I have a love/hate relationship with the Church Calendar. Having grown up within a Protestant tradition that mainly de-valued church tradition, I find myself drawn to the idea of having a well-traveled pathway through the year. But being the guy who loves to re-invent everything, I also like that I am not bound to it.
Through my twenties I experimented with some aggressive dietary fasts during Lent including a few years as a vegan. I learned some things about God and myself...but I also learned that it doesn't take much for the act of giving up something to become a little contrived and Pharisaical.
This year I plan on giving up mindless internet surfing. I think I can limit my non-work related internet usage to 15 minutes per day. This is going to give me at least an hour daily to redirect into some other area.
At this point I am considering reading the Bible straight through with the goal of finishing by Easter. I haven't methodically read the Bible cover to cover for more than two years and it is always a positive experience for me. I would like to read it this time with one question in mind. I'm prayerfully considering what that question will be. I am most drawn to ask something about the use and power of story...
I may or may not blog about what I am learning...I'll have to decide if blogging is part of mindless internet surfing :)
Lent begins this Wednesday. Maybe this is the year you try something new? The point is to prepare yourself for Easter. To "cleanse" and focus for the greatest news we could ever receive - that though we will all die - because of Jesus, we can live again.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Saturday, February 06, 2010
Open Doors, Big News
A popular metaphor emerges in the account of St. Paul’s life in the book of Acts. Time and time again the text says that, “a door opened” for Paul to share his faith or venture into a new territory. He also speaks that way about himself in his letters in passages like these:
And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains
Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me…
Sometimes it is hard to hear God’s voice or know his will. But sometimes things just happen that are obvious. Doors just open for us and we walk through them in faith – unsure of what is on the other side.
Over the last year or two a series of doors have opened up in the area of film and video production for me personally – but also for The Vineyard and our creative community. I have a hunch that some of you will want to join us as we head into this new journey – so I’d like update everyone on what has been going on.
I have already written quite a bit in this blog about the obvious open doors that led my family to Cincinnati and The Vineyard in 2007. I view this as a calling – God asking us to be obedient and follow his leading here. Nothing in the last two and a half years has happened to make me believe otherwise. I assumed that the work I was doing in Los Angeles in the entertainment industry was part of what I needed to surrender for the sake of this new calling. It was hard because I thoroughly enjoyed acting, writing and producing. But I came here having laid it on the proverbial altar.
I did have one project “half-baked” – Hitting the Nuts. I made it clear during the interview process with VCC that I would need to finish this movie at some point. I believed that it would be my last major film project…or at least my last one for a long time.
It took longer than expected, but Nuts was finally financed and filmed this past summer. Doors that were tightly shut in LA suddenly opened up in Cincinnati. So much so that my friends who came in from LA to act in the movie would joke everyday that they should move to Ohio to further their careers…
On the day my friend Bobby Rodgers wrapped Hitting the Nuts he gave an impromptu speech to the cast and crew. Bobby is an older gentleman and a true professional whom I met working in stage shows in Las Vegas. He’s been around a lot of movie sets. He told everyone that in all of his years he had never been a part of a production that felt so much like a true family. Then he bragged on me a little and grew emotional. In that moment I saw clearly that just because God opens one door doesn’t mean He necessarily closes others. God can open multiple doors at once. He can open the “pastor in Ohio” door while leaving the “film producer” door open as well. Not like this is an original theological statement or anything, but God can do whatever He wants.
At the same time I was shooting Nuts I was contacted by a Vice President of Sony Pictures to discuss “future projects.” Living and struggling everyday in Los Angeles I knew it wasn’t normal for a studio executive to reach out to a low budget indie filmmaker – especially one in Cincinnati. I reluctantly returned his call, somewhat worried that he was an imposter.
He wasn’t. He had helped Sony distribute Fireproof – a Christian movie that did exceptionally well at the box office in 2009. He was networking with other Christian filmmakers and genuinely wanted to help me figure out how to navigate the studio system. The success of Fireproof resulted in most of the major studios starting or expanding their “Faith and Family” divisions. Regardless of what you think about Hollywood, there is only one real truth – Money is everything. If something sells they will get behind it. In short, it is a good time to be making movies that appeal to people interested in faith. If Christians don’t make movies about faith over the next few years, somebody else will. He encouraged me to think beyond Nuts.
The obvious irony was that I was a pastor making a mainstream comedy movie about poker at the time. (Nuts isn't vile or anything...but it isn't a Christian movie. It's just funny.) But it was becoming clear that doors were opening for a future project should we elect to walk through them.
The “random” connection with Sony was the first of many. Since then we have been contacted by people with connections to three other major studios. The studio system isn’t the easiest place to break into. It has all just happened.
Last year I began talking with my fellow members of the Senior Leadership and the trustees at VCC about these open doors. I was only really sure of one thing – that God didn’t call me to Ohio to move back to LA to make movies. God called me to Cincinnati and that hasn’t changed. The big question was – is God calling VCC to venture into making a movie?
The Vineyard has had a history of taking risks to spread the seeds of the gospel. It has also always strived to retain a level of relevance within the culture. We have had a history of reaching out beyond us in any and every way we can. The idea of producing a film with these same values seemed mission consistent to us.
In 2009 Brad Wise began writing a screenplay called “The Balloonier.” (A side note: I’ve been looking my whole life for a true creative partner and found one in that guy. Don’t tell him though, it will go to his head.) We have been editing the script for months now. Receiving specific feedback from the folks at Sony and other industry professionals - fine-tuning the message we would want to give to the world.
Now we have a story we are excited to tell to anyone who would listen. The Balloonier is a quirky, comedic reinterpretation of the prodigal son parable. A story of hope found through forgiveness and unexpected community. It is about the idea that it is never too late for anyone to come home.
The movie will be produced this summer by Rebel Pilgrim Productions in partnership with The Vineyard. It will provide VCC the opportunity to shout the message that is close to our heart to the entire world – that there is hope – that it is never to late to change – and that God is always calling his children home.
The goal is to have The Balloonier in theaters in late 2011. We plan on producing some sort of small group/church journey curriculum that churches can lead their people through after watching the movie. The Balloonier has gospel-centered themes, but it isn’t preachy or manipulative. It will provide a starting point for spiritual discussions. For those of you familiar with the Alpha program, I would see The Balloonier as a perfect experience just before week one – something to get the brain and spirit stirring toward spiritual ideas.
It will be produced low-budget by Hollywood standards. The funds will be coming from high-worth individual investors. (Lots of SEC roles about this stuff.) The Vineyard will not be funding the project directly, but supporting with “sweat equity” – stuff like staff time, equipment usage, office space, etc.
I’m excited to announce that Brad Wise will be directing the project. A lot of the production team from Hitting the Nuts will be joining forces again – Mark Denney (DP), Isaac Stambaugh (UPM), Mark Haas (PD), Bekka Prewitt (2nd AD) and others.
My partner Jim Nyberg and I will be producing. Jim Derose, the former President/CEO of Dreamworks/PDI is graciously working as our business advisor.
I'm thrilled to announce that Christian recording artist Rebecca St. James will have a starring role as Dr. Joyce. Rebecca has been expanding into acting and recently starred in the film Sarah’s Choice. Also attached in a cameo role is Ashley Palmer, one of the stars of last year’s break out hit, Paranormal Activity. (There’s also some pastor who used to be in General Hospital who has an acting role…)
We are all excited about these open doors. Brad and I will be going to LA in March to meet with several distributors and studio executives.
Here is how you can be involved now:
Please pray for the following:
1. That God would continue to lead us (as He has already) to see our vision of telling stories that entertain while changing the face of American culture.
2. For the March 7th informational meeting in Cincinnati for potential investors. Pray that the right people will show up who share this vision and want to see it become a reality.
3. For our constantly growing contacts in the entertainment world. Not a week goes by that we aren’t speaking to someone of influence. Pray that God uses us in these personal relationships.
4. For the right distribution pathway that allows the most people to experience the story.
5. For safety and wisdom before and during actual production.
6. For those who will see the finished project. That they may be nudged toward the Kingdom through the retelling of Jesus’ story of the lost son.
Other ways to be involved:
As the time gets closer we will need Cincinnati-based volunteers to be background actors, provide meals, find locations, etc. We aren’t ready to properly systemize volunteer involvement yet, but we will let you know how to get involved as we get closer.
If you are a professional in the area of media arts, production, marketing or fund raising and would have an interest in volunteering your services at this time, contact Brad or myself.
It’s going to be a fun ride! Just another way to tell a timeless story. I’m honored to be on the storytelling team at my church. Let's all just keep looking for the open doors and trust God to do the rest.
And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains
Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me…
Sometimes it is hard to hear God’s voice or know his will. But sometimes things just happen that are obvious. Doors just open for us and we walk through them in faith – unsure of what is on the other side.
Over the last year or two a series of doors have opened up in the area of film and video production for me personally – but also for The Vineyard and our creative community. I have a hunch that some of you will want to join us as we head into this new journey – so I’d like update everyone on what has been going on.
I have already written quite a bit in this blog about the obvious open doors that led my family to Cincinnati and The Vineyard in 2007. I view this as a calling – God asking us to be obedient and follow his leading here. Nothing in the last two and a half years has happened to make me believe otherwise. I assumed that the work I was doing in Los Angeles in the entertainment industry was part of what I needed to surrender for the sake of this new calling. It was hard because I thoroughly enjoyed acting, writing and producing. But I came here having laid it on the proverbial altar.
I did have one project “half-baked” – Hitting the Nuts. I made it clear during the interview process with VCC that I would need to finish this movie at some point. I believed that it would be my last major film project…or at least my last one for a long time.
It took longer than expected, but Nuts was finally financed and filmed this past summer. Doors that were tightly shut in LA suddenly opened up in Cincinnati. So much so that my friends who came in from LA to act in the movie would joke everyday that they should move to Ohio to further their careers…
On the day my friend Bobby Rodgers wrapped Hitting the Nuts he gave an impromptu speech to the cast and crew. Bobby is an older gentleman and a true professional whom I met working in stage shows in Las Vegas. He’s been around a lot of movie sets. He told everyone that in all of his years he had never been a part of a production that felt so much like a true family. Then he bragged on me a little and grew emotional. In that moment I saw clearly that just because God opens one door doesn’t mean He necessarily closes others. God can open multiple doors at once. He can open the “pastor in Ohio” door while leaving the “film producer” door open as well. Not like this is an original theological statement or anything, but God can do whatever He wants.
At the same time I was shooting Nuts I was contacted by a Vice President of Sony Pictures to discuss “future projects.” Living and struggling everyday in Los Angeles I knew it wasn’t normal for a studio executive to reach out to a low budget indie filmmaker – especially one in Cincinnati. I reluctantly returned his call, somewhat worried that he was an imposter.
He wasn’t. He had helped Sony distribute Fireproof – a Christian movie that did exceptionally well at the box office in 2009. He was networking with other Christian filmmakers and genuinely wanted to help me figure out how to navigate the studio system. The success of Fireproof resulted in most of the major studios starting or expanding their “Faith and Family” divisions. Regardless of what you think about Hollywood, there is only one real truth – Money is everything. If something sells they will get behind it. In short, it is a good time to be making movies that appeal to people interested in faith. If Christians don’t make movies about faith over the next few years, somebody else will. He encouraged me to think beyond Nuts.
The obvious irony was that I was a pastor making a mainstream comedy movie about poker at the time. (Nuts isn't vile or anything...but it isn't a Christian movie. It's just funny.) But it was becoming clear that doors were opening for a future project should we elect to walk through them.
The “random” connection with Sony was the first of many. Since then we have been contacted by people with connections to three other major studios. The studio system isn’t the easiest place to break into. It has all just happened.
Last year I began talking with my fellow members of the Senior Leadership and the trustees at VCC about these open doors. I was only really sure of one thing – that God didn’t call me to Ohio to move back to LA to make movies. God called me to Cincinnati and that hasn’t changed. The big question was – is God calling VCC to venture into making a movie?
The Vineyard has had a history of taking risks to spread the seeds of the gospel. It has also always strived to retain a level of relevance within the culture. We have had a history of reaching out beyond us in any and every way we can. The idea of producing a film with these same values seemed mission consistent to us.
In 2009 Brad Wise began writing a screenplay called “The Balloonier.” (A side note: I’ve been looking my whole life for a true creative partner and found one in that guy. Don’t tell him though, it will go to his head.) We have been editing the script for months now. Receiving specific feedback from the folks at Sony and other industry professionals - fine-tuning the message we would want to give to the world.
Now we have a story we are excited to tell to anyone who would listen. The Balloonier is a quirky, comedic reinterpretation of the prodigal son parable. A story of hope found through forgiveness and unexpected community. It is about the idea that it is never too late for anyone to come home.
The movie will be produced this summer by Rebel Pilgrim Productions in partnership with The Vineyard. It will provide VCC the opportunity to shout the message that is close to our heart to the entire world – that there is hope – that it is never to late to change – and that God is always calling his children home.
The goal is to have The Balloonier in theaters in late 2011. We plan on producing some sort of small group/church journey curriculum that churches can lead their people through after watching the movie. The Balloonier has gospel-centered themes, but it isn’t preachy or manipulative. It will provide a starting point for spiritual discussions. For those of you familiar with the Alpha program, I would see The Balloonier as a perfect experience just before week one – something to get the brain and spirit stirring toward spiritual ideas.
It will be produced low-budget by Hollywood standards. The funds will be coming from high-worth individual investors. (Lots of SEC roles about this stuff.) The Vineyard will not be funding the project directly, but supporting with “sweat equity” – stuff like staff time, equipment usage, office space, etc.
I’m excited to announce that Brad Wise will be directing the project. A lot of the production team from Hitting the Nuts will be joining forces again – Mark Denney (DP), Isaac Stambaugh (UPM), Mark Haas (PD), Bekka Prewitt (2nd AD) and others.
My partner Jim Nyberg and I will be producing. Jim Derose, the former President/CEO of Dreamworks/PDI is graciously working as our business advisor.
I'm thrilled to announce that Christian recording artist Rebecca St. James will have a starring role as Dr. Joyce. Rebecca has been expanding into acting and recently starred in the film Sarah’s Choice. Also attached in a cameo role is Ashley Palmer, one of the stars of last year’s break out hit, Paranormal Activity. (There’s also some pastor who used to be in General Hospital who has an acting role…)
We are all excited about these open doors. Brad and I will be going to LA in March to meet with several distributors and studio executives.
Here is how you can be involved now:
Please pray for the following:
1. That God would continue to lead us (as He has already) to see our vision of telling stories that entertain while changing the face of American culture.
2. For the March 7th informational meeting in Cincinnati for potential investors. Pray that the right people will show up who share this vision and want to see it become a reality.
3. For our constantly growing contacts in the entertainment world. Not a week goes by that we aren’t speaking to someone of influence. Pray that God uses us in these personal relationships.
4. For the right distribution pathway that allows the most people to experience the story.
5. For safety and wisdom before and during actual production.
6. For those who will see the finished project. That they may be nudged toward the Kingdom through the retelling of Jesus’ story of the lost son.
Other ways to be involved:
As the time gets closer we will need Cincinnati-based volunteers to be background actors, provide meals, find locations, etc. We aren’t ready to properly systemize volunteer involvement yet, but we will let you know how to get involved as we get closer.
If you are a professional in the area of media arts, production, marketing or fund raising and would have an interest in volunteering your services at this time, contact Brad or myself.
It’s going to be a fun ride! Just another way to tell a timeless story. I’m honored to be on the storytelling team at my church. Let's all just keep looking for the open doors and trust God to do the rest.
Monday, February 01, 2010
Doppelgangers?
Well...all the crazy kids on Facebook are trying to get me to post my personal Doppelganger in honor of Doppelganger Week. (I had to look it up - it is a German word for "look-a-like.") From what people tend to tell me, my top three are below. If it were simply based on muscle tone, celebrity number one would be a shoe-in. I actually never got Ray Romano once until moving to Cincinnati, but now not a week goes by without it. Before that it was mainly Buscemi. I'll take Ray all day long if those are my two choices - no offense, Steve.
The bigger issue here is why we care. I suppose we all want to look like someone whom most people think is attractive...you know, like Steve Buscemi. My wife told a stranger last week that she looked like Bikini Girl from American Idol. I don't think the girl was very pleased.
We concluded our fifteen week journey through the book of Acts this week at VCC. There is one Doppleganger incident there. A time when some people were confused with someone else. In case you missed it...
Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. - Acts 11:25-27
It loses a little something in the translation, but it literally says that the disciples were first called "Little Christs" in Antioch. The people looking in at the Kingdom community from afar said, "Hey, do you know who those people act like?"
"Yeah," came the response. "They remind me of that Jesus who they thought was the Christ."
Some believe that the term Christian was actually pejorative at first. Perhaps the outsiders were poking fun at a group of people who would be so misguided to follow a dead convicted criminal. The disciples, however, wore it as a badge of honor. It was Peter who reminded these early Christians that "If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you."
What's the bottom line for me? I can live with Ray Romano or even Steve Buscemi comparisons...but there is only one guy I'd really like to remind people of someday. (It's not Hugh Jackman either...)
The bigger issue here is why we care. I suppose we all want to look like someone whom most people think is attractive...you know, like Steve Buscemi. My wife told a stranger last week that she looked like Bikini Girl from American Idol. I don't think the girl was very pleased.
We concluded our fifteen week journey through the book of Acts this week at VCC. There is one Doppleganger incident there. A time when some people were confused with someone else. In case you missed it...
Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. - Acts 11:25-27
It loses a little something in the translation, but it literally says that the disciples were first called "Little Christs" in Antioch. The people looking in at the Kingdom community from afar said, "Hey, do you know who those people act like?"
"Yeah," came the response. "They remind me of that Jesus who they thought was the Christ."
Some believe that the term Christian was actually pejorative at first. Perhaps the outsiders were poking fun at a group of people who would be so misguided to follow a dead convicted criminal. The disciples, however, wore it as a badge of honor. It was Peter who reminded these early Christians that "If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you."
What's the bottom line for me? I can live with Ray Romano or even Steve Buscemi comparisons...but there is only one guy I'd really like to remind people of someday. (It's not Hugh Jackman either...)
Monday, January 25, 2010
On Creativity.
The theology of creativity is interesting to me. In Romans, Paul talks some about what theologians call "general revelation."
"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." -Romans 1:20 (NIV)
"Specific revelation" would be defined as a direct communication from God to humanity. For the Jew and Christian, the Torah and other Scriptures would fall into the specific category. Of course, the person of Jesus is the ultimate specific revelation for the Christian. But apart from these divine interruptions, Paul says that we can generally become aware of God through "what has been made." We see a Creator - a Mind - an Artist. This is enough to move most of us from atheism to theism. There must be something...or someone other than us out there. His "divine nature" is tied up in "what has been made." Who he is created what we see.
Early on in the creation account of the Torah we stumble upon an interesting passage about mankind:
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. - Genesis 1:26-27 (NIV)
There is mystery here on a few fronts. The subject/verb tense disagreement is among them. It says literally that a very singular God speaks to himself as if plural. Some have used this to hint toward the Trinity, but it seems a bit of a stretch to me. The greater idea may be that he is beyond language - beyond us. None of this is my point for today though - it is rather the claim that human beings were originally and continually created in the image and likeness of YHWH.
These two words will be repeated again and again in the Torah - but mainly in the prohibitions against making or worshiping false Gods. The people of God were not to make a god in the image or likeness of an animal or anything else that was thought to contain the essence of deity. The Living God doesn't need or desire idols made of stone or wood, but He does have something to carry his essence in the world - people. A Living God has living image bearers. We are his likeness.
It is worth pondering what we know of God looking at only the text up until Genesis 1:26. We know he is powerful - that he has authority. It is clear that this is part of the image we have been given. In context, we see that since we are created in his image, we are to rightly rule over the earth.
But the secondary assumption we can make is that the God of Genesis 1:1-25 is at his essence creative. He is the Creator. To be endowed with his image and likeness is to be little creators. To create is to be human and to be human is to reflect the image of the divine.
The first person in the Bible to be described as "filled with the Spirit of God" may be someone you have never heard of. It wasn't Noah, Abraham, Joseph or Moses. He is first mentioned in Exodus 31:
"Then the LORD said to Moses, "See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts - to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship." - Exodus 31:1-5
This is worth meditation. Throughout the Scriptures, God will fill people with his Spirit to give them special power or wisdom. But here we see clearly, that he also fills artists with the Spirit to create art for his purposes. Art and creativity are spiritual.
Not all of us are as gifted (talented?) as Bezalel, but all of us are creative beings. It is part of what it means to be human. When life becomes so predictable or monetized or safe that there is no room for creative explosions, we lose sight of who we are. We lose touch with the God who creates.
Most Christians I know want to be spiritually disciplined. This usually means they want to pray, read the Bible, attend church events, help the poor, etc. These are good things. But below is a list of some other spiritual disciplines. Maybe trying one this month would be a good thing for you...
painting, writing, sculpting, dancing, photography, designing, sewing, pretending, cooking, singing, acting, inventing, wood-working, drawing, playing, gardening, filmmaking, fashion design, throwing a party, organizing a flag football game, learning to play the piccalo, etc, etc, etc....you get the idea.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
New Blog
We have started a new blog specifically devoted to my upcoming book, Between Two Kingdoms at www.betweentwokingdoms.wordpress.com. In a few days you can access it simply through www.betweentwokingdoms.com.
I'd invite you to go over and look around. Over the next few weeks I plan on re-visiting some posts on this blog that apply to the issues associated with the book - mainly storytelling, Kingdom theology and creativity. If you wanna help spread the word about the release, this new site is the best place to send people.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
She is now what she will always be.
My first book, Between Two Kingdoms, goes to print this week. It is to be released sometime in March. This fact has caused a lot of reflection on my end this week. The first words that would become Between Two Kingdoms were hastily typed out in the fall of 1999 for a message series called "A Tale of Two Kingdoms" for Apex Church in Las Vegas. It was a teaching series through the Sermon on the Mount crafted shortly after reading Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy, a book that would change my understanding of the gospel forever. My friend Jennifer Parks read each chapter after I would speak. It was an engaging time of growth for Apex. I have fond memories of that time in my life.
Writing the story was a way to try to contextualize my emerging theology. I grew up with what Willard called a "gospel of sin management" and was replacing that gospel with the gospel of the Kingdom. I was growing up in my faith and this fairy tale/kid's story was the most adult thing I had ever written.
I never intended to publish it. It was part therapy, part sermon illustration, part history of our little church plant. In 2000, I wrote a few more chapters during a vacation. Mainly out of boredom. Then it rested.
The story slept on the hard drive of an old Dell laptop while my life continued without her. She slept through the harder years of Apex, when we aggressively moved toward house churches and wrestled with the thousands of practical implications of discovering the centrality of the Kingdom. She slept through my resignation from church work and my years as an entertainer in Las Vegas. She slept through our move to Los Angeles in 2005 and first few years of our life there.
Then one day in early 2007, I woke her up. I had to find my old laptop and dig around, but there she was. Just the way I left her. Snoozing away - grammatical errors, missing plot points and all. I decided to share the story (what is now the first nine or so chapters) with my new church community at The Crossing in Costa Mesa. They received her kindly and resurrected a puff of life back into her.
Then the most unexpected thing happened - God picked us up by the shirt collar and brought us back to Cincinnati. So we came - with all that was ours - some cheap ikea furniture, a Toyota Corolla with manual locks, a few boxes of toys...and a half-finished fairy tale.
After a year or so, I shared a chapter of the story with my new family at The Vineyard. The following week I spoke at a conference at my alma mater. There I met Dale Reeves, the Director of Acquisitions at Standard Publishing. We talked and exchanged emails. Somehow my story came up...so I sent him what I had with little expectations.
The folks at Standard liked her - sort of. She was a little rough around the edges...and way too short, but she had potential. So they agreed to publish her. That was August, 2008. Nine years after her first incarnation. That is when the hard work began - I had to actually finish the story. I fearlessly immersed myself back into a world that I had created a decade earlier. I had changed a lot in ten years. She had not changed at all. She was going to have to. Exactly one year ago I turned in the "final" draft of the extended story to Standard. Then it went to edit. For the last twelve months the story has bounced back and forth between several editors and myself. At last, it landed in the capable hands of Laura Derico, a lifelong friend of mine. She massaged my words into something exponentially better than I could have ever done alone. I learned that editors probably never get the glory they deserve on projects like this.
Last week I sent in a few final notes and that was the end of it. She is finished. If I had to guess, less than ten percent of those first words written in 1999 remain. She evolved. And like me, she has grown up over the last eleven years. I hope that lots of people like her...but even if they don't, I do. She's not perfect, but she has persevered...and she has now done something I have never had the courage to do. She has, for the rest of time, elected to stop evolving. She is now what she will always be. She is finished.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
A Call to Seek Understanding in 2010
I have been overwhelmed over the last few years by certain hateful outbursts from Christians - normally aimed toward other Christians. I had been toying with the idea of responding to all of my "hate mail" publicly in 2010 on this blog. I have decided not to, assuming it wouldn't really help what seems to be the primary problem with all of us - an instinct to react before trying to understand the position of the other person.
Today is my first day in the office since Christmas and I was greeted with a rather self-righteous letter regarding three words that were spoken during the Vineyard Christmas Show. In the letter I was told to "quit being so controversial." (You'd never guess the three offensive words, so don't even try - They weren't even said by me.) My response to that is that I have indeed quit trying to be controversial to the best of my ability and maturity. When I was younger I did things for the sake of controversy. Young people do that. They overreact. Now that I am less young, I do things for specific reasons. It seems to me a dialogue about the reasons why someone did something offensive to you would be more beneficial than shooting a stranger a letter, email, or far worse - a publicly viewed comment on a social media site. It is bad when Christians argue without seeking understanding in private. It is anti-missional and self-destructive when it happens in a public forum. We come off as arrogant and ignorant. And most people know enough about Jesus to know that we are being hypocritical when we do so.
A month back I was publicly criticized on Facebook for taking a vacation. The argument went that as a pastor I should not make enough money to take the sort of vacation I took. This may be a fair argument, but it is not fair to do it publicly. Had the person personally contacted me I would have offered my W-2 statements, receipts for my vacation expenses and the reasons why Debbie and I take a trip like this every five years without the kids. After seeing the numbers, that person could (still rather subjectively) decide if I am overpaid. If after that dialogue the person convinced me that I was in truth being overpaid as a pastor, I would take a pay cut. I have done this before for the sake of the mission of organizations I believe in. I'd do it again. Alas, none of this could be discussed because there was no attempt to understand. The reaction was to publicly malign.
I have advocated Facebook and Twitter for the church. They can be useful tools to promote community. Our problem comes when we begin to believe that the person we are relating with online is some avatar living within our computer. Life is not a game. People matter. Matthew 18 and Paul's one another commands apply on Facebook as much as in "real life."
I'm going to commit to seek to understand before seeking to be understood in 2010. I'd love for you to join me.
Today is my first day in the office since Christmas and I was greeted with a rather self-righteous letter regarding three words that were spoken during the Vineyard Christmas Show. In the letter I was told to "quit being so controversial." (You'd never guess the three offensive words, so don't even try - They weren't even said by me.) My response to that is that I have indeed quit trying to be controversial to the best of my ability and maturity. When I was younger I did things for the sake of controversy. Young people do that. They overreact. Now that I am less young, I do things for specific reasons. It seems to me a dialogue about the reasons why someone did something offensive to you would be more beneficial than shooting a stranger a letter, email, or far worse - a publicly viewed comment on a social media site. It is bad when Christians argue without seeking understanding in private. It is anti-missional and self-destructive when it happens in a public forum. We come off as arrogant and ignorant. And most people know enough about Jesus to know that we are being hypocritical when we do so.
A month back I was publicly criticized on Facebook for taking a vacation. The argument went that as a pastor I should not make enough money to take the sort of vacation I took. This may be a fair argument, but it is not fair to do it publicly. Had the person personally contacted me I would have offered my W-2 statements, receipts for my vacation expenses and the reasons why Debbie and I take a trip like this every five years without the kids. After seeing the numbers, that person could (still rather subjectively) decide if I am overpaid. If after that dialogue the person convinced me that I was in truth being overpaid as a pastor, I would take a pay cut. I have done this before for the sake of the mission of organizations I believe in. I'd do it again. Alas, none of this could be discussed because there was no attempt to understand. The reaction was to publicly malign.
I have advocated Facebook and Twitter for the church. They can be useful tools to promote community. Our problem comes when we begin to believe that the person we are relating with online is some avatar living within our computer. Life is not a game. People matter. Matthew 18 and Paul's one another commands apply on Facebook as much as in "real life."
I'm going to commit to seek to understand before seeking to be understood in 2010. I'd love for you to join me.
Friday, December 25, 2009
The Christmas Virus
Since reading this passage in CS Lewis' Mere Christianity years ago I have annually been reminded of it on Christmas day. Christmas is the moment the earth was infected...
We are not begotten by God, we are only made by Him: in our natural state we are not sons of God, only (so to speak) statues. We have not got Zoe or spiritual life: only Bios or biological life which is presently going to run down and die. Now the whole offer which Christianity makes is this: that we can, if we let God have His way, come to share in the life of Christ. If we do, we shall then be sharing a life which was begotten, not made, which always has existed and always will exist Christ is the Son of God. If we share in this kind of life we also shall be sons of God. We shall love the Father as He does and the Holy Ghost will arise in us. He came to this world and became a man in order to spread to other men the kind of life He has-by what I call "good infection." Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else.
We are not begotten by God, we are only made by Him: in our natural state we are not sons of God, only (so to speak) statues. We have not got Zoe or spiritual life: only Bios or biological life which is presently going to run down and die. Now the whole offer which Christianity makes is this: that we can, if we let God have His way, come to share in the life of Christ. If we do, we shall then be sharing a life which was begotten, not made, which always has existed and always will exist Christ is the Son of God. If we share in this kind of life we also shall be sons of God. We shall love the Father as He does and the Holy Ghost will arise in us. He came to this world and became a man in order to spread to other men the kind of life He has-by what I call "good infection." Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Thoughts on War, Nation and Kingdom
I'm a member of a community of theologians and practitioners called The Ekklesia Project. Recently, I was asked to contribute an essay as a response to President Obama's Nobel speech. I don't naturally write about things that are "political" in the way we normally use the word in society. The following is my response to the practice of War. It is some new work combined with an edit of an older essay. This Advent we desire peace.
Thoughts on War, Nation and Kingdom:
Although I resonate with many of the tenants of pacifism, I am not a very good pacifist. I want to be, but if you try to hurt my wife or kids, odds are, I’ll slug you in the face. That’s all to say, I haven’t got all of this figured out.
When it comes to issues of war, nationalism and imperialism; I can afford to have stronger convictions in part because I am not in a position to act on them – as President Obama currently is. Here again is a transparent inconsistency in me. I want to live in a world where the church leads the way into peace, but I also stubbornly enjoy knowing that I live in a nation-state system that uses violence to regulate “peace” to my personal benefit. Like many, I have some mixed views on the subject. I could be a hypocrite. But hopefully I am just finding my way to a practical expression of my theological convictions.
My primary problem with war is that it is so powerful. (Here, of course, I paraphrase Yoder, Hauerwas and others.) War, we all say, is hell; but there is nothing better than War to draw people together for a common purpose. My issues, therefore, with War and nation-worship rest here. It is such a powerful thing that it becomes a shadow of what is real. War is the fuel that propels the false idol of nationalism.
War reminds us (as Americans) that we are part of a Kingdom – the Kingdom (reign) of what we commonly call freedom, democracy or justice. It also gives us a Mission – an enemy to eradicate and a higher purpose worth dying for. Lastly, War (I capitalize the word as if it were a person or a god purposely) births genuine community. We have only to think back to the days after 9-11 to remember how “close” we felt to each other as Americans. War brings us together. War protects us while giving us hope and security for our future. The only problem is, that’s God’s job.
War is the way nationalists worship.
The problem for Christians is that we have foundational beliefs associated with Kingdom, Mission and Community. The common gods of War and Nation shadow our beliefs so closely that we give ourselves over to them without a second thought. These issues of Kingdom, Mission and Community should matter tremendously to us. Our God, it would seem, is innately connected to these ideals:
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 – or subjects. 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. God elected Abraham and the nation of Israel to be his chosen people, but Israel could not be faithful to his covenant.
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. He was the one true Israelite. Jesus came, announcing the good news (gospel) that the Kingdom had broken into humanity in a new, fresh, and eschatologically significant way. As the Messiah/Christ (our political King) Jesus offered access into the Kingdom of God to all who would listen to his proclamation, repent and faithfully live under his political 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. The Kingdom Jesus brought to us is better than the Kingdoms of the world. War distracts us from this reality.
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. Disciples of Jesus follow Him as King and are sent by Him both as his ambassadors and soldiers 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 battlefield – where the mission is accomplished. They are reclaiming the earth for their King. They are residents of the Kingdom of God-both the Kingdom of the here-and-now and the Kingdom that is to come. In this sense, Jesus disciples are by nature already armpit deep in world war. We cannot afford to be distracted by another.
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. If you will, God is a nation-builder.
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 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.
When the Kingdom of God is proclaimed and received in a given locality, the Holy Spirit forms the people of God into a church. The local church functions as the people of God and as the embassy of the Kingdom of God in a given culture.
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 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 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 historically weakens when it converts to a nation-state or a “secular” epistemology.
CONCLUSION:
These are my thoughts this Advent as I ponder the state of the world. I am not an academic or a politician. I have no real answers to how the church universal (or American) should react to the current Wars raging on the planet. I’m just a practitioner and pastor who desires to see Jesus conquer violence once and for all. I help lead a large evangelical mega-church in Ohio full of people whom I love and serve, but who mostly think differently than me on these points. My hope in posting this essay is only to contribute slightly to a discussion that may help me and others like me lead God’s people through a violent and deceptive world.
Thoughts on War, Nation and Kingdom:
Although I resonate with many of the tenants of pacifism, I am not a very good pacifist. I want to be, but if you try to hurt my wife or kids, odds are, I’ll slug you in the face. That’s all to say, I haven’t got all of this figured out.
When it comes to issues of war, nationalism and imperialism; I can afford to have stronger convictions in part because I am not in a position to act on them – as President Obama currently is. Here again is a transparent inconsistency in me. I want to live in a world where the church leads the way into peace, but I also stubbornly enjoy knowing that I live in a nation-state system that uses violence to regulate “peace” to my personal benefit. Like many, I have some mixed views on the subject. I could be a hypocrite. But hopefully I am just finding my way to a practical expression of my theological convictions.
My primary problem with war is that it is so powerful. (Here, of course, I paraphrase Yoder, Hauerwas and others.) War, we all say, is hell; but there is nothing better than War to draw people together for a common purpose. My issues, therefore, with War and nation-worship rest here. It is such a powerful thing that it becomes a shadow of what is real. War is the fuel that propels the false idol of nationalism.
War reminds us (as Americans) that we are part of a Kingdom – the Kingdom (reign) of what we commonly call freedom, democracy or justice. It also gives us a Mission – an enemy to eradicate and a higher purpose worth dying for. Lastly, War (I capitalize the word as if it were a person or a god purposely) births genuine community. We have only to think back to the days after 9-11 to remember how “close” we felt to each other as Americans. War brings us together. War protects us while giving us hope and security for our future. The only problem is, that’s God’s job.
War is the way nationalists worship.
The problem for Christians is that we have foundational beliefs associated with Kingdom, Mission and Community. The common gods of War and Nation shadow our beliefs so closely that we give ourselves over to them without a second thought. These issues of Kingdom, Mission and Community should matter tremendously to us. Our God, it would seem, is innately connected to these ideals:
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 – or subjects. 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. God elected Abraham and the nation of Israel to be his chosen people, but Israel could not be faithful to his covenant.
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. He was the one true Israelite. Jesus came, announcing the good news (gospel) that the Kingdom had broken into humanity in a new, fresh, and eschatologically significant way. As the Messiah/Christ (our political King) Jesus offered access into the Kingdom of God to all who would listen to his proclamation, repent and faithfully live under his political 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. The Kingdom Jesus brought to us is better than the Kingdoms of the world. War distracts us from this reality.
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. Disciples of Jesus follow Him as King and are sent by Him both as his ambassadors and soldiers 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 battlefield – where the mission is accomplished. They are reclaiming the earth for their King. They are residents of the Kingdom of God-both the Kingdom of the here-and-now and the Kingdom that is to come. In this sense, Jesus disciples are by nature already armpit deep in world war. We cannot afford to be distracted by another.
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. If you will, God is a nation-builder.
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 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.
When the Kingdom of God is proclaimed and received in a given locality, the Holy Spirit forms the people of God into a church. The local church functions as the people of God and as the embassy of the Kingdom of God in a given culture.
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 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 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 historically weakens when it converts to a nation-state or a “secular” epistemology.
CONCLUSION:
These are my thoughts this Advent as I ponder the state of the world. I am not an academic or a politician. I have no real answers to how the church universal (or American) should react to the current Wars raging on the planet. I’m just a practitioner and pastor who desires to see Jesus conquer violence once and for all. I help lead a large evangelical mega-church in Ohio full of people whom I love and serve, but who mostly think differently than me on these points. My hope in posting this essay is only to contribute slightly to a discussion that may help me and others like me lead God’s people through a violent and deceptive world.
Monday, December 14, 2009
The Christmas Show
This year The Christmas Show at the Vineyard will unwrap the nativity story on stage and screen. Six characters in six different art forms and styles that will work together to give you a fresh perspective on the nativity story. A mix of humor, drama, dance, original music and perhaps a couple streamer-launching cannons. tix.vineyardcincinnati.com Check out the videos below...turns out the Nativity Wise Men are a little miffed they were overlooked in the casting process this year...
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Input.
Debbie and I had a great time in Cancun celebrating our 15th Anniversary (Officially it is New Years Eve.). Four nights/five days in a tropical paradise was great. I could have easily doubled that, but I am not about to complain. There is lots to do here over the next few weeks that I am very excited about. I'm speaking this weekend in the second week of the Advent 09 teaching series at The Vineyard. Then full steam ahead to The Christmas Show Dec 21, 22 and 23. It's a free ticketed event, so head on over and reserve your tickets now at this link.
The last year of my life has been full of output - writing my first book, directing/producing a feature film, several dozen teaching engagements, etc. It has been a fun and adventuresome year, but too much output can wear a person down - even a performer type. I read four books on my vacation. There was a time in my life when I was reading about three books per week. That was a high "input" season. I'm hoping next year is a better balance of input and output. Regardless, it was good to read on the beach for a few days.
I have to say that I picked exactly the right books for my vacation. I read a collection of short stories from my favorite sci-fi author, Philip K. Dick. I don't read a lot of fiction, so that was a nice change of pace. I'll tell you the other three books if you don't make fun of me for reading them on vacation - we all rest in different ways:
1. The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief
- Francis Collins is a Christian scientist who led the Human Genome Project. This book hugely strengthened my faith. I've said before that I struggle with doubt and I think most people just think it is me overstating some minor questions that I have, but it isn't. I'm a real-deal doubter sometimes. Most typical apologetic books don't speak my language, but I loved Collins. I recommend him unconditionally for anyone with a scientific mind struggling with the evidence for a Creator.
2. Justification: God's Plan & Paul's Vision
- First an admission: I have tasted the N.T. Wright Kool-Aid and it is good. Wright is my favorite living theologian. I have a bit of a giddy schoolgirl crush on him. This book allowed me to step back and take a fresh look at Pauline theology. Most people aren't looking for that on vacation, but it is exactly what I needed. I'm going to re-read it soon, but I recommend it for any armchair theologian struggling with Kingdom or narrative theology.
3. Outliers: The Story of Success
- Love me some Malcolm Gladwell. I've read all of his books and have enjoyed them. This one probably wasn't as mind-blowing as Blink or The Tipping Point, but I have found myself thinking about the stories in it through the day. I love Gladwell on his audio books. His voice is great.
Glad to be home. Time for some output now...off to start thinking about this weekend's message.
The last year of my life has been full of output - writing my first book, directing/producing a feature film, several dozen teaching engagements, etc. It has been a fun and adventuresome year, but too much output can wear a person down - even a performer type. I read four books on my vacation. There was a time in my life when I was reading about three books per week. That was a high "input" season. I'm hoping next year is a better balance of input and output. Regardless, it was good to read on the beach for a few days.
I have to say that I picked exactly the right books for my vacation. I read a collection of short stories from my favorite sci-fi author, Philip K. Dick. I don't read a lot of fiction, so that was a nice change of pace. I'll tell you the other three books if you don't make fun of me for reading them on vacation - we all rest in different ways:
1. The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief
- Francis Collins is a Christian scientist who led the Human Genome Project. This book hugely strengthened my faith. I've said before that I struggle with doubt and I think most people just think it is me overstating some minor questions that I have, but it isn't. I'm a real-deal doubter sometimes. Most typical apologetic books don't speak my language, but I loved Collins. I recommend him unconditionally for anyone with a scientific mind struggling with the evidence for a Creator.
2. Justification: God's Plan & Paul's Vision
- First an admission: I have tasted the N.T. Wright Kool-Aid and it is good. Wright is my favorite living theologian. I have a bit of a giddy schoolgirl crush on him. This book allowed me to step back and take a fresh look at Pauline theology. Most people aren't looking for that on vacation, but it is exactly what I needed. I'm going to re-read it soon, but I recommend it for any armchair theologian struggling with Kingdom or narrative theology.3. Outliers: The Story of Success
- Love me some Malcolm Gladwell. I've read all of his books and have enjoyed them. This one probably wasn't as mind-blowing as Blink or The Tipping Point, but I have found myself thinking about the stories in it through the day. I love Gladwell on his audio books. His voice is great.Glad to be home. Time for some output now...off to start thinking about this weekend's message.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Doing Nothing is Hard.
I think Holidays are exceptionally hard to handle for driven people. Mandatory world-wide down time is frustrating to people addicted to action and interaction. (It's the kind of thing that could make the world's greatest golfer freak out at two in the morning.) I put myself in the category of those addicted to action. Unplugging from the internet for about 36 hours over Thanksgiving was kind of hard for me. I had a few emails come in from some very driven, very successful people in my life on Thanksgiving night. Didn't surprise me at all. When I was primarily a professional actor I would always send a "year in review" update to all of my professional contacts the day after Thanksgiving. It gave me something to do. Hollywood more or less shuts down between Thanksgiving and New Years. It was always maddening to go from auditioning one or two times per day to about once per week. It was depressing.
These days my professional life is more or less defined, but I have felt those manic urges that always flood my mind after a day or two of "rest" - the compulsion to start writing a new book or to edit an old screenplay or to sign up for some obscure art appreciation class at the community college. I've heard that the ancients didn't have a word for boredom. I don't know if that is true or not...but it seems the more people have to do the more capacity we have to become bored.
My summer vacation this year was more working fun than resting downtime. Since then I haven't stopped. I don't feel physically exhausted. I've had days to rest and relax. I just feel like I am on one of those remote control race car tracks that goes in circles at high speeds and never ends. Here's a helpful hint that I have learned - the harder you run, the harder it is to stop. The first few days of trying to "rest" tend to be very frustrating. It's hard to detox from doing. At a similar time in my life years ago, I went on a spiritual retreat - 3 days of silence and solitude in a beautiful monastery in San Jose. I slept 20 of the first 24 hours. That should tell you something.
Debbie and I are heading to Cancun next week for five days to celebrate 15 years of wedded bliss. It is not our normal sort of vacation - we tend to like cities, musicals, movies and urban action. Our tenth year anniversary trip was to San Francisco. That's more us, really. But I think this is what we need - a self-imposed lock down in an all-you-can-eat-and-drink tropical resort sounds about right for 15 years of marriage. I have a hunch the first day of doing nothing may be harder than I expect...but I fully intend to get used to doing nothing before coming back to face winter number three in the Great Midwest.
“Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering.” -Winnie the Pooh
These days my professional life is more or less defined, but I have felt those manic urges that always flood my mind after a day or two of "rest" - the compulsion to start writing a new book or to edit an old screenplay or to sign up for some obscure art appreciation class at the community college. I've heard that the ancients didn't have a word for boredom. I don't know if that is true or not...but it seems the more people have to do the more capacity we have to become bored.
My summer vacation this year was more working fun than resting downtime. Since then I haven't stopped. I don't feel physically exhausted. I've had days to rest and relax. I just feel like I am on one of those remote control race car tracks that goes in circles at high speeds and never ends. Here's a helpful hint that I have learned - the harder you run, the harder it is to stop. The first few days of trying to "rest" tend to be very frustrating. It's hard to detox from doing. At a similar time in my life years ago, I went on a spiritual retreat - 3 days of silence and solitude in a beautiful monastery in San Jose. I slept 20 of the first 24 hours. That should tell you something.
Debbie and I are heading to Cancun next week for five days to celebrate 15 years of wedded bliss. It is not our normal sort of vacation - we tend to like cities, musicals, movies and urban action. Our tenth year anniversary trip was to San Francisco. That's more us, really. But I think this is what we need - a self-imposed lock down in an all-you-can-eat-and-drink tropical resort sounds about right for 15 years of marriage. I have a hunch the first day of doing nothing may be harder than I expect...but I fully intend to get used to doing nothing before coming back to face winter number three in the Great Midwest.
“Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering.” -Winnie the Pooh
Monday, November 23, 2009
The Ethics of Elfland
This morning I re-read "The Ethics of Elfland," the fourth chapter of G.K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy. Chesterton is hard for many people to digest, but understanding him changed my life. Here's a quote that jumped out at me today:
In short, I had always believed that the world involved magic: now I thought that perhaps it involved a magician. And this pointed a profound emotion always present and sub-conscious; that this world of ours has some purpose; and if there is a purpose, there is a person. I had always felt life first as a story: and if there is a story there is a story-teller.
I dare you to read the whole chapter by clicking here. Double-dog dare you.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Classic Improv Moment
My friend Fuller made me think of this scene from On the Waterfront today. Once Eva Marie Saint drops her glove, the scene is improvised. The actors momentarily lost their place and direction, but the director didn't cut. I think Brando's "crickets make me nervous" line is one of the greatest in the history of improv. Just wanted to share it today:
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Q City Players - 2 New Shows
Get your improv on:
* Friday, November 20th 9pm at Taza Coffeehouse
Tix are $5
2900 Jefferson Avenue Cincinnati, Ohio 45219
www.taza.cc
* Sunday, November 22nd at Flavors Eatery
8374 Princeton Glendale Rd West Chester, Ohio 45069
2 Shows: 5pm and 7pm
Tix are $15, which include dinner, drink and show
-Limited Seating. Must call to reserve a seat at (513) 860-9550
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Between Two Kingdoms
My book - Between Two Kingdoms
- is now available for pre-order on Amazon, though it won't be coming out until March/April. If you'd like to pre-order your copy you can click on the link below. If you never ever buy one, we can still be friends - just to let you know. I always feel a little funny about marketing my stuff, but lots of you have been asking about it. I wanted to let you know it is available.
- is now available for pre-order on Amazon, though it won't be coming out until March/April. If you'd like to pre-order your copy you can click on the link below. If you never ever buy one, we can still be friends - just to let you know. I always feel a little funny about marketing my stuff, but lots of you have been asking about it. I wanted to let you know it is available. Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Remembering Charlie this week
Here are the details:
Visitation:
Wednesday, Nov. 4 from 4pm to 8pm
E.C. Nurre Funeral Home (Amelia)
177 W. Main Street
Amelia, OH 45102
513.753.6130
If you have a favorite picture of Charlie you would be willing to share with his wife and family, please bring it to the visitation and help us create a photo collage of the people, places, and activities that he loved.
Funeral:
Vineyard Community Church in Springdale
Thursday, Nov. 5th at 10:00 a.m. in the main Auditorium
A note from Dana Cochran: Some of you have been asking if you can bring food, etc. At this time they have plenty of food scheduled for Angie and the kids. If you would like to contribute in other ways, gift cards would be great. (dining, groceries, etc.) You can bring them to the Vineyard Resource Center (offices) and leave them at the receptionist desk. We will also have a basket on Thursday at the South Lobby Info Desk. We will make sure that Angie receives them. In lieu of flowers, Angie has asked that contributions be sent to the Mason Vineyard where Charlie poured his heart into the last 6 months. Mason Vineyard’s address is 808 Reading Road, Mason, OH 45040.
Visitation:
Wednesday, Nov. 4 from 4pm to 8pm
E.C. Nurre Funeral Home (Amelia)
177 W. Main Street
Amelia, OH 45102
513.753.6130
If you have a favorite picture of Charlie you would be willing to share with his wife and family, please bring it to the visitation and help us create a photo collage of the people, places, and activities that he loved.
Funeral:
Vineyard Community Church in Springdale
Thursday, Nov. 5th at 10:00 a.m. in the main Auditorium
A note from Dana Cochran: Some of you have been asking if you can bring food, etc. At this time they have plenty of food scheduled for Angie and the kids. If you would like to contribute in other ways, gift cards would be great. (dining, groceries, etc.) You can bring them to the Vineyard Resource Center (offices) and leave them at the receptionist desk. We will also have a basket on Thursday at the South Lobby Info Desk. We will make sure that Angie receives them. In lieu of flowers, Angie has asked that contributions be sent to the Mason Vineyard where Charlie poured his heart into the last 6 months. Mason Vineyard’s address is 808 Reading Road, Mason, OH 45040.
Monday, November 02, 2009
Words from Henri Nouwen
As I look for words to respond to members of my community over the sudden and early loss of one of our friends, I have found myself turning back to a mentor of mine. Nobody I have read faced death as honestly as Nouwen. He took the time as he was dying to write for those of us he knew would face our own death and the deaths of those we love. I have few answers, but Nouwen helps me process:
When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who care
Let us not underestimate how hard it is to be compassionate. Compassion is hard because it requires the inner disposition to go with others to the place where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely, and broken. But this is not our spontaneous response to suffering. What we desire most is to do away with suffering by fleeing from it or finding a quick cure for it. As busy, active, relevant ministers, we want to earn our bread by making a real contribution. This means first and foremost doing something to show that our presence makes a difference. And so we ignore our greatest gift, which is our ability to enter into solidarity with those who suffer. Those who can sit in silence with their fellowman, not knowing what to say but knowing that they should be there, can bring new life in a dying heart. Those who are not afraid to hold a hand in gratitude, to shed tears in grief and to let a sigh of distress arise straight from the heart can break through paralyzing boundaries and witness the birth of a new fellowship, the fellowship of the broken.
When we become aware that we do not have to escape our pains, but that we can mobilize them into a common search for life, those very pains are transformed from expressions of despair into signs of hope.
Every time there are losses there are choices to be made. You choose to live your losses as passages to anger, blame, hatred, depression and resentment, or you choose to let these losses be passages to something new, something wider, and deeper.
When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who care
Let us not underestimate how hard it is to be compassionate. Compassion is hard because it requires the inner disposition to go with others to the place where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely, and broken. But this is not our spontaneous response to suffering. What we desire most is to do away with suffering by fleeing from it or finding a quick cure for it. As busy, active, relevant ministers, we want to earn our bread by making a real contribution. This means first and foremost doing something to show that our presence makes a difference. And so we ignore our greatest gift, which is our ability to enter into solidarity with those who suffer. Those who can sit in silence with their fellowman, not knowing what to say but knowing that they should be there, can bring new life in a dying heart. Those who are not afraid to hold a hand in gratitude, to shed tears in grief and to let a sigh of distress arise straight from the heart can break through paralyzing boundaries and witness the birth of a new fellowship, the fellowship of the broken.
When we become aware that we do not have to escape our pains, but that we can mobilize them into a common search for life, those very pains are transformed from expressions of despair into signs of hope.
Every time there are losses there are choices to be made. You choose to live your losses as passages to anger, blame, hatred, depression and resentment, or you choose to let these losses be passages to something new, something wider, and deeper.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Charlie Matthews
We lost Charlie this morning. Here is a note from his wife, Angie:
Charlie passed away peacefully this morning with family and close friends by his side. His 37 years were packed with so much life and joy. In the coming days we will be sure to post information about services and funeral arrangements. It would mean so much to mean for all of you to be there to remember him.
Thanks for your support through this. He fought a good fight.
With love,
Angie
Charlie loved God and the church. He worked hard at everything he did including this fight in the hospital. All we can do know for Angie and the kids is pray. I will keep you posted here with ways to reach out once I know more.
And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me... Philippians 1
Charlie passed away peacefully this morning with family and close friends by his side. His 37 years were packed with so much life and joy. In the coming days we will be sure to post information about services and funeral arrangements. It would mean so much to mean for all of you to be there to remember him.
Thanks for your support through this. He fought a good fight.
With love,
Angie
Charlie loved God and the church. He worked hard at everything he did including this fight in the hospital. All we can do know for Angie and the kids is pray. I will keep you posted here with ways to reach out once I know more.
And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me... Philippians 1
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Jeremy.
Over a decade ago I met the electrician of the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. We went on a wild kingdom-seeking ride together that nearly cost us both our sanity. I think we'd both say it was worth it. Jeremy spoke at my home church in Las Vegas for a few minutes recently. Nobody talks about Jesus exactly the same way Jeremy does. I'm proud of him.
Monday, October 19, 2009
the jesus underground: church
(That's my buddy Jim Zartman's voice you hear in the video below...feel free to pause it. I won't tell him.)
This weekend I spoke from Acts 2:42-47. I'd say that no other section of the BIble has messed with me more than this one. The picture painted of the early church in action is mesmerizing in its simplicity. Strangers from every nation suddenly thrown together radically sharing all they have within the reality of a supernatural visitation from God himself. Who wouldn't want that? To know that there is a God and that He is present. To be fully accepted and valued within a generous family. To see others join the community everyday as Jesus draws them in. To me...that's the Kingdom come. To me...that's church. Or at least what church can be or will be.
This understanding led me to reject the "organizational church" for about half a decade of my life. On my most frustrated days, I was overstated - condemning those who do the sorts of things I do now - things like taking a paycheck from a "church" or encouraging what I called "program centered ministry." On my better days, I was rather level headed about it all. I knew that I did not have to be part of a 501(c)3 organization to be the church. It was ok for others, but I was done with it all.
Overtime I became more comfortable being around organized Christianity again. Today I'm part of the system. When I came back to vocational ministry, those who thought I "went off the deep end" sent me notes saying that they had been praying that "I would return to church." It was OK that they didn't get it...
Today my more staunch anti-institutionalist friends likely see me as a bit of a sellout. I can understand that. We were on a crusade to prove it could work without all the fringe stuff - we'd wax poetic about churches without buildings, budgets and big shots. I still respect them. I still hope what they are doing works. And whether they see it my way or not...I still think I'm one of them.
In my early twenties I began to see myself as a missionary called to North America. Since then I have, for the most part, lived up to that calling. It was primarily missional thinking that brought me to reject the way I had always thought of church. I simply didn't believe that the institutional church was on track to see a redeemed North America. Somebody had to try something else. It was my missiology (in conjunction with some burnout and restlessness) that fueled my second career as an actor. And it was another missional conviction (in conjunction with some unexplainable Holy Spirit stuff) that brought us back to Cincinnati.
My life vision is to see a church (defined as one of God's new families on a mission) within walking distance of every person in North America. A big organization like The Vineyard can encourage that in significant ways. I've thrown my whole heart into the mission of the Vineyard so easily because it fits perfectly into my personal vision and mission. Personally, I'm not all that into the idea of big churches unless they can produce small ones on a daily basis. And call them what you want - small groups, house churches, church cells, ministry teams...I don't care what you call them. I call them churches. And I want to see one in every neighborhood in Cincinnati as soon as possible.
When it starts to really happen it will be too messy for any organization to control it anyway. That's how we'll know it is from God.
This weekend I spoke from Acts 2:42-47. I'd say that no other section of the BIble has messed with me more than this one. The picture painted of the early church in action is mesmerizing in its simplicity. Strangers from every nation suddenly thrown together radically sharing all they have within the reality of a supernatural visitation from God himself. Who wouldn't want that? To know that there is a God and that He is present. To be fully accepted and valued within a generous family. To see others join the community everyday as Jesus draws them in. To me...that's the Kingdom come. To me...that's church. Or at least what church can be or will be.
This understanding led me to reject the "organizational church" for about half a decade of my life. On my most frustrated days, I was overstated - condemning those who do the sorts of things I do now - things like taking a paycheck from a "church" or encouraging what I called "program centered ministry." On my better days, I was rather level headed about it all. I knew that I did not have to be part of a 501(c)3 organization to be the church. It was ok for others, but I was done with it all.
Overtime I became more comfortable being around organized Christianity again. Today I'm part of the system. When I came back to vocational ministry, those who thought I "went off the deep end" sent me notes saying that they had been praying that "I would return to church." It was OK that they didn't get it...
Today my more staunch anti-institutionalist friends likely see me as a bit of a sellout. I can understand that. We were on a crusade to prove it could work without all the fringe stuff - we'd wax poetic about churches without buildings, budgets and big shots. I still respect them. I still hope what they are doing works. And whether they see it my way or not...I still think I'm one of them.
In my early twenties I began to see myself as a missionary called to North America. Since then I have, for the most part, lived up to that calling. It was primarily missional thinking that brought me to reject the way I had always thought of church. I simply didn't believe that the institutional church was on track to see a redeemed North America. Somebody had to try something else. It was my missiology (in conjunction with some burnout and restlessness) that fueled my second career as an actor. And it was another missional conviction (in conjunction with some unexplainable Holy Spirit stuff) that brought us back to Cincinnati.
My life vision is to see a church (defined as one of God's new families on a mission) within walking distance of every person in North America. A big organization like The Vineyard can encourage that in significant ways. I've thrown my whole heart into the mission of the Vineyard so easily because it fits perfectly into my personal vision and mission. Personally, I'm not all that into the idea of big churches unless they can produce small ones on a daily basis. And call them what you want - small groups, house churches, church cells, ministry teams...I don't care what you call them. I call them churches. And I want to see one in every neighborhood in Cincinnati as soon as possible.
When it starts to really happen it will be too messy for any organization to control it anyway. That's how we'll know it is from God.
Friday, October 09, 2009
Charlie Matthews Update #2
Sean Michael and I just returned from visiting Charlie and Angie at the hospital. Angie was overwhelmed, but in good spirits. Charlie's vitals were not stable this morning, but they have now regulated. He is sedated and may be for a long while. As we were leaving they were putting Charlie in a special bed that would rotate him and help his lungs to heal. It looked like something from the NASA Apollo program.
Here's a more official statement:
Charlie is now stabilized, and the pulmonologist believes that “he will continue to improve at this time, but not sure how fast that will happen”. They believe that the aggressive treatment they have him on will continue to add to his stability. He is currently being sedated so that he can heal and rest.
Mason Vineyard has set up a webpage to give daily updates. Those of you interested can sign in and get daily info there. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/charliematthews
Here's a more official statement:
Charlie is now stabilized, and the pulmonologist believes that “he will continue to improve at this time, but not sure how fast that will happen”. They believe that the aggressive treatment they have him on will continue to add to his stability. He is currently being sedated so that he can heal and rest.
Mason Vineyard has set up a webpage to give daily updates. Those of you interested can sign in and get daily info there. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/charliematthews
Urgent Prayer Request
Please pray for our friend Charlie Matthews. Here's a short update from Dave Workman from a few minutes ago:
I have a critical need for your prayers immediately. The pastor of our Mason churchplant, Charlie Matthews, began feeling flu-like symptoms last week. I spoke for him this past weekend at his church, but a couple of days later he went into the hospital with double-pneumonia. Yesterday they put him on a ventilator and suddenly this morning he “coded”, was revived, and now on life-support. Please pray for him; the Mason church just had their new “re-launch” in a new building, with Charlie as their new pastor. Please pray for his wife Angie and their two young children.
Thanks,
Dave Workman
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Explaining the Innate?
I periodically face a struggle. Several times each year I am asked to teach a class, write an article or simply talk about the art of storytelling. I've even had some limited interest from some folks who want me write a book on the topic. I'd love to do that. Here's the rub: I don't really know much about how I actually tell stories. I've read a few books, but they didn't really help me much. I have never taken a class on storytelling. Everything I do or know is completely innate. The one exception might be my improv and acting training which bleeds through at some level.
I wonder if anyone out there has made this jump. I think about artists or musicians who become teachers of art and music. How did you do that? My storytelling process begins and ends with staring at a wall for an hour, then telling a story. In some ways it feels like trying to teach someone to be 6'2 with brown hair and a hot wife. It's just who I am...not what I purposely decided to become.
Any advice? How do you teach people to do something you don't know how you do yourself? Or maybe, how do you learn how you do something that nobody ever taught you to do?
If you help me, I'll dedicate the book to you :)
I wonder if anyone out there has made this jump. I think about artists or musicians who become teachers of art and music. How did you do that? My storytelling process begins and ends with staring at a wall for an hour, then telling a story. In some ways it feels like trying to teach someone to be 6'2 with brown hair and a hot wife. It's just who I am...not what I purposely decided to become.
Any advice? How do you teach people to do something you don't know how you do yourself? Or maybe, how do you learn how you do something that nobody ever taught you to do?
If you help me, I'll dedicate the book to you :)
Monday, October 05, 2009
Prom Press
A fun piece from a local news station about the Vineyard Prom this past weekend:
And also from channel 9:
And also from channel 9:
Monday, September 28, 2009
We aren't who we were...
This weekend at The Vineyard we talked about the reality that your story is unfinished. You don't have to settle for who you are now if you don't want to. 80-90 people publicly decided for the first time to trust Jesus to change their story. It was a good weekend.
I read a few responses in my message this weekend from a question I asked on twitter/facebook this past Friday. I've compiled the entire list to share with you here. It's amazing to see what we once were compared to what we are now. Feel free to add to the list in the comment section below:
Steve – I was once broken but now I am whole.
Stephanie – I was once bound, but now I am free.
Harmony – I was once forgotten, but now I am cherished.
Cindy – I was once in darknes, but now I am in the light.
Trevor – I was once bound by the delusion of worldly grandeur, but now I am working for crowns that do not decay.
Barbara – I was once hell bound, but now I am heaven bound.
Sarah – I was once self-centered, but now I am a servant leader.
Adam – I was once lost, having no hope, but now I am a pastor, living my life to serve and obey his will for me.
Chris – I was once lost, but now I am lost with a light to follow.
Cris – I was once sick, but now I’m healed.
Mary – I was once lost, but now I’m found.
Allison – I was once a mess, but now I am less of a mess.
Martin – I was once on autopilot, but now I am on manuel guide.
Karla – I was once religious, but now I am in a relationship with the Creator of the universe.
Vellanee – I was once hopeless about my future, but now I know the promises God made for my prosperity shall be kept.
Christine – I once found my identity through what others thought of me, but now my identity comes from what God thinks of me.
Laura – I was once wondering if God was listening, but now I am seeing his hand at work all along.
Rich - I once was skinny, insecure, introvert, lustful, given to much beer, angry, resentful, envious, teary, sorry for myself, short sighted (metaphorically), materialistic, possessive, easily offended, and vain, but now I am buff, confident, extrovert, sexually mature, two beer an evening for the health of it, peaceful, respectful, contented, full of laughter, compassionate, eternally focused, relational, generous, teflon, and...still vain (wardrobe and aussie assome volume styling mousse).
Tracey – I was once hopeless, but now I am excited to see what God has next for me.
Carla – I was once indifferent to God and his word, but now I am learning the truth.
MaryKay – I was once “religious” but now I am cultivating a relationship with God.
Leslye – I was once empty and full of hurt on the inside, nothing filled the hole in my heart, God’s spirit and love has filled that once empty hurting heart with peace and contentment and care for others.
Kris – I was one a mound of dirt and now I am a flower.
Laurel – I was once unaware but now I am conscious.
Dan – I was once alone in my inner world, but now I have opened that world to trusted friends.
Tina – I once drifted, but now I am directed.
Amy – I was once dead, but now I am alive.
Cindy – I was once enslaved, but now I am empowered.
Janett - :/ but now :D
Heather – I was once miserable and unhappy with lots of things in my life, but now I am at peace and thankful for everything I have been given.
Kristina – I was once prone to sadness, but now I am prone to joy.
Sawajayne (twitter)– I was once navigating by an old worn out map, but now I’m rolling with GPS.
Vegas710 (twitter) – I was once suspicious, but now I am trusting.
Karlalovesjody (twitter) – I once believed in making my own way, but now I know God will guide me – I only have to listen.
Pomorev (twitter) – I once was aspirationless, but now I am full of purpose.
Kande – I once was restless, but now I’m at peace.
Cindy – I once was hopeless, but now I have hope and someone in my corner.
Annie – I was once defined by my past, but now I am defined by my King.
Stew – I was once cynical, but now I am hopeful.
Jeff – I was once lost, but now I’m found.
Daniel – I was once religious, but now I am His.
Dave – I was once a screwed up mess, but now I am a screwed up mess with hope.
Barbara – I was once disoriented, listening to mu doubts and fears, but now I am focused, listening to God’s directions.
Laurel – I was once doing, but now I am being.
Kathi – I was once so far gone I didn’t believe I needed to exist, but now I am serving a faithful and mighty God.
Angie – I was once driven by fear, anger and control, but now I am set free.
Rita – I was once darkness, but now I am light.
Andrea – I was once all about hearing myself talk, but now I am a reflective listener.
Anna – I was once looking for love from men but now I am fully complete in God’s love and married to a man who loves God as much as I do.
Jon – I was once a talk-the-talker, but now I am a walk-the-walker.
Erina – I was once lost, but now I am faithful in heart.
Peggy - I was once in total denial; thinking that all the bad things that happened was because I was just not good enough - not worthy enough, but now I'm living in the light of God's presence. Knowing that whatever this world sends my way that the awesome Creator of the universe can and will use it for good.
Lisa – I was once alone and in need of no one but now I am never alone and forever in need of a Savior.
Dave – I was once blind but now I see.
Pamela – I was once beat up physically, mentally, spiritually but now I am restored, healed and full of joy.
Emily - I once was trying to live my life by my plans...now I try to let my life be according to his plans. I once was in the darkest of despair but now I am with his help becoming more & more ok with the crazy way he takes hurt to make me a better person.
Tiffany – I was lost but now I am saved.
Robb – I was once broken, but now I am healed.
Jim – I was once trying to be in control of my life, but now I am letting God take control a little more each day…it’s a work in progress.
Cheryl – I was once full of myself, but now I’m full of the Spirt.
Steve - I was once an idiot who thought that women were a means to an end, or a peripheral distraction to some ethereal or lofty pursuit. But now I am married to a lady (in every sense of the term), and I'm growing in Grace...the Grace of God...and of my wife...and I'm grateful for both, knowing that He's the Author (and Finisher) of such...
Angie – I was once angry and bitter, but now I am happy and blessed.
Mo – I was once scratching to stop from slipping into a bottomless pit but now I am dancing in the field of freedom.
Lauren – I was once lost, but now I am home.
Laura – I was once filled with fear and control, but now I am at peace and free.
Monique – I was once an adulteress, but now God has given me a second chance at a second marriage where I am faithful.
Dawn – I was once hiding and filled with hurt. Now I’m happy and filled with the Holy Spirit.
Monique – I was once in the dark held captive in bondage, but now I’m free – the chains are gone.
Michelle – I was once afraid to die, but now I am afraid not to.
Lee – I was once trashed but now I am treasured.
Timothy - I once was the isolated kid sitting in the corner to myself, watching and wishing that the others would like me. Trying hard to fit in to the same story that everyone else was in, but now I thanks to God I challenge people to be different, because one man died on the cross to show me it is okay to be different.
Ryan – I was once a douche, but now I am the obvious created image of God.
Christine – I was once full of discontent, but now I am satisfied
Mark – I was once a pothead, but now I am drug free.
Kimberly – I was once insecure, but now I am known.
Dan – I was once arrogant and prideful, but now I am super humble. Oops.
Sharon – I was once motivated by fear, but now I am motivated by love.
Matthew – I was once a child of divorce, but now I am a dad who gets to model commitment to my girls.
Jeff – I was once unloved, but now I am loved.
Leslie – I was once merely existing, but now I am truly living.
Maggie – I was once made fun of for my dyslexia, but now I am perfect in God’s eyes.
Mike – I was once perfect (or so I thought) but now I am aware of my brokenness and hopeful that God will use that.
Roger – I was once untrustworthy, but now I am hopelessly in love with one woman.
Tahnee – I was once full of rage, but now I am forgiving.
Debbie – I once wanted to die, but now I surrendered to God and he saved me.
Kathy – I was once afraid of God, but now I know he loves me.
Tom – I was once scared of the future, but now I know he loves me.
Andrew – I was once bored, but now I have something that excites me and fascinates me.
Cris – I was once a nagging bitch, but now I am a loving wife.
Vanessa – I was once a whore, but now I am a pure spotless bride.
Jonathan – I was once a fake – a real hypocrite, but now I know God has loved me in spite of me.
Jerry – I was once a pretty good guy, never really feeling a need for anyone to save me. But now I am aware of how holy God is and how unworthy I am to be in his Presence. I’m thankful that I’m riding on Jesus’ coattails to heaven.
Sybil -I was once hopeless, plagued with depression, social phobia and anxiety, surrounded by broken and dysfunctional relationships, dying; wanting to die daily, seeking help and insight from every corner of the world, looking for validation; only to find emptiness, discomfort and judgment because my mind, my body and my spirit were unhealthy and kept me in a cesspool of despair without much vision for anything else. BUT NOW I AM now a child of God and in love with life, free from death, at peace and full of hope; with so many dreams and goals that my days aren't long enough! I'm able to see bits of Heaven on Earth and God's love in others who come when I need them most. I wouldn't want to mislead anyone- renewal wasn't a quick overnight success for me. However, it has been the most amazing journey!
Anonymous – I was once suicidal, but now I am excited to have eternal life.
1 Peter 2:9-10 (The Message Version)
But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.
I read a few responses in my message this weekend from a question I asked on twitter/facebook this past Friday. I've compiled the entire list to share with you here. It's amazing to see what we once were compared to what we are now. Feel free to add to the list in the comment section below:
Steve – I was once broken but now I am whole.
Stephanie – I was once bound, but now I am free.
Harmony – I was once forgotten, but now I am cherished.
Cindy – I was once in darknes, but now I am in the light.
Trevor – I was once bound by the delusion of worldly grandeur, but now I am working for crowns that do not decay.
Barbara – I was once hell bound, but now I am heaven bound.
Sarah – I was once self-centered, but now I am a servant leader.
Adam – I was once lost, having no hope, but now I am a pastor, living my life to serve and obey his will for me.
Chris – I was once lost, but now I am lost with a light to follow.
Cris – I was once sick, but now I’m healed.
Mary – I was once lost, but now I’m found.
Allison – I was once a mess, but now I am less of a mess.
Martin – I was once on autopilot, but now I am on manuel guide.
Karla – I was once religious, but now I am in a relationship with the Creator of the universe.
Vellanee – I was once hopeless about my future, but now I know the promises God made for my prosperity shall be kept.
Christine – I once found my identity through what others thought of me, but now my identity comes from what God thinks of me.
Laura – I was once wondering if God was listening, but now I am seeing his hand at work all along.
Rich - I once was skinny, insecure, introvert, lustful, given to much beer, angry, resentful, envious, teary, sorry for myself, short sighted (metaphorically), materialistic, possessive, easily offended, and vain, but now I am buff, confident, extrovert, sexually mature, two beer an evening for the health of it, peaceful, respectful, contented, full of laughter, compassionate, eternally focused, relational, generous, teflon, and...still vain (wardrobe and aussie assome volume styling mousse).
Tracey – I was once hopeless, but now I am excited to see what God has next for me.
Carla – I was once indifferent to God and his word, but now I am learning the truth.
MaryKay – I was once “religious” but now I am cultivating a relationship with God.
Leslye – I was once empty and full of hurt on the inside, nothing filled the hole in my heart, God’s spirit and love has filled that once empty hurting heart with peace and contentment and care for others.
Kris – I was one a mound of dirt and now I am a flower.
Laurel – I was once unaware but now I am conscious.
Dan – I was once alone in my inner world, but now I have opened that world to trusted friends.
Tina – I once drifted, but now I am directed.
Amy – I was once dead, but now I am alive.
Cindy – I was once enslaved, but now I am empowered.
Janett - :/ but now :D
Heather – I was once miserable and unhappy with lots of things in my life, but now I am at peace and thankful for everything I have been given.
Kristina – I was once prone to sadness, but now I am prone to joy.
Sawajayne (twitter)– I was once navigating by an old worn out map, but now I’m rolling with GPS.
Vegas710 (twitter) – I was once suspicious, but now I am trusting.
Karlalovesjody (twitter) – I once believed in making my own way, but now I know God will guide me – I only have to listen.
Pomorev (twitter) – I once was aspirationless, but now I am full of purpose.
Kande – I once was restless, but now I’m at peace.
Cindy – I once was hopeless, but now I have hope and someone in my corner.
Annie – I was once defined by my past, but now I am defined by my King.
Stew – I was once cynical, but now I am hopeful.
Jeff – I was once lost, but now I’m found.
Daniel – I was once religious, but now I am His.
Dave – I was once a screwed up mess, but now I am a screwed up mess with hope.
Barbara – I was once disoriented, listening to mu doubts and fears, but now I am focused, listening to God’s directions.
Laurel – I was once doing, but now I am being.
Kathi – I was once so far gone I didn’t believe I needed to exist, but now I am serving a faithful and mighty God.
Angie – I was once driven by fear, anger and control, but now I am set free.
Rita – I was once darkness, but now I am light.
Andrea – I was once all about hearing myself talk, but now I am a reflective listener.
Anna – I was once looking for love from men but now I am fully complete in God’s love and married to a man who loves God as much as I do.
Jon – I was once a talk-the-talker, but now I am a walk-the-walker.
Erina – I was once lost, but now I am faithful in heart.
Peggy - I was once in total denial; thinking that all the bad things that happened was because I was just not good enough - not worthy enough, but now I'm living in the light of God's presence. Knowing that whatever this world sends my way that the awesome Creator of the universe can and will use it for good.
Lisa – I was once alone and in need of no one but now I am never alone and forever in need of a Savior.
Dave – I was once blind but now I see.
Pamela – I was once beat up physically, mentally, spiritually but now I am restored, healed and full of joy.
Emily - I once was trying to live my life by my plans...now I try to let my life be according to his plans. I once was in the darkest of despair but now I am with his help becoming more & more ok with the crazy way he takes hurt to make me a better person.
Tiffany – I was lost but now I am saved.
Robb – I was once broken, but now I am healed.
Jim – I was once trying to be in control of my life, but now I am letting God take control a little more each day…it’s a work in progress.
Cheryl – I was once full of myself, but now I’m full of the Spirt.
Steve - I was once an idiot who thought that women were a means to an end, or a peripheral distraction to some ethereal or lofty pursuit. But now I am married to a lady (in every sense of the term), and I'm growing in Grace...the Grace of God...and of my wife...and I'm grateful for both, knowing that He's the Author (and Finisher) of such...
Angie – I was once angry and bitter, but now I am happy and blessed.
Mo – I was once scratching to stop from slipping into a bottomless pit but now I am dancing in the field of freedom.
Lauren – I was once lost, but now I am home.
Laura – I was once filled with fear and control, but now I am at peace and free.
Monique – I was once an adulteress, but now God has given me a second chance at a second marriage where I am faithful.
Dawn – I was once hiding and filled with hurt. Now I’m happy and filled with the Holy Spirit.
Monique – I was once in the dark held captive in bondage, but now I’m free – the chains are gone.
Michelle – I was once afraid to die, but now I am afraid not to.
Lee – I was once trashed but now I am treasured.
Timothy - I once was the isolated kid sitting in the corner to myself, watching and wishing that the others would like me. Trying hard to fit in to the same story that everyone else was in, but now I thanks to God I challenge people to be different, because one man died on the cross to show me it is okay to be different.
Ryan – I was once a douche, but now I am the obvious created image of God.
Christine – I was once full of discontent, but now I am satisfied
Mark – I was once a pothead, but now I am drug free.
Kimberly – I was once insecure, but now I am known.
Dan – I was once arrogant and prideful, but now I am super humble. Oops.
Sharon – I was once motivated by fear, but now I am motivated by love.
Matthew – I was once a child of divorce, but now I am a dad who gets to model commitment to my girls.
Jeff – I was once unloved, but now I am loved.
Leslie – I was once merely existing, but now I am truly living.
Maggie – I was once made fun of for my dyslexia, but now I am perfect in God’s eyes.
Mike – I was once perfect (or so I thought) but now I am aware of my brokenness and hopeful that God will use that.
Roger – I was once untrustworthy, but now I am hopelessly in love with one woman.
Tahnee – I was once full of rage, but now I am forgiving.
Debbie – I once wanted to die, but now I surrendered to God and he saved me.
Kathy – I was once afraid of God, but now I know he loves me.
Tom – I was once scared of the future, but now I know he loves me.
Andrew – I was once bored, but now I have something that excites me and fascinates me.
Cris – I was once a nagging bitch, but now I am a loving wife.
Vanessa – I was once a whore, but now I am a pure spotless bride.
Jonathan – I was once a fake – a real hypocrite, but now I know God has loved me in spite of me.
Jerry – I was once a pretty good guy, never really feeling a need for anyone to save me. But now I am aware of how holy God is and how unworthy I am to be in his Presence. I’m thankful that I’m riding on Jesus’ coattails to heaven.
Sybil -I was once hopeless, plagued with depression, social phobia and anxiety, surrounded by broken and dysfunctional relationships, dying; wanting to die daily, seeking help and insight from every corner of the world, looking for validation; only to find emptiness, discomfort and judgment because my mind, my body and my spirit were unhealthy and kept me in a cesspool of despair without much vision for anything else. BUT NOW I AM now a child of God and in love with life, free from death, at peace and full of hope; with so many dreams and goals that my days aren't long enough! I'm able to see bits of Heaven on Earth and God's love in others who come when I need them most. I wouldn't want to mislead anyone- renewal wasn't a quick overnight success for me. However, it has been the most amazing journey!
Anonymous – I was once suicidal, but now I am excited to have eternal life.
1 Peter 2:9-10 (The Message Version)
But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.
Friday, September 25, 2009
The Prom is next friday!
Last year it was amazing. This year it will be too. You don't want to miss it. More info here: Vineyard Prom
Or this video pretty much says it all:
Or this video pretty much says it all:
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Gen. 28: A re-imagining.
For a moment he thought he was in his bed. Then he remembered. The morning sun, already scorching his eye lids, reminded him where he was. When he opened them, all he could see was blue.
The sky in the desert can tease a man. It seems so beautiful and harmless. But Jake had friends who never returned from a journey like this one. He knew the dangers that waited for a lonely traveler this far from home. But for him, the dangers in the wilderness were tame compared to what...or more accurately...who he was running from.
He rose to his feet and scratched his neck. He wasn't used to not shaving in the morning. He hated the stubble. It reminded him of his brother.
He slung his leather satchel over his shoulder. In doing so he noticed the stone on the ground. He stared it down as if it were a coiled viper.
Wait a second? No, it couldn't be. Maybe...it was...
His hands trembled. He slowly lowered his satchel to the desert floor, eyes still glued to the simple stone that had doubled as his pillow throughout the night.
Jake wasn't the type to believe in the supernatural. His mother had taught him that what is real is real. No need for soothsaying or fairy tales or magic tricks. His father was into all that. So was his grandfather. But he was the grounded one. He was his mother's son - the rational one. He was fleeing the ancient myths of his father. But now the myths were stalking him in his sleep.
He gulped as he eyed that stone.
"OK," he said to the empty morning sky. "If that was real. If last night really happened, then...prove it. Give me food for my journey...and clothes to wear. Give me success and money and a family. Give me everything I deserve...then I'll come back here and find this stone. And then...and only then...I'll believe in you. Hell, I'll even come back here one day and build you house if that will make you happy." Disgusted, he looked toward the sunrise. "Then you won't have to live out in the desert and torment people when they come through..."
Throwing his bag over his shoulder, he turned eastward toward his uncle's estate. If it were possible, it was even hotter than the day before. He shot one last glance over his shoulder at the stationary rock. Then he mumbled as he walked away, "stupid dreams..."
The sky in the desert can tease a man. It seems so beautiful and harmless. But Jake had friends who never returned from a journey like this one. He knew the dangers that waited for a lonely traveler this far from home. But for him, the dangers in the wilderness were tame compared to what...or more accurately...who he was running from.
He rose to his feet and scratched his neck. He wasn't used to not shaving in the morning. He hated the stubble. It reminded him of his brother.
He slung his leather satchel over his shoulder. In doing so he noticed the stone on the ground. He stared it down as if it were a coiled viper.
Wait a second? No, it couldn't be. Maybe...it was...
His hands trembled. He slowly lowered his satchel to the desert floor, eyes still glued to the simple stone that had doubled as his pillow throughout the night.
Jake wasn't the type to believe in the supernatural. His mother had taught him that what is real is real. No need for soothsaying or fairy tales or magic tricks. His father was into all that. So was his grandfather. But he was the grounded one. He was his mother's son - the rational one. He was fleeing the ancient myths of his father. But now the myths were stalking him in his sleep.
He gulped as he eyed that stone.
"OK," he said to the empty morning sky. "If that was real. If last night really happened, then...prove it. Give me food for my journey...and clothes to wear. Give me success and money and a family. Give me everything I deserve...then I'll come back here and find this stone. And then...and only then...I'll believe in you. Hell, I'll even come back here one day and build you house if that will make you happy." Disgusted, he looked toward the sunrise. "Then you won't have to live out in the desert and torment people when they come through..."
Throwing his bag over his shoulder, he turned eastward toward his uncle's estate. If it were possible, it was even hotter than the day before. He shot one last glance over his shoulder at the stationary rock. Then he mumbled as he walked away, "stupid dreams..."
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Performers Beware
At some level we are all performers. We play for the audience in front of us - our boss or family or friends. We all tend to think about other people's perception a little more than we should. Life is a tricky balance of performing (doing) and not performing (being).
Some of us, whether through DNA or early childhood development, are hardwired to be performers. We gravitate to the stage or screen. We instinctively know that getting a "B" isn't really an option when an "A" is on the table. We obsess on finding those things that we do well...and when we find them, we do them over and over, striving to do them better each time. Without performers the world would be a rather boring place. In America we tend to elevate the stories of high performers, especially those who seem to come out of nowhere. We love telling that story. Perhaps too much.
It creates a tension in the heart and soul of a performer personality. No doubt I am one. Most everything I do has a performance element to it. I teach lots of people on the weekends at my church. Some of those people tend to comment on my "performance" one way or another after my teaching. In a split second, any teacher can lose sight that his job is first and foremost to introduce ideas to his students that have the power to adjust the trajectory of their lives. The teacher's job is not necessarily to perform for their students. It's easy to forget that. In my spare time I write books, make movies, act and do improv. Those are all high performance activities. They all actually require an audience to "work." To me, this is proof that I am one of those hardwired performers. When a person rests from a performance centered vocation by performing in other ways that's kind of dead giveaway.
It's easy to judge a performer personality as self-absorbed. I suppose most of us are at some level. But, who isn't really? The reality is, most of my high performing friends actually drift more toward self-hatred than self-love. We seem to be trying to out perform or innate ugliness and perceived worthlessness. It's generally not very pretty when you get too close to a hardcore performer. Most of us perform from our deepest pain. Some of the greatest actors, comedians and improvisers I have worked with are incredibly self-conscious and needy. Most are completely unaware of their own greatness at their craft. Some even pretend to be great as a way to cope, but in a vulnerable moment they will admit a desperate loneliness.
All of this is coming from my return to VCC this weekend. I desperately wanted to return "to the stage" and perform well. Honestly, not for me or my ego, but for my church. I wanted to do my part - to use my gift - to help people experience the only one who looks past our performances to see our true being. For those of you who don't know, when I teach I do it four times over a weekend: one on Saturday and three on Sunday. I wasn't particularly pleased with my message Saturday night. Sometimes it just doesn't feel right. I put several more hours into it and showed up Sunday morning with what I felt was a better version. As I was walking into the building Sunday morning, a friend of mine told me that what I had said Saturday night "changed his life" and "was by far my best teaching ever." I wanted to argue with him, but he seemed genuine. (To my credit, a few others whom I trust admitted it needed a little work, so I don't think it was just me being too hard on myself.) All to say, maybe in God's economy it is a lot more about showing up and doing your best in the moment. He has a way of working through an "average performance." Odds are He sometimes prefers it.
But I wanted to redeem myself with my three more chances to perform on Sunday. Then at the 9:00 a.m. Celebration my microphone didn't work for the first five minutes of my talk. With our new time structure, a five minute delay meant cutting 20% of my message on the fly. So again, at 9:00 I was scrambling to deliver the reworked message with even less time. At the 10:15 Celebration I nearly fainted during my introduction for some unknown reason and had to sit down on a stool to regain my balance. I think I played it rather cool, but it got into my head for a few minutes. At the last Celebration (11:45) I was ready to finally "do it right" Unfortunately, there was an up and coming performer in the crowd - a toddler determined to prove that you don't need a microphone after all to get the attention of a few thousand people. I never know what to do in those circumstances. I tried to speak over him, then I tried to wait him out, but he had a good fifteen minutes of intense vocality in him. That kid is gonna be a star. I think he won the battle Sunday morning. I should have asked the family to step out...but trust me, theologically speaking, that totally sucks to do.
I left the whole weekend experience feeling a lot like my beagle after he pees on the carpet. Rather embarrassed in a confused kind of way. I think I did my best...but a true performer will never admit to that. We are the first to see what we could have done better: a few more hours of prep, testing a microphone before turning it on, using the kid-screaming-teaching-moment to say how great our children's classes are, etc. Maybe even a little more protein in my breakfast would have fought off an unexpected bout with vertigo. I could have done better. We can always say that. That's the worst part of being a performer. We think our performance matters a lot when sometimes it only matters a little.
Then the e-mails started flooding in this week. Countless people saying that this was their first weekend at church in years. All of them saying they will be back. Most of them saying they cried their way through the Celebration because they felt so close to God. I wanted to tell them that I wanted to cry too...but it was for different reasons.
And so, the mantra that my mentor Dave taught me rings loudly in my ears today: "Get over yourself." Maybe that truth is even more central for us performers. God made us this way. He gets it. He's a good dad. He loves me just as much when I am sitting on my couch doing nothing as he does when I'm receiving the accolades of some crowd somewhere. I love my kids just as much, maybe more, when we are having dinner or driving in a car than when they hit a home run or bring home a nice piece of artwork from school. I love them, not what they do. I love them because they are mine. You'd think I'd understand by now that God (and in theory God's people) love me that same way.
It is a tricky balance for us all. What you do is not who you are. But what you do also matters. So do it well...but performing never trumps belonging. Ever. So, get over yourself performers and let yourself be loved this week. It's the only antidote for your unspoken pain.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Amazing (unfinished) Stories!
When I was a kid, I was into comic books. To be completely honest, I was more into the idea of striking it rich by getting in on the ground floor of some comic that would be worth millions one day. I had an Alex P. Keaton stage circa 5th grade when I was fascinated by capitalism. It still rears its ugly head now and again.
But beyond any 10-year-old investment strategies, I grew to like the stories in the comics themselves. I was a product of my generation. I loved G.I. Joe and Transformers. (No comment here about the current movies...must press forward...) Reading comics made one slightly superior to the kids who only watched the TV shows. "The comics are real," we would tell our TV-watching friends. If Destro dies in the comics, he's dead no matter how many times he parachutes out of his helicopter in the cartoons. The comics had ongoing story lines that seemed to stretch forward from week to week. I can clearly remember buying GI Joe #27 as a two-parter dealing with the previously untold origin and relationship between Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes. Stop me if I get too geeky. Too late...
The point is that I had to wait one month to see how the story would end. But eventually, the story finished. All stories do. Even yours. Your story is a comic book with only so many pages. Maybe 20 or 30 or 100. But someday my and your story will end. At least the part of our story on this side of death will end. Your story isn't finished yet.
This weekend at VCC we launch into a new series called Amazing (unfinished) Stories. We are gonna tap into our inner comic book geek for four weeks while also exploring what I believe is the deepest desire buried in the human soul - the desire to live a life that matters...to live within a story will ends well.
Jesus knows a thing or two about ending a story with a bang. He more or less invented the surprise ending. So join us this weekend...and bring a friend. It's never too late to change your story.
But beyond any 10-year-old investment strategies, I grew to like the stories in the comics themselves. I was a product of my generation. I loved G.I. Joe and Transformers. (No comment here about the current movies...must press forward...) Reading comics made one slightly superior to the kids who only watched the TV shows. "The comics are real," we would tell our TV-watching friends. If Destro dies in the comics, he's dead no matter how many times he parachutes out of his helicopter in the cartoons. The comics had ongoing story lines that seemed to stretch forward from week to week. I can clearly remember buying GI Joe #27 as a two-parter dealing with the previously untold origin and relationship between Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes. Stop me if I get too geeky. Too late...
The point is that I had to wait one month to see how the story would end. But eventually, the story finished. All stories do. Even yours. Your story is a comic book with only so many pages. Maybe 20 or 30 or 100. But someday my and your story will end. At least the part of our story on this side of death will end. Your story isn't finished yet.
This weekend at VCC we launch into a new series called Amazing (unfinished) Stories. We are gonna tap into our inner comic book geek for four weeks while also exploring what I believe is the deepest desire buried in the human soul - the desire to live a life that matters...to live within a story will ends well.
Jesus knows a thing or two about ending a story with a bang. He more or less invented the surprise ending. So join us this weekend...and bring a friend. It's never too late to change your story.
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