Archive - November, 2007

Boom!

November 30, 2007 in Ministry with 1 Comment

Boom_.jpgI am reading Tom Brokaw’s new book, Boom, which is about the 1960s.  The book consists of Brokaw’s personal reflections as well as the reflections of numerous men and women who lived in that time.  He dates the 1960s generation beginning with the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963 and ending with the resignation of President Nixon in 1974.

 
Brokaw writes:

One minute it was Ike and the man in the grey flannel suit and the lonely crowd . . . and the next minute it was time to Turn on, Tune in, Drop out, time for ‘We Shall Overcome’ and ‘Burn, baby, burn.’  While Americans were walking on the moon, Americans were dying in Vietnam.  There were assassinations and riots.  Jackie Kennedy became Jackie O.  There were tie-dyed shirts and hard hats; Black Power and law and order; Martin Luther King Jr. and George Wallace; Ronald Reagan and Tom Hayden; Gloria Steinem and Anita Bryant; Mick Jagger and Wayne Newton.  Well, you get the idea. 

 
Boom!

Few institutions escaped some kind of assault or change.  The very pillars of the Greatest Generation — family, community, university, corporation, church, law — were challenged to one degree or another.  Nothing was beyond question, and there were far fewer answers than before….

Do I ever remember those years!  A few memories:
 

  • Registering for the draft and then receiving orders to undergo a physical at the Naval Station in downtown Dallas as preparation for induction. 
  • Seeing veterans in my classes at Eastfield College shortly after they had returned from Vietnam. 
  • Watching television on a Thursday evening only to have my program interrupted by a news bulletin that Robert Kennedy had been assassinated. 
  • Commonplace on our college campus were such things as: long hair, tie-dyed t-shirts, braless coeds, peace signs on the back of Volkswagen buses, large Afros, the smell of pot, and talk of revolution in some form.
  • Sunday afternoons seeing people standing on the street corners in Dallas selling underground newspapers. 
  • My eyes glued to the television after Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered in Memphis.

 
That is a snapshot of what it was like to live in those years (at least for me).  Now we live in a different time and place.  Reading this book is a reminder to me that we are right in the middle of history.  We are experiencing culture as it is and as it is being shaped.  

 
Meanwhile, God is unchanging.  God is ever present.  God is ever relevant to whatever time, place, culture, or setting.  Today, we live in a very different culture than the 1960s.  Yet, we too face very real challenges:
 

  • What does it mean to live as a believer in the culture and time in which we live?
  • What does it mean to live in and as a community of believers?
  • What does it mean to live as the presence of Jesus today in the place where we live?

Perhaps these have always been relevant questions.  At the time, we have to rethink these questions in each generation.

I’m Curious

November 28, 2007 in Spiritual Life with 10 Comments

coffee11.jpgSuppose it were possible for readers of this blog to come together for a day.  The intention is for this to be a day of encouragement.  I know it is impossible, but please just imagine such a day with me. 

 
I know where some of these readers are.  Some of you will come from states such as: Alabama, California, Michigan, Illinois, Georgia, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Florida,  Missouri, Washington, Tennessee, Louisiana,  Arizona, Ohio, New York, etc.  Others of you will come from countries such as: Canada, Afghanistan, Philippines, Korea, Scotland, England, Ukraine, Australia, etc.

 
So here we are, all together.  We will be together all morning, break for lunch and then reassemble for the afternoon.  We will conclude at 5:00 p.m.  At that point, everyone will get in their cars and leave or go to the airport to catch a flight.

 
You enter the room and you meet many of us and we get to meet you.   Perhaps you get a cup of coffee or hot tea.  You look at a few name tags.  You recognize a few names from the comments.  

 
We are all in a large room with plenty of chairs and round tables.  We are going to spend the first hour or so just introducing ourselves.  "What is your name?  Where are you from?  What do you do?  Tell us about your family." 

 
For the remainder of the morning, different people will tell their stories.  Hopefully, most of us will connect with at least some of these stories.  I suspect that in some way, we will be talking about how God has worked in our lives to this point.  What would you share with this group?

 
After lunch, we reassemble.  The topic for much of the afternoon is our faith communities.  "Tell us about your church, your community of faith."  The stories will be varied.  We come from a variety of traditions and places.   Some of us are a part of large churches.  Some are a part of very small churches.  Some of us are a part of house churches.  Others of us have had difficulty connecting with any faith community. 

 
For the early part of the afternoon, we share stories of what God is doing in these churches.  (Don’t worry about your story being too small or even insignificant.  If God is at work, even a mustard seed takes on a whole new dimension.)  You might think for a moment about what is happening in your own church that is very encouraging to you.

 
Finally, at the end of the afternoon, we share resources that we have found encouraging.  In particular, we share names and addresses of blogs we frequent that provide encouragement.

 
Feel free in the comments today to include the names of a few blogs or authors that you find encouraging.  Feel free to include any remarks that you would like for the group to hear on a day such as this.  

“Everything Is Just Fine”

November 27, 2007 in Spiritual Life with 12 Comments

worry.jpgThat is what we say anyway.

 
Have you ever been with a group of people who seemed intent on communicating that everything was just fine when in fact it was not fine?  These people may be friends, family members, or people with whom you have some history.  No matter what, they communicate to you that all was and is fine.

 
Now I want to quickly say that I am not implying that one ought to pour out her soul to every single stranger who happens to ask you how you are.  No, I am actually referring to another kind of setting.  I am referring to those times when we are in the company of friends and we just seem intent on communicating that we are wonderful when in fact we are not.  

 
On one occasion I was in a conversation with my older daughter Christine about this.  She reflected on what people seem to be up to in such situations when they communicate that all is well even when you suspect or know it isn’t.  Her observations are interesting:
 

  • They don’t want to feel.  Nor do they want you to feel.  Then they have to face hurt (either their own or yours) and they can’t control the situation.  And, they really want to be in control.

I think she is exactly right!  Consequently, these people have a way of keeping everything on a very surface level.  You may ask them about a situation in their lives that you know is extremely difficult if not extraordinarily painful.  Yet, they don’t want to feel the pain or deal with yours, so they respond by telling you that everything is great. 

 
Christine went on to say:
 

  • These are the people who want to rush in to your pain and immediately announce that "everything is going to be OK."  The only way they can avoid pain (either yours or their own) is to send a message of optimism (though it may be false optimism).  Of course it may not be OK.  Sometimes people have problems and things get worse instead of better.  Sometimes people die.

I think she makes a good point.  How many times have you seen someone receive bad news regarding health, a child, a marriage, only to have someone quickly announce that everything is going to be OK?
 

  • People who say such things actually want you to be where THEY are instead of loving you where you are.  They are more comfortable living in a world that always works out and where everything is always going to be OK.  Consequently, you sense from these people that they don’t want you to say what you are really feeling.  They can only deal with you if you will move to where you ought to be (in their minds). 

Again, I think she is correct.  Consequently, in subtle ways we communicate to people that our love and ministry are available but you must move to where we think you ought to be.
 

  •  What we need to do is learn to be with people right where they are.

I think she is right.   Since Jesus is the "real minister," we are called to love people just like he did, right where they are.  Maybe we are called to get out of the way and to forget what makes us feel comfortable.  Maybe the most important place to be at any given moment is right where another really is.

Ministry as a Place of Joy and Pain (Part 3)

November 26, 2007 in Ministry with 4 Comments

coffee8.jpg
Ministry is often a place of pain.  In fact, if there is never any pain, one might want to do some serious reflection.  After all, I think that if you will do a reading of the ministry of Jesus, Peter, Paul, or the early church in general, you will see that ministry is often accompanied by pain.

  
Some have experienced the pain of rejection.  Yes, this may include personal rejection when you discover that certain people, for whatever reason, just do not like you.  Unfortunately, there are people who will sometimes portray themselves as being your friend, while they talk in a negative way behind your back.  A number of years ago when I was serving a different church, I had lunch with a friend of mine one day at Tippins.  He served as one of the elders of this church.  He told me that the night before they had met with a small group of people who wanted to see an end to my ministry with that church.  Did I dislike the fact that these people did this?  Of course.  It did hurt because of a few of the people involved.  Should it have surprised me that my ministry was not smooth sailing?  Of course not.

 
Ministry can be very difficult for a number of reasons.  Here are a few occasions when one might find ministry to be very, very difficult:
 

  • When you experience personal rejection.
  • When you see someone reject the message of the Gospel.
  • When you witness someone walk away from Christ.
  • When you struggle with your own faith.
  • When you grieve with others in times of death, job loss, disease, etc.
  • When you are present with others in times of severe pain (such as when an adult child abandons her or his family or seeing that child make very poor and serious choices).

Of course, in the first century some of the early Christians experienced immense suffering and even death as the result of their faith in Jesus.  Paul spoke (2 Corinthians 11:23-28) of suffering that he experienced in his ministry and was it ever intense!  

 
Paul warned some of the Ephesian Christians regarding those from their own number who would distort the truth and seek to draw these Christians after themselves.  He said that for three years he "…never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears" (Acts 20:31).  Night and day with tears?  This is no dispassionate minister who is trying to climb a ladder of success.  This is no 8 to 5 minister who sees ministry as little more than a chosen career.  No, this comes from someone who has been called by God and deeply loves these Christians.   He once said, "I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches" (2 Corinthians 11:28).  This kind of pressure comes from one who deeply loves the believers who make up these churches.

 
Granted, most of us in the West have never experienced any suffering even remotely akin to what Paul or some of the early Christians experienced.  At the same time, let us not be surprised when we experience mistreatment or personal turmoil even though we are trying to serve God and be faithful to our call.  Perhaps this goes with the territory.

How Important is Praise?

November 21, 2007 in Spiritual Life with 6 Comments

coffee7.jpgMy one-word answer might be: VERY.

 
In particular, I am thinking about people who in some way attempt to pass on the word of God to another generation.  Preachers.  Parents.  Bible School teachers.  Again, I am thinking about anyone who is attempting to pass on the story of God to another generation.

 
When I first began began preaching, I recall hearing people at times refer to someone as "knowing the truth."  Someone made a reference to his son and said, "I don’t understand this boy, he knows the truth."  Meanwhile someone else said regarding the importance of knowing Scripture, "We need to make sure that our kids know the truth."  Nothing wrong with such language. 

 
Yet, I would not want to leave the impression that communicating information about the Bible or from the Bible is sufficient.  Passing on our faith is more than telling people about the Bible or even facts about God.  The manner in which I communicate my faith is important as well.

 
What I want to focus on for a moment is the way we sometimes pass on matters of faith.
 

  • What if I communicate the word of God in a fashion that communicates indifference? 
  • What if I communicate a sort of deadness in my life that suggests that I am just going through the motions? 
  • What if my children notice that when things of faith are being discussed I appear bored and disconnected?
  • What if my teaching/preaching appears to have very little passion?

 This week, I have been reading Psalm 145.   Verse four is interesting.  Listen to this verse in four different English translations:

One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.  (NRSV)

 
One generation shall commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.  (NIV)

 
Generation after generation stands in awe of your work; each one tells stories of your mighty acts.  (The Message)

 
One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts.  (NASV)

Notice these words.  This text is not simply asking us to communicate the word of God to another generation.  Rather, the idea is to communicate that we laud or praise the God of the Scriptures.  We communicate what he has done, praising him for who he is.  The next generation sees that we love God, that we exalt him, and that he has impacted our lives in a very significant way. 

 
Do you recall a time when you heard someone talk about the things of God but the person seemed indifferent to what he was saying?  Have you ever been around a person who was passionate about God in a way that was attractive and not repelling?

Graciousness

November 19, 2007 in Gratitude with 17 Comments

coffee9.jpgGracious.  Now I like this word.  No, this word is reserved for people who recognize
that they are privileged to receive what they have been given.  Or as Fred Craddock once said, "The final act of grace is graciousness."  So what is a gracious
person?

 
A gracious person is slow to take credit and quick to lavish praise. 

A gracious person never seeks to embarrass another. Humiliating another is not in this person’s vocabulary.  (And
please don’t say something that humiliates another and then try to escape responsibility by saying, "I was only joking.")

 
A gracious person is always thanking others.  Do you go through an entire day without thanking another? 

A gracious person doesn’t monopolize the conversation. Someone else has something to offer.

 
A gracious person doesn’t try to play one-upmanship. (That’s nothing, you should have seen what I did!") 

A gracious person pays attention to people. Sometimes people come away from such conversations saying, "He made me feel like I was the most important person at that moment."

 
A gracious person desires to say what is appropriate. He doesn’t just say what is on his mind or whatever he might be thinking. (There is no redeeming value in emptying one’s mind of whatever fleeting thought has happened to land at the moment.)

 
A gracious person looks out for the comfort of others.<!–
A gracious person understands that she is not indispensable. You've
seen this person.  She desires constant attention.  She has a way of
constantly focusing most any conversation back on herself.  There is a
humility in realizing that you are dispensable. A gracious person constantly points out the good that he sees  "Would you like a cup of coffee?  What about a coke?  Can I get you a newspaper while I’m out?" 

 
A gracious person looks for the good.  Maybe
you are visiting a friend who lives in another place.  Instead of
pointing out the inadequacies of your friend’s community, you are
constantly finding things that are good.  "This cafe has outstanding
peach pie!  That was delicious."  "I just love the way you have planted
your garden.  It is beautiful!" 

 
I believe that in so many of us, there is a genuine hunger
to experience the beauty of graciousness.  After all, this is nothing
more than grace lived out.  And — that grace originates in the heart of God.

 
I’m
curious, what would you add to this list of ten?  I suspect you could
add another characteristic of a gracious person that might be helpful
to us all.

 
(This post has appeared on this blog before.  It seems appropriate for Thanksgiving week.)

Alone? (Maybe Not)

November 19, 2007 in Spiritual Life with 2 Comments

Starbucks.jpgSomewhere, there is a person reading this who feels alone.  You may be that person.

 
You may be a college student who feels alone.  It is late at night.  This past weekend, two of your friends boasted of how drunk they got and who they slept with.  Meanwhile, you feel very alone in your dorm.

 
You may be married but you feel alone.  Your husband is busy and preoccupied with his career.  Your children are growing up and you realize they will eventually be moving out and on their own.  Meanwhile, you wonder what the future holds for you.  You feel alone.

 
You may be a widow.  You loved and you received love.  Then, he passed away.  You try to stay very busy but the nights can be very long.  You feel alone.

 
You may be a young father.  You feel under incredible pressure.  You have some overwhelming credit card debt.  You are not sure about your future with this company.  This isn’t exactly what you thought life was going to be.  You feel alone.

 
You may be a person with a secret.  Maybe you are having an affair.  Maybe you have your eye on someone who you would really like to have an affair with.  Maybe you visit porn sites.  Maybe you have lost an incredible amount of money through gambling.  You don’t know what to do.  You feel like you can’t talk to even your closest friends about this.  So—you keep the secret within you.  And—you feel very, very alone.         

 
You may be a minister.  You sensed a call from God.  You went to seminary.  You began serving a church.  You work very hard.  Yet, you feel unappreciated and taken for granted and then feel small and petty for feeling that way.  You love God but you are not sure what to do with the ministry situation you are in.  You feel alone. 

 
Do any of these situations ring true for you?  Maybe.  Regardless of the situation, I suspect that many of you know what it is to feel very, very alone. 

 
The good news?  Jesus in his mercy and through his Spirit has given us his forever presence.
 

  • "Lo I will be with you always even to the end of the earth." (Mt. 28:20)
  • We are experiencing an ongoing transformation which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.  (II Cor. 3:18)
  • The Spirit is actually renewing us each day even while outwardly we may be growing older physically.  (II Cor. 4:16)
  • The Spirit is a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come  (II Cor. 5:5)
  • The prophet Ezekiel on the promised return of God’s presence, "My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God and they will be my people." (Ez. 37:27) 

Places I’ve Been

November 16, 2007 in Places I've Been... with 1 Comment

Terry Rush on "The Excitement of Being a Person" (an encouraging post)
 

Liam Byrnes on "Crazy Laws" (crazy laws still on the books in the UK)

 
L. L. Barkat on "What’s a Writer to Do?" (I value L. L.’s reflections on writing)

 
William Willimon on "It’s About God"  (Willimon always makes me think)

 
Interview with Tim Keller: "Ten Questions for Expositors"  (an opportunity to overhear Keller reflect on preaching)

 
Ray Hawk on "Am I Ready?"  (a 71-year-old minister reflects on his spiritual journey)

 
John Stackhouse on "Politics, patience, and power, and…theology"  (Stackhouse reflects on the challenge of politics as we are in another national election process)

The Only Word of Hope

November 15, 2007 in Ministry with 13 Comments

Last night, we drove back from Florence, Alabama, after the funeral of a very good friend, Terry Austin.  Terry died, very unexpectedly, on Saturday in a Birmingham hospital.  While news of his death was a surprise, he had struggled with many health issues after several surgeries within the past six months.

 
Terry and Cindy are wonderful friends and have been a special part of our lives for many years.  When you are laughing with a friend or enjoying a meal together, you never think of one day doing that friend’s funeral.  Or at least, I never had those thoughts.  Yet, at 11:00 AM on Tuesday morning in the church where Terry grew up, I sat with a church full of sad, stunned people who had come to his funeral.   


When I stood to speak, I experienced the same feelings I have experienced many times at funerals — only this time it was much more intense.  There is something about looking at a family at a funeral that leaves me feeling so helpless.  The father in me wants to hug the children who are mourning and somehow make it all go away.  I want to look a grieving wife (or husband) in the eye and tell her that this horrible situation can be fixed and that this nightmare will be over.  Yet, those are not realities.  So, I stand there feeling helpless and feeling the grief of having lost a very good friend.

 
The only encouraging word I know to speak on a day like this is a Gospel word — to be reminded that Jesus has tasted the ultimate death for us so that the final word about our existence is not a funeral word but a Gospel word.  In the middle of our helplessness, there is a word from God that there will come a day when we will be reunited with family, friends, and others who throughout the ages have experienced the sweet mercy of Jesus and who have found their identity in him.

 
Now that is a word of hope. 

Using Wisdom with Children

November 12, 2007 in Family/Marriage, My Family with 12 Comments

A few weeks ago in a post on parenting, Liam asked me elaborate on one particular comment.  I decided to elaborate in a new post.  I mentioned in the post that one of the things that I have learned as a parent is this:

 
I wish that I had not made such a big deal over some things that really were not that important.

 
It is very easy as a parent to simply react.  (Or at least it was very easy for me.)  Something happens that is unpleasant or unwanted and a parent can very easily get upset.  Yet some things are just not worth getting upset about.  Some things need to be dealt with but are not worthy of the emotional energy that some of us may give to them.  Charlotte helped me with this one over the years.  She would remind me that in the larger scheme of things, some things are not worth getting the anger we give to them.

 
Children will be immature and irresponsible.  That may be quite different from being rebellious or defiant.   

 
That doesn’t mean that immature or irresponsible behavior is ignored.  In fact, quite often there are consequences that need to go along with certain behaviors.  Ideally, the consequence ought to be logical or natural so that a child can see the connection between what she did and the consequence.

 
As long as you have children in your house, there will be interesting moments.  That is not necessarily bad or good.  It is just a part of growing up.  I remember:
 

  • Hearing the sound of footsteps on our roof only to see that our daughter and her friends were on the roof of our house.
  • Coming home to a house full of smoke after popcorn was scorched in the microwave.
  • Dealing with interesting things happening to their cars.
  • Watching how they were spending their money on clothes, etc.

If I were to add things from my own childhood, my parents might include:
 

  • Burning all kinds of food in our kitchen.
  • Putting a major dent in my dad’s car door when I backed out of the garage.
  • Hitting a golf ball through my mother’s kitchen window.
  • Throwing a baseball through my sister’s bedroom window.

 
On and on my list could go.  A parent has to have the wisdom to know what things are major and what things are minor.  As I recall, my parents did not get that upset about those broken windows.  My dad came to me and told me how much each one cost and that I had to pay for them.  That is a natural consequence.

 
Looking back, I wish that I had not gotten as upset about some things as I did.  Our children had a certain amount of money which they spent to purchase their clothes each fall.  I remember getting upset once as I heard about how much one spent on a pair of jeans.  Charlotte said, "OK, I think it is too much as well.  But let her realize that now she has spent so much money on jeans that she doesn’t have very much money to buy anything else."  Very good.  That is a natural consequence.

 
Occasionally, Charlotte would remind me that our children love the Lord, they are not partying, in jail, doing drugs, etc.  She reminded me that we have to keep these things in perspective.  She was right.

 
Bottom line?  Parents need to pray for wisdom.  Those of us whose children are grown need to pray for other parents to have wisdom.  After all, being a parent is not easy work.

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