The 9 of Spades

So here it is...July 29th...and I've read 9 books. This is the end of the 30th week of 2008 which means only 22 weeks to go. If I want to reach my goal of 52 books this year...I'll need to read about 2 books per week from here on out. That is obviously NOT going to happen.

I like to pace myself when it comes to reaching lofty goals. Who wants to be an over achiever, right (besides my good friend Rob Horton. The poor guy had to buy a whole new deck of cards to keep up with his reading list! :-)

Just a few comments on my most recent read though, Organic Discipleship. It's written by a father-daughter team at Xenos Christian Fellowship in Columbus, OH very near where Debbie and I spent about 8 years pastoring students. Getting a little more insight into their history, ministry development, and passions was very interesting considering the superficial knowledge we had from ministering nearby.

What I liked most about the book was the emphasis on intentional discipling relationships and the need to support that process with a great deal of prayer. Here at Lifespring, our current context for life, ministry, and family...we are convinced that it is going to take a very intentional process of modeling discipleship and inviting people to follow our example in order to really raise up a different kind of church, one that is more incarnation-relational-missional than attractional-program driven-doctrinal. We want to emphasize both belonging and believing...but we definitely agree with those who think that providing someone with a relationship in which to belong is more important and urgent than demanding the right beliefs.

Back to the book though...what I didn't like about the book was a sort of textbook approach towards the middle of the book. There was just a little too much "First you need to do this, this, and this...next you have to do this...etc" Now, I am becoming more and more aware that many people want and need this kind of detail and instruction. I just tend to enjoy the big picture more...the vision...the dream. Let's work out some details and execute the strategy...but there might be several approaches to that stage.

Overall, I think it was a helpful book for me and anyone else who is trying to be more intentional about discipling and coaching others to disciple.


As my Lifegroup discovered this past week in our discussion of John 15, to remain in Christ and bear fruit means that we will lay down our lives for others. For most of us, that will not mean physical death, it will more than likely mean...laying down our selfish plans for the evening and/or weekend and spending some intentional time discipling a friend, neighbor, family member, or whoever God sends across the street for conversation.

So look around...and see who's headed your way.

Resistance, Gravity, & Balance

The apostle Paul said it like this,

"For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it."
--Romans 7:18-20

I understand this concept very well from a sin perspective. The analogy I'm seeing in my life right now though is not so much a sin problem as a productivity problem. There are good things I want to accomplish and productive things with which I'd like to be engaged. (fitness, landscaping, study, reading, family time, etc) But I sense some type of force acting against me. Perhaps it's gravity. I like John Mayer's perspective on this force...

"Gravity...is working against me. Gravity...wants to keep me down."

When I saw him in concert here in Cincinnati with my good friend Jason Mossman, the song built up to a philosophical and aesthetic climax at the line... "Keep me where the light is." Everything in the auditorium darkened except for the most powerful and immense white light I've ever seen. It shone from behind John and penetrated the darkness from one side of US Bank arena to the other. It was one of those 'secular' moments which had profound spiritual effects.

But I feel as though there's a force of some sort which wants to keep me down. In physical, spiritual, emotional and even intellectual ways...there's a battle going on that isn't totally moral or spiritual but definitely has implications in those areas as well.

On the other hand, I do not mean to imply that productivity is or should be the goal. There's a healthy sense of balance and rhythm to our lives right now that has resulted from less effort to do and more effort to be. Although my past conditioning to produce and tendency to live a more driven lifestyle often disrupts this contentedness, I have no desire to return to such an approach.

Barnabas & Timothy

Good conversation is a gift.

As I sat down with a friend yesterday and discussed various things about discipleship, he reminded me of a model we have in the Apostle Paul. You could argue (quite easily I think) that Paul was spiritually mentored by Barnabas. And later in Paul's ministry, Timothy becomes one of Paul's main mentees as he invests himself in the spiritual development of another pastor-leader-planter.

Naming the "Timothy's" in my life has always been a simple recognition of various students, neighbors, co-workers, family members, and even peers into whom I have poured energy, time, conversation, and shared life (though not nearly enough prayer). Looking back on all those relationship however, I realize that the process was not nearly intentional enough.

The "Barnabas" factor has been much more elusive for me. Although I can point to many people along the way who have influenced, guided, and mentored me...I find that those relationships have been far to seasonal and sporadic. I have often prayed for someone like a spiritual guide or mentor and find myself currently without such a person.

As a certified personal trainer, there's no way I would expect (on average) someone to achieve the same fitness results and goals on their own as they would with some consistent and intense coaching in the gym. Why do we think spiritual fitness would be terribly different from that? So like the occasional exerciser who works out a few times a week but changes nothing else about their lifestlye or diet...we continue for years in the same pattern of activity with very little transformation or growth. And most Christians are satisfied with this approach.

A Plea for the Tithe

I was reading this article http://www.crosswalk.com/spirituallife/11578198/#discuss

and felt inclined to respond with this...

I appreciate the spirit in which this article is written...and the biblical principles of financial stewardship which would motivate someone to get out of debt and handle money in a biblical way. BUT, I'm exploring this concept of the tithe and wondering why we adhere so closely to a potentially obsolete old testament directive when the actual tithe is not mentioned by Jesus, Paul, or any other New Testament authors as a directive for followers of Christ.

In fact, the New Testament standard may at times be more rigorous than 10 percent (e.g. the rich young ruler).

One of my main concerns however is that our soap box sermons on tithing are quite self-serving when they come from an institution which spend 80 to 90% of monies raised (tithe etc) on staff salaries, facilities, and maintenance. A paltry amount of that hard-earned tithe ever makes its way past the grubby needy hands of the institution.

Maybe that's just the dozen or so churches I've attended or served as a pastor at?!

Where's everyone else at on this subject?