Good Friday

From His early morning encounter with the guards in Gethsemane, His trial before the high priest and Pilate, the beating and mockery at the hands of the Roman soldiers, to being nailed to a tree and left to hang naked for 6 hours...never once did Jesus complain.

I cannot fathom the pain and the loneliness that He must have felt this day a long time ago and yet when I realize that He did it all for you and I find myself humbled and grateful. The only man in the history of the human race that could withstand the weight of the world's sins and not be crushed. That is what makes this Good Friday. A burden that would crush any of us in an instant was taken off our shoulders and our hearts that day.

It is there at the foot of the cross where we must come to terms with who we are and who He is. Where we come to the harsh realization that it should have been you and I hanging up there bloody, bruised and naked. It is at the foot of the cross where we hear Jesus' words, "It is finished" not as a cry of agony but as one of accomplishment.

It was the deliberate utterance of a clear consciousness on the part of God's appointed Revealer that now all had been done that could be done to make God known to men and to identify him with men.

Footsteps in the Path of Life by Marcus Dods

Maundy Thursday

The word maundy comes from the same Latin word that gives us our word mandate which is the same as command. We recognize this day of Holy Week as the day when, while celebrating the Passover meal ( we also know it as the Last Supper) with His disciples just hours before He was crucified, Jesus gave them a command: "As I have loved you, so you must love one another" (John 12:34).

What did Jesus mean when He said, "As I have loved you..."? If you'll notice, prior to saying this He had just gotten up off the floor from washing the disciples feet. This act of humility took the whole notion of greatness, authority and leadership and turned them on their heads. Jesus makes a point to agree with the titles the disciples have given Him as 'Teacher' and 'Lord'. These are two titles of authority, one of earthly authority and the other spiritual. Jesus goes further than simply agreeing with this authority, He gets down on His hands and knees to practice one of the most menial, humbling acts of a servant known at that time. Then He says, "Love each other like that" [my paraphrase of John 12:14-15]. That's what He meant when He said, "As I have loved you..."

And if we remember, this is a mandate, a command. We don't have a choice to love this way if we are truly going to follow Christ and love as He loved.

Outward Determined by the Inward

Something that has been coming up a lot for me lately is this idea that our outward lives (the way we interact with others through our words and actions) are a direct result of our inward lives (the things we value or set as priorities which provide us with a sense of purpose). I mean if you stop to think about it, it really does make sense that the things which you and I value impact the way we live. So if we get the inward stuff figured out, the outward stuff will fall into place?

As I've been thinking about this lately it has brought a new weight to the idea of "guarding one's heart" because it seems like whatever might be going on inside is eventually going to make its way out. Doesn't it make sense that if there is greed inside then the way we treat others will be seasoned with greed? Could it be the same for...lust? pride? jealousy? humility? generosity? mercy?

Palm Sunday

I remember growing up and going to church on Palm Sunday and never really thinking much about it other than maybe getting a palm tree leaf and knowing that it was the Sunday before Easter.

We are told of a large crowd of people that had gathered to welcome and celebrate Jesus as he entered Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. This group was laying down their cloaks, waving palm branches and shouting out of excitement and anticipation. The crowd had gathered to celebrate a man they were ready to make their king and believed could set them free from the occupying forces of Rome and in a matter of days had changed their feelings and shouts toward him as he was sentenced to die. When I stop to think about the event that Palm Sunday symbolizes I quickly realize that this change in attitude toward Jesus can be a daily struggle for you and I.

The crowd was trying to make Jesus something he wasn't, they were trying to change who he was and what he stood for. When they realized they didn't like the things he had to say or the ways he challenged them to live in a different, better way they decided they would rather have nothing to do with him.

I can't help but wonder if we get all excited about Jesus when his words support our point of view or don't support those of someone else and we are quick to point that out to them BUT IN THE SAME DAY decide that his words don't fit into what we think would be best or what we deserve and so we would rather have nothing to do with him. Our fickle, selfish attitudes are no different than that of the crowd that shouted Hosanna! one day and Crucify! the next.

Palm Sunday reminds me that I need to celebrate who and what Christ is and quit making him something he's not to suit me.

Siding Project Continues

Unlike today, yesterday was a beautiful day and gave us a chance to just about finish up getting all the siding off the house. We moved to the front of the house and were pretty excited to uncover some detail in the woodwork towards the top of the house as well as start taking down the "stone" wall on the front.

Siding Project Claims a Victim

As you've probably noticed, our current house project is removing the extremely ugly aluminum siding from our house that was built in 1920 in order to refinish and paint the existing wood siding. So, as I was working on the West side of the house trying to get the last pieces of siding off I came across a "little friend" (as my sister would call it) that I had apparently smashed under the siding at some point with either my crowbar or ladder and as I pulled the piece of siding off the house he fell out.



Unfortunately, he did not make it. I'm guessing the internal damage he took as a result of my crowbar and/or ladder not knowing he was there was just too much. The plus side is that I think I heard his friend today as I was working on the other side of the house, though I never did find him. Hopefully I didn't accidentally squish him without knowing it.

Fool's Gold II

I was sitting in the waiting room of the local Jiffy Lube getting the oil in my car changed (well, really filled because there wasn't much left to actually change) a couple days ago and spewing from the TV were the words of a guy that would not stop talking. The more he kept talking the more it became obvious that he was nothing more than a fool. It's interesting to me the relationship the Bible draws between being a fool and the words we use.

"A prudent man keeps his knowledge to himself, but the heart of fools blurts out folly." Proverbs 12:23

"A fool's lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating." Proverbs 18:6

"A fool's mouth is his undoing, and his lips are a snare to his soul." Proverbs 18:7

Have you ever come across someone that doesn't stop talking but never really says anything? Or maybe you have been that person at times? It becomes frustrating just hearing their voice and even more frustrating when people actually pay attention to what is being said. There are so many fools running around and if we're honest, we do some pretty foolish things from time to time.

I close with a great quote from Mark Twain...

"This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four."

Fool's Gold I

Google has done it again! Pure genius! They have made email so easy that you don't even have to check it any more in order to respond to friends, co-workers and family. With Autopilot now you can simply personalize your settings and let it do your emailing for you, as you. No more having to log-in to your account or even having to read your messages, it takes care of all of that for you and even responds as you would. Don't miss out on this opportunity to disconnect yourself even more from the outside world.......

Risky Business

Believe it or not, in the year 2009, there are people in various places around the world that are being persecuted and even killed for following Jesus. These are people that are literally risking their lives for the name of Jesus, like the ones talked about in Acts 15:25-27, Romans 16:3-4 or Philippians 2:29-30. It has never been nor will it ever be easy to follow Jesus because the very core of what it means to be a disciple of Christ is counter-cultural. With commands that talk about loving your enemy, being a servant to all, practicing humility and submission, a willingness to be last, submitting and respecting authority, loving God with everything you have, living generously...these commands are not only counter-cultural but they are also counter-me. Not one of these things come naturally for me or for our culture, which, as I see it, creates a risk in two ways:

1. If you attempt to challenge people to live by these counter-cultural standards you risk the probability of them telling you to "shove it" through their actions, words and/or attitudes.

2. If you attempt to live by these counter-cultural standards you risk the probability of getting "shoved around" by the actions, words and/or attitudes of a culture that does not recognize or care about your attempt to live in this selfless sort of way.

So, how do those of us who live in suburban United States apply this idea of being willing to risk our lives for the name of Jesus? While many of us don't have people trying to stone us because of our relationship with Jesus, I have no doubt there are things that you and I could "lose" because of it. Maybe you need to risk losing the group of friends you run with, your "status" in your fraternity or sorority or maybe popularity in general for your relationship with Jesus. Maybe you need to risk losing that big business deal for not compromising your following of Jesus. Maybe you need to risk the awkwardness that can result for following the Spirit when it leads you to point out the sin in another person's life. Maybe you need to risk being last, serving all, loving your enemies.

Are we risking anything for the name of Jesus? What does it say about our faith if we're not? I wonder if it's possible to leave everything behind and follow Jesus like the first disciples did without risking anything. I would have to guess not.

Sure, Why Not?!?

So it has been starting to feel a little more like Spring lately and as Tai and I were sitting on the patio (one of last summer's projects) in the backyard we decided we should rip the aluminum siding off our house...right then...and so we did and so it has begun...

The Cost of Faith

While spending some time in my daily devotions this morning I came across this thought around the story of God testing Abraham's faith in Genesis 22 that I thought was pretty powerful.

An act of pure faith is the death of what we love most so it may be offered to the loved one because only love is stronger than death...

The God Who Comes by Carlo Carretto

Mind Clutter

Things that are currently "cluttering" my mind as I sit on my porch, in no particular order...

-I think sitting on my screened-in porch is one of my favorite places to be, especially when it rains, though it's not raining right now.

-Johnny Cash's recording of "Wanted Man" is good.

-Johnny Cash in general is good.

-At times I seem so easily distracted from Jesus. We are 4 weeks into Lent and I almost forgot it was Lent. I'm lame.

-I know I spent the last week in the hills of southeastern Kentucky but I may have missed when greed became status-quo.

-Feedback is such an interesting thing. We often desire it but then don't know how to respond when we get it, especially if it's honest. What if we gave honest feedback to each other and were open to receiving honest feedback about ourselves from others.

-Spending an hour at a BMV branch downtown can be quite an experience as well as provide some much needed perspective.

-I wonder if I would like the new U2 album. I heard it wasn't that great.

-Have you ever wished you lived in a different era? I think I could have really liked 1945 to 1965 for some reason. The main one being "Ol' Blue Eyes" and the rest of the Rat Pack.

Feel free to add your comments or clutter if you feel so inclined.

Henderson Settlement Day 5

A day filled with some more odd jobs around the settlement, a really nice hike into the woods near the reservoir and about 7hrs of making & canning apple butter. It was cold in the morning but warmed up as the day went on to a sunny and comfortable 58 degrees. Perfect weather for standing around a giant copper kettle that is sitting over a wood fire stirring the ingredients of said apple butter. After the apple butter was made, we had the chance to enjoy a great hike in the hills behind the settlement. I might have actually like that hike better than the one we did on Wednesday but either way it was a good time. Here are some more iPhone pics to enjoy...



Devotional Challenge Day 5:
In order to discern God's will, we need to be walking with Him daily. We already know His will; His Word tells us that it is to love God with everything we are, love everyone more than ourselves and to follow Jesus. Being and staying connected to the true Vine (Devotional Challenge Day 1) makes it that much easier to discern God's will in our lives.

Henderson Settlement Day 4

We all thought it was suppose to be rainy in the morning but it ended up being partly sunny and a little cooler. We spent the day working on many of the same projects we had been working on earlier in the week. The group has gotten much closer as the week has gone on, which has been pretty cool to see. At night we had the privilege of listening to 2 guys play us some good 'ole bluegrass music...and it was SWEET!! Seriously, these guys were good and hilarious. This was the first time I had experienced this in all the times I've been here and I am certainly glad I did.

One of the things I've found really interesting is how I like this place more and more every time I come. The people are ridiculously nice, the landscape is beautiful, the food is not too shabby and the ministry meets the needs of people in very practical ways. This week more than any I have found myself wondering what it would be like to move here. There is something about the lifestyle that is so simple it is pretty attractive.

Here are a couple pics for fun, with more to come (all of which were taken with my iPhone).


Devotional Challenge Day 4:
If you want to be a leader, serve people. When people realize that you care more about them than you do yourself, they will follow you.

Henderson Settlement Day 2 & 3

Day 2
The weather was much better than the first day. The group spent a lot of time outside doing all sorts of random work around the settlement campus. We had people working in the greenhouses, filling trenches, cleaning out the public pool, replacing a gutter, riding around on the back of the truck with Rodney doing all sorts of random stuff, drywalling and who knows what else. Either way we all felt good about the day and especially the weather. It became clear at devotions that night that we had all gotten some sun that day, and for some of us it was the first real sunlight our skin has seen for a number of months now. We were also given a presentation in the evening from one of the staff members that shared some statistical information for the surrounding 4 counties. A couple I found especially powerful:

-Of the 100 poorest counties in the US, 29 are located in SE Kentucky.
-2 of the counties where Henderson does a lot of their ministry are ranked 20th & 76th poorest.
-The median annual income per household in the county where the settlement is located is just above $22,000, compared to that of the US around $45,000. Keep in mind that the federal poverty level is $22,050.

Devotional Challenge Day 2:
When we decide to follow Jesus, we are not given the choice of whether or not that means we will be His disciple. Being a Christian and being a disciple are the same thing and require us to obediently deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him.

Day 3
We spent our free day hiking in beautiful, sunny 70 degree weather in the Cumberland Gap National Park about an hour away from the settlement. There is one point in the park where you can stand and look out over Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. Needless to say, it was a great day of hiking, laughing and being outdoors. We had heard some good things about this little "mom & pop" restaurant just over the ridge from the park so we headed there after our day at the park. We found ourselves in Cumberland Gap, TN where we enjoyed some down-home cooking that did not disappoint at a place called Webb's Kitchen. The food was great and the service was even better. For whatever reason, us 'Yanks' are not nearly as nice as our Southern counterparts, which I'm always reminded of whenever I am in the South. We were all pretty beat when we got back to the settlement but despite ourselves had a good devotional time as one of the IU students spoke for our evening worship.

Devotional Challenge Day 3:
Following Jesus and being involved with ministry requires more than words, it requires those words being lived out day to day. 1 John tells us to love "with actions and in truth." This is not a choice if we desire to truly follow Christ in the things we say and do.

Henderson Settlement Day 1

Located in Frakes, KY Henderson Settlement is this incredible ministry organization that ministers to the people of Appalachia by providing for their basic needs: food, clothing, shelter and in all of these, Jesus. You don't have to spend too much time in the Gospels to notice that when Jesus interacts with people He not only meets their spiritual needs but their practical needs as well giving sight to the blind, enabling the lame to walk, healing the sick and even raising the dead. It is this fact that, in spite of being in the middle of nowhere, puts this ministry in the middle of everything.

Tai and I arrived late on Sunday night looking forward to spending the week here with 17 college students (16 from IU + 1 from Purdue) ready, willing and able to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this area. It is an ecclectic group of individuals with a few strong personalities and an overall desire to glorify God through service.

This is a somewhat nostalgic trip for me for a couple reasons: 1) I have previously led (I was trying to count earlier) 3 or 4 mission trips here when I was doing student ministries a number of years ago and 2) 6 of the 17 college students were in my youth group when I led trips to this very place. I was looking forward to and am enjoying the chance to reconnect with "my kids" while here at Henderson. I know this has proved to be a special place for most, if not all 7 of us for one reason or another.

Yesterday was our first work day and it proved to rain pretty much the whole day. After spending some time waiting around for our jobs, which is pretty typical for workcamps on Monday mornings, we split into 3 groups. 1 group headed to the greenhouse, 1 group to reorganize a few rooms in the community building and 1 group to clean out ditches and pick up fallen limbs around the campus. Needless to say for some of us it was wet/muddy work but work nonetheless and we were all happy to be put to service. Getting through day 1 I realized this is a group of students who desire to serve others, "love" each other like siblings, and want to know and sense God in their lives. Could be some good things to come.

Devotional Challenge Day 1:
Sometimes we get caught-up in doing ministry instead of being ministry. As long as we make it a point to stay connected to and focused upon Jesus, ministry will happen but when we fail to do that our "ministry" will be sadly shallow.

"I Am the Vine"

A sermon I gave this morning.

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On this 2^nd Sunday in Lent we continue a series entitled “The I’s of Jesus”. We are going to be spending the majority of our time in John 15:1-11, focusing especially on verses 5-11. My hope this morning is to key in on 2 main themes of this passage: Jesus as the True Vine and Being Connected to the Vine.

Jesus as the True Vine

Notice that Jesus uses the phrase “I Am” two times in this passage and follows each of them with the “true vine” and the “vine”. It’s important that we recognize the significance of these few words. Remember the story of a guy named Moses (Exodus 3:11-14) who was out in the wilderness watching his father in-law's sheep and how he comes across a bush that was burning but wasn't burning up? God starts talking to Moses from this bush and tells him to go get the Israelites out of Egypt. After some discussion Moses is finally convinced to go but before he does he asks a very logical question, “Who should I tell them has sent me?” because he knew that the people would ask. God’s response…”I am who I am. Tell them I AM has sent you.” Jesus is making a statement of authority and His relationship to God the Father by using this phrase.

The other word that is significant, “vine”. Many times in the Old Testament Israel is symbolized as a vine but is usually noted as lacking something. An example of this can be found in Jeremiah 2:21, “I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine?” Another example of this is Isaiah 5:1-7. Notice the contrast between an unfaithful, disobedient Israel and a completely obedient and righteous Jesus.

Jesus is letting us know that what He has to offer is like nothing else out there. He calls Himself the “bread of life”, “good shepherd”, “light of the world”, “the way, the truth and the life”. He tells a Samaritan woman (John 4:1-26) at a well that He has “living water” to offer her so that she won’t thirst anymore. She’s confused because she doesn’t see how He is going to make that happen since He doesn’t even have a bucket but eventually she tells Him the Messiah will come and explain everything to her. Jesus politely responds, “I who speak to you am he.”

Jesus is telling us that He is the real deal. He is telling us that He can be trusted with our hearts, our minds, our relationships, our families, our careers, our worries, our doubts, our questions…our very lives. Look at verse 4, this is a promise. Jesus has no intentions of going anywhere unless you and I tell Him to. Verse 5, apart from Jesus, we got nothing. Every other vine that you and I try to hold onto; power, prestige, wealth, all the earthly desires of our hearts leave us flat on our back and empty in our heart because they can’t handle the weight of our shame, guilt, regret or the weight of our desires to be sustained, fulfilled and joyful. This is what makes Jesus the True Vine. There was an image that kept coming to mind as I spent time on this message…

Now, please don’t think I’m telling you this because I work for a church and I get paid to say these kind of things. I am saying this as someone whose life has been changed by holding onto Jesus.

Being Connected to the Vine

Now, there may be a few questions that come up at this point like:

How do I know if I’m connected?

How do I stay connected?

What is this fruit that I keep hearing about?

You know you are connected to the Vine when you have told God that you are going to let go of all of the other things that you have been holding onto instead of Jesus and hold onto Him. When you have allowed Jesus to be your Savior AND Lord. What I mean by this is that you haven’t simply used Jesus as a ticket to heaven and then continued to live however you please but rather give Him not only your eternal life but your daily life. This is called discipleship. Verse 7 & 8, I know I’m connected when the things I wish for are the very same things God tells me in His Word He desires for me. The things He wants to do in me and through me. Jesus is not telling us that we have access to a personal genie but rather He is telling us what it looks like to be a disciple. This means we are going to bear fruit because that’s what happens when you and I are connected to the Vine but please understand that this is not easy. It requires commitment and sacrifice and discipline to produce this kind of fruit.

What’s the fruit of a disciple look like…love, a love that is self-denying and self-sacrificing. Paul talks about this fruit in Galatians 5:22-24. A love that through obedience leads to complete joy, verses 9-11. A couple religious guys are talking to Jesus when they ask this question in Matthew 22:36-40. You are a disciple of Jesus if you obey His commands to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and your neighbor as yourself. This is the fruit that we are expected to bear as disciples to everyone we meet.

Let’s talk gardening for a second. Honestly I know very little about it but as I spent some time researching the process of pruning, I came to a better understanding of why Jesus calls God the gardener and why you and I need to be pruned every so often. I’m sure many of you know about pruning and how it is a process of trimming away things that stunt growth, things that keep the plant from producing the most fruit possible. Discipleship, which requires being connected to the Vine involves spiritual pruning. God shows us places in our lives that are getting in the way of loving Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and others as ourselves and wants us to offer them to Him so He can cut them away from our lives.

How do we stay connected…We stay connected by allowing God to prune away the things in our lives that get in the way of us being disciples. Sometimes we don’t know what needs to be pruned or if we’re honest, don't want to be pruned but we must trust God as the gardener knowing that He wants us to have complete joy in Him. There may be something that comes to mind as you’re sitting there right now that the gardener needs to prune from your life, things like envy, greed, lust, pride, jealousy, deceit. The Holy Spirit uses different tools to prune us, a couple examples of those tools would be; Scripture, prayer and community (aka the church). To stay connected to the Vine we have to make these a significant part of our lives because it’s in these that we find encouragement, support, challenge and growth. We cannot stay connected in isolation.

And so the questions that we’re left with as we wrap up our time together…

Are you connected to the True Vine? If not, what is keeping you from connecting with Jesus?

Have you fallen off the True Vine and do you need to reconnect?

And if you’re connected, are you finding ways to stay connected?

Don't Call It A Comeback?

On my way into the office today I was listening to the news on NPR and in between the news of GM nearing bankruptcy and the poor leadership of AIG I caught a glimmer of hope....earth's true friend Captain Planet is making a comeback! I'm not sure how you feel about this or how many of you even know who Captain Planet is but this could be HUGE not only for the environment but also for the economy(?). Think of all the new action figures that will need to be made, not to mention the solar powered flashlights (figure that one out).

And so the million (or maybe billion if you've recently received any sort of bailout) dollar question is...Which one of the 'Planeteers' would you be and why?

A Week In So Far

It can become so easy to forget about Jesus. We lose Him in the midst of day planners, iPhones, budgets, Facebook, text messaging, work stress, Twitter, relationships, etc. It's scary when I realize how often I forget about Him throughout my day. If it really is all about Him (which I believe it is), then I do a pretty poor job at times of really making it all about Him.

I find this time of year, the Lenten season, to be a powerful reminder that it is all about Jesus and what He endured on our behalf. Lent is a perfect time to "fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross" (Heb. 12:2). And so it seems appropriate to ask ourselves the question,

We're a week into Lent and...??

Catching Up

Remember when I started reading Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile by Rob Bell and Don Golden a month ago? Well, I finally got around to finishing it up in between all of the reading I have for the 2 classes I'm taking right now. I think I like this one the most of the couple that Rob Bell has written. Overall I thought it was pretty good; a quick ready but it also had some interesting points to think about and certainly be challenged by. They draw some extreme parallels that I'm not sure I agree or disagree with at this point but nonetheless they have given me some things to think about.

On a completely separate note, have you ever been so frustrated with something that it actually makes you feel exhausted?

Movie Reviews

This past Saturday Tai and I, along with a couple friends, went to a movie marathon at a local theater that showed the 5 films nominated for "Best Picture". The first movie started at 10:30am and the last one started at 9:45pm. Needless to say it was a great day of sitting around, eating lots of popcorn and drinking lots of coke (and we cheated because we had already seen one of the movies so we left for about 3.5hrs while our friends stayed the whole time). Below are some of my thoughts on the 5 movies in the order they were played on Saturday.

Overall a pretty good movie. Homosexuality is such an interesting topic and I think the movie did a good job of making the point that discrimination for any reason is NOT cool. And though I don't think this particular lifestyle is God's plan for His creation it was a good reminder to me that the Church must be a place of love, love through truth and grace.

I thought Sean Penn did a great job as Harvey Milk by capturing the viewers attention and emotions throughout the entire film. Overall I would rank this movie at #3 (though extremely close to being a tie for #2) out of the 5 nominations.
*Disclaimer: strong sexual themes, language


I did not find this movie to be particularly interesting or really that good for that matter. I was somewhat surprised to see Kate Winslet win "Best Actress" for this film but I also did not see any of the other movies containing the "Best Actress" nominees. I personally did not think that the plot, storyline or characters of this film were strong enough to wade through the uncomfortable amount of awkward and unnecessary nudity. Overall I felt like the movie was fairly weak and did a poor job of engaging the viewer. This movie was #5 of 5 and would not earn a recommendation from me.
*Disclaimer: nudity


I thought this was a fairly entertaining film but that goes to figure as it is based off the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald written in 1922. I liked that the story was something different and found it interesting but they should have taken note from the original in that it was a short story. The movie is 166mins long and seems much longer still. A good story but not strong enough to be strentched into an almost 3yr movie. I thought Brad Pitt did fine, nothing spectacular and in my opinion, not even worthy of a "Best Actor" nomination. This gets my #4 of 5 for the day. I would recommend it if it didn't feel soooooo long toward the end.


Great movie! Completely deserving of winning "Best Picture" as it was by far the strongest overall film of the day. Everything from the story, characters, music, scenerary fit perfectly together. This film is put together extremely well and takes the viewer on an emotional adventure through the valley of loss, desperation and longing onto the mountaintop of joy, perseverance, determination and love. I'm not sure I can say enough about how good a movie I thought this was. While I found this film to be quite entertaining I also couldn't help but notice the extreme poverty that so many people in the world live in with little to no chance of every breaking the cycle. I think a good movie is one that can entertain, engage and humble the viewer at the same time. This easily gets my #1 of 5 vote and a recommendation.


This movie pleasantly surprised me as it was the last movie of the marathon day, starting at 9:45pm. My initial thought was that this was going to be a killer movie to see as the last one because it had the potential to be incredibly boring but ended up being quite enjoyable. Though the whole Watergate scandal is still fairly confusing to me, even after watching the movie, I thought it was well done and well put together. There were enough things going on that kept me engaged in the story, despite the fact that it was centered around the idea of 2 guys sitting down talking to each other for something like 12hrs. I thought that both Frank Langella as Nixon and Michael Sheen as Frost did a great job. Surprisingly enough, I would recommend this movie as it got #2 of 5 on the day.
*Disclaimer: language

2 Questions: Part IV

I've been taking some time to read, study and think about this whole discipleship thing. I feel like the more time I spend with this idea of discipleship the closer I come to the conclusion that it has become something that is seen as optional in the life of a Christian, and to be honest, I'm not really sure Jesus gives us the option or not. I mean, it kind of seems like we're either going to follow Him or we're not. None of this lukewarm stuff, hot or cold.

I don't think Jesus intended discipleship to be something on the menu of Christian faith as a side item. "Yeah, I'll take the forgiveness & salvation combo meal with grace as my dessert. Can you leave off the discipleship cause I'm not really feeling that right now." I'm just not convinced it works this way and as a matter of fact, I think being a disciple comes with the whole I'm-a-Christian package. Is it possible that to be a Christian is to be a disciple? Can one be a Christian without being a disciple of Christ? Maybe it's our level of discipleship that is the question not necessarily our level of Christianity (ha, whatever that means)?

It would seem that in order for one to know where one is in his or her discipleship journey it would be important to understand what a disciple of Jesus looks like. We'll spend some time going over that in 2 Questions: Part V. Look how much fun we're having with just two "simple" questions.

2 Questions: Part III

Thanks to everyone that took some time to read and respond to 2 Questions: Part I and 2 Questions: Part II. I've really enjoyed checking out what you had to say in response to those 2 questions. Certainly plenty to think about and hopefully continue to discuss.

My thoughts:

• The purpose of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus.
• A disciple, in its most generic form can be described as a student, pupil or follower who makes it his/her primary purpose to learn from and be like the one s/he is following or being taught by. With that being said, a disciple of Jesus is someone who makes following Jesus through thought, word and deed his/her focus.

Back in Jesus' day, not unlike today, it was possible to tell which leader a disciple was learning from based on the way the student acted and reacted, talked and thought. It's the idea of the student trying to be so much like the teacher that the student starts to take on the identity of the teacher. In our case that means that as we grow closer and closer to Jesus, people begin to see more of Him and less of us.

Discipleship is a process and a journey in our relationship with Jesus. This discipling relationship that Jesus invites us into is never stagnant so continually asking ourselves whether we are moving closer to or further away from Him is a great way to gauge where we are in the process of becoming a disciple of Jesus.

Pride & Anger

My sermon from this morning.
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Pride & Anger

We are going to take a look at a story about a journey inward. A journey that pride and anger can take us on that turns into an obsession with ourselves. We’ll see how they magnify and pervert the natural love for self into a disdain for others. And so the challenge for us is to see ourselves in this story because our natural thought process begins with the thought of ‘me’.

2 Chronicles 26

Some background…at this point in the history of the Jewish people the kingdom is divided between Israel to the north and Judah to the south. It is during the reigns of Jeroboam II in Israel and Uzziah in Judah that the borders of the kingdoms briefly reached the extent they had been under the united kingdom of David and his son Solomon, some 140yrs earlier. This would be extremely significant to the citizens of the two kingdoms because it was reestablishing the kingdoms’ power and glory of old and the kings who were able to do such a thing would be greatly loved by the people. So, keeping all of this in mind we begin our story in 2 Chronicles 26.

Uzziah was “born into” what he had and his position.

-he found support from his family

He did right in the eyes of the Lord. (4)

He sought God (5)

-God was his first priority, his first thought

He was instructed in the fear of the Lord.

God gave him success as long as he sought Him. (5)

He went to war and God helped him. (6)

-he found support from God

His fame spread as far as the border of Egypt, because he had become very powerful. (8)

-a sense of entitlement starts to creep in

He built towers and wells and fortified the city. (9-10)

He had people working in his fields and vineyards. (10)

-pride makes us think that we are doing people a favor by allowing them to work for us or be in our presence

He had a well-trained army that was ready to go out. (11)

-another example of support

His fame spread far and wide because he was greatly helped UNTIL he became powerful. (15)

-pride usually shows up when we are at our best

-pride makes us forget the support we have received from others and twists it into the thought that we have somehow made it on our own

-he found support until he abused it

His power, which led to pride, led to his downfall. (16)

He was unfaithful to the Lord and blatantly disobeyed God’s commands. (16)

-pride is that thing that makes me think I have all the right answers or the right to judge others as not having them because in the back of my mind, I believe God agrees with me.

-as Christians sometimes it’s easy for us to fall into “spiritual pride” which can take a couple different forms:

-it can be the mindset that I have the ability or right to judge another’s spiritual condition

-it can also be the mindset that believes I have the ability or right to hold onto things even after Christ has forgiven them, whether they were committed by myself or someone else

-“pride made the soul desert God, to whom it should cling as the source of life, and to imagine itself instead as the source of its own life.” Augustine

He was confronted with the painful truth. (17-18)

-it takes courage (and sometimes other people) to confront a prideful person

PAUSE (to take a look at Anger)

At this point he has a choice…

He became angry. (19)

-he could deal with his anger in a Godly way or sin in his anger

-notice that the leprosy doesn’t show up until the misuse of anger, the raging

He rages against the priests. (19)

-he took it out on others, people who even cared for him.

UNPAUSE (back to Pride)

His pride continued even in God’s presence. (19-20)

-once he realized it, he wanted out

-there is a sense or feeling of regret but the damage had already been done

His pride resulted in loneliness which led to pain, isolation and eventually death. (21)

-pride eliminates every life-giving relationship we have to enjoy

The remedy…

Service. The very thing that Jesus calls us to be is a servant because it forces us to think outside ourselves, to look outward as opposed to inward. True service naturally requires humility. We are forced to recognize that it is not about me.

2 Questions: Part II

Thanks to everyone that took some time to read and respond to 2 Questions: Part I. I've really enjoyed reading over and thinking about your comments. I thought there were some really great points made in response to the 1st question, I would love to hear you elaborate on a few of them. I found it interesting that no one used the word 'disciple'.

For me the purpose of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus.

Over the past couple weeks there has been some buzz surrounding 2 questions at our church and I thought it could be kind of interesting to get your thoughts on those very same questions. I'm not going to give any explanation or share any of my thoughts yet because I would hate to 'taint' your view but would invite you to comment and join in on the discussion that follows. Notice the 2nd question below. Please feel free to respond to either or both if you haven't already and you want to share your thoughts. I'll give you a few days to think and share and then I'll post some thoughts and ideas.

The 2nd of 2 questions is:

-What is the purpose of the church?
-What is a disciple?

"Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile"

I just started reading Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile written by Rob Bell & Don Golden. I'm only 2 chapters in but find it to be a pretty easy read (once you get past the odd formatting and wasted page space) and not too bad so far. I like the way the book retraces the Old Testament story and am hoping it doesn't quickly become a political commentary. I guess only time will tell. A couple things that jumped out at me so far:

"This God doesn't need images in the form of wood or stone or marble, because this God has people.

This God is looking for a body." (Pg 33-34)

"God gives power and blessing so that justice and righteousness will be upheld for those who are denied them." (Pg 44)

"Weeping leads us to reconnect with God." (Pg 53)

"Our tears are sacred. They water the ground around our feet so that new things can grow." (Pg 53 *possible quote from Anne Lamott as noted by the authors)

"The first exodus was just a hint of the redemption God has in mind for all of humanity." (Pg 56)

Midwinter Rooftops

I was awakened this morning at 4:27am by the steady, rhythmic sound of an unidentified dripping. It took me a minute to locate the drip and figure out where it was coming from. It was about this time last year when the drip was actually landing in our bedroom but fortunately this time the drip was only able to get as far as the outside windowsill. Over the past couple days we've gotten over a foot of snow and after lying there for a couple minutes I decided I had to do something about this persistent little drip. So I told my wife that I was going to go up on the roof and shovel it off and after explaining to her that: a) yes I meant right then and b) yes I was aware what time it was she told me to take my phone with me in case of an emergency.

Fortunately the only thing I used my phone for was to take some pictures after I finished clearing off the roof. Though it was a little chilly I found it to be quite peaceful as I looked out over the snow-covered rooftops in my neighborhood thinking that I was pretty thankful to have a roof to have to shovel off. I also realized that I am thankful for the people that get up that early on a regular basis to do things like clear roads, turn on lights in buildings, make coffee, warm-up school buses, make sure things are working like they should, etc. for the rest of the world that wakes-up hours later.

Reconnection

I don't know if you've ever had the chance to reconnect with a relative after a number of years or what that experience might have been like for you but I had the opportunity to do just that tonight over dinner. I came to find out that one of my cousins works for a company that has a regional office here in Indy and he decided to call me up to see if we could get together and I'm glad he did.

A little background...My dad's side of the family is from Bay City, MI (which is where I was born) and we would travel there every year to celebrate Christmas with that side of the family. Well, as I got older and eventually moved to Indiana and got married I was not always able to make it up there during Christmastime. This year was no exception but apparently as my dad was there with his side of the family he was talking to this cousin who mentioned that he traveled down to Indy quite often and so my dad gave him my cell number. I got a call this past Friday night from my cousin letting me know he would be in town for a couple days this week and so we planned to get together. Which we did tonight.

I honestly don't remember the last time he and I have had the chance to sit and talk like we did tonight but I know it was certainly before either of us had "real" jobs, wives or houses. It was great to hear that he and his wife were doing well, that work was going well for him and share some memories we had of Grandma & Grandpa's house during family gatherings. Besides getting a chance to reconnect with him it was pretty cool to be reminded that I am a part of something bigger, that goes beyond myself and my little world. Thank God for inviting us to be a part of something even bigger still.

2 Questions: Part I

Over the past couple weeks there has been some buzz surrounding 2 questions at our church and I thought it could be kind of interesting to get your thoughts on those very same questions. I'm not going to give any explanation or share any of my thoughts yet because I would hate to 'taint' your view but would invite you to comment and join in on the discussion that follows. I'm only going to ask 1 question to start as the 2nd question is dependent upon the potential responses to the 1st. I'll give you a few days to think and share and then I'll post some thoughts and ideas.

The 1st of 2 questions is:

-What is the purpose of the church?

A New Chapter to a Great Story

The significance of today can not be understated. For the first time in our nation's history we have elected someone other than an older white guy as our president. Not only is this a HUGE step for the Unite States as a country but also for the way in which we are perceived around the world. I hope and pray that other nations will begin to see that our internal race relations are moving in the right direction and though we still lag behind other countries, progress is being made.

It's important in the midst of all the hype, historical significance and celebration that we remember the role that Christ plays in this unprecedented event. Especially as people who would call ourselves Christian because if it were not for Christ, none of this would be possible. Let us be reminded of two important things as we commemorate this day:

1. Paul tells us in his letter to the Ephesians, "For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility" (2:14). Jesus has always been and will always be about tearing down the things that divide us...gender, race, economics, education, politics, etc. Jesus is all about life-transforming change and it's in this type of change where we are able to truly find hope.

2. God puts leaders in their place of leadership and uses them to accomplish His purpose. God is telling a story through His Son and through His Church, the authorities have been put in place to not only be a part of that story but also to advance it. You may not agree with the party affiliation, the policies or the rhetoric but as Christians we can not argue the fact that God is in control, has a story to tell and is going to make sure it is heard. We are simply called to play our part.

Congratulations are due to everyone for whom this day holds special significance, which in reality should be every single citizen of the United States. I am excited to see the changes that God will bring about through a new administration which, whether they are aware of it or not, will be used to tell His story.

When is Enough Enough?

The war in Gaza has to stop! It is getting sickening hearing the reports of Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip over the past couple weeks and the relative silence from the international community. I know that various international organizations are calling for an immediate ceasefire but refuse to put any "teeth" behind these calls for peace and so the result of these calls has been nothing. In fact, Israel has actually "stepped up" their assault into Gaza which has caused more than 1,000 deaths, over half of which have been civilians.

I understand that we are about to witness two history making administrations enter and leave the office of president but can we continue to sit in silence as a country, blindly (in my opinion) giving our support to any action that Israel feels they need or want to take? Of course I know there are various views on this sensitive subject but at what point is enough enough? I have no doubt that there is a lot of information that I am not aware of concerning this conflict between Israel and Palestine, is there enough for me to keep from describing Israel's actions as 'excessive force', not sure. I can't help but think about the story of a young shepherd boy who faced off against a giant, armor covered warrior carrying a spear, sword and shield...which is somewhat ironic since most Israelis would know this story quite well. What's sad is that the young boy in our story today doesn't stand a chance.

Routine

I like to pretend that I am the sort of person that likes to "fly by the seat of his pants", is super laid back and not only doesn't need a routine but will actually go against any resemblance of one. I must confess that I think the routine is back and I'm looking forward to it.

The past couple weeks have contained holidays, travel, family, me turning 30, vacation, and a week down in Kentucky taking a class. I'm finally home with no major holidays in the near future or any anticipated time off and I think I'm actually excited. I think I'm looking forward to heading into the office tomorrow morning ready to find my groove and get some stuff done. It's almost like the new year has officially begun for me this week. I'm feeling weirdly motivated, disciplined and excited to get things going and the idea of a routine makes me think those things might just be possible. I guess only time will tell.

Caller ID

So often we hear people talk about their "calling" in life and typically we take that to be the thing they were meant to do. When someone who identifies himself or herself as a Christian talks about "calling" we generally assume the same thing with the added caveat that it is God who is doing the "calling".

Today was the first day of a class I'm taking this week at Asbury Theological Seminary for my Masters in Christian Leadership. The class is called Christian Leadership Development and today we spent a little time talking about people's callings. We talked about how what you do is not the calling; teaching, writing, administrating, painting, singing, etc. but rather where you do it is the calling. If you have been given the gift to teach, then you should know that and do it wherever you are regardless of where that is, God will call you when He wants you to do it some place else.

This got us thinking a little bit about where God might call you and I to go...Is there anywhere He doesn't call us to go? Is it possible that He has called some of us to go to places that we might normally be ashamed to go? Might there be some of us out there that have heard the Holy Spirit calling to us to go somewhere but we were too afraid of what people might think or say if we actually went? All the more reason to be walking closely with Him so that when He does call, we know exactly who it is.

Another Year

First let me say "Happy New Year!" I hope that your new year festivities were safe and great. I don't know if anyone made resolutions for 2009 but I'm still thinking, so if there are any suggestions let me know.

Today also happens to be my 30th birthday. Now, I don't say that to get birthday wishes but simply to say that I've been thinking about the past 30yrs of my life. It's interesting to look back and see the different ways, places and people that God uses to impact, direct and guide our lives. While the new year turns our attention to the future, I think it's important to keep in mind the things that God has brought us through to get to this point.