This has been on my mind for a while. If you have an answer I'd love to hear it...
Why did Jesus teach first, then go through the crucifixion and resurrection?
Why didn't He do it the other way around? Think about it, if Jesus rose from the dead then taught us how to live, wouldn't people be all over it? If He got a crowd by doing a few miracles, what if people saw Him die and rise again? Wouldn't that be instant followers?
Maybe those aren't the followers Christ is looking for, He wants those who choose to do what's right when there aren't signs and wonders.
Maybe people would be so in awe of the resurrection they wouldn't listen to the teaching.
Maybe I should shut up and accept that God knows what He's doing...
Just something in my head lately, especially with having just celebrated Easter.
T
Monday, April 09, 2012
Monday, April 02, 2012
The Power of Words
I heard a story the other day, I had to check it out and see if it was true. It was...
On December 19, 1973, the Tonight Show aired as usual with Johnny Carson performing his evening monologue. Earlier a Wisconsin congressman had announced that the government was falling behind on making bids to get toilet paper. So Carson made a joke about it, saying toilet paper was disappearing from shelves, that there was a shortage of toilet paper in America.
It wasn't true, there was tons of it, but it was a poorly timed joke. The country was in the midst of other shortages, oil for instance. So when the 20 million viewers heard there was a shortage of toilet paper they ran out and bought as much as they could. They created a panic. And they created a shortage on toilet paper. For the next few nights Carson tried to explain it was a joke. Toilet paper companies showed videos of the plants making toilet paper. But all people saw when they went to the store were empty shelves where the toilet paper should be. They had created their own shortage. It took almost a month for the stores to be resupplied consistently and end this "toilet paper shortage".
The fact is the people created their own panic. And how often do we do that? We hear something and blow it out of proportion, we create our own panic. Maybe it's not toilet paper, but something at work, in a relationship maybe. It's kind of like the comic I saw as a kid, ten people told a girl her hair looked nice, one made a snide comment, and she goes home saying "everyone hated it". I've seen it happen. What we say, even in jest, has the power to change our world. Even if it's in toilet paper consumption.
T
On December 19, 1973, the Tonight Show aired as usual with Johnny Carson performing his evening monologue. Earlier a Wisconsin congressman had announced that the government was falling behind on making bids to get toilet paper. So Carson made a joke about it, saying toilet paper was disappearing from shelves, that there was a shortage of toilet paper in America.
It wasn't true, there was tons of it, but it was a poorly timed joke. The country was in the midst of other shortages, oil for instance. So when the 20 million viewers heard there was a shortage of toilet paper they ran out and bought as much as they could. They created a panic. And they created a shortage on toilet paper. For the next few nights Carson tried to explain it was a joke. Toilet paper companies showed videos of the plants making toilet paper. But all people saw when they went to the store were empty shelves where the toilet paper should be. They had created their own shortage. It took almost a month for the stores to be resupplied consistently and end this "toilet paper shortage".
The fact is the people created their own panic. And how often do we do that? We hear something and blow it out of proportion, we create our own panic. Maybe it's not toilet paper, but something at work, in a relationship maybe. It's kind of like the comic I saw as a kid, ten people told a girl her hair looked nice, one made a snide comment, and she goes home saying "everyone hated it". I've seen it happen. What we say, even in jest, has the power to change our world. Even if it's in toilet paper consumption.
T
Monday, March 26, 2012
A Little Bit More...
This past weekend I was trapped in a FedEx office for a few minutes, waiting for someone making an order, so I did what I normally do and looked around trying to kill time. While there I found a book that talked about the 212 difference.
The concept is pretty simple. It's how a tiny bit more can make all the difference in what we do. The title of the book is based around water. At 211 degrees Fahrenheit, you have hot water. At 212 degrees you have boiling water, you have steam, you have power. That tiny bit makes all the difference. The rest of the book pointed out different times in history where the difference between success and failure was a little more perseverance.
What was really amazing is I witnessed it firsthand later that night. We were at the Indiana State Percussion Finals, the last chance to win it all. Teams performed based on how they places the week before, so we knew in one division the home school was set to win their division. They didn't. Instead they came in third. By 0.125%. In that competition the margin between first and third was 1/8th of a point.
It's got me thinking about my faith and what I do. What if I pushed just a little bit more? What kind of a difference would it make if I read my Bible just a few more minutes a day, prayed a few more minutes, served just a little bit more? What if I applied that thinking to my ministry, to my marriage, even my hobbies? How often have people been on the cusp of success but they slack off or give up?
I don't know, if I had been told before a competition the difference between first and third would have been 0.125%, how much harder would I have practiced? Since I usually don't know that, I guess I'll just have to assume it and work hard all the time...
T
The concept is pretty simple. It's how a tiny bit more can make all the difference in what we do. The title of the book is based around water. At 211 degrees Fahrenheit, you have hot water. At 212 degrees you have boiling water, you have steam, you have power. That tiny bit makes all the difference. The rest of the book pointed out different times in history where the difference between success and failure was a little more perseverance.
What was really amazing is I witnessed it firsthand later that night. We were at the Indiana State Percussion Finals, the last chance to win it all. Teams performed based on how they places the week before, so we knew in one division the home school was set to win their division. They didn't. Instead they came in third. By 0.125%. In that competition the margin between first and third was 1/8th of a point.
It's got me thinking about my faith and what I do. What if I pushed just a little bit more? What kind of a difference would it make if I read my Bible just a few more minutes a day, prayed a few more minutes, served just a little bit more? What if I applied that thinking to my ministry, to my marriage, even my hobbies? How often have people been on the cusp of success but they slack off or give up?
I don't know, if I had been told before a competition the difference between first and third would have been 0.125%, how much harder would I have practiced? Since I usually don't know that, I guess I'll just have to assume it and work hard all the time...
T
Monday, March 19, 2012
Fundraising
First, let me apologize for it being a few weeks for this blog. I honestly did try to get more up but for some reason I was not able to get into blogger for a while. But I'm back, yay...
This past weekend we did the 30 Hour Famine with our sr. high students. For much of the time leading up to it, I was thinking too much about it. For instance, how our idea of fundraising is skewed. If every American eligible to vote gave about $10 a month to feeding those in poverty, world hunger would be abolished in a year or two. But we don't give. We need a reason. So instead we have to have teenagers starve themselves. For some reason, that act allows people to more freely give money. Why not just give since it's the right thing to do and people need help?
Then there's the whole idea of getting students to do the Famine to raise money. To get people involved it has to be fun. That was really messing with my head last week. We make poverty "fun". Although part of that is a learning experience (which usually, if it's fun you learn more), we use activities to get a glimpse into what life would be like for someone in poverty. But I kept thinking about what it would be like if someone who had lived in poverty overseas were to come visit us doing the Famine. What would they think?
But there's the other side of this whole equation. The students who were there did great, little complaining about hunger (even during discussions on bacon and cheese), they raised their own awareness for what is going on in the world (the balloons are filled with food necessary for a balanced diet, frustrations abounded when they worked so hard to find things that had no nutritional value all the while trying to get food with physical disabilites), and a handful of students managed to raise money for those in need well into four figures (I won't have the totals until next week, some are still collecting money). So as odd as it is and my mind still tries to wrap around it, the good far outweighs the questions and I can't wait until we do it again! Thanks to everyone who supported us!
T
This past weekend we did the 30 Hour Famine with our sr. high students. For much of the time leading up to it, I was thinking too much about it. For instance, how our idea of fundraising is skewed. If every American eligible to vote gave about $10 a month to feeding those in poverty, world hunger would be abolished in a year or two. But we don't give. We need a reason. So instead we have to have teenagers starve themselves. For some reason, that act allows people to more freely give money. Why not just give since it's the right thing to do and people need help?
Then there's the whole idea of getting students to do the Famine to raise money. To get people involved it has to be fun. That was really messing with my head last week. We make poverty "fun". Although part of that is a learning experience (which usually, if it's fun you learn more), we use activities to get a glimpse into what life would be like for someone in poverty. But I kept thinking about what it would be like if someone who had lived in poverty overseas were to come visit us doing the Famine. What would they think?
But there's the other side of this whole equation. The students who were there did great, little complaining about hunger (even during discussions on bacon and cheese), they raised their own awareness for what is going on in the world (the balloons are filled with food necessary for a balanced diet, frustrations abounded when they worked so hard to find things that had no nutritional value all the while trying to get food with physical disabilites), and a handful of students managed to raise money for those in need well into four figures (I won't have the totals until next week, some are still collecting money). So as odd as it is and my mind still tries to wrap around it, the good far outweighs the questions and I can't wait until we do it again! Thanks to everyone who supported us!T
Monday, February 27, 2012
Keeping Your Name
The other day I was reading the book of Ruth. I love that story, how it tells of Boaz as the kinsmen-redeemer, a symbol of Christ that is found back in his family tree. But today something stuck out at me I hadn't really noticed before.
Throughout the Bible there are many people who God changes their names to reflect who they are in Him. Abram (prince) becomes Abraham (father of many nations), Simeon (He has heard) becomes Peter (rock/foundation), Saul (a Jewish name) becomes Paul (a Roman name with no Jewish background signifying Paul's task to bring Christ to people outside of Judaism). In the book of Ruth, her mother-in-law Naomi (pleasant) changes her name to Mara (bitter). Unlike all the names mentioned before, God does not change Naomi's name. Naomi changes it herself to reflect the situation she's in.
And here's what I found interesting. In the Bible stories, once God changes a name the Scriptures reflect that. From that point on the person is known by their new name. When Saul became Paul, he is not called Saul again. But in the case of Naomi, even though she changes her name, for the rest of the book of Ruth (and when referenced later), she is still called Naomi. She is still referred to as pleasant.
It made me start thinking about how often we do that. Instead of looking at who God made us to be, we start changing who we think we are based on what is happening to us at the moment. I made a mistake at work, so I'm stupid. We change our name based on how we feel here and now. But God, He doesn't. He still thinks of us as He always has, as the child He made us and is making us to be.
Instead of taking on new names, let's instead look at who we are in Christ and focus on that, make that who we define ourselves as.
T
Throughout the Bible there are many people who God changes their names to reflect who they are in Him. Abram (prince) becomes Abraham (father of many nations), Simeon (He has heard) becomes Peter (rock/foundation), Saul (a Jewish name) becomes Paul (a Roman name with no Jewish background signifying Paul's task to bring Christ to people outside of Judaism). In the book of Ruth, her mother-in-law Naomi (pleasant) changes her name to Mara (bitter). Unlike all the names mentioned before, God does not change Naomi's name. Naomi changes it herself to reflect the situation she's in.
And here's what I found interesting. In the Bible stories, once God changes a name the Scriptures reflect that. From that point on the person is known by their new name. When Saul became Paul, he is not called Saul again. But in the case of Naomi, even though she changes her name, for the rest of the book of Ruth (and when referenced later), she is still called Naomi. She is still referred to as pleasant.
It made me start thinking about how often we do that. Instead of looking at who God made us to be, we start changing who we think we are based on what is happening to us at the moment. I made a mistake at work, so I'm stupid. We change our name based on how we feel here and now. But God, He doesn't. He still thinks of us as He always has, as the child He made us and is making us to be.
Instead of taking on new names, let's instead look at who we are in Christ and focus on that, make that who we define ourselves as.
T
Monday, February 20, 2012
Returning Again And Again
I've been reading book of Judges the past few days. It's one of those books that tears at me, in some ways it's fun and adventurous and war stories. In others it's just so full of vile and disgusting acts done by people who claim to be following God.
Almost every story starts the same. The people of Israel again did evil in the eyes of the Lord and He lets their enemies gain power over them. But in Judges 10 there's this little story. The people again abandon God, again their enemies attack and again they turn back to God. This time God says no. "Has there ever been a time when you cried out to Me that I haven’t rescued you? Yet you continue to abandon Me and to worship other gods. So go away; I won’t save you anymore. Go and cry to the new gods you have chosen! Let them save you in your hour of distress!” (Judges 10:12b-14, LB).
Thankfully, the people wake up a little and destroy all the other Gods and idols and vow to return to God, so He takes them back. God does amazing things and saves His people. And over the next few years there are good judges whom we know very little about.
About 30 years later, Israel is worshipping idols again. And again, God still takes them back when they cry out to Him.
As we head into Lent, instead of thinking about what we give up for God, what about things we can do for God, like instead of only focusing on Him or calling on Him when things are bad, we make a conscious effort to serve and worship Him, be a little pro-active in our lives of faith? Just a thought...
T
Almost every story starts the same. The people of Israel again did evil in the eyes of the Lord and He lets their enemies gain power over them. But in Judges 10 there's this little story. The people again abandon God, again their enemies attack and again they turn back to God. This time God says no. "Has there ever been a time when you cried out to Me that I haven’t rescued you? Yet you continue to abandon Me and to worship other gods. So go away; I won’t save you anymore. Go and cry to the new gods you have chosen! Let them save you in your hour of distress!” (Judges 10:12b-14, LB).
Thankfully, the people wake up a little and destroy all the other Gods and idols and vow to return to God, so He takes them back. God does amazing things and saves His people. And over the next few years there are good judges whom we know very little about.
About 30 years later, Israel is worshipping idols again. And again, God still takes them back when they cry out to Him.
As we head into Lent, instead of thinking about what we give up for God, what about things we can do for God, like instead of only focusing on Him or calling on Him when things are bad, we make a conscious effort to serve and worship Him, be a little pro-active in our lives of faith? Just a thought...
T
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Happy Valentine's Day
usually I rant about all sorts of meaningless things here, but in everything I read in the Bible the people you are supposed to be most resonsible to are your family, so today I just want to wish a happy valentine's day to the love of my life and by far the most patient woman ever for being with me. Love you Lorie!
Monday, February 13, 2012
Talk It Out First
Many of you know I like stories, the other day I was reading one from Joshua 22. The Israelites had just finished conquering all the land God had promised them and 2 1/2 tribes were going home back to their land on the other side of the Jordan River. Before they left Joshua reminded them to be true to their God. And off they went.
Immediately after crossing the river the men made an altar. I mean seconds later. On the river in plain view. How could they be so insolent? They had just promised to be faithful to God and His altar was already established! So a few Levites (those responsible for worship) and a few other men went to convince those who had built the altar they were wrong. People were ready for war (and they had just gotten peace days before). But before fighting and dishing out God's wrath, the Levites did something. They asked questions. "Why did you do this?" "How could you disgrace God so?"
The people who had built the altar responded. It was never meant for worship. It was a symbol. A river separated the people and what if their children grew up wondering why they were separated from God and His place of worship? So they built a replica of an altar to remind the people forever they are God's people and will worship Him, no matter how high the river is between them.
A wonderful answer, a great reason to worship, and it could have all led to bloodshed and civil war over a slight misunderstanding. Luckily those in charge but their thinking aside for a moment and asked questions first. The next time we see something we view as wrong, will we do the same?
T
Immediately after crossing the river the men made an altar. I mean seconds later. On the river in plain view. How could they be so insolent? They had just promised to be faithful to God and His altar was already established! So a few Levites (those responsible for worship) and a few other men went to convince those who had built the altar they were wrong. People were ready for war (and they had just gotten peace days before). But before fighting and dishing out God's wrath, the Levites did something. They asked questions. "Why did you do this?" "How could you disgrace God so?"
The people who had built the altar responded. It was never meant for worship. It was a symbol. A river separated the people and what if their children grew up wondering why they were separated from God and His place of worship? So they built a replica of an altar to remind the people forever they are God's people and will worship Him, no matter how high the river is between them.
A wonderful answer, a great reason to worship, and it could have all led to bloodshed and civil war over a slight misunderstanding. Luckily those in charge but their thinking aside for a moment and asked questions first. The next time we see something we view as wrong, will we do the same?
T
Monday, February 06, 2012
"Sanctuary"
I was reading the other day about the Cities of Refuge. It's quite the concept, God told Moses to set up cities in the land promised to Israel that were to be called "Cities of Refuge". The basic idea is if you do something by accident, say you're chopping wood and the head of your axe flies off and kills someone, you can run to one of these cities and be safe from the person's family who is trying to get revenge. The leaders of the city would listen to both sides and decide if you can stay and be safe or if they'll kick you out and let the other people decide your fate.
In thinking about the church my mind wandered to the fact we used to do this. The term "Sanctuary" at one time meant a place of safety. If you were in trouble and needed help, you could run into the church and declare Sanctuary, the church would protect you until your side of the story had been heard and the priest or church leader would decide your fate.
The question is, is the Church still a "Sanctuary"? When people need help do they feel they can run to disciples of Christ and be saved? Is being among Christ followers a safe place?
I hope so. If not, we need to fix that...
T
In thinking about the church my mind wandered to the fact we used to do this. The term "Sanctuary" at one time meant a place of safety. If you were in trouble and needed help, you could run into the church and declare Sanctuary, the church would protect you until your side of the story had been heard and the priest or church leader would decide your fate.
The question is, is the Church still a "Sanctuary"? When people need help do they feel they can run to disciples of Christ and be saved? Is being among Christ followers a safe place?
I hope so. If not, we need to fix that...
T
Monday, January 30, 2012
Do You Put Yourself In The Story?
Last week I got to sit down with Randy, a guy I love because he likes to talk about the deep questions. Too many people are scared of that, but not him.
And in our talk we sidetracked a little into the stories of the Bible. There's thousands of them, wonderful, fun, and incredibly lacking in details. Storytelling in the modern age adds every little thing into the story to make it real, printing on paper is cheap. Thousands of years ago, people couldn't even read. If you told a story, it had to be short and memorable. So lots of the details are gone.
Here's the challenge, when you read the stories in the Bible, try to imagine the details. We talked about the feeding of the 5000. What did it look like? Was it hot or cool, sunny, cloudy? What do you think Andrew was thinking when Jesus told him to pick up the leftovers. Leftovers?! And what was he thinking when he saw his brother Peter walking towards him, also with a full basket of leftovers?
Make the story real. After all, they are...
T
And in our talk we sidetracked a little into the stories of the Bible. There's thousands of them, wonderful, fun, and incredibly lacking in details. Storytelling in the modern age adds every little thing into the story to make it real, printing on paper is cheap. Thousands of years ago, people couldn't even read. If you told a story, it had to be short and memorable. So lots of the details are gone.
Here's the challenge, when you read the stories in the Bible, try to imagine the details. We talked about the feeding of the 5000. What did it look like? Was it hot or cool, sunny, cloudy? What do you think Andrew was thinking when Jesus told him to pick up the leftovers. Leftovers?! And what was he thinking when he saw his brother Peter walking towards him, also with a full basket of leftovers?
Make the story real. After all, they are...
T
Monday, January 09, 2012
Monday, December 26, 2011
Happy Boxing Day
It's not a normal holiday in the U.S., but being from Canada almost every year someone asks me what Boxing Day is, so here it is...
The tradition started in Europe after Christmas. Let's be honest, as much as this day is about the Birth of our Savior it's turned very much into a day of affluence, lots of gifts and a big dinner with way too much food. So the idea of Boxing Day originally was people would box up their leftover food on this day and give it to those less fortunate. Now it means sales... and more affluence...
What if we took this day back to where it came from? What if today instead of complaining about what we didn't get for Christmas (I know I can't be the only one), how about instead we focus on others and give back, blessing others as we have been blessed (hey, a wise Man born two thousand years ago said that...).
Merry Christmas.
T
The tradition started in Europe after Christmas. Let's be honest, as much as this day is about the Birth of our Savior it's turned very much into a day of affluence, lots of gifts and a big dinner with way too much food. So the idea of Boxing Day originally was people would box up their leftover food on this day and give it to those less fortunate. Now it means sales... and more affluence...
What if we took this day back to where it came from? What if today instead of complaining about what we didn't get for Christmas (I know I can't be the only one), how about instead we focus on others and give back, blessing others as we have been blessed (hey, a wise Man born two thousand years ago said that...).
Merry Christmas.
T
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Be Careful What You Read
I have been trying not to do mid-week posts, sticking with the Monday thing, but this one was too funny and sad at the same time, and by the time I had a Monday free it would be really old news.
Apparently Bon Jovi died. Didn't you hear? Oh wait, no, he's alive. Someone had put on twitter Jon Bon Jovi died and instead of checking people started retweeting. And news people saw the tweets, and next thing you know it's reported Jon is dead. Hey, at least he had a sense of humor about it (he tweeted how heaven looks like New Jersey).
But what's happening is people are just believing anything on the internet and worse off, spreading it. Kim Jong Ill died this week. People were reading, Facebooking, tweeting, but not everyone was reading, they were simply spewing information. And like a bad game of telephone the message turned into L'il Kim was dead. Soon that was spreading over the internet...
Maybe we need to use a little more discernment, not believing everything that appears on a medium in which everyone has input on. After all, could I be making all this up...?
T
Apparently Bon Jovi died. Didn't you hear? Oh wait, no, he's alive. Someone had put on twitter Jon Bon Jovi died and instead of checking people started retweeting. And news people saw the tweets, and next thing you know it's reported Jon is dead. Hey, at least he had a sense of humor about it (he tweeted how heaven looks like New Jersey).
But what's happening is people are just believing anything on the internet and worse off, spreading it. Kim Jong Ill died this week. People were reading, Facebooking, tweeting, but not everyone was reading, they were simply spewing information. And like a bad game of telephone the message turned into L'il Kim was dead. Soon that was spreading over the internet...
Maybe we need to use a little more discernment, not believing everything that appears on a medium in which everyone has input on. After all, could I be making all this up...?
T
Monday, December 19, 2011
Your Perspective Changes On Where You Are
Today I was in The Wharf (our youth room) and my back started to hurt a little. This may have something to do with running around with students late last night, either way I lied down for a minute to let it rest. While lying in the Wharf, against the wall in such a big room, I opened my eyes and looked around. It was weird, the ceiling was on the bottom. It looked like the floor. Being black probably helped play tricks on my mind that is was beneath me, and a few squares of lights looked cool. But then the clouds and birds hanging, they looked to be floating a few inches above the floor to me. It was a little mind-bending.
It made me think about how my perspective changed because I moved. When the birds were hanging from the ceiling, it seemed right. When they appeared where my feet should be, floating there, things looked different.
A lot of times I tend to analyze a situation and look at the workd around me and I come up with conclusions, some of which fit my slightly sarcastic personality. And as I looked at the floating clouds I wondered if I were standing somewhere different would what I see look different. If I were in a better mood, if I had gotten more sleep, if I had a tasty lunch, if I hadn't been late for my meeting and driving like a maniac, how would I perceive things around me?
Since it's Christmas, try this with the Christmas story. We talked about it last night with the sr. highs, but we tried to strip away how we usually look at things. How would you feel about this story if you were woken in the middle of the night by screaming stupid shepherds? How would you treat your now pregnant best friend (who swears she didn't do anything wrong)? Even try going to a barn or petting zoo and thinking about what the stable may have really been like.
There's only one sure way to change your perspecgive on things. You have to move...
T
It made me think about how my perspective changed because I moved. When the birds were hanging from the ceiling, it seemed right. When they appeared where my feet should be, floating there, things looked different.
A lot of times I tend to analyze a situation and look at the workd around me and I come up with conclusions, some of which fit my slightly sarcastic personality. And as I looked at the floating clouds I wondered if I were standing somewhere different would what I see look different. If I were in a better mood, if I had gotten more sleep, if I had a tasty lunch, if I hadn't been late for my meeting and driving like a maniac, how would I perceive things around me?
Since it's Christmas, try this with the Christmas story. We talked about it last night with the sr. highs, but we tried to strip away how we usually look at things. How would you feel about this story if you were woken in the middle of the night by screaming stupid shepherds? How would you treat your now pregnant best friend (who swears she didn't do anything wrong)? Even try going to a barn or petting zoo and thinking about what the stable may have really been like.
There's only one sure way to change your perspecgive on things. You have to move...
T
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Lions & Tigers
Sorry this is late, I wasn't going to do a blog this week (I'm on vacation), but was reading today and this little tidbit just hit me for some reason.
Lions and tigers. I wasn't really reading about them, but they came up in this book as a poignant example of how we do things. Since both animals live in different regions, they generally don't see each other. But, if they come into contact, both are cats, both are territorial, and both will fight.
Now here's where it gets interesting. If a lion and a tiger fight, a tiger will win. Every time. The tiger is a better fighter than the lion. So if five lions fight five tigers it makes sense the tigers would win, right? Nope. The lions will win, again, every time.
So why is that? Because lions will fight together and tigers won't. Even if five tigers are together and they see five lions coming, they will separate and try to fight the lions by themselves. Lions are pack animals and work together, be it for dinner or for self-defense. And even the best tiger is no match for five lions.
The reason I was reading this and what got me thinking about this was the way the church works. We now have many churches all across the world. Even in my town, I put the word "church" and my zip code in Google, it turned up over 8,000 places on the map. What if we all stopped acting like tigers and started acting like lions? Even within my own church, what if all the people who say we have the same commission, the same vision, the same purpose, what if we started acting like lions? What could we do?
T
Lions and tigers. I wasn't really reading about them, but they came up in this book as a poignant example of how we do things. Since both animals live in different regions, they generally don't see each other. But, if they come into contact, both are cats, both are territorial, and both will fight.
Now here's where it gets interesting. If a lion and a tiger fight, a tiger will win. Every time. The tiger is a better fighter than the lion. So if five lions fight five tigers it makes sense the tigers would win, right? Nope. The lions will win, again, every time.
So why is that? Because lions will fight together and tigers won't. Even if five tigers are together and they see five lions coming, they will separate and try to fight the lions by themselves. Lions are pack animals and work together, be it for dinner or for self-defense. And even the best tiger is no match for five lions.
The reason I was reading this and what got me thinking about this was the way the church works. We now have many churches all across the world. Even in my town, I put the word "church" and my zip code in Google, it turned up over 8,000 places on the map. What if we all stopped acting like tigers and started acting like lions? Even within my own church, what if all the people who say we have the same commission, the same vision, the same purpose, what if we started acting like lions? What could we do?
T
Monday, December 05, 2011
Don't Rest On Your Laurels
Sorry, this one is less spiritual in a way, but it was so bad yesterday it had to be shared.
My lovely wife has been trying to find a nice, tasty sit-down Chinese restaurant for a couple of months now. Nothing we have tried has come close to what she wanted. So after church we took a little drive and tried one she had seen a while ago. It looked good from the outside after all...
The inside however, not quite as good. They had a buffet (something Lorie's trying to avoid) that was not a proper buffet stand but chafing dishes on tables in the middle of the room. The menu was an old piece of paper laminated. We ordered off the menu and the waitress was annoyed, she wanted us to just get the buffet. The food was not good at all, one dish was even cold by the time we got it. We were not given plates to share our food. Even the place mats had typos and problems.
But here's part of why we tried this place. It was an A-List pick for the Indy Channel, it was named one of the top 100 Chinese restaurants and even won a Chinese food competition in 2007. This food (and service) should have been fantastic.
It got me to thinking about the Kitchen Nightmare / Restaurant Impossible shows Lorie and I watch. This would have been a good contender to be one of those restaurants. But almost every time, the restaurant on those shows was good at some time, then they got lazy, new management, whatever it was, and they simply thought they have good food because once years ago they had good food.
I wonder how often we do that in our spiritual lives. We rest, we get content, we relax. I read through my Bible in a year, so now I don't need to read it as much. I used to serve, but I don't need to anymore. I was in a Sunday School class or small group, but I've learned since then and don't need it anymore. It's like we reach that pinnacle, we feel holy, we are good little Christians, so we start to relax and before we know it our spiritual diet is sub par, disgusting even, but we still think it's okay because once way back when it was good. I hope that never happens...
T
My lovely wife has been trying to find a nice, tasty sit-down Chinese restaurant for a couple of months now. Nothing we have tried has come close to what she wanted. So after church we took a little drive and tried one she had seen a while ago. It looked good from the outside after all...
The inside however, not quite as good. They had a buffet (something Lorie's trying to avoid) that was not a proper buffet stand but chafing dishes on tables in the middle of the room. The menu was an old piece of paper laminated. We ordered off the menu and the waitress was annoyed, she wanted us to just get the buffet. The food was not good at all, one dish was even cold by the time we got it. We were not given plates to share our food. Even the place mats had typos and problems.
But here's part of why we tried this place. It was an A-List pick for the Indy Channel, it was named one of the top 100 Chinese restaurants and even won a Chinese food competition in 2007. This food (and service) should have been fantastic.
It got me to thinking about the Kitchen Nightmare / Restaurant Impossible shows Lorie and I watch. This would have been a good contender to be one of those restaurants. But almost every time, the restaurant on those shows was good at some time, then they got lazy, new management, whatever it was, and they simply thought they have good food because once years ago they had good food.
I wonder how often we do that in our spiritual lives. We rest, we get content, we relax. I read through my Bible in a year, so now I don't need to read it as much. I used to serve, but I don't need to anymore. I was in a Sunday School class or small group, but I've learned since then and don't need it anymore. It's like we reach that pinnacle, we feel holy, we are good little Christians, so we start to relax and before we know it our spiritual diet is sub par, disgusting even, but we still think it's okay because once way back when it was good. I hope that never happens...
T
Monday, November 28, 2011
Choosing To Share Christ
This weekend I experienced what is becoming a more regular occurrence in my life: Black Friday.
Lorie's family love this day. It's fun. Things are cheap. We party all night, and find some great deals in the process. I, however, hate shopping. With a passion. Years of walking through malls with my mother has calloused me.
But I try to make the best of it. When we were shopping I tried to be pleasant to the people working (after all, would you want to leave Thanksgiving dinner early to work an eight hour shift?), be nice to other shoppers, even have a little conversation while waiting in line. It almost worked...
There was one line I remember. I showed up and there was only one person in line in front of me. She immediately made it known she was first and to get behind her. Okay, no problem. Then the employee started checking people out from the register by our line. She laid into him, she was here first. If anyone showed up she scowled at them. It was so bad that after she paid and left we made a comment to the salesperson, who informed us he lived across the road from her, has for thirty years, and she is just as mean at home. The kids in the neighborhood can't stand her, they've been yelled at enough.
It's kind of sad, but it's a choice she made, likewise how we treated her was a choice we made. Too often we seem to think there are other factors, but really there aren't. In this season of Christmas, in the hustle and bustle of shopping, waiting in line, traffic, fighting over that toy, stress, the constant running around, if in all this you are waiting until you feel loving to be nice, sorry, it ain't gonna happen. We have to make the choice to be kind and considerate, even despite how we're feeling sometimes.
Paul writes in Philippians: I pray that your love will keep on growing more and more, together with true knowledge and perfect judgement, so that you will be able to choose what is best. (Phil. 1:9-10, GNT). We have to choose to do what is best. We choose to be kind while shopping. We choose to treat others with love. We even choose to share Christ's love this season.
Choose wisely...
T
Lorie's family love this day. It's fun. Things are cheap. We party all night, and find some great deals in the process. I, however, hate shopping. With a passion. Years of walking through malls with my mother has calloused me.
But I try to make the best of it. When we were shopping I tried to be pleasant to the people working (after all, would you want to leave Thanksgiving dinner early to work an eight hour shift?), be nice to other shoppers, even have a little conversation while waiting in line. It almost worked...
There was one line I remember. I showed up and there was only one person in line in front of me. She immediately made it known she was first and to get behind her. Okay, no problem. Then the employee started checking people out from the register by our line. She laid into him, she was here first. If anyone showed up she scowled at them. It was so bad that after she paid and left we made a comment to the salesperson, who informed us he lived across the road from her, has for thirty years, and she is just as mean at home. The kids in the neighborhood can't stand her, they've been yelled at enough.
It's kind of sad, but it's a choice she made, likewise how we treated her was a choice we made. Too often we seem to think there are other factors, but really there aren't. In this season of Christmas, in the hustle and bustle of shopping, waiting in line, traffic, fighting over that toy, stress, the constant running around, if in all this you are waiting until you feel loving to be nice, sorry, it ain't gonna happen. We have to make the choice to be kind and considerate, even despite how we're feeling sometimes.
Paul writes in Philippians: I pray that your love will keep on growing more and more, together with true knowledge and perfect judgement, so that you will be able to choose what is best. (Phil. 1:9-10, GNT). We have to choose to do what is best. We choose to be kind while shopping. We choose to treat others with love. We even choose to share Christ's love this season.
Choose wisely...
T
Monday, November 21, 2011
How Much Is Too Much?
I had other plans for the blog today but our student ministry last night is still in my head. We did something a little different, I had students write down all the things they own, then all the things their family owns, then everything they had access to. I did my best to give lots of time (about half an hour) and asked they be as specific as possible (you couldn't say "clothes", how many pairs of socks, etc.)
My thinking was how can you be thankful if you don't think about what you have. The outcome is what surprised me. I was expecting people to be thankful (which they were) and think about those who are less fortunate (which they did), but we had one other major result. They simply shut down.
Some students stopped writing their list. Some asked me to make it stop. Some just completely checked out and went into their own little world staring at the floor. So I asked who was overwhelmed by making this list. Every hand went up. Everyone.
My goal wasn't to overwhelm people but make them think. The problem is, this is something we don't usually think about. The other problem is, we have so much stuff it's overwhelming. Some of the small group conversations turned to those who have less yet seem happier, even how many of their friends at school with more were more depressed. The simply fact of listing out what we have at our fingertips was so hard to do and so much to take in people mentally checked out, it was too much to handle.
I'm hoping people are thankful for what they have and they think a little bit more about it this week. But it's been making me think today. Do we simply have too much?
T
My thinking was how can you be thankful if you don't think about what you have. The outcome is what surprised me. I was expecting people to be thankful (which they were) and think about those who are less fortunate (which they did), but we had one other major result. They simply shut down.
Some students stopped writing their list. Some asked me to make it stop. Some just completely checked out and went into their own little world staring at the floor. So I asked who was overwhelmed by making this list. Every hand went up. Everyone.
My goal wasn't to overwhelm people but make them think. The problem is, this is something we don't usually think about. The other problem is, we have so much stuff it's overwhelming. Some of the small group conversations turned to those who have less yet seem happier, even how many of their friends at school with more were more depressed. The simply fact of listing out what we have at our fingertips was so hard to do and so much to take in people mentally checked out, it was too much to handle.
I'm hoping people are thankful for what they have and they think a little bit more about it this week. But it's been making me think today. Do we simply have too much?
T
Monday, November 14, 2011
Too Content To Try
I was reading Seth Godin's blog today and really started to think about a section in it:
"It's difficult to change an industry, set a world record, land big clients, or do art that influences others. When faced with this difficulty, those with other, seemingly better options see the barrier and walk away.
Why bother? The thinking is that we can just pump some more oil or smile and gladhand our way to an acceptably happy outcome.
On the other hand, people who believe they have fewer options take a look at the barrier and realize that even though it will be difficult to cross, it's the single best option they've got."
Godin's blog is always very business related, but his logic always makes me think. People who have lots of resources don't tackle the one problem in their way, they look for other options. Those with less resources understand they need to solve this problem, there are no other options, and start to work on it.
The danger of having too many resources is eventually you stop dealing with problems, you lose focus of why you're even there in the first place.
And this got me to thinking about church, specifically mine. Do we have so many resources that when we hit a problem we should be solving we instead skirt the issue and try to think of another way around it? Take evangelism, something every Christian should be doing. But it's hard, it's time consuming, it may even be uncomfortable. So instead of me sharing my faith, I'll just use other resources, give money to the church to print a flyer and mail it. I'm still evangalizing, right? If we didn't have the resources to print a flyer, we'd have to go door to door, but since we have the resources, we're just solving the problem in a new inventive way.
The problem with skipping the problem and solving it the right way is you usually don't get the right result. Like above, instead of me sharing my faith and growing in Christ, instead of a person get a one-to-one message of God's love from a person who has experienced it, they get a pretty piece of paper they may never read and we get to sit at home without doing any real service or sharing. Who's growing now?
Maybe instead of looking at how we can use the things around us to get out of living our faith, we should be trying to figure out how we can strengthen our souls so we are doing the things we should be doing...
T
"It's difficult to change an industry, set a world record, land big clients, or do art that influences others. When faced with this difficulty, those with other, seemingly better options see the barrier and walk away.
Why bother? The thinking is that we can just pump some more oil or smile and gladhand our way to an acceptably happy outcome.
On the other hand, people who believe they have fewer options take a look at the barrier and realize that even though it will be difficult to cross, it's the single best option they've got."
Godin's blog is always very business related, but his logic always makes me think. People who have lots of resources don't tackle the one problem in their way, they look for other options. Those with less resources understand they need to solve this problem, there are no other options, and start to work on it.
The danger of having too many resources is eventually you stop dealing with problems, you lose focus of why you're even there in the first place.
And this got me to thinking about church, specifically mine. Do we have so many resources that when we hit a problem we should be solving we instead skirt the issue and try to think of another way around it? Take evangelism, something every Christian should be doing. But it's hard, it's time consuming, it may even be uncomfortable. So instead of me sharing my faith, I'll just use other resources, give money to the church to print a flyer and mail it. I'm still evangalizing, right? If we didn't have the resources to print a flyer, we'd have to go door to door, but since we have the resources, we're just solving the problem in a new inventive way.
The problem with skipping the problem and solving it the right way is you usually don't get the right result. Like above, instead of me sharing my faith and growing in Christ, instead of a person get a one-to-one message of God's love from a person who has experienced it, they get a pretty piece of paper they may never read and we get to sit at home without doing any real service or sharing. Who's growing now?
Maybe instead of looking at how we can use the things around us to get out of living our faith, we should be trying to figure out how we can strengthen our souls so we are doing the things we should be doing...
T
Monday, November 07, 2011
Cutting Corners
Over the past few days I've been reading about some of the worst fires in U.S. history, theaters, textile plants, etc. I know, a little weird, but interesting. The part that drives me nuts (and why I think I keep reading) is all the fires could have been avoided.
All fires start with an accident. That just happens. There's nothing you can do about that. But how the fires escalate and people die, that's a different story. Fire exits lights that were not installed, fire escapes that didn't have the bottom ladder because "it cost too much", fire hoses that were not inspected or kept up, some places even had fire doors nailed shut to stop people from breaking in. Over all it all conclusions lead to the managers/owners of these buildings trying to save money, cutting a corner here and a corner there. Too many cut corners and eventually you have a building full of holes. Really, if you knew it would save a life, would you have changed the light in the fire exit sign?
Too often, that's how things go wrong in our lives. I know, Lorie and I are sick right now. Our house is a nightmare. When you're sick it's easy to cut corners. Leave this out one more day. Do dishes tomorrow. But eventually it all piles up. And it got me to thinking where else in life we cut corners, thinking it's okay or that will never happen to us. I can skip exercising, I won't be the one to have heart failure. I don't need to do that reading, my mind won't start to turn into mush, I'm really smart! I can read my Bible and pray tomorrow, God will still love me. And soon enough, corner after corner is cut, an exception becomes a habit, and then where are we...?
T
All fires start with an accident. That just happens. There's nothing you can do about that. But how the fires escalate and people die, that's a different story. Fire exits lights that were not installed, fire escapes that didn't have the bottom ladder because "it cost too much", fire hoses that were not inspected or kept up, some places even had fire doors nailed shut to stop people from breaking in. Over all it all conclusions lead to the managers/owners of these buildings trying to save money, cutting a corner here and a corner there. Too many cut corners and eventually you have a building full of holes. Really, if you knew it would save a life, would you have changed the light in the fire exit sign?
Too often, that's how things go wrong in our lives. I know, Lorie and I are sick right now. Our house is a nightmare. When you're sick it's easy to cut corners. Leave this out one more day. Do dishes tomorrow. But eventually it all piles up. And it got me to thinking where else in life we cut corners, thinking it's okay or that will never happen to us. I can skip exercising, I won't be the one to have heart failure. I don't need to do that reading, my mind won't start to turn into mush, I'm really smart! I can read my Bible and pray tomorrow, God will still love me. And soon enough, corner after corner is cut, an exception becomes a habit, and then where are we...?
T
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