Best in the World

My friend Paul Barlow exposed me to the wonders of Chimay two summers ago. You can read about it here. Once again, Paul has brought to my attention, and thus now your attention, that Trappist monks in Belgium are brewing what many are calling the Best Beer in the World - Westvleteren.



Oh ya, if you can get your hands on a bottle, care to share it?

One Step Closer

On Sunday night, the little guy that used to sleep on my belly took one step closer to being a man. Jacob, who owned an incredible black peach fuzz mustache, lathered up and shaved for the first time.

Where does the time go? He went from those naps on my belly, to shaving, in what - 2 or 3 days?

Wow.

Everything Is Spiritual

Proverbs

From The Message:

Proverbs 3:27 "Never walk away from someone who deserves help; your hand is God's hand for that person."

Proverbs 4:15 "She'll (Wisdom) garland your life with grace, she'll festoon your days with beauty."

Proverbs 4:20-22 "Dear friend, listen well to my words; tune your ears to my voice. Keep my message in plain view at all times. Concentrate! Learn it by heart! Those who discover these words live, really live; body and soul, they're bursting with health."

Warmer Winter Coming

Let's just keep telling ourselves that there is no such thing as Global Warming. Ya, that'll work. Good plan. Jeez!

USA Today details a warm winter forecast:

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/news/2007-11-25-warm-winter_N.htm?csp=34

Into the Wild, Intimacy and Creation

There is a scene from Into the Wild, when the hippies are camped at Slab City, and a young girl invites (begs?) Chris to sleep with her. For the record, he is 23 and she is 16. Knowing from the book that Chris was known to hold himself to a strict, high moral standard, I was not surprised when he told the girl "no." But what was extremely cool (and very deep and thoughtful) was, after saying no, Chris said, "but there is something that we can do together." The next scene showed him sitting at an old keyboard and the girl on acoustic guitar at an open mic session. And the song was awesome.

That is a beautiful scene, full of imagery, because of the intimacy of creation. When two people have sex, we typically refer to that as "making love." Sex leads to procreation. Making life. 2 becoming 1. Entwined together. Chris valued the young girl, as a person, and he valued her friendship. He accepted her offer of intimacy - to create - yet he gave expression to that offer in a way that placed a high value on her as a person. He did not "take" from her, rather, he gave of himself - his time and his talent. Together, they created melody. Harmony. The keyboard added fullness to the music of the guitar. The sound was richer. They complimented each other, and a song - music - was born.

I suspect that night was a night that she has never forgotten, nor ever regretted.

Happy Anniversary!

Today marks 19 years of marital bliss that I've shared with my wife Rachelle. Friday evening, we shared a meal with friends at The Irish Lion, as we do each year to celebrate. This morning, Rachelle and I just looked at each other and quoted a skit from In Living Color: "After all these years, we're STILL together!"

And these days, that's saying something. Happy Anniversary Shell Bug!

Into the Wild and Forgiveness

There is a connection between the words of Ron Franz to Chris, and the moment before Chris dies. Ron Franz is an older man who had a profound impact on Chris, and spent time with him before Chris began his trek North. At one point in the film, Ron and Chris are sitting on a rock outcrop, and Ron, who had gently probed Chris with questions about his parents, turns to Chris and says, "When you forgive, you love. And when you love, God’s light shines on you.” At that exact moment, the clouds parted and bright sunlight beamed down on them.

Fast-forward to Chris on his literal death bed. He envisions returning to his parents, armed with the lessons from his journey - that happiness is only real when shared - and embracing them in reunion. As he thinks of this, the clouds part and the sun shines down through the bus window onto his face.

And he breathes his last. Forgiveness, found and offered.

In the book, Krakauer mentions the peace that Chris's dad feels upon entering the bus. Is it possible that peace is found because his parents were now on holy ground - they were at the place were Chris conquered his demons, learned his lessons of life and love, and forgave his parents, finding his own peace in his final moments?

WKRP Turkey Drop, Part 2

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. (And maybe even a laugh too!)

WKRP Turkey Drop

Tune in tomorrow for the follow up video.

Into the Wild and Old Testament Sacrifice

I woke up during the night after we saw the movie, and couldn't get the scenes of the moose in Alaska out of my head. Each time I tried to roll over and go back to sleep, I kept feeling this tug to consider what the moose was representing. There was this idea floating around that when Chris shot the moose, it was symbolic of Old Testament sacrifice.

McCandless begins butchering the animal, and soon has thick red blood all over himself, especially his hands and arms. Even during the movie, I thought of Aaron and the priests slaughtering the bulls on the altar, and maybe for the first time realized how much blood had to be flowing all over the temple. As the scene in the movie unfolds, you see that the kill - the sacrifice of the moose - was for naught as the meat spoils, which Chris calls "the worst tragedy of my life." From something that was supposed to be good (provide meat), Chris was devastated to learn that the sacrifice was insufficient and he was still in need.

A powerfully revealing scene is when Chris is trying to wash the blood off in the river. It's thick, dried, and hard to get off. A quick scene change shows an over-head view looking down on a naked, clean McCandless, floating in the water on his back with his arms outstretched like Jesus on the cross.

The power of this scene comes from remembering the previous scene, complete with the blood of the sacrifice, which is replaced with a scene of purity. Is it possible that his nakedness points to a rebirth? Is the experience - the worst tragedy of his life - opening the door for forgiveness? Is the water a symbol of baptism?

Can God teach me about those things through a moose being shot in Alaska?

Thinking About "Into the Wild"

On November 6, I posted about a movie that I intended to see called Into the Wild. That Friday night, me, Jacob, Graham Hardman, and Guy Mundy were all able to road trip to Bloomington and take it in.

Before I say anything else, I want to say this: Go see this movie now. Tonight. It's hard to find, for reasons I can't understand. It was released on Sept. 21, but didn't come to Bloomington until November. Crazy. In my humble opinion, movies that are based on a book rarely do it justice, and usually disappoint in comparison. Not in this case. I finished the book the afternoon that we saw the movie, and I can honestly say that the movie not only does the book justice, but really enhances it. I do recommend reading the book first, because I think you will appreciate it more as you see scenes from the book come to life. As director, Sean Penn nailed it, I'm tellin' ya.

We saw the movie on Nov. 9. Today is Nov. 19. And I'm still thinking about all that I saw and read about. That is the sign of a powerful movie, that it affects me long after the casual chat on the drive home. So, go see this movie!

Over the next couple of days, I'll be sharing a few of the thoughts that have grown out of this movie. Be warned that you may get at least glimpses into stuff that happened in the movie. But the power of this movie is how God is using it to lead me into thoughts of intimacy, Old Testament sacrifice, and community. Curious?

Tis the Season

This is a slide from the Teaching at TSCC yesterday. We've recently been discussing Generosity and how to lay up treasures in heaven. I thought this was pretty sobering stuff.

May God guide our hearts in this Holiday Season!

Catalyst, 6 Weeks Later

Wow. Where does the time go? [I can tell you, but it would likely bore you.] Has it really been 6 weeks since Catalyst? Again, WOW.

Catalyst was worth the time, effort and expense for at least two reasons. Francis Chan's message spoke right to the heart of some key issues that TSCC is dealing with, in terms of leaders leading a church. TSCC has relied too much on what other churches are doing, and has been guilty of trying to assimilate a grab bag of ideas into something that "works" at Tulip Street. This is a struggle for me, because I listen to every new "How we lead our church" message, and read every new church leadership book out there. Chan's challenge was to simply spend intimate time alone with God, seeking HIS reasons for our being on the corner of 9th and Tulip; in these quiet moments, God will reveal His purposes and plans for each of us and our ministries. All of that may make you go "duh!" but I'm tellin' ya, it is HUGE for us at TS.

The second reason was the message that Craig Groeschel preached. He spoke about being a "Practical Atheist." And he spoke about me. According to Groeschel, a practical atheist is a person who believes God exists but does life as if He does not exist.

Let that sink in for a second.

*pause*

How often are we guilty of living like that?

Groeschel remembers a comment that Bill Hybels once made that has stuck with him, and I found this to be profound: "The way that I was doing the work of God was killing the work of God in me."

*pause, again*

[I recently sent an email to the other elders and TSCC leadership that my life in Christ is being drained faster than it is being filled, and because of that, I am making some changes to maximize those things that are life-giving to me. I am working to slay the practical atheist within me!]

Because of the teachings of those two men, Catalyst was a beneficial trip for me. There were other decent messages, and if you're interested, you can find blog posts dealing with them here. Overall, Catalyst was loud, uncharacteristically unorganized, and kind of a frazzled experience. But even after all of the craziness of those two days, I'd go again, just to be around 10,000 people who are leaning hard into what God is calling them to be.

Involved

More and more, people are seeking creative ways to get involved with what Christ is doing in the world. Messages of social justice are being proclaimed. Norms are being challenged. Words are being backed up with action. People are coming out of their churches to engage the world with the Kingdom Message of Christ. This is exciting stuff.

There are challenges too. A friend recently described his son as anxious to participate and serve the world - to engage others with Kingdom realities - but less interested in learning of Jesus and participating in the life of the church. That's weighty stuff. You can read books like Dan Kimball's They Like Jesus But Not the Church or David Kinnaman's UNChristian to get an idea of what might be going through the mind of my friend's son. At the end of the day, though, we must, as people of God, cover both ends of the spectrum. There is a learning part of discipleship, as well as a doing part. One without the other is not the Message of Christ. Those of us in the Church are guilty of forgetting that, in equal portion. But I really believe that some folks are starting to get it right. May I - may we - be among them.

Here are some links that I've run across lately where people are trying to personally make a difference. Give 'em a look for yourself. If you know of some folks besides these who are seeking to change the world, leave a comment and share with the rest of us. You may find that you want to participate in their movement. Or maybe their ideas will spark something inside of you.

Either way, it's time to get involved.

• Rosa Loves: http://rosaloves.com/
• Junky Car Club: http://junkycarclub.com/
• To Write Love on Her Arms: http://twloha.com/the_story.php
• Advent Conspiracy: http://www.adventconspiracy.org/
• Toms Shoes: http://www.tomsshoes.com/

Simple

Stefan Reed is the LifeGroups/Missions Pastor at LifeChurch.tv's South Oklahoma City Campus. As guest blogger for Craig Groeschel, he recently posted some excellent thoughts on "simplicity."

http://swerve.lifechurch.tv/2007/11/07/guest-blog-stefan-reed/

Prayer for a Friend and His Son

I have a friend - a brother in Christ - whose son is in Iraq. His son is a natural leader and warrior, and has medals that came from battles that would attest to those descriptions. The weight of having a son in Iraq is weighing on my friend and his wife, especially as news today tells us that another soldier was killed by an IED.

Questions are many, and so I ask that prayers would be many as well. Answers are hard, but maybe the best we can pray for is safety for the son, and the presence of Christ for the parents. May both be known and be real in these days.

Thank you for praying as well.

Peace.

William Fitzsimmons

If you're looking for some excellent acoustic music, you might give this cat a listen.

http://myspace.com/williamfitzsimmons

Thanks to Joshua Longbrake for the head's up!

Enjoy!

Into the Wild

In 1993, Outside magazine published an article dealing with the death of Chris McCandless. That story generated more reader feedback than any story in the history of their magazine. You can read the story here.

The story became a book, and has now been made into a movie. Eddie Vedder has put together a stunning soundtrack. I say all of that as an intro to the movie trailer.

It is my plan to see the movie this weekend - I'll let you know how it was!

Prayers for the Weekend

This is a huge weekend in the life of Tulip Street Christian Church. A candidate for our Lead Pastor position will be visiting with us, and the agenda is full. We have an extended interview with him tomorrow, his wife will be touring the area with a Realtor, and there is an all-church pizza party tomorrow night with some informal Q&A. Sunday, our candidate will preach both services, then later in the day, TSCC will hold a church wide meeting to put our finger on the pulse of the church. Lastly, the leadership of the church will meet Monday night to plan our next steps. I have been responsible for planning most of this weekend's events. My tendency is to go over the details again and again (and again and again) looking for oversights, errors, etc. It's really hard for me to say "this is good and I can move on to something else." This has drained me in a scary way. At a time when I so very much desire to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and His leading, I am finding myself feeling cold, empty, and false. I would deeply appreciate your prayers this weekend. For our candidate, for our church, for God's purposes to be known, and even for me personally. Thank you in advance. I gotta tell you - I'm feeling like "a donkey on the edge!"

Pumpkin Pie Spice

My days are crazy busy right now. Some of you have emailed asking about a post from our Catalyst trip - I hear you, and want to share about that experience. But even in these busy days, I am reminded that it is a glorious time of the year. The chill in the air and the color of the leaves all serve as reminders that Fall is upon us.

And this changing of the seasons brings with it something that grants me incredible joy and truly gladdens my heart (No Paul, not Chimay. At least not this time!). The makers of International Delight coffee creamers have released their limited edition seasonal enhancers of caffeinated goodness. And king among these special creamers is the much-anticipated Pumpkin Pie Spice. Oh, the smoothness! The richness! The simple decadence! Share a coffee with me, laden with this spiced nectar, and you will hear me proudly proclaim, "Pumpkin Pie Spice, so nice!"

Aren't the simple pleasures in life somehow always sweeter?