A few still pics from Holiday Road

I really didn't want this blog to turn into a picture parade -- but having just returned from 3 1/2 weeks of vaca and realizing not everyone in our church is down with the Facebook technology, I figured my first return post could be some moments from your pastor's holiday -- so you can behold the experience in all its glory (and humiliation).

I've included a mix of fun n' nice photos. Later on, I'll try to post some more meaningful fodder re: lessons learned & gleaned during our time away.

I did explain in a recent sermon Mason's desire, yea, to construct Robots. And again (to prove all or 90% my stories are real and I don't steal them all from the internet) here he is working on RoboCop with his grandpa. Notice the tractor! They have goats & donkeys too.

Katie and her sisters prepared, constructed, fashioned this really cool "Cousins Camp." It had a camp schedule; morning, afternoon, evening activities; morning devotions & singing, campfires. Heck, there was a Camp Dance at the end of the week (where I served as both deejay and chaperone...I had to say "Leave a little room for the Holy Spirit" toa couple kids who got too close). Anywho, here is the hayride -- if you look closely, you'll see I was left on as the only adult. Poor children.

Tubing. Is there anything more rural America than going tubing down a river -- usually with sunblock on one's nose and a cold beverage in hand (though as a pastor I cannot comment whether that occurred or not on our tubing 'tour'). Here, our youngest Gage gets in his tube, which is tied with some old twine to Katie's tube. Now imagine him like this for 3 1/2 hours. Pure ecstasy!

This was the view from the pastoral retreat center at which we stayed. Katie & I got to spend a few days away at the Whitestone Inn (sans the younggins). Great experience. Spent the first day on our own in a silence & solitude retreat. Spent Day II fellowshipping & living it up. Spent Day III listening to a sermon/seminar on planning & doing some family planning. Thanks for all your prayers for God's refreshment during this trip. Prayer answered!

So the itinerary went a little sumpin' like this: Katie's parents house, Katie's sisters house, Retreat center, my family's annual trip to Kiawah Island Beach (in S. Carolina...just one State down from the greatest U.S. State -- N. Carolina). Here my adorable & precocious nephew, Andy, has caught my sister and she has, on this day, given up on her disciplinary efforts.

Not the most flattering but the most candid picture Katie and I had together. The twilight, the ocean, the wind, the sand (even still I may pay dearly for posting this photo).

Our oldest, Mason, with my sister's oldest, Grace.

Cousins (from my side) all together. (From Left front) Gage, Mason, Matthew (my brother's middle boy), Grace, Lila (newest addition to family), Andy. (Standing) Kurt & Lincoln (my brother's oldest & youngest respectively).

That's all. Thanks for stopping by, friends.

Looking forward to Fall 2010: HOSPITALITY

While things are sort of light this Summer at Sunrise Community Church, I'll be blogging as to some of the plans that myself & the elders have been prayerfully discussing for the Fall. Please chime in with your thoughts as we're always looking for new ideas.

One of the areas we're looking to revamp is how we do Hospitality at Sunrise. Hospitality is both commanded in the New Testament for all believers and mentioned as a spiritual gift. Contrary to what I used to believe when my Mom made me eat nicely decorate food that tasted like plastic, hospitality goes beyond tea, crumpets, & making sure everyone is properly introduced with their titles (Madam, Miss/Misses, Mister, Doctor, Reverend, and Sir...I occasionally met people who'd been knighted). Hospitality, more broadly and more biblically-speaking, is that ability and practice of making another feel comfortable (see Romans 15: 1-7 to understand both what hospitality entails and what serves as its proper motivation). The Greek word translated "hospitality" is philoxenia, which literally translates "stranger love" or, less literally, love of strangers. And during the times when the NT was written, such "stranger love" was often the difference between a traveller and his family receiving a roof over their heads or having to spend the night outside, even bearing the elements to the point of death.

We've been enjoying our vaca with la familia, amigos & amigas back in the U.S. of A. Last week we had the pleasure of being hosted at a pastoral retreat center in the mountains of Tennessee. The Whitestone Inn is part of the Christian Hospitality Network -- which is a network of hotels and inns that offer special opportunities for full-time pastors & missionaries to get away & be refreshed at reduced rates. The very first night we were there, this place lived up to its Hospitable billing. The owners of this 600-acre facility invited some of us up to his large home on top of the hill to watch fireworks erupt below in the Tennessee River Valley.

While they didn't allow hospitality to overextend to the point of altering commitments made to guests of their home & family members (they have a grandchild living with them), they did extend a type of philoxenia ("stranger love"_ that I'm trying to describe. " I'll give you a few examples. (1) They let dozens of folks they've never met before meander through their home with the comment "you're welcome to go and look through any room that has its door open." And this place was an architectural & ecological delight. (2) The owner came to every breakfast and personally introduced himself. (3) At every dinner, he would tell a story and pray for the meal. As one person described, "It was like being home or what we wished our homes would be."

What a great concept for our ekklesia, our church fellowship. Church: What we wished our homes would be.

When everywhere else we feel like strangers, home is a place we ought to feel like we belong. That is the church to which Christ has called us. When we speak of "stranger love," I can't help but think of this truth in God's Word about our condition without Christ:

"Remember that your were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenant of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2: 12-13).

Obedience in the Christian life is all about response -- it's hard to be too emphatic about this overarching truth. Just as Christ has brought us near when we were strangers, so he asks us to show "stranger love" that others might be brought near to God through faith in Christ & his blood (ie. his sacrifice on the cross).

Here are some things we're planning demonstrating "stranger love" as a church and I'll follow that up with ways you may want to consider getting involved:

• Newcomer's Lunch: Katie and I have spent the majority of our first six months just getting to know existing and new couples. Mostly one-shot meetings getting to know people's faith-stories, their experiences with churches, and fielding questions/concerns about SCC. These get-togethers, often informal and even unplanned, have been among the greatest joys for us during our brief time in Cayman. But as the church grows, we need to find a better way to introduce people to the church -- namely, a small group forum immediately after church in which Katie and I will open our home to newcomers, provide a catered lunch, get to know some folks, and field some questions and provide some info. about Sunrise. We plan to start this in September and run one every 2 months. All are encouraged to sign up and attend the first lunch.
• Nametags: Nametags are one of the issues that old-timers in the church (which for our church is a maximum of 3 years) and those of us who are long time "church goers" either love or hate. Mostly the latter -- I think because we take a little pride, perhaps, in knowing most people who come through those doors. Problem is: So many of us don't (I blame my ever-deteriorating memory due to childrearing). I'd love to hear your thoughts re: Nametags. I'd prefer printing out some you can wear each week (versus the plastic kind you pin on). And then having blank ones that people can fill out. But who should have some printed out? People who come most weeks? And how do we determine that? Would love to hear some ideas.
• A Culture of Hospitality. Being greeted by more than the "front door Mr. Rogers." Knowing where to go, where to eat, where to send their kids. Little things like making sure people can easily and readily provide us their information. We'll have three chair pockets for every single row among the center section of the Theater. That way everyone has access to a contact card, pen/pencil, and Bible -- not more than a reach away.

How might you consider getting involved?

• Offer a ride to or offer to accompany someone who is attending the Newcomer's Lunch (should you do so, we may even let you partake of the grub).
• Volunteer to be a Greeter/Usher
• Sign up for the Sunrise Facebook Page and recruit to it someone else you just met.
• Arrive 10 minutes before the service starts and note anyone(s) sitting by themselves who look new. Go sit near them and strike up a conversation. Newcomers often come early and those first few minutes are among the most uncomfortable of their entire week. Among God's people, this should not be!
• Once-a-month force yourself to rush out to the parking lot after the service, where you'll find newcomers often rushing to their car because they've grown accustomed to the idea that church is less than an "ideal home."
• If hospitality ain't your thing (and is certainly not your spiritual gift) put your heads together with a friend, roommate, or spouse, and figure out what you can do to invite a neighbor or new church attendee over to your home. As my former pastor said, "Spend time outside of the tribe" (outside of your circle of influence -- friends/family).
• What are the unique gifts or resources has given you? How would those bless people in the church? For instance if you have a trampeline, pool and/or big yard, how can I bless a new family with kids in our church? If I live on the beach, perhaps someone who does not would appreciate an afternoon at the beach while we either join them or vacate our premises so they can enjoy some alone time.
• Serve with someone. Find someone relatively new to the church, who you've gotten to know a bit, and ask if they'd like to serve with you as a greeter, in the nursery together, etc. I find there is perhaps no truer bond that is formed between people as when they look outside themselves and serve others.

These are just some ideas. Let us keep in mind, and may God help us, that the key to lasting in creating a culture of "stranger love" is to continually recall that we were once strangers brought near to our Father through the sacrifice of Christ. We estranged ourselves through sin -- choosing to go our own way -- but Jesus showed us "stranger love" by pursuing lost sheep and bringing them near to the Father and to His church.

Oh what love!!

Pride & Humilty: Some Favorite Quotes

This morning during our worship service we took a look at a picture of pride & a picture of humility served up by Jesus himself in the Parable of the Pharisee & the Tax Collector (Luke 18: 9-14). I was looking over the wealth of quotes & stories I've collected over the years on pride & humility -- probably because I'm very 'familiar' with one of the two qualities (shhh...which one I'll never tell). I share with you some ones that have really impressed themselves upon me. Enjoy.

"Pride goes before destruction; a haughty spirit before a fall." - King Solomon, Proverbs 16:18

“Pride is seldom delicate, it will please itself with very mean advantages.” – Samuel Johnson, said through Imlac in Rasselas.

“God uses men and women who are weak and feeble enough to depend on Him.” - Hudson Taylor (Missionary)

In speaking to Brother Leo who felt down & out because of his own mediocrity and weightiness of sin, St. Francis says: “Leo listen carefully to me. Don’t be so preoccupied with the purity of your heart. Turn and look at Jesus. Admire Him.”

Thus far, Dr. Jekyll had been able to somewhat control his manifestations into Mr. Hyde & then back into Dr. Jekyll. Bu then, a turning point in the story occurs. Dr. Jekyll has actually been doing a lot of ‘good’ up to this point. “After all, I reflected, I was like my neighbors; and then I smiled, comparing myself with other men, comparing my active goodwill with the lazy cruelty of their neglect. And at the very moment of that vainglorious thought, a qualm came over me, a horrid nausea and the most deadly shuddering…I looked down; my clothes hung formlessly on my shrunken limbs; the hand that lay on my knee was corded and hairy. I was once more Edward Hyde.” - Dr. Jekyll in his letter to Mr. Utterson. Author Robert Louis Stevenson.

“Humility does not mean thinking less of yourself than of other people, nor does it mean having a low opinion of your own gifts. It means freedom from thinking about yourself one way or the other at all.” William Temple

“Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in light of God’s holiness and our sinfulness.” - Pastor C.J. Mahaney

“In God you come up against something which is in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that—and, therefore, know yourself as nothing in comparison—you do not know God at all. As long as you are proud, you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.” - C.S. Lewis

Speaking of the character Rev. Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter: “Among many morals which press upon us from the poor minister’s miserable experience, we put only this into a sentence: ‘Be true! Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world, if not your worst, yet some trait whereby the worst may be inferred.” - Nathaniel Hawthorne

“There are only two kinds of men: the righteous who believe themselves sinners; the rest sinners who believe themselves righteous.” - Blaise Pascal

“A humble man can do great things with an uncommon perfection because he is no longer concerned about incidentals, like his own interests and his own reputation, and therefore he no longer needs to waste his efforts in defending them.” - Thomas Merton

“Until you can listen to the praises of a rival without any desire to indulge in detraction or any attempt to belittle his work, you may be sure there is an unmortified prairie of egoistic impulse in your nature yet to be brought under the grace of God.” - Robert Louis Stevenson

“What we suffer from today is humility in the wrong place. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction; where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed. Nowadays the part of a man that a man does not assert is exactly the part he ought not to doubt – the Divine Reason…We are on the road to producing a race of man too mentally modest to believe in the multiplication table.” - G.K. Chesterton

“I am not what I ought to be; I am not what I would like to be. But I am not what I was: and by the grace of God I am what I am.” - John Newton (writer and composer of "Amazing Grace")

Desires & Reading the Bible

While I want to assure anyone reading this post applies to both genders, you can really tell that the Book of Proverbs was originally written from a man (father) to a man (son). I've been trying to meditate on Proverbs lately & I hadn't before realized how this large chunk of it (Chapters 5,6,7) is entirely dedicated to speaking to man's greatest day-to-day folly. It's not scheming, planning deceit, even jealousy, or egotism. It's really just base desire. (Not that desire is bad in and of itself -- more on that in a moment -- but a misplaced desire reeks havoc).

These chapters address the temptation and seduction of an adultress calling out to a man -- it even goes into the particulars with not a little steamy detail. Over the course of three chapters, the author moves from a real woman seducing to using the seductress as a symbol of foolishness/folly.

Any time I consider desires & passions, C.S Lewis' famous quote from his sermon The Weight of Glory comes to mind:

Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of the reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lor finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased.

Lewis' point is a biblical one. When Jesus speaks of His Kingdom as the treasure hidden in the field or the pearl of Great price or of feasting at the Great Wedding Banquet to come -- all are analogies of making Him the object of our desires & passions.

Why am I bringing this up? Misplaced desires are the #1 reason people misread or misinterpret the Bible. Over the last couple months, I've encountered this in a few ways. First, the Lord has challenged me to check my misplaced desires at the door when reading His Word. Second, upon sharing a passage of Scripture that had a hard word or two in it, I heard it said, "Well, I guess that's why people have different interpretations of the Bible" (but left it at that).

Two guys talking about wealth. But the last situation was the most interesting to me. I have to say I am guilty of the sin of eavesdropping (is that a sin?? Chime in, I can always use a healthy rebuke). I was at the Christian Enlightenment Bookstore (if you don't live in Cayman, yes, that is the name and its our only Christian bookstore...I was however disappointed that the title didn't live up to its name -- unless you count a store still selling "WWJD" bracelets "enlightening"). Anywho, two guys were talking about whether God's desire was to bless each Christian $monetarily$. One was trying to justify that God does, in fact, want to do so but had conceded some points. Finally he said,

"It's hard. Most things in the New Testament talk about denying self, receiving treasures in heaven and that sort of thing. But then you read Proverbs and it talks about the righteous man getting wealth."

This was a fascinating and potentially insightful comment from which to learn on at least a couple levels, both of which I want to explore. First, he brings up a common confusion about Proverbs -- namely, that they are promises, which in fact they are not. Take for example Proverbs such as 13:22 - "A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the sinner's wealth is laid up for the righteous." We all know plenty of examples where the good man gets swindled by the deceptive man. But we also know from experience that, generally speaking, such a 'sinner' generally gets caught up in his own web of deceit. My point is that here, the person was in honest need good tools to rightly interpret God's Word.

But when his friend pressed him saying, "Do you really believe that [that there is a contradiction in Scripture] or do you just want it to be true?", he then relented a little: "There's definitely some of that there too."

Which leads my second point: Misunderstanding or Misinterpreting God's Word is primarily a matter of misplaced, sinful desire. Jim Petersen, International VP for Navigator's Ministry, is right on when he says:

Have you ever noticed how the Scriptures point out that false teachings or false doctrines aren't the result of someone's honest mistake in interpreting the Scriptures? Rather they are elaborate creations for the sake of satisfying someone's sinful desire.

Hence the Apostle Paul says in II Timothy 4:3 (NLT): "For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to right teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever they want to hear."

Be honest for a moment. Has the misplaced desire for peace (a.k.a. "the path of least resistance") affected how you read the Bible? So you don't want your interpretation to cause strife among you and your spouse, with your homies and homettes, or at your workplace. Hey, I get it -- especially if a plain reading of Scripture goes against the culture & society in which we we dwell. Has the misplaced desire to please yourself made you go to verses about freedom, grace & mercy while avoiding reading the rest of the passage that talks about the serious offense of sin and not using your freedom to indulge the sinful nature. Has the misplaced desire of elevating self affected how you view your role in the Body of Christ its portrayed in Scripture?

Next time you want to Rightly Understand & Interpret God's Word -- you'll still want to purchase a good study Bible (like the NIV Study Bible at, ironically, the Christian Enllightenment Bookstore) and you'll still want to ask good questions, read a passage in its context (but that's a separate post - see loveintruth.com for great tips here).

But perhaps the most important strategy we must employ when reading Scripture is asking the Holy Spirit to root out of us misplaced desires. To confess those desires, go to the cross & receive forgiveness from Him whose hand provides pleasures evermore (Psalm 16:11). Then idols of misplaced pleasure fall like a house of cards & we begin to delight in rightly understanding and rightly living out the Word at any cost because He becomes the object of our greatest delight.

The King seeks our Maximum Good

"The King seeks maximum glory - so what are you going to do about it?"

This was the sermon in a nutshell yesterday during our worship service, when we looked at Luke 20: 20-37. All about the Kingdom of God and how He seeks maximum glory through surprising means -- a crucified Savior -- and how are we are called to respond (if you wish, you can listen to the sermon here).

Frankly, His glory is the most important aspect of His Kingdom -- as God seeks Maximum Glory above all else (see for example Ezekiel 36: 22, 32; Isaiah 43:7; Isaiah 48:11). But He also seeks our Maximum Good -- and He does so also through the Jesus Christ Crucified.

While studying this passage last week, I ran across this excerpt from 2nd century Greek Philosopher, Celsus, who said this about his perception of Christianity, which is ironically fairly accurate:

Those who summon people to the other mysteries [i.e. other religions] make this preliminary proclamation: "Whosoever has pure hands and a wise tongue." And again, others say, "Whosoever is pure from all defilement, and whose soul knows nothing of evil, and who has lived well and righteously." Such are the preliminary exhortations of those who promise purification from sins. But let us hear what folk these Christians call. "Whosoever is a sinner," they say. "Whosoever is unwise, whosoever is a child, and, in a word, whosoever is wretch, the kingdom of God will receive him." Do you not say that a sinner is he who is dishonest, a thief, a poisoner, a sacrilegious fellow, and a grave-robber? What others would a robber invite and call? Why on earth this preference for sinners?

Today people call the cross a scandal. And it was just as much so in the 2nd century -- literally "foolishness to Greeks" like Celsus, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:23. With the crucified Christ as the backdrop, Paul goes on to say in that same passage:

For consider your calling, brothers, not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose the what is weak in the world to shame the strong. (I Corinthians 1: 26-27)

He attracts us to a sign like the Crucified Christ for our maximum good. I was really struck by this today. There are so many who, by natural means, are more worthy of salvation than me. Perhaps you, like me, can go through a mental list of genuinely humble, nice, kind, hardworking people you've met throughout the course of your life. Yet, God doesn't require trust in one's behavior, one's works, or how one treats others -- but trust in a person, Jesus Christ, and his work on the cross.

The best thing I ever did for myself, then, was to realize how very much like a child I still am -- needy & incompetent to run my own life. The BEST thing!! Jesus says this is a most praiseworthy gift of grace:

In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will." (Luke 10:21).

Why is this for our Maximum Good? I think I most like being a servant or slave because I was created to be so (see Romans 6 which describes people as having one of two options -- being slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness). The most freeing moments or seasons of my life are ones in which I'm okay with being a child, okay with being incompetent to run my own life, okay with being one who freely responds to a Master rather than working hard to master a sinful life -- (the latter done all in the name of pride).

The Crucified Christ represents God's curse upon Christ so we wouldn't have to endure God's curse for sin & it represents total humiliation so that God might forever identify with & draw near to Himself the despised & humiliated of this world. Thus, God through the Crucified Christ, earns our trust & allows us to be submit ourselves as children & slaves to a Merciful Master.

Any other way may have been good as it would have been from God -- but the Crucified Christ reminds us that the King seeks our maximum good.