Right now we are going through a series in our Jr. High group titled “UPSIDE DOWN”. When you read the parables of Jesus, he is constantly flipping the popular ideologies and practices of his day upside down. He is taking the cultural “norms” and poking holes in them.
Personally, I find this to be the most refreshing part of Jesus, and at the same time the most challenging part of his teaching. He calls the disciples and all who hear to a new kind of life, a new kind of living, and gives a new vision of what the Kingdom of God is like.
What would do if we took these ideas, teachings, and thoughts of Jesus to heart? Would the way we live today look differently? I would argue Yes, and even those of us that would call us Christians, I believe if we really began to live according to the way of Jesus that we too would begin to live very differently.
In the parables, Jesus is often times speaking to the Pharisees. The Pharisees were the religious folk of Jesus’ day. I can’t help but think that those stories are still being directed at the Religious folk of today. As I go through the stories, I can’t help but think of us inside the church needing to listen to these stories and truths just as much as anyone. This has been a part of my teaching over the last 3 weeks, which has been great to teach, but also very good to hear.
For example, this weekend I am teaching about the Great Banquet. Sometimes we forget who the Kingdom of God is for, we (Christians) can become very pious, thinking that we have it together and it is “others” in need of God’s grace.
Oh how quick we forget. We (christians) sometimes have such a short memory. I sometimes have a short memory. I was ( and am everyday) in need of God’s saving grace, in need of the mercy that God hands out, broken and lost. The message of Jesus is beautiful, and I am in need of it.
I have been loving this series. What is your favorite parable?
That word would describe my blogging activity lately. I promise to start putting some more up. Not that what i have to say is soooo profound, but I will do so anyways.
I keep hearing people say ” I can’t believe it was 8 years ago already”, and I totally get that. Maybe because we all remember so vividly what we were doing that day. I remember almost everything from that day. The image of the planes going into the towers, over and over and over and over again. The towers falling to their end. The cloud of smoke that covered the sky of NYC.
I can almost feel the tears welling up inside of me right now as I recall that day. I am saddened that we live in a world where something like that is a reality. My heart breaks for the families that lost loved ones that day.
As I was driving on the freeway this morning I couldn’t help but think how quick we seem to forget in this country. The popular phrase for 9/11 is ” we will never forget” or something along those lines. In that we will never forget that day, we seem to forget easily some things so closely related to that day.
Do you remember how much the people of this country seemed to come together as a result of that day? Everyone all of the sudden became a life that we cared about. We almost instantly felt drawn to people, our neighbors, and strangers. There was a sense of togetherness that swept through this country. I don’t know if that is so much the case anymore. Or, how about the lives of our soldiers. It seems so crazy to me how we have lost so many lives in Afghanistan and Iraq, and yet we don’t so much as blink at the death tolls. Not that we don’t care, but we certainly don’t lament in the same way. The current wars have cost our country and other countries exponentially more lives than Sept. 11 did.
I hope we never forget. It was such a sad day.
I love New York City. There is no other place like it. Enjoy the video. These are still pictures.
New York city portrait, HD time lapse, April 2006, music by Moby from Max Moos on Vimeo.
Am I the only person that reads multiple books at the same time? I have a serious problem with never totally finishing a book, but starting 2 more. But… right now here are some books that I am chewing on.
1. Sustainable Youth Ministry – this book is good so far. I recommend it for any youth worker, but there is a good amount of info. that is either obvious or non-relevant. Even with that said, there is still a good amount of info that is worth the brain power.
2. The Divine Conspiracy – This book is so good. I think I am the last person in ministry to read this book, but none-the-less, it is such a good read. Willard’s approach to the gospel and the Kingdom is so refreshing and it resonates deep within my soul. It has taken me a year to get through 2 chapters, but in the last week I have been movin’ through it and really enjoying it.
3. The 5 dysfunctions of a team – This book is a fictitious story about a team of executives that should be the biggest and best in their field, but… they quickly find out that talent isn’t all you need to make a team work. This book is a good read, the thing that I have taken away most is just understanding how important conflict is and how to have healthy conflict.
On Deck….
Colossians Remixed… I can’t tell you how excited I am to jump into this book. Bring it…
the rockies
my beautiful pregnant wife
our seats at the Rockies game (6th row!!)
me above the timberline in the Rockies
liz and I at New Belgium Brewery
Liz and I found out last week that we are going to be having a boy!! The more this sinks in, the more excited I get about being a dad (that is weird to say) of a boy. There are so many things that I am looking forward to: teaching my boy how to hit a baseball, how to throw a football, how to read, how to swim, and so many more things. But then I also think about the weight and responsibility that comes with having a child. Am I ready for that kind of responsibility? Are we ever?
I think about the culture we live in, and the mindset that comes with being a man. The images of women that are scattered everywhere, the underlying belief that a woman’s worth comes from their looks, the idea that woman are here to serve us men. This is just a glimpse into the world that my boy will experience. My job is to bring my boy up to be a MAN. A man that will show respect to women, that will see them for who they are on the inside not their looks. I have this responsibility to be the example for my son. Wow, that is heavy.
Above all else, I pray that my son will know the saving grace of Jesus Christ. I want him to experience the love and mercy of my God.
I have so much to learn.
I am so excited, but I am so scared.
If you could choose anywhere to live, where would it be? Why?
I have that place. Ft. Collins. This place has everything that I want in a place to call home.
Liz and I have been here in Ft. Collins since Thursday night, and I can’t get enough of it. The homes are beautiful! The landscaping here is perfect, the weather is awesome, the people are friendly, the food is great, the scenery is beautiful, the location is ideal.
I love it. If it weren’t for my job, and the fact that we own a house in PHX I would be fighting for a chance to be out here. I lived here in 91 and 92, and I am ready to come back. BUT… I love my job and I love what is going down at Mission Community Church. I wish I could take all of Mission and bring it out here.
Where would you live? What is important when considering a place to live?
Yesterday Ryan, our new High School Pastor, spoke on anger. It got me thinking about anger, the stuff I get angry about, the things I don’t get angry about, the way my anger often fizzles into nothing because of apathy or comfort. Then I started to get angry that we as the church allow some things to anger us and not other things. Ryan mentioned at the end of his talk about how the church is often viewed by those outside the church. It was something along these lines: ” We are known as gay haters and hypocrites”. In that this is not true for all people in the church, and not all churches, and not all followers of Christ, it is true for many in the church.
That all got me thinking about the way we deal specifically with homosexuality and the gay community. We have allowed the loud voices in some circles to get the attention and dictate to the world what “we” (Christians) believe. Here is my issue: We have spent so much time, energy, and resources ( including a ton of cash) on fighting an issue such as gay marriage, and all the while there are people in this world that don’t have food and clean water. We are choosing to spend all of these things on fighting something that most likely won’t accomplish what we want.
Here is what I am hoping. Can we be a people who are known for love? Love of all people. It is so easy to say: love the sinner not the sin, but that is often an empty saying that gives us a reason to continue our non-loving ways.
I hope that our anger is directed at things that God gets angry about. For me this is hard, but I pray that God will continue to break my heart for the things that breaks his heart.
What are your thoughts? What should a follower of Christ get angry about?
