10 Things I Am Not Good At

Life usually doesn’t fit into nice neat little lists, but that doesn’t keep me from trying. Welcome to my Tuesday 10, where I try to fit the messiness of life into a list of ten. There are so many things that I'm just not good at. Here are ten of them.

1. Dancing. I dance like a midget in a hurricane.

2. Baseball. I played for years, and never really achieved much in the way of skill--plus I hate it.

3. Lying. This just seems to come naturally for some, but I find the truth to be much easier. There is incredible freedom in truth.

4. Being sympathetic to those who make poor choices. This is partially because of #5 on this list, but I am earnestly trying to improve in this area of life. I'm not there yet.

5. Overcoming personal self-righteousness. I'm a smart guy. I know this and have known it for most of my life. As a by product of that self-awareness I often fall into the trap of thinking I know better. It's not that I think I am better, I just often find myself thinking I know a better way to do or say just about anything--especially where my faith is concerned. This is an unhealthy habit that I've been made aware of by the Holy Spirit in recent months and am trying to work on.

6. Playing music by ear. Many talented musicians can hear a melody and join right in. Not me. I usually need to have sheet music, and some time to practice. However, in nearly twenty years of playing music, I have become really good at looking like I know how to play by ear when only playing as an accompanying instrumentalist.

7. Eating slowly. Many people eat slowly so as to savor the flavor of whatever delectable bit they're biting. I inhale it, because frankly I would rather be doing something else.

8. Doing nothing. I need my brain to be nearly constantly active. Sitting still, menial labor, and other mindless activities are a challenge. In school I overcame this by drawing on everything. Not much has changed in thirty years.

9. Remembering short term. I can tell you vivid details of conversations from twenty years ago, but I might not remember what I went into the kitchen to do when I get there.

10. Determining proper cooking portions. If I am cooking for more than 4 people, which is fairly often, I am horrible at determining the proper amount of food to prepare. I always cook way too much.

The Missing: Confessions

These are my confessions: I can be pretty self-righteous at times. I am prone to periodic bouts of laziness. Often I speak before carefully weighing the impact of my words. In years past I had an explosive temper and sour attitude. During college I struggled through a disastrous relationship born of hormones and naivety, which propelled me into depression and a long battle with lustful addictions. I used to be horrible to my dad. I remember once as a kid when a lady in my faith family got up in front of the congregation and began to confess all kinds of sin to the entire audience. I found it strange even then, but she, in her newness of faith, did not. Just as she had publicly declared her resolve to follow Christ, she also publicly declared her shortcomings. I have a feeling that I'm not the only one who found the entire thing to be strange that day, but she definitely had the right of it.

We're supposed to confess our sins to one another.

I'm not very Catholically, but I really think they have us Protestant folks beat hands down when it comes to the discipline of confession. However I do find the act of entering a little booth and whispering all your failures through a little screen to a psuedo-anonoymous person to be kind of missing the point. Us trendy evangelicals and are our token "accountability partners" aren't really any better though.

I believe that there is incredible power in the act of confession. Especially public confession. But we've been duped and deceived into thinking otherwise. Granted, there have been some pretty high profile ministers that have been all but ostracized from the faith for their sins, but mostly because they waited so long to come clean that their adherents felt betrayed at the revealing nature of their reviled activity. Early confession may have spared the congregation great pain, and gifted the offending pastor with an incredible support group for dealing with their issues.

Simply put, none of us are perfect. In my life I have overcome some of the stuff that we in the religious world would classify as deep sin so that now I have to wrestle periodically with the sin of thinking that I have no sin. All of us are steeped in sin. All of us are, quite frankly, jacked up. Either we're like the younger son from Luke 15, all free-spirited and lost in our sin, or we're like the religious older brother, lost in our false self perceptions.

I have seen confession, transparency, and gut level hard hitting honesty break down some tumultuous spiritual barriers in people's lives. What would happen if the next time you walked in to your worship center, instead of asking the rhetorical, " how are ya Joe?" you simply asked, "how have you sinned lately?" I know, just the thought of it seems deeply uncomfortable...but that is exactly the problem isn't it. We have all grown way too comfortable with our sin.

The Missing: Light

In the years before laptops, e-readers, and iDevices dominated my technological library, reading most often required possessing actual physical books. I would lie in bed at night snuggled deep in my blankets, with my lamp on, book in hand, consuming the paragraphs, pages, and principles being communicated through the written word. My wife and I are completely different when it comes to our lighting and lamp preferences. I would always point the lamp above my head so that the light might reflect off of the wall and illuminate the object of my concentration, whereas Jamie prefered the light to shine directly on whatever she was reading. Recently we decided to rearrange our bedroom to accommodate the impending birth of our firstborn son. A result of this new arrangement is that my side of the bed is now right next to a window. A window covered by a curtain. A window covered by a curtain that doesn't reflect light very well. I found this out firsthand tonight as I crawled into bed with an old book I've been revisiting. It was too hard to read in that light, and considering earlier in the night I had spent a significant amount of time in the first chapter of the Gospel of John, thoughts of light were fresh on my heart and mind.

And it hit me. Not for the first time. That a lot of what we're missing in our "modern" worship gatherings is light. The Light. Capital L. The kind of Light that John writes so beautifully about in that first chapter. The same John which the authors of the other gospels label as the "disciple whom Jesus loved." The same John which wrote three incredible epistles. The same John God chose to author the Book of Revelations.

John, above every other human author of scripture is uniquely qualified to describe Christ as the Light. We know light as this miraculous wave of energy which radiates from a high energy source and reflects off of stuff, and is then interpreted by our eyes, and processed into what we see. John knew light as the Light. He knew him by name, Jesus, by the sound of his laugh, the heft of his handshake, and the depth of his incredible love for the wayward and marginalized. He witnessed his wisdom, marveled at his miracles, and basked in his presence. For us light is a description of electromagnetic energy whereby we see, but for John Light is a description of his friend, teacher, Savior, and God. We see via the reflection of light. John saw via the experience of Light.

I can't help but feel like a lot of what is going on in many churches today, or at the very least, many of the ones I have attended, is way too similar to me trying to read by the poor reflection of my little lamp shining upon the curtain. We need more of the Light, and less of our feebly manufactured substitute. We need to be a people of the Light, living in Light, shining forth the incredible love and truth of Christ to the darkness around us.

The best and easiest way for us to become that kind of people and for our churches to change into launching points for light bearers instead of bomb shelters where we attempt to hide from darkness, is for us to experience the Light for ourselves. Not a manipulative, crocodile tear inducing, guilt driven experience that happens around the front of a sanctuary after someone gives a stirring (or not so stirring) oration; but a day-by-day exposure to the absolute truth, person, power, and love of Christ. Miracles can happen in a moment, but disciples take time. John knew the Light because the Light was the Word and the Word became Flesh. John loved and lived in the context of Christian community with Christ.

We need a return to Christ-centered discipleship that offers a context of authentic Christian community. We need to see the Light of God, experience the light of God, and be the Light of God for those around us; anything less is unacceptable.

10 Awkward Things Only Health Practitioners Can Get Away With Saying

Life usually doesn’t fit into nice neat little lists, but that doesn’t keep me from trying. Welcome to my Tuesday 10, where I try to fit the messiness of life into a list of ten. Jamie and I have spent a lot of time around doctors the last nine months. We've had some awkward conversations with healthcare professionals. Here are some of the awkward things that we could remember.

1. Do you feel it when I touch you here?

2. Don't worry, I'm not gonna sneak up on you.

3. You may feel a small pinch.

4. Are you allergic to latex?

5. I need you to undress and put this on.

6. When was your last bowel movement?

7. Pee in this for me.

8. Would you like a circumcision?

9. Don't worry, it will fall off in one to three weeks.

10. I need you to bend over and put your elbows on your knees.

The Missing: Questions

I've worked through some intensely personal faith questions in the last year. Some questions were earnest inquiries brought to me by the passionate students I am so blessed to be able to interact with. Many were thoughts formed or posed during times of personal prayer, study, fellowship, or church attendance. I take notes endlessly; at the grocery store, laying in bed, and even in the middle of worship services-- pretty much anytime I have a legitimate question involving my faith. For regular readers of nathanology, you have been privy to some of these questions--but not all. For those who do not know me, you should know that I proccess knowledge through questions. I approach my faith in much the same way, but where a fact (such as multiplication tables or important historical dates) can be memorized in order to add the information to your repertoire of knowledge; faith is a kind of knowledge that is only ever truly gained through experience.

I experiece God in many ways. I find that I think most often about Him while engaging in the arts, outdoors, in the company of loved ones and close friends, through reading and study, and through stories, but my most intensely personal experiences with God always come during times of prayerfully inquisitive contemplation.

For a thirty-one year old man, I have read the bible very consistently for the majority of my life. Above all other things in my life, this is a practice of spiritual discipline that I never waver in, except for late in the summer last year when I had surgery on my mouth and missed a few days. I read it Christologically; meaning that I believe pretty much the entire collective work points to the Christ and that Jesus embodies the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets (not their abolishment) and that He is our only means of reconciliation to God.

For the last few weeks I've been reading and studying the Gospels, but before that I spent several months--actually most of the last year, studying Old Testament Law and Prophecy. I don't write these things as some kind of badge of honor or in a shallow attempt to elevate or promote myself, but as a sort of foundation to support the heart of what I want to begin to address with these next few entrees on this site.

The more I read and study the Bible, the more I realize that much of the stuff I have experienced, and continue to experience within the confines of a physical church property are sorely out of touch with God. We live in an age where Christian religion has become a sort of polarizing spiritual taboo, even among Christians. You have one camp that likes to quote James 4 and talk about how terrible religion is as a permissive sort of smoke screen so that they might live as some kind of spiritually empowered free spirit. On the other hand you have another group that is nearly hopelessly consumed by the traditions of what has gone before or the assumptions that they derive from those blind traditions. I believe that God's truth lies somewhere in the middle, and I'm going to spend the next month or so trying to unpack my thoughts about it here for all to see.

It starts with this question: What is missing?

10 Things I Can't Wait to Do with My Son

Life usually doesn’t fit into nice neat little lists, but that doesn’t keep me from trying. Welcome to my Tuesday 10, where I try to fit the messiness of life into a list of ten. My son will be born any day now. This is my list of ten things that I'm really looking forward to doing with him. This list could have been soooooooo much longer. Thanks for reading.

1. Shoot a weapon.

2. Write and illustrate a kids book.

3. Watch Toy Story.

4. Talk about God.

5. Shop for mommy's birthday.

6. Play video games.

7. Build a Lego castle, spaceship, and other speculatively creative construct.

8. Sing and play music.

9. Basketball

10. Share the meaning of his name

10 Annoying Social Media Quirks

Life usually doesn’t fit into nice neat little lists, but that doesn’t keep me from trying.  Welcome to my Tuesday 10, where I try to fit the messiness of life into a list of ten. Social media is dominant in our society.  Facebook is quickly approaching the 1 billion accounts mark.  Most of us use it and love it, but not everything is great.  Some things people do or say on social media are just incredibly annoying.  Here's my take on ten of the things that annoy me most about social media.

1. Profile pics: The "Bathroom Mirror self portrait." Really?!? The "This is my cute kid, but not me," "This is my favorite sports team," and "this is my political affiliation" profile pics. No, it's supposed to be a picture of you. Use your cover pic for the rest of that crap. Actually, no, don't do that either please.

2. Facebook social game apps.

3. People who cry every time there is an update or change. Seriously guys, timeline is not the end of the world.

4. People that try to be clever, and fail in a way that's not funny enough for the rest of us to laugh about.

5. Creepers.

6. Shared accounts. Please, please, please, MrandMrs Sharedaccount, just stop. We all know it's really Mrs that does all the posting anyways. It's kind of confusing and weird. When Jesus said you would leave your mother and father and become one flesh I'm pretty sure he didn't have Facebook in mind.

7. My Space, LinkedIn, and Google +.

8. Slutty Twitter whores that unexpectedly follow you and tweet random virus riddled links with your name in them.

9. People who comment on trending topics just to show up in the feed. Even worse, people who double dip by putting multiple trending topics in one statement.

10. People who actually think online drama is real and then threaten to delete their Social Media accounts in order to gain attention. This really is the "grown up" version of running away.

Water the Flower

Spring is a wonderful season full of flowers, and although it's still not technically spring for a few more days, we all know that nature doesn't wait to do it's thing simply because men decided to stamp a name on a calendar.  Spring also happens to be my favorite time of year.  All the signs of life creep up all around us and blossom into serene visages of warmth and color.

The other day I was chilling on the couch and happened to catch movement out of the corner of my eye.  A quick peek between the curtains and I saw our dear elderly neighbor walking off our porch, a flower-filled vase left on the small decorative stool my wife keeps near the front door.  It was an incredibly sweet gesture.  She returned a few minutes later to ring the doorbell and let me know that the flowers were there and that they needed water.  I thanked her, engaged in a few moments of small talk, and then returned inside to my Xbox and the quiet morning.  The flowers went to the windowsill.

The next day one of the flowers had fallen off the stem.  The whole thing just fell completely off.  There was still one pretty flower left, until the next day.  It fell off too.  Then it hit me.  I had completely forgotten to water them.  Oops.

When people first come to faith in Christ, they are often fully blooming.  They are excited, they are full of life, they often want to share their story with everyone around them.  Over time this often changes, not always, or even in every situation; but many times Christianity just becomes a kind of status quo.  One so full of religiosity that all it really does is replace the previous state of misconduct and sin that the person previously existed in.  This is unhealthy, unnatural, and depriving.  New Christians need help in their early development.  They need encouragement, accountability, instruction, and deep relationships.

For those of us who are already in right relationship with God, it is our mandate to help shape, disciple, and encourage those new to the faith.  Jesus spoke in John 4 about wells of eternal living water, we're not that...and never will be; but we might be the gardener God uses from time to time to help pour into someone fresh in their faith.  Think about it.  Have you helped water any flowers lately?

Jeremiah 6:14 Today

Lately I have been studying the Old Testament book Jeremiah during my quiet time with the Lord.  While reading through the sixth chapter the fourteenth verse really jumped out at me.  As I sat in my office I couldn't get this verse off of my mind. So I decided to share my thoughts.

They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace. - Jeremiah 6:14 NASB

For the last couple of weeks I have written several different pieces examining Jeremiah 6:14.  In this final entry I would like to address what I believe all of this means for you and I in our present situation.  I have posed several questions throughout all of this, many of which may have pointedly targeted parts of your faith, but maybe none of it really landed to close to the mark for you.  I won't assume or presume to know your situation, your heart, or your depth of maturity (or lack thereof) in the Christian faith.  I do, however, hope that the final addition to my thoughts on this passage at least gives you a moment to pause and reflect on where you stand and how you approach your faith.

There is a palpable arrogance hanging heavy over much of the evangelical Christian movement.  This saddens me.  I realize that for some this might seem ironic coming from me.  I am often known as one who can be overtly blunt in my delivery.  However, I believe that in the realm of Christian thought and the arena of evangelistic communication there is a fine line between arrogance and confidence.  Confidence comes from asking hard questions of yourself and your faith, developing your thoughts on God, and developing a deep understanding and trust for the Almighty that stretches far beyond simple rationale, logic, or mental contemplation.  Confidence in Christ is a developed sacred trust forged from trial, testing, and triumph.  Arrogance on the other hand is the result of a lazy approach to faith that is a bastardized form of assumption and bad religion (yes, I believe there is a distinction between good and bad religion).  It is born out of insecurity, the twisted need to control, and the desperate clinging desire to reassure the fragility of one's faith through grandiose gestures and sweeping blanket statements.

I believe arrogance spreads it's jagged maw and spurts its wretched message in two forms these days.  The first comes through those that constantly pander their message in a way that they know will be pleasing to those listening, and I'm not talking about style of delivery.  They shape the content to suit the audience's expectations.  In simple metaphorical terms, they tickle the audience's ears with pleasing platitudes.  The second disastrous voice of arrogance is that chord made from those harsh tones of superiority combined with the dissonant absence of humility.  Many Christians in their fervor to assert the innerancy of Scripture have completely missed the fact that we often err.  We are so far less than perfect.

I could go on and on about how annoying arrogance can be, but this whole thing is beginning to sound arrogant itself.  I am starting to sound as if I am attempting to posture my non-arrogance in an incredibly arrogant way, and I hope that is not what you might take from this.  I believe, very simply, that we can find truth, communicate that truth, and care deeply for those around us without seeming belligerently self-righteous, and confoundedly pompous.  The Old Testament prophet Micah put it pretty well. He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.  - Micah 6:8 NIV

See the rest of the series here.

Jeremiah 6:14 "Peace"

Lately I have been studying the Old Testament book Jeremiah during my quiet time with the Lord.  While reading through the sixth chapter the fourteenth verse really jumped out at me.  As I sat in my office I couldn't get this verse off of my mind. So I decided to share my thoughts.

 

They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace. - Jeremiah 6:14 NASB

Peace: it's a word used so often that almost any socially aware person in our society is numb to the sound of it by the time they are actually consciously aware of what it means.  Dictionary.com puts it this way: the normal, nonwarring condition of a nation, group of nations, or the world.

 

In the context of this passage, the religious authority of Jeremiah's day was saying that Israel was at peace--but that was so far from the truth.  In fact, this was a point of tension throughout most of Jeremiah's ministry that continually set him at odds against both ruling authorities, and false religious authorities.  He would often deliver a prophetic message of impending invasion and disaster, many times at the behest of the king, which would be contrary to both what the king wanted to hear, and what the false prophets were saying.  He would be told he was wrong, ignored, often jailed, and sometimes have his life threatened for not delivering the message the people wanted to hear.

There is a significant truth for us to take away from this.  Often the true message of God, be it deliverance, redemption, or correction--is willfully ignored by the masses.  Even if someone broaches the subject with you, there is no guarantee they will accept the truth you share with them.  The point of this particular part of the passage is to illuminate for us the principle that people will often accept what they want to hear over what they need to hear.  Not everyone certainly, but in Jeremiah's day it was a majority.  That makes it all the more important for the believer, to not only seek God's truth in every situation with a deep reverence, but to also communicate it with loving compassion and unwavering commitment.

 

 

In an environment where people listen to what best satisfies their expectations, will, and wants--nothing less than speaking the "truth in love" (Eph 4:14-16) will do.

 

See the rest of the series here.

10 Lessons from Luke 15

 Life usually doesn't fit into nice neat little lists, but that doesn't keep me from trying.  Welcome to my Tuesday 10, where I try to fit the messiness of life into a list of ten.

Today I'm taking a look at the fifteenth chapter of the Gospel of Luke.  It's an incredibly interesting bit where Jesus shares three parables with a mixed crowd of both "sinners" and the religious Pharisees.

1.  v2 The religious people thought Jesus fraternizing with the "lost" was scandalous.

2.  v7, 9, & 10 Heaven rejoices over the salvation of the lost, and so should we.

3.  v13 Just because we have it, doesn't mean we should spend it.

4.  v14 Don't waste it, you might need it.

5.  v17-19 Your journey to forgiveness starts with your realization that you need forgiving.

6.  v20 The Father welcomes back the lost without condition.

7.   v21 Confession is important.

8.  v22-24 Nothing but sonship will do.  God doesn't make us servants.  He makes us family.

9.  v25-27 Don't be so caught up in your works that you miss God working.

10.  v28-31 Stop trying to earn what the Father already gave you.

Jeremiah 6:14 "Superficial"

Lately I have been studying the Old Testament book Jeremiah during my quiet time with the Lord.  While reading through the sixth chapter the fourteenth verse really jumped out at me.  As I sat in my office I couldn't get this verse off of my mind. So I decided to share my thoughts.

They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace. - Jeremiah 6:14 NASB

Let's face it.  We all know superficial people.  To some degree each of us are guilty of it ourselves--and probably more often than we would ever be comfortable admitting.  I could spend the next few paragraphs talking about the shallow superficiality of people; but that's not really what this passage is about.

Plainly Jeremiah is writing of superficial healing being touted about by the religious order of the day.  What does that mean?  It means that the religious leadership of Israel were not addressing any deep problems of their time.

We see this all the time in our era as well.  The human heart hasn't changed much in the last 2,500 years and we still have pretty much the same disposition toward wickedness that the prophet's contemporaries did--we've only came up with flashier ways to package and present them.  To remove this idea from a religious context for one moment it is very much like a physician who seeks only to treat symptoms and not the underlying problem, be it sickness, injury, or disease.

Now, think about this within the framework of Christianity.  Do we do this?  Do we try really hard to treat people's problems without addressing their condition?  Absolutely.  The movement I belong to is, I think, sometimes especially guilty of this.  We become incredibly concerned with seeing people respond immediately within a religious service, but often fail to find out or follow up with how they might be responding in a month's time.

When men encounter the genuine message of the Gospel, and through it--God, it forces a change.  I present this as a challenge to myself and my fellow believers: does the message we present to those around us go beyond the finite temporal struggles of a daily existence and address a deeper condition.  Is the Gospel, Tylenol for a moral headache, or Virtuous Healing for a diseased soul?

See the rest of the series here.

10 Goofy Preacher Idioms

 Life usually doesn't fit into nice neat little lists, but that doesn't keep me from trying.  Welcome to my Tuesday 10, where I try to fit the messiness of life into a list of ten.

Preface: People I love, admire, and respect frequently say things from this list. This is me poking fun at my colleagues, friends, and mentors. It's meant to be in good fun.  So, if you're an oversensitive type person quickly close your eyes and turn off your computer before you get your feelings hurt.

1. "If I was going to title this message I would title it, ________."
You just titled it.  Skip the whole first part of that.

2. "Pray with me."
We are.  You're the one with the microphone and a dozen floor monitors pointed in your direction.

3. "I'm preaching better than you're shouting." 
If you have to say this, then you are not, or you just don't know your audience very well.

4. "Can I get a witness?"
Yes, we all just saw or heard you say that. What about it?

5. "Under the spout where the glory comes out."
There simply has to be a better way to say this that doesn't involve or imply strange claustrophobic plumbing imagery.

6. "God showed up and showed out."
No, no he didn't.  God is not an infant.

7. "I don't know why people will shout more at a football game, than at church."
Probably has something to do with that whole being reverent thing.

8. "Fire insurance."
What kind of deductible does that come with?

9. "Take on hell with a water pistol."
What about that whole our weapons are not carnal weapons thing?

10. "In closing..."
If you have to reassure us that you're almost finished by making this statement then you took too long to get there.  I do this all the time, but pretend like I don't know that I did by not making this statement.

Jeremiah 6:14 "My People"

Lately I have been studying the Old Testament book Jeremiah during my quiet time with the Lord.  While reading through the sixth chapter the fourteenth verse really jumped out at me.  As I sat in my office I couldn't get this verse off of my mind. So I decided to share my thoughts.

They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace. - Jeremiah 6:14 NASB

My people is an easy enough phrase to grasp the meaning of in the context of this passage.  My meaning mine--as in God's; and people meaning the Jews.  This prophetic writing is stating quite plainly that God is unhappy with the way that His chosen ones are being treated by the people (prophets and priests) responsible for directing them to Him.

Jeremiah has over fifty chapters.  Much of the content deals with the approaching judgement against the Israelites by the conquering Babylonian army.  And even though God is readying the judgement that many of Jeremiah's later chapters deal with, He still stamps the Jews with His ownership in this early passage.

Something I believe that this helps to point out is the idea that God's judgement is often redemptive in nature (for more on that read Jonah's story in the book by the same name.)  God often used judgement in the OT to steer His people toward correction.  Of course, when we think of judgement in our modern era we usually think of some kind of terrible supernatural cataclysm (or a verdict rendered in a court); and while I believe those happen I also believe there are small judgements of a less obvious nature.

To me, the important thing to take away from this passage is the idea that once you've been adopted into God's family (see Ephesians chapter one) you belong to His family.  That is something pretty awesome to consider.  It doesn't free us from responsibility, or even correction, but instead it affords us the wealth of sonship that rests in the family of God.

Last thought:  People is not a singular term.  It is plural.  It is collective.  No Christian is an only child and I find it deeply unsettling when I happen across those within the faith who feel as if they are all alone.

Challenge:  Plug in to the people.  Find a faith family.  Find a place to be a part of the collective of the Body of Christ.  Find a church.  Become deeply involved and let those around you become deeply involved with you.  You will be all the better for it.

See the rest of the series here.

11 Books That Changed Me

 Life usually doesn't fit into nice neat little lists, but that doesn't keep me from trying.  Welcome to my Tuesday 10, where I try to fit the messiness of life into a list of ten.  Today I'm adding one.

I learned how to read when I was four and, except for a brief period during junior high when well-meaning English teachers tried to force me to read really boring girly stuff, I have been doing it pretty much ever since.  I've read a lot of books.  I won't even pretend like I know the number.  Some were fun, some were serious, some were both; but a handful really made an impact on me.  Here is a list of ten books that changed me.  I hope you'll pick one, or more, of these titles up soon.

1.The Holy Bible - Obviously this one was gonna make the list.  It's a library in and of itself.  I've been reading it regularly for twenty years.  No other written work has, or could, impact me the way the Bible continues to on a daily basis.

2. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis - It took me almost two years to read it through for the first time because I didn't want to move on to the next page without being able to absorb and understand what I had just read.  I've read it a few more times since and it gets a little easier every time, but it is always challenging.  More than any other apologetic work this book helped me learn to connect my brain to my faith in a way that no preacher, teacher, sermon, or Sunday School lesson ever could. Read it online for free here.

3. Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller - This is an interesting little book.  It challenged me in a lot of ways, but it changed how I look at people, including myself, forever.  This book explains the actual relational aspect of the Christian faith better than any other work I have ever read.

4. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl - Before I knew anything about Gene Wilder's whimsical film adaptation, and way before Johnny Depp and Tim Burton vomited their nauseous "artistry" on the mythos; a teacher started reading this book aloud to my class.  I couldn't wait for her to finish, so I checked out a copy from our school library and started reading it on my own.  As a kid with an incredibly active imagination, it was like candy for my soul.  I think my life has been a little sweeter because of it.  And my imagination is just as active now as it was when my little third grade self read the last words of the last page.

5. Wild at Heart by John Eldredge - During the darkest season, of the worst part of my life, a coworker who has sense grown to be a great friend told me to read Wild at Heart.  I didn't learn a single thing reading this book; instead I began to understand myself with an acute awareness that connected me to my heavenly, and earthly, father in such a truly profound way.  In the time since I have taught it's pages, walked dozens of guys through it's principles, and witnessed that same light-bulb light up in other young eyes.  It is incredibly special to my heart.

6. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (and Huckleberry Finn) by Mark Twain - The same junior high English teacher that tried, unsuccessfully, to force me to read The Diary of Anne Frank introduced me to Mark Twain.  In fact, when I saw that Huck Finn was on the list I prepared myself by reading Tom Sawyer instead of the drab diary.  Because of the misadventures of two southern country boys I spent a lot of summers building tree houses and makeshift rafts--and thanks to young Tom, I love exploring caves.  Read it online for free here.

7. Servolution by Dino Rizzo - It's a short story about a church called "The Healing Place" and how a pastor's vision connected with his parishioners.  It has challenged me to love people without condition, and to serve them without any hidden agenda, because that's what Jesus did.

8. Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer - I've been walking though this book a paragraph at a time with a small group of young men for the last seven months.  Each page is like unwrapping a delightful little package of theological wonder.  Truly what goes through someone's mind when they think about God is the most important thing about them.

9. Jesus Freaks by The Voice of the Martyrs - I heard a lot of stories about persecuted Christians growing up; but this book colored in those old ambiguous tales with names, locations, and verifiable facts.  A volume that could easily be depressing if read with the wrong intentions is actually one of the most encouraging books on my shelves.

10. The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien - I grew up in an era when anything with magic, dragons, or imagination for that matter, was pretty much frowned upon by the American Church.  So, in the eleventh grade when my pastor, who was also my English teacher, handed me a copy of The Hobbit: There and Back Again and told me that I would enjoy it, I believed him.  I read it.  I enjoyed it.  In fact, I enjoyed it so much that it began a love for fantasy fiction that I still enjoy to this day.  It also taught me that people can really miss the boat sometimes, and that I should make up my own mind about issues, rather than letting outspoken naysayers make it up for me.

11. Mossflower by Brian Jacques - I worked in a library my senior year of high school for a very wonderful lady.  She frequently let me check out books and one week I picked up Mossflower.  It is a fantasy story about anthropomorphic animals (read "animals that walk upright and talk") written by a former sailor and adventurer for blind children.  I absolutely fell in love with the writing style, the adventure, and the innocence of the story.  By the end of the week I had finished the first four books in the series, by the end of the month I had inhaled the author's entire volume of work and was anxiously awaiting the next in the series.  The way that it changed me though has nothing to do with the story itself.  The best word I know to use is that something about the nature of the writing and the way it connected with me, unlocked a desire within me to write.  I've been writing ever since.  Some I share, some I keep in private to be enjoyed first by my family and friends.  One day I plan to publish a lot of it.

Books are more powerful than we often realize.  I connect with stories on a deep level.  Thanks for taking the time to read this.  This list could have easily been expanded to include twenty or more books.  What are some things that you've read that really challenged or changed you?

Jeremiah 6:14 "Brokenness"

Lately I have been studying the Old Testament book Jeremiah during my quiet time with the Lord.  While reading through the sixth chapter the fourteenth verse really jumped out at me.  As I sat in my office I couldn't get this verse off of my mind. So I decided to share my thoughts.

They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace. - Jeremiah 6:14 NASB

Jeremiah is often called the weeping prophet, and for good reason. Much of his writing has to do with the judgement and wrath of God and is delivered through a form of writing known as a lament.  His smaller canonized work even bears the name, "Lamentations." Jeremiah lived during an incredibly tumultuous time in Jewish history.  He was a prophet before and during the conquest and exile of the Jews to Babylon. It seems to me that Jeremiah was uniquely qualified among his contemporary prophets to use the word.  The NASB uses the word brokenness  but the transliteration for the Hebrew word is sheber.  It means a fracture, something ruined; an affliction, breach, bruise, destruction, hurt, or vexation.

So what is Jeremiah 6:14 referring to as brokenness? A number of things come to mind. Among them is the moral bankruptcy of the time. God established the Law for His people to live by and, as I discussed in my last post, many clergy of the day had manipulated it to suit their own ends.  Through study of the various Old Testament prophets it becomes readily apparent that much of God's judgement which led to the Babylonian exile is a direct result of the Jews' national moral depravity.  I also believe brokenness refers to their state of being both during the conquest, and after the exile.  Obviously I've never lived through such a time, and find it difficult to imagine; but the conquest and siege which preceded the exile led to a truly volatile time in Israel.  A time in which both morality and morale were at a terrifying low.

Jeremiah witnessed mothers boiling their own children to avoid starvation. What kind of brokenness do you see around you today? What kind of fractured morality seems to be becoming the norm?

My prayer today is that God would open our eyes and hearts to those around us.  Not only so that we would be aware of the state of things; but that so we would be able to reach out and lovingly help those who are headed toward, or are already lost in, brokenness.  Unlike the prophets and priests of Jeremiah's time, let us with compassion and selflessness shower and guide people in a way that truly directs them toward God, the only one who can actually "heal their brokenness."

See the rest of the series here.

Jeremiah 6:14 "They"

Lately I have been studying the Old Testament book Jeremiah during my quiet time with the Lord.  Earlier this week while reading through the sixth chapter the fourteenth verse really jumped out at me.  Any time something like this happens while I'm reading I instantly make a note of it, and as I sat in my office today I couldn't get this verse off of my mind.  So I decided to do what I often do in times like these as I contemplate a passage of scripture--share it.  For my next few posts I'll be taking a deeper look at this verse.  What do I think it means?  Who do I think it is speaking to or about?  How does it challenge me?

They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace. - Jeremiah 6:14 NASB

Who is "They" that this verse is speaking of?  You only need to go back to verse thirteen to see that it is referencing the prophets and priests of Israel.

For from the least of them even to the greatest of them, Everyone is greedy for gain, And from the prophet even to the priest Everyone deals falsely. - Jeremiah 6:13 NASB

Other versions swap gain for money, profit, wealth, and other similar terms--but the point is made.  The prophets and priests, the people charged with communicating and conducting the people of Israel toward God had been corrupted.  And during this passage God was warning them through Jeremiah of the impending disastrous consequences of their actions.

Do you know of anyone today purporting to fill the role of prophet or priest while at the same time seeking to fill their pockets, promote their image, or presume their superiority?  Take care.  Look first for the humble heart, wise nature, and gentle spirit.

See the rest of the series here.

10 Tips for Twitterpating

 Life usually doesn't fit into nice neat little lists, but that doesn't keep me from trying.  Welcome to my Tuesday 10, where I try to fit the messiness of life into a list of ten.

In eight years of campus ministry far and away the thing I've counseled people about the most are their romantic relational issues. Love is easily one of, if not the most, talked about issue on the planet.  These are ten fairly blunt things I shared with a group of college students Sunday night.  This list comes from, not only years of discussing these issues with people, but from my own mistakes and experiences as well

1. It's okay to be single. Society treats single-hood as though it is something to be shunned, feared, or mocked; but that is wrong.  Being single is a lot better than committing relational suicide, sexual sin, or emotional masturbation.
2.  The "you complete me" line from Jerry Maguire is a giant smelly fairytale lie.  Putting two messed up people together doesn't make one whole person, it makes one messed up couple--and if you're not already solid in God, it becomes a lot harder for you to be obedient to the changes He tries to make in you if you are distracted by romance.  When Jesus said a man and would unite as one flesh He didn't mean actual human being.  He meant one unified representation of the goodness, likeness, and image of God.
3. Know who you are.  If you have identity issues a relationship will only complicate them.  The healthy way to find your identity is by searching for where your heart and God's heart are joined.
4. Early affection is a warning sign.  Someone eager for early physical contact is dangerous to your sexual, physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
5. You probably don't know what you want.  Guys are selfish.  Girls want to be wanted.  Sometimes those roles are reversed.  Both are horny.  Neither know what they want at 20ish years old.  Know what you want in a future Mr. or Mrs. you.  Make a list.  Check it more than twice.  Then check it again.  Then let people in spiritual authority over you check it.  Guys, if your list reads like a help wanted ad for a modeling agency, you don't know what you want.  Girls, if your list sounds like a trailer for anything resembling a Disney, Nicholas Sparks, or Ryan Reynolds movie, you don't know what you want.  Cultivate an expectation for a Christian union based around the the principles found in a Christian person.
6. Relationships don't change people.  A frog doesn't turn into a prince just because you kiss him.  Just because she kissed you doesn't mean you're Prince Charming.  Relationships don't change people; they magnify all the weird little parts of who they really are.
7. You are no one's puppet.  If every moment with someone is overshadowed by an expectancy to behave, act, or perform in a certain way you are in a poisonous relationship.  Leave now and never look back.
8. Emotion is a slippery slope.  If it was a ski slope it wouldn't even be a double black diamond.  It would be an uncharted run that required a helicopter dispatch and constantly ran the risk of avalanche.  If all that connects you is emotion--your relationship is destined to fail.  True love is so much bigger than emotion.
9. Wait for sex.  Wait for sex.  Wait for sex.  If you're not married, don't do anything that can lead to orgasm, or anything that makes you want to do things that lead to orgasm.  The enemy will do everything he can to get you to have sex before you're married, and everything he can to keep you from having sex after you're married.
10. True love is unconditional.  "Happily Ever After," would make a better episode of Dirty Jobs than Mythbusters.  Can you picture yourself changing their diaper for twenty years?  What about pushing them in a wheelchair or carrying them to bed?  What about listening to them snore or putting up with a really annoying relative?

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXBbgzQmpJw]

Home: A Different Kind of Revival

Growing up the word revival was always understood orinterpreted through the lens of congregational church gatherings.  Revival usually meant that I had to attendchurch not only on Sunday or Wednesday in a given week, but typically nearlyevery other night as well.  Growing up ina Pentecostal fellowship added its own number of connotations as well.  Revival was characterized by high energy,loud preachers, louder services, crying, dancing, and more music than usualbefore and after (and sometimes during) the preaching.

It wasn’t until my twenties that I began to revisit the wordrevival, and exactly what I thought it meant to me.  I began to ask, and attempt to answer, “What is revival?” for my own life.  Not that I no longer believed in all thethings I experienced in revivals as a kid, I just felt like I wasn’t quitegetting the whole picture.  Like most of what I had considered revival was really just the combined outward display of some of the things that happen to people experiencing earnest revival in their lives.

The answer to me, like so many things it seems, is found inthe word itself.  Revival meansreviving.  It means to revive—to take somethingthat is dead, or dying; and to regenerate, recuperate, revitalize it.  Like Ezekiel’s vision of dry bones regaininglife, it means taking a dry and dusty shell of something and allowing God tobreathe back into it His awesome breath.

Revival to me means to find, have, understand, live, anddwell in divine inspiration again.  Likewhen God inspired scripture to be written, or dust to become man, I believe Heinspires His people—the Church—to wake up, to no longer be inanimate objectsfilling space and occupying time, and to reconnect with Him in a deeply, andsometimes uncomfortably authentic way.

Understandingyour deep need for God is often an early step toward salvation.  And many times the first stirrings of revival begin with theauthentic whispering of spiritual unrest found within the Church.  Not unrest in the “let’s call a board meeting and rant about inconsequential matters ofbureaucratic-nonsensicalness” kind of way—constructive unrest.  Unrest birthed out of the sense that God doesindeed wish us to connect with Him in a more meaningful way than we are atpresent.  This is the kind of unrest thatseeks to topple the status quo.

For a generation of people that have witnessed firsthand thepitifully inadequate attempt on the part of most youth ministries to competewith whatever is trendy and popular, we’re looking for something different.  We don’t need, and don’t want, to connectwith God through; fog machines, gluttonously-loud music, light shows, orproductions.  That stuff isn’t inspired.  Maybe it was, once upon a time.  But that ship has sailed.

Do you know what inspires me?  Finding myself in right relationship throughredemption; knowing that I have forgiveness and freedom from sin in God.  Discovering authentic community; belonging toa body of fellow believers that actually care about each other and thecommunity around them.

That’s what I am seeing lately.  It’s a different kind of revival than what Iremember as a kid.  It’s a lot quieter(so far), it doesn’t come across like a preplanned production, it isunexpected—though very much welcomed, it is beyond the control and comfort ofleadership and layperson, it is without walls or boundaries though it fits, andflourishes, in the hearts of those who deeply seek after earnest connectionwith God.  

Revival is what happens whenthe Church rejects, or at least diminishes, everything that distracts fromseeking Him.  It is what happens when wefind the purity of purpose in pursuit of the Almighty.  Revival is taking in His breathe, filling ourlungs with it, and finding His waiting embrace. It is being revived, being inspired, and being returned—to where webelong in Him.  If salvation is aboutreturning a sinner to the family of God, revival is about returning the Churchto the will of God.  Revival is about cominghome.

Walking with God

The following is an excerpt from some writing I've been doing lately.

Do you enjoy walking? I do, most of the time. Sure there are those moments at a concert or some largely populated activity when walking seems completely overrated because of the massive amount of cars and people present. But let's be honest. That's mostly a first world problem created by the constantly encroaching laziness of mine, and subsequent generations.

Many people walk because it's their only means of transportation. Many do it for exercise. Many do not do it at all because of a disability.

I love recreational walking, i.e. hiking. This past weekend I spent over forty hours on a mountain with students and staff from our ministry. During a planned lull in Saturday's schedule the majority of our group went for a jaunt around the mountain. It was spectacular.

The weather was lovely. The sky was a blazing azure blue mottled by streaky wisps of cotton-esque clouds. The temperature was flirting with the fifties. It was a great afternoon. We turned a two mile, two hour walk, into a four hour hike by snaking back and forth via interconnected trails and stopping frequently to soak up the serenity of it all. It was a memorable moment shared with cherished friends that I won't soon forget, and it might not have happened.

What if we'd experienced the type of weather that typically accompanies January in Arkansas? What if we'd packed or planned too much activity for the short weekend retreat? What if no one had wanted to participate?

Christians regularly use the phrase, "walking with God." It's an innocent enough little idiom that references a passage from Genesis. Genesis 5:24 tells the story of Enoch walking with God, and "God taking him." When I think of this phrase I can't help but think back on our little hike this past weekend and not draw some serious spiritual parallels from all of the "what ifs".

What if I let the seasons of my life, the ups and downs, the hot or cold moments of emotion, dictate the depth of my relationship with the Almighty? Many people will never understand the goodness and sovereignty of God simply because they spend to much time fearing the apparent storm clouds looming over their life and not nearly enough time in communion with "the Peace Speaker."

What if I let the rapid paced, day-plannered, über-busyness of my lifestyle squeeze out my time with God? It would be easy to do. So many do it. However, my quiet time with Him is one of my most cherished daily moments. To make it habitual it must take priority, always. My life gets busy, as I'm sure yours does, but I'm never too busy to begin, or end, the day without spending time with God.

What if I had to do this alone? It's a scary thought. One of the prevailing feelings among young people today in our social media saturated society is the palpable permeance of loneliness. The facts are clear. As Christians in America we are not alone. If we think we are alone it is really only because we choose to be, or--we have been deceived. There are great Christ-centered faith families in every town, county, and parish in this country.

I can only hike so far. Physically I can only do so much. My breath, legs, lungs, and strength will only take me as far as it can take me. The trail ends, my strength ends, or my time ends. Walking with God is a walk that starts and never ends.