poetically confused about the end

Tsunamis and earthquakes, hurricanes of all names. Hatred and war, terrorism and more. The world sometimes seems like its falling apart, and based on the news I don’t have a clue where to start. Should I run, should I hide, what should I do, I don’t know. The only given is should I die I know where I’ll go.

Everyone speculates, some cry and some moan. Some act like the world is falling apart, and it is there’s no doubt. But not even Jesus was clear when he said, ‘the end is coming before some of you will be dead.’

Its not up to us to speculate the time or the date, we just have to press on and eagerly await. The time when our Savior will set all things right, and we’ll be able to rest peacefully in our sleep every night. To know that out God has it all in his hand, and we’re dancing to the tune of his heavenly band.

This is the message that I’m called to teach, these are the words that I’m challenged to preach. It doesn’t all fit in a box with a bow, its not squeaky clean or easy you know. But we walk by faith, hope and grace and not by sight, shining a glow in this dark world with God’s holy light.

(I am preaching next Sunday on the confusing topic “Is the sky failing?” “Are we living in the end times?” What are your thoughts, questions, ideas?)

oh man this is horrible

I just about Pastor Kyle Lake’s death over on Gary Lamb’s blog. This is a tragic story to read. He was 33 years old and the lead pastor of University Baptist Church in Waco, TX.

Here are some links:
University Baptist Church
Houston Chronicle Article
Yahoo News Article

yes, I wore a bra

So I did something yesterday that I never anticipated doing in my life. Sky diving…nope. Jet boat racing…nope.

I wore a bra (well not really the whole thing, just the strap)!

During our services at church we had a couple of people get baptized. It was sweet, largely in part because they are such awesome guys who I have had the blessing of getting to know in small group over the last year.

But why the bra strap? Mainly it was a creative solution by a great sound tech and his wife. You can read all about it on his blog by clicking here.

I did have an awkward moment though when I was putting it on in the hallway and having some people walked by and asked me if I needed to borrow a shirt.

After the baptisms we capped off our ‘Be the Revolution’ campaign by asking people to come forward and make financial commitments. Our goal was 500k and before the service even started we had 309k in advance commitments.

God rocks, and he is doing something incredible through the people of the Quarry Community. What a gift to be able to pastor this church!

Scary stuff from a church in Texas. A pastor there was electrocuted while holding a mic in a baptismal. You can read about on Josh’s blog by clicking here. Thanks for keeping me safe Chris!

backstreet boys gone to china

You guys, you have to check out this video of two Chinese students lip singing to the Backstreet Boys song “I Want It That Way.” It is super funny. And seriously, what is that dude doing in the background?

Thanks to Tony Morgan for alerting me to it.

helping the world grow

Kiva is a good looking organization that is working to help small business owners find the money they need to thrive and survive.

Check out this post over at Seth’s blog.

This looks like an awesome opportunity to put into action some of what I was talking about in an earlier post. To read that post, click here

spiritual lessons from ER

While I was putting my one year old daughter Isabelle to sleep tonight I had ER playing on the TV in the background. The episode centered around a middle age drunk who was dying. The man obviously had a broken relationship with his son, because as he blurred out of this world and into the next the visions of his mind were on a small child.

Fading in and out of consciousness the dying man address one of his doctors (Dr. Pratt) and they had this exchange.

Man: You don’t know your dad do you?
Doctor: No.
Man: That’s too bad.
Doctor: Its ok. I don’t really think about it.
Man: I’ll bet he does.

It made me think about how many people on this earth don’t know their dad in heaven. And even worse is that most (like Dr. Pratt) don’t really think about it. So God is left in heaven waiting and desiring a relationship with us.

We might not think about it, but He does.

erwin mcmanus on christian ambition

I was listening to a Mosaic podcast from a couple weeks ago and heard Erwin McManus say some great stuff regarding ambition. I don’t think I can quote him verbatim, but I’ll do the best I can.

“Sometimes Christians say that they want to sell it all and go live with the poor. But the problem is that the poor don’t get that at all, it doesn’t make sense to them, because they are not poor by choice. A better thing for Christians to do would be to go out and make money and then use those resources to bring people out of poverty. Make millions, give people jobs, food, and a future for kids and families.”

Why do we squelch ambition in Christian circles so often? It is a God-given part of our spirit to want to create and succeed and produce. And God can use humble people who are ambition about brining glory to his name. Those people (though the might screw up sometimes) are a lot more valuable than non-ambitious bumps on a pew.

fearfully and wonderfully made

One of the blogs I have been reading a lot of lately is from a guy named David Russel. I really enjoy reading his blend of technology, ministry and life. He has a great podcast too.

Check out David’s post from a few days ago. Our eyes and minds are so powerful and complex. Our God is amazing.

To see the illusion, click here.

messy spirituality

Wouldn’t it be great if God and faith were all nice and clean? I mean, if we could just put God in a box and boil down following him to a few easy steps – that would rock. Everything would come easily, and we wouldn’t have to think so much. We could just read Scripture in black and white literal terms, without having to deal with the troublesome poetry and song. God should just spell it out for us so we wouldn’t have to spend so much wasted time in prayer and thought, trying to discern the call of His Spirit. It should all just be plain, leaving us no questions, doubts, contradictions, or conversation. Then we could all just agree with each other on every point and relegate our mental capacities to mush as preachers just spell out the clear points of God’s Word. That would be so great – like if we were all robots, programmed to act and think in accordance with one another and the Spirit.

Nevermind (I was being sarcastic above). That would suck. Following God is messy. But it is a joyful journey when we can admit we are works in progress, striving to honor the One who made us. Why would we want it all spelled out for us? The fun of following God is found in the search and the process, not the destination.

how can I help you?

Today I went with our lead pastor to a meeting with many of the local pastors in Monticello. We spent an hour discussing the best way that our churches can help the growing number of people who need help. It can be a depressing topic.

Last week a woman came into our church office needing help. She had slept the previous night in the entryway of a Walmart. She has no family, work or lodging. What could we do? In the end we let her hang at the office and sleep, and then a friend and I brought her to a shelter up in St. Cloud. I felt horrible dropping her off, but there wasn’t much else we could do.

God calls his people to care for widows and orphans. The poor are close to God all through out the Bible. But what do you do with limited time and financial resources? I am considering finding a way to get our church at the front of the line for helping people get lodging. I don’t know what it will look like exactly, but we have to do something. This is an action point for believers. We can debate theology and all that junk until the sun goes down, but when it does, we better be willing to step up and make sure as many people as possible have food in their bellies and a warm, dry place to sleep.