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?

Little Miami Adventure

Had a fun little water adventure with Jess and one of her friends yesterday. The water is still a little high but we were able to avoid any spills in the rapids. There were about 4 sets of rough waves and girls loved it!

I used my kayak paddle from the back of the boat which worked out very well for steering.

As we came through Milford though, some kids were hiding in the trees throwing rocks at boats. One of their bombarding efforts struck my paddle blade just as I was pulling it out of the water. If the girls had not been with me, I probably would've scrambled up the tree-lined slope and offered a little thrashing.

The Tyranny of Time

Our clocks and calendars are an ever-present source of pressure in our lives. Often, that pressure can be a good thing...providing boundaries for those periods of time we don't enjoy or keeping us respectful of an appointment with someone. Many times I find that a sense of time exerts mostly negative pressure on me. Dictating deadlines, cutting short moments of rest, pushing us towards the next item on my outlook calendar.

We bumped into an old friend at Starbucks the other day and the whole tone of our conversation was a lament of time. Time has flown by and we've missed many significant moments in the lives of others. The kids are at vacation bible school, or dance class, or riding lessons, etc and ad infinitum! Then came the statement that haunts me... "That's life, isn't it?!"

Is it?

Really?

Is life about appointments, deadlines, hurrying and scurrying, missing moments because we're late for the next moment?

I have a feeling that we have CHOSEN 'chronos' over 'kairos.' We have chosen to be mastered by those falling granules of sand...those incessant ticks of the clock. A sense of God's time...resting in the moments...detecting the seasons of life...we've surrendered it for something more manageable and objective and predictable.

I think we've lost a great deal in that exchange.

Creation Museum Response

My response to this experience is still in process. Here's a photo of the place right before I was accosted by a security guard for standing on a wall to take the photo.

My first critique is a financial one. I feel pretty guilty, actually, about dropping over $100 for a few hours of conservative christian entertainment.

My second critique is in regard to the obvious mission of the museum to move people towards belief and decision based on information rather than on relationship. As you walk in, the slogan "Prepare to Believe" jumps out from strategically placed banners. I just think it perpetuates an attituden about Christianity that getting people to a place and to believe the right things are more important than connecting with people relationally and providing a sense of belonging.

I do have to say there were some things I was impressed with and hope that God does indeed use the facility to cultivate a greater hunger for the Word of God. That's probably the 'take-away' which was most positive for me.

But back to the financial issue, a few people are getting EXTREMELY wealthy from this vendor of christian entertainment through toys of biblical proportions and the plethora of resources which the doctrinally coached consumer can take home with them.

It wasn't a total waste or an outright adventure in heresy...but we certainly didn't buy a membership or leave with any plans to return. For any of our friends in the area who walked away with a totally different experience, I'd love to dialogue over our differences but certainly do not condemn or disapprove of anyone else's choice to visit the museum or sing its praises.

Cycling Saga

Odds are good that I'll never be involved in a crash quite like this one. But a hot shot on a motorcycle thought he would have a little fun with me last night and nearly ran me into a ditch.
The guy came up behind and hit his brakes causing his back tire to skid towards me. Just about the time I was going to bail out in the ditch, he released the brake and straightened out the bike...kicking his foot towards me as he passed by.
Once my heart stopped pounding, the aggression began to flow. I was so steamed for the last 5-6 miles back into old Milford, I couldn't think of anything except wacking that guy across the face with the frame of my bike. It's actually light enough to weild as a weapon perhaps.

After the emotions began to simmer and the heart rate dropped to normal cycling rhythms, I decided that our area of Clermont County just isn't a safe place to ride. I've been accosted several times like this since we've lived in Cincinnati. Although the bike trails are hardly ideal for a road cyclist like myself, I suppose I will have to dodge roller bladers, puppies, and tri-cycles to extend my riding career (and life) as long as possible.

Home In the Rain

Ah...after being away from my girls for the entire week, it was great to have some time this afternoon to enjoy a little game of "Trouble" with my girls. Nothing like spending a few minutes trying to 'pop' a 6 so I can get my little green man around the game board!

Then the rain hit quite intensely and scrubbed the air clean, cooled things off, and provided an anesthetizing soundtrack of white noise for our listening pleasure.


Well, it's Saturday night...and that requires my typical routine of finalizing details for our worship gathering on Sunday morning. I like to make sure I have all the music copied and ready along with the 'service script' which just gives a very basic idea of the overall flow and order of songs, scripture, prayer, teaching, etc.

And it's always interesting to anticipate a cancellation or some other type of snafu which occurs just about every Sunday. Is there a way to experience corporate worship without being so dependent on individual 'players?' Could we plan a worship gathering which wouldn't collapse if one, two, or even three key people didn't show on Sunday morning? One of these days, I'll be part of a worship gathering which is completely spontaneous, guided by the Holy Spirit, and effective whether it's attended by 3 or 3 hundred!

Shack Reaction

If bloggers, theologians, bible-mongers, and other self-appointed spiritual police put as much effort into living like Jesus as they did in protecting their 'right view' of Jesus and the Scriptures...we might actually have a version of Christianity which would bring hope to the world.

I'm responding to a recent comment which was added to one of my previous posts concerning William P. Young's book, The Shack. I certainly don't mind reading a variety of perspectives on that topic and wish to be cautious in my own support of such things. But there's still just something that bristles in me when I hear raw religious rhetoric of this sort.

Although the picture of God in Young's book is more reminiscent of the 'oracle' from the Matrix than the Father Jesus often refers to in Scripture...I don't see the need to place this work in the same category as a new age catechism or some other 'anti-Christian' publication.

Java In Roundtown

This little town in south central Ohio is known mostly for its festive celebration of the pumpkin every October. I found a quaint little cafe with wifi on main street and am enjoying their wares.

This week I have the privilege of being with some students at a youth camp being hosted by Ohio Christian University just outside of town (formerly Circleville Bible College).

I am reminded, as I step back into a somewhat conventional world of youth ministry, how oriented youth ministry is to activity, personalities, and hype. I don't know that these things are wrong in and of themselves. I just wonder how much long-term impact once can make on a middle or high school student in this setting. Obviously, with the help of the Spirit, I'm confident that significant transformation can occur.

Part of the benefit I receive from this experience is connecting with some old friends in youth ministry and also having some extended time to hear stories from students and youth workers.
It's also nice to hang out in a small town and just experience that for a bit.

Room With a View

I feel really blessed to have such a beautiful 'remote' office to work from.

Here's the view I typically have as I catch up on emails, plan worship services, connect with people by phone, update blogs, etc, etc...

Sure beats the view at Panera and the wi-fi connection is MUCH better! Plus I can slip out to the putting green for a few minutes between tasks.

What Are We Chasing?

According to Pastor Brett Rickey from FamilyChurch.tv in Tulsa...we're chasing 'cool.'

Although this is obviously a pastor-type trying his hand at authorship in very mediocre fashion, he does make some good points. I came across this book as I'm preparing to speak to a group of students at a youth camp next week in central Ohio and probably wouldn't have read it otherwise.

I think the logo for the camp I'm going to is much better than the cover design of the book as you can see.

The author suggests that most people are chasing some kind of 'it' factor...a notion of 'cool' which the surrounding culture exhibits as desirable yet constantly changes. The tendency towards consumerism and materialism is very closely linked to this misguided pursuit.

Here are a few good points made in the book:
--God cares much more about your character than your cool-ness
--The Christian life should be marked by passion
--Christians need to live in connected community and see each other as teammates rather than competitors
-- "Competition isolates but Community insulates"
--Sin is the kryptonite to our souls and we need to deal with it accordingly

I don't mean to be too hard on Brett and his cover artist. You can tell that he is probably an exceptional communicator there at FamilyChurch in Tulsa and has a great focus on chasing after Christ and God's simple mission for the church. I think we do have to be careful of trying to redefine 'cool' in a way that we create another false chasing after certain experiences or styles rather than chasing Christ himself.

A Day of Clarity

I know that I have spoken of 'moments of clarity' in the past and how much they are desired and appreciated although a bit infrequent.

Well, today could be described as a 'day of clarity' or at least a series of those moments.

First of all, I have been fortunate enough to enjoy a day which had absolutely no obligations attached to it. I slept in, made some coffee, and have been sitting on the back patio most of the morning with this view...

My daughter's butterfly net is lying here on the table and I can see a couple of these carefree creatures chasing one another across the yard right now. She would probably love to be chasing them.

Perhaps part of the reason I'm experiencing such clarity today and just a simple awareness of the Spirit with me, is because I 'pulled the trigger' on a tough decision yesterday. On Facebook, I uploaded this photo...

Last weekend, as I was leading a time of worship with some friends on a retreat...and listening to my friend (Joe Noonen) share some insight on the Scriptures...I became quite convicted regarding the way I was spending most of my leisure time. (For those who didn't know that I'm somewhat of a gamer...now you know!) Now I'm not one to think that all such games, books, movies, etc (in the warcraft genre) are spawned in the pit of hell...but I believe there is a plan of the enemy to distract us from relationships. And my relationship with God, with my wife, with my kids, and with my neighbors were all suffering due to the choices I have been making with my time.

So it was like one of those old-fashioned "come to Jesus" moments when I took my hedge clippers and sliced up each cd-rom and it's case...lol! It's ironic that I had warned someone else about the addictive nature of this game a couple of months ago and then promptly re-opened my account and began leveling a new character like crazy. I know...many of you are incredulous at the appeal of such things.

With extra hours (literally!) freed up...I turned my attention towards book 7 in my quest to read 52 titles this year.This is a book I've been hearing about for quite awhile now and wanted to read. I first learned of it through listening to The God Journey podcasts.

My wife Deb got to it first and was very intrigued by it which just made me more anxious to read it. I think it has already been compared (by Eugene Peterson) to the Pilgrim's Progress as an allegory for our time. I would have to agree with that assessment. It has rattled my view of God...in a good way...and caused me to long for a greater experience of relationship with God in the three personalities of Father, Son, and Spirit.

The story itself is quite intriguing and I highly recommend it.

Pagan Christianity: My 6 of Spades

I inserted an image in a previous post, so nothing but text today!

Apart from the implications that my ordination is presumptuous, my livelihood is unscriptural, and, I've tithed for all the wrong reasons for 37 years now...it was a good book with which to engage.

Knowing the human condition from my own personal albeit limited experience, I have no problem at all believing that it only took a couple of hundred years for the church to begin veering off track and inappropriately institutionalizing what was meant to be an organic and Spirit-guided enterprise of faith and Kingdom living.

The big question, however, is how to take the church we now experience and navigate a transition towards the original concept of ekklesia and spiritual apprenticeship.

I would venture to say that my life and 'ministry' experience will look VERY different in 2 to 3 years...I'm just not sure exactly how to get there with family, marriage, career, etc in tact.

You can visit the author's website for more information on the book. I would also encourage you to evaluate the claims and search the scriptures before drawing any 'hard' conclusions.

Show or Go?

Church continues to be a struggle for me. Another stressful Sunday morning trying to piece it all together for the "show."

At 1pm came the pinnacle of ministry and ecclesia for the day as a few of us went to hang out at a local retirement community to sing, pray, and have simple conversations.

One of these things reflected an attempt to fulfill the great commission and be a missional influence for the Kingdom.

The other...not so much.
(Disclaimer: These are generic pictures from the web and not actual photos from our ministry)

2008 Reading Goals

Well, I need to catch up a bit on my reading list for 2008. Here it is the month of May and I'm still in the Spades!

The 3 of Spades was Brueggemann's Prophetic Imagination. I've already posted on that read. I'm sure I'll be reading that one again at least every other year. Not a lot of pages there...but quite loaded theologically and practically.

The 4 of Spades was a little book we studied with our men's group at Lifespring. Pretty basic approach to the kinds of struggles men face parallelled with the life of Samson...which was quite a mess! His story is really not what you'd call G-rated Sunday School stuff for kids. And he certainly isn't someone we want to model our lives after.

The next book I really jumped into and devoured was one called Tangible Kingdom by Hugh Halter and his buddy Matt Smay. I bumped into these guys at the Exponential conference in Orlando a few weeks ago...and Hugh's story really jumped out at me. It's basically the story of beginning a very incarnational and missional community in Denver which has grown into something called 'Adullam.'

It really challenges our approach to the Kingdom and inspires you to take a missionary-type approach to living in our culture. The gospel is NOT reduced to praying a prayer or attending 'church.' It's one of those books that I read and think... "I could've written most of that because I've been experiencing it!"


And for a preview of my current book in progress...this one has already been the subject of much criticism and debate, so I want to check it out. My suspicion is that it will pour a little fuel on some of the questions which have been sparking in my mind for some time.

Grand Theft Auto IV & Rev. Wright

Actually...others have beat me to the punch on these two topics (since I apparently only post monthly now).

But I did read an interesting article over at "Out of Ur" which addressed the video game release. You can check that out here.

Then my buddy Bob Hunter over at plungefaith.com posted something (along with many others) on the Rev. Wright and his outlandish remarks and threats towards Obama.

These are certainly interesting conversation starters, but as I think more about the ways in which we blog and obsess over certain kinds of headlines and topics, it occurs to me how much this kind of writing is preferred over what I might call real life interests and issues.

For instance, what if I was to turn the lens of my attention away from the Rev. Wright to myself. The big story in my life is not ridiculous statements made by this angry wielder of words...but the ways in which I have misused words in my home this past week. Whether it was a rude flippant remark I made to my wife or even the words of encouragement I withheld from my terrific and beautiful daughters, that story is much more difficult to talk about than the fiery debates going on between famous representatives of emergent and traditional evangelical pastor-teachers.

And instead of talking about the potential harmful effects of Grand Theft Auto IV (which are no doubt a reality of some sort) perhaps I should confess that I've spent more time playing World of Warcraft over the past few weeks than I have doing just about anything else?!

As someone who is trying to be a cultivator-creator of community...I keep coming back to authenticity as a core value in relationships and in the church.

Long Time, No Blog

Does this count as an entry?

The Kingdom of God is a Dangerous Act of Imagination

It was quite a privilege to listen to one of the premier old testament scholars of our time last night at my alma mater...Mount Vernon Nazarene University. It's always great when a noted speaker, author, and intellectual giant is as personable as can be too!

I finished reading "The Prophetic Imagination" (4 of spades) just in time to hear Brueggemann yesterday. He did a fantastic job of speaking along the theme of imagination, serving up nuggets from his writings, yet bringing into the present with his illustrations, wit, and spunk. Thoroughly enjoyable presentation.

Some highlights from my notes...
--We need to return to our artistic heritage as students of the word and bearers of God's message
--Imagine, Notice, & Dare to live out an alternative
--We need an ongoing conversation between the powerful and the poetic
--Demonstrate an alternative through generosity, hospitality, and forgiveness
--Do we have a dream for an alternative reality, existence, and experience?
--We lose the power of revelation when we reduce God's poetry to systems, formulas,a nd other urbane language
--American Individulism is the Great Heresy
--What will we risk for the sake of an alternative?
--Reflect on the likes of Deitrich Bonhoeffer, Nelson Mandella, Desmond Tutu, Martin Luther King, etc
--The church is always re-formed as it returns to the Text
--The Sacramental is a counterpoint to technology (put down the cell phone and talk face to face)

There was just so much to absorb and reflect upon that it's difficult to process in the moment. But I approached Dr. Brueggemann afterwards and posed a question regarding the emerging church. As ambiguous and troublesome as the terminology is I still wanted to ask how we engage people in the process of imagining an alternative when we are so unwittingly blinded by the culture we live in (secular as well as religious)? His response pointed back to the sacraments and the disciplines as entry points for us to be re-formed into the community of God which experiences the exodus continuously.

Another great thought was in response to a rambling member of the audience who brought up the place of the Law since Jesus implied that it was still important...to be fullfilled? The ten commandments were actually a counter to the laws (whether written or unwritten) in Pharoah's world order. But in every culture we need to recontextualize the ten commandments. What does it look like today to covet? And to live in such a way as to not covet...is very countercultural in our day of consumerism.

To follow Christ is much more counter-cultural than many of us want to admit!!


A great benefit of the trip was seeing many good friends. I got to hang with my buddy Justin here. He endured the event for sake of our friendship...what a guy!

I also got to see several old friends like: JB, Stetler, Greg, Jason, Fez, Dr. Varughese, Joe, and Brandon. Then some newer acquaintances like David & Travis. It was well worth the carbon footprint of my Ford Focus!