Resurrection without Death?

Karl Barth wrote, "Only where graves are is there resurrection." In our lives of faith, we have a desire to be close to Jesus, and we are often frustrated with the lack of closeness. More often than not, we are looking for that closeness without regard for what Jesus told us that intimacy would require of us.

Think of the ones who told Jesus they wanted to follow him. What did Jesus say would be required of them? Luke 9:23, right?

Deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow him.

We want to avoid the obedience and still get the intimacy.

We want to avoid the sacrifice and still get the blessing.

We want the resurrection without the death.

But one does not resurrect from life.

Think of the parts of your life in which you would like to see new life (resurrection).

Realize that we only see resurrection where we are willing to first die. We only get to find the new life of real connection with Jesus when we first willingly give up our stubborn desire to live life on our own terms (die).

I want to be a pastor who...

I want to be a pastor who... ...is thoughtful, sensitive, and at ease in God's presence so that I can be thoughtful, sensitive, and at ease in your presence. (not on the run with crowded time)

...reads and studies, but is attentive and informed enough to help us understand what we are up against in a culture that squeeeeeeezes the God out of us. (not just trying harder without perspective)

...has the time to be with you in easy-going, deliberate conversation so I can understand and be a comrade to you as you grown in Christ--listening to your doubts, your difficulties, your desires, and your excitements (not always running around frantic)

...leads you in lives of worship, a pastor who brings you before God in an entangled love-affair, a pastor who preaches sermons that make scripture within-reach, current, and alive (not just busy with tasks for busy's sake)

...is able to give you a language and imagination that restores in you a sense of worth as a Christian in your homes, your schools, and your workplaces (not instilling in you a sense of being only an attender)

...is less concerned with what I think you should be doing, and more concerned with being a witness to what God is doing in you and your life.

...is patient enough with our mess to notice the forming miracles (not miss out on the day to day mystery of "us")

Jesus Does Not Work Here

Of all the stories of Jesus in the gospels, very few of them take place in the temple or synagogue. Most of them are played out in the workplace and community.  Just think of your favorite stories of Jesus. Where did they take place? A fishing boat? A wedding? A well? Someone's home? A garden over some fish sticks and bread?

Jesus very rarely appears in a temple or synagogue, and spends most of his time in the workplace and community. Somewhere along the line, we began assuming Jesus only works in the church. We began to assume this sort of partitioning with the Spirit, our faith, our story.

Our work, our school, our day to day life does not take us away from Jesus. In fact, it is those parts of our life that continue his involvement.

We have to learn to identify Jesus and his Spirit in our workplace, our homes, our schools, and our community. Once we begin to do that, we start to see our role as a true Church and congregation outside of Sunday.

no title [poem]

this is for the broken ones smart enoughto know how foolish they are this for the ones who have tried and found life lacking

This is for those not content to confess that THIS is all there is

this is for burdened ones looking outside themselves for MORE more power more energy more brilliance something more

it is for those who pass up opportunities to pursue anything inferior to themselves

Swallowing a Cow and Other Realities

How many times were you told as a child to chew before you swallow? There is good reason for that. You cannot swallow whole pieces of steak or you are going to choke. When it comes to various parts of our life, we often try to swallow the whole cow, and we more than choke. We get outright discouraged by the impossibilities.

We have huge goals, dreams, and hopes. There is nothing wrong with that. Big dreams and hopes are only accomplished with smaller goals.

It goes beyond hopes and dreams. It involves our desires.

We desire to be better people. We desire to be closer to God, and those are great desires. Our desires are only accomplished with smaller goals in those directions.

You will not write that book if you don't LOVE sentences.

You will not win any battle in life without a thousand cuts.

Intimacy with God is an unrealistic expectation if you do not make realistic goals like reading His Word 3 days this week, journaling 3 times this week, or praying each day...this week.

Healing that wound in your life is an unrealistic expectation, but a realistic goal might be not isolating yourself or avoiding people this week...and next week...and...

Being a more involved spouse or parent is an unrealistic expectation, but a realistic goal might be to ask your spouse on a date this week, have a 'daddy-date' this Saturday, say 'I love you' once a day this week, or after each conversation this week.

This goes on and on and on...

When you do not set realistic goals, you can only form unrealistic expectations.

Coming Book Review...finally

I had taken a break from book reviews for Thomas Nelson and Booksneeze as it had reached a point that I was reading through their books so rapidly, I was rarely reading anything for myself. My break is up, and I'm back to it. I will soon be receiving the book Billy Graham in Quotes. I am excited to see what this book might have to offer. Keep coming back to get the official review in time.

What is the best news you could receive right now?

An email arrives in my inbox. It is from Big Publisher Guy, and he is contacting me personally to let me know that they would like to pay a handsome price to...just...write. "We want you to write a book for us, and in return, we plan to pay you a great salary to support your family complete with health benefits. Once you're finished, we will schedule you a speaking tour to travel with your family while speaking all over the country and world with the message that God gives you.

You start tomorrow!

Oh, and you're debt free! We've paid all your ridiculous student loans in full."

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What is the best news you could receive right NOW?

*don't Jesus Juke me with something about the gospel being the best news ever

Pastor's Confession: Part 2

If you haven't read yesterday's post, you should in order to understand today's a little more clearly. In the place God has brought me as a pastor (reflected yesterday), here is a letter I have written to my leadership team. How willing would you be to write a similar letter to your students, your people, your leaders?

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Hey you guys! I have been thinking about some things a lot lately, and I'd appreciate your feedback here if you could.

I'll come right out with it. Do you think we (I) am missing it by just preaching through ______ right now?

By that question I mean that I want to be more present in where the group itself is. I don't want to be so wrapped up in the study of things that we completely miss where the members of the group are spiritually.

That is not an issue of being spiritually mature or not. I mean more whether this is even something that this group is thinking about or needing right now? Would we be more true to leading and pastoring this group by coming to different issues than our current study?

I keep getting glimpses of the window that night we wrote our prayers on them. I remember seeing a lot of "failure" and "fear" and "lacking connection to God" and things of that sort.

Are we missing "it" by just plugging away at ______? And if so, what, in your conversations, in your own life, in your growth groups are the things that are continually coming up? What is a way we could find out more to hear where members of FUSION really are spiritually and in life?

DISCUSS!!! (click "reply all" so it is a discussion)

-------- Seriously! Discuss, please!!! 

Pastor's Confession: Part 1

I confess that it is easier for me to avoid your life in a few ways even though I certainly do not wish to. I confess that it is easier for me to remember that you have no idea what my day to day looks like outside of Sunday, but to be fair, I do not often know what your day to day looks like either.

I confess that scripture and truth are more natural to me than the soul and prayer, and I can be more focused on soldiering through a topic while missing your soul and your life.

I confess that I lack presence in your life when I can spend an enormous amount of time in scripture and study.

I confess that I can allow my own scholarship of the word to drive my study instead of allowing what I know of your life and struggle and questions to drive my study of scripture.

I confess that I have not been pastorally present to you and with you.

I confess these things not because scripture and truth are not as important, but because your soul and your life and your heart require an equivalent demand on my attention as scripture and truth...and I have not held that balance.

I confess that these things have left me at a distance from your day to day.

I confess these things SO THAT I might reveal to you what I am seeing clearer and clearer, but also because I hope to see God close that distance between us that we may be 'congregation' and not just 'pastor + people'.

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Pastors and leaders, would you offer a similar confession? Why or why not? 

Speed Bump Conflict

Conflicts are speed bumps. You have to slow down in order to deal with them instead of driving out of your way to avoid them.

You do not avoid speed bumps because you do not want to disobey the laws but because you do not want to get caught

You do not avoid conflict because you do not want to hurt their feelings but because you don't want to hurt their feelings to their face

Allow people to speed over speed bumps to learn not to speed over speed bumps

Allow teammates to do conflict poorly to learn how to handle conflict well

Communities without conflict are contrived

Archived Poetry

I went back to an old site I had created to post all the poetry I wrote in college and before. No, I will not divulge the address to this site. I will share small glimpses of different phrases I can still appreciate today. Mismatch fractions of old pieces. -----

For if this were a movie, I’d fast-forward to the end. Then rewind back And slo-mo through again.

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Play with the metaphors around you for you are surpassing the literal and catching a glimpse of God

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The sun is liquid. I can see the puddles on the branches. Sunshine drips through naked trees, refracting straight toward the ground.

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If I placed my heart on the line would you be there to pick it up?

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It's the way your eyes are so big I could never find my way out of them.

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