Thursday, July 31, 2008

Bigstuf- Day 4

Well, rain again. This time, we got about 20 minutes of free time after eating lunch and getting our picture taken. Then, it started coming down in sheets. The good part about today was that there was no thunder or lightning (at least at first), so we had 20 minutes of clouds and 20 minutes of rain- hard, driving rain- the kind that stings when it hits you. But since we'd had precious little time in the ocean since we'd been here, a few hardy souls stuck it out and suffered through. Then, the lightning came and the place cleared out quickly. So, all in all this week, we've had about 2 hours of sun. Monday - 45 minutes, Tuesday - 45 minutes, Wednesday- 10 minutes, today - 20 minutes. For the first time ever, I'll come back with less of a tan than I had when I left. But that's not what's important.

This morning was really incredible. We started with the Daraja Children's Choir from Nairobi, Kenya. This is not the best picture - I'm sure some of the students took better ones.



Then, Francis Chan challenged us all with what it means to Do unto the least of these. It was unbelievably stretching, and I'm not quite ready to talk about what it did to me, yet.

We did get to meet James David Carter from the Bigstuf band before the rain came. Many of the girls were excited by that. And, he was a genuinely nice and patient guy. This despite the fact that every girl wanted her own picture taken with her own camera even though I swore that I could send them one from my camera that would be just as good. Digital generation my foot.



Well, this will be the last post "live" from Bigstuf. We have the long worship session tonight, and we leave for the airport early tomorrow morning. I hope you've enjoyed following our trip here. Feel free to leave comments. I'll try to get more stories up when we get back. Until then, peace.

Bigstuf- Day 3

Well, another day- another thunderstorm. Once again, our free time on the beach was rained out. We didn't even get our (now traditional) 45 minutes- most of us had only 10-15 minutes before the clouds let loose.

I don't want you to get the idea that it rains all the time here... that's not true at all. It really only rains when we're outside. In fact, most mornings and evenings, it's been really nice. Unfortunately, that's when we're in the arena. The good news is, the students spent their time sitting in the hall and texting each other. In fact, at one point, two of the students were sitting right next to each other and texting back and forth. Man am I old.



We also had a special guest today. Dianne Kemp, who moved from Noblesville down to Orlando about a year ago, came to visit us. The girls were especially glad to see her, particularly the ones who were here the last two years when Dianne chapperoned for us.



We were able to redeem some of our time, though. Since we had dinner on our own tonight, we headed into town for the Olive Garden. When some of the students complained they don't really like Italian, we just explained that it's not really Italian, it's Olive Garden. The whole back room was filled with laughter from the time we arrived until the time we left (to the dismay of a few other families who lost the table lottery and ended up in our dining area). I heard several students say this was the "funnest meal they ever had." I think that's good.



Unfortunately, we arrived back later than we should have and weren't able to get good seats together for the evening session. This meant six students ended up in one place and four in another, with the leaders taking the "back of the house" for a while. This gave some of our leaders a chance to show off a few moves they learned on "So, you think you can dance." And no, we can't.



In case you were wondering, this mornings session was Andy Stanley talking about how our direction, not our intention, determines our destination. This evening, Francis Chan gave an incredible message on how we're called to deal with trouble in our life. Our small group time went so long, that I'm not posting this until very early Thursday morning. As you can imagine, I'm quite tired and excited all at the same time. I feel like I can go for another couple of hours, but I know I'll crash as soon as I hit the sack, so I'm headed there now.

Peace.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Bigstuf- Day 2

Here, it's all about the seats. Most of Bigstuf is about getting the right seats. A lot of time and effort goes into saving seats and getting good seats and making sure you are as close to the stage as you can get. This morning, I saw a man (one man) save 40+ seats with a pair of sunglasses and a flip-flop. Amazing. Especially in light of this story Jesus told:

When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
-Luke 14:7-11

Fortunately, most of us were happy with our seats this morning.



Francis Chan really blessed us this morning with a talk about how we should consider the greatness and majesty of God before we pray. It was incredible. Later, the leaders heard from Reggie Joiner about how the church that makes an impact needs to have a loving father mindset.

Unfortunately, day 2 also brought thunderstorm number 2.



A few of us went on a "Target" run and missed all but a half-hour of good weather, but most of the students got 60 or 90 minutes at the beach or pool before the downpoor. Fortunately, our students are creative, so they spent their time blowdrying each other's hair...



... and messing up their rooms.



Yes, this is one of the girls' rooms and it's a mess (no surprise to you parents, I'm sure). They actually closed the suitcase for the picture so it wouldn't look so bad.

Yet, in the midst of all this, we're also having some great conversations. Last night, we talked about peer pressure, especially as it relates to drugs and alcohol and we had a very good conversation about dating over dinner tonight. I find our small group times and quiet times are where we all grow the most, so I'm looking forward to those the rest of the week.

Gotta go. Have to get good seats for tonight!

Monday, July 28, 2008

Bigstuf- Day 1

If you're reading this, you've probably figured out that (a) we made it to Daytona Beach, and (b) I've managed to chain the students to their beds long enough to write about day one.

Monday started and ended with lines for us. First there were the lines at the airport- thanks to the Brickyard 400 yesterday, there were more people at the Northwest ticket counter than I've ever seen.



Fortunately, we all got checked in. This evening, our session started with the line to get into the arena...



In between, and after we went through the run around of trying to check into the hotel, being told we had to check in at the conference first, finding a place to park at the conference, then finding a place to park at the hotel (day 1, I already have $74 in parking two minivans, and I haven't paid my airport parking yet...) Whew! Finally we got here and had a good 45 minutes of beach time before the thunderstorm came.



Fortunately, we have a great group of students who love each other...



... and we had a great evening session of worship and learning about what it means to seek wise counsel.



We also had some great conversation about seeking advice during our small group time and a couple of spirited games of Uno and Euchre (Brandon and I are undefeated, and ready to take on all comers...) Anyway, more tomorrow - our first full day. If you want to see our schedule, or anything else about the camp, you really should go here.

Refuse good advice and watch your plans fail;
take good counsel and watch them succeed. - Proverbs 15:22 (the Message)

Friday, July 25, 2008

Three more days...



...til the start of Bigstuf Student Conference in Daytona Beach, Florida. I'm really excited about what God is going to do in the lives of our ten high school students (and four adults, too). Here's the lineup for the week:

Andy Stanley, speaker
Francis Chan, speaker
Fee, worship band

Here's the question that is being asked this year... If you had only one thing you could communicate with high school students, what would it be? Well, go ahead and leave your comment.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Send me someone to serve

I read one time in a book (sorry that I can't remember where... I'd love to give credit where it's due), that often when we're feeling selfish we should make this our prayer: "Lord, if it pleases you, send me someone I can serve today."

On the drive to Deer Creek Community Church yesterday to participate in "One day- One neighborhood," that was my prayer.

So I get assigned to this project of putting vinyl siding on an old home. This home currently has asbestos shingle siding, and it's been like that ever since I first moved to Noblesville (1992). It also happens to be a "gateway" home in that it is in a highly visible location on a heavily-traveled street where people enter the southwest quadrant of the town. As I was re-learning the fine art of nailing plastic to a wall, I felt pretty good about myself and this thought kept going through my mind: "Wow, I am such a blessing to this family, this house, this neighborhood." Yeah. I know.

After lunch the owner came home- an older lady. I recognized her right away. She looked at me and made a b-line for me and pointed. "Hey, I know you'" she said, almost like Martin Short in the SNL sycronized swimmers sketch.

Corky is retired, but she was a waitress at Pizza Hut. For 25 years. For at least a dozen of those years, I went with a group from work to that very same Pizza Hut, and we were nearly always served by Corky. Then, I felt humbled. I mentioned to my siding partner that this woman had served me for 12 years, it was great that I got to serve her for one day.

He looked at me, deadpan, and said, "So, are you going to call it even after today?"

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.- 1 Peter 4:10

Monday, July 21, 2008

No room for me

When Solomon finished praying, a bolt of lightning out of heaven struck the Whole-Burnt-Offering and sacrifices and the Glory of God filled The Temple. The Glory was so dense that the priests couldn't get in—God so filled The Temple that there was no room for the priests!- 2 Chronicles 7:1-2 (The Message)

Imagine what a sight this was to see... the temple, newly constructed for God... so filled with his presence, that no one could enter. Now imagine what the church would be like if it were so filled with God's glory that there was no room for people- at least, no room for the imperfect humanness that is part of who we are. Imagine if The Church invited the Holy Spirit into its presence every week and moved it's own human wants, needs, desires, passions, pursuits, agendas, opinions, and flaws out of the way to make room for God's glory to fill the whole space.

Now, imagine if I did the same thing. Imagine if I moved my desires, sins, and flaws so far to the side that I made room for God's glory to fill me up so completely and perfectly that in the end, there was no... room... for... me. How cool would that be?

"Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all."
-Issac Watts, When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, 1707

The curse of the teacher

So, I'm feeling some pressure now.... One of the things I love to do is teach the word of God. But, I always get nervous preparing a message- much more so than actually delivering it.

Well, now, I'm scheduled to close our Parable series at Genesis Church on August 3. I need to choose one parable and teach about it. How do you do that? There are so many great stories that Jesus used to teach about the Kingdom of God... how do you pick just one?

The curse of the teacher is this... do I pick what I want to teach about, what God has been building in my life? Or, do I try to discern what the people in the church are needing to hear and build on the (already terrific) messages that have gone before? I think all I can do, if I want to be effective, is take what God gives me and pray that it will speak to people - even one person.

Okay, I'm rambling, but it helps me think... anyone else feel inadequate?

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Lessons learned while mountain biking

I went mountain biking last night (can you really call it mountain biking, since there's not one mountain in Indiana? I was, after all, on a mountain bike).


(This is NOT me mountain biking in a place that is NOT Indiana)


Since it had been so long (about 3 months) since my last encounter with the trail, I had to learn several lessons over again:

1. Always look two or three turns ahead – it makes the journey easier and provides far fewer surprises
2. If you happen to think about it, shut your mouth – it makes it harder for the yucky and toxic stuff to get in
3. Don’t look over your shoulder. Always looking behind you can be hazardous… you can’t worry about who’s about to catch you.
4. Have a good buddy with you- it makes the experience more fun and provides someone to help if you get in trouble.

Luckily, the time on the trail was not wasted, as I can apply these same lessons to many areas of my life:

1. Always look two or three turns ahead – it makes the journey easier and provides far fewer surprises
2. If you happen to think about it, shut your mouth – it makes it harder for the yucky and toxic stuff to get out
3. Don’t look over your shoulder. Always looking behind you can be hazardous… you can’t worry about who’s about to catch you.
4. Have a good buddy with you- it makes the experience more fun and provides someone to help if you get in trouble.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

One Day, One Neigborhood

Genesis Church is partnering with Deer Creek Community Church in Noblesville for the Faith, Hope, and Love International "One Day, One Neighborhood" initiative. This is a chance for local residents to take a "Mission Trip" right here in our own neighborhood. To see an interview with the organization's founder, go here.

The day is Wednesday, July 23rd and here are some of the projects we will be tackling:


Neighborhood basketball goals badly in need of refurbishing




Future home of a Victory Garden




Residents' homes that need re-siding and/or painting



The goal of all these projects is to create a sense of pride in a neighborhood that needs it, and show the residents that the love of Christ is alive and well. If you want to be a part of the fun, join me at 8:30 AM on Wednesday, July 23rd (map). The cost is only $10 (maybe the cheapest mission trip EVER) and you won't be sorry.

Peace!

David Crowder and the homeless guy

David Crowder is truly one of the funniest, hippest cats around. Great musician and terrific song writer, and he has apparently chosen to put himself right in the heart of a bad neighborhood in Waco, Texas.



So, this incident recorded on the Catalyst Conference website is, at the same time, amusing and thought provoking. Here is an excerpt:

John has basically told me that the homeless population near my house is 1) aware that there are such things as “Dove Awards” and 2) that my band and I have been nominated for some, and, 3) seriously? (!) The homeless had some type of meeting, or assembly, or whatever, and are praying we win? What on earth! That is the most ridiculous thing ever, and – what, seriously? Thoughts like this are in my head: David, you make assumptions that are wrong. You need to repent. You are evil.

To read the entire essay, click here.

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" Matthew 25:40

Monday, July 14, 2008

Today in the world of sports...

So, I tend to follow the more esoteric sports.... In fact, if it involves a ball at all, I'm only interested at the margin. However, if it involves a more pure form of human athleticism (specifically, human-powered transport), I'm sooo in. So, here are the major stories today in Steve's wide world of sports:

(1) Great stage of the Tour de France today. After crashing yesterday and nearly breaking his collarbone, Cadel Evans took the malliot jaune as former leader Kim Kirchen got dropped on the last climb (he is from Luxembourg, after all).



This has been a terribly exciting tour, by the way, with a real stage on day 1 (instead of a largely ceremonial prologue) and 10 full stages before the rest day, with attacks coming every day. Also, cheers to Versus for doing a great job with the coverage.

(2) Today is the start of the Badwater 135 ultramarathon. This 135 mile race takes crazy people competitors from Death Valley (the lowest place on earth) to the slopes of Mt. Whitney (at it's peak, the highest point in the continental U.S.) Look for an epic battle between Dean Karnazes and Akos Konya... they should finish sometime tomorrow afternoon, with other racers overflowing into Wednesday.



3. Finally, today is the day that Jamie Whitmore has surgery to remove a second tumor from a nerve in her hip. She had surgery once in March and was undergoing radiation, but a new tumor grew in the same place. Jamie is a former XTERRA Triathlon world champion (2004) and U.S. Champion (2007).



She and her husband are also fighting to get on ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition, so if you want to help you can go here. Jamie is asking for prayers for the surgery and the recovery, so if you're the kind that's inclined to do that, you can join me.

Yes, these are all sports. And, yes, some people do still care.

Peace.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Anyone know a Nimrod?

Cush was also the ancestor of Nimrod, who was the first heroic warrior on earth.- 1 Chronicles 1:10 (NLT)

nim' rod (n)- A person regarded as silly or foolish. (American Heritage Dictionary)

What is a Nimrod? If someone calls you one, should you be offended? Anyone know how the name of the "first heroic warrior on earth" came to mean silly or foolish?

Reading 1 Chronicles, I just thought this was funny.... Maybe you don't.

The Theology of Hypocrites

You didn't think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God from seeing all your misdoings and from coming down on you hard? Or did you think that because he's such a nice God, he'd let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he's not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change. - Romans 2:3-4

Everyone hates a hypocrite. Some of the more enduring and fascinating news stories involve people who are getting their "just desserts" for something they've railed against in the past. A well-known pastor who teaches against homosexuality caught in a homosexual relationship. A politician who made his name as a tough crimefighter caught up in a prostitution ring. There aren't many things that get people excited like seeing a once-smug celebrity doing the perp walk.

You don't have to ask too many non-christians what they think about Christians before the word "hypocrite" comes up. If you didn't know, the word hypocrite comes from the Greek, literally meaning "actor." Specifically, a hypokrites was an actor in a Greek play who played multiple characters, and had to "change faces" throughout the course of the drama. So how did Christians seem to co-opt this description? Well, for one thing, many Christians have become known far better for what they are against than what they are for. We're more interested in boycotting McDonalds because of their stance on homosexuality than we are on reaching homosexuals for Christ. We're far more inclined to protest abortion clinics than teach scared teen girls about the love of God.

Paul had this exactly right in this verse above from Romans...pointing the finger at other's misdoings does not forgive us our own. In fact, boldly proclaiming the wrongs of others intensifies the spotlight on our own sin, and makes it so much more satisfying to naysayers when we eventually show our human side.

When Jesus gave instructions, he told us to "go and do." Not go and protest. Not go and boycott. Not go and complain about. Go and do. If we would spend more time doing for others instead of judging them, maybe the word "Christian" wouldn't leave such a bad taste in a lot of mouths.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Four reasons I hated "Wall-E"

First, you need to know I'm a huge fan of Pixar. I love sitting and watching "Cars" with my girls, and I've been known to watch "Monsters, Inc." when there were no kids in the room. Which is precisely why I volunteered to take my girls to see "Wall-E" this weekend. It's also why I was so disappointed.



So, pretending you care, I'll lay out what I saw as the flaws to the movie.

(1) It was hard to follow. The story is told backwards in a way, which can be creative for adults, but very hard for kids to know what's going on. "Why does Wall-E live in a junkyard?" was a common question from my 6-year-old throughout the movie. Most of the characters weren't well-developed, and there were way too many robots, most of whom you never really knew what side they were on. I had a hard time following it, so I know my girls were confused.

(2) Way too political. The earth covered in garbage. People so lazy their bones have degenerated into nearly nothing. Large corporations taking over the earth. Over the kids heads.

(3) Very sad. Wall-E is a lonely robot living a lonely existency picking up trash. His only friend for most of the movie is a cockroach- the last remaining vestige of civilization on earth. The robot he "falls in love with" tries to kill him for a good part of the movie. The whole movie just has a melancholy undertone... not a real feel-good pic for kids.

(4) It's really hard for me to get too excited or motivated about a cautionary tale of the end of civilization on earth. Don't get me wrong- I recycle everything I can. I think it's really important to take care of the earth God created for us. But, I've read the end of the story-- this place is goin' down.

Sorry to be a buzzkill first thing on Monday morning.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

God of rules

"So why are you now trying to out-god God, loading these new believers down with rules that crushed our ancestors and crushed us, too? Don't we believe that we are saved because the Master Jesus amazingly and out of sheer generosity moved to save us just as he did those from beyond our nation? So what are we arguing about?"- Acts 15:10-11 (the Message)

Why do most churches fail to reach new believers? I think Peter captured the essence of that question in these 3 sentences.

Many of us who came to Christ came when we knew we still had some work to do. We understood we weren't perfect, but someone, somewhere told us about this free gift of grace from God through His son. So, we took it. Then we start going to church and building our faith. Then, we learn that there are certain things we need to do if we go to church- rules that we need to follow, ways that we need to act, times when we need to sit and stand, ways that we need to pray and other things that God cares little about but that mean a whole lot to some people.

In Acts, we get the pleasure of seeing poor Peter (the Feste of the Gospels) finally get it. In the past, he's shown moments of brilliance and moments of Lloyd Christmas.



But with this paragraph, at least in my mind, he is completely redemed. In one swift and smooth oration, Peter illuminates all that is wrong with the church. Our rules.

See, God is not a God of rules. He put rules in place only after he recognized that we could not live in His perfect world without screwing it up. But, His rules are there not to be tyrannical or dictatorial, but because He is crazy about us and knows the best way for us to live. He knows that if we live His way, our lives will be a blessing, and if we don't, then, not so much.

But when we (as church people) impose rules on people that have little or no relation to God's desire for His people, it turns people off and repels them from Christ instead of attracting them to Him.

Don't get me wrong here, I don't think the Church is beyond repair. But, we need to focus on introducing people to Christ, making disciples out of them (from the Greek word "maqhteu/w" meaning "to learn"). Then, God's holy spirit will infiltrate them from the inside out, and change their lives. This kind of change is deeper and longer lasting than anything we can do anyway. Why don't we just let it happen that way, then? I can think of two reasons I want to tell people how to live:

- Similarity- I like to be around people who think how I think, believe what I believe, and act like I act.
- Pride- If I get them to stop doing something, I can take credit for it, rather than giving the glory to God, where it belongs.

So, I'm on the lookout now. No new rules. I mean it. Seriously.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Sure, let's let computers run the world

So, automatic editing software isn't all it's cracked up to be. In an attempt to be politically correct, the Christian news website OneNewsNow set up it's software to replace all instances of the word "gay" with "homosexual." As a result, a news story that ran on the US Olympic Track and Field Trials changed Tyson Gay's name to "Tyson Homosexual."



His explanation of what it meant to set the world's fastest ever 100 meter time at the Olympic trials produced the best quote of the story:

"It means a lot to me," the 25-year-old Homosexual said. "I'm glad my body could do it, because now I know I have it in me." He he.

For the whole story, along with some unnecessary editorializing, go here.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Passover / 4th of July... Same Dif?

The king now commanded the people, "Celebrate the Passover to God, your God, exactly as directed in this Book of the Covenant."

This commanded Passover had not been celebrated since the days that the judges judged Israel—none of the kings of Israel and Judah had celebrated it. But in the eighteenth year of the rule of King Josiah this very Passover was celebrated to God in Jerusalem. - 2 Kings 23:21-23 (The Message)

"Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it." -George Santayana

Josiah was a good king in God's eyes. The Message tells us that "He kept straight on the path blazed by his ancestor David, not one step to either left or right." But one of the most amazing things he did was to reinstitute the celebration of the Passover.

Passover is a traditional Jewish celebration of the time when the Hebrews were rescued out of slavery in Egypt. Following God's commands, the Jews painted blood on their door frames. As God passed through the land, killing all the firstborn sons, He would "pass over" the homes that had blood around the door, and the Jews were let go. After this miracle, God told them to always remember this day, to keep it close to their hearts and use it to teach their children about God's faithfulness. But king after king had failed to follow God's command about this, and the practice of passover was forgotten for generations. Until Josiah came along.

As I was thinking about the 4th of July this morning, I thought about what my kids know about the holiday. Basically, they know fireworks, watermelon, and a 3-day weekend (my kids don't yet get the whole concept of the weekend other than that Daddy's home). But they don't yet understand how fortunate they are to live in this country. They don't know how our fathers and grandfathers fought and died to defend their right to do anything they want (or nothing at all). They don't understand the price that was paid for their freedom, and they won't unless I teach them.

The sad truth is, as a society, we're quickly reaching the point where people don't care. War has become political, instead of about fighting for freedom. In fact, I don't think this country will ever win another war - we just don't have the stomach for it. In the 24-hour news culture, people have become numb to the travesties and trevails of oppressed people all around the world who didn't win the life's lottery that is a US citizenship.

So this weekend, I'm whipping out the Declaration of Independence. At quiet times, I'm going to forgo the Sunday paper in lieu of George Washington's prayer journal. I'm going to try, in my best 6- and 4-year-old speak, to explain to my girls how blessed they are to grow up here. To talk about how God has been faithful in protecting them, and how we need always to be mindful of His awesome provision for us.

Have a great 4th.