spelling

Sometimes I think that I am not a very good speller.  Even with spell check, sometimes, I cannot figure out how to spell a word.  I thank God for every time that the word is fixed automatically by spell check.

Words I have trouble spelling.............restless, occasion, familiar, commitment.  On and on the list goes.  It is like I mis-learned them with I was in 3rd grade, and I have never learned to get the correct spelling inside of my brain.

I hope that you have words that you have trouble spelling.  It is a small reminder that we still have things to learn.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

words

I rarely post on facebook.  From time to time, I do read what others post. 

I would like to take a moment to remind readers of this blog that facebook is not private.  Even if someone is not your facebook friend, your posts and comments can easily be captured [copied or screenshot] by others and forwarded to anyone they wish.

I witness comments about people's pastors, about their churches, about other brothers and sisters that attend their church.  Sometimes the comments are nice, but sometimes they are not.

Dear friends, the tongue, whether words spoken or written, the tongue is a restless evil.  Most of the pain that is delivered in this life, comes from our mouths or our pens.  I beg you as fellow Christians to be very careful about what you say and what you write.  Nothing is private, for on the internet, all things done in private have ways of becoming known.

May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in the sight of our God.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

belief and practice

Some Christians insist that you believe it all, and believe it just right.  Their faith is rooted in doctrine and belief.  They want to make sure that others believe it, just as they do.

There is another way.  Other Christians live out their faith rooted not so much in belief, but in practice.  Not that doctrine is not important, but these are those who understand that we do not know it all.  We do not have all the answers, and what we think we know, we are often wrong about.  And so they practice.... they love others, they pray, they give thanks, they live a life of faith.

Belief or practice.  What is most prominent in your spiritual life?

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

conditions

I talk to people all the time who want to do God's work, but on their own terms.  They want to follow Jesus, but they put conditions on many things.  This seems an acceptable thing to do for them, because we humans are so used to having it our way.

Jesus rejects our conditions.  He accepts nothing less than unconditional surrender.  If you dare to be used by God, you must deny your self, and follow him.  There are no excuses and there are no conditions. 

Do you want to listen to and for God's leading?  Then be prepared to be made uncomfortable.  It's all about unconditional surrender.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

showing love

"You can show your love for others by not wishing that they were better Christians."  St. Francis

What does that mean?
It means that it is not our job to make people better Christians, that is God's job.  It is our job to love and welcome.  Anytime we meet someone and their is an air of "you need to improve-" we are hurting them.

Yes we must sometimes tell that to employees and our children, but when we do it just because we think we are right and someone else is wrong, then wounds are inflicted.

Release others from your preconceived notions about who they are and what they are doing.  Love them and place them in the hands of our loving Father.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

refugee

I have a friend whose mom was a refugee from Vietnam, leaving with the "boat people" after the fall of Saigon in 1975.  In case you are good with math, yes, he is younger than I am.

I was emailing with one of my buds the other day and I was reminded of the old saying, "we are all refugees from something."

Maybe it is a difficult upbringing [me.]  Maybe it is insecurity [me.]  I have a friend who grew up homeless.  I know people that spend the rest of their lives trying to recover from a divorce, a death, or a hurt of some kind.

We are all refugees from something. 

The good news is that we refugees have a place to go.  Thank God for our friends, but mostly, thank God for God.  In him we can find comfort and hope, even when our past tries to drag us down.  We may all be refugees, but thanks to Jesus, we are going somewhere.  We are on a journey of learning to love and see the good in this life.

It is a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

to take

Children take things from each other.  "That is my toy!  Give it!"  Adults take things too.  We may not steal from each other, but we take things from God.

We grab on to a thing and hold onto it, insisting that we have a right to it.  It is mine!  Mine! 

What if instead of clinging to a thing, we gave it over to God.  What if we released it to Him?  Then and only then he could bless us by giving it back to us as he saw fit.  As long as we cling to a thing, it cannot be given to us by God.  The moment we release it to him, we allow him to show his generous love by giving that thing or any thing unto us.

To hold a thing is to watch it slip through our fingers.  To release a thing is to gain our proper place in life.  After all, we are stewards, not owners.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

friends

There are a few people in this world that are amazing.  I loved them from the moment I met them.  We have moved in and out of each other's lives over the years.  We have carried each other in difficult times.  We have celebrated the joys.

When we can't get together, it is still ok.  Nothing high maintenance here.  When we do get together, it is the best.

I am smiling.  That is an amazing friendship.  I hope you have people that just seem to keep filling you up.  Be sure to tell them thank you.

It is a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

you finally did it

You finally did it.  You pushed me over the edge.  Was it your comment after church?  Was it the comment that you posted on the blog?  Was it the email that you sent?  I don't know for sure, but I have had it.  After all the kindness that I have tried to show to you, I get this?  Really?  Well, I want you to know that I am not going to take this lying down.  I have already acted.  Yes, I did it. I snuck over to your house and kidnapped your pet rabbit.  You can have him back only if you apologize.

Hmmmm.  Did any of you wonder if I was mad at you?  Did any of you think I was really mad?  I am not mad at you.  I am not mad at anyone.

I have been thinking lately about how we collect things that aren't necessarily ours, like blame and guilt.  If you read the first four lines and wondered if I was talking about you, you have made my point.  We spend too much time thinking that something is wrong, that something is broken, and that something must be worried about.

Make your default something else.  Nothing is wrong!  All is well.  No one is mad at you.  And if they are, relax.  Don't let their unhappiness spoil the day.

But I am still going to hold your rabbit hostage until you say uncle.

It's a beautiful, joyful, guilt-free day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

enmity

An enmity was created.

He thought it was done to him out of spite. He thought the other was intentionally trying to hurt him.  But, the other person just thought they were doing their job.  They did not realize the hurt that was being delivered.

And so in response to one hurt, one misunderstood hurt, a lifetime of retaliation was unleashed.  One being surprised by the other at random times with strange looks, odd words and various forms of rejection.  They gathered their friends together and encouraged them to mount up in attack against the foe.  A lifetime of warfare ensued.

All of this was completely unnecessary.

How many times in our lives have we taken offense when no offense was intended?  How often have we let our pride get in the way instead of looking for a milder response?  Give the person that hurt you a little slack.  Maybe they are simply reacting to your reaction to them.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

my life

A friend asked me the other day about my life.  The value of my life and my greatest joys and accomplishments.  I think that they were surprised when I told them that the most important thing to me was that at my funeral my children stood up and said that I was a good Dad.

Yes, being a pastor is important and I have seen many wonderful things over the years.  But if I succeed with the church and fail as a father, what does that say about my life?

I love my children and I would take a bullet for them.  I love the church too, but if I were ever forced to choose, I  would have to stand with my family.  I wasn't always a pastor, and someday I  will stop being one.  But I will always be a father and a husband.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

spiritual

When something is truly spiritual, it does not need to be announced.  People will see it for what it is.

Imagine a person wearing a shirt that said, "I am spiritual."  It would be a bit off-putting.  If someone is spiritual, you can tell.  They don't need to tell you, you will just know.

If a church is experiencing a revival, you don't need a sign out front.  In short order, everyone in town will hear about it from those who are being revived.

It is far better for someone else to say something nice about you then for you to say something about yourself.  Self-promotion smells bad and leaves a bad taste in our mouths.

May we be those who waste no time and energy on self-promotion, but learn to focus our energy on being the kind of people that are living the Kingdom life. 

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

The All

We humans tend to gravitate to our own interests, only loving the parts of a thing that seem relevant to us.  I only care about my service, the 9:05 service.  I only care about education.  I only care about mission, my favorite mission to be sure.  I only care about Upwards.  I only care about landscape.

Is this healthy for a church?  Imagine a family where the Dad said, I only care about the lawn.  Where the Mom said I only care about the kitchen.  Where little Suzie said I only care about my bedroom.  Not a very healthy family is it?

At a church, each of us needs to be committed to the whole.  We need to be behind every department, every mission, every group.  They may not be our favorite, but they are all important, and they are all ours.  The church is not just my little corner.  The church is everything.  The church is all of it. 

There is a joy that comes to us when we start to support areas that we had not been involved with up to this point.  How can you celebrate each member of the body?  How can we support each person's interest?

We are in this together.  All of us.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

great churches

Great churches lift up the name of Jesus.  Great churches teach people to be in mission, to live outside of themselves, to do unto others.

Great churches do not shrink back from opportunity.  When given the chance to make a difference, great people and great churches do their due diligence, set aside their fears, and step into opportunity.

It is easy to lift up the name of Jesus.
It is harder to live outside of ourselves.
It is very very difficult to not want to pull the wagons in a circle when opportunity knocks.  Sometimes big things come along that scare us.  We like our comfort so much.  Don't be afraid.  You never hit the ball until you step into the box.

Your potential awaits.  Our potential awaits.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

persecution

On occasion I get asked why we don't talk much about the persecution of Christians around the globe.  Make no mistake, I am saddened, angered, enraged by what groups like isis does to Christians and others.

However, I do not know how to affect change in this matter.  I am not sticking my head in the sand, I just can't do anything about it.  I do not want to talk about it at church every Sunday.  That would give the sermons an angry, sad flavor that I don't want on the table.  We need to focus on being positive and loving others.  We need to focus on not being selfish and engaging the part of the world where we can make a difference.

On a side not, I have a friend that is very connected to the military who tells me that our drones and such are doing a very good job.  They are doing much more than we hear reported on the news.

So, this is the end of the post.  persecution is very bad.  We should pray for those who experience it.  We should also welcome them into our country as immigrants without complaint.

On to today, and the life that you can affect.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Woods Chapel

In response to a post the other day, a reader made a comment and asked a question.  They said:

"......Jeff, can you tell me if I'm picking up accurately on this. It still seems to me that although the folks who leave now and then can cause some concern, Woods Chapel is still such a vital church, that it appears to me that we have quite a few more people "coming" "seeing" "liking" and "staying" than we have leaving?" 

I would agree with the writer.  But of course I do love this place and the people who call this church home.  Although some people do not stay, Woods Chapel is a very vibrant place with lots of great and amazing people who are growing in grace and learning to live outside of themselves.

The traditional measurements for health in a church are attendance, membership and giving.  All three of these markers continue to improve for us, but there is another measurement that I think says a great deal about institutional health.  That is the degree to which a church and it's people are engaged in outward focused mission.

In mission locally.  In mission globally.  In mission at Westport, at the Ronald McDonald House, in the schools, in Russia, at Costco, at Taco Bell.  In mission, everywhere.  Yes friends, we are on a mission for God.  To the extent that a church stays engaged with it's call to be the hands and feet of Christ, the future is bright.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Ethiopia

I have a test for Christian theology.  All good theology works in Ethiopia.  What does that mean?  It means that many of the things that we talk about, that we are so sure about, are cultural.  They relate to Christianity only in our culture, and therefore, probably are not truly Christian ideas.

For example, those who teach that if you have enough faith, God will give you more stuff and money.  That will never fly in Ethiopia.  So to me, that means it is a heresy.  There is no guaranty that God will give you more stuff.  Ethiopians know this.

What about purpose in life?  Some believe that they will only find purpose when they find their right vocation.  Can people in Ethiopia yearn to be a pilot, a doctor, or an astronaut?  Yes, but their opportunities are so so much smaller.  Purpose has to be available to all.  It cannot be measured by our culture.  So to me the question of purpose is much simpler, and is measured in terms of how I treat people today, not by if I make it in the NFL.  That works in Ethiopia.

What are you thinking about that is cultural?  The purest form of Christianity is cross cultural.  It works everywhere.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

Spiritual

Let me begin by saying that I am making a generalization today.  Yes there are some people that do really bad things.  There is some really bad music.  There are some things that I consider nonspiritual.  But we have divided up the world into the sacred and the secular, and we have thrown way too much out the window because it didn't pass our Christian smell test.

So, here I go... on a follow up from yesterday's post.  What is Christian?  What is secular?  What is spiritual?

Many great teachers over the centuries have taught that everything is spiritual.  All truth is God's truth, where ever you find it.

Christian isn't just what we find in Methodist circles.  Spiritual isn't just hymn singing.  Music moves us and speaks to us...  that is spiritual.  There is nothing wrong with listening to James Taylor music or reading Tom Clancy novels.  All of life is beautiful and is to be enjoyed and celebrated.

Imagine asking Jesus, "So Jesus, how is your spiritual life?"  he would laugh at us.  For Jesus, all of life was spiritual, all of it a gift.  It should be the same way for us as well.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

self help

I had a discussion with an old friend about "self-help" books.  They wondered if they were really "Christian."

Well I have a couple of thoughts here.  First, there is an old saying, "God helps those who help themselves."  It is not in the Bible, but it sure could be.   I believe it is a rule of life that those who sit around waiting to be rescued, rarely find what they are looking for.  On the other hand, those who get up and go after a thing, often find all sorts of help lined up for them, including the divine.

Another thought on this is this....... God never indicated that we should sit and do nothing.  God expects us to act, to have faith, to work and to do all we can to improve our lot and make the world a better place.  That is by definition - "self help."  If the church isn't in the business of motivating and encouraging people to make the most of themselves, that we have missed it.

Read the Bible.  But also read all the self help books you want.  Pray that God will use them make you a better, wiser, healthier person.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

When people leave

Sometimes people leave our church.  It is always difficult for me.  I have learned over the years that there are many reasons why people leave and most of them are not related to me personally.

They move to Texas.  They get busy with sports.  They become more conservative.  They don't like the emphasis on missions.  They want the pastor to wear a robe.  They don't like contemporary music.  On and on it goes.  They are all good reasons, if you need a reason.  If someone leaves, only they can decide if the reason is reason enough.

I always feel bad when it happens.  Those of you who stay, please understand.... we are not perfect.  I am not perfect.  We are going to continue to pursue missions.  We are going to continue to be outward focused.  We are going to continue to ask difficult questions and stretch our people.

I hope that all of you will stay with me on this journey.  And I pray that those who left will come back.  There are plenty of hugs to go around.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.