Community

I was at a party with some friends a few weeks ago, and we were listening to a classic rock station when “Lonely is the Night” came on, by Billy Squier. These days, I laugh when I hear that song, because of the obvious, though almost circular logic of one of the verses, which says “lonely is the night, when you find yourself alone.” Uh, hello Mr. Obvious, long time listener, first time caller. Really? Thanks for clearing that up.

I mention the whole deal about that song because loneliness is something I’ve been feeling lately. Doesn’t it seem strange that I had these thoughts – of Billy Squier and loneliness – while at a party? What’s more interesting to me is that I swing between being almost depressed by this feeling, and then in the next breath, experiencing a sense of freedom that is hard to explain.

In nearly all of the stuff I’ve been reading this past summer, “community” is a buzzword. And not community in terms of “I live at this address in my community” but rather community in the sense of that circle of folk that you “do” life with, that group of people who you allow to know you honestly and who you know honestly without condemnation, and who you can count on and be counted on by. My loneliness has been freeing in that I seem to be seeing people – all people – in a different way. I very much applaud the words of Thomas Merton, who said that

“Yesterday, in Louisville, at the corner of 4th and Walnut, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all these people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers. It was like waking from a dream of separateness, of spurious self-isolation in a special world, the world of renunciation and supposed holiness. The whole illusion of a separate holy existence is a dream. Not that I question the reality of my vocation, or of my monastic life: but the conception of "separation from the world" that we have in the monastery too easily presents itself as a complete illusion . . . I have the immense joy of being man, a member of a race in which God Himself became incarnate. As if the sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm me, now I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.”

I applaud Merton because, as a Trappist monk, he lived a life of silence, and carried that choice even further by living away from the Monastery in his own private hermitage. For him, life was created to be a solitary, lonely existence. And yet, in the midst of that loneliness, on a trip to Louisville, he discovered that we are never truly alone, and that we are tied to each other simply because we were each created by God, whether we choose to admit that or not.

I am learning to appreciate some of what Merton experienced, albeit on a small level. In the past, it’s been very easy for me to poke fun at people different than me (the sport itself I call “mocking” and some of you have played with me!). Now, instead of laughing at a NASCAR jacket, I sometimes (no, not all the times – I’ve still got room to grow!) see the person in it as a person that Jesus valued enough that He would give His life away for them. They, in effect, begin to “shine like the sun” for me. That realization is the soil in which community can grow. And in community, I am not lonely.

There is a freedom in learning to value and, on some level, learning to love other people. Experiencing this freedom has been a good thing for me. And yet, as good and rich as the sense of freedom I’ve experienced has been, I’ve also been acutely aware that I am changing. The changes make me hard to understand, I think. My circle of friends – or “homeys” as Jacob would say – seems to be shrinking. In church, I am seen as uninvolved because I won’t join in the busy-ness of their calendar. 10 years ago, my sense of worth was largely derived from how busy I was at church, and because I was there so much, I spent the majority of time with those church folk. Now, because of a change in churches and, more importantly, an evolving theology and subsequent worldview, I don’t seem to “fit” with Joe ChurchGuy. But, interestingly to me, the non-ChurchGuy isn’t someone I hang much with either, as they don’t understand how I am learning to interpret and live-out Jesus’ Kingdom message. My ideals are changing both politically and socio-economically, and in the process of reforming, I am not quite sure how best to communicate “whassup” with me these days, so I often sadly take the safe route of avoidance and silence. I realize that I must live out these changes to become fully engaged in the difference that Jesus is making in the world, and often wonder if all of these confusing thoughts are part of becoming who I was meant to be in Jesus. To quote Five for Fighting, “I don’t know where I’m going yet, but I sure am getting there.”

So these are the days of my life. A pendulum swinging between the freedom that comes from learning to love people I previously thought unlovable on one hand, to a real sense of loneliness that comes from being misunderstood by a lot of folks, all while having no desire to hang out with people who don’t seem to “get” Jesus in the way I think they should.

I began a new paragraph to allow the arrogance of that last sentence to hang in the air a minute. I realize how that sounds, believe me. That in itself is a huge part of my problem. Donald Miller, of Blue Like Jazz fame, wrote this in his book Searching for God Knows What: “Shouldn’t I be grateful that God showed this stuff (the beautiful truths of Jesus) to me rather than connecting the theology to my identity and then using it to distinguish myself from ‘inferiors’ who haven’t figured it out? (p. 199)

Miller nails me with his self-commentary. Please pray for me, that I can learn to humbly live out the Kingdom message of Jesus in a way that speaks of beauty, truth, justice, mercy, compassion – a way that speaks of love – while being a person that knows friendship – real friendship – deep lasting friendship doused in the Holy Spirit. Then, and only then, will I be one who knows where his steps take him, and will joyfully chose to walk along the Way.

Psalm 133:1

A few weeks ago, our church walked through a 24 hour day of prayer together, in preparation for the 40 Days of Community campaign. My son Jacob and I signed up for a 1 hour slot, where we met Jesus in the Tulip Street Christian Church prayer room.

Initially, Jacob questioned the whole deal, asking, “How are we going to pray for an HOUR?” It was then that I realized that I have trained my kids to see prayer as that 20 second blurb that we say before we devour our food, and maybe a few seconds more if someone is really sick or something. So while I am looking for opportunities to teach my kids a deeper understanding of prayer, I still had to show Jacob how we could share with Jesus for the remaining 59 minutes and 40 seconds.

Before we went to the prayer room, I printed out Psalm 133:1, a verse that speaks of unity in the Body and what that looks like. The passage reads:

“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!”

To hear a fresh word from Jesus on how this verse can apply to life in community at Tulip Street, and speak specifically to us in that hour, we practiced a form of meditation known as The Jeweler’s Technique. In short, this practice imagines a passage of Scripture to be a diamond that is held in the Jeweler’s hand, and as it is rotated, the light shines off of each face of the diamond differently, accenting the clarity and cut on each face of the diamond. For us, that meant holding up Psalm 133:1, and looking at each word in the verse, and asking what that word adds to the passage – what do you think of when you consider this particular word? At that point, we wrote down our thoughts on each individual word, then after working through the entire verse, we recombined our thoughts on each separate word into a paragraph that paraphrased for us what Jesus was trying to teach us in that moment in the words of the Psalmist. (If this sounds confusing, it’s really not! Email me if you would like a guide to practice this technique yourself.)

In this post, I wanted to share the paraphrase that Jacob penned. Hearing him read this message from Jesus, to him and our church, using the words of a Psalm written maybe as long ago as 1000 B.C. was a stunning experience for me. It’s my hope that it speaks to your heart as well. Hear the word of the Lord through the pen of an 11 year old . . .

“Open our eyes to all that’s soothing and nice. Let the Kingdom Life equal a true beginning for this Band of Brothers by living life to the fullest as one, moving each other towards the one true goal – Heaven!” ~ Psalm 133:1 (JC’s Version)

The Word of God, for the People of God, Thanks Be to God. AMEN.

Force of Nature

I’m writing from Spring Mill State Park this morning. It’s sweatshirt weather, and a fire has felt good – for me, it’s the best time of year. My children, Jacob and Michaela have friends all around. The Hardman boys, Graham and Samuel, Brennan Fults, Tyler Blackburn and Mica Sloan all are running around, playing in leaves, climbing on the playground, laughing and living. It’s a good day!

The leaves are really changing, seemingly overnight. I love the florescent orange of the maples. There are burnt, deep reds, yellows from the Tulip Poplars, and the still green accents of the pines. God has put on display a wonderful reminder of what true beauty looks like – thank you Jesus for the show!

A solid cloudbank coats the sky, and I hope it’s not a sign of rain to come. Grant me the grace to accept whatever weather this day (and night!) holds. (This prayer became very prophetic when the clouds began dumping rain at dusk, and kept pouring most of the night!)

I’ve mentioned this in an earlier post, but I’m reminded again of how people seem friendlier when they’re camping. “Hellos” flow more easily off the tongue while conversations seem more casual and down to earth. I think folks seem to breathe easier. So my question is “why?” Is it because we are closer to God’s created order? Or is it maybe because we step back from our insane pace of life, where we’re consumed with acquiring “more” and “better” and if even for just a few days, we experience life more in rhythm with how God imagined it for us? The smiles, waves, and hellos flow naturally because we are in community (pardon the use of a word worn out these days!). We are sharing space, the outdoors and even God (knowingly or unknowingly) with one another. Certainly, days like these are gifts from a Savior who delights in presenting them to his children. Jesus, grant us the wisdom to live them fully.

AMEN.

Spring Mill State Park
Mitchell, IN
October 20, 2005

Love Wins!

A few posts ago, I mentioned that some local kids were going to respond to the needs being felt in the Gulf Coast area due to the recent hurricanes.  It's my awesome privilege to report that they've met their goal of raising $2000!

For a look into their efforts,
check out http://mitchellkatrinarelief.blogspot.com

The Trees Were Clapping

Mitch McVicker has a song on his first CD entitled “Gospel Rain.” In one of the verses of that song, Mitch sings:

And every leaf that falls is a kind of burning bush
And I can hear your call when I stop to look
You tell me you’re there whatever happens
And I hear the trees clapping their hands

The last line of that verse has been stuck in my head for over a week now. Labor Day this year was a time of rest for my family. No ball games. No lawn mower. No nagging feeling that we had to be “doing” something. Instead, we piled in the truck and made the short trip to Spring Mill State Park for a late picnic lunch. That I wasn’t screaming at everyone to “LET’S GO!” was in itself a testimony to this day, and the day just seemed to unfold right on schedule.

I took the time to read on a blanket in the shade, which quickly turned into a wonderful nap. And it was good to just “be.” I wasn’t mad at myself for “wasting time.” I didn’t kick myself for not journaling. I slept. Straight up. No guilt.

Before we ate dinner, everyone seemed to congregate on my blanket, and we talked, looked at clouds, watched a few leaves fall, and spent time together. It became more than just being in the same place together, it became an experience of oneness, truly being “together.”

As hunger began to set in (something to be feared with my family), talk turned to food. I love to grill out with charcoal, and though I don’t use it much, on this day I fired up a pile of Kingsford, in preparation of BBQ pork tenderloins. It was awesome, but we lacked one traditional picnic item – fried chicken.

Now there was a family about 30 feet from us, and they had that fried yard bird that Jacob and I craved. As that family finished eating and went on a hike to the old cemetery, we half-jokingly talked of making a daylight raid and snatching their bucket of Colonel’s Magic. Our laughing turned to talk about how people seem to trust each other a little more when they are outdoors at a park or campground. These folks walked away from 3 picnic tables full of food, dishes, and lawn chairs – the works – and probably never thought for a minute about someone taking anything. We remembered our past campouts, when we would leave coolers, lanterns, and tents – everything – at our site as we went swimming at the park lake. And it was always there when we got back. It seems that people can be good, despite what the evening news would have us believe.

So, as we’re finishing up our meal, our talk about the goodness of people grew deeper, as it was suggested that maybe it seems like people are good at parks because they are surrounded by God’s creation, and He in fact lays heavy over those places. Mitch’s song came back to me at that moment, and all I could think of was that sound that I’d been imagining I was hearing – “And I hear the trees clapping their hands!”

The rest of the week I spent a lot of time wondering about people, and how if being surrounded by God’s presence in Nature did in fact spur people on to new levels of goodness, then maybe if people were surrounded by God’s presence in and through the lives of those who are living joyfully for Him, our world could be a better place. Jesus told us that when two or more come together in his name, he would be with them. How cool is it to really consider that we, when sharing Jesus in community, can bring out goodness in people just by radiating God to them. Somehow, that sounds a lot like worship to me.

In closing, I wanted to share a passage that Mitch pointed me to, in hopes of it speaking to your heart as well:

Get out the message – God Rules!
He put the world on a firm foundation;
He treats everyone fair and square.

Let’s hear it from Sky,
With Earth joining in,
And a huge round of applause from Sea.

Let Wilderness turn cartwheels,
Animals, come dance,
Put every tree of the forest in the choir –

An extravaganza before God as he comes,
As he comes to set everything right on earth,
Set everything right, treat everyone fair.

~ Psalm 96: 10-13 (The Message)

Here’s to singing praise with the trees! May everything be made right in Him.

Peace.

Some Kids Respond

A few days ago, I posted a collection of thoughts, blogs, and links to all kinds of information dealing with Hurricane Katrina. As a part of that post, I mentioned that my son and other local kids wanted to help out. If you're interested in reading more about their efforts, and helping them out with their project, here is a link: http://mitchellkatrinarelief.blogspot.com/.

Thanks in advance for checking them out!

Peace.

Taking Care of Business

Check out this homemade billboard from New Orleans. Funny AND effective!

Katrina: Perspectives and Affects

A couple of days ago, I posted some wandering thoughts that I was trying to capture and sort through as our nation began to realize just how devastating Katrina was, and still is, at least in affect. In the time since, there has been breaking news story on top of breaking news story (most of which were bad – really bad!), gas prices have jumped around the country, people are responding, people are thinking, people are talking, and the world is watching. I wanted to try and group some of these ideas into one common place, to give you all each a chance to kick around some of these perspectives. So here goes . . .

The World is Watching: Check out this story that Reuters is reporting from London. I wonder sometimes if others outside of our country can’t see things a bit more clearly because we are all, to some extent, affected by our country’s culture. Certainly a sobering look at what the rest of the world thinks of our nation.

One person’s thoughts: A blog that I frequent, and that I highly recommend as a source of well written, challenging and insightful thoughts and comments, is Through a Glass Darkly. In a post on Friday, September 2, abbasfriend (the blog owner) wrote a great piece that I encourage you to read. Then re-read it. Let it sink in. Good stuff, to be sure!

A Way to Help: The United Methodist Church has a relief center in Baldwin, LA that is serving as a distribution point for supplies being sent to shelters, refugee centers, etc. They are providing a hand’s on way for folks to get involved. Check them out at this site: http://gbgm-umc.org/global_news/full_article.cfm?articleid=3438 There are links from there to other ways of helping through the same agency. I’m not a United Methodist, by the way, but I do think they are in a great spot with a great way to help.

A Pastor’s Rant: A pastor and author that I highly respect is Doug Pagitt from Solomon’s Porch in Minneapolis. On his blog, he lets it eat today, and if nothing else, I encourage you to check it out to get a sense of his passion.

Some Kids Respond: My son and some friends wanted to do something to help out after the hurricane hit, so they decided to buy some of the rubber slogan bracelets made popular by Lance Armstrong and LIVESTRONG. So, we parents helped find a supplier, and are in the process of ordering 300 purple bracelets with “Katrina Relief – Love Wins” imprinted on them. The kids are going to sell them for $5 each, and send 100% of the money to a relief agency. Whatever they end up with is more than I would have done in 6th grade, that’s for sure.

Gas Prices, Consumption, and the Kingdom: I couple of posts ago, I talked about the FX show “30 Days,” how I was being challenged to consider how I consume resources, and how that was a reflection of my attitudes towards the Kingdom of God. Ya, I did some thinking about all of that stuff, but it wasn’t until Wednesday that I began to do something about all of that. Gas prices went from $2.49 in our area to $3.19 in one day – heck, I think it was even in like 4 hours! So, I parked my pickup truck, and dug my bicycle out of the storage shed. Thursday morning, I pedaled of to work, and 30 minutes later, I rolled in. I gotta tell you that I wasn’t thrilled about heading home after a physical day, but it was all good. In fact, I’ve enjoyed it, and now, another guy from my neighborhood is joining me. I have to admit that me saving a buck in gas money played a part in this. But I think Jesus, to some extent, was involved too. And that may be the biggest lesson for me – even though I intellectually believe that He should be impacting all of my life, including the decisions I make, I know that’ not always the case. But slowly, that’s changing. If it took $3 gas and an old Schwinn to make me see that, then that’s cool with me.

Blogs that are speaking volumes about Katrina: Lots of folks have more and better stuff to say than me about Hurricane Katrina, how she has changed our country, and how we can help. Check some of them out:

http://scottbridwell.typepad.com/
http://www.katrinahousing.org/
http://webranding.typepad.com/projectkatrina/
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/08/30/help.agencies/index.html

Okay, after all of that, I think the best thing we all might do for a night is turn off the TV and the computer. Relax. Breathe. Chill. Create the time and space to enjoy a night free from thinking about death, destruction and chaos. As I mentioned in the last post, God is still on His throne. That IS enough.

Peace.

Katrina

Today is Tuesday, August 30. It’s been one day since Hurricane Katrina roared onshore around New Orleans. I don’t have to tell you how strong this storm was – most of us waited and watched The Weather Channel as landfall drew closer. And now, as the details of the devastation come trickling in, I don’t have to describe for you the magnitude of the destruction that Katrina has caused – it’s all over the news stations.

It’s a good thing that I don’t have to speak to you right now because words seem very empty. Those most closely affected by the storm – and even us who only received a soaking rain from Katrina – have questions that for now avoid answers. I watched a Yahoo! slide show on the Web of wrecked lives, wrecked buildings, and wrecked creation. But none of that got to me like a TV interview did. A station spoke with a local black man, who in his French-influenced Cajun accent told of climbing to the highest point in his home to escape the rising water, where he held his children in one arm and his wife’s hand in the other. As the water rose, she lost her dry perch, and the water began to suck her in. As their grip began to fail and fatigue set in, she looked at him and told her husband that she loved him. She implored him to take good care of their children, be a good grandfather . . . and she was gone.

At that point, the female journalist broke down and became pretty emotional. The interview ended abruptly, and I was left wondering if they embraced in the “raw-ness” of that moment. But beyond that, I felt a kind of self-preserving numbness come over me. I was glad the interview was over.

My questions, most of which are aimed at God, echo “how?” and “why?” Please don’t lecture me on the immaturity of those questions – I understand those are typical, knee-jerk questions in times of trauma that can be interpreted as a lack of faith. For now, I feel a little guilty that my family and my home are safe. It’s hard to feel blessed in times like these. And for me, today, it’s been very hard to pray. I know God is still God, I still love Him, and He is still on His throne. That’ll have to do for now.

Running Back

Even though it’s only the preseason for the NFL, I rejoice that the familiar drum and horn blast that we grew up with and can recognize in 2 notes or less will soon signal the arrival of Monday Night Football. “Don don danta, danta don dadum!” You’re with me, right? If you’re close to my age, visions of Howard Cossell, Frank Gifford and Dandy Don Meredith have already filled your head. And it was on a Monday night a couple of weeks ago that Ricky Williams stepped back on to the playing field, sporting the familiar turquoise uniform of the Miami Dolphins. As we all know, sports fan or not, Ricky had some issues (to put it mildly), and took a sabbatical from the NFL. But now, he’s back, and reporters have been trying to pull a story out of him.

In an article by Barry Wilner, AP Football Writer, Ricky apparently was wondering what all the fuss surrounding him is about. Wilner writes that in his interview, Williams made it sound as if he never left football. “It doesn’t seem like I was gone, not even a week,” the former NFL rushing king said. “Everywhere I go, I hear ‘Welcome back.’ But everywhere I have been, I have always been with myself. I’m with myself now more than ever.”

As I read that bit about “everywhere I have been, I have always been with myself,” I caught myself thinking, “What’d he just say? Is he still on the weed?” I mean, to borrow a line from one of my favorite movies, “that don’t make no sense!” I even called a buddy, read him the blurb, and we both laughed about it. I’m pretty good at mocking people, and Ricky was my target of the day.

Then I turned to page 111 of Rob Bell’s book Velvet Elvis, and I read these words: “There is a great saying in the recovery movement: ‘Wherever you go, there you are.’” So maybe, just maybe, in his interview, Ricky was giving us a coded answer that shows he is trying to get some help with his “issues.” Instead of cutting him down, I tried to remember some things about the dreadlocked running back from Texas. Oh ya, one of the reasons he had trouble in New Orleans was because of a fear of crowds. Hmmm. I bet he sees his share of those, right? And maybe he found temporary reprieve in burning a spliff. So maybe he was running from accumulated issues in his life, bailed on the NFL gig, and perhaps finally sought help and is trying to get his life back on track. And maybe I’m being too generous in my “maybes.” Who knows? Only Ricky, and we may never figure that cat out.

But as I played out this little scenario in my head, I couldn’t help but connect the ideas of a person with real problems, getting to the end of their rope, seeing that there was no way to go but back, and taking those first tentative steps home, to the story that is usually known as The Parable of the Prodigal Son. If you’ve ever been to church, you’ve heard this story, usually from a couple of sides – us as the wayward son, or less often, us as the jealous brother, and always with God as the forgiving father. I love how Eugene Peterson in The Message translation describes the homecoming: “When he (the lost son) was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him.”

In commenting on this story, Bell describes for us a truth that we simply will not allow ourselves to believe or live out. Those of us who have been met in our lives by the Father with his heart pounding in his chest, wherever that took place, are “saints” and through mysteries that too many think they have a handle on, are placed “in Christ.” And we’re there because we have God’s favor, which was given after no effort on our part. Way better than me, Rob writes, “We cannot earn what we have always had. What we can do is trust that what God keeps insisting is true about us is actually true.” What is true? We are loved. WE ARE LOVED!

A gifted friend of mine used to lead in a song of worship where we sang, “You are loved by God, and nothing else matters.” Still today, that song resonates within me, and I think it’s because I struggle so much with the knowledge that I know I am not as “good” as most think I am, and usually would expect me to be. But in spite of that, I am loved by God, and nothing – not my efforts, my lack of efforts, my successes, nor my failures – nothing – nothing else matters.

So to Ricky, I’d like to say, “Glad you’re back!” I’m typing this with the hope that my “maybes” from above are at least a little close to the truth, and Ricky is getting his life turned around. If so, he sure sounds a lot like me.

30 Days

Did you have a chance to catch an episode of FX’s newest reality show, “30 Days?” The show is the brainchild of Morgan Spurlock, who brought us the documentary “Super Size Me,” which was a look at what happened to your body when you ate McDonald’s for 3 meals a day, for 30 days. Well, Spurlock builds on this idea by placing people in unusual circumstances, and letting us watch how their life plays out for – you guessed it, 30 Days. I gotta tell you, I love the show. He has tackled some pretty interesting situations, such as inviting a Christian to live with a Muslim family. Or having a man and wife move to a new town, to start from scratch, and live for 30 days on minimum wage. Good stuff!

But a favorite of mine was entitled “Off the Grid.” In this episode, two resource-consuming folks from New Jersey were plopped down into an eco-friendly community in Missouri known as The Dancing Rabbit. This community tries to be totally self-sustained, and it was fascinating to watch not only how they make it all happen, but how the New Jersey-ites looked like crack addicts searching for a fix. I really sympathized with Vito, who became desperate – full on loco – to get some meat. Armed with a pellet gun, he went off in search of Peter Cottontail. Thankfully, this eco-village was named appropriately, and Vito was sated.

From a Christian perspective, I found this episode particularly interesting as I considered Jesus’ Kingdom message, and how I am beginning to see that His saving work encompasses just not my – our – personal salvation, but also the saving of the created order. In fact, how we treat the planet that God has blessed us with has implications in terms of mission work and evangelism, two areas that the evangelical church has always been interested in, when we consider that we have limited natural resources to meet people’s basic needs with. You’ve heard the old cliché, I’m sure – “Give a man a fish, he eats for a day; teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime.” The plain and simple truth is that if we continue to ravage our world, teaching a man to fish won’t matter if there are no fish to catch.

So I started asking myself some questions. How wasteful am I? How destructive am I? Am I living in harmony with God? Am I being a good steward of ALL that He has entrusted me with? Hmmm. As you can guess, this “30 Days” episode gave me a lot to wrestle with. Of course, when I started thinking about this episode in greater detail, I was sitting in my 12-mpg pick-up truck in downtown Bloomington, having raced there to buy an X-Box game with my son. I am encouraged that it did bother me, and in fact, I’ve started looking for a more fuel-efficient car. And instead of yelling at the kids to quit leaving their bedroom lights on, they’re seeing me turn mine off. I’ve even set my A/C to 74 (if you know me at all, you can picture me sweating!). So, an hour spent watching folks at The Dancing Rabbit have been used to teach me more about what it means to be a child in the Kingdom of He from Whom All Blessings Flow. I want to give a shout out to Morgan Spurlock for creating an insightful, witty show. And because of an hour of television, may I begin to learn how to live a little more “off the grid” and in tune with the Creator.

A Cool Cup of Water

Kingdom living – the idea of enjoying God’s blessings to in turn be a blessing to others – leaves me with much to wrestle with. Maybe foremost is growing in my walk with Jesus to the point that I am no longer consciously aware that I am living out Jesus’ Kingdom message. By that, I mean that I no longer see a person or a situation and have to say “Yes, I can help this person know that Jesus loves them” or “Yes, I can help this situation turn out differently because I am living for Jesus.” Instead, affecting people and their situations becomes as natural to me as drawing air into my lungs. I don’t think about it, I just do it. I am far from that, to the point that I often engage in a mental debate with myself that usually lasts until the decisive moment has passed. And so it goes.

Yet, there is hope. Recently, I was in a restaurant, and there was one server waiting on the entire dining room. Not only was this gal serving, but she was busing tables as well. It wasn’t long before the lunch crowd over-whelmed her, and dirty dishes began piling up on empty tables, leaving hungry folks nowhere to sit. In what is sadly for me a rare response to the leading of the Holy Spirit, as I was leaving, I quickly cleaned off a table, trying my best to not cause her extra work in my efforts to help. Now I say all of this not to give myself an electronic pat on the back, because like I said, this happens “not so much.” But the cool part to me was two-fold: 1) the lady didn’t know that I did this, as she was in the kitchen getting an order together. And 2) A local youth pastor was having lunch with some kids from his youth group in this same restaurant. As I was leaving, he said, “Hey, you’re making us all look bad!” His comment was given good-naturedly, but as I walked out, I simply replied to him that I was offering a cool cup of water to the waitress. And maybe, he was able to take what was for me a rare, but Jesus-oriented, act of kindness, and use that as a discussion starter with those kids. I think sometimes we are so intent on looking for God in the BIG that we miss Him in the daily.

Since that day, I’ve known that God was calling me to other Kingdom responses, and more often than not, I pass them by. As I’ve said, I need to grow in my walk with Jesus – I so desperately want the dust of The Rabbi to be upon me. But after the dust settles, we find a Rabbi with a basin and a towel, ready to serve us without hesitation. May you and I join Jesus in Kingdom Living, as we seek to bring His blessings to others as naturally as we take in our next breath.

The Good News

Do you ever wonder what it was that got Jesus’ ministry – his mission – off the ground? In Chapter 4 of Matthew, from Eugene Peterson’s “The Message” version, we get a glimpse of focused purpose: “God’s kingdom was his (Jesus') theme . . . he also healed people of their diseases and of the bad effects of their lives.” Wow. The “Good News,” as we’ve come to know it, isn’t mentioned and “heaven” isn’t the concern. People came to Jesus to experience his kingdom now.

It seems that folks’ immediate concern was not heaven but in living a different, better life now. That idea, that Jesus can give them a way out, a fresh start, a second chance at their life, brought people to him. And they found the anticipated Kingdom of God embodied in the Man Jesus. That discovery is Good News – Rejoice, for the Kingdom is Here!

The Kingdom is Near

I had lunch with a local pastor recently, and in thinking about the conversation that we shared, it dawned on me that he sounds a lot like the TSCC leaders over the last few years as he discussed PM and the “emerging church.” This PM reality is not a brand of cereal to try, or a new flavor of ice cream to order – PM simply “is.” It can’t be programmed or selected on the Purpose Driven jukebox. In saying that, I am pushed to consider the pastor’s offer to me to teach a series on PM at his church. It seems that he sees PM as a math problem to be dissected, or made simple like “Windows XP for Dummies.” Instead, we – all of us – must see that PM is the medium in which life is lived.

Promoting the “emerging” church as a program also raises the idea that this “flavor” (or experience) of church is better than church as the older folks know it be. Is it any surprise then that these same older folks are the ones who are often most resistant to change? Think, “You young folks had your turn!” and you understand my perspective.

All of this leads me to this thought: It is fruitless to push the PM agenda (whatever that means!) in your church, especially if it is historically established. The hurdles of tradition will likely prove too high. But if we take a step back, breath deep, and look at things objectively, perhaps we’ll find this: The church exists to make known Jesus Christ as the Son of God and glorify Him through works that bring His Kingdom to life. The church is not the place to have a debate about whether or not PM is affecting our culture. The basic underlying premise for the existence of a church must involve the question of whether or not Jesus is being made high and lifted up, and if so, what does that look like in that community? In answering that question, we open ourselves up to a deeper understanding of discipleship set in a context of connecting the hungers, passions, and desires that run through and connect the lives of the people that Jesus would have gather in His name.

Is it possible that Jesus being glorified looks like His people living in a sense of present tense Kingdom awareness? By that, I close my eyes and imagine Jesus followers living in such a way that the people in their circles of influence know healing, healthy relationships. They have enough food to eat. Their roof doesn’t leak. There is concern put into action over poverty and other social injustices. Valleys are walked through together. Voices are joined together to yell from mountaintops. Maybe Kingdom living is simply being free to live, and loving Jesus and people in the living.

This, then, is what churches should be teaching – Kingdom living in the present tense. Not seminars on PM and its influence of culture or debates about style. Let’s look beneath the nuts and bolts of philosophy and demographics to see how attitudes, actions, and communities are being formed. How are the eyes of the people Jesus wants to connect with judging our world? Are there chords that the church has yet to strike, and if they only would, could a new harmony begin to fill our collective ears? Could discipleship become less about facts and figures and more about learning from history, and hearing how Jesus proclaims throughout the ages that “LOVE WINS”? In an honest moment, I begin to understand that these are the very things that Jesus yearns to address, as we see His teachings on Kingdom living dominate our New Testament. May this become the focus of my efforts, and my understanding of what it means to follow Jesus. Care to walk this path with me?