no good samiritan.

what have we done.

hiccups.

no hiccups. but there are some things that just get in the way. vices. they do seem like hiccups. every now and again the annoyance of the things i struggle with are popping up and are really annoying.

complacency. it's driving me mad. especially within the church. how can anyone get so used to religion that it kills them. it reminds me of the frog that will end up dying because the water is just too good to jump out. (well, i've just been corrected. the frog thing is a myth. hmm, it sounded too good to be true.) Sorta like cruise control. it's convenient. it's nice to have. it's easy. but you can't get around everywhere. you've got to stop. you've got to move. it's just too easy. have i become cruise control in my faith? what's my next step.

i thank God for the people he's surrounded me with. i just hope i make the most out of it.

my goodness.

Rob Bell on teaching

Weekly teaching can be destructive to creativity.

I don't teach something that has not been a part of me for six months to a year. Think about it, if I asked you to talk about your wedding or something else that has changed you, would you really need notes?

What would happen if on Monday morning you sat at your computer and instead of staring at blank screen, you're already looking at ten teachings that could take place and decidiing which one was the most ready to be taught, or most needed to be taught?

The best messages are not purchased off a shelf or a website, but are grown in your own backyard.

As a teacher, you need to live with a text - allow it to ferment in you, take up residence in you - then connections begin to be made.

We have people who can sing notes, but where are the soul singers? The pulpit has been the home of technicians and analysts, but where are the prophets and poets - the wide eyed crazy people? Teaching should be a dangerous and daring art form, not a science.

The Bible is about real people in real places in real times. It's taking place in an on-going historical narrative. What we need to remember is that we are in the same historical flow. Teaching is about connecting real people in real places in real times with us, here, today. We live in the same flow of what God is doing in history.

Your job is the relentless pursuit of who God made you to be... to be about anything else is sin.

Are you teaching because you have to say something, or because you have something to say? People, especially outside of "Christianity" know when you are passionate. That kind of passion makes them say, "Maybe this stuff really did happen."

Lonely Tree

 

i like trees!

house by the road.

so this post is meant for Scott to take a look at our house. our very beautiful house that is precious and yellow.

our yellow house and brian.

i'll take you from my room down to the basement. so you can see what to expect.

my room from the doorway.

the left of my room.

looking from the window.

closet.

window and dresser.

bathroom.

stairs.

living room from the stairs. kris.

living room.

living room.

kitchen.

door to the breezeway.

door open to the breezeway.

breezeway. (your room?)

breezeway (your room?)

downstairs to the basement.

basement.

kris' room in the basement.

laundry room in the basement.

i see tree.

this is beautiful!

nice.

new york was great. i wish i had a camera. don't ever buy heineken for $5 a bottle and get 14 of them. macy's day parade was cool but don't know if i ever want to stand for 4 hours waiting for santa. boston rocked. sleeping in the car is not overrated, stayed in atlantic city for $5. montauk was one cool place. everywhere i went would be worth going to again with someone i love.

pretty sweet.

last night i had the chance to see Shane Claiborne speak at V.U. i read his book, Irresistible Revolution, a month or so ago and has changed the way i view life. he is a good one. a very inspirational and passionate person who is "madly in love with Jesus." i would have to say everyone has a desire to be apart of something huge, bigger than themselves. the kingdom of God is desire. it seems to be the yearn that my heart is after right now. i just got through reading This Beautiful Mess by Rick McKinnley and in the process of reading the Secret Message of Jesus by Brian McLaren. Those books are also about God's Kingdom and how we can have a picture of the Kingdom now and what it looks like in everyday life.

Oh how i desire that. Kingdom come!

bothered.

there are some times in the ministry when i just wish the day was over like a normal job. there are also times when i want to feel like i've reached the end of what i've been working towards. i know there is no end to the work that has been set before me but i do know that if i'm working with everything that i have, that very much so includes love, then it's worthless.

i need some rest.

toughest thing.

the toughest thing that i would acknowledge, just today, is that no one has the same understanding. everyone has their own upbringings. everyone has their own world-views. everyone has their own grasp of what God looks like. everyone has their own opinion. the thing that doesn't ever change and in which everyone should agree upon is the Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God and He is the one who can grant you a new and clean life.

long time coming.

it's been 4 years since i've started this "job" in the ministry. setting myself up for success has never been the key. i have actually just been rolling with what's going on. the best thing about these 4 years is the growth i've seen in myself. a great understanding of what the church is and the peeling off of layers that tradition sheds when the true body reveals itself. i love the church. i love the people it consists of. people who aren't at all trying to be perfect. people with gifts that i envy but know i don't need. people who are messed up. people who need Jesus.

i love the church.

the church is a beautiful thing. but what have we made it become? i love the part in the Bible where it talks about how the believers and followers of Jesus live in community with one another. i want that.

why didn't i think of that?

like i said before, i've been reading this book called This Beautiful Mess by Rick McKinley and he brings to light something, for me as a family have missed. ever since i've been the family guy at Life Bridge, trying to think of things for the family is quite the hard thing to do. for one, i have not seen it modeled beautifully anywhere. and two, the model for the Christian church does a poor job of it. BUT, at Imago Dei they have structured into their DNA things called Learning Labs. where the family learns together. rick's at the point in his book where he's talking about the Kingdom of Heaven through the eyes of a child and by their faith. when we actually look at God through the eyes of a child it may be more simplified but to some of us, including myself, it's harder to grasp from the way that i was brought up. but these Learning Labs are an opportunity to look at God's creation and teachings from a child's point of view so that we can have faith as a child.

one of things that was mentioned is digging through dirt and playing with worms and seeing how the worms make the earth more fertile so they plants get better nutrients. Another view is through media. it wasn't mentioned specifically but the thought was flittering around my head to think of the possibilities. one could be that the family star in their own video through a script that helps learn some basic biblical truths.

i don't know how i could of missed something that could change a families perspective on learning to see through a child's eyes. the obstacle to overcome are the people who can make this happen. being a church that's all about families, this should be something considered to be an basic part of the family ministry. 

how it should be.

i've been reading a book titled, This Beautiful Mess by Rick McKinley. the focus of the book is taking a look at the Kingdom of God and how we ARE already a part of it rather than looking at it to be something to come. to be honest i've never really thought too much on the Kingdom, nor tried to apply the presence of the Kingdom to my life. as a minister it would be something that should of been done a long time ago, but with all events leading to where i am today i would have to say it is perfect. as well as everyone else in this world, most of us are only concerned with numero uno. i would have to place that claim on everyone, that includes ministers. well... not all... and that would include ministers as well. focusing on style of teaching, to emerging, to emergent, to experiential, to traditional, it would go down to the rootworks of the person. i've or i am being transformed to have a better understanding on the Kingdom and the picture is beautiful. for everyone to see this picture would be even better and i can't wait til the day comes when self-sacrifice is something that comes without recognition.

the end of the beginning.

i awoke today with the worst crick in my neck and has yet to go away. it’s a pain like this that can ruin such a wonderful day.

i decided that i wanted to start creating a blog for personal and networking use that i can use a resource for both the children’s and student ministries. i don’t know what’s to come of this but i would like to see it as a sounding board for discussion and the engineering of the thought process.

just like the crick in my neck i know that the church can be a pain that just gets in the way and can ruin such a beautiful day. it may just start one day when we wake up but more likely the pain is something that has been brewing for quite some time, or maybe not.

it feels that Life Bridge is in a category that i can’t quite place. i love the fact that we are from new beginnings. the foundational structure that grows straight from the Bible and away from tradition and the crap that flows out of it. but no matter the sweet comeuppance of fresh starts there are cricks that are brought into the picture by people from tradition.

i would have to assume that they mean no harm but at times i would have to beg to differ.  when people hinder love from anyone and put the focus on themselves the crick is like a fat log in the most uncomfortable of places.

i am reading a couple of books right now that would have to be some of the most inspirational things that I have read since the Bible. if i can find out how to do it, i will put the list of books that i’m currently reading on the side and would like to hear your thoughts from them.

going back to the crick, these books that i have been reading have been very enlightening to the subject matter of people and their crap. we have crap. it gets in the way. it can really stink. not that God cleans up after our mess, He provides a way for us to get rid of the filth and live in a whole new refreshing way.

He is the end of the crap and the beginning of it all.