I'm not a big quote guy. I tend to zone out when people quote something to me. I can like pithy sayings as much as the next guy, but they just aren't normally my thing. That said, I'm gonna share this quote with 6,000 of my closest friends this weekend. It's a quote from Ivan Illich recorded by Tim Costello on his website and then recorded in my buddy Neil Cole's book, Organic Church. So I'm not even sure who I'm really quoting, but here ya go:
Ivan Illich was once asked, ‘What is the most revolutionary way to change society: Is it violent revolution or is it gradual reform?’ He gave a careful answer: ‘Neither. If you want to change society, then you must tell an alternative story’, he concluded.
I think the gospel dwells in the truth in that quote.
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
What I'm going to say.
My personal Jedi Master, Dave, tends to blog about "what he should have said" after a weekend message. I thought I'd try that in reverse this week. I'm kicking off a new teaching series this weekend at VCC entitled "In God We Trust - how the church responds in a tough economy." This isn't what we planned on speaking about this month. However, sometimes certain issues arise in a culture that cannot be ignored by the church. A few weeks back I wrote a paragraph to narrow my thoughts for this week:
WEEK ONE: THE MISSION ISN'T IN RECESSION: The church is on a mission from God – to proclaim the reality and availability of the Kingdom of the Heavens, to love those far from God so much that they may consider his love for themselves, to freely and radically give away all that we have for the sake of Christ and Kingdom. The church cannot afford to take the two easy options in our current economic condition: 1.) To ignore the bad economy and preach naïve prosperity or 2.) To acknowledge the problem and cowardly shrink away from the mission. This is the time that the world needs the church to be the church - to stand up, offering hope in practical and impractical ways. This means that we as individuals should align ourselves with Kingdom economic practices and fully trust God to provide for his people.
That's about all I have so far. I've been reading a lot of early church teachings on economic issues - the Didache, the Shepherd of Hermes, Augustine, etc. I've been wrestling with Jesus' call to radical economics in the gospels. I've also noticed that Acts, James and Revelation all take Jesus' teachings in subtly different directions. This stuff isn't new for me to think about. I was profoundly influenced long ago by Stanley Hauerwas and John Howard Yoder in regard to my Kingdom economics. I've been re-reading their stuff and enjoying the current essays at www.ekklesiaproject.org. (A highly recommended site/cyber community btw.)
So, this week feel free to wrestle along with me. How would you use 30 minutes to broach this subject with thousands of people ranging from raging skeptics to seasoned saints? What big issue stirs in your heart when you think about these things? What Bible stories or truths come to your mind? Do we need a call to courage or a call to understanding or both? Comment away and maybe we can figure this one out together this week...
WEEK ONE: THE MISSION ISN'T IN RECESSION: The church is on a mission from God – to proclaim the reality and availability of the Kingdom of the Heavens, to love those far from God so much that they may consider his love for themselves, to freely and radically give away all that we have for the sake of Christ and Kingdom. The church cannot afford to take the two easy options in our current economic condition: 1.) To ignore the bad economy and preach naïve prosperity or 2.) To acknowledge the problem and cowardly shrink away from the mission. This is the time that the world needs the church to be the church - to stand up, offering hope in practical and impractical ways. This means that we as individuals should align ourselves with Kingdom economic practices and fully trust God to provide for his people.
That's about all I have so far. I've been reading a lot of early church teachings on economic issues - the Didache, the Shepherd of Hermes, Augustine, etc. I've been wrestling with Jesus' call to radical economics in the gospels. I've also noticed that Acts, James and Revelation all take Jesus' teachings in subtly different directions. This stuff isn't new for me to think about. I was profoundly influenced long ago by Stanley Hauerwas and John Howard Yoder in regard to my Kingdom economics. I've been re-reading their stuff and enjoying the current essays at www.ekklesiaproject.org. (A highly recommended site/cyber community btw.)
So, this week feel free to wrestle along with me. How would you use 30 minutes to broach this subject with thousands of people ranging from raging skeptics to seasoned saints? What big issue stirs in your heart when you think about these things? What Bible stories or truths come to your mind? Do we need a call to courage or a call to understanding or both? Comment away and maybe we can figure this one out together this week...
Thursday, September 25, 2008
mtg.
Meetings. I used to rant and rave about how much I hate meetings. In my current job, I'm pretty much in meetings all day every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. This week has been a little more than normal. I'm writing now in the one hour of non-meeting that I have between Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. and tonight at 9:00 p.m.
Meetings are good if they have a purpose. Different meetings have different purposes. Some of my meetings this week are one-on-one conversations. Some with friends, some with strangers. Some of my meetings this week were large - like Alpha. A meeting like that is interesting. 120 people volunteering to show up at the same time and place to ask questions about God and life. That seems like a good reason to meet. Some of my meetings happen every week - with Dave or Garry or Brad or Ed. Some meetings feel a little more weighty, like our six hour VCC Elder meeting coming up at noon.
Then there are the meetings that tend to give to you more than you give to them - the improv class where you see your students break through, the baseball game where your son makes his first double, the candle lit dinner during a power outage with your wife. Those meetings give you fuel for the others. In my life, I mostly go to meetings for the sake of other people - to serve my city and my church. But it's those other meetings that serve me.
The problem with meetings, of course, is that you can meet all day long about how to live your life and never live it. The ebb and flow of community and solitude, of work and rest, of duty and freedom, of order and chaos is perhaps the great unspoken struggle of my life. I have had years of solitude, rest, freedom and chaos. I've also had years of community, work, duty and order. And I have, more than most people I know, had the remarkable ability to romanticize order when I play and play when I work. As I get older, however, the seasons seem to be getting closer to each other - merging in some way. Perhaps maturity looks more like the seasons overlapping and interacting with one another on a daily or hourly basis.
This I know. In the middle of literally 36 straight hours of meetings, I am most grateful to have found this hour to pray and write. This hour will buy me what I need to show up alert for the next nine.
Meetings are good if they have a purpose. Different meetings have different purposes. Some of my meetings this week are one-on-one conversations. Some with friends, some with strangers. Some of my meetings this week were large - like Alpha. A meeting like that is interesting. 120 people volunteering to show up at the same time and place to ask questions about God and life. That seems like a good reason to meet. Some of my meetings happen every week - with Dave or Garry or Brad or Ed. Some meetings feel a little more weighty, like our six hour VCC Elder meeting coming up at noon.
Then there are the meetings that tend to give to you more than you give to them - the improv class where you see your students break through, the baseball game where your son makes his first double, the candle lit dinner during a power outage with your wife. Those meetings give you fuel for the others. In my life, I mostly go to meetings for the sake of other people - to serve my city and my church. But it's those other meetings that serve me.
The problem with meetings, of course, is that you can meet all day long about how to live your life and never live it. The ebb and flow of community and solitude, of work and rest, of duty and freedom, of order and chaos is perhaps the great unspoken struggle of my life. I have had years of solitude, rest, freedom and chaos. I've also had years of community, work, duty and order. And I have, more than most people I know, had the remarkable ability to romanticize order when I play and play when I work. As I get older, however, the seasons seem to be getting closer to each other - merging in some way. Perhaps maturity looks more like the seasons overlapping and interacting with one another on a daily or hourly basis.
This I know. In the middle of literally 36 straight hours of meetings, I am most grateful to have found this hour to pray and write. This hour will buy me what I need to show up alert for the next nine.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Old Writings, New Tidings
I spent a good part of this morning transferring old stories, articles and essays that I have written from my old laptop to my new one. I do mean "old" laptop - I have had three other primary computers since I used this one. Most of the writings I found were written between 1998-2001. It's a strange Saturday activity to read your own words from ten years ago for a few hours. I expected to hate everything and feel foolish for ever writing them. That happened a few times, but overall I was surprised that I enjoyed reading my own words. A lot of my essays and articles were very serious, but I found a humorous Christmas piece that I did in 2000. It's not Christmas time, but I thought I'd share it anyway. (The other things I wanted to share were 20-50 pages long...I thought that might shut blogger down...and who reads 50 page blog entries anyway?)
Here ya go - It's called, "Christmas as Best as I Can Remember It."
Christmas, as best as I can remember it, is about the birth of a baby named Jesus. Jesus was born on a snowy day in late December in the year zero. His mother’s name was Mary and his father was a fat, jolly man named Chris Kringle. Mary must have gotten remarried later on because Jesus’ last name was Christ, not Kringle.
Mary was a virgin, which means that she was born between May 12 and June 14, otherwise she would be known as the Capricorn Mary or the Leo Mary. Jesus was born in a manger. I don’t really know what a manger is, but I suppose it was like an olden-day version of a 7-11 -- a kind of pit-stop for people who would take road trips on donkeys.
There were a bunch of shepherds in the manger where Jesus was born. An angel with a harp came to the North Pole and told the shepherds that they should go look for a baby with a corn-cob pipe, a button nose and two eyes made out of coal. So, they rustled up some flying reindeer, including one really cool one named Rudolf who had a glowing nose, and flew to Bethlehem, a small town somewhere in the Middle East – Pennsylvania, maybe.
There were also three wise men at the manger that night. They were professors at the local community college and had followed a star from the East. I’m not sure the star’s name, but he must have been someone pretty important like Mel Gibson or Clint Eastwood to get three smart guys to follow him through the snow to see a baby. The wise men brought gifts for Mary and the baby: five golden rings, frankenstein, and a partridge in a pear tree.
There was also a little boy named Tiny Tim at the manger. He had come to the manger because his father, a mean man named Scrooge had seen a scary ghost who took all there money. As a result, all Tim could do was try to earn some extra cash by playing his drum for newborn babies. Pa-rumpapumpum
The first Christmas tree wasn’t much to look at either. It was just a puny thing brought by some kid with a yellow and black shirt. That is why it was such a surprise to everyone when a Grinch tried to steal it.
Steal it and steal it he tried to do. But succeed with his crime, he never would do, for whenever he tried to retreat with the tree, a bumble would come and bite at his knee.
It was so cold that first Christmas night that the wise men invited the animals to sleep in the manger -- sheep, cattle and reindeer alike. Despite all that noise, the little baby slept through the night without crying and Mary, Chris Kringle, the Shepherds, Wise Men, Tiny Tim and the kid with the drum knelt politely to pose for a polite figurine designer from Wichita named Charles Dickens . . . and the rest, as they say, is history.
Here ya go - It's called, "Christmas as Best as I Can Remember It."
Christmas, as best as I can remember it, is about the birth of a baby named Jesus. Jesus was born on a snowy day in late December in the year zero. His mother’s name was Mary and his father was a fat, jolly man named Chris Kringle. Mary must have gotten remarried later on because Jesus’ last name was Christ, not Kringle.
Mary was a virgin, which means that she was born between May 12 and June 14, otherwise she would be known as the Capricorn Mary or the Leo Mary. Jesus was born in a manger. I don’t really know what a manger is, but I suppose it was like an olden-day version of a 7-11 -- a kind of pit-stop for people who would take road trips on donkeys.
There were a bunch of shepherds in the manger where Jesus was born. An angel with a harp came to the North Pole and told the shepherds that they should go look for a baby with a corn-cob pipe, a button nose and two eyes made out of coal. So, they rustled up some flying reindeer, including one really cool one named Rudolf who had a glowing nose, and flew to Bethlehem, a small town somewhere in the Middle East – Pennsylvania, maybe.
There were also three wise men at the manger that night. They were professors at the local community college and had followed a star from the East. I’m not sure the star’s name, but he must have been someone pretty important like Mel Gibson or Clint Eastwood to get three smart guys to follow him through the snow to see a baby. The wise men brought gifts for Mary and the baby: five golden rings, frankenstein, and a partridge in a pear tree.
There was also a little boy named Tiny Tim at the manger. He had come to the manger because his father, a mean man named Scrooge had seen a scary ghost who took all there money. As a result, all Tim could do was try to earn some extra cash by playing his drum for newborn babies. Pa-rumpapumpum
The first Christmas tree wasn’t much to look at either. It was just a puny thing brought by some kid with a yellow and black shirt. That is why it was such a surprise to everyone when a Grinch tried to steal it.
Steal it and steal it he tried to do. But succeed with his crime, he never would do, for whenever he tried to retreat with the tree, a bumble would come and bite at his knee.
It was so cold that first Christmas night that the wise men invited the animals to sleep in the manger -- sheep, cattle and reindeer alike. Despite all that noise, the little baby slept through the night without crying and Mary, Chris Kringle, the Shepherds, Wise Men, Tiny Tim and the kid with the drum knelt politely to pose for a polite figurine designer from Wichita named Charles Dickens . . . and the rest, as they say, is history.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
The Road to Emmaus, PA selected at film festival!
I'm happy to announce that our "road trip" film was selected to screen at The Derby City Film Festival in Louisville, Kentucky. They selected 40 films out of more than 400 submissions. It will screen on Sunday, October 12 at 3:45 pm at the Louisville Memorial Auditorium. For more information or for tickets check out the festival website at www.derbycityfilmfest.com.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
48 hours off the grid and counting.
Hurricane Ike hit Cincinnati two days ago and shut us down. That's right, a hurricane hit Ohio. Hurricane force winds anyway - gusts over 80 mph. We haven't had power since 2:00 pm on Sunday and some estimates say it could be another five days depending on your neighborhood. Today I found a rogue coffee shop about six miles from my house with power and free internet - a double blessing.
So what happens when you don't have power for 48 hours?
1. The kids don't go to school.
2. The grown ups don't go to the office.
3. The food spoils.
4. No TV, video games, lights, dishwasher, garbage disposal, garage door opener, AC, electric fans, alarm clocks, cell phones after the batteries die, etc.
5. Neighbors talk to each other. It's the weirdest thing.
6. You teach your kids about pioneers and contentment and sharing and Benjamin Franklin.
7. Lots of Stratego, Monopoly, Yatzee and Black Jack. (Yes, we teach our kids to gamble. We are still Las Vegans at heart.)
8. Open flames in every room of the house after 8:00 pm.
9. You ponder the power of simplicity.
10. You embrace the gas grill on the back deck as the only source of heat - we've made potatoes, garlic bread, pancakes and chai tea on our grill so far.
11. Everyone at the one open grocery store in town is surprisingly talkative, including introverted teaching pastors.
12. You grow strangely thrilled by it all - you find yourself not entirely sure if you want the power to come back today or not.
So what happens when you don't have power for 48 hours?
1. The kids don't go to school.
2. The grown ups don't go to the office.
3. The food spoils.
4. No TV, video games, lights, dishwasher, garbage disposal, garage door opener, AC, electric fans, alarm clocks, cell phones after the batteries die, etc.
5. Neighbors talk to each other. It's the weirdest thing.
6. You teach your kids about pioneers and contentment and sharing and Benjamin Franklin.
7. Lots of Stratego, Monopoly, Yatzee and Black Jack. (Yes, we teach our kids to gamble. We are still Las Vegans at heart.)
8. Open flames in every room of the house after 8:00 pm.
9. You ponder the power of simplicity.
10. You embrace the gas grill on the back deck as the only source of heat - we've made potatoes, garlic bread, pancakes and chai tea on our grill so far.
11. Everyone at the one open grocery store in town is surprisingly talkative, including introverted teaching pastors.
12. You grow strangely thrilled by it all - you find yourself not entirely sure if you want the power to come back today or not.
Friday, September 12, 2008
The Road to Emmaus, PA
Here is the official movie poster for VCC's first feature length film, The Road to Emmaus, PA. We had hoped all along that our four-day trip from Jerusalem, Ohio to Emmaus, PA would produce a feature documentary. It couldn't have happened without two of my friends pouring in hours and hours of editing work. Norm Freitag spent weeks watching the over 50 hours of footage and cutting the project down to a 90 minute story. Then, over the last several weeks, Mark Denney has led us through the final stages of seeing our dream come true. Their selflessness and resolve will be something that I will always remember about this project.
As I type this, Mark is working to wrap up the final edits so that we can meet our deadline for the Derby City Film Festival in Louisville on Monday. I'm hopeful that they will aceept the project and premiere it there in mid-October. We'll also plan a premiere at VCC sometime this fall.
I'm honored to be a part of this project, but even more proud to call these guys my friends. They're amazing.
Monday, September 08, 2008
Home in time.
I've been in Chicago for the last four days hanging out with the gang at Community Christian Church in Naperville, just outside of Chicago. They are innovators in many areas, but I was most impressed with the leadership culture at their church. I've returned home with a lot to think about...
The biggest news of my week is that we were able to come home one day early, which means that I returned home today on September 8th instead of tomorrow, September 9th as planned.
That's important because someone in my house was born on September 8, 2001. Aidan turned seven today. I missed Eli's seventh birthday two summers ago because of this ridiculous job. His birthday fell in the middle of a seven-week tour, and it was incredibly painful to be absent from my family for that long. So...coming home a day early means that I have still only missed that one birthday of the sixteen they have now shared.
Here's a recent photo of Aidan and the striking young fella he was named after, Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne:
The biggest news of my week is that we were able to come home one day early, which means that I returned home today on September 8th instead of tomorrow, September 9th as planned.
That's important because someone in my house was born on September 8, 2001. Aidan turned seven today. I missed Eli's seventh birthday two summers ago because of this ridiculous job. His birthday fell in the middle of a seven-week tour, and it was incredibly painful to be absent from my family for that long. So...coming home a day early means that I have still only missed that one birthday of the sixteen they have now shared.
Here's a recent photo of Aidan and the striking young fella he was named after, Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne:
Sunday, August 31, 2008
The Spirit of Nicodemus
This weekend I spoke about Nicodemus. I find his story to be a very interesting subplot in John's gospel. He has only three appearances. In the first one (John 3) he appears as a curious seeker of truth. Like all seekers, he has a distinct point of view. He's a Rabbi, a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin (the Jewish Ruling Council.) To quote Anchonrman Ron Burgandy, he's "kind of a big deal" - at least in religious circles. Maybe that's why he comes to Jesus "at night." Under the cover of darkness, it is safer to ask the controversial unsanctioned teacher some questions.
In 15 verses, Jesus seems to confuse the doctor of theology with his statements on being born again and receiving the Kingdom via the pneumas (spirit/wind). Finally, Jesus leaves the world of metaphors and allows Nicodemus' ears to be the first in history to hear John 3:16. "God loves the world, so he sent me." John doesn't tell us how Nicodemus responds, but it appears that he leaves Jesus with more questions than answers.
Nicodemus in many ways is a subtle antihero in John's account. He ought to be against Jesus. Politically speaking, he is an enemy of Jesus. Nicodemus seems to honestly struggle with Jesus - not as quick to follow him as the blue collar fisherman and desperate "sinners." Yet not as quick to codemn him as his elitist peers. He represents something rare in the gospel accounts - the voice of the thinking theist. He's open-minded. Cautious. Careful.
This is made even clearer in his second appearance recorded in John 7:45-52:
Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why didn't you bring him (Jesus) in?" "No one ever spoke the way this man does," the guards declared. "You mean he has deceived you also?" the Pharisees retorted. "Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them."
Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, "Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?"
They replied, "Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee."
In a black and white world, perhaps there is nothing more brave than the one person who stands up and screams, "Gray!" It is in Nicodemus that we see the courage to say, "I'm not sure that this Jesus is all that his followers claim him to be, but neither am I convinced that he is not that." He asks for what all true seekers ask for...he asks for the time to hear him for himself and to see with his own eyes what he is doing.
We hear no other words from the mouth of Nicodemus in the Bible, but we do see him again in chapter 19. At the cross:
Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
Mysterious, isn't it? I wonder if John wants it to be. He takes the time in his account to note that the fence-sitting curious Pharisee buries Jesus. History has assumed that this means Nicodemus eventually became a disciple of Jesus, but John doesn't let us know. Tradition tells us that Nicodemus became a preacher and a martyr. Perhaps he did. Regardless of what he became, Nicodemus teaches us that there is room at the cross for people with questions. It was a seeker who was among the first to the cross, and for twenty centuries they've never stopped gathering there.
In 15 verses, Jesus seems to confuse the doctor of theology with his statements on being born again and receiving the Kingdom via the pneumas (spirit/wind). Finally, Jesus leaves the world of metaphors and allows Nicodemus' ears to be the first in history to hear John 3:16. "God loves the world, so he sent me." John doesn't tell us how Nicodemus responds, but it appears that he leaves Jesus with more questions than answers.
Nicodemus in many ways is a subtle antihero in John's account. He ought to be against Jesus. Politically speaking, he is an enemy of Jesus. Nicodemus seems to honestly struggle with Jesus - not as quick to follow him as the blue collar fisherman and desperate "sinners." Yet not as quick to codemn him as his elitist peers. He represents something rare in the gospel accounts - the voice of the thinking theist. He's open-minded. Cautious. Careful.
This is made even clearer in his second appearance recorded in John 7:45-52:
Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why didn't you bring him (Jesus) in?" "No one ever spoke the way this man does," the guards declared. "You mean he has deceived you also?" the Pharisees retorted. "Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them."
Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, "Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?"
They replied, "Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee."
In a black and white world, perhaps there is nothing more brave than the one person who stands up and screams, "Gray!" It is in Nicodemus that we see the courage to say, "I'm not sure that this Jesus is all that his followers claim him to be, but neither am I convinced that he is not that." He asks for what all true seekers ask for...he asks for the time to hear him for himself and to see with his own eyes what he is doing.
We hear no other words from the mouth of Nicodemus in the Bible, but we do see him again in chapter 19. At the cross:
Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
Mysterious, isn't it? I wonder if John wants it to be. He takes the time in his account to note that the fence-sitting curious Pharisee buries Jesus. History has assumed that this means Nicodemus eventually became a disciple of Jesus, but John doesn't let us know. Tradition tells us that Nicodemus became a preacher and a martyr. Perhaps he did. Regardless of what he became, Nicodemus teaches us that there is room at the cross for people with questions. It was a seeker who was among the first to the cross, and for twenty centuries they've never stopped gathering there.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Improv Classs Starts Tonight
Like I said earlier, I'm teaching a six-week Improv class at VCC starting tonight. I'm pretty excited. I tell Brad all the time that improv is magic. It has special powers to build community and change lives. I can't explain it, except that it makes us adults like children. Here's a quote from our Improv Matriarch, Viola Spolin:
"Improvisation is not exchange of information between players; it is communion. The heart of improvisation is transformation."
There are still a few spots left if you get this before 7:00 tonight.
"Improvisation is not exchange of information between players; it is communion. The heart of improvisation is transformation."
There are still a few spots left if you get this before 7:00 tonight.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Sentimental Sojourner
We arrived back home from vacation on the one-year anniversary of our moving here to Ohio. It was strange to fly into the Dayton airport, a place I had only been twice before, and convince myself that I was now home. I've returned home to McCarran in Vegas at least fifty, maybe one hundred times, in my life. LAX or John Wayne a few dozen times. It is odd when home is not yet a familiar place.
Vacations make me homesick. The more places I have called home, the more homesick I get when I travel. This idea of life as a pilgrimage is foundational to me. The idea of being a "rebel pilgrim" is more than a title I've given this blog or my production company. It's my spiritual mandate: to be engrafted into the story of Israel and Christ as a wanderer/traveler/seeker. Part of being a pilgrim is being content with never having a home - at least not until the journey ends. The literal pilgrimage of my life has been simultaneously exhilarating and emotionally devastating. I desire to be grounded and yet I desire constant change and movement. Part of my soul never left Las Vegas. A smaller part stayed in California. Part was left here in Cincinnati from my college years, but when I returned I could not find it...because I had changed and returned home a different person.
And now nostalgia meets reality. Home is here. I would not go back, though sentimentality gets the best of me. Maybe there is time travel in the eternity we call Heaven. I'd give all my fortune (it's a lot, trust me) to have one more ping-pong match with Ernie, Doug and Lumpy in the second floor lounge at President's Hall in 1992. I'd love one more day with just Debbie and Cosmo (our cat) in our tiny first apartment in Las Vegas in 1995. One more early Sunday morning setting up for Canyon Ridge at Cimarron High School in 1996. Planning an early Apex service with Doug Citizen, Kristi Andrade and the gang in 1997. Waking up in the middle of the night at a time when I could hold Eli with just one hand and prepare a bottle with the other in 1999. A leisurely espresso with Kevin Rains in Quebec City in 2001. Just one more warm summer night in 2002 in the backyard of our first house on Tame Place. One more hour to read Nouwen or Willard or Hauerwas or Yoder for the very first time at the Starbucks at Lake Mead and Rainbow. And how I long for just one more performance at Tony n' Tina's Wedding circa 2005. To be Michael Just or Barry Wheeler for just two hours again. To step on stage and teach my friends at Lifelines one more time in Costa Mesa in 2006. To walk down Hollywood Boulevard with my headshot and resume in hand, muttering the lines of my upcoming audition and carefully not stepping on anyone's star out of respect for the auditions they endured decades before me. To slate my name and agency and nail one more reading would be a taste of heaven. But those days are over - all of those days. And I couldn't pick any one of those days that I liked more than the others. They are my pilgrimage. I loved them. I miss them.
And though I can't always feel it in the moment, I trust that a few years from now I will miss the summer of 2008 - the trip to Disney World with two boys who will still hold my hand and aren't too grown up to cry if they get hurt. Someday soon I'll wax nostalgic over my first year at The Vineyard: diving headfirst back into vocational ministry, being loved and accepted by a wonderful church, forging the foundation of what will be life-long friendships. Someday this very moment will be a romantic memory in the light of a future reality.
I'm a sentimental guy. Hauerwas says that sentimentality is the most dangerous enemy of the gospel. I've never fully understood his point, but part if it involves the easy choice we all make to live in the past as the future spontaneously unfolds all around us. As I manage through a strange bout of melancholy after a wonderful vacation, I am encouraged to see that my life has been so full of joy that my only sadness comes from remembering how good my life has been until now.
Vacations make me homesick. The more places I have called home, the more homesick I get when I travel. This idea of life as a pilgrimage is foundational to me. The idea of being a "rebel pilgrim" is more than a title I've given this blog or my production company. It's my spiritual mandate: to be engrafted into the story of Israel and Christ as a wanderer/traveler/seeker. Part of being a pilgrim is being content with never having a home - at least not until the journey ends. The literal pilgrimage of my life has been simultaneously exhilarating and emotionally devastating. I desire to be grounded and yet I desire constant change and movement. Part of my soul never left Las Vegas. A smaller part stayed in California. Part was left here in Cincinnati from my college years, but when I returned I could not find it...because I had changed and returned home a different person.
And now nostalgia meets reality. Home is here. I would not go back, though sentimentality gets the best of me. Maybe there is time travel in the eternity we call Heaven. I'd give all my fortune (it's a lot, trust me) to have one more ping-pong match with Ernie, Doug and Lumpy in the second floor lounge at President's Hall in 1992. I'd love one more day with just Debbie and Cosmo (our cat) in our tiny first apartment in Las Vegas in 1995. One more early Sunday morning setting up for Canyon Ridge at Cimarron High School in 1996. Planning an early Apex service with Doug Citizen, Kristi Andrade and the gang in 1997. Waking up in the middle of the night at a time when I could hold Eli with just one hand and prepare a bottle with the other in 1999. A leisurely espresso with Kevin Rains in Quebec City in 2001. Just one more warm summer night in 2002 in the backyard of our first house on Tame Place. One more hour to read Nouwen or Willard or Hauerwas or Yoder for the very first time at the Starbucks at Lake Mead and Rainbow. And how I long for just one more performance at Tony n' Tina's Wedding circa 2005. To be Michael Just or Barry Wheeler for just two hours again. To step on stage and teach my friends at Lifelines one more time in Costa Mesa in 2006. To walk down Hollywood Boulevard with my headshot and resume in hand, muttering the lines of my upcoming audition and carefully not stepping on anyone's star out of respect for the auditions they endured decades before me. To slate my name and agency and nail one more reading would be a taste of heaven. But those days are over - all of those days. And I couldn't pick any one of those days that I liked more than the others. They are my pilgrimage. I loved them. I miss them.
And though I can't always feel it in the moment, I trust that a few years from now I will miss the summer of 2008 - the trip to Disney World with two boys who will still hold my hand and aren't too grown up to cry if they get hurt. Someday soon I'll wax nostalgic over my first year at The Vineyard: diving headfirst back into vocational ministry, being loved and accepted by a wonderful church, forging the foundation of what will be life-long friendships. Someday this very moment will be a romantic memory in the light of a future reality.
I'm a sentimental guy. Hauerwas says that sentimentality is the most dangerous enemy of the gospel. I've never fully understood his point, but part if it involves the easy choice we all make to live in the past as the future spontaneously unfolds all around us. As I manage through a strange bout of melancholy after a wonderful vacation, I am encouraged to see that my life has been so full of joy that my only sadness comes from remembering how good my life has been until now.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Vacated.
One more day in Kansas and then we fly back home. It has probably been the best vacation ever...a perfect mixture of doing stuff and not doing stuff. This last week has been relaxing and I think we are all ready to return home again. I'll have a few more days off work when we get back and I'm looking forward to doing a little reading and writing before jumping back into the chaos.
Since my brain has been on vacation for a few weeks, that's about all the thinking I can muster up for you for now. I'll plan on being witty and inspiring in my next post.
Since my brain has been on vacation for a few weeks, that's about all the thinking I can muster up for you for now. I'll plan on being witty and inspiring in my next post.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Intermediate Improv Class
When I get back from vacation, I'll be teaching a six-week improv class as part of Vineyard University. It starts Wed, Aug 27 at 7pm. It's intended for people with a little improv (or acting) training or experience who want to go to the next level or catch a refresher. Limited to 14 spots.
If you want to sign up or get more info, click here and click "Intermediate Improv."
If you want to sign up or get more info, click here and click "Intermediate Improv."
Monday, August 11, 2008
Leaving Las Disney
Tomorrow we pack our bags and head to KC to visit my mom and dad. The first half of our vacation was great. I could easily go to a cynical place regarding the Disney Empire, and maybe I will here in a few weeks, but my kids (and wife) have had a wonderful time. (OK, I have had fun too.) My kids will remember this week for the rest of their lives. We were here for six days and maybe saw half of all there is to see. Over forty square miles of magical-ness. I think we'll come back...but not next year.
I'm more or less over my illness and the last two days were much happier for me than the early sick days...
Talk to ya'll in Kansas.
I'm more or less over my illness and the last two days were much happier for me than the early sick days...
Talk to ya'll in Kansas.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
The good and the bad.
Vacation is in full swing. Two days at Disney down. We spent yesterday at EPCOT. Good times. Fun in a kinda nerdy way...my favorite park by far.
However, I write to you from my bed at the fabulous Port Orleans Resort. Alas, not all is well in the Magic Kingdom. At least, not everyone is well. I have a terrible cold or flu or something. I sneezed about a thousand times yesterday and went through a few Kleen-ex mini-packs. Breathing is a chore today and the coughing has started. I haven't been sick like this for three or four years. I've been a trooper though. You'd all be proud of me.
Debbie and the kids are at the water park for a few hours now while I recoop. This afternoon I'll rejoin the family fun for the Animal Park. The kids are showing a few early signs of the plague as well, so hopefully they can fight it off.
Favorite things so far: Soarin' and Test Track at Epcot and the crazy vegetables they grow in The Land exhibit. I also strangely enjoyed my tuna sandwich at Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney.
However, I write to you from my bed at the fabulous Port Orleans Resort. Alas, not all is well in the Magic Kingdom. At least, not everyone is well. I have a terrible cold or flu or something. I sneezed about a thousand times yesterday and went through a few Kleen-ex mini-packs. Breathing is a chore today and the coughing has started. I haven't been sick like this for three or four years. I've been a trooper though. You'd all be proud of me.
Debbie and the kids are at the water park for a few hours now while I recoop. This afternoon I'll rejoin the family fun for the Animal Park. The kids are showing a few early signs of the plague as well, so hopefully they can fight it off.
Favorite things so far: Soarin' and Test Track at Epcot and the crazy vegetables they grow in The Land exhibit. I also strangely enjoyed my tuna sandwich at Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
CLE
Stuck in the Cleveland Airport - three hours delayed for my flight home. Yes, that means I could have driven faster. But if I had driven, would Continental Airlines be paying for my dinner at Max & Erma's right now? No.
That said, I need to get back to Dayton so that I can drive home and drive my family back to Dayton to get on another airplane. Well, Sean is driving us to Dayton, but you get the idea. Mickey awaits. Then a flight to KC next week. Then the flight back home the following week. This may not be the only extended stay in an airport this month for me.
I enjoyed my time with the good folks at Fellowship Bible today. Last night, I had to kill a few hours, so I found a community theater in Chagrin Falls. I caught their last performance of Urine Town, a musical I've wanted to see for a while. It was fun. Three of the leading actors were great. The dancing was painful in parts, but for community theater it was good and a nice little find. Downtown Chagrin Falls is actually quite beautiful and retro-urban-trendy. It reminded me somewhat of Laguna Beach...which is really odd since it's in northern Ohio. The downtown is actually built around a waterfall...pretty cool:
That said, I need to get back to Dayton so that I can drive home and drive my family back to Dayton to get on another airplane. Well, Sean is driving us to Dayton, but you get the idea. Mickey awaits. Then a flight to KC next week. Then the flight back home the following week. This may not be the only extended stay in an airport this month for me.
I enjoyed my time with the good folks at Fellowship Bible today. Last night, I had to kill a few hours, so I found a community theater in Chagrin Falls. I caught their last performance of Urine Town, a musical I've wanted to see for a while. It was fun. Three of the leading actors were great. The dancing was painful in parts, but for community theater it was good and a nice little find. Downtown Chagrin Falls is actually quite beautiful and retro-urban-trendy. It reminded me somewhat of Laguna Beach...which is really odd since it's in northern Ohio. The downtown is actually built around a waterfall...pretty cool:
Friday, August 01, 2008
I'm Outta Here...
I'm headed up to speak again at Fellowship Bible Church in Cleveland this weekend. I really enjoyed my time with them earlier this year. It will be good to see them again. After that, it's all vacation all the time. We are headed to the self-proclaimed happiest place on earth for a week, then onto see my folks in Kansas City. It's kind of our first real family vacation ever since we have 1.) normally used any off time to come back to the midwest and visit family and 2.) always lived in a vacation hotspot. When you live in Las Vegas and OC, mini-vacations are easy to pull off.
For those of you in CIncy, the new AWE series launching this weekend at VCC is going to be very cool. I'm sorry to miss the first three weeks of it. (Not sorry enough to not go on vacation, but a little bummed.) Dave is back and rockin' a Dave Letterman post-writer's strike beard. You don't want to miss that.
On another note, I produced a few viral web commercials for my buddy Kevin Rains' auto body shop, Center City Collision. There are a lot more to come, but here's the first one on youtube:
For those of you in CIncy, the new AWE series launching this weekend at VCC is going to be very cool. I'm sorry to miss the first three weeks of it. (Not sorry enough to not go on vacation, but a little bummed.) Dave is back and rockin' a Dave Letterman post-writer's strike beard. You don't want to miss that.
On another note, I produced a few viral web commercials for my buddy Kevin Rains' auto body shop, Center City Collision. There are a lot more to come, but here's the first one on youtube:
Monday, July 28, 2008
A Tale of Two Kingdoms
I've been a little overwhelmed with requests for a copy of my fairy tale that I read this weekend at VCC. I'm happy to share it with anyone who'd like to read it. The easiest way is to read it online. I posted it a while ago at www.tommyandmary.blogspot.com. I read two chapters this weekend, but all nine chapters of the first book are online. The second book is about half finished.
Lots of people have asked about publishing. I've tried rather half-heartedly to get it published through the years, but nothing has come of it yet. I may give it another run now and see what happens, but I think the main thing is to make it available if it proves helpful to people.
Lots of people have asked about publishing. I've tried rather half-heartedly to get it published through the years, but nothing has come of it yet. I may give it another run now and see what happens, but I think the main thing is to make it available if it proves helpful to people.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Draggin'
I spoke a few blogs back about being tired. I am thoroughly surprised at how tired I am. It's not tired like I want to sleep or even waste a night in front of the TV. I'm idea tired. Maybe it's a full year of writing messages, screenplays, stage plays, videos, strategic plans and stories. Perhaps my current level of creative exhaustion has something to do with the amazing level of creative freedom I have been given lately. New ideas are normally the most exciting thing you can throw my way, but for the last two weeks they haven't done it for me. New ideas have been bouncing off me as if they were made of rubber. To be honest, writing this blog is a bit of a chore tonight. And as you can probably tell already, it's not even that great of a post. There is no way this is getting into my blog post hall of fame five years after I retire from blogging. But, alas, at least it's honest.
This coming weekend should be my last great creative burst before some time away. I can already foresee some excitement in the next run this fall. If I were Brett Favre I'd retire and come back in three weeks...but as it is, I'll just take a vacation.
This coming weekend should be my last great creative burst before some time away. I can already foresee some excitement in the next run this fall. If I were Brett Favre I'd retire and come back in three weeks...but as it is, I'll just take a vacation.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Here and There.
I had a great time at Southbrook Christian Church this weekend. It was fun to see our old friends Shawn and Amy Case, as well as Fred Brooks and his family from my home church in Worthington. I think I've had six or seven speaking engagements since moving to Cincy. It has all been part of the strange journey this year - thrown back into vocational ministry with a little whiplash to prove it. I have always enjoyed finding that ebb and flow between being grounded in a local community and visiting other places from time to time. It gives you a broader perspective on the state of the church and, at least it my case, stirs up my passion for life on the homefront.
Next week we'll wrap up The Lord's Prayer series at VCC. I'm looking forward to that too. And...speaking of the homefront, Dave's new book, The Outward Focused Life, is now available. Check it out below:
Friday, July 18, 2008
Vacation Awaits
As a general rule of thumb, when you don't have a "real job" you can't take a "real vacation." Two ways of thinking about that I guess. Since I was primarily freelancing for the last five or six years, we could never really leave town for an extended period of time. The upside to the downside was that whenever work slowed down, I'd find free time to hang with the family or do whatever. Life was full of mini-vacations.
Things are different now. I'm hitting the eleven month mark at VCC and starting to feel one-year tired. (I've found that there are different levels of tired - one-day tired, one-week tired, ten-years tired.) They all require different forms of rest to recover from. One-year tired is best solved with a few weeks of doing none of things that caused you to be tired in the first place...and that's what we are doing. Our first real vacation since the kids were babies. It all starts Aug. 5 and I will be completely ready for it.
Before then, I have three more weekends to teach and a few dozen meetings to attend. This week I'm up at Southbrook Christian in Dayton and then we wrap up the Kingdom Cliffsnotes series at VCC the following week. I'm hoping to finish strong and rest hard when it's over. (And then come back...the best vacations are about two days too long so that you want to come back.)
Hope you find some rest this summer too...
Things are different now. I'm hitting the eleven month mark at VCC and starting to feel one-year tired. (I've found that there are different levels of tired - one-day tired, one-week tired, ten-years tired.) They all require different forms of rest to recover from. One-year tired is best solved with a few weeks of doing none of things that caused you to be tired in the first place...and that's what we are doing. Our first real vacation since the kids were babies. It all starts Aug. 5 and I will be completely ready for it.
Before then, I have three more weekends to teach and a few dozen meetings to attend. This week I'm up at Southbrook Christian in Dayton and then we wrap up the Kingdom Cliffsnotes series at VCC the following week. I'm hoping to finish strong and rest hard when it's over. (And then come back...the best vacations are about two days too long so that you want to come back.)
Hope you find some rest this summer too...
Monday, July 14, 2008
Recommended Kingdom Reading...
We are knee-deep into Kingdom CliffsNotes, our VCC series on The Kingdom and The Lord's Prayer. Here are nine books I recommend for further study on the topic if you have an interest. This is an Amazon link, but you can also get them through the VCC Bookstore if you are a Vineyardite.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Way to go, Miah!
My friend Jeremiah Smith has had a pretty good week. Miah finished 146th out of nearly 7,000 in the main event of the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. He was actually leading the world championship at the end of Day Three (Thurday). He busted out earlier today taking a few unlucky flops with better cards. I couldn't be more proud of him.
Miah and I first met when he was a pastor in Manchester, NH. Right after we moved to California, Miah and Melissa moved to Vegas. They literally took our place at our house church and Miah was able to teach some at Apex in my absense. In fact, my first blog post ever was written at Miah and Melissa's house in NH on August 2, 2002...the first day I met him.
God is using Miah in a unique way. His recent press is well deserved...please take the time to read this article at ESPN. It's more about his faith than poker: Jeremiah on espn.com.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Wall-E
Wall-E is my movie of the year so far. It's Pixar's version of The Matrix, attempting to craft the existential issues of our time into a new mythic world. Joseph Campbell, George Orwell, Ayn Rand and Isaac Asimov would be proud. It's a kid friendly movie for thinking adults...high recommend.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
The Parable of the Brick Wall
Imagine a brick wall.
What you are imagining is not nearly big enough. Imagine yourself standing in front of a massive brick wall. Now, look to the right. The brick wall continues as far as you can see. Now look to the left. It has no end. Look up. As far as you can see - past the clouds and into outer space. The brick wall never ends.
Now imagine that this brick wall is real. And that it exists in the future. This is the wall that separates the past and the present from the future. Behind the wall exists Heaven. Heaven is a good place and you'd like to be there. What little we know of Heaven is mysterious, but we know that it is a good place - no death, no mourning, no crying, no pain. God reigns in Heaven with a loving rule. Heaven has the power to heal.
Now imagine a homeless man standing in front of the brick wall. He is in his early thirties. He eyes the wall with a crazed look. He clinches his right hand into a fist. The muscles in his forearm tighten. His triceps and biceps bulge. With one massive swing he punches the wall with his bare fist. The wall is unharmed. It's a brick wall. The man's knuckles turn red as he makes his fist again. He punches the wall harder. Blood spurts in all directions. Several bones in his hand shatter. His eyes glaze over like a soldier in a firefight. He wails on that wall. Swing after swing. Punch after punch. Eventually every bone in his right hand is broken. It is mangled - a bloody useless stump. He takes a breath. He thinks. Then he makes a fist with his left hand and begins to punch the wall over and over until that hand too is shredded and useless.
Remember, this man stands in the future. But word of his insanity reaches the present and the past. Someone is trying to release Heaven. This news threatens the powerful - the tyrants and despots, the violence peddlers, the religious con artists, the greedy self-centered tycoons. From the past and the present, these violent men rush into the future all the way to that brick wall. When they see the man, they attack him with sticks and metal rods and rocks. The man takes their blows with an unshakable gaze targeted directly on that wall. When he gets a foot free from their grasp, he kicks the wall breaking his toes. He knees the wall, shattering his kneecap. As the evil men beat him down, he manages one last open handed slap on the wall before he collapses...and then he dies.
Arrogant and proud, the evil and powerful men from the past and present turn around and stroll back to their time and place, leaving the man’s lifeless body to decay.
And then the most remarkable thing happens. One brick, about five feet from the ground starts to shake. The mortar around the brick cracks. The brick shimmies. The magic of Heaven pushes the loosened brick forward until it falls squarely on the back of the dead man.
And then all of history holds her breath as Heaven begins to leak. Just tiny droplets at first. Heaven trickles out of that hole in the wall and lands on the mangled, lifeless hands of the homeless man. When Heaven touches his hands they are instantly healed. Heaven drips on his feet, his knees. And eventually, Heaven splashes on his heart. The man's life returns. He stands to see the hole in Heaven's wall. He sees Heaven beginning to flow out of the future toward the present. He smirks and turns on his heels and sprints from the future, through our present and into our past. He sprints back to first century Palestine and pokes his head into human history. Breathless and battle-tested, he speaks one message to anyone who will listen. "Heaven is coming!" He didn't say, "You can go to heaven," but "Heaven is coming to you." He cried out, "Get ready. Turn toward the future and away form the past and present. Align yourself because Heaven is coming!" Even as he said these words, Heaven was beginning to flow into the past from the future. "Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!" It's all he could think to say to us…it was the whole reason he came.
What you are imagining is not nearly big enough. Imagine yourself standing in front of a massive brick wall. Now, look to the right. The brick wall continues as far as you can see. Now look to the left. It has no end. Look up. As far as you can see - past the clouds and into outer space. The brick wall never ends.
Now imagine that this brick wall is real. And that it exists in the future. This is the wall that separates the past and the present from the future. Behind the wall exists Heaven. Heaven is a good place and you'd like to be there. What little we know of Heaven is mysterious, but we know that it is a good place - no death, no mourning, no crying, no pain. God reigns in Heaven with a loving rule. Heaven has the power to heal.
Now imagine a homeless man standing in front of the brick wall. He is in his early thirties. He eyes the wall with a crazed look. He clinches his right hand into a fist. The muscles in his forearm tighten. His triceps and biceps bulge. With one massive swing he punches the wall with his bare fist. The wall is unharmed. It's a brick wall. The man's knuckles turn red as he makes his fist again. He punches the wall harder. Blood spurts in all directions. Several bones in his hand shatter. His eyes glaze over like a soldier in a firefight. He wails on that wall. Swing after swing. Punch after punch. Eventually every bone in his right hand is broken. It is mangled - a bloody useless stump. He takes a breath. He thinks. Then he makes a fist with his left hand and begins to punch the wall over and over until that hand too is shredded and useless.
Remember, this man stands in the future. But word of his insanity reaches the present and the past. Someone is trying to release Heaven. This news threatens the powerful - the tyrants and despots, the violence peddlers, the religious con artists, the greedy self-centered tycoons. From the past and the present, these violent men rush into the future all the way to that brick wall. When they see the man, they attack him with sticks and metal rods and rocks. The man takes their blows with an unshakable gaze targeted directly on that wall. When he gets a foot free from their grasp, he kicks the wall breaking his toes. He knees the wall, shattering his kneecap. As the evil men beat him down, he manages one last open handed slap on the wall before he collapses...and then he dies.
Arrogant and proud, the evil and powerful men from the past and present turn around and stroll back to their time and place, leaving the man’s lifeless body to decay.
And then the most remarkable thing happens. One brick, about five feet from the ground starts to shake. The mortar around the brick cracks. The brick shimmies. The magic of Heaven pushes the loosened brick forward until it falls squarely on the back of the dead man.
And then all of history holds her breath as Heaven begins to leak. Just tiny droplets at first. Heaven trickles out of that hole in the wall and lands on the mangled, lifeless hands of the homeless man. When Heaven touches his hands they are instantly healed. Heaven drips on his feet, his knees. And eventually, Heaven splashes on his heart. The man's life returns. He stands to see the hole in Heaven's wall. He sees Heaven beginning to flow out of the future toward the present. He smirks and turns on his heels and sprints from the future, through our present and into our past. He sprints back to first century Palestine and pokes his head into human history. Breathless and battle-tested, he speaks one message to anyone who will listen. "Heaven is coming!" He didn't say, "You can go to heaven," but "Heaven is coming to you." He cried out, "Get ready. Turn toward the future and away form the past and present. Align yourself because Heaven is coming!" Even as he said these words, Heaven was beginning to flow into the past from the future. "Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!" It's all he could think to say to us…it was the whole reason he came.
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
The Power of a Milkshake
When I was 13 years old I moved from Ashland, Kentucky to Worthington, Ohio - just north of Columbus. I was a chubby kid with a thick Appalachian accent, brown glasses and a salad bowl haircut. We moved in the summer just before my eighth grade year. When school started I couldn't buy a friend. I was made fun of everyday for the way I looked or talked or acted. I've had a few rough years as an adult, but 1986 was the worst of my life. Through the real, enduring pain of that year the true course of my life opened up. That year taught me that pain eventually passes, or more truthfully, we eventually pass through our pain. The pain changes us. Without that year of pain, I may not have had the courage to make the big moves of my life - to Las Vegas, to LA, to Cincinnati. Without that pain, I may never have noticed the pain in others' eyes. Everything I do is informed through the eyes of the outcast and unwanted...I see everything in every room I enter through those eyes. As a teacher and storyteller, I see through those eyes.
What got me through the worst year of my life? A milkshake. Specifically, a 28 year-old ex-jock buying me a milkshake at The Dairy Queen on Sawmill Road in Dublin, Ohio. I have no idea what we talked about. I can't remember anything about that meeting except that we met at that particular DQ. I just know that that guy was my first friend in Ohio. I know that he introduced me to some other kids who accepted me. I know that he stood beside me when I made a public commitment to enter ministry. I know that he flew 3,000 miles on his own dime to be my best man in my wedding. I know that I followed him to Las Vegas with my wife of six months because I couldn't imagine wanting to be anywhere else. I know that he was among the first to hold both of my babies. I know that he patiently and selflessly waited for me to learn hard lessons in my own time. I know he continued to love me through my worst mistakes and through my multiple career changes. I know that his brother is the reason I'm back in vocational ministry.
I'm just saying, a milkshake goes a long way. We just spent the last two hours together. This time he bought me coffee. Maybe at some point I should start paying for these meetings...
What got me through the worst year of my life? A milkshake. Specifically, a 28 year-old ex-jock buying me a milkshake at The Dairy Queen on Sawmill Road in Dublin, Ohio. I have no idea what we talked about. I can't remember anything about that meeting except that we met at that particular DQ. I just know that that guy was my first friend in Ohio. I know that he introduced me to some other kids who accepted me. I know that he stood beside me when I made a public commitment to enter ministry. I know that he flew 3,000 miles on his own dime to be my best man in my wedding. I know that I followed him to Las Vegas with my wife of six months because I couldn't imagine wanting to be anywhere else. I know that he was among the first to hold both of my babies. I know that he patiently and selflessly waited for me to learn hard lessons in my own time. I know he continued to love me through my worst mistakes and through my multiple career changes. I know that his brother is the reason I'm back in vocational ministry.
I'm just saying, a milkshake goes a long way. We just spent the last two hours together. This time he bought me coffee. Maybe at some point I should start paying for these meetings...
Friday, June 27, 2008
Iowa Flood Relief
Our outreach department is pulling together a team of people to help out those displaced by the floods in and around Cedar Rapids, IA. The trip will be July 7-13. If you are interested, click here.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
The Kingdom is Coming.
Jesus came to earth with one prevailing, revolutionary, and controversial message. He came announcing a new reality for mankind, dramatically turning human history on its head. All we know of Jesus - his teachings, his morality, his claims, his story - stems from one arching idea. That the Kingdom has come...and is still coming. He spent three years teaching about it, proclaiming its reality and showing us what life within it felt like. Something so big and overwhelming could never be stated in just a few words...or could it? Jesus summed it up in 57 words:
πάτερ ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς ἁγιασθήτω τὸ ὄνομά σου ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον καὶ ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰ ὀφειλήματα ἡμῶν ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφήκαμεν τοῖς ὀφειλέταις ἡμῶν καὶ μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν ἀλλὰ ῥῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ
On Independence Day weekend we start a new four-week series at VCC looking at Jesus' summary of life in the Kingdom. Hope to see ya there.
πάτερ ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς ἁγιασθήτω τὸ ὄνομά σου ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον καὶ ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰ ὀφειλήματα ἡμῶν ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφήκαμεν τοῖς ὀφειλέταις ἡμῶν καὶ μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν ἀλλὰ ῥῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ
On Independence Day weekend we start a new four-week series at VCC looking at Jesus' summary of life in the Kingdom. Hope to see ya there.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Summer Speaking Schedule
I'll be teaching a lot over the next six or seven weeks...feel free to come by if I'm headed to your neighborhood.
6-28/29 - Eastside Christian Church, Cincinnati, "No Perfect People Allowed"
7-3 - The Lift at VCC.
7-5/6 - VCC Weekend Celebrations, "New Series: Kingdom Cliffs Notes"
7-12/13 - VCC Weekend Celebrations, "Kingdom Cliffs Notes"
7-19/20 - Southbrook Christian Church, Dayton.
7-26/27 - VCC Weekend Celebrations, "Kingdom Cliffs Notes"
8-2/3 - Fellowship Bible Church, Cleveland.
6-28/29 - Eastside Christian Church, Cincinnati, "No Perfect People Allowed"
7-3 - The Lift at VCC.
7-5/6 - VCC Weekend Celebrations, "New Series: Kingdom Cliffs Notes"
7-12/13 - VCC Weekend Celebrations, "Kingdom Cliffs Notes"
7-19/20 - Southbrook Christian Church, Dayton.
7-26/27 - VCC Weekend Celebrations, "Kingdom Cliffs Notes"
8-2/3 - Fellowship Bible Church, Cleveland.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Anesthesia
At 9:00 a.m. this morning I went under the knife...all the way under. I had to have a relatively simple dental surgery, but they needed to put me under for it. The last time I was under anesthesia was twenty years ago when I had my wisdom teeth removed. I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed not enduring the needling, slicing and prodding that took place in my mouth for 45 minutes, but the hangover has been really nasty. I can't hold food down and have a terrible headache. Typing isn't helping at all..so I'm gonna quit now.
Friday, June 20, 2008
What I Believe about Belief.
There was a time in my life when I honestly had no idea what I believed about anything. I had leanings, opinions and thoughts on everything, but no firm stances. Firm stances worry me because nothing can send a life askew quite like having a firm stance on something only to find out that your firm stance is wrong or incomplete or misguided. My mid to late twenties were years of desperation and tormented truth-seeking. When I started to come out of my questions with a few answers I wrote an essay to try to verbalize what I believe about everything. I nervously re-read it today hoping my convictions hadn't changed. Strangely enough, they hadn't. I stil believe these things, and looking back over the last ten years I can say that these beliefs shaped most every move I made. Some of my friends here have been asking what I believe about certain theological issues lately...maybe this will help those of you hoping to see a few inches deeper into my soul. (Warning: There are a few big words...when you are writing what you believe about belief big words tend to slip in...)
"My Convictions: A personal epistemological treatise."
KINGDOM:
God is Sovereign. The Creator, Sustainer, and Consummator of the universe. He alone deserves praise, worship and homage. He truly is King of all that was, is and will be.
As King, God has always desired a people to be his followers, the people of God. In this regard, God is truly "political" in the literal since of the word, but his "polis" surpasses the kingdoms of this world, which amount to nothing compared to his Kingdom. In the Old Testament, God elected the nation of Israel to be his chosen people.
As the entire New Testament testifies, Jesus came to proclaim access to the Kingdom of God, fulfilling and completing the Law and the Prophets of the Jews. Jesus came, announcing the good news (gospel) that the Kingdom had broken into humanity in a new, fresh, and eschatologically significant way. Jesus himself was the Kingdom as he incarnated God among us. As the Messiah/Christ (literally, King) Jesus offered access into the Kingdom of God to all who would listen to his proclamation, turn from their sin and faithfully believe in his authority.
The reality of this new "Kingdom-among-us" radically transformed the lives of Jesus' closest friends and disciples. Since the death, burial and resurrection of Christ the reality and power of the Kingdom of God has been made available to all people who will continue to follow Christ as his early friends did.
MISSION:
God, by nature, is a missional being. He is a missionary God. Even within Himself, He is a sending God. (The Father sent the Son, the Son sent the Spirit.) The people of God reflect his missional character by allowing themselves to be sent by Him, proclaiming life in the Kingdom and incarnating the love of God in their time and place. All disciples of Jesus follow Him as King and are sent by Him as his ambassadors to the world.
The people of God are called to live as resident aliens in a world that is not their own. Therefore, for every true follower of Christ, their world (their time, place and culture) is their mission field, not their ultimate home. They are residents of the Kingdom of God-both the Kingdom of the here-and-now and the Kingdom that is to come.
A true missional spirit of the people of God allows for outsiders to partake in the community and joy of authentic Kingdom living, making "evangelism" a natural and organic process that flows from any true missional community of God-followers. The numerical growth of Jesus-disciples in any given culture is always connected to the depth of love and community that the people of God share with each other.
COMMUNITY:
God is an eternal community of one-ness. Though He is Three, He is also One. God exists in everlasting love within his own being-Father, Son and Spirit. God created mankind to live in community with Himself. He desires a people.
Men and women are created with an innate longing for community with God and with each other. However, the human race both originally and continually opts to sin against God. As human beings continue to prefer their own will to the will of God, true community with God and other people becomes impossible for fallen people. However, through Christ, God has returned the gift of community to the human race.
Through the faithfulness of Christ, community occurs within the context of the Kingdom of God as followers of Jesus trust the Holy Spirit and love one another in response to first being loved by God. The Holy Spirit intercedes by giving gifts to believers for the building up of the Body of Christ.
When the Kingdom of God is proclaimed and received in a given locality, the Holy Spirit forms the people of God into a church (literally, "called-out-ones"). The local church functions as the people of God and as the embassy of the Kingdom of God in a given culture.
The Church as the eschatological sign, foretaste and agent of the Kingdom:
The Church is not the Kingdom of God. The Church submits to the Kingdom as its sign, foretaste and agent. The Church is a particularly eschatological phenomenon. This means that the church belongs to the last days (the "eschaton"). These last days came with the life, death, burial and resurrection of Christ and will be completed upon his second coming to earth. The church exists in the interim days between the beginning and the end of the eschaton. The church is a pilgrim people on a voyage toward the summation of this created realm and the ultimate and total reign of God as the true and only King.
The church is the sign of the Kingdom in that it is not the Kingdom, but it points people toward the rule of God. The church is the witness of the reality that the Kingdom of God is both already alive among us and will one day fully come. In this regard, the church exists to proclaim King Jesus and his Kingdom to the world.
The church is the foretaste of the Kingdom in that it contains the true people of God. Though the Kingdom has not come fully, it has come already. The rule and love of God may be felt and understood within the church in a real and dynamic way. Life in the church prepares us and fits us for life in the Kingdom.
The church is the agent of the Kingdom in that it does the work of the Kingdom through the power of the Holy Spirit. God normally chooses his people to do his work. With this understanding, the church truly incarnates King Jesus and becomes his Body and his Family on earth. The people of God function as the hands, feet and voice of Christ to those who are both near and far from Him.
The Church as the counter-cultural community of Jesus in a specific culture:
The church exists as a community of Jesus followers. The community, however, is normally, if not always, counter-cultural to the dominant structures of the time and place where the church exists. The local church sees itself as the "polis" or city of God. Members of the church allow themselves to be led only by God (their true Lord), not by the epistemology, economy or politics of their culture.
More often than not, the politics of Jesus are different than the dominant worldview being lived out day to day by the people of any culture. As a general rule, when the church becomes too central or cozy with the powers that be, the church loses its marginality, its true power as the eschatological sign of the Kingdom of God. Therefore, the church should normally have a marginal place in society. It creates its own cultural norms that are often counter to the norms of an anthropocentric worldview. The church strives to live true to the teachings of Jesus and to model his faithfulness to the world. If Jesus was marginalized, persecuted and hated (and he was), those who follow him should expect the same treatment.
Contrary to popular sentiment, the church grows in a more substantial way when it retains its position at the margins of society. The church dies when it converts to culture.
However, the church cannot afford to ignore the culture in which it lives as resident aliens. Since the church is a missional community and mouthpiece for the Kingdom, it should familiarize itself with culture so that it may indigenize the gospel of Jesus in a way that allows sinners an opportunity to repent and accept life. The opposite fallacy of converting to culture is ignoring culture.
The Church as the organic family of God:
The church is the family of God. The members of the church are sons and daughters of their Father God, and brothers and sisters to one another. The leader of the church is the head of the family: King Jesus. Jesus leads every church through the supernatural gifting and presence of the Holy Spirit. No true church is built by people apart from the guidance of the Spirit.
The church operates more like an organism than a business or an institution. It contains structure, but it is structured through spiritual direction and giftedness, not according to the popular or cultural methods of the day. The church, the Body of Christ, grows organically, similar to the way a natural body grows physically.
Churches grow optimally when they multiply and "give birth" to new churches. This "multiplication" growth, sometimes called a church planting movement, allows the church to expand in all directions while giving each church the opportunity to remain small enough to be an intimate, holistic community of faith.
INDIVIDUAL MEANING:
Whether people realize it or not, we all have a foundational need for meaning in life. Most people will eventually find themselves asking the three big questions: Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?
God has put his thumbprint on our soul. There exists in each individual what Blaise Pascal called a "God-shaped vacuum". We, as individuals, have been searching to fill the hole in our heart with everything in the world only to find that nothing in the world can fill our emptiness. As Augustine said of his search for God, "Our hearts are restless until they rest in thee."
Individuals are created in the image of God. We naturally seek for meaning as part of our created-ness. In essence, the basic needs of meaning surpass all other human needs as they stem from the root of a person's being. God has arranged what Peter Kreeft calls the "three prophets" within the human soul. These three foundational longings are the pathways that God uses to draw men and women to himself:
Beauty:
God is beautiful and His creation reflects His beauty. The beauty of the world testifies to God's character and person. Individuals are able to commune with God through their imaginative and creative potential. For this reason, we value the arts, expression, and creativity.
Truth:
God is true and has made His truth known in the Scriptures and through the person of Jesus Christ. Reason and knowledge are from God and point the creation to the Creator. Individuals are able to commune with God through their intellectual and reasoning potential. For this reason, we value to know, live and proclaim Truth.
Goodness:
God is good and righteous. All good things are from God alone and point seekers of righteousness to Him. Individuals are able to commune with God through their conscience and innate attraction to goodness and virtue. For this reason, we value right and disciplined living.
"My Convictions: A personal epistemological treatise."
KINGDOM:
God is Sovereign. The Creator, Sustainer, and Consummator of the universe. He alone deserves praise, worship and homage. He truly is King of all that was, is and will be.
As King, God has always desired a people to be his followers, the people of God. In this regard, God is truly "political" in the literal since of the word, but his "polis" surpasses the kingdoms of this world, which amount to nothing compared to his Kingdom. In the Old Testament, God elected the nation of Israel to be his chosen people.
As the entire New Testament testifies, Jesus came to proclaim access to the Kingdom of God, fulfilling and completing the Law and the Prophets of the Jews. Jesus came, announcing the good news (gospel) that the Kingdom had broken into humanity in a new, fresh, and eschatologically significant way. Jesus himself was the Kingdom as he incarnated God among us. As the Messiah/Christ (literally, King) Jesus offered access into the Kingdom of God to all who would listen to his proclamation, turn from their sin and faithfully believe in his authority.
The reality of this new "Kingdom-among-us" radically transformed the lives of Jesus' closest friends and disciples. Since the death, burial and resurrection of Christ the reality and power of the Kingdom of God has been made available to all people who will continue to follow Christ as his early friends did.
MISSION:
God, by nature, is a missional being. He is a missionary God. Even within Himself, He is a sending God. (The Father sent the Son, the Son sent the Spirit.) The people of God reflect his missional character by allowing themselves to be sent by Him, proclaiming life in the Kingdom and incarnating the love of God in their time and place. All disciples of Jesus follow Him as King and are sent by Him as his ambassadors to the world.
The people of God are called to live as resident aliens in a world that is not their own. Therefore, for every true follower of Christ, their world (their time, place and culture) is their mission field, not their ultimate home. They are residents of the Kingdom of God-both the Kingdom of the here-and-now and the Kingdom that is to come.
A true missional spirit of the people of God allows for outsiders to partake in the community and joy of authentic Kingdom living, making "evangelism" a natural and organic process that flows from any true missional community of God-followers. The numerical growth of Jesus-disciples in any given culture is always connected to the depth of love and community that the people of God share with each other.
COMMUNITY:
God is an eternal community of one-ness. Though He is Three, He is also One. God exists in everlasting love within his own being-Father, Son and Spirit. God created mankind to live in community with Himself. He desires a people.
Men and women are created with an innate longing for community with God and with each other. However, the human race both originally and continually opts to sin against God. As human beings continue to prefer their own will to the will of God, true community with God and other people becomes impossible for fallen people. However, through Christ, God has returned the gift of community to the human race.
Through the faithfulness of Christ, community occurs within the context of the Kingdom of God as followers of Jesus trust the Holy Spirit and love one another in response to first being loved by God. The Holy Spirit intercedes by giving gifts to believers for the building up of the Body of Christ.
When the Kingdom of God is proclaimed and received in a given locality, the Holy Spirit forms the people of God into a church (literally, "called-out-ones"). The local church functions as the people of God and as the embassy of the Kingdom of God in a given culture.
The Church as the eschatological sign, foretaste and agent of the Kingdom:
The Church is not the Kingdom of God. The Church submits to the Kingdom as its sign, foretaste and agent. The Church is a particularly eschatological phenomenon. This means that the church belongs to the last days (the "eschaton"). These last days came with the life, death, burial and resurrection of Christ and will be completed upon his second coming to earth. The church exists in the interim days between the beginning and the end of the eschaton. The church is a pilgrim people on a voyage toward the summation of this created realm and the ultimate and total reign of God as the true and only King.
The church is the sign of the Kingdom in that it is not the Kingdom, but it points people toward the rule of God. The church is the witness of the reality that the Kingdom of God is both already alive among us and will one day fully come. In this regard, the church exists to proclaim King Jesus and his Kingdom to the world.
The church is the foretaste of the Kingdom in that it contains the true people of God. Though the Kingdom has not come fully, it has come already. The rule and love of God may be felt and understood within the church in a real and dynamic way. Life in the church prepares us and fits us for life in the Kingdom.
The church is the agent of the Kingdom in that it does the work of the Kingdom through the power of the Holy Spirit. God normally chooses his people to do his work. With this understanding, the church truly incarnates King Jesus and becomes his Body and his Family on earth. The people of God function as the hands, feet and voice of Christ to those who are both near and far from Him.
The Church as the counter-cultural community of Jesus in a specific culture:
The church exists as a community of Jesus followers. The community, however, is normally, if not always, counter-cultural to the dominant structures of the time and place where the church exists. The local church sees itself as the "polis" or city of God. Members of the church allow themselves to be led only by God (their true Lord), not by the epistemology, economy or politics of their culture.
More often than not, the politics of Jesus are different than the dominant worldview being lived out day to day by the people of any culture. As a general rule, when the church becomes too central or cozy with the powers that be, the church loses its marginality, its true power as the eschatological sign of the Kingdom of God. Therefore, the church should normally have a marginal place in society. It creates its own cultural norms that are often counter to the norms of an anthropocentric worldview. The church strives to live true to the teachings of Jesus and to model his faithfulness to the world. If Jesus was marginalized, persecuted and hated (and he was), those who follow him should expect the same treatment.
Contrary to popular sentiment, the church grows in a more substantial way when it retains its position at the margins of society. The church dies when it converts to culture.
However, the church cannot afford to ignore the culture in which it lives as resident aliens. Since the church is a missional community and mouthpiece for the Kingdom, it should familiarize itself with culture so that it may indigenize the gospel of Jesus in a way that allows sinners an opportunity to repent and accept life. The opposite fallacy of converting to culture is ignoring culture.
The Church as the organic family of God:
The church is the family of God. The members of the church are sons and daughters of their Father God, and brothers and sisters to one another. The leader of the church is the head of the family: King Jesus. Jesus leads every church through the supernatural gifting and presence of the Holy Spirit. No true church is built by people apart from the guidance of the Spirit.
The church operates more like an organism than a business or an institution. It contains structure, but it is structured through spiritual direction and giftedness, not according to the popular or cultural methods of the day. The church, the Body of Christ, grows organically, similar to the way a natural body grows physically.
Churches grow optimally when they multiply and "give birth" to new churches. This "multiplication" growth, sometimes called a church planting movement, allows the church to expand in all directions while giving each church the opportunity to remain small enough to be an intimate, holistic community of faith.
INDIVIDUAL MEANING:
Whether people realize it or not, we all have a foundational need for meaning in life. Most people will eventually find themselves asking the three big questions: Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?
God has put his thumbprint on our soul. There exists in each individual what Blaise Pascal called a "God-shaped vacuum". We, as individuals, have been searching to fill the hole in our heart with everything in the world only to find that nothing in the world can fill our emptiness. As Augustine said of his search for God, "Our hearts are restless until they rest in thee."
Individuals are created in the image of God. We naturally seek for meaning as part of our created-ness. In essence, the basic needs of meaning surpass all other human needs as they stem from the root of a person's being. God has arranged what Peter Kreeft calls the "three prophets" within the human soul. These three foundational longings are the pathways that God uses to draw men and women to himself:
Beauty:
God is beautiful and His creation reflects His beauty. The beauty of the world testifies to God's character and person. Individuals are able to commune with God through their imaginative and creative potential. For this reason, we value the arts, expression, and creativity.
Truth:
God is true and has made His truth known in the Scriptures and through the person of Jesus Christ. Reason and knowledge are from God and point the creation to the Creator. Individuals are able to commune with God through their intellectual and reasoning potential. For this reason, we value to know, live and proclaim Truth.
Goodness:
God is good and righteous. All good things are from God alone and point seekers of righteousness to Him. Individuals are able to commune with God through their conscience and innate attraction to goodness and virtue. For this reason, we value right and disciplined living.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Happy Birthday to Eli.
Eli turns 9 today! We are going laser tagging in a few minutes to celebrate. It's an honor for me to be his dad.
Friday, June 13, 2008
This Weekend
I'm taking the weekend off work and producing some web video commercials for Center City Collision. My friend Kevin Rains owns the joint and it should be a good time.
Some old friends from California - Sam and Sid- are coming into film the videos. I acted in a few of Sid's student films when he was a student at Chapman University. They are very talented and funny guys. I'm looking forward to hanging out with them this weekend.
Some old friends from California - Sam and Sid- are coming into film the videos. I acted in a few of Sid's student films when he was a student at Chapman University. They are very talented and funny guys. I'm looking forward to hanging out with them this weekend.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
What's in a name?
I talked at VCC this weekend about the wrestling match in Genesis 32 between Jacob and a man/angel/God. Jacob wrestles with him until he is blessed. The blessing comes in the form of a name change. Jacob (deceiver) is re-named Israel (God-struggler). Afterward today I was thinking more about Jacob during Aidan's baseball game. There's a kid on the team named Benjamin. Benjamin was Jacob's baby - his last born son. Only the second son of Rachel, the love of Jacob's life.
Here's the passage in Genesis 35:
16 Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty. 17 And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, "Don't be afraid, for you have another son." 18 As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin.
There's a lot of real life joy and pain packed into those three verses. A big move, the birth of a son, the death of a beloved wife. In overwhelming pain, Rachel names Jacob's twelth son Ben-Oni. Ben-Oni means "son of my troubles/pain." Ben-Oni literally killed Rachel. He caused her so much pain that she died. As a result, she curses him with his name. Trust me. If this kid tried to make it through Genesis with a name like "son of pain" it would have been ugly. Jacob steps in. Amidst his grief, he holds his baby. He looks into that little guy's eyes and says, "No. Not Ben-Oni, but Ben-jamin." Not son of pain. But, son of my right hand. Son of my glory. Son of my joy.
He removes the curse and redeems his son with a blessing. Where did Jacob, the schemer learn to do that? He didn't. Jacob doesn't do stuff like that. But an old limping man named Israel does. Those who are blessed bless best. Genesis 49 is an entire chapter devoted to Jacob's last words on earth. They are all blessings spoken over his children. His story comes full circle in redemption: Jacob, the blessing stealer, becomes Israel, the blessing giver.
Here's the passage in Genesis 35:
16 Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty. 17 And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, "Don't be afraid, for you have another son." 18 As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin.
There's a lot of real life joy and pain packed into those three verses. A big move, the birth of a son, the death of a beloved wife. In overwhelming pain, Rachel names Jacob's twelth son Ben-Oni. Ben-Oni means "son of my troubles/pain." Ben-Oni literally killed Rachel. He caused her so much pain that she died. As a result, she curses him with his name. Trust me. If this kid tried to make it through Genesis with a name like "son of pain" it would have been ugly. Jacob steps in. Amidst his grief, he holds his baby. He looks into that little guy's eyes and says, "No. Not Ben-Oni, but Ben-jamin." Not son of pain. But, son of my right hand. Son of my glory. Son of my joy.
He removes the curse and redeems his son with a blessing. Where did Jacob, the schemer learn to do that? He didn't. Jacob doesn't do stuff like that. But an old limping man named Israel does. Those who are blessed bless best. Genesis 49 is an entire chapter devoted to Jacob's last words on earth. They are all blessings spoken over his children. His story comes full circle in redemption: Jacob, the blessing stealer, becomes Israel, the blessing giver.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
The Future is Today
I realized today that I wanted to re-read Watchman Nee's book Changed into his Likeness before teaching tonight. However, I don't own the book anymore - no idea where it went. I called three local bookstores, but they all wanted to order it for me. They wanted to charge around ten bucks and have it for me in ten days. That wasn't going to help me for tonight at all.
So I googled the book and found www.ebookmall.com. I was able to buy the book in e-book form in one minute for $3.25. A few days ago, a friend told me that books would be replaced by e-books in a few years. I passionately professed my loyalty to real books...until I needed one asap today. I'm a flip-flopping hypocrite.
I'd better go read my first e-book now...
So I googled the book and found www.ebookmall.com. I was able to buy the book in e-book form in one minute for $3.25. A few days ago, a friend told me that books would be replaced by e-books in a few years. I passionately professed my loyalty to real books...until I needed one asap today. I'm a flip-flopping hypocrite.
I'd better go read my first e-book now...
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Last Call for Improv - Tomorrow (fri) Night...
Q City Improv Show:
Friday at the Cincinnati Ballet Tech. The show starts at 8pm. Tickets at the door in the $5 range. Some PG-13 content.
The address is 6543 Montgomery Road Cincinnati, OH 45213.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Dang Tornadoes
So we survived our first Tornado Warning as Ohio residents tonight. I suppose some day they will be old hat and we will run out into the front yard like legless Lt. Dan yelling, "Is that the best you got?" But us midwest newbies spent thirty minutes huddled in the basement. I think it was justified. The weather guy pretty much called out our zip code and said to make peace with our Maker. There was a funnel cloud in Monroe a few miles away.
Side note: Funnel Clouds are so close to Funnel Cakes. One is deadly, the other delicious. Life is strange like that.
Regardless, we survived to hide in our basement another day. Should be a fun summer.
Side note: Funnel Clouds are so close to Funnel Cakes. One is deadly, the other delicious. Life is strange like that.
Regardless, we survived to hide in our basement another day. Should be a fun summer.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
As I was saying in my last post...
I'm not really trying to make this a sports blog, but I give you the walk-off homerun:
Saturday, May 31, 2008
A Good Night.
We had a great night at the ballpark. Papaw Colbert (Deb's Dad) took the boys and me to see the Reds and Braves tonight at Great American. The Reds won in eleven innings. Jay Bruce went 4 for 5, raising his career batting average to .571. I'm just saying, he might end up panning out. Maybe my kids will brag that they saw Jay Bruce's third game ever when he scored the winning run in extra innings. After the game they put on a big fireworks show. I'm not a huge fireworks fan, but it was about as good as it gets. The kids loved it and fell asleep on the way home.
I can remember seeing the Reds every summer when I was their age. We'd drive up from Kentucky to watch Rose, Morgan, Bench and the gang. Moving back has made it much easier to reconnect with the Red Legs.
Here's to summer and to baseball's oldest professional team.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Q City Improv Show
I'm part of a little improv troupe called The Q City Players. We had our first show a few weeks ago, but elected not to publicize it much. This one is open for all who wanna come by...
Our next show is June 6, a week from this coming friday at the Cincinnati Ballet Tech. The show starts at 8pm. Tickets at the door in the $5 range. Some PG-13 content.
The address is 6543 Montgomery Road Cincinnati, OH 45213.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
John Ortberg
I mentioned John Ortberg this weekend at VCC in my message. John was a very influential communicator for me early in my life when I was trying to find my own voice and teaching style. Back then he was at Willow Creek church in Chicago. His wife Nancy befriended me after she had assumed the next gen ministry stuff at Willow. They were both very kind and gracious to me as a kid in my early twenties full of questions and ideas.
I lost touch with them, but recently discovered the website of their church in Menlo Park, CA. All of John and Nancy's messages are available for free there in manuscript form or in audio/video stream. I just think it's a great resource if you are looking for a new voice to speak into your life.
So, check it out at www.mppcfamily.org.
I lost touch with them, but recently discovered the website of their church in Menlo Park, CA. All of John and Nancy's messages are available for free there in manuscript form or in audio/video stream. I just think it's a great resource if you are looking for a new voice to speak into your life.
So, check it out at www.mppcfamily.org.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Cellulitis
I got the cellulitis. Not cellulite, but cellulitis. It's a disease. I'm sure I have some cellulite too...it just hurts less than my cellultis.
The good news is that it is now being cured, I hope, by antibiotics. Two nights ago I awoke in the middle of the night with chest pain. After ruling out a heart attack and self-diagnosisng heart burn I went back to sleep. My chest continued to hurt yesterday until I eventually grew an silver dollar sized lump under the left nip. It's since grown to tennis ball size. It feels like Chuck Norris round-housed my nipple. (I'm assuming we all know what that feels like.)
The doctor said it probably started with a rebel chest hair that decided to grow into my skin instead of out of it. My rugged manliness finally got the best of me. Darn chest hairs.
It could have been a bad thing if I had let it go for another week...but as it is, I have antibiotics and pain killers and the promise of relative health within ten days.
If only these magic pills cured my cellulite too.
The good news is that it is now being cured, I hope, by antibiotics. Two nights ago I awoke in the middle of the night with chest pain. After ruling out a heart attack and self-diagnosisng heart burn I went back to sleep. My chest continued to hurt yesterday until I eventually grew an silver dollar sized lump under the left nip. It's since grown to tennis ball size. It feels like Chuck Norris round-housed my nipple. (I'm assuming we all know what that feels like.)
The doctor said it probably started with a rebel chest hair that decided to grow into my skin instead of out of it. My rugged manliness finally got the best of me. Darn chest hairs.
It could have been a bad thing if I had let it go for another week...but as it is, I have antibiotics and pain killers and the promise of relative health within ten days.
If only these magic pills cured my cellulite too.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
All the way to Kingdom Come
Today wrapped the Vineyard Regional Conference at VCC. It was my first official Vineyard gathering. I was impressed with a few things about my new tribe, but above all I was struck by the focus of a Kingdom-centered theology. Though the idea of the Kingdom of God is all throughout the Bible, and especially in the Jesus accounts, I spent most of my Christian life (including four years of Bible College) largely ignorant of the whole concept. I suppose it was first Dallas Willard in The Divine Conspiracy who opened my eyes about ten years ago.
From Willard I found Hauerwas, Yoder, Bosch, Ladd, Kung, Keller, Wimber and others who consistently pointed me toward the reality of the current-and-not-yet reign the Kingdom. I take the time to list these thinkers to show their different backgrounds - Liberals and Conservatives, Protestants and Catholics, Reformed and Armenian...I wonder if there is something to that. I've often wondered if there is fulfillment is Jesus saying that those who seek will find, and though we seek and find seemingly different positions and practices we find the same Kingdom. The same gospel. The same regeneration revolution. The same hope.
I've heard many people say that they were "vineyard" before they knew of the vineyard. After this week, I believe this is especially true for me.
From Willard I found Hauerwas, Yoder, Bosch, Ladd, Kung, Keller, Wimber and others who consistently pointed me toward the reality of the current-and-not-yet reign the Kingdom. I take the time to list these thinkers to show their different backgrounds - Liberals and Conservatives, Protestants and Catholics, Reformed and Armenian...I wonder if there is something to that. I've often wondered if there is fulfillment is Jesus saying that those who seek will find, and though we seek and find seemingly different positions and practices we find the same Kingdom. The same gospel. The same regeneration revolution. The same hope.
I've heard many people say that they were "vineyard" before they knew of the vineyard. After this week, I believe this is especially true for me.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Tackling the Elephant Update
I wrote several posts here during the Tackling the Elephant series at VCC. (If you'd like to see the TTE website, click on the green and black elephant logo over there -->)
Yesterday was a great day. We partnered with Habitat for Humanity to begin construction on a house in Lincoln Heights financed by the "Elephant" money that came into VCC last November. As a church we committed to give any money above and beyond our operating budget to this project. At the end of the series we received exactly the amount needed to build one house.
I was able to meet our partner family, the Williams, and let them know that we are honored to partner with them to see the kingdom come in their neighborhood. Lots of tears and cheers - a good morning.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Called Back?
Monday night I got a personal call from a relatively big time casting director in LA. I'd read for her a few times last year and she always seemed to like me. She had called my agent in LA who told her that they didn't rep me anymore. She asked for my cell number and called me directly to audition for a new Disney sit-com pilot. When she called I wasn't prepared for her at all. I've been out of that game for nine months now. Her normal LA industry tone was jarring: "Hey, Joe. It was hard to find you. Your old agent gave me your number. I need you here at 5:00 tomorrow to go straight to producers for a Wednesday shoot. You're perfect for this and I gotta fill it fast." Then she started giving me directions to her Hollywood office. I interrupted. In the heat of the moment all I could say is, "I'm in Ohio." I meant that I had moved here. She assumed I was visiting. "Can you get a flight back by 5:00 tomorrow?"
See how they think? I said no. She seemed upset - they always do. She said she'd call next time. I didn't have the heart to tell her not to bother. For a moment afterward I was stunned. These were similar conversations to what I would have on a weekly basis a year ago. For three minutes I was back in the middle of the industry. I honestly miss it some, but not all the time. They say a big part of making it as an actor is just having enough good auditions with someone that they eventually call and make it happen for you. I'm sure in a parallel universe I'd be reaping those benefits this year in LA.
Months ago someone commented on my blog that if LOST called me and offered a recurring role I'd move back to LA without thinking about it. I don't think that's true. Mainly, because LOST films in Hawaii, not LA, so I'd be moving there. Just kidding. I wouldn't move back. I'm here - called here. I think this phone call was one more confirming piece to that realization. I didn't call in sick yesterday and jump a plane to LAX. Could have. I didn't even consider it. I got a callback for my last five auditions in LA - the longest callback run of my life. I missed all five callback appointments because of my interviews here with The Vineyard. That's part of how I knew what was about to happen. I was happy to miss them to explore what God was up to here.
Last thought on these things...I told some friends that this casting director's recent call felt like a crack dealer calling a year into sobriety and telling me to come over for a free hit. Strangely, the intoxicating and addicting part of acting in LA for me wasn't the actual performing, but the competition of it all...doing whatever it takes to get that call at the expense of someone else is what the business side of acting is all about. When she was on the phone, it all came back. The inner dialogue of "she remembers me - she likes me - my work is paying off." There's something very unhealthy about that. Ohio's unhealthy because of greater access to fried foods and Greater's ice cream, but I don't find myself as desperate for approval or advancement as I did back in socal. That's unhealthy too...
See how they think? I said no. She seemed upset - they always do. She said she'd call next time. I didn't have the heart to tell her not to bother. For a moment afterward I was stunned. These were similar conversations to what I would have on a weekly basis a year ago. For three minutes I was back in the middle of the industry. I honestly miss it some, but not all the time. They say a big part of making it as an actor is just having enough good auditions with someone that they eventually call and make it happen for you. I'm sure in a parallel universe I'd be reaping those benefits this year in LA.
Months ago someone commented on my blog that if LOST called me and offered a recurring role I'd move back to LA without thinking about it. I don't think that's true. Mainly, because LOST films in Hawaii, not LA, so I'd be moving there. Just kidding. I wouldn't move back. I'm here - called here. I think this phone call was one more confirming piece to that realization. I didn't call in sick yesterday and jump a plane to LAX. Could have. I didn't even consider it. I got a callback for my last five auditions in LA - the longest callback run of my life. I missed all five callback appointments because of my interviews here with The Vineyard. That's part of how I knew what was about to happen. I was happy to miss them to explore what God was up to here.
Last thought on these things...I told some friends that this casting director's recent call felt like a crack dealer calling a year into sobriety and telling me to come over for a free hit. Strangely, the intoxicating and addicting part of acting in LA for me wasn't the actual performing, but the competition of it all...doing whatever it takes to get that call at the expense of someone else is what the business side of acting is all about. When she was on the phone, it all came back. The inner dialogue of "she remembers me - she likes me - my work is paying off." There's something very unhealthy about that. Ohio's unhealthy because of greater access to fried foods and Greater's ice cream, but I don't find myself as desperate for approval or advancement as I did back in socal. That's unhealthy too...
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Softball Take Two
This is a follow up to the previous post. Today ESPN did a more comprehensive story, just click below to see it...
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Softball Story
Told this story at VCC this weekend...here's the original segment that I saw on ESPN:
Friday, May 02, 2008
Road Trip's FInal Leg
I'll be speaking this weekend on the final week of our Road Trip series. We'll also be showing the video of our arrival to Emmaus and the events that took place there. The main idea of this week is that we continue our spiritual journey by inviting others to take the next step with us. I've learned a lot from my friends in recovery, but chief among them is the importance of living a 12th Step lifestyle. We'll be looking at how that plays out for us self-addicted people this weekend. I like to think we are all addicted to something, even if it is the pride of thinking we aren't addicted to anything.
For your consideration: The 12 Steps of AA:
1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
103!
I made it! 103 pages in 30 days. The script is finished. I think I like it. I'm not sure about the ending, but at least it is finished and I can now think about editing and figuring what I want to do next with it.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
The Power of a Deadline
I just hit 91 pages on my script. That would be 91 minutes...and that would be a legit feature film. I still need to write 9 more pages by tomorrow at midnight to be an official winner at www.scriptfrenzy.org, but I'm amazed at how just committing to write an entire script in one month motivated me to do so. I'm great at starting big creative projects, but struggle with following through. It's going to need hours of editing and reworking, but the first draft will be completely done by tomorrow night. I'm also a little surprised at the amount of time it took me - probably about 20-25 hours total. I just wrote a few nights per week after the kids went to sleep.
I'm off to try to find the ending of the story before gathering at VCC at 7:00 for the improv workshop...
I'm off to try to find the ending of the story before gathering at VCC at 7:00 for the improv workshop...
Sunday, April 27, 2008
The Resurrection of Clyde Benner
A few posts back I mentioned that I was going to attempt to write a screenplay this month. I'm calling it "The Resurrection of Clyde Benner." I'm 63 pages in and have 37 more to go to meet the requirements of the Script Frenzy contest. Counting today, I only have four days left to write the remaining pages. That's hard, but doable. It's all going to hinge on my day off tomorrow. If I can knock out about 20 pages tomorrow I think I'm home free.
I haven't had too much time to develop the plot, but I think that's actually helped me to write faster. I'm still not sure how it will end, but the story is finding itself as it goes. At this point, it has a mind of it's own. Novelists talk about letting the characters write their own story and I'm closer to understanding that than ever before. There's a mystery to it for sure. I'm not even sure exactly what the title means, but I think I will discover it's meaning in the third act.
Turns out, it's a comedy. I wasn't planning on that. It's going to need plenty of doctoring, but it could be something. Right now, I just want to be able to say on May 1 that I wrote a 100-page screenplay in 30 days. Better get back to writing...
I haven't had too much time to develop the plot, but I think that's actually helped me to write faster. I'm still not sure how it will end, but the story is finding itself as it goes. At this point, it has a mind of it's own. Novelists talk about letting the characters write their own story and I'm closer to understanding that than ever before. There's a mystery to it for sure. I'm not even sure exactly what the title means, but I think I will discover it's meaning in the third act.
Turns out, it's a comedy. I wasn't planning on that. It's going to need plenty of doctoring, but it could be something. Right now, I just want to be able to say on May 1 that I wrote a 100-page screenplay in 30 days. Better get back to writing...
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Once Again...
There are certain things you shouldn't t take for granted...like soaking in Michael Jordan when he played in the NBA or Tiger Woods playing golf today. We'll be telling our grandchildren how great they were when they try to convince us that whoever is playing basketball or golf in the future is the best ever.
SNL has been male dominated since day one. Sure, there have been a few female greats - Gilda hands down. Amy Poehler is very funny in my opinion. I loved the years with Molly, Cheri and Ana. But, Kristin Wiig is consistently brilliant. If you don't watch SNL anymore because you have heard people say that it's not what it used to be then shame on you. You're missing the coming of age of the female Tiger Woods of sketch comedy. Shame, shame on you.
SNL has been male dominated since day one. Sure, there have been a few female greats - Gilda hands down. Amy Poehler is very funny in my opinion. I loved the years with Molly, Cheri and Ana. But, Kristin Wiig is consistently brilliant. If you don't watch SNL anymore because you have heard people say that it's not what it used to be then shame on you. You're missing the coming of age of the female Tiger Woods of sketch comedy. Shame, shame on you.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Improv's coming to VCC
For you locals...
I'm going to be helping my friend Missy Whitis lead an improv workshop for people at VCC. Most of you who know me have an understanding of how the rules and community of improv have shaped my life. Apart from just being fun, improv has a magical way to create intimacy, community and trust. It's a spiritual activity.
If you want to join us, come to The Vineyard main stage this coming Tuesday, April 29 at 7:00 pm.
"Improvisation, it is a mystery. You can write a book about it, but by the end no one still knows what it is. When I improvise and I'm in good form, I'm like somebody half sleeping. I even forget that there are people in front of me. Great improvisers are like priests, they are thinking only of their God."
-Stephane Grappelli
I'm going to be helping my friend Missy Whitis lead an improv workshop for people at VCC. Most of you who know me have an understanding of how the rules and community of improv have shaped my life. Apart from just being fun, improv has a magical way to create intimacy, community and trust. It's a spiritual activity.
If you want to join us, come to The Vineyard main stage this coming Tuesday, April 29 at 7:00 pm.
"Improvisation, it is a mystery. You can write a book about it, but by the end no one still knows what it is. When I improvise and I'm in good form, I'm like somebody half sleeping. I even forget that there are people in front of me. Great improvisers are like priests, they are thinking only of their God."
-Stephane Grappelli
Monday, April 21, 2008
Tell me a story.
It's nice to be home today after a busy weekend. I spent Sunday in Cleveland speaking at Fellowship Bible Church. They are good people who accepted me in spite of my being a Bengals fan. I hope to see them again sometime. Their student ministry is coming to SOS at The Vineyard this summer, so I'll see several of the kids when they get to town. Their church is currently talking about the spiritual disciplines, so I shared the stuff with them from Nouwen on intimacy, community and ministry. I also shared that at the CCU small groups conference on Saturday...and at the VCC weekend last week.
I felt a little bit like Barack Obama giving his "change" stump speech. I can't imagine how tired he and his staffers must get of hearing him say the same things everyday to a different crowd. We generally live in a "one a done" culture these days. With the youtube and the internet and the phone cameras and all...just record everything and you don't have to say it or do it again.
I'm not a techno-hater, but I wonder if the simple, oral repetition of truth and story have a unique power in the transformation of both hearer and speaker. I've probably told the story of the woman at the well over 100 times, including five times in the last week. The same with the woman caught in adultery, the healing of the blind man on the Sabbath, etc. Those stories are in me now. I don't have to prepare to tell them - I just tell them. They evolve and morph to different settings, but they never change. They are my personal love stories. I've also told the story of how I met my wife at least 100 times. Our story contextualizes to different people and settings as well, but it never changes. It simply is. Those Jesus stories have the same real meaning and personal historicity to me as my Debbie stories or my childhood stories, or my parenting stories. They shape me - make me - and I am being made to fit into them still.
A friend (I honestly can't remember who - maybe Murph?) told me recently that I've made a living out of telling people stories that have already been written, and that most everyone has already heard. I had mixed emotions when I heard him say that. It is true, by and large. The part of me that wants to be original would rather he had said that I've made a living telling my own stories. I have told some of my "own" stories, but they pale in comparison to the stories I plagiarize. I'm a hack compared to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Especially, John - forget about it. He's a master storyteller.
The last eight days have been full of opportunities for me to tell my stories. I'm just strangely struck today at the work that storytelling does on the storyteller. I'm left wondering today what would happen if the church embraced storytelling not as a teaching style, but as a leadership ethos. What if we all saw ourselves not as story-listeners, but as story-tellers? What does that sort of community look like? What if we quit saying, "How are you today?" and started saying, "Tell me a story."
I felt a little bit like Barack Obama giving his "change" stump speech. I can't imagine how tired he and his staffers must get of hearing him say the same things everyday to a different crowd. We generally live in a "one a done" culture these days. With the youtube and the internet and the phone cameras and all...just record everything and you don't have to say it or do it again.
I'm not a techno-hater, but I wonder if the simple, oral repetition of truth and story have a unique power in the transformation of both hearer and speaker. I've probably told the story of the woman at the well over 100 times, including five times in the last week. The same with the woman caught in adultery, the healing of the blind man on the Sabbath, etc. Those stories are in me now. I don't have to prepare to tell them - I just tell them. They evolve and morph to different settings, but they never change. They are my personal love stories. I've also told the story of how I met my wife at least 100 times. Our story contextualizes to different people and settings as well, but it never changes. It simply is. Those Jesus stories have the same real meaning and personal historicity to me as my Debbie stories or my childhood stories, or my parenting stories. They shape me - make me - and I am being made to fit into them still.
A friend (I honestly can't remember who - maybe Murph?) told me recently that I've made a living out of telling people stories that have already been written, and that most everyone has already heard. I had mixed emotions when I heard him say that. It is true, by and large. The part of me that wants to be original would rather he had said that I've made a living telling my own stories. I have told some of my "own" stories, but they pale in comparison to the stories I plagiarize. I'm a hack compared to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Especially, John - forget about it. He's a master storyteller.
The last eight days have been full of opportunities for me to tell my stories. I'm just strangely struck today at the work that storytelling does on the storyteller. I'm left wondering today what would happen if the church embraced storytelling not as a teaching style, but as a leadership ethos. What if we all saw ourselves not as story-listeners, but as story-tellers? What does that sort of community look like? What if we quit saying, "How are you today?" and started saying, "Tell me a story."
Friday, April 18, 2008
Friend Collector
I spent today at my Alma Mater (CCU) for the Small Groups Conference.
Today was kind of like my wedding day. Only not as exciting or life-changing or nerve-wracking or expensive or meaningful...
Correction: Today was nothing like my wedding day.
Except for this one thing...
There were LOTS of people that I knew there, but many of the people that I knew did not know each other. There were about 50 people there from the Vineyard. I knew (or at least recognized) most of them. But, there were also a few dozen people there whom I knew from college. Most of them I hadn't seen for 15 years...people like Shawn Spradling, Cheryl Garrett, Scot Myers, Jason Galley and others. Some friends I hadn't seen face to face for over a decade. Then there were the old professors, pastor friends, etc. The topper was Mitch Harrison, a friend from Canyon Ridge in Las Vegas. Mitch and I are the speakers tomorrow at the conference. We think that's funny. Two Canyon Ridge boys speaking at a conference...if only they could have seen us back when were making it all up as we went along...oh yeah, we still are.
The fact that it all happened at CCU only added to the surrealism of the day. It was a good day. Not as good as a wedding day, but much better than a regular day. I'm looking forward to more of the same tomorrow...then I fly to Cleveland to speak at a church where I don't know anyone at all...yet.
This week I heard someone say, "I don't collect anything in the world except friends." I like that. I think it was Roger from The Biggest Loser who said it. Seems like you shouldn't go around quoting Biggest Loser contestants, but, alas, I just did.
Today was kind of like my wedding day. Only not as exciting or life-changing or nerve-wracking or expensive or meaningful...
Correction: Today was nothing like my wedding day.
Except for this one thing...
There were LOTS of people that I knew there, but many of the people that I knew did not know each other. There were about 50 people there from the Vineyard. I knew (or at least recognized) most of them. But, there were also a few dozen people there whom I knew from college. Most of them I hadn't seen for 15 years...people like Shawn Spradling, Cheryl Garrett, Scot Myers, Jason Galley and others. Some friends I hadn't seen face to face for over a decade. Then there were the old professors, pastor friends, etc. The topper was Mitch Harrison, a friend from Canyon Ridge in Las Vegas. Mitch and I are the speakers tomorrow at the conference. We think that's funny. Two Canyon Ridge boys speaking at a conference...if only they could have seen us back when were making it all up as we went along...oh yeah, we still are.
The fact that it all happened at CCU only added to the surrealism of the day. It was a good day. Not as good as a wedding day, but much better than a regular day. I'm looking forward to more of the same tomorrow...then I fly to Cleveland to speak at a church where I don't know anyone at all...yet.
This week I heard someone say, "I don't collect anything in the world except friends." I like that. I think it was Roger from The Biggest Loser who said it. Seems like you shouldn't go around quoting Biggest Loser contestants, but, alas, I just did.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Henri Nouwen
I mentioned Nouwen as one of my mentors this weekend at VCC. It's really not fair to call him a mentor since he had no choice in the matter. I never met him. Regardless, he's been a huge influence on me through his books.
This weekend I talked about Nouwen's idea that ideally we move from intimacy (with God) toward community with others. From community we can move toward ministry and acts of service. Many of us try to do this backwards and end up lonely and frustrated. If ministry is first, community becomes simply a method to accomplish a task. Intimacy with God is sacrificed in the name of service and we end up alone and isolated. There is a thin line between intimacy with God and isolation from God.
I found an article that Nouwen wrote in 1995 about these issues. If you'd like to read him yourself, just click here.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Busy eight days...
I have several teaching engagements coming up over the next eight days. Should be fun, in an exhausting kind of way. Feel free to come by if you are close to where I'll be.
4-11/12 - VCC Weekend Celebrations, "Road Trip: Honesty"
4-13 - Alpha at VCC, "Who is Jesus?"
4-18 - Small Groups Conference, Cincinnati Christian University (the alma mater)
4-19 - Guest speaking at Fellowship Bible Church in Cleveland.
4-11/12 - VCC Weekend Celebrations, "Road Trip: Honesty"
4-13 - Alpha at VCC, "Who is Jesus?"
4-18 - Small Groups Conference, Cincinnati Christian University (the alma mater)
4-19 - Guest speaking at Fellowship Bible Church in Cleveland.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
35
Today I am halfway to 70. I spent my 35th birthday in an all-day staff meeting at The Vineyard, then teaching at midweek. I'm exhausted. We had our meeting in the new Student Union building. I played basketball with the very tall Micah Odor. It was half court and low impact, which is why I would never admit that I am a little sore right now. It's not like I'm in my mid-thirties or anything. Crap. I'm getting old.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Spam-a-lot
A few years back it was all the rage for spammers to post comments on blogs so that people would go to some website. Looks like I've been targetted again, so if you see someone selling cigarrettes or porn sites in my comment section I would advise not to click. I'm erasing those I find.
That said, click here to get a great deal on ring tones!!!!
That said, click here to get a great deal on ring tones!!!!
Friday, April 04, 2008
Opening Day - Maybe
Aidan is very excited because today is the first day of baseball practice this year. I have a hunch it will be rained out though...he might be bummed about that. Griffin Murphy will be on his team this year, but Sean will have to work Saturday mornings and miss practices. I just hope Griff doesn't start calling me Dad - that would be awkward.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
The Disciplined Life
It has been difficult to get into some proper patterns in my life. It's hard to believe that it has been seven months since we moved to Ohio. That means it's been about seven months since I was able to really stick to a diet or exercise plan. When my life gets nutty, those are often the first few areas to go sideways.
I've driven a stake in the ground this month. April is the month that I regain control. I went to the gym for the first time since January yesterday and I'm going back today. I'm eating better - trying to just watch portions and calories more than anything else this go around. (I've bounced from diet to diet for almost twenty years - another post for another day.) Everything is connected with me. Just 36 hours of thinking healthy makes me want to pray, read and write more. It's hard to break the cycles we fall into.
I'm not going to try to motivate anyone else here. I've had enough alcoholic friends with two days sobriety who love to lecture drunk people to know what that is like. This is more just a coming out party - an acknowledgement that I've been stuck in a prison and I'm clawing my way out.
I've driven a stake in the ground this month. April is the month that I regain control. I went to the gym for the first time since January yesterday and I'm going back today. I'm eating better - trying to just watch portions and calories more than anything else this go around. (I've bounced from diet to diet for almost twenty years - another post for another day.) Everything is connected with me. Just 36 hours of thinking healthy makes me want to pray, read and write more. It's hard to break the cycles we fall into.
I'm not going to try to motivate anyone else here. I've had enough alcoholic friends with two days sobriety who love to lecture drunk people to know what that is like. This is more just a coming out party - an acknowledgement that I've been stuck in a prison and I'm clawing my way out.
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