Category: Life

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Too Comfortable With Jesus?

In Mark 6, Jesus is teaching in the synagogue in his hometown. The people are amazed at his teaching and wisdom. Matthew 13 tells us that his neighbors also were amazed at his miracles. They asked how Jesus got all this wisdom and power. After all, this was the same man who had grown up in their town. They knew his family. He had played with their children. Jesus had probably done work for them. They knew Jesus, or at least they thought they did. He was one of them. They were comfortable with this neighbor.

According to the text, thinking that they had Jesus all figured out caused a lack of faith in them. They couldn’t believe that this small town boy could do the miracles he was doing or teach with the wisdom he was showing. Even with the evidence staring them in the face, their familiarity with Jesus blinded them to what God was doing. Consequently, Jesus did not do many miracles in his hometown.

How easy is it for us to become comfortable with Jesus? Growing up, I heard the stories. I saw the flannel graph pictures. I became familiar with this soft spoken. gentle, fair-haired Savior who seemed to float serenely through first century Palestine ( except for the time that he really got ticked off at the money changers in the Temple). I was a Christian. I had asked Jesus to come into my heart, and since I had my “get out of hell free” card, I grew complacent in the relationship. I prayed, and asked forgiveness when I sinned, but the relationship was not really a close one. I had my image of Christ, and didn’t really expect him to ask much more of me than being a good boy and “worshipping” him when the church doors were open. I’m afraid that the image many churchgoers have of Jesus is not very different from that.

In the past couple of years, I’ve begun to learn to see Jesus more as he is. Through a few authors, particularly N. T. Wright and Dallas Willard, I have seen a different side of the Savior. Jesus the King has stepped into my path and shown himself to be exactly who the Gospels say he is. He is the Christ, the Anointed One of God. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is God incarnate. His Kingdom is now, not just in the future. Along with that, he is my brother and friend, and he calls me to follow and obey him out of love and gratitude for what he has done for me on the cross.

Jesus also calls me into a relationship with him, a relationship that is in many ways like those with other humans, but is so much better. That relationship is one where I am learning to not think that I have him all figured out, but rather to be open to anything he might do. In the Gospels, Jesus didn’t fit into any one’s preconceived notions, and he dealt with different people in different ways. So it is in my life. I am learning to expect the unexpected.

May we never say, “We have Jesus figured out. We know how he does things, and we know how he doesn’t work.”

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The Existence of God

A friend on theooze.com posted a link to this essay. It’s an excellent piece on “proving” the existence of God. I would suggest you read the entire essay.

A few paragraphs struck me as significant:

“The existence of God is a profound matter, and never something that should be treated perfunctorily. That “I believe God exists” and that “I know Him” are among the deepest things that a Christian can say, and are a confession of the grace of God. We have been given something that is consonant with purity of heart, and should thus confess it with extreme humility.”

“We are living in a time of history in which saints are required. We have long passed the time in which rational arguments will carry the day. Nothing less than lives which manifest the existence of God will do. The world has heard centuries of arguments – has been subjected to crass persecutions and atrocities in the name of God (even if these were largely not the result of Orthodox actions). We have survived a century of extremes (Bolshevism, Nazism, etc.). That the world is hungry is beyond doubt. But the world is not hungry for a new and winning argument.
The world hungers for God (whether it knows this or not).”

“The proper Christian answer to the hunger of the world is to be found only in the manifestation of God. Thus the challenge of a modern atheist should not be met with an anxious rejoinder from our panoply of arguments – but with the urgency of prayer that we might ourselves become an answer through the reality of the presence of God in our lives.”

“As witnesses of the God who exists – we should strive in our small ways – to become persons whose lives are themselves an argument for the existence of God – a God whose existence is indeed beyond all existence.”

“It is a tall order. Nothing less than life in the image of the resurrection of Christ will do. Nothing less than that has been promised us in Christ.”

May we be people who live in the reality and power of the resurrection.

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Spring Fever

I know it’s only January 25, but I’m already feeling a touch of the malady known as spring fever. Basketball season is winding down, and even though I am enjoying coaching more than I have in a few years, the long days and the traveling are beginning to wear a bit thin. I’m also getting tired of winter. I know, we really don’t have winter here in the sunny South, but I’m tired of it nonetheless.

Around this time of year, I begin looking around to see if maybe God wants me to do something else to earn a living. It’s not that I’m totally unhappy where I am, although the job is more stressful than I would prefer. It’s just that I try to keep my eyes open for opportunities that may be out there. Of course, there’s not a whole lot out there this year. Not too many jobs are coming open, so I’m definitely grateful I do have a job.

There are some changes on the horizon. Some we know about, some will make themselves known later. Jennie has been promoted at the company where she works, and it sounds like a great move for her. Josh will graduate in May, and will then have to go out and find a job. Hopefully the economy will improve to the point that architectural firms will be hiring. Jan and I will celebrate our thirtieth anniversary this summer, and we hope to do something special.

St. Thomas Community Church is looking at a future that has uncertainties ahead and decisions to be made. We are very close to outgrowing the space where we meet, and we’re not sure what the next step will be. There are many advantages to meeting in a bagel shop. We pay no rent, so any money that is given can go to help those in need. The setting is intimate so there can be good discussion during the teaching time. Right now, we’re small enough that we can begin to know each other more than just on a Sunday morning. We’re in the middle of the marketplace instead of being sequestered behind closed doors in “our place.” We’ve had a couple of the shop employees express an interest in checking us out.

We’ve never had anyone show up and then leave because we were too crowded, that we know of. The possibility exists that we will have to move, but for now we’re going to stay put until we have a clear indication from God where we’re supposed to go. Yesterday we talked about Abram in Genesis 12, and how God told him to go. Abram went, and there is no record that God told him specifically where to go, but that God simply led him. We feel like we’re kind of in that situation as a community. God has called us to be where we are, and to bless those around us. He is leading us step by step, and calling us to simply walk with him and be ready to do what he wants us to do. There is no five year plan (heck, we don’t even have a five week plan). There is no building program, and no plans to build a huge “ministry.” There’s just a day by day, week by week dependence on the Spirit, trying to listen to the still small voice of our Father.

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A Son

It was a Sunday morning in January, 1983. Just the day before, the Washington Redskins had won the NFC championship and were headed to the Super Bowl. I was in the shower, getting ready for church. It seemed like a normal day. Little did we know that our lives were about to be forever changed.

My morning routine was interrupted by the news that it was time to go to the hospital. You see, Jan was in her final days of her first pregnancy, and it was time for this child to come into the world. This first child was a son, someone to carry on the family name. We named him Joshua.

Within the first few months of this son’s life, we moved to the Cincinnati area. During his time there, we began to get a hint of the person this son would become. From asking us to put money in a box set up to collect for a ministry to the poor to expressing concern for homeless people we would see when visiting DC, his concern for the least of these was evident early on.

We learned very quickly that this boy was very intelligent, and our challenge became helping him to develop that intellect. Fortunately he loved to read, and regular trips to the library became our ally. We found out though, that keeping him challenged in school would be more difficult. Although we never really had to worry very much about grade, we did have to nudge him a couple of times in middle school after we had moved to South Carolina. One thing we learned about this son during these years is that while he loved to learn, and was interested in a wide range of subjects, things like grades and class ranks didn’t really interest him.

When he went away to college, we missed him. We knew that going away would be good for him, and for us. He was in a place where his faith would be both challenged and strengthened, where he could grow into the person God wanted him to be. He graduated ready to take on the world.

God had other plans though, and he went through a couple of years of temporary jobs and economic difficulty. As time went on, he came to feel drawn in a different direction. Deciding on a career in architecture, he made the hard decision to leave his friends and the city he had come to love and come back home to pursue a graduate degree. It has been difficult at times for him.

In four months, he will graduate. Then it’s out into the real world. Jobs are scarce, but we are confident that God has something out there for him. One thing that has not changed is the heart for the poor and downtrodden that was there when he was a child. It will be exciting to see how God will combine that heart with the art and science of architecture.

Little did we know what the last twenty seven years would bring. We are extremely gratefully to the Father for the privilege of parenting this special son. Josh, we love you and are very proud of you. You have brought, and continue to bring, great joy to us. We pray for God’s continued blessing on you, and for his guidance as you step into your future.

Happy birthday, Josh. We love you.

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Update on Goal for the Year

Well, I had really planned on getting back in some semblance of shape and competing in Masters track events this fall. Unfortunately, those plans have taken a bit of a hit. I found out today that I have a small belly button hernia. It doesn’t hurt a whole lot, but it probably will require some sort of surgery. So that will put me behind a few weeks in my training. I have a consultation with the surgeon tomorrow, so I’ll have a better idea of what is in store.

There is a silver lining. If I compete this year, I’ll be one of the older runners in the 50-54 age group. If I have to wait until next year, I’ll be one of the younger ones in the 55-60 age group. So, maybe it will be for the best.

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Story

I just finished A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, by Donald Miller. Miller is, of course, a brilliant storyteller and the book was an enjoyable read. The book is about the story that each of us tells with our life, and how to tell (live) a better story. Miller has been criticized by some of telling people that unless you are telling an epic with your life, something that could be made into a blockbuster movie, they are wasting their lives.

One of the bloggers that I read seems to, at first glance, come from the opposite side of the spectrum. Pam has written a number of posts about the dignity of living an ordinary (some would say boring) life. I would guess there are some who would say that Pam is telling folks that it’s okay to live without ambition and just do whatever, never aspiring to anything big.

I think that both of them are on the right track. When I read Donald Miller’s book, I hear him telling me to not be afraid to take risks in my life, to trust God when I hear him telling me to do something. When I read Pam’s blog, I hear her telling me that it’s okay to be where God has called me to be, that not everyone is called to the spotlight. Sometimes trusting God and taking risks involves giving up what the big time to live a story that takes place outside of the mainstream. Pam tells this story that makes the point.

I could very easily have read Miller’s book and felt bad because the epic story I wanted to write with my life (competing in the Olympics, coaching college basketball and winning championships) has not come to pass. But I have come to realize that my story, and how it fits into God’s story, is one of trying to be a good husband and father, and serving others in the places God puts me. I can still live a good story ( and try to tell a better one). I think that following Jesus involves risks, regardless of where he takes us.

I believe that Donald and Pam are both right. We are called to live the best story we can, whether it’s a story that ends up in a book, or a story that gets told when our family and friends think about us.

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A Goal for the Year

I read recently that our goals for a new year (or resolutions, if you are so inclined) should more specific than just “lose weight,” or “become a better person.” As I thought about some of the things I would like to do this year, there was one specific thing that jumped out at me. One thing that would enable me to accomplish something that has been rolling around in the recesses of my mind for a number of years. And that one thing is: *drum roll*

To compete in the 100 meter dash in the Rock Hill Senior games this September. I used to be a sprinter in high school and college (in fact, I was actually halfway decent), and from time to time I get the urge to get out and lace up the spikes again. This usually happens in the spring when I see athletes competing in meets. The problem has always been that I have let myself get woefully out of shape, with the resulting knee and other joint problems. As I remembered back on the amount of work I had to do to be able to compete when I was younger, I would become discouraged and figure that my running days had faded away. The last three or so months I’ve been lifting weights, and as I have been able to lose some weight, my knees have felt better and I’ve been able to do a few more things athletically.

The other thing that has encouraged me is reading stories from some of the senior athletes who have done well at the same age I am now. Reading about the workouts they have done has helped me think that I may be able to get to the point where I can compete, at least on the local level. If I start slowly, and build up the amount of training I do, I think I can get up to a good level of fitness for a fifty-something year old man. I don’t have to be as fit as I was in my early twenties (thank goodness!).

So, the decision has been made. I’ve told Jan about it, and now I’ve told the whole world. Or, at least that small part of the world that reads my blog. It’s somewhat exciting to contemplate what is possible in the months ahead. It’s also a bit scary, because track training involves discomfort, and if there is one thing I don’t like, it’s discomfort. But, it’s for a good cause. Hopefully the rational part of my brain will prevail over the part that thinks I’m still a youngster, and I’ll train at a sane pace so I don’t totally destroy myself. We’ll see.

I’ll keep you posted from time to time on my progress.

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Reflections on a Year

Another year has come and gone. (That’s kind of a lame way to start, isn’t it?) It seems like the older I get the faster the years seem to pass, and 2009 was no exception. I’ve heard that the only thing that remains constant is change, and that has certainly been true this year.

As the year opened, Jan and I began going to a house church on Sunday evenings. The friend who I was going to help plant a church invited us to join him one night. There were about four or five couples there, as well as some children. We enjoyed the fellowship and continued to go every week. As time went on, my friend and his family never came back. Other folks came and went, and through this fellowship we began to help at a local camp that was getting started that summer. Now the house church has faded away, as an organized gathering, but we still get together with the host couple on a regular basis, sharing food, discussing spiritual things (sometimes), and serving some of the less fortunate together.

In June, we went out to California to visit Jennie. Josh had already driven out there, and he was out tour guide during the day. We saw where Jennie works and even “helped” during the filming of a short film. When we returned home, I finished my duties at the church we had been a part of for fourteen years, and we began to look around for a community of faith that would better fit what we thought “church” should be. At the same time the discussion about planting a church came up again, and within a couple of months, St. Thomas Community Church came into existence, meeting in a local bagel shop on Sunday mornings. God is working in our little community as we gather to explore God’s story and our part in it, and how we can follow Jesus in our day-to-day.

As the summer went on, the school where Jan was teaching closed. As you well know, this is not a good time to be looking for work. Jan ended up getting a part-time position in an assisted living facility. God has continued to be faithful and provide for us, although things certainly are tighter.
My duties at the school where I work changed again. I’m now in a class for emotionally disabled students. It is more challenging than what I was doing before, and I realize more and more how dependent I am on God’s grace. I’m still coaching basketball, and that is a highlight in my day.

In October, Jan’s mom went to be with Jesus. All of the family came in during the days before she passed, and it was good to see folks we hadn’t seen in a couple of years. It has not been an easy holiday season for us.

As I look back on the past year, I can see many things God taught me. Things about trusting him, about grace, about living in the moment. A couple of my paradigms have shifted, and a couple have been completely dismantled. (Someday, I’ll write a post about those things) I think the biggest change is that I have learned even more that my schedule, and my plans, are not mine. I need to hold everything with an open hand, and allow the Father to do what he sees needs to be done. So, as one year ends and another begins, I continue to try and follow Jesus on this winding road he has called me to.

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Musings

The last few weeks our community has been looking at the first six chapters of Genesis. We ‘re approaching the Bible as God’s story, and looking at God as he is revealed through each part of the story. What we have seen so far is a God who goes by different names – Elohim in some parts, and Yaweh in others. We’ve seen a God who feels, who cries out in anguish after Adam and Eve eat the fruit. A picture of God has emerged that is passionately in love with his creation, and seems to change somewhat after punishing those who disobey him.

As we have gone through this story so far, I have started to wonder about a few things. In my journey, I have gone from being certain about what Scripture teaches about God and his dealings with men to having questions, from holding a tight systematic theology to realizing that things just don’t fit into a nice neat package. Some who knew me back in the day would say that I have slipped into near heresy, at least. Others would say , “Well, he never was that good of a student anyway.” That’s fine. I can live with that.

Maybe the Calvinists and the Arminians are right. Maybe God is sovereign and in control, yet at the same time gives us free will. Maybe God is unchangeable and changing, responding to the different things his creatures do. Maybe God’s purpose for his creation will be fulfilled and people can hinder that purpose, at least to some degree. Maybe God is all-knowing and in some sense learning as he goes along.

There are a number of things that are seeming contradictions in God and how he deals with what he has created, yet somehow fit into his eternal purpose and nature. I’m not sure at this point in life that any of the systems we have come up with over the centuries have a handle on this whole idea of God. I’ve come to realize that God is far bigger and wilder than what we can even realize, that there is no box in the universe large enough to put God in. I don’t think God wants us to understand him or figure out everything about him. I think rather, that God wants us to know him, to have a relationship with him based on his love toward us and our love back to him. He wants us to experience him as a loving Father, not as a subject to be dissected and studied. Jan and I have been married for twenty nine years, and while I know her better than I did when we first met, I will never know everything about her. But, my love for Jan grows stronger every day as I spend time with her, rest in her love for me, and seek to serve her and love her. I believe that’s the kind of relationship the Father wants with us.

I am comfortable with the questions. I don’t have to be absolutely certain about everything. Actually, I’m looking forward to being in the Father’s presence and being amazed at how everything worked out.

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A Little Girl

Twenty five years ago today, on a cold Saturday in Cincinnati, a little girl came into our lives. She had given us a bit of the warning that she was coming the night before, at a basketball game. That would prove to be foretaste of what was to come.

We learned quickly that this child would be different than her brother. She was always an active girl who would sing herself to sleep at night. Fiercely independent, this little girl and I locked horns a few times, although she was always “Daddy’s girl.” As she grew, I knew that this bent would serve her well through her years.

As she grew into her teenage years, I had the joy of coaching her on the basketball teams at school. That experience bonded us closer, as we spent a great deal of time together. I watched, and ached, as she went through the usual high school stuff of trying to figure out relationships and dealing with friends who weren’t always the best. (What is interesting is that those friendships have continued through the years) I watched this daughter figure out who she wanted to be and how she wanted to relate to others. I saw her develop into a beautiful young lady. When she went to college, I cringed sometimes at the decisions she made, but I always felt proud of her, and I knew that the questions were eventually going to lead her to a faith that was real and was her own.

Now this girl is on the other side of the country, and sometimes it’s hard to see what life throws at her and not be able to be there. I know that her heavenly Father loves her even more than I do, and that he is shaping her into the person he wants her to be. In all, I am confident that God is going to continue the work that he has begun in her.

Happy Birthday, Jennie. I love you, as I always have. You are a blessing from God and I am so thankful for the privilege of being your father. I pray God’s grace and blessings be yours in abundance.