I had the chance to grab a matinee showing on opening day of the latest film in the X-Men series entitled "X-Men Origins: Wolverine". Overall I found it to be entertaining but must admit that I was a little disappointed. I really enjoyed the previous X-Men movies (especially 1 & 2, 3 was ok) and had high expectations coming into this movie, which maybe was unfair on my part but, fair or unfair, I didn't feel like this movie was nearly as good.
The movie focuses on the character of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and his journey of self discovery and realization. There is plenty of action and special effects, arguably too much in an attempt to make up for a story line that might not be strong enough to carry a 106min long movie. I was interested by the story and would have traded seeing it developed a little more for some of the different action sequences, which I think would have allowed Wolverine's sarcastic wit (that I enjoyed so much in the previous movies) to show up.
I found this movie to be entertaining but was hoping for more. There is a lot of action and most, if not all, is fairly violent so please take that into consideration if you plan on seeing it or allowing children to see it. For what it's worth, I would give it a B/B-.
May 6, 2009
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
May 5, 2009
Rethink Church
The United Methodist Church is launching a new marketing campaign entitled "Rethink Church" as of tomorrow, May 6th. The premise behind the change from "Open Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors." to the new slogan, according to the official United Methodist Communications website, is:
This campaign is specifically targeting young adults aged 18-35 by challenging them "to think of church, not as a static institution, but as a movement of people empowered to transform the world" (site link). This is what the Church has been from the very beginning. I think the need to "Rethink Church" must first be for those of us already in the pews by challenging how comfortable we have made the Church for ourselves. We have to stop treating it like some sort of country club and remember we have been commanded to serve, rather than looking to be served.
Personally, I like the new campaign slogan...a lot. I like it much more than the current one and believe it is a solid place to start in order to get a better grasp of what it means to truly be the Body of Christ. I'm anxious to see what this will look like as it plays out.
April 30, 2009
Welcome Back
I thought I would share this from an email I received earlier this week. (I have permission from the sender to post this.)
"My question/concern is regarding "coming back" to the faith, if that's the way you would word it. I've had my skepticism about Christianity, and I've definitely been living in a way that does not exemplify a "Christian life," AND I know I need to change a lot of things, but I don't really understand the whole thing about not being able to come back. Is that just if you completely reject a belief in God? And maybe I'm not doing the right things to "come back." I don't know."
The passage I think you are referring to in talking about "not being able to come back" is found in Hebrews 6:4-6 which reads:
"4It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace." (NIV)
The writer of Hebrews is talking about someone that has completely rejected God, like you mentioned. This would be someone who knows what it means to walk with and toward Jesus and has made a deliberate decision to turn and head in the opposite direction. The impossibility comes in on our part, not God's. He will not force Himself upon me so it becomes impossible for me to come back to repentance (which literally means to do a 180 and head in the opposite direction) if my heart is not willing.
This also brings to mind the story of the Prodigal Son. It would have been impossible for him to come back if he had not had a change of heart and decided to repent, or travel in the opposite direction he was heading, which brought him back home. I would guess that you are more like the Prodigal Son, as that is the case for the majority of us at times in our relationship with Christ.
I'm not sure if there is a list of the "right" things to do to come back but I can say it requires a change of heart, which it sounds like you are experiencing simply because you were willing to send this email. Confess. Repent. Find a church community and get plugged-in, find a small group to get connected to, make it a priority in your day to spend time in the Word, set aside your desires/wants/needs and love other people and I'm guessing that as you begin to do these things you will find that you haven't strayed as far as you think. Continue to pursue this change in direction and allow Christ to welcome you back!
April 29, 2009
A Litany of Humility
This litany composed by Rafael Cardinal Merry de Val (1865-1930) was shared in our staff devotions yesterday and I found it to be pretty powerful.
O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus. (repeat after each line)
From the desire of being loved,
From the desire of being extolled,
From the desire of being honored,
From the desire of being praised,
From the desire of being preferred to others,
From the desire of being consulted,
From the desire of being approved,
From the fear of being humiliated,
From the fear of being despised,
From the fear of suffering rebukes,
From the fear of being forgotten,
From the fear of being ridiculed,
From the fear of being wronged,
From the fear of being suspected,
That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. (repeat after each line)
That others may be esteemed more than I,
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease,
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
That others may be praised and I unnoticed,
That others may be preferred to me in everything,
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should,
April 28, 2009
Just Say 'NO'
At what point does it become too much? Even if they are "good" things? It seems as though it is becoming more obvious that so many of us are doing way too much. We have become so over committed that we have forgotten what we're actually committed to. Going non-stop has caused us to get stressed out, exhausted, and even cranky. We are doing so many things that we have a hard time focusing on one thing which makes it really hard to do anything really well. So many of us have fallen into the trap of thinking that our doing defines our being.
Do you ever just rest? I mean really rest. Is your schedule dictating your priorities when in reality it should be the other way around? It would be impossible to read about the ministry of Jesus and not see the point He made to rest. Even Jesus scheduled time for rest.
Follow this line of logic with me and let's see where we end up...
...God created everything in 6 days, took a Sabbath rest on the 7th...
...God created you and I in His image...
...God created the Sabbath for man, not the other way around...
...Jesus is God and was intentional about finding rest...
...you and I need to practice Sabbath rest.
Maybe you need to start saying 'NO' to things, I know I do. Maybe even to good things that might help other people? If I get so caught up in serving for Christ that I forget about Christ, I'm missing the point. If the noise of my busyness drowns out the voice of the One I am busy for, I'm missing the point.
Many persons, ordained or not, live in a fairly constant state of noise, with their unresolved past and the uncertain present breaking in on them. They lack a still center and it is only for such a quiet point that we can listen attentively.-From Spirituality for Ministry by Urban T. Holmes III
April 26, 2009
Do Something About It
I wonder how many of us have things we say we are going to change about ourselves. This could be anything...a relationship, a habit, a phrase you are trying to quit saying (like "your mom"), a diet, the way you treat people, the way you treat yourself, the way you treat God, etc. I also wonder how long you have been talking about a particular change but find it very unchanged.
If you are lucky, more than likely you have people in your life that are telling you this change needs to happen in order for you to be happy and healthy or maybe the situation is so dire that you need to change in order to stay alive. And still you are finding yourself not changing.
My question to you is, "What are you waiting for?" At some point you will have to do something to bring about the change you talk so much about. Change is not static, it requires action and yet so often we come across people that are frustrated with the lack of desired change in their particular situation and they can't seem to figure out why. When I ask them what they are doing to bring about this change they give some sort of excuse as to why they are waiting for it to happen or there isn't anything they can do about it. The person in that unhealthy relationship with you is not going to tell you to leave him/her for your own good. God is not going to force Himself on you to make you pay attention to Him or love Him. There comes a point when you have to do something about it. Regardless of how many times a friend, pastor, coach, neighbor, co-worker, stranger tells you that you need to change but if you don't do something about it, they are simply wasting their breath. Their words become pointless.
The time is now to make the change happen you have been talking about for so long. Surround yourself with people that recognize the change that needs to be made in your life and empower them to help you do something about it. If you really want to see change take place in your life, then you must be ready and willing to act.
April 23, 2009
A New Mission Statement
After months of discussion, conversations, reading and study our church officially adopted a new mission statement earlier this week. I like it because it's simple, easy to remember and to the point but I guess you can be the judge of that...
April 21, 2009
The People In Your Neighborhood
Remember that song? Definitely one of my favorites from back in the day. Remember when Jesus told us to love our neighbors? Definitely hard to do. A couple reasons why I think this is so hard...
1. when Jesus said "neighbor" He meant anyone and everyone we come in contact with
2. the love that Jesus is telling us to show is a love that puts the receiver of this love ahead of or above the giver
3. Jesus is telling us to do this, He's not so much giving us an option or choice in the matter because He knows that if you and I really want to follow, then we'll obey
4. people can be hard to love because they can be rude, cold, annoying, ignorant, selfish, etc which makes neighbors hard to love because they are people
5. I am a person, which means sometimes I am rude, cold, annoying, ignorant, selfish, etc and not good at loving my neighbors as a result
My challenge to you and I is to really try to "love your neighbor as yourself" for 1 entire day. From morning until night, striving to put everyone else before ourselves and then to post on this blog your experiences. Leave your name or don't, whatever, just share the stories of our little experiment so we can see how it goes. The good, the bad and the ugly. Try to live a whole day being completely selfless and let's see what happens. Could be pretty interesting.
April 16, 2009
Everything Happens for a Reason?
We had a pastors' meeting yesterday morning and the phrase "Everything happens for a reason." was discussed because we are hearing it more and more. Usually it is preceded or followed by a form of, "Well, I guess everything..." or "...for a reason I guess." The discussion that followed amongst ourselves was interesting. We talked about reason vs. plan/purpose. We talked about how this statement relates to events like 9/11, natural disasters or the loss of a loved one. We also talked about how often this phrase comes in the form of a question.
My take on it is this: God provides the reason.
Things happen that don't make sense and we don't understand and God brings reason out of them. Does He desire for things like 9/11 to happen, of course not, but He can, and does fit them into His plan. A plan that includes purpose, hope and reason. Sure everything happens for a reason because there is something known as cause and effect. Things happen as the consequence of other things happening or not happening, that's the reason they happen. If we are looking or searching for a deeper meaning when we say "Everything happens for a reason" then we must go beyond the cause and effect relationship and look to another relationship, the one between God and His creation.
April 15, 2009
As I'm sure you've noticed, I've started Twitter-ing and was wondering what you thought of Twitter in general.
What do you think of it?
Do you like it? Why or why not?
Do you Twitter?
April 14, 2009
On the Road to Emmaus
Lent has come and gone, Easter is passed and now what?!? It started with the mountaintop experience of the Triumphant Entry Jesus had coming into Jerusalem and was followed by the ups and downs of clearing the temple courts, public teachings and miracles, only to be plunged into the valley of despair as Jesus is taken away and eventually nailed to a tree. The ride doesn't stop there because 3 days later the disciples find an empty tomb but no Jesus in sight. Try to imagine their confusion along with trying to contain themselves and their imaginations as to what might have happened or be happening. What a rollercoaster ride of emotion that week must have been.
I can't help but think about the two disciples that were walking on their way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) talking about the events of the past week trying to make sense of it all when along comes a stranger that seems utterly clueless. You can almost hear them asking him if he lives under a rock because that might have been the only way not to have heard about the events that had taken place in the city just days earlier. They went on to explain to him what had taken place concerning the guy named Jesus and still couldn't figure out that it was Jesus himself they were talking to. It wasn't until later, as they were having dinner together, that they realized it was him that had been with them on the road the whole time.
Two things I find really interesting about this story:
1. Initally we are told that the two disciples "were kept from recognizing him" (vs. 16). I started thinking about this and wondered if it wasn't so much that God was keeping them from seeing Jesus but rather that they had gotten so caught-up in everything else they failed to recognize Jesus walking right beside them. I wonder how often we do the same thing; our heads down focusing on something that has happened to us or something we did and fail to see Jesus in our situation or circumstance? It's not Christ that keeps us from recognizing him but rather ourselves.
2. The two disciples didn't actually realize it was Jesus until they witnessed him do something they had seen him do before, break bread with them (vs. 30-31). I started thinking about all of the times when I have failed to recognize Jesus because he was doing something I would have never expected him to do. It almost seems like these two disciples had pigeon holed Jesus into certain words or actions and because they would have never expected him to show up on the road with them, they never even gave it a second thought that maybe it was him all along. It wasn't until later that they realized what had happened. Seriously, isn't that you and me almost on a daily basis? We would never expect Jesus to show up at work, school, home...and don't realize that he had been there the whole time until after the fact. I hope that we haven't come to expect to see Jesus on Sunday mornings (or whenever you go to church) and nowhere else. Just think about how different the conversation, attitudes and emotions could have been had those two disciples realized it was Jesus much sooner in their journey.
April 12, 2009
Easter Sunday
The Resurrection of Jesus is the event on which the doors of eternity are hinged. It is the one thing that makes Christianity different than any other faith and the reason for Jesus' power and authority today.
If you call yourself a Christian, have you ever taken a second to think about what would have happened if Christ had not risen from the dead? Christianity would be pointless and we would all be really, really lame. Paul even says as much in I Corinthians 15:14, "And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith." and again in verse 17, "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile." He goes on to say that if our hope in Christ is only for this life, then we are to be pitied more than anyone else (vs 19).
Today is the day in which we celebrate Christ's victory over death and if you are found in Him, then that victory is yours as well. This is our hope for new and better things to come. If the Resurrection didn't happen, then Jesus is nothing more than a crazy guy who was martyred for nothing (and happened to be really nice and say some nice things) and the people who claim to follow Him are equally as crazy. But if it did happen, then it would be wise for us to start living as if now really does matter in the scope of eternity. Later in the same chapter Paul says, "Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God - I say this to your shame."
If you are not living as a Christian with an eternal perspective and hope, what's the point? Do not miss the event that has radically changed the course of eternity and has the power to change your life.
April 10, 2009
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
April 9, 2009
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.
April 7, 2009
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?
April 5, 2009
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.
April 2, 2009
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.
April 1, 2009
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...
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.......
March 30, 2009
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.
March 27, 2009
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
March 24, 2009
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.
March 22, 2009
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.
March 20, 2009
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.
March 19, 2009
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.
March 17, 2009
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.
March 8, 2009
"I Am the Vine"
A sermon I gave this morning.
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On this 2nd 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
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
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…
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?
March 5, 2009
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?
March 4, 2009
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...??
March 1, 2009
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?
February 24, 2009
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
February 19, 2009
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.
February 11, 2009
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.
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.
