Imagining the first Christmas, Part 1

For a moment, just imagine the first Christmas.

It's a chilly night in an arid climate. A teenage mom-to-be is going into labor in an unfamiliar, crowded, inhospitable town, with only her new husband to help her. Though he has proven loyal so far, she still feels like she barely knows him.

She feels the baby pushing, ready to come soon.

He has to push livestock out of the way to make room for them in what is essentially a small, smelly barn. He doesn't know what he is stepping in as he looks for a place for his wife to give birth to a baby who isn't even his.

If abortion was an option back then, doubtless it would have crossed both of their minds in the months leading up to this scary, exhausting night. Even the glimmer of unexplainable hope and joy they felt must have often been all but drowned out by the overwhelming difficulties of their situation.

To be continued...

DCB and Third Day at the BJC

David Crowder Band and Third Day at the BJC

What good is a day without play?

Heard a really important message at church a few weeks ago.

The basic idea was:

God created recess.

This is another one of those things that I feel like I've been aware of for a long time, but I've never put enough into practice.

It's so easy to see God as a judge, harsh parent, enforcer. It's easy to forget how much God loves to have fun. Pastor Dan reminded me this morning that God doesn't just want to correct us; he doesn't just want to tell us what we're doing wrong and where we need to improve. Sometimes he just wants us to enjoy being together, like our best memories with our families on vacation growing up.

Check out the message here. It's not short, but it's worth the time.

A few weeks ago, I heard another great message with some similar ideas from Pastor Tom Wolff at our previous home church. Both Pastor Dan and Pastor Tom remind us how much (especially in our culture), it's easy to be rushed, easy to busy. As Pastor Dan put it this morning, it's easy to have our lives be full of appointments, not people. What a shame to miss the moments that might seem like a waste of time, but are actually the ones God wants us to remember. Things like a simple fishing trip, a moment of musical inspiration that's isn't what we're supposed to be practicing, a kiss from a loved one.

How many times have I forgotten to take time just play, or just enjoy what God was giving me?

Too many times.

And then this Sunday I heard another crazy wonderful idea, based on the writings of John Piper. The basic idea was this: God is best worshipped when we enjoy him most.

Of course life isn't going to be all good times; there is so much to learn from the pain. But like any loving parent, God really wants us to have times of happiness and pleasure as well as times of more difficult growth and learning. I'm actually supposed to enjoy being with God. Life with God means not just being forgiven, but living forgiven--not ruled by guilt. It's exciting and wonderful to explore this way to live.

Giving money

Today, I was considering whether or not to give money to a ministry which has been there for me many times. This ministry was obviously in some desperate need. I asked my wife what she thought, and she suggested we pray about it. I agreed. As I was walking back into the kitchen, I was thinking to myself that the ministry has some flaws.

And then God responded with the kicker:

"And your ministry is perfect?"

Ouch.

Of course, there are times when legitimate objections should keep us from giving to a ministry. But, I have to seriously ask myself, is this one of those times? Am I objecting partly because of some personal taste issues? Am I asking for a standard of perfection that I would never want someone to apply to me?

Of course no ministry is perfect. We all have flaws, and we all imperfectly follow God, no matter how hard we try. We all need a little grace from each other, and a lot of grace from God.

And I need to give as I hope someone would give to me.

Vacation

For anyone who doesn't know, I have a wonderful, beautiful wife.

I had the privelege last week of rediscovering anew our love while on vacation together.

There are times when I feel that vacation and other such luxuries can be wasteful, especially in a world where so many starve daily. However, I also know that God sometimes has called his followers to rest. In the second chapter of Genesis, God set the example for resting from the daily routine, and in the New Testament, Jesus set the example of making getting away a part of life's routine.

For the past three years, a generous person has helped make it financially possible for Melissa and I to take time off and get away. This has been valuable to our marriage, and indeed our sanity.

This person (who shall remane nameless) deserves our thanks. God deserves our thanks most of all. He has faithfully provided the opportunities for us to rest, recharge, and rediscover each other. As I've mentioned before in these pages, this summer has had its share of challenges. We were perhaps a bit overdue for some time away.

If you're married, or if you're not, don't let life go too long without stepping back. Spend some time with God and with the people you love without the daily whirlwind around you. The rat race will still be there when you get back, but--and I can tell you this from experience--you will be better equipped to decide just how important the various parts of that rat race really are. Any motivated man can earn a lot of money. A wise man makes it more important to give a lot of love.

And by the way, a cruise can make a great vacation!

The vastness of the sea, the color of it, the beauty of it...these things are awe-inspiring. God has designed us such a beautiful world. The sea also gives ample reminder of just how vast and amazing this universe is. We are barely specks compared with the ocean, and if the ocean is hardly even a cosmic speck, how vast a universe this must be! And God designed it all, made it beautiful. How deserving of our worship he is.

I've heard it said that everyone will worship something.

What will you worship?

Money?

Fame?

Another person?

A philosophy?

Goals?

Accolades?

Titles?

Objects?

After seeing so much of such a small corner of the world's oceans, I am reminded again that there is only one true God who deserves our life's passion.

Getting Fired for the Glory of God

The late Mike Yaconelli, a youth ministry veteran, has some piercingly wise
insights in this article called Getting Fired for the Glory of God.

wherever searching

wherever searching
never finding
is ever untrue
because of You.

we are flickering
sputtering
picking
dying out
compared to You
rising out
of three days
two nights
a lake
away from luxury
below the deck
of humanity
into the stench
of misery

and now
when I am in my head
inquisitively
plaintively
selfishly
searching my mind
You break open my old deck
shuffle it freshly
and I can taste newness
smelling coffee
without needing it to drink
and waking up
on possibility-filled Saturday mornings
again.

Stories from Baja, part 1

Me with the pastor of Unidos in Cristo, on the roof of the church. You can see one of the kids had sneaked up there with us. In addition to manual labor, we ran a Vacation Bible School for kids and went with church members to visit neighbors, pray with them, and do some neighborhood evangelism.

It's amazing, the spirit of these people. I know that sounds like a very cliche thing to say after visiting and loving another culture, but it's true. You can see under our feet the new roofing on the church. In addition to helping keep the fire going to keep the tar hot, I got to help refill the hot tar bucket and hook it up to a rope to be hoisted up by the guys who were doing the roofing. Probably the hardest job of all actually turned out to be breaking up a huge hunk of wrapped tar into pieces to be put into the large drum in which it would heat up to become liquid. It was hot and sunny that day and the tar was viscous enough that it was not easy to break off pieces. They just kept wanting to stick together!

One of the guys working on the roof had worked in America for a while and knew a decent amount of English. I was even more eager to practice my Spanish. I remember the first time we stopped after getting inside Mexico. We were many miles inside the country, south of Ensenada, and we stopped at a Pemex (state-owned) gas station. I successfully communicated with the gas station attendant in broken Spanish, with some English mixed in. What a thrill it was; he actually understood me! I think I've found something new to love: speaking foreign languages. It's pretty cool as a hobby, but even more thrilling as a way to share God's love with more people.


The inside of Unidos in Cristo's building.

The church had only recently acquired some land and put up a small building, and they were excited and proud of it. It was explained to me that in Mexico, there just isn't the lending system we have in the United States. If you want to build a house, you might save some money, put down a foundation, save some money, put up three walls, save some money, put on a basic roof, save some money, put on some shingles, etc. There are many more unfinished-looking buildings there. Of course, in a place where rain is rare and the weather is warm year-round, I suppose there is less need to protect people from the elements.

We moved some bags of concrete into this humble, dirt-floor building, along with some other supplies. Though we didn't get to the floor while we were there, by now, they may have poured the concrete floor. One of the cool things about the organization Missions to Mexico and the Fink family who runs it is how they have groups participate in work projects. The Finks don't come in and run the show. The short-term mission groups don't come in and run the show. We all work alongside the Mexican Christians, and they are actually directing the projects. The same applies to visitation and neighborhood evangelism outreaches. Therefore, the arrival of these enthusiastic Americans doesn't have to be some kind of flash-in-the-pan experience with the love of God. By partnering with the local church, we can be more confident that God's work goes on after we leave, and the community sees more that the church is working and serving them, not just the visiting Americans.

This is especially appropriate since the Mexican Christians gave us as much or more than we gave them, through their hospitality, their love, their values, their hard work, their peace, and the all-around example of how they lived out their walk with Jesus.

Unidos in Cristo reminds me that you don't need a fancy building--you don't even need a floor--to worship God with passion.

Family, part 1

Isn't family wonderful?

Family loves each other, but doesn't always have to like each other. I feel blessed to have family that does a little of both.

It was good this weekend to see my parents, grandfather, in-laws, and of course my littlest sister-in-law.

Right now, she's complaining that I'm paying attention to the computer and not to her.

I guess it's time to go correct this injustice.

Mexico to America

It's been about three weeks since I returned from Mexico (got home Sunday, July 23).

What an awesome trip.

And a difficult three weeks.

It's interesting: when God does something amazing in our life, Satan is right there to whisper in our ears: "you know that awesome thing that just happened? it meant nothing!"

Satan is wrong, but he still whispers; sometimes he yells.

This sort of thing happens when people first except Jesus as their one and only master and the one who can save them. The days and weeks after are not necessarily a honeymoon. The evil one would like nothing better than to make accepting Jesus seem invalid.

Satan would love to make this trip, and everything my wife and I have give to youth ministry, seem invalid. Satan is wrong.

In Mexico, I saw people living on a tenth of what we have who honestly don't need what we have. Many of them have something better--a practice of valuing community, people, church, and God more than most Americans.

I hope to add more stories and pictures later, but for now, I'll write down the two biggest lessons I learned:

1. Nothing is more important that God...and I need to live that way. It's a truth I knew in my mind, and sometimes tried to live out. However, if I were to be honest, there have been far too many times where I treated my own selfish whims and wants as more important than God. It's time for that to stop. God really does matter more than anything else. A life lived with God truly at the center is the best kind of life.
2. America is a third world country. Spiritually. In many ways, Mexico is what we consider a third world country. But in truth, America is worse off. People in America can be so much more easily distracted by our stuff and our busyness. People in America can be so much more easily distracted from what actually matters: God first, then family and other people, then all that other stuff. In Mexico I saw that value lived out more than I do here at home. America is the true--and perhaps the toughest--mission field.
   

Mexico in days

I can't believe I'm leaving on Friday to head to Mexico! This will be my first mission trip experience, and it's going to be in another country. Cool!

There are so many details, so many little loose ends to tie up. I have a sneaking suspicion though that all the effort will be worth it and that once I'll go, I might not want to ever stop doing mission work. I mean, really every believer in Christ is called to be a missionary. I'm called to spread his the message of his love and grace right where I am. However, It's going to be mind-expanding, I think, to do something to spread his message in another part of the world. It might be the little things, like listening to someone tell their story, or just playing a game or a giving a smile; but I hope that I can do something to show Jesus to the people I meet and the people I go with.

It's like a speaker at Creation said one year (was it David Nasser?): once you see that [referring to people meeting and accepting Jesus Christ], you never want to see anything else.

After all, what could be better?

Creation NE 2006 -- postponed, postpartum

Creation Northeast 2006 was postponed until 2007. With the grief (it was kind of like having a pet die) came--after a bit of time and some listening to God's voice--some excitement. I was excited to see what God would do with the change of plans, the unpredictability. At least I'm learning more how to depend on God and not an event that has a lot to do with God.

And maybe I'll make it to Creation Northwest...

On Wednesday, we helped some friends from church move. What a blast hanging out with some awesome brother and sisters in Christ! Aren't we blessed to see a small reflection of the next world in this one?

Speaking of reflections of the next world... CREATION! It's a music festival, it's camping, it's seminars, it's skateboard people, it's outdoors, it's awesome. We're leaving on Tuesday. If you've never been, check it out at www.creationfest.com ...or better yet, be there Wednesday June 28 - Saturday July 1 at the Agape Farm near Mt. Union, PA. If you live on the West Coast, check out Creation Northwest, and next summer, Creation Southwest will be coming to Texas. What can I say about Creation? It's a blast, it rocks, it's fun...and it's the closest thing to heaven on earth I've ever seen.

Purpose-driven artistry - more than a buzzword

My thoughts on artistry, when at their best, are like my thoughts on ministry. Artistry for its own sake seems by nature a bit selfish. I am continually re-convinced that a big part of the appeal of The Purpose-Driven Life is its title: how we long to be purpose-driven! When I read ads for seminars, workshops, methods, treatments, and products of various types, they consistently promise a very spiritual-sounding salvation...from whatever it is that haunts us. In the end, they promsie happiness and a better life. Music is no different. However, like all these products we are being sold, music for its own sake will, in the end, end.

Like any form of human ambition, music can be driven by a variety of purposes. I would venture to assert that the best music was and is in some way, purpose-driven. However, music driven by a God-honoring purpose will outlast that driven by a worldly purpose. The things of this world are all passing away, and the things of God are all continuing on into eternity. This is what I want my music to be, though it's only by God's grace that the music I make can last that way.

Website coming...window to the world

Welcome once again to my blog. About one year after I started it, I'm just now getting this thing going. If it works, it works, and if not, it doesn't. Time will tell whether it's worth the effort. My dad has long been encouraging me to write more, and I like to write sometimes, especially when the writing isn't a school assignment. Either way, if you've got any interest in hearing my angle on the world and joining the conversation, come back again soon.