The Daily Grind of a Functional Faith

Too often we look to anticipation to carry us into an event. We believe, somewhere deep inside, that if we haven't built ourselves up towards a thing, a time, an occasion - then it is inconsequential or will surely be a disappointment. We measure our future connections with God by our past experiences with Him - and therefore limit Him.

You see, the times we run full force into the wonder that is the God of the universe, it was not as we had planned. It may have even seemed to be an accident, a coincidence. It was neither. It was the creator of the universe revealing to us in His full magnitude the glory of Himself in that moment. We were not prepared at all, but he made us aware of His greatness - and we were changed.

And so the next time we feel like He should arrive, we try to prepare ourselves. We weigh the preceding moments on what we know about ourselves and what we think we know about Him. We arrange things and times and try to control events and people, only to find ourselves at the painful end of a letdown - one that we anticipated, if we're honest.

We built up a moment so much in our minds, and it didn't deliver.

The problem was our sight. Not just the direction of our looking - which was backwards - but the openness of our hearts eyes. The vision of our spirit was set on what we thought we could explain. We had set up limitations and guidelines, boxing in a God that cannot be contained. We were trying to catch His mystery in a cardboard box and it just couldn't handle the mass.

For a faith to be practical, it has to shed that which we understand and be open to that which doesn't yet make sense. God is preparing a moment for us in His mystery. If we're stuck in our tunnel, telling Him what will help us, we will find ourselves disillusioned. If we lift our head from the pillow every morning anticipating greatness - He will deliver. 

Desert Whispers

My first writing love is poetry - which has expanded into my intrigue with spoken word. This is the first of many poems/spoken word pieces to come:

Desert whispers,

Exhaled from the excavated cavity that is my heart,

Once a spiritual spring - it is not springing - His praises I am not singing - the dry is stinging

I am parched

A life lived in the lurch - struggling to get past the hurt / the pain - - the dirt / the stain

Looking to move forward in hope - in a new direction - not perfection - just something better than wasting away in the desert I find myself in today

Tomorrow - I forgive? I take a step?

What's next? What's best?

Which move opens my ears - to hear

His truth - not the voice of my fears

About failure and shortcomings - gotta stop running - away - and run towards Him

Let tomorrow begin

In the quiet still I hear a calling - faint and patient, and relentless - stirring me to be restless - and I'm growing desperate

To live, no thrive, in His purpose - dwell near His throne, abide in His service

But today I am dry, I am parched, like tinder but no spark

3.22.16

The Irony of a Functional Faith

I don't know if it's the holidays coming to an end or the promise of a new year with new opportunities, but there is something a little overwhelming about this time of year. Sometimes that's a positive thing; sometimes negative.

All at once I find myself longing to be committed to this Christian habit or that congregational activity - yet I come to the realization that I am admitting to a lack of hunger.

My biggest request of Him, has been hunger. Maybe biggest is the wrong word. 'Most  repeated' may be the best way to put it. I admit to the selfish prayers, the "why me?" prayers, the lottery prayers, etc. But when I am just empty and forlorn, I pray for hunger. Hunger for His word, His truths, His joy, His ability to see those closest to me through His eyes.

I love those times when I have given myself freely to the God of angel armies. When I have nestled myself wholeheartedly into his comforting embrace. The picture of a relentless trust in a God filling a spirit to overflowing.

I am not there today. I have not been there for some time. I do not feel hungry.

But I want to be. God...give me hunger for you.

The irony of a functional faith, I contest, is the inherent dis-function in the human side of the equation. This journey we signed up for is difficult, do not be fooled. A faith that is working (functional), ought to be working itself out.

Thus, in my darkest hour, I have repeated, daresay chanted, this request over and over - give me hunger for you!

Take Them to Jesus - Part 2

The birth of Jesus is filled with handfuls of humble. From the virgin girl to the bed of straw, the appearance of deity on earth is underwhelming to be sure. And the amount of faith or superstition you have, or don't have, in such a story is irrelevant to the impact in its telling. The birth of a king occurs in history, not to proclaim His power, but remind us of His sacrifice.

Some are quick to dismiss the "magic" behind the story. How could a virgin give birth? What's with the star? And the wise men? Angels? We get so hung up in the characters that we lose sight of the focus of the story. Then we start to tear apart the prophecies of the Old Testament and accuse someone of making the words of Micah and Isaiah fit on one person and one place ever so conveniently. But again, we get off track and miss the point. Don't even get me started on Santa, and yule logs, and December 25th - the list is endless.

Even now, you may be nodding, thinking "preach on," or "Jesus is the reason for the season!" Yet again, we have missed it.

At the risk of sounding sacrilegious, I suggest the following. It may not sit well with your tradition, but hear me out for a minute.

We are the reason for Christmas.

Jesus - the Christ - came in humility, not in glory - in poverty, not in riches - in peace, not in war - for us. He sacrificed the wonders of His heavenly perfection, if only for a time, so that we might know Him. He looked down from His everlasting and chose just the right moment to join us in history, so that His plan for our redemption might work out for our benefit. He came to seek the unhealthy and the lost - is that not the very definition of who we are? 

He came to us, not because He needs to be glorified, but because we need to be saved. We are the reason He was born into history. It was His choice, and He chose us.

Let us celebrate that in our carols and in our family gatherings. Whether you go to mass on Christmas Eve or Santa and the elves leave presents on Christmas morning - remember always that Jesus Christ desired so much to know you that He sacrificed more than we can fathom to welcome you into His kingdom.

As we speak of Christmas conspiracy, speak of that.



Also check out Part 1

The Beginning of a Functional Faith

While faith is magical, mysterious, and hard to pin down it must be something tangible that we can hold on to.   It must be functional or it is fleeting.

If you truly long to walk alongside the king of the universe, at some point, or at many points, you will learn to lift your eyes from the pacing of your feet to the radiance of His presence. Yet, like any other practice, that tacit ability comes from repetitive focus on the habits that bring us closer to the throne. The life of faith is not one that falls easily into the laps of the noncommittal. Practice, failure, and application drive us much further than emotion ever could. When the feeling is lacking, the habits must keep us moving forward. That type of faith is the function we need, we long for us to prepare us for the revelations that only He can bring. During the storms, the explosions, the droughts - He speaks. Are you able to hear? Or are you waiting on the "feeling?"

The follower follows. He does not wait for the master to arrive, he goes out seeking the master. She does not wait for the lesson to find her, she searches for the lesson in the words and actions of the teacher. The follower is observant and ready, knowing that the master is possibly giving a gift of knowledge in every moment, in every interaction.

Step after step, we must keep pace with the leader. Over time, we know His heart, we move toward His leanings, we see with His eyes. All the while, it is the walking that makes us aware. It is in our nature to be moving. Life is moving us forward. Let us think of our faith in the same way. A movement. An expedition. Continually striving to walk in step with the Christ.

The beginning of a functional faith is that of any journey...one step and then another.

Take Them to Jesus - Part 1

Let's be honest for a second - the word 'moral' has become an archaic ideal. The idea of right and wrong is lost on a generation and a culture that lives for a different purpose. To argue morality with someone today is a bold and offensive attack on their character, based only on antiquated opinions that have been spoon fed to you blindly from a brainwashed ancestry. Morals are opinions - opinions formed in the absence of logical thought.

Welcome to today. Are you ready for it?

The Pros: I know the opening paragraph sounded negative, but there is a hope inside this new world order where people of faith can find rest. Those that came before us, came up in a society where the morality of scripture was widely accepted and mostly respected by even tepid Americans. A nation built on Judeo-Christian ethics - was a welcomed definition for people from all walks of American life.

Perhaps I am glorifying a past I did not personally experience, but I can say, without hesitation: in the present "your rules" do not apply to me. They do not apply to my friends or the strangers in my city. They are called "your rules" for a reason - they are for you.

This idea can knock the wind out of any self-respecting evangelical christian. God has a bigger plan than the sin in our lives. So when the people we are evangelizing to refuse to agree with us, when they refuse to define their actions as "bad," where do we go?

Jesus already covered this. In the sermon on the mount, Jesus addresses several key moral issues with the phrase, "You have heard that it was said..." and then goes on to quote the laws, or the rules. He then goes on to identify a heart issue over an action. Essentially He is saying, "you may be following the rules, but that doesn't mean your heart is in the right place." Murder, lust, divorce, and revenge happened to be the hot button issues that day, but His focus was on the heart.

The point is this - whether or not people agree with our take on moral behaviors - if their heart does not get introduced to Jesus, they will remained unchanged. Unless we care for their heart, the way Jesus wants them to be cared for - then we are just indoctrinating them into a culture that is based on actions, not on true redemption. We want them to "look" better - Jesus wants them to actually be healed. It starts with their heart.

A Life of Mystery - Part 1

In my life, there are those times when God has kept quiet.

He has been lost in the stillness....and I am left to genuinely seek him, to ponder over the things of my heart truthfully.

...waiting for a real feeling to take hold.

It is during these times that I say I want peace because I am becoming impatient with His silence. But honestly I have wanted a numbness......the absence of feeling.

The mystery of an infinite God being that intimate with my emotions means that I might not get the feeling I was looking for, but some other emotion that is not easy to control.....fear or passion.....despair or desire.

Paul writes* in hope that we would have the power to “grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” How could we pretend to know those measurements unless we have traveled them? We must hike down into the depths, but we cannot control what is down there....

In our daily lives we shy away from mystery. Planning every second of our lives is not hard work, it is merely busy work. It keeps us wrapped up in the mundane, easy-to-understand components of our lives. As for me, I like that tight grasp on the controllable. It makes me feel accomplished and relaxed. It is easy.

My question is this.....is being contained in our calendar really moving us forward? Is it moving us anywhere? Yeah, the car is moving but you’re buckled in nicely.

The adventure and the intrigue are nowhere to be found in that kind of planning. There is nothing to wonder about.

God is mysterious. I want a life of mystery.

*Ephesians 3:16-19

(Originally published at Coffee House Pastor on 6/15/2011)

Hurt

Alright, so this blog is supposed to be about living out a real faith in a real world.

Tonight I was reminded of something very real, something that I have been blessed in many ways to avoid recently - being hurt.

Ooooh, and tonight was a zinger. One of those that cuts to the core of you are, have been, and will be. One of those events that sends you reeling, wondering where to go next.

(This is also connected to another very real issue - disappointment! More on that another time.)

As much as we like to stay positive and see the blessings in life, it is very common for all people (including followers of Christ) to be straight up hurt. There is a moment before we think on prayer, or before the questions come to ask God when we just feel that wave of pain strike and the groaning seeps  out between our ribs.

I could take the easy way out and remind you that your faith is shown in your response. It's true. Where we turn, how we turn, and to whom we turn are all measures of the faith we possess. I would argue that our nature prompts us to raise a clenched fist to heaven at these times, but faith lifts open palms.

The maturity of this response, however, has to be learned. It has to be modeled by others who have walked a similar or the exact same journey. Tonight I was blessed to share this specific hurt with someone very close. It reminded me that some of the greatest lessons I have learned have not come from a witty sermon or an emotional youtube video, but from those who have held me up when I thought all was lost. Or from those who demonstrated strength that surpassed their natural ability. Watching these brothers or sisters respond to hurt, by leaning on Christ, strengthened my faith and encouraged my soul.

Likewise, I can say, without a doubt, that the best lessons I have taught have not come through my vast theological understanding. The greatest connections I have made with anyone have come through an opportunity to share my past hurts with them and urge them to hold on to hope through any struggle.

Hurting is a real thing. We ought not to ignore it.

I know you have been hurt. I know there are people around you hurting. Seek them out and encourage them. My prayer is that you will see the unending benefits of having a mentor through the pain and seek your own next time the wave hits.

In Response to a Broken World

Early this morning we were reminded of how far humanity has fallen.

I am saddened and disturbed to the core at how someone could make such horrific choices.

Over the next days and weeks we will hear stories of this young man's mental state and the cunning execution of his plans. We will mourn the loss of amazing daughters and sons, mothers and fathers, taken too soon. We will be lost in disbelief.

And if you haven't already, you will pray, congregated with other sojourners for some sense, a lot of healing, an immeasurable amount of peace, and an unending grace for all of us.

When the media throws around words like 'massacre' or 'tragedy' - we huddle in our local congregations in prayer, hoping God is doing something through these recent events. The humility of prayer - lifting our fellow man up with weak arms to an all powerful God - is an amazing and powerful experience that is unparalleled by anything we do as people of faith.

I want to challenge you, however, to take your response beyond the silent whispers to God on a Sunday morning. Far too often, those prayers become nothing more than an 'I'm glad it didn't / please don't let it - happen to me.' Please - send money, donate resources, memorialize the fallen - this will lend support to those directly impacted.

The challenge is this - beyond the silent debate with God (why did this happen?), wrap your arms around your loved ones and teach them. If they are hurting, care for them. If they are lacking, fill them up. If they are off course, correct them. If they are empty, replenish them. If they are leaning, prop them up. If they are happy, celebrate with them. If they sad, mourn with them. If they are struggling, encourage them.

And while your doing that (not after...after is too late), while you're doing that direct their eyes and your own to your friends, neighbors, co-workers and total strangers. Shoulder to shoulder do all of this for every weary soul you come into contact with.

Our focus shouldn't be simply avoid a 'tragedy' in our community but to be so good at taking care of those around us that 'tragedy' has no place in our lives.

Anger

My day today was just overwhelmed with the frustration of dealing with real people, with real issues, in the real world. I am surprised at how I let myself get so angry with certain situations in life. It has happened more recently than ever before...I wonder why that is.

As just about everyone I know will vouch that I am in no way violent in my anger (anyone not on that list will be surprised that I get angry). I am more likely to burst into tears than to respond with physical force.

What I find interesting though, is that my anger, the passionate fury that is new to me, is a response to people who really hit me where it hurts, so to speak. The two people that have stirred this much anger in me in the last couple years are people that hurt my church family and, worst of all, brought pain to my wife and kids.

In searching for a real world response to following Christ, I find myself longing for a practical example of how to live this out. The testosterone driven response has never been my style. I have been the doormat, but have learned to be more confident than that.

In Jesus we have both the lesson to turn the other cheek AND the clearing of the temple.

Both are responses to wrongdoing, so I'm convinced that passiveness is not the right course of action (or inaction if you will).

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. ~ James 1:5


God, give me wisdom.

Hippie Christianity

I don't really have a problem with hippies. I don't really know them well enough to have a problem with them. They seem to have a really laid back approach to life and I appreciate that. A high amount of stress is bad for just about everybody.

What I do have a problem with is a hippie approach to a Christian lifestyle - an "it's cool man" approach to every revelation of the sinful nature in our brothers and sisters, and especially ourselves.

Don't get me wrong here - I wholeheartedly believe that the detrimental effects of legalism are well documented and a huge reason why the anti-church movement has been in full effect for a very long time. Mandating behaviors and manufacturing guilt drive people away and destroy their spirits in the process. The gospel of Christ is filled with His grace and the legalism of religion undermines that message.

However, in our current culture, the pendulum has swung in the complete opposite direction. Grace is key to discipling young people and young christians, yet it has become the crutch we give each other to hobble around with. "It's cool man - you are human, you sinned. Don't worry." A message with a significant truth, but very empty of growth opportunities. We let each other off the hook too easily when it comes to missing the mark set by the God of the Universe.

What is wrong with looking across the table at our brother and saying,  "God's grace is sufficient AND you need to get your stuff together," with a humble and helpful heart? The truth is, we all need to get our stuff together. While we are wasting our time sitting around saying, "it'll be ok," and flashing the peace sign in our christian tye-dye shirts, we are missing out on the blessing of being in a right relationship with Christ.

The Waiting Room of Prayer

I often picture the waiting room of prayer as being similar to a pre-technology age hospital ward. Bright, bleached white walls rising high above the sight line. Soft light dropping into the room from an unknown source, filling every corner. There are beds lined up in a manner that makes no sense other than an understood urgency that every square inch should be filled with a righteous efficiency. Each turquoise and rust colored frame is topped with an inadequate mattress, further topped with the restless body waiting
to be seen by the great physician.

Some beds are surrounded by loved ones; sparing no opportunity to stand alongside their friend, brother, or child. They laugh with, sing to, and weep over the one here to be healed. Other beds are accompanied by only one committed soul. These people are weary and nearly empty, yet the hope that exudes from them brings warmth to all who come near. The other beds are unattended. The occupants of these beds lay still, staring into the light, waiting for their turn.

The advancement of this waiting line is impossible to predict. At times it flows smoothly. At others the absolute lack of progress is unnerving and a blanket of melancholy covers all of those on cue. The people know they have come to the right place, yet their trust is put on trial as they wonder who the doctor will see next.

Quietly, an orderly goes about, tending to each bed almost unnoticed. His faded scrubs almost blend into the background of beds and people. He refreshes blankets. He fluffs pillows. Suddenly chairs appear behind those weary of standing. Beds are magically rearranged to make space for more people. Those surrounded by large groups catch his soft smile as he passes. The lone supporters give thanks with their eyes as he reenergizes their resolve. The solitary delight in his touch as he comforts them in their beds.

As they wait for the great physician, they do not notice that this unwavering servant is His spirit among them. Their healing is not just found at the end of the line, but also in the wait.