who we hoped would respond to the hope of Jesus through this event.  

When the time came... apart from church staff and the church parties, less than a handful of parties were hosted... and the number of people who attended the church parties who didn’t already attend the church could be counted on 2 hands.  Why?  Is this apatheism? Does the church just NOT CARE about their friends who are living outside a relationship with Jesus? Or are they too afraid (afraid of reputation or rejection) to invite them?  Or... do we think we have done our duty just because we prayed? Hmmmm? 

And now that the “parties” are over the attitude I sense is “whew! Glad that’s over!”  No need to feel convicted anymore because the campaign is over. Too bad I missed my chance, guess I can go on with my comfortable christianity now.

I think you can probably sense my sarcasm and frustration.... You see? God’s call to follow Him and His call to MAKE DISCIPLES isn’t a call to participate in a campaign or a program... It is a call to deny oneself daily, take up ones cross and follow!  It’s a call to sacrifice... to give of ones self for the sake of another... It’s a call that doesn’t end but remains 24/7/365 until the day you die.... “Well, I did my time! I taught Sunday School for 3 years without a break!”  Good for you... Jesus did His time too... all the way to the cross!

Maybe we, in the church, are too isolated from the world. We don’t have any “unsaved” friends.  Then we need to get out into the world and MAKE SOME NEW FRIENDS!

Maybe we, in the church, are too comfortable with our lives... we don’t want to have to give up our big screen tvs and blueray collections... and we let our neighbors (remember the good samaritan story!) go without food and heat.

Maybe our church community has finally made it to a place where there are no major scandals or issues... we can’t let anyone into the inner circle who might bring problems with them! I seem to have read somewhere that Jesus came for the sick not well... hmmm?

OUR HEARTS are SO FAR from where God and His Word call us to be. We want what Bonhoeffer calls “cheap grace”... and as we seek after this grace without sacrifice we are dying inside and killing the church, the bride of Christ, in the process.

Apatheism?  Father forgive us... we know what we are doing, but sometimes it seems we just don’t care.

What a Ride!

Today I came across a post from Mark Matlock titled Remembering Mike Yaconelli . As I read the post and watched the video (You can check it out HERE) I realized just how much this man who I only met once impacted my life.

It was the fall of 2003. I was attending the Youth Specialties conference just a few months after accepting the youth pastor job at Yreka Church of the Nazarene.  Yreka was the small town where Mike pastored Grace Community Church.  When I ran into Mike in the hallway of YS I had to say “hi” and introduce myself.  We shook hands and exchanged numbers so we could set up lunch meeting when we both got back to town.

Weeks passed and time got the best of us and tragedy struck. Mike was killed driving over the pass from Medford to Yreka the end of October 2003. We never got to sit down for lunch and talk Jesus.  But even without that meeting, God used Mike in my life in ways he will never know.

Mike was a pioneer of organized youth ministry. He paved the way for so many of us youth pastors.  He produced materials to assist us and organized conferences to encourage us. He wrote books about ministry and about grace.  He loved Jesus and loved students. He broke the mold of ministry to teens and brought fun... and grace... into the midst of it.  

I will never forget early November of 2003 when I walked into the gymnasium of Yreka High School, where Mike had served on the school board, for Mike’s funeral.  As I walked in Mike simple pine casket was at the center of the room... with stack of sharpies for people to write their memories of Mike right on his casket.  I sat in the bleachers off to the side and watched people walk in.  I remember seeing Brennan Manning whose books I had read and who I had heard speak on several occasions.  I saw Doug Fields whose ministry at Saddleback Church was admired by so many. Then there was Tony Campolo and Tic Long and ... and ... and ... so many heroes of faith and ministry.

The service started and I remember eulogies from family and from Tony Campolo, but then my heart was touched as Sadie... a young lady from Mike’s church with downs syndrome stood to speak... Through her tears she shared of how Mike had touched her life... Then there was a man who shared about the impact Mike had on his life using a mix of grace language and 4 letter words.  What a contrast from the youth ministry “hall of fame” that was present in the room!  It hit me that these people from Mike’s “private life” had little knowledge of Mike’s “public fame” in the youth ministry world.  They just knew him as a humble man and pastor who had shared the love and grace of Jesus with them.  My heart was challenged and changed that day... to see people through Jesus’ eyes... to love them through their sin... to see past the messiness of their lives (of my own life) and be a vessel of God’s grace... HIS HUGE GRACE.

Mike, in his life and even more in his death, helped me understand Jesus. Jesus abandoned all He was in heaven and became human so that we could understand grace... Do you get it? He created us... We messed things up yet He didn’t abandon us and start over... Out of His love for us He became one of us so that we could reestablish that relationship with Him. What love! What grace! What humility! What sacrifice! And those are the characteristics that Mike lived out every day!

And another thing... today I turn 40. Just a couple years shy of 20 years in full time youth ministry. As I reflect on where I’ve been I see God’s blessing in the lives of former students who are following after Jesus.  As I look ahead I see years more of ministry, leading more to follow Jesus. I really believe the best years of ministry are to come because as I get older, I get to know Jesus better... and some day I want to look back at the good times and the tough times, see the hand of God through it all and be able to say with Mike... “WHAT A RIDE!”

Thank Mike for being that living example of dreaming big, remaining humble, and blazing trails for God into the unknown can look like!  We are better off because of the legacy you left. I’m giving thanks for YOU today.

MOUNTAINS, MOCHAS, AND MINISTRY

And the Boss said, “You are spending too much time in the office!”

What? Too much time in the office?!  How could that be? Right now on my desk are my lessons for the next 3 weeks of Sunday School, the message I am beginning to plan for “big church” in November, the material for the outreach program that is 3 weeks away, my small group stuff, the plans for our new discipleship ministries team, promo material for the webcast I’m hosting on Saturday, new devotional materials to review, and a to-do list that includes activities for young adults, teen leadership, youth outreach, and so much more! If I don’t spend more time in the office ALL THIS MINISTRY WON’T GET DONE!!  And I rush off to an appointment in a small town 30 minutes away.

As I pull into the parking lot of the coffee shop where we are to meet I receive the dreaded text message. “Pastor, sorry I have to cancel. Something came up.” Now, not only do I find myself 30 minutes from the office where I have a stack of work a mile high, but I find myself with 60 minutes of “wasted time” with nothing to do before my next appointment in this same small town.  I could drive back to the office, but by the time I get there it will be time to return... so I grab a cup of coffee and sit down... forced to take some time to... to... to breathe.

Finding a seat in the corner where I can observe the action and see out the window, the first thing I notice is the people... coming and going, doing their business... grabbing a cup of coffee or a quick sandwich before rushing off to their next appointment. After 30 minutes, an everything bagel and a cup of coffee I finally turn my head to look out the window... and I see it. Wow! What a view.  Just past the little motel across the street and through the trees with their fall leaves... is the mountain.  Not just the mountain, but THE MOUNTAIN.  In about a month it will be white with snow, but now at the beginning of fall just small white patches remain. I begin to reflect on just how firm and faithful THE MOUNTAIN is.

You see? Through the years and through the seasons the mountain remains.  The leaves change... the blanket of snow comes and goes... month to month it looks different... but THE MOUNTAIN remains.  Firm, faithful and true. I could never get used to seeing that mountain. And my mind wanders off to the mountain...

Then all of the sudden with the drop of a mug full of coffee behind the counter, my mind comes crashing back to the reality of the moment. The barista scrambles to clean up the mess and my brief daydream flees. My mind returns to the mountain of work that remains just out of my reach in my office a half hour away... but now I’ve been reminded of the mountain.

I realize the mountain in my life is JESUS... the firm, the faithful, the true.  The mountain in my ministry is NOT all the paperwork and plans piled high on my desk, but Christ’s call to GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES.  What that looks like may change with the seasons... maybe one method now and another method next year, but THE CALL never changes... so in the midst of the changing methods how do I remain faithful to the call? I get out of that office where the piles are high and spend more time in the coffee shop where I can engage others who are making the journey with me... towards THE MOUNTAIN.

Our Students Are Leading the Way

Each year the fourth Wednesday of September is a day I look forward to. Why? Because it's the day students across the nation gather for See You at the Pole.

This student led prayer movement is a sign of hope in a messy world. It shows me that there is still a generation who believes there is better direction than the world is currently going and is willing to stand for their God and for their communities, schools and friends.  It challenges me, as an adult, to follow their example and be bold about my faith. It reminds me of our freedoms in this nation, our freedom of worship and our freedom of speech. 

Each year as students gather to pray I give thanks that there are still students willing to live out Paul's words to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:12 to not let anyone look down on them because of their youth and to be an example to the believers.  Thank you kids! Thanks for being JESUS today!

Why Fight the Current?

As I sit here this morning my heart is heavy and my mind is wrestling with the Church and the church. The Church, big C, being the universal disciples of Jesus... all of us doing our best to follow after HIM. The church, little c, being the individual churches... the walls of our buildings that divide us for as many different reasons as there are buildings.... different locations, styles, types of people, personalities... different theologies, teachings, interpretations of Scripture. 

Here is the crux of the matter for me... Why? As Rodney King once was quoted saying during the LA riots of 1991, “Why can’t we all just get along?”  I know that was in a different setting and under different circumstances than the topic of this blog, but I think to the outside world, so often what is going on in the Church looks a lot like what’s going on during racial riots... a lot of unorganized chaos brought on by disagreements escalated to the point of fighting and unrest.  Could the world really be looking in from the outside and seeing a state of riot that they know they would be better off avoiding brought on not by disagreements between races, but disagreements between churches (little c)?

Now I am not saying that we all need to jump into one big ship and set off on the journey in some form of faux unity... But I do think that we need to join the same armada riding the current of JESUS deeper into the adventure and journey of God’s overlying story... maybe each ship has a different set of oarsmen, but they’re willing to travel together towards the same destination.  Make sense?!

To be quite honest I am tired of feeling the tension between churches and between pastors who each feel like their way is the right way and if I don’t jump onboard their ship, then I need to just walk the plank. I have no problem supporting and encouraging your ship along on the journey... in fact sometimes I think my ship can tag along with yours, maybe tying a rope to the stern for a season and likewise, I’m willing to throw you a rope through a season as well and then set you free when the right time comes, but I don’t think we all HAVE to be swabbing the same deck... although if you need me to help you swab your deck please don’t hesitate to ask. We need to remember as long as we are all riding the current of JESUS of the Gospels doing our best to follow God of the Bible, the one true God, then those tensions have no place on these seas!

This morning as I gathered over coffee with pastors from 2 other churches reading emails, talking through input and putting together the efforts of pastors from at least 7 other churches to organize an annual community wide youth event I got a picture of what the Church is supposed to look like. The focus was investing in the lives of the students who walk our streets with the HOPE and LOVE of Jesus Christ. Each of us leaders willing to lay down our own pride, sacrifice our own time and budgets, and set aside our own churches for a season in order to lift up the Church so that a student’s life can be changed for eternity. 

And so the wrestling continues... And as it does, the prayer effort intensifies... Why can’t the church see the Church and accept it for what it is? Each church (in their individual, unique vessels) riding the current of Jesus deeper into the story allowing the Author of it all to receive all praise, honor and glory... and because of it the world be changed.

(and so goes my personal contribution to National Talk Like a Pirate Day)

Fruitful Daily Habits- Good Intentions vs. Actual Reality

My day begins as the sun rises... I roll out of bed right as the automatic coffee maker finishes brewing my coffee.  Pouring a cup of coffee I sit down with my Bible open and God begins to whisper His words of comfort and challenge into my soul. As I finish up my devotional time I hear my wife begin to stir... I cook breakfast for the 2 of us as she does her morning devotions and we both eat before she goes off to prepare for the day. I wake the kids begin my morning workout. I finish my workout in time to take a quick shower, shave, brush my teeth and get dressed for the day. I get my kids breakfast and pray with them before sending them off to meet the day.  LIFE IS GOOD!

And so are my intentions... But, to be honest, intentions and reality don’t usually match up. I would LOVE for my morning to look like that. I really would! But in our home, that’s not usually the case. A typical morning in my house usually looks a bit more like this:

My day begins as my anxiousness rises... I really can’t lay here anymore! I have to get up or I’ll be late! I roll out of bed as my daughter hits the shower using up the last of the hot water.  I shiver through a cold shower and throw on my clothes, dragging my boys out of bed in the process... Telling them to get dressed I head to the kitchen to fix breakfast. I pull out the cereal and milk and throw some bowls and spoons on the table. I yell from the kitchen, “KIDS! BREAKFAST!”  I scramble to make a cup of coffee and get my stuff together as I pour cereal and slice bananas for my youngest son. I send the kids off to school with a quick, “Goodbye! I love you!” as I throw on my shoes and look for my keys.  I rush out the door on the way to work only to trip over the lunchbox the middle kid forgot... As I pick it up to make the delivery I feel frustrated and stressed... I didn’t get a bite to eat, I haven’t worked out in weeks, my devotional life is lacking and my life reflects it. Something has to change!

Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”  

These are my intentions, but in reality sometimes I think I have it all wrong.  How do I get the chaos of my life to fit into that mold? I’ve tried! I’ve reorganized my schedule and pinned it to the wall. I’ve filled out the covenant card and asked my accountability partner to hold me to it. But somehow the scheduled gets filled with other tasks and the covenant fades over time and I find myself once again in the midst of the chaos... Frustrated and stressed I throw in the towel and crumble into my chair... defeated!  

And that’s when God whispers... “It’s the fruit of MY Spirit...If you intend to fit your life into that mold then you have to ALLOW ME TO MOLD YOU. You cannot do it on your own strength. You CAN do it in MY strength.”

So once again... I lay my chaotic schedule aside with a new understanding of who HE is and what HE desires of me... I set my recurring daily alarm a little earlier and as I do, I surrender to His grace that encourages me and invite His Spirit to mold me... and as I do I notice some blossoms begin to bloom out of the chaos of who I was.

A New Adventure

Today I set out on a new adventure.  For sometime now I've known that I've had a longing in my heart... That uneasy feeling of knowing that you're supposed to be doing something but you're not quite sure what.  The notion that you were meant for something more... something bigger... that God's given you a voice and that voice needs to be heard but you're not exactly sure how to share it.  Well, that's where I find myself today.

I have a sense of uneasiness in my spirit that I've had for sometime. Not long ago someone (I can't remember if it was David Platt or Francis Chan) put a label on that feeling in my soul. They called it a 'holy discontent'.  You see deep in my heart, more than anything else, I want to seek JESUS with everything that I am... but I continually find myself wrestling with this messy world. I find myself wanting to be the best disciple that I can be. I find myself longing to lead others on the journey. Part of my heart struggles with the leading within the established church and its framework... the other part knows that it has been placed in the church and almost feels like its supposed to lead those within this established community back to the Jesus of the Gospel.

So here's the struggle... How does one stir up a passion for Christ in the midst of a world that continually drags people away from His call.  Good people with good intentions... even with hearts for God... being dragged away and enticed, by the evil one.  Boy, that sounds harsh as I write it, but it is reality. I think one of Satan's greatest tools against the Christ follower today is distraction! He's like the creepy guy in the van with the puppy dog and handful of candy trying to lure the young child away from his set path home from school.  He knows our intentions and our destination, but he does everything he can, through the busy-ness of life, to distract us from taking the next step on the journey. And as I look at my personal calendar and the lives of the people in my own church community I see that he is succeeding.  We are a people with all the best intentions in the world, but who struggle to 'take up our cross daily and follow' because we tend to get steered off the course towards JESUS by the candy in Satan's hand... and we don't even realize that it's Satan... "but the things I'm involved in are ALL good things!?!" ... and Satan knows it.

So the adventure begins... not the adventure of following (that started YEARS ago) nor the adventure of leading (been attempting to lead since the mid-90s), but the adventure making my voice heard... sharing the struggles with other like minded followers as we journey together towards Christ! .... through the world of blogging... SEEKING HIS LEAD... together on the journey.