Waiting Well

I don't...wait well, that is.

Christmas day and all its festivities, traveling, gift-sharing, and family reunions has come and gone. We had a great time spending Christmas with both sides of the family this year. The day began in Cincinnati and ended near Indianapolis.

I'm still waiting for one final present...which I hope to be an offer to manage my own store for Starbucks. I received a call this morning with some very promising words...but until the final offer is on the table, I won't be able to rest mentally. If this opportunity arises, it will be about six months ahead of schedule from what I previously anticipated. That is great news for us financially as well as in other ways (scheduling, mental angst, supervisor frustration, etc).

Another opportunity has come along for me to lend a hand with some music and worship efforts at the church we're attending here in Cincinnati (Lifespring). Although my journey still consists of some unresolved questions about ministry and the church, I sense that God is inviting us to develop some relationships and lead by example in this new congregation. I would hope to see this expression of church and community conform closely to a Scriptural model of mission and grace.

I've had to put the personal training on hold for now. I trained one client at Fitworks in Newport before the new Starbucks opportunity materialized. If I have to wait a few months and just do personal training as an occasionaly hobby...that's fine. It will give me a little more time to learn the trade.

Model vs. Mission

I want to hope that a variety of "church models" can live out an authentic expression of Kingdom life. Part of my angst on this issue involves personal application. For instance, if I have musical and leadership gifts which lend themselves to an event-centered application...how do I reconcile that with the fact that an event-driven church experience is not aligned with Kingdom values?

Can I plug myself into the "system" yet push in a different direction? I believe there's value in a corporate worship experience...but it should prepare for or contribute to a daily experience of intimacy with the Father rather than just fulfilling some need for a spiritual social gathering.

I appreciate John's comment on the previous entry because I think many of us react, critique, blame, and indict the system without thinking through the implications. Especially when you have a family to consider, it's not easy to just decide to be done with the church in its present form. I'm not yet ready to throw out the model just because it has been "mismanaged and distorted" as John mentioned. It certainly is a complex issue though...and I feel like it could take years to detox, reconcile, and move forward.

Spiritainment

That's a word I just made up as I was commenting on today's post from Out of Ur (leadership).

A pastor in South Carolina was denouncing all the lazy pastors and churches for not putting more effort into entertaining their crowds on Sunday. Apparently, people should be more excited about going to the Sunday morning event than watching their favorite TV program. Though I have contributed to entertainment-based and consumeristic worship services in the past, I certainly can't stomach that combination anymore. I just found the guys comments repulsive (literally, my stomach was upset reading the post) and completely misguided.

To even speak of "Church" and entertainment as similar experiences betrays a distorted understanding of the Kingdom.

Nothing Specific

Our December weather in Ohio has been rather mild over the past week. That was a blessing as Chappy and I camped out at the new Chick-Fil-A grand opening in Grove City this past Wednesday night. The temperature never dipped below 40 and we both walked away with the great prize of 52 free meals at Chick-Fil-A. This was my third Grand Opening and I plan to do 3 more at the first of 2007 (Beavercreek, Tri-County Cincinnati, and Florence).

I gave up on training at Gold's. Every time I met with a District or Regional manager, I just got the run-a-round and have still not received a call back from the last interview...which went very well. So I decided to investigate the Fitworks which is down the street from my new Starbucks location (Newport, KY). That went very well and I finished the new-hire paperwork today with the district manager. He began the interview as a real "hard ass" (can't think of another way to put it!) however, the interview turned a corner and I realized he was just setting me up to be a model trainer for some of the slackers they've got in the company. So that was encouraging actually...that he saw me as someone to help raise the bar (literally) in their clubs. I actually work for Body of Change which operates inside the Fitworks gyms. There are seven of those in the Cincy area...at which I can workout or train clients at anytime. Training could turn out to be a great thing since I determine my schedule and can block off time to be away (vacation etc.) pretty much whenever necessary. I start spending time at that gym and training clients on Monday!

Still no real clarity on the spiritual journey. I continue to struggle with the thought of plugging back into a traditional congregation. Deb and I had a difficult conversation yesterday on the topic. She percieves that I talk down to her because I've attained some higher plane or experience of Christianity. I think the phrase I used was "Yeah, that's how I used to see things" in response to something she said about spiritual matters. It was kind of ironic since my perception has been that she sees me as spiritually inferior since I no longer hold to some of the traditional Christian values and practices which have been such a huge part of our experience. Yet, part of my present difficulty is in not wanting to subject my family to the whole searching process that I seem to be in right now. If the conventional church paradigm still works for them...why should I upset that? But what gives if I decide I really can't continue to relate to the Father in that setting? The God Journey has been a very helpful discussion and conversation to listen in on lately. I was also encouraged by a recent Catalyst podcast interview with George Barna discussing his latest book on revolutionary Christianity. To be continued...

Climate, Coffee, and Cardio

I find it quite difficult at times to focus on one particular thought or theme as I'm blogging. So as you can see, it will be all over the map today.

On Climate:

Speaking of maps, here's one to kick it off...

I just watched An Inconvenient Truth a few nights ago, which turned out to be more of the Al Gore lifestory than I had anticipated. But the overall content and "spin" certainly leaves you with the feeling of "What if it's true?!" I know Limbaugh and all the partisan conservatives scoff at the environmental extremists and their theories...but I find all their rhetoric pretty reactionary and unsatisfying as well. I'm not sure that I'm ready to start screaming gloom and doom for mother earth...but as a responsible steward of creation...you just can't say "What the hell!" and keep living in selfish unexamined and irresponsible ways.

I enjoyed the suggestions at the end of the film for controlling one's environmental impact and energy efficiency.

On Coffee:

As I sit at my in-laws' dining room table and sip some Latin American coffee, I wonder if Starbucks would be my favorite coffee were I not working for the green siren? There's a coffee docu-drama coming out called Black Gold which I expect to stir up a mixed brew of conversations in Seattle and beyond. As I step back into a managerial position with Starbucks, I'm hoping that my conscience won't be disturbed past a reasonable point. I've always felt pretty good about Starbucks as a company and their economic ethics as well as their emphasis on social responsiblity. If the corporate culture has finally hijacked their mission statement, I may be forced to rethink my affiliation. My conscience has already been disturbed in other ways by the handing off of countless unhealthy beverages which are obviously not helping anyone battle obesity, heart disease, or all the other health related problems I've become more aware of lately. Which brings us to...

Cardio:

I've been sliding back into some old eating habits over the past week or so and neglecting the cardio a bit. I spent about 50 minutes on the treadmill early this morning (2am actually...which counts for the day before) and will get in another bout later today. The goal has been 6 days a week of cardio with 20-30 minutes on my strength training days and 50-60 minutes on the other 3 days. Now that I'm about 3 months into my new "healthstyle," the novelty has worn off, and the initial gains (strength) and losses (weight) are settling down. The next 3 months or so will be hard work to get to the maintenance phase. Good news from Gold's though...I start learning the ropes at the gym at Skytop (near Mt. Washington) on Monday so I can start training some clients there. Perhaps we'll get up to a livable income yet?!

Physical training is of some value...

It has been easy to invest so much time and energy into physical fitness lately since it yields a predictable and noticeable result. Spiritual fitness is so much more elusive and unpredictable. You're just like a ship dead on the water...raising the sails as best you know how...waiting for the wind to blow. A little wind...ruach...breath of God...Spirit...would certainly be welcome.

Things were bleak until...

I heard an add for GoBible!





Now I realize that I can stay plugged into God without unplugging from life! I can immerse myself in God's word when it's convenient for me. If I had only realized that the key to my spiritual success was at my fingertips all the time. "The GoBible™ makes God’s Word ACCESSIBLE to everyone..."


Actually, I shouldn't be so viciously sarcastic since I had downloaded the Scriptures to my PDA and recorded my Bible on CD to my ipod for awhile. Obviously, immersing oneself in God's Word is a good thing...but I think it was the advertising and marketing that was so repulsive when I heard it today on our local Christian radio station. And the tag line of "plug into God without unplugging from life" is just especially disturbing.

Anyway, we continue to struggle through a very difficult week personally. From the gremlins in my radiator and coolant system to the old demon of debt which has its talons deep in our backs...much of what some refer to as "life" is not going well. But I know that things could certainly be worse...and there are glimmers of light and hope around some of the dark edges each day...so be thankful for that, Chris!

I went on a little rabbit trail today digging up things about being "missional" and what that looks like. As we contemplate plugging back into a congregational expression of church here in the area...I try to fast-forward in my mind and decide what it will look like in about six months. Is it a place where process will be valued over programs? What about emphasizing disciples over decisions? Does the leadership see the number of people the church serves as more important than the number who attend church services? Can we live in and live out the Story of God rather than just discussing the Text? Will we raise up a passion within people to BE the church rather than just keep hiring professionals to DO church?

Along the lines of Rob's post on releasing the role of "convincer" and allowing God to manage our reputations... can we help focus a congregation on participating in the mission of God and allow Him to manage the results? I'm not ready to walk away from the denominational system I've been a part of for so long...but it is definitely a system. And the system's approach to rewarding certain behaviors and achievements can actually be a deterent to true Kingdom values.

I suppose we'll just have to TRUST God to make the path clear.