Worship

Click here to read an essay I recently wrote for Wineskins Magazine. This essay discusses the relationship between what happens on Sunday morning (corporate worship) and mission (living our lives as "worship before God") using New York City as a case study of sorts.

I'm curious to hear your thoughts and critique. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the essay? Remember that dialog is the path to true understanding.

There are other great articles in this issue including a great interview with Brian McLaren. Props to GT (Greg Taylor) for being an outstanding editor; for helping me find my own voice.

Words

Some words from one of America’s best preachers and teachers, Barbara Brown Taylor:

“…that Jesus’ ministry with the poor, the prisoners, the blind and broken victims is first and foremost a ministry of words. Jesus has been anointed to preach, to proclaim, the good news of release, recovery, sight, liberty. He will, incidentally, do those things before he is through, but from the beginning his ministry is not a ministry of doing but a ministry of saying—what God has done, what God is doing, what God will do. Everything that happens in Jesus’ ministry happens after proclamation and because of it, because the speaking of God’s word is how the world began and how it goes on beginning, nourished and healed and strengthened by the strong medicine of the gospel.

…That is how it has been working for almost two thousand years. That is how a Galilean who spent his entire life in a country no bigger than New Jersey became known around the world—all because people talk.” (BBT in Gospel Medicine)

* * *

Speaking of words. I was trying to come up with expressions and synonyms I could conjure for “money”--what am I missing?

Money, cash, dough, chedda, change, jack, cheese, bling, Benjamins, cashola, pound, francs, yen, peso, cred, loot, and paper.

Baseball, Adventure, and the Titanic

Three thoughts from the World Series. First, Boston won five of the first fifteen World Series at the onset of Major League Baseball. In the last eighty-nine years (or thereabouts) they’ve won a grand total of two. Second, from 2004 until present day, the losing team in the World Series has won a grand total of 1 game. The Red Sox swept the Cardinals in 2004. TheWhite Sox swept the Astros in 2005. The Cardinals won in five against the Tigers, and the Rex Sox swept the Rockies in 2007. That’s an amazing statistic. Last, why do we still call it a world championship, when a MLB, NBA, or NFL team wins their American championship? Is it truly a world championship?

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I viewed the film, Into the Wild, on Friday night. It’s an amazing film. It is a bit slow in parts but the story line is excellent. I wish I would’ve read the book first because the book is always, always, always, better than the movie (Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Cold Mountain, Band of Brothers—just to name a few). My favorite line from the film, "I'm going to paraphrase Thoreau, 'Trust, forgiveness, passion, beauty, justice, reason are wonderful. I desire truth.'" That's my paraphrase.

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I remembered a sad but true story this weekend from my marathon training of two years ago. I was running in THE CRIM, a big race in the Flint area in prep for the 26.2 miles I was about to endure less than two months later. Upon the last major stretch of the ten mile race, I stumbled (not literally) upon a sad metaphor which captures the state of some of our American churches.

After several churches passed out water, food, gel boosters, etc, I came upon a church that decided during a grueling race that they would contribute to the running experience by blessing the runners with a barrage of hymns.

That’s right. No water, Gatorade, granola bar, or slice of an orange—this church brought “God is So Good” and “The Lord Bless You and Keep You.”

While others were meeting the needs, they brought hymns to the party.

I suppose that’s not completely bad for music is powerful. I simply wonder if that’s not a scary parallel to the way some churches still function. While divorce, H.I.V., S.T.D’s, depression, and poverty wage war, some stand on the top deck of the Titanic blessing each other with hymns.

Potter (part deux)

If the Harry Potter pot wasn't stirred enough last time, here's an interesting article on "Searching Truth in Harry Potter." The author is a former missionary to West Africa.

What do you think?

What are the strengths of her arguments? What are the weaknesses or inconsistencies?

UPDATE: Wade has an interesting article on his blog discussing whether or not Harry Potter is a Christian!?

The Power of Confession

Donald Miller got a crazy idea when he was a college student to put up a confession booth on the secular and anti-Christian campus of Reed College. His timing was a bit awkward for he wanted to do this during Ren Fayre, a time of drinking, drug use, and orgies. Instead of asking other students to confess their sins (something Christians are curiously good at), Miller led the experiment by offering a confession of his own sins, as well as the past sins of Christianity.

You never question the truth of something until you have to explain it to a skeptic. I didn’t feel like being in the booth or wearing that stupid monk outfit. I wanted to go to the rave. Everybody in there was cool, and we were just religious.

I was just going to tell Tony that I didn’t want to do it when he opened the curtain and said we had our first customer.

“What’s up, man?” Dude sat himself on the chair with a smile on his face. He told me my pipe smelled good.

“Thanks,” I said. I asked him his name, and he said his name was Jake. I shook his hand because I didn’t know what to do, really.

“So, what is this? I’m supposed to tell you all of the juicy gossip I did at Ren Fayre, right?” Jake said.

“No.”

“Okay, then what?” What’s the game?” He asked.

“Not really a game. More of a confession thing.”

“You want me to confess my sins, right?”

“No, that’s not what we’re doing, really.”

“What’s the deal, man? What’s with the monk outfit?”

“Well, we are, well, a group of Christians here on campus, you know.”

“I see. Strange place for Christians, but I am listening.”

“Thanks,” I told him. He was being very patient and gracious.” Anyway, there is a group of us, just a few of us who were thinking about the way Christians have wronged people over time.”

After haggling over the intent, Jake finally began to understand. The conversation took a serious turn once Jake realized that this was a life-giving proposition.

“So, you are confessing to me!” Jake said with a laugh

“Yeah. We are confessing to you. I mean, I am confessing to you.”

“You’re serious.” His laugh turned to something of a straight face.

I told him I was. He looked at me and told me I didn’t have to. I told him I did, and I felt very strongly in that moment that I was supposed to tell Jake that I was sorry about everything.”

After confessing for a good while, Jake became empowered. His passion increased with each passing second.

“It’s all right, man,” Jake said, very tenderly. His eyes starting to water.

“Well,” I said, clearing my throat, “I am sorry for all of that.”

“I forgive you,” Jake said. And he meant it.

The two talked for a little longer about the essence of the Christian story and Donald shared with him the Gospel message and Jake told all of his friends that they needed to visit the Christians in the confession booth. I can just imagine that conversation, “You won’t believe what those Christians are up to now!”

Random Marriage Story

One of my favorite aspects of being married (to Kara) are the humorous moments shared between husband and wife. Most are best kept between each other.

However, occasionally, an experience happens that is too good not to share with friends.

Last night, about midnight, a large section of our bedroom window fell off just missing my face by a few inches. Kara was completely asleep. I had just dozed off. I thought someone was breaking into our house. I jumped out of bed, ready for drama. My heart pounded. Adrenaline flowed throughout my entire body.

After a few seconds of being dazed and confused, I realized I'd been the victim of laziness. We just had new windows put in and Kara did not properly seal one of the panels over the top of the window.

Kara woke up from a deep sleep to utter these words under the emotion of great giggling, "I was afraid that might happen."

And with that, she laughed so hard, I could not help but laugh myself.

When I came home from work, the panel was still lying next to bed. Taunting me. Mocking me.

Malibu

I've spent time in Malibu the last two years at the Pepperdine Lectureships. My time at Pepperdine University has been a time of refreshment, encouragement, and sabbath.

Tonight, I'm praying for those people being ravaged and undone by the fires sweeping from L.A. to San Diego.

This is a photo one student took from Pepperdine.

My friend, James Wiser has been blogging about the unfolding events. James works at Pepperdine.

Pray for Malibu. Pray for Pepperdine. Pray for mercy.

W

Rochester Church of Christ:

It was truly great to be with yer on Friday night for the little fall shindig. Leaving the ranch was good for me. I could not believe how many of you said you'd supported me in my last two elections. My strategery is working.


Yours Truly,


George W. Bush

Faithful

I told this story before. I've been working on a writing project that made me think of this story again. The story won't leave me alone. One, because it's funny. Two, because it exposes my worldview. By the way, this story, in no way, is intended to undermine or downplay the importance of authentic professional counseling.

* * *

This past year, I went to lunch (because lunch is the most spiritual part of my day) with two friends and an acquaintance, Jeff Patton. Jeff is a hard guy to describe. Prophet is really the only word I know that comes close. Jeff talked about a lot of things with us over chips and salsa and quesadillas. Everything from preaching to politics, immigration to the recovery process of clergy post seminary (moving from experts to pastors). At one point in the conversation, Jeff quipped: “Did you know the ten largest churches in the world are not in the West? They are in places like China, South Korea, Peru, and West Africa? Here in the U.S. we are impressed is a church can get a thousand people into a building on a Sunday morning. In some of these churches (which are located in the margins—my word) they have tens of thousands meeting several times a week in homes, underground and above.”

After sipping on some (ok, a lot of) Dr. Pepper, Jeff turned to me and said:“Imagine this scenario. A man walks into your office completely at the end of his rope, he’s hit rock bottom. His annual salary, before losing his job, was $250k. In a span of 30 days, this man spent over $100k on alcohol, gambling, and food. That’s one hundred thousand dollars… His wife left him and took their children. He’s lost his house, cars…everything and now lives on the streets and in shelters sorting rags for $25 a week. This guy walks into your office and tells you this information, how would you respond?”

I thought for a minute, cutting through all the weak answers I could offer. One person at the table chimed in, “I’d tell him to call someone who cares.”I immediately felt something inside saying, “Ok, that’s not the best answer.”So, I attempted to respond to my prophetic peer.

I took my turn next.“I would ask him if he wants to stop drinking.” I come from a family where alcohol addiction has been talked about openly. I know the first rule to addiction is that the addict has to desire change. “If he’s serious about changing, then I can help him.”

The third person at the table declined to speculate.

Jeff abruptly responded, “You all are such Westerners. I asked my friend from Africa (who's a pastor) what he would do and he said he’d grab the man right then and there in the office and start praying that God would release his soul from the bondage and captivity that was oppressing him. I don’t care if he wanted me to or not. I’m a Christian and I believe in the power and authority of Jesus.”

He continued much to my dismay.“So, the next time this guy came into my office, that’s what I did.” Apparently this was a real situation! “I grabbed him and started praying for the Holy Spirit to invade his life and create transformation, real change.”

“What happened?”“I grabbed the guy as hard as I could, hanging on to him, praying with passion and fervor.”“

Then what?” I was quite the reporter.

“He ran screaming into the night.”

“Oh.”

“But you see…it’s not about being successful, it’s about being faithful.”

Trunk or Treat

Which costume is the most humorous for a man to wear to a church "fall gathering?"


Papa Smurf (with blue skin and all that comes with being a smurf)?
Hillary Clinton?
George W. Bush?
Andy (as in Raggedy Ann and Andy)?
The Man Who Invented the Internet (Al Gore)?
Jose Canseco?

Ok. So people have opinions about Harry Potter. Who knew?

I’m curious to know what books impacted you growing up as a young person? Here are some of the books I remember.

Ramona Quimby (the whole set)
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
Clifford (I was really young)
Choose Your Own Adventure
Huck Finn

Which books shaped your mind as a young person? Here, I’m thinking of between the ages of 5-10.

Harry Potter and John Yoder

I'm late to the Harry Potter party. I finally gave in and read the first one this past week. Rowling is an excellent writer. I'm glad I finally gave in to Kara's prompting.

What is about Harry Potter that has everyone so intrigued? First, Rowling's creativity is unprecedented for modern popular work. C.S. Lewis once wrote, in an essay, that the chief sin of modernity was its war against the imagination of adult Westerners. Harry Potter dares the reader to see things upside down and sideways. Second, Harry Potter is a story of good and evil and we, as humans, seem to be drawn towards stories with clear heroes and obvious villains. We want to know that are lives are a part of some larger cosmic struggle. Third, people are drawn to Harry Potter because they need a person like Harry Potter to exist (common but virtuous, daring, and powerful). Potter is not superman per se, but he is a normal teen with limitless potential. Deep down we all want to believe that we can become more than we already are. Fourth, in Potter (at least the first novel but I'm guessing this is true all the way to the end)...love wins. Power, greed, deception, and even magic have their limits. But love breaks through the barriers and limits...love always wins.

That some Christians refuse to allow their children to ready Harry Potter is beyond me.

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I have found this quote from Yoder to be one of the most succinct statements concerning Jesus in all of New Testament scholarship.

Jesus was not just a moralist whose teachings had some political implications; he was not primarily a teacher of spirituality whose public ministry unfortunately was seen in a political light; he was not just a sacrificial lamb preparing for his immolation, or a God-Man whose divine status calls us to disregard his humanity. Jesus was, in his divinely mandated prophethood, priesthood, and kingship, the bearer of a new possibility of human, social and therefore political relationships. His baptism is the inauguration and his cross is the culmination of that new regime in which his disciples are called to share. Hearers or readers may choose to consider that kingdom as not real, or not relevant, or not possible, or not inviting; but…no such slicing can avoid his call to an ethic marked by the cross, a cross identified as the punishment of a man who threatens society by creating a new kind of community leading a radically new kind of life (The Politics of Jesus).

Bronx, Teaching

Going into ministry, I knew I would not become a wealthy man, though, by global standards, I know that is not really true.

There are aspects of my work, however, that I would not trade for a six-figure salary, or an expensive home in the Hamptons

Today, I received a letter from a young man from New York. “Sam” (we’ll call him) is incarcerated at the moment. I met him two years ago when I spent time with the Bronx Fellowship Church in The Bronx, NY. Here’s a snippet of the letter from “Sam” (exactly as he wrote it):

Whats up Josh. I hope you remember me. Well your might know already but yeah I’m locked. I been trying to do good and trying to change. I don’t what to do the same things I was doing when I was out. I started to smoke and drink. I stop going to school and started hustling. Yeah “Kathy” gave me you address because she said that if I needed some information you could help me with it (Here he’s referring to college). I do want to get out from the city. I want to go to college for architecture. I also want to take art classes and scripture. So yeah how you guys been? I hope you guys are doing good. I be home before Christmas and I hope to see you guys again, I don’t got much to say

P.S. I would like to hear back from you.

I’m going to write “Sam” a note of encouragement this week. If you would like to write him and let him know that there are people praying for him all over the United States, let me know and I’ll get you his information. The more people who witness to God’s power and love, the better his chances are for making this critical transition. This is one example of blogs serving as a redemptive force in our culture.

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Today, in my Introduction to Christian Faith, I walked them through basic theological background information comparing the four Gospels of the New Testament. After having talked about the differences between the four gospels (point of view, emphasis, theological narrative, claims about Jesus, chronology of events in the life of Jesus, etc.) one student raised his hand and said, “But that is just more proof to me concerning the person of Christ. Four different accounts that testify to his divinity and power.” It’s moments like those when you think, “Ah ha…they are getting this.”

We concluded by talking about the focus of each Gospel. Here were the titles I gave them.

Matthew: Training for the Kingdom
Mark: The Suffering Messiah
Luke: Upside-Down Religion
John: When God Moves into the Neighborhood

Friday afternoon, 130pm to 3pm. I and 45 students were able to talk passionately about the life and teachings of Jesus. Is this a great country or what?

Spiritual Disciplines

Lauren Winner makes the following observation regarding spiritual disciplines in Mudhouse Sabbath.

Jews do these things with more attention and wisdom not because they are more righteous nor because God likes them better, but rather because doing, because action, sits at the center of Judaism. Practice is to Judaism what belief is to Christianity. That is not to say that Judaism doesn’t have dogma or doctrine. It is rather to say that, for Jews, the essence of the thing is a doing, an action. Your faith might come and go, but your practice ought not waver…This is perhaps best explained by a midrash (a rabbinic commentary on a biblical text). This midrash explains a curious turn of phrase in the Book of Exodus: “Na’aseh v’nishma,” which means “we will do and we will hear’ or ‘we will do and we will understand,” a phrase drawn from Exodus 24, in which the people of Israel proclaim “All the words that God has spoken, we will do and we will hear."

The word order, the rabbis have observed, doesn’t seem to make any sense: How can a person obey God’s commandment before they hear it? But the counterintuitive lesson, the midrash continues, is precisely that one acts out God’s commands, one does things unto God, and eventually, through the doing, one will come to hear and understand and believe. In this midrash, the rabbis have offered an apology for spiritual practice, for doing (Mudhouse Sabbath ix-x).

The most meaningful spiritual disciplines in my life are: exercise, tithing, working with the poor, weekly confession, sabbath-keeping, and reading.

What are the disciplines in your life that create space for the presence of God?

Nashville, Washington D.C.

This weekend’s ZOE Conference might have been the best ever. The missional focus is exactly what the Spirit is doing in the larger Christian world (both domestically and globally).

One of the great joys and privileges of the last two years, has been working with the leaders and visionaries of ZOE. It is, without question, one of the best things we do in our little corner of the world—the Churches of Christ. In teaching at ZOE, I’ve shared wonderful conversations full of wisdom, pain, testimony, and insight.

I leave such weekends feeling pretty confident that a portion of Churches of Christ are positioned to do ministry in the coming religious climate. By “portion” I don’t necessarily mean the churches that would be a part of ZOE events. For some of the most missional (working with the poor, etc.) churches I know are, from my denomination’s perspective, conservative.

If you’ve never gone, they are having events this upcoming year in Searcy, Dallas, Fresno, Malibu, Tulsa, and Nashville.

On another note. Along with a group of pastors and Rochester College administrators, I was a part of a dialog session with one of Michigan’s Congressman this morning. The forum was an informal but spirited discussion about the issues that churches are passionate about.

Several good questions were raised and several statements were made ranging from Michigan's economy to the War in Iraq.

My question went something like this.

It is hard for some of us not to be cynical about the way in which America prioritizes involvement in other nations of the world. For instance, some have suggested that if oil was discovered in Northern Uganda (Gulu) or Darfur, the United States might suddenly being interested in the genocide that’s been plaguing this region for several years. How does government prioritize its involvement in humanitarian issues (which Iraq was advertised to be in the beginning)?

If you could, in-person, ask your Congressman one question; if you could make one statement to your Congressman—what would it be? And no, you can't ask if he/she has special powers to help the Lions prevent another debacle.

Motown Healing Service

Last night, I attended a healing service at a local church. I went with a friend whom I deeply respect. He’s on a journey right now; a journey that, as his pastor and friend, begs my participation.

So, we jumped in his car and drove to the gathering of 50 plus Christians in suburban Detroit.

I’ve been to several other healing services before. Pentecostal. Catholic. Evangelical. I’ve seen it all. At least “all” in the American context. Some of the experiences were profound and powerful. Some were downright depressing and sinister.

Back to last night.

We walked into the church building around 7:00 p.m. The room was already full. The “healing pastor” (a position my church does not currently have) gave testimonies about tinnitus being healed, carpal tunnel syndrome quieted, autism defeated. In no way was this minister trying to bring honor or glory to himself. He was genuinely interested in asking a dangerous question, “How is God working in the world today?” People offered real stories of deliverance.

The pastor of healing taught us that God heals people in four ways. First, God heals through the Word (Scripture). God heals through anointing. God heals through word of knowledge (prophetic gifts). And last, God heals through prayer.

The funniest moment of the night came when the healing pastor asked if anyone in the room had emphysema. One man raised his hand in violent affirmation.

“I have emphysema.”

“How long have you had emphysema,” asked the healing pastor?

“I’ve had emphysema my whole life.”

At this point, I'm thinking, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t it impossible to have emphysema one’s entire life?

Regardless, the entire room prayed for this man whose lungs were full of disease. I held both hands out in faith. “God, heal our brother.”

I don’t know if I believe that God works the same as the healing pastor believes . I’ve buried enough friends in my young life to know that some people don’t get healed; some get worse.

I believe that God works in powerful ways. I believe he sometimes chooses to heal people. I also know that God does not honor every request. One thing I know for certain…God is not a cosmic vending machine granting our every wish.

Nonetheless, I’m grateful there are church’s which challenge my practical atheism.

Eat This Book

If you struggle reading the Bible, I have the book for you. It might be because you are no longer enamored with the stories. You might find the language difficult. The bridge between "then" (a.k.a. "In biblical times) and "now" might be too long a journey.

Eugene Peterson (author of The Message, superb translator, theologian and a "pastor’s pastor") has written a provocative, easy-to-read (I read it in a plane ride) guide. The book has an unusual title, Eat This Book.

Here are a few excerpts.

On exegesis (wrestling with the meaning of Scripture):

“..exegesis is an act of love. It loves the one who speaks the words enough to want to get words right. It respects the words enough to use every means we have to get the words right. Exegesis is loving God enough to stop and listen carefully to what he says. It follows that we bring the leisure and attention of lovers to this text, cherishing every comma and semicolon, relishing the oddness of this preposition, delighting in the surprising placement of this noun. Lovers don’t take a quick look, get a ‘message’ or a ‘meaning,’ and then run off and talk endlessly with their friends about how they feel.”

On the paradox of Scripture:

“We are fond of saying that the Bible has all the answers. And that is certainly correct. The text of the Bible sets us in a reality that is congruent with who we are as created beings in God’s image and what we are destined for in the purposes of Christ. But the Bible also has all the questions, many of them that we would just as soon were never asked of us, and some of which we will spend the rest of our lives doing our best to dodge. The Bible is a most comforting book; it is also a most discomforting book. Eat this book; it will be sweet as honey in your mouth; but it will also be bitter to your stomach. You can’t reduce this book to what you can handle; you can’t domesticate this book to what you are comfortable with. You can’t make it your toy poodle, trained to respond to your commands.”

From lectio divina, to background information regarding the formation of the canon—this book is one of the better introductions for the all-too-often-ignored task of reading the Bible. Or...as Peterson would say, the task of allowing Scripture to read me.

My sister-in-law read this at my sister's wedding last month. Kara is going to read it this weekend at the wedding of her college roommate, Emily Kirk. I think it is simple yet true.



Why is it that people get married?
Because we need a witness to our lives.
There’s a billion people on the planet (actually six billion plus)
What does any one life really mean?
But in a marriage, you’re promising to care about everything…
The good things, the bad things,
All of it… all the time, every day.
You’re saying “Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it.
Your life will not go unwitnessed - because I will be your witness.”

Fitness Follies

The following are Kara and Josh’s basic maxims concerning the universal work-out facility. You may add your own to this list.


If you can talk on your cell phone while exercising, it does not count as cardio.

Contrary to popular practice, women don’t really appreciate being undressed by the eyes of men.

Enter the shower, sauna, and hot tub at your own risk. Many a fungi have been known to find their abode in these facilities.

To the two friends who talk the entire time they are on the treadmill: If you put half your energy into the workout as you did gossiping about cheer leading tryouts and which neighbor stays up too late—you might get more out of your workout.

The consummate sweater (one who sweats) always seems to be the one who does not know where the germ/alcohol towel dispenser is located—even though there are dispensers at every turn in the work-out area.

Just because they make spandex shorts in your size doesn’t mean you should wear said spandex shorts. That goes for spandex pants too.

Patriotism and Nationalism

I want to think out loud here (which I suppose is a non-technical definition of blogging). I'm curious to hear what others think on this topic.

Is there a difference between patriotism and nationalism (borrowing the distinction from a Christian ethicist)? Let me define my terms here.

Patriotism is affinity and affection towards one’s country. This includes appreciating the sacrifice of soldiers from wars gone by as well as the work and dedication of so many in the current Armed Forces.

Nationalism, which is easier to spot in citizens of other nations (c.f. Iran), is total and complete loyalty to the country regardless of said county’s policies, practices, etc.

I am proud to be a U.S. citizen. I love the United States. I think we are one of the more unique stories in the history of civilization. I believe we’ve also influenced, for the good, countless nations into embracing ideas of equality, justice and freedom.

If I was a nationalist, I’d stop there.

But I’m a patriot, not a nationalist.

Because I’m a patriot I am also aware of U.S. blunders such as our inability and lack of desire to be involved in Rwanda and Darfur. I wonder what would happen if oil was discovered in these two regions.

So…is this semantics or is there a difference between being a patriot (a good American or German or Ugandan or Egyptian) and being a nationalist?

Specifically, if one follows the teachings of Jesus, should there be a distinction?

The Patsy

I mentioned that I sat on a panel Thursday night at Michigan State University as a part of a program led by some Christian ministers entitled Join the Conversation—a dialogue about faith and spirituality.

Toward the end of a long night (in which we talked about theodicy, creation, evolution, theism, atheism, war, non-violence, ethics) one of the panelists ended the discussion with this story.

This is my recollection of his account.

When I was a boy, I remember responding to the story of Jesus without realizing it. I was watching a dramatic production entitled “The Patsy” starring Sammy Davis Jr. In the film, Davis plays the lone minority in a regiment full of white soldiers. Davis is ridiculed, mocked and despised. The soldiers tell him to go and get striped paint, and Davis goes to get it. When he comes back he’s jeered. The tell Davis to get a left-handed monkey-wrench, Davis goes but has no lock securing one from the commissary. He is, the quintessential “patsy.”

Towards the end of the production, the soldiers decide to play a mean trick on Davis. They take him out to the grenade field and hand him a grenade that is not operable. Davis, however, does not know this. One of the soldiers pulls the pin and all the soldiers, who’ve gathered for the tom-foolery, scatter like birds, leaving the young soldier all by himself.

They look back and see something they had no language for. Davis is lying prostrate on the ground using his body as a human shield while screaming, “Don’t worry guys, I’ll save you. I’ll protect you. Run!”

“And that was my first introduction to the gospel,” said this converted follower of Jesus who was now sitting next to me almost fifty years later.

Ruby Rudy, Michigan State, and Chaldeans

I’ve experienced three powerful things in the last 36 hours.

On Wednesday night, during our Emerging Artist gathering, Carmen Paradise played a song remembering her brother (Nic) who lost a battle with a drug addiction last month. I wrote about that here and here. She, and her fellow band member, played a song entitled "Rudy Ruby." It was a powerful lament/statement of faith. The most meaningful line (addressed to Nic), “You’ve been dying since I can’t remember.” We all mourn in different ways. The important thing is that we mourn.

Last night, I spoke on the campus of Michigan State University for Join the Conversation—a dialog about faith and spirituality for Christians, religious folks of different stripes and seekers. We talked about theodicy (God in the midst of suffering), ethics, war, non-violence, politics, theism and atheism…among other topics. It was a lively and enriching conversation. The other two panelists challenged me in various ways. If God is Absolute Truth we should have some humility when treading on the ground of holy conversation. I believe in “absolute truth but not in my ability to understand truth absolutely,” to quote one Christian thinker.

Last night, as I prepared to sleep, Kara and I engaged in a discussion about the things our children will challenge us on. My generation loves to talk about the Civil Rights Era, Vietnam, Communism and Democracy—what will our children challenge us on? My wife said something so true. “I think that our kids will challenge the way some white people view middle easterners.” (I should add here that one of Kara’s close friends is a Christian from Iraq…yes, there are Christians in the Middle East. She’s Chaldean. A side note: Microsoft Word doesn’t even recognize the word Chaldean.)

I think Kara’s right. Whites have slowly moved past the stereotypes of Blacks and Hispanics (for the most part) but now transfer those sentiments towards all people of Middle Eastern descent. Some Christians use the phrase “sand nigger” “rag-head” “or camel jockey." In these moments I tend to think to myself, “The Jesus of history was a poor Jewish man from said region. I wonder if we would be able to embrace him were he to move into our neighborhood today.” Jesus looked more like the men who receive extra screening at Metro Detroit Airport, than he does White-Suburban-Scandinavian-Romance-Novel-Jesus.

Suffering

This Sunday, Sara Barton and I will co-teach during our worship gatherings. We are in week three of a series entitled Urban Legends: Debunking Spiritual Myths. Here's a summary Sara wrote.

One of my neighbors asked me what the sermon will be about at church today, and I said “Suffering. Want to come?” Now, that’s one unique approach for inviting your neighbors to come to church!

Suffering is one of those subjects we usually want to avoid if we possibly can. We would prefer to think about beauty, power, happiness, and Good News.

Yet, life has its suffering. When God became human through Jesus Christ, he suffered.

The urban legend we will discuss today is that suffering is ugly. Some would look at Jesus dying on a cross and see an ugly scene. Those with eyes to see, however, can look at the same scene and see beauty.

We look around in our congregation, and we can see situations that appear to the untrained eye to be ugly stories of suffering. We’ve experienced the death of two children in recent history. What suffering it is to see a parent bury a child! Both of those funerals, however, were times of beauty because of the love we experienced toward Devin and Linsi and their families. What suffering it is for two of our wonderful Christian women to face cancer. Hualani and Nancy, however, have faced their struggles with faith that bears beautiful witness for us all. For those with eyes to see, these are lives of beauty and grace.

In our North American context and our fascination with beauty, youth, and surface appeal, we believe that the Gospel has something to say. We believe that the Spirit inspires us as readers and listeners to engage the powers of deception at work in the urban legend that says suffering is ugly.

By the way, my neighbor will be worshiping with us today. Andy said, in response to my invitation, “I have learned more in my life through the difficult times than in any other part of life. I would not trade those times of suffering for an easier life.”

Today, may we all experience the beauty of a suffering Savior and King, Jesus Christ

West Texas

I'm in Texas for a few days, presenting at the ACU Lectureships. I'm teaching a class on the relationship between film and faith. So far it's been an interesting discussion. I normally talk about theology, ethics, working with the poor--this has been a great change of pace.

Yesterday, I was on a panel discussing Missional Church Worship. Missional Church is different than the Emerging Movement (Rob Bell, Brian McLaren, etc.) but it is also similar. I'll write more on that later. It is interesting that so many people think they are one in the same...anyways, I digress.

The highlight of the panel was the last 45 minutes. With everyone attending the session, we constructed a liturgy (order of worship) for a group seeking to be inherently missional in language, flow, and experience. Our text was Matthew 24:14ff. The contributions and ideas were outstanding--it was as unique a class as I've ever been a part of.

The best part about being back in Abilene (where I did part of my grad work) is the Mexican food. I got to eat at Los Arcos, favorite eating location of friend and guide, Randy Harris. The time I spent with Randy was invaluable and precious.

Off to teach...

P.S. I'm not giving up on the Tigers. They still have an outside shot.

The Good News and Bad News of Blogging

I’ve been thinking about the value/role of blogging lately. It strikes me that there are advantages and disadvantages (or blessings and curses if you like biblical language) in the blogging experience. BTW—blogging and FaceBook are similar in my estimation. One could substitute the word “FaceBook” for “blog” in the coming paragraphs.

Just to show you how new, relatively speaking, this blogging thing is…as I write “blogging” or "blog" in a Microsoft Word document a little red line appears each time, indicating that this word “blogging” isn’t even a real word.


Ok. The possibilities/strengths/advantages/blessings of blogging…

First, blogging keeps you in touch with people from all over the world and throughout the United States. That is truly amazing—our world is ever shrinking.

Second, blogging allows you to consider perspectives of many different people.

Third, blogging can serve as a kind of “diary”, cataloging important events, experiences and thought-patterns on the journey of becoming truer disciples of Jesus.

However, there are setbacks/weaknesses/disadvantages/curses in blogging.

First, blogging can be an artificial way of staying in touch with people. You may have 55 people you stay in touch with via blogging (or FaceBook) but you may not have one authentic, real relationship in the bunch. Or, as my friend Randy Harris likes to say, “The only thing better than a dead friend is a virtual friend.”

Second, blogging, you can get caught in the trap of only reading bloggers who a) you disagree with (hence you must “defend the faith” even if that means you choose blogging over taking your wife out for a great date). Or, b) you only read people who agree with your perspective further cementing your already long-held conviction. In other words, it’s a great forum for group think.

Third, (then I’m done Ashley--he hates my long blogs), There are many things shared on blogs that simply should be kept to yourself or those closest to. It’s amazing (and scary!) what some people will confess to via a blog. It's also amazing what some people think other people care to know.

I’m really sick of the red, squiggly line underneath “blogging”—I’m done.

I told a friend recently that blogging is this generation’s form of French coffee shops which some historians give credit to for catalyzing the French Revolution. Her response… “Yeah, the French Revolution is the greatest secular disaster in human history,” (my paraphrase).

Touche ma copine!

Lauren Winner Part Deux

Tonight, Lauren Winner shared some of her material from Girl Meets God. Again, there were many aspects of her story that resonate with my own, facets that will stay with me for some time.

Picking a few too highlight is like picking the best two or three songs from a U2 album. Nevertheless...

Lauren noted that she does not have a definitive moment of conversion. “I cannot say that I became a Christian (like the Apostle Paul for instance) at 8:40 a.m. on a Tuesday. My conversion to Christ has been a series of events; with many ruptures in the narrative,” (my paraphrase). "There are moments when God called me and I accepted--but it's been a process."

She also confessed to being a “yellow-dog Democrat”—which was brave considering she was in a room of 80% Republicans 15% Democrats 4% Anabaptists and 1% Libertarian (that’s for you Patrick).

My wife, the true judge of all things, appreciated “Lauren’s humor mixed with her engaging theology”—I suppose she’s not used to funny thinkers for she's married to me. Kara also noted that she admired Lauren’s ability to be “who she is”—unapologetically honest (see reference above to yellow-dog Democrat).

Perhaps the element that will stay with me in the coming months is Lauren's embodied reminder that Christianity comes out of Judaism. Baptism and Lord’s Supper, for instance, find their roots and meaning in the Jewish story. Of course, I’m not a Universalist Unitarian—I believe Jesus is the way. But I also remember that Paul was Jewish. Jesus was Jewish (he was not a Christian as it were). Many of the first Christians were Jewish who believed Jesus was the Jewish Messiah.

This movement called Christianity, is birthed out of Israel. That we have virtually ignored Israel’s Scripture (The proverbial Old Testament), approach to scripture, and spiritual disciplines—is something that truncates and flattens our faith.

Lauren Winner Session #1

Tonight, Lauren Winner spoke to our faith community (and some other welcomed guests) about the practice of Sabbath as a needed and viable Christian discipline.

There were many elements of her presentation that impacted me. Perhaps the most interesting was this comment (my paraphrase):

When one compares the ancient near eastern creation accounts with Genesis, some interesting things jump out at the reader. First, in the other accounts, god/gods create the world and then create humans to carry forth the work; they are the labor force.

The Jewish story is different in that humans are called, as in other accounts, to work with and for God but they are also called to rest with God. God desires to spend a day of rest with the unique ones who also bear his image.

Thus, there is something necessary and sacramental about the practice of Sabbath. It isn’t a binding, heavy rule to be kept for Sabbath is when we allow God to have space enough to move and speak into our world (as it is with silence, working with the poor, etc.).

Note: Lauren speaks at Rochester Church tomorrow night at 7pm. She will share her faith journey similar to the material found in Girl Meets God.

I'm not a scientist, mathematician or astronomer. But the following blows my mind.


If, one second after the Big Bang, the ratio of the density of the universe to its expansion rate had differed from its assumed value by only one part in the 1015 (that’s one followed by 15 zeros) the universe would have either quickly collapsed upon itself or ballooned so rapidly that stars and galaxies could not have condensed from the primal matter…The coin was flipped into the air 1015, and it came down on its edge but once. If all the grains of sand, on all the beaches of the Earth were possible universes—that, universes consistent with the laws of physics as we know them—and only one of those grains of sand were a universe that allowed for the existence of intelligent life, then that one grain of sand is the universe we inhabit (from scientist and astronomer Chet Raymo).

Be Who You Is

A simple plea.

If you are a Christian, pay for the music you’ve downloaded. Even if that means going back and deleting music you obtained illegally, or outright deleting it from your system.

If you are a person of faith, don’t cheat on your taxes or manipulate cable access.

And…If you are a minister, don’t preach someone else’s message/sermon and pretend it belongs to you. If you are going to preach someone else’s message, give credit to whom credit is due.

I recently heard a pastor give a message that a good friend of mine (someone completely different) delivered over a year ago. The pastor in question never once gave credit to the one who actually wrote the message (along with specific quotes, stories, and key points). Sitting in the audience, stunned, I thought back to grad school, and the numerous discussions we seminarians held concerning integrity, honesty, and character.

The most important reason for not using someone else’s material often goes unnoticed. To be the minister (or accountant, artist, teacher…etc.) God made you to be, you must develop your own voice. You must learn the art of being the best “you God made you to be,”--to paraphrase my close friend and the one who taught me a great deal about preaching and teaching.

Integrity is the one thing a minister possesses. If she/he loses this, you lose everything.

Coincidentally, I’m going to see the pastor, whose message had been pirated, in a week or so while I’m in Texas. I think my opening line when I see him will be—“I didn’t realize that you could be two places at one time. You cracked the time-travel mystery!”

My college basketball coach used to tell us this bit of advice he once saw on a bathroom stall. “Be who you is. Because when you is who you ain’t, you ain’t.”

Notice the fact that coach told us the source of his street wisdom.

Pick-Up Lines to Avoid

A friend recently shared a list of the top theological pick-up lines to avoid.

Here are my personal favorites:

“I could not help but notice you were exegeting me instead of the text during the sermon.”

“Until this moment, I thought I had the gift of singleness.”

“Well, gouge out my eyes and cut off my hands. If I hang around you much longer, I won’t have any limbs left.”

During communion say, “Can I get you another drink?”

But, the best theological pick-up line to avoid has to be…

“God may be the bread of life, but you are the butter.”
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What are some of the worst pick-up lines you've ever heard?

The last few nights, I’ve been going back and reading through Parting the Waters. It is an instant classic and I suggest this for anyone interested in reading about the life and influence of Martin Luther King Jr. and the greater struggle for justice for minorities in the United States.

Two of my favorite lines come from people in JFK’s entourage. Upon first meeting the young pastor (King) one person commented, “He’s the most self-effacing public leader I’ve ever met.” Another person said (with sheer understatement dripping from each word), “Martin Luther King Jr. was easy to underestimate.”

Women in Leadership

Every generation is accountable for "injustices" which are allowed to continue and are often sanctioned by religious institutions. My grandparents and parents (and me to some degree) are accountable for the way our country fell woefully short of the notion that"all men are created equal with certain inalienable rights." "All men" meant "white men who owned property."


It is easy for me to look back and ask older folks, "Where were you when Dr. King was doing his prophetic and ordained work? How could you have missed that opportunity to represent the liberating work of God's kingdom?"

Each time I ask that question, I hear the voices of young children asking me "where were you during the discussion of women being treated as second class citizens and as inferior or unfit for public leadership in the church?"

By public leadership I mean serving as "pastor, minister" or playing the occasional role of preacher and teacher.

I always make it clear that the role of women in the church is far different than the discussion of acapella and/or instrumental worship--a topic of some interest in Churches of Christ.

Women's role is a justice issue because it involves women. The case of “Instruments vs. acapella”, though important, is about style of worship, preference, exegesis and interpretation.
One is about drums, guitars, and forms—the other is about women who equally reflect the image of God.

I should also note that I do not believe that every church in every culture is called to allow for women in public leadership. Some churches would implode were they to alter their current position. Some cultures are still predominantly patriarchal (c.f. most Middle Eastern) and are not in a place to hear the liberating words of Jesus and Paul. At least not yet...

Our community of faith wrestled through this discussion for four years before coming the conclusion that a women could serve in any capacity save senior minister and elder. We have two women on our ministry staff and we have women who use their teaching gifts during our Sunday and Wednesday gatherings. They provide great insight and wisdom and have led us to greater depths of insight and reflection on the nature of faith.

For an outstanding presentation of the egalitarian perspective (by a mostly conservative world-class scholar), click here. Our senior minister gave two oustanding classes on this subject last fall. Click on the link and select one of the teachings on "Women, Worship, and Ministry".

I cannot believe that Major League Baseball did this. Moreover, I can’t believe this happened during a Yankees/Red Sox game.

Was this guy really doing his job?

An Ode to Those Who Prefer Pictures Instead of Words

Chocolat Spirituality

The 2000 film, Chocolat (pronounced Shaw-ko-la, starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp) is an interesting parable of contrasting views toward spirituality.

One of the main characters in the film, the mayor, desires to run a city based on his own understanding of morality and religious responsibility. He seeks perfection with vigor and zest.

The antithesis character of the mayor is Vianne (played by Binoche), a woman of some “mystery” who moves to the small town run by the mayor, with the intention of opening a chocolate shop. That she moves to this small town during Lent is no accident.

Vianne does not seek perfection from people, but goodness.

Thus, a conversion battle takes place between religion (the search for perfection) and spirituality (the search for transformation and goodness). Each convert people according the tenets of their convictions and the viewer witnesses the results of religion gone bad alongside spirituality’s ability to bring new life and new possibilities.

The film is not a “Christian” film per se, but it does have some fascinating parallels with the Christian story.

Today, in my Introduction to the Christian Faith class, we discussed this film (which our class watched Tuesday night) in great detail.

It’s amazing how much students come alive when talking about stories. They were engaged in ethical discourse without realizing it was “ethical discourse.” That’s what stories do to us. They draw us in because they engage our whole person—our hopes, dreams, fears, and memory—leaving us different. People who rarely talk in this kind of setting weighed on film’s commentary about faith, sex, marriage, parenting, discipline, beauty, and romance.

Bono is often quoted for saying, “Religion is what happens when God leaves.” I pray that the students under my care this semester become the kind of people who bear all kinds of healthy fruit into this starving world. I hope they are spiritually attuned to the presence of God in their lives and the lives of others.

Cass Park Transformation?

The Detroit News ran an interesting article recently regarding the past, present, and future of Cass Park (Cass Corridor) where some of us from the Rochester Church work on a regular basis, serving the poor.

This was an interesting section from the piece.

In the 1970s, the Cass Corridor was filled with Appalachian families and still had an area called Chinatown, said Patrick Dorn, executive director of the Cass Corridor Neighborhood Development Corporation, which rehabilitates and builds affordable housing nearby.

Those with enough money left and the neighborhood started to decay once property owners started selling to negligent owners, Dorn said. The slide worsened in the 1980s when the city made the area home to social service providers such as homeless shelters.

"That was the finishing touch," Dorn said.

"Whenever you have isolationism where there's nobody there, except people you wouldn't want to meet in the dark, you're not going to be the first one to put money in."

The neighborhood is exceedingly poor, especially compared to the rest of the city. Median household income is $8,317, far below the city's median household income of $29,526, according to the U.S. Census.

Jesus wants to send his people to the places no one else wants to go. That's why we work in Cass Park. That's why we pray for Cass Park. That's why we help those who live in Cass Park. That's why even began to think about Cass Park in the first place.

This Week's Sign that the Apocalypse Is Upon Us

Manresa Rest

I spent all day Saturday afternoon at the Menresa Jesuit Retreat Center with some fellow RC faculty and staff and about 35 students.

We listened to encouraging words about spiritual formation and the centered life. I shared some thoughts about the spiritual disciplines in my own life (sabbath, tithing, exercise, working with the poor, and reading). Among other things, we attended a healing service, Taize worship time, and we also practiced the discipline of silence for two different segments of significant length.

The time of silence was exactly what I needed.

Prior to Saturday, the voices in my head were so loud…I didn’t even realize they were talking. Voices regarding work, school, teaching, grad school, family, ego, etc.

Silence creates the space God needs to mute the voices. In silence, God speaks loudest.

---

Sunday, I returned to teach at Rochester Church with Patrick and participated in the baptism of a good friend, Shaun Hover. Six months ago, Shaun was not interested in the spiritual life. Now, he's one of the best young leaders I've ever been around. It is a testimony to God, that people are still moved and changed by the story of Jesus.

I like this photo because it captures the mystery of what God does to us in the experience of baptism...the mystery being that God can only raise us up if we first allow him to bury us.

Lauren Winner

Lauren Winner,one of my favorite writers, is coming to speak at the Rochester Church.

I first met Lauren in 2006 at the main ZOE Worship and Leadership Conference in Nashville. I've enjoyed trading stories, and ideas with her over the last several months. She's one of the author's I want non-believers and skeptics to read when investigating the spiritual life and thought of modern day Christians.

Here's an excerpt from Girl Meets God.

Evangelical friends of mine are always trying to trim the corners and smooth the rough edges of what they call My Witness in order to shove it into a tidy, born-again conversion narrative. They want an exact date, even an hour, and I never know what to tell them. The datable conversion story has a venerable history. Paul, the most famous Jew to embrace Jesus, established the prototype of the dramatic, datable rebirth. He was walking on the road to Damascus, Luke tells us, off to persecute the zealous disciples of the newly dead carpenter when Jesus appeared to him, and Paul became his follower instead of his foe. Centuries later, John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was atttending a meeting in Aldersgate Street; listening to Luther's Preface to the Epistle to the Romans, his heart was "strangely warmed." At that instant, Wesley later wrote in his journal, he felt that he "did trust in Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death." Less notable personages have dramatic conversion stories, too. My high school physics teacher sat in her kitchen reading the Gospel of Mark one day when, in an instant, she knew that Jesus was God and had died for her sins. My friend Tim dedicated his life to Christ when he was four at a mission's conference at Bibletown, in Boca Raton, Florida. He had seen a puppet show about Jesus knocking on your heart. So he opened it and asked Him to come in.

My story doesn't fit very well with this conversion archetype. A literature scholar would say there are too many "ruptures" in the "narrative." But she might also say that ruptures are the most interesting part of any text, that in the ruptures we learn something new. I had no epiphanic on-the-road-to-Damascus experience. I can't tell my friends that I became a Christian January 8, 1993, or on my twentieth birthday. What I can tell them is that I grew up Jewish. I can tell them about the time I dreamed of Jesus rescuing me from a kidnapping; I can tell them I woke up certain, as certain as I have ever been about anything, that the dream was from God and the dream was about Jesus, about how He was real and true and sure. I can tell them about reading At Home in Mitford, a charming if somewhat saccharine novel about an Episcopal priest in North Carolina, a novel that left me wanting something Christians seemed to have. I can tell them about my baptism.

A Good Ending...A New Beginning

This weekend, I am honored to perform the wedding of Kelly Sewell and Ray Stemitz. Kelly is my big sister which makes Ray my new brother-in-law.

My sister was married once before. She and her ex-husband have a beautiful daughter together—Alexa Mae Sewell. Lexi is a joy to all of us, a beautiful and spirit-filled young girl.

Though the last several years have been full of chaos and confusion for my sister, she’s now seeing the work of God in her life. Kelly went back to school after her divorce and is now an elementary school teacher in East Detroit—we’re proud of her courage and fight. She could’ve “packed it in” during her ugly and messy divorce, but she resisted that path.

It hasn’t been easy, but I suppose the easy way is the thing we should all be most suspicious of.

Major Ray Stemitz is an answer to prayer; proof that God wants to bring healing and new beginnings in stories of brokenness and deceit.

It's the Perfect Time of Year...

This is one of my favorite times of the year. School is about to start. Syllabi’s are being written, schedules mapped out. Once dark and dusty dorm rooms are now filled with new TV’s and photos of family and friends who will be missed.

Since kindergarten, my life has been shaped and molded by the pace of the school calendar.

Throughout high school, undergrad, graduate, and now teaching—I feel renewed each August as I anticipate the students who will come to Rochester College for the first time, the students who will take my class for the first time, and for the returning students who are building upon their previous work. I also realize some students are coming back this semester looking for a completely new start.

I met this afternoon with my fellow professors in the religion department for a time of update, reflection, and prayer. I’m honored to serve along side these dedicated people who take seriously the task of equipping students to engage the world in powerful ways.

This semester, I’m teaching a new course with one of my good friends and mentors entitled Introduction to the Christian Faith. I’m teaching the class with the approach that I want our post-modern students to understand the faith in ways that make them come alive to the biblical themes of spirituality, justice, friendship and beauty. This is the class textbook. Check it out, it’s an important work.

Here are the first four lectures of the class.

“Justice: U2, Martin Luther King Jr., and Desmond Tutu” (with clips from Bono at the National Prayer Breakfast)

“Spirituality: Jesus, Buddha, and Dream Catchers” (with clips from the short film The Many Faces of Faith)

“Relationships: We Were Made for Each Other” (with excerpts from Henry Nouwen)

“Beauty: In the Eye of the Beholder?” (with clips from Planet Earth and Life is Beautiful)

I cannot imagine my life outside of a local faith community.

My good friend Sara Barton was introduced as the new part-time minister for small groups. Dana Spivey (from Atlanta) will join our ministry staff this coming week.

Sarah and Priscilla were also introduced to my summer adult formation class. They are Ugandans who've come to Rochester College to study. We anticipate learning a great deal from them in the coming months.

Two young adults who've been working through a significant forgiveness issue asked me to pray for them during family communion. Imagine that--forgiveness breaking out during the Lord's Supper.

At our third service, a family admitted being at wit's end with their son's drug problem when some of our young adults stepped up and said, "We'll get involved." These young adults are willing to use their story to bless others and it encourages me about the future of our church.



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The Tigers just might be getting back on track...Magglioooooooooo!

Last night we remembered Nic Paradise, a young man from our church who died tragically early Monday morning from a long battle with a drug addiction.





The sixty minute worship and prayer gathering was a rare moment of hope and possibility in these rather dark three days. Several of Nic's friends were on hand to honor the bond and love shared by classmates and skate-partner friends spanning several years.

During the time of remembrance, we played a video of Nic's greatest skateboarding moments. Many of Nic's friends present were skateboarders themselves. I think they appreciated seeing Nic in his primary element; the place where his rather chaotic most made sense. As a former athlete, I have to admit that I was impressed with the danger and athleticism required for skateboarding

I'm not a prophet but I'm willing to guess most of the group present on behalf of Nic had not stepped foot in a church building in quite some time. Perhaps, some were for the very first time.

Liz Trainor, Nic's fiancée', stood up with Shawn Hover and offered some simple but powerful words about Nic's infectious ability to draw people to himself. Nic and Liz had a son together: Carter, a beautiful and healthy (he was nine pounds and nine ounces at birth) boy. Patrick (our senior minister) and the Bryans (the leaders of our pastoral care ministry) prayed over the various groups represented.

For the first time in three days, the numbness is starting to wear off. The pain is slowly rising to the surface.

Nic's immediate family (Mike, Jackie, Sid, Carmen, Aunt Pam and Liz) are mourning the loss of their son, brother and fiancée. But they also know the decade struggle for meaning, purpose and identity has come to an end.

I have been so impressed with the deep spirituality of the Paradise family. Their devotion to each other, their families, local community is something I certainly can emulate in my own life.

After the family and friends who were there to honor Nic left to return back to the viewing service downtown, I encouraged our church in this simple way. At least this is how I remembered what I said.

Saying that we want to connect all people to Jesus is a great thing to write on a piece of paper or post on our web site as our mission statement. I believe it is the ministry God is calling us to...all people. Broken, addicts, confused, cynical, jaded...all people.

But the reality is that is a very difficult project. It certainly isn't for the faint of heart. It isn't sexy. It certainly isn't the most comfortable way to do church.

For some time now, we've been challenging the church to be a people who are willing to follow Jesus to the dangerous places. The places everyone else runs from are the places we believe God is calling us to run toward. If others run from the projects, we run there. If some run from the homeless we run there. If others are running from single moms, we run there. If others are running from skateboarders with drug problems...we run there.

We run to these places because we believe that the one thing God gives us is the one thing we need: The assurance that if the world and this life kill us, God will raise us from the dead.

Numb

I try to avoid writing too much about the different people who God continues to bring to the Rochester Church in our efforts to reach people of all different backgrounds and experiences. There’s something dangerous about telling the world, through a blog or what have you, all of the stories and people that emerge in one’s ministry. It can quickly take on the feel of “ministry prostitution.”

But, it’s late Monday night, and I cannot help but write about the events that have unfolded the last twelve hours.

This morning I got several phone calls and text messages from some friends of mine that I had to come to the apartment belonging to a few young adults who are apart of our church. I knew something was wrong but I never dreamed of what I was about to walk into.

I pulled up to the apartments around 10am. The police had just arrived along with a few family members. I walked into the apartment to the reality that a young man (19 years old) had overdosed on drugs (what kind is not that important in this story). His body lay lifeless on the bed in the main bedroom. It had begun to turn a color not normal to my experience with flesh and blood.

“He’s been dead for some time,” I heard someone whisper in a corner.

I will write more in the coming days. There’s family to tend to. Stories to be told. A funeral to be planned.

For now, I’m still in shock. I don’t really have any emotions. I feel numb. I feel empty with little stirring inside.

This young man worshipped with us yesterday. He broke bread with us yesterday. He listened to me preach yesterday. The entire gathering (during our third service) prayed over him yesterday. He repeated a confession from The Book of Common Prayer with his other brothers and sisters in Christ…yesterday.

And today…he’s dead. He’s not sleeping. He’s not in a coma. He’s not hibernating. Yesterday he was alive and today he is dead.

I do a lot of teaching about taking risks. This year I’ve spoken all over the country, by the grace of God. I have encouraged people to take risks for the kingdom of God, seeing people as humans created in God’s image regardless of their plight, skin color or addiction. I insist on this in front of our church in the classes I teach at Rochester College and in private small discussions. Occasionally, I even preach to it to myself.

And I still believe that is the mission we are called to with all my heart and soul.

But sometimes in life, you have to pause, and say “This business of following Jesus is so much harder than I expected it to be. It’s messy, confusing, and downright depressing.”

So today I pause to say exactly that.

Life is hard. Life is as hard as crucible steel. No bumper sticker, proof-text hall mark card, or “God needed another angel” conversation can do anything to change this grim reality.

Today I’m grateful to follow a God who entered into the suffering, pain, addiction, and shame of this world. I’m grateful to serve a God who promises me one thing only: “If this world kills us, I will raise you from the dead.”

Summer in Michigan

Cooking brats in your backyard: $6.
Reading a great novel: $15.
Eating a big bowl of ice cream: $3.
Bike ride with your wife: no cost.


Going to a Tiger's game with my wife on a Friday night: priceless.