organic christianity

empty vessel

Listen to the words Jesus speaks of His relationship to the Father and see how consistently He uses the words not and nothing of himself. 

"The Son can do nothing by himself" (John 5:19)

"By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgement is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me" (John 5:30)

"I do not accept praise from men" (John 5:41)

"For I have come down from heaven not to do my will" (John 6:38)

"My teaching is not my own" (John 7:16)

"I am not here on my own" (John 7:28)

"I have not come on my own; but he sent me" (John 8:42)

"I am not seeking glory for myself" (John 8:50)

"The words I say to you are not just my own" (John 14:10)

These words of testimony, spoken by the Lord himself, reveal the deepest motivation of His life and work.  They show how the Father was able to work His redemption through the Son.  They show the state of heart that became Him as the Son of the Father.  They teach us the essential nature and life of the redemption that Christ accomplished and now communicates to us.  It is this: He was nothing that God might be all.  He resigned himself to the Father's will and power that He might work through Him.  Of His own power, His own will, His own glory, His whole mission with its works and teaching-of all this, He said, I am nothing.  I have given myself to the Father to work; He is all.  

This life of absolute submission and dependence upon the Father's will, Christ found to be the source of perfect peace and joy.  He lost nothing by giving all to God.  His humility was simply the surrender of himself to God, to allow Him to do in Him what He pleased, regardless of what men might say of Him or do to Him.  This is the true self-denial to which our Savior calls us, the acknowledgement that self has nothing good in it, except as an empty vessel for God to fill. 

mario kart love song

Thanks to my friend Chad who posted this video on Facebook my life has been forever changed.  I would normally just post this on the right side of my blog but this was worthy of a premier spot.  I hope you like it too!

l'chaim

Yesterday I had the privilege of spending time with pastors, prayer leaders and Christian educators in Brentwood.  One of the people there was Rabbi Ira Book of Congregation B'nai Torah in Antioch.  Ira is also the chaplain of Folsom prison, the famous prison where Johnny Cash recorded an album, where he leads services for thousands of inmates weekly.  Besides hearing interesting stories as a chaplain of a prison he shared with us some of his Jewish culture.  He said that the word "life" in Hebrew has two words located in the middle of it.  One is "community" and the other "God."  Life, in the Jewish mindset, is to be lived in community and God must be at the center of everything.  This couldn't be further from the American mentality, which is isolated and materialistic.  What if we as Christians defined life as living in community and putting God at the center of everything?  It is easier to understand the meaning of life when you define it this way.  Christians would define the meaning of life to be to love God and to love one another.  Jews would have an advantage to understanding the biblical definition of a "good life" because of the root meaning of their word for life.  L'Chaim! (to life) 

If you are an aspiring biblical scholar and would like more information on Jewish culture and context of the Bible the Rabbi told me to read the book Jewish Literacy by Joseph Telushkin.

(I couldn't verify Rabbi Book's information on the Hebrew meaning of life, so I trusted that the Rabbi knew what he was talking about.)  

a new year

In the words of Martha Stewart, "I hope you all rang in the New Year with good cheer and lots of festivities.  I wish, of course, everybody a happy and healthy 2009."  I happen to be writing this post while my beautiful wife watches "Martha."  We recently returned from a wonderful trip to San Diego where my cousin was married.  It was quite an adventure traveling with our baby boy.  The benefits are that you get rushed to the start of lines at the airport and no one wants to sit next to you on the airplane.  

Here are a few highlights of the last part of 2008 since I can't hardly remember much past a month ago...

We visited The Rock church in San Diego and was blown away by their vision, growth and history.  In 2009 they are going to be giving the city of San Diego over 700,000 hours of community service.  In just 8 years of existence a small church on a college campus grew to over 10,000 people.  They have always been and will continue to be a church that serves the community and reaches the unchurched.  They are an example of a church that is outward focused.

The Rock Church in Brentwood, which is launching in 96 days, adopted 5 needy families in the area.  Charlotte and I were privileged to purchase gifts, clothes and food for a beautiful family of four.  They recently lost their father and the mother of three children is living off of disability.  The mother said that they wouldn't of had a Christmas unless we as a church adopted them.  It was fun being the church before we even started our public services.  At The Rock Church in Brentwood we hope that these stories are not just around the holidays but are all year round as we serve the Brentwood area and display the gospel with our actions and words.    

In December I visited the Slezinger's and IHOP in Kansas City.  It was refreshing to hang out with my dear friends and hear about their growth and adventures in Missouri.  IHOP is all about prayer.  It was an honor to be a small part of a prayer meeting that has been going on 24/7 for a decade.  This trip encouraged me to not just pray more but to make prayer the center of my life.  The staff at IHOP pray for 6 hours a day and then they work.  I think this is radical and a wonderful reworking of priorities.  Isn't Jesus the one who really builds His church?  So why do we need to be busy doing church business all the time instead of praying?  It was such a culture shock to be around people who really focused everything on Christ, since I usually hear people say that but their life and testimony have no reflection of that.  

In 2009 my son will turn 1, we will be planting a church in Brentwood and if that weren't enough my wife and I will continue to learn how to die to ourselves and conform to the image of Christ.  2008 has been the year of new beginnings for us.  I left the church my grandfather started and I had been attending and serving at for 24 years to venture out into the unknown with a church plant in Brentwood.  It has caused rapid growth in my own life and I realized a lot of things that were important to me really meant nothing.  It is all about Jesus and following Him wherever He says to go.  

I have to thank a few people that really meant a lot to me in 2008.  I list them in no specific order but I felt the need to recognize mentors and friends of mine who really helped and supported me through the most challenging year of my life and are still an important part of my life and development:  my wife, my mom and dad, Rob Lamkin, Mark Slezinger, Ken Malmin, Nick Higgins, Danny Bennett and of course Jesus who has my heart.  

saint nicholas

The larger-than-life myths surrounding Santa Claus actually emanate from the very real person of Saint Nicholas. It is difficult to know the exact details of his life with certainty, as the ancient records are sparse, but the various pieces can be put together as a mosaic of his life.

Who was Saint Nick?

Nicholas was born in the third century in Patara, a village in what is now Turkey. He was born into an affluent family, but his parents died tragically when he was quite young. His parents had raised him to be a devout Christian, which led him to spend his great inheritance on helping the poor, especially children. He was known to frequently give gifts to children, sometimes even hanging socks filled with treats and gifts.

Perhaps his most famous act of kindness was helping three sisters. Because their family was too poor to pay for their wedding dowry, three young Christian women were facing a life of prostitution until Nicholas paid their dowry, thereby saving them from a horrible life of sexual slavery.

Nicholas grew to be a well-loved Christian leader and was eventually voted the Bishop of Myra, a port city that the apostle Paul had previously visited (Acts 27:5-6). Nicholas reportedly also traveled to the legendary Council of Nicea, where he helped defend the deity of Jesus Christ in AD 325.

Following his death on December 6, 343, he was canonized as a Saint. The anniversary of his death became the St. Nicholas holiday when gifts were given in his memory. He remained a very popular saint among Catholic and Orthodox Christians, with some 2,000 churches named after him. The holiday in his honor eventually merged with Christmas as they were celebrated within weeks of one another.

Reformation Controversy

During the Reformation, however, Nicholas fell out of favor with Protestants, who did not approve of canonizing certain people as saints and venerating them with holidays. His holiday was not celebrated in any Protestant country except Holland, where his legend as Sinterklass lived on. In Germany, Martin Luther replaced him with the Christ child as the object of holiday celebration, or, in German, Christkindl. Over time, the celebration of the Christ child was simply pronounced Kriss Kingle and oddly became just another name for Santa Claus.

Santa Myths

The legends about Santa Claus are most likely a compilation of other folklore. For example, there was a myth in Nicholas’ day that a demon was entering people's homes to terrorize children and that Nicholas cast it out of a home. This myth may explain why it was eventually believed that he came down people's chimneys.

Also, there was a Siberian myth (near the North Pole) that a holy man, or shaman, entered people's homes through their chimneys to leave them mushrooms as gifts. According to the legend, he would hang them in front of the fire to dry. Reindeer would reportedly eat them and become intoxicated. This may have started the myth that the reindeer could fly, as it was believed that the shaman could also fly. This myth may have merged with the Santa Claus myth and if so, explains him traveling from the North Pole to come down the chimney and leave presents on the mantle over the fireplace before flying away with reindeer.

These stories of Santa Claus were first brought to America by Dutch immigrants. In the early 20th century, stores began having Santa Claus present for children during the Christmas season. Children also began sending letters to the North Pole as the legends surrounding an otherwise simple Christian man grew. 

(Mark Driscoll's Blog Resurgence http://theresurgence.com/md_blog)

rules for breaking the rules

While trying to discover a relationship with Jesus and community of believers free from man-made theologies and ideologies I am concerned about "throwing the baby out with the bathwater."  I tend to break rules simply because they are rules.  What if during my frenzy of hacking up all the rules I destroy ones that are actually good for me and God desires me to live by them.  Here is a blog entry by Steven Furtick that addresses my concern and gives a warning to anyone willing to dare to do things differently.   

"My generation of pastors is full of rule breakers.  We don’t dress the part.  We speak out of turn.  We pride ourselves in making burgers out of sacred cows.

That’s okay.  John the Baptist fit all of these descriptions.  So did Jesus, actually.

But I’m afraid some of us are missing a key point:
You’ve got to know the rules before you can break ‘em.

If we’re going to discard a time-honored methodology, it can’t be because we’re too lazy or ADD to continue it.  It must be because we’ve found a better, more Biblical way.

If we’re going to use strong language in our sermons, it can’t be because we’re covering up a lack of content with shock value statements.  It must be because God has burned a prophetic sentiment in our hearts and we’re compelled to express it in an unconventional way.

If we’re going to teach topically rather than verse-by-verse, book-by-book, it should be born out of our sincere belief that this is the most effective and appropriate way to preach God’s Word, not just because we fear that book-by-by teaching is boring, or dread the hard work of digging into the text.

Can I tell you a secret?  I completed my M.Div. recently.  I didn’t enjoy it.  I don’t know if I would do it if I had it to do over again.  And I do not recommend every aspiring pastor follow suit.
But it sure is nice to know the rules before you break them.

Let’s don’t masquerade our ignorance with hype.
Let’s don’t substitute heat for light.
Let’s know what rules we’re breaking…so we can break ‘em on purpose…and break ‘em right down the middle."

I hope this helps you to stop for a moment like I did and reflect on humility and the need to allow God to help us to do the right things and hear His direction more clearly about what rules He wants us to break.  The last thing I want to do is miss the mark just because of my pride, arrogance and need to rebel but I also don't want to lack the courage to break some of the rules that hold myself and others in bondage to religion. 

where did the love go?

Christians emphasize that our connectivity to God is through a relationship with Jesus.  We talk about giving him our hearts or inviting him into our hearts.  We use love language to talk about committing our lives to him.  Then, as soon as the deal is done, we switch the language and go to head stuff.  We pull out the notebooks.  We go over what we believe, information about the church club, and so on.  We use words like assimilation into the collective as if we were the Borg (sorry about the Star Trek reference).

I'm so glad that my wife did not turn to me on the way to our honeymoon and say, "Now that we've gotten the wedding ceremony behind us, I've taken the liberty to putting together a notebook...."  I have learned a few things about Charlotte in the last four years that we have been married.  I know what she likes and dislikes.  I have learned about her family.  I don't know about her.  I know her!  She and I have achieved an intimacy that comes from hanging out together, sharing dreams and hurts, raising our son, experiencing vacations and fun together and from all the routine errands we run everyday.  I know what she thinks about a lot of things now without having to ask anymore.  We have had romantic moments and contentious arguments.  This is what a relationship is. 

A person who claims to be a follower of Jesus claims to have a relationship with him.  This means they know him, not just about him.  Yet we have turned our churches into groups of people who are studying God as though they were taking a course at school or attending a business seminar.  We aim at the head.  We don't deal in relationship.  And we wonder why there is no passion for Jesus and his mission?  In our efforts to disciple people, we've been barking up the wrong tree. 

My journey is to discover a way to help people foster a genuine relationship with Jesus where they hear His voice and know His presence and don't feel like they were sold on a relationship with Him only to receive a club member manual. (excerpts from The Present Future, by Reggie McNeal)

strengths

Could we be holding ourselves back from greater success in our family and workplace because we are more focused on our weaknesses than on our strengths?  What if focusing on our weaknesses and becoming at best mediocre at them only causes us to be balanced, which ultimately makes us ineffective?  What if balance isn’t what we need and we need to be totally unbalanced?  

I believe that when we work on our strengths and grow in them that we have a better chance of experiencing success, although it doesn’t come without risk.  You could tell your boss that you don’t deal well with confrontation and she might tell you to get over it.  You could turn down a promotion because you know it only will cause you to work at a greater level in your weaknesses rather than quitting and working somewhere else where you can play to your strengths.  

A writer once said, “and the day came when the risk it took to remain all tight in the bud became greater than the risk it took to blossom.”  There are risks to betting your life, satisfaction and career on your strengths.  But there are a few truths.  

1. You have strengths, certain activities that make you feel strong.
2. No one has quite the same configuration of strengths that you have.  The least interesting thing about you is your age, race and nationality.  The interesting things are deep down inside, which only you have.  You are one of a kind.
3. You’ll be your most creative, productive and resilient when you play to your strengths.   

Everyone will win when you play to your strengths.  Let tomorrow be a stronger day for you.  Trust yourself and be proud of your strengths and make your mark.   Focus on your interests and don’t right them off as merely hobbies.   They might be a key to your next job.  The risks of not doing so are far greater. 

(If you want to learn how to focus on your strengths read The Truth About You by Marcus Buckingham.)

the "branch" office

I ran across this video in the blogosphere and found it to be pretty funny.  It's a church's version of NBC's The Office.

black friday

As usual our family went shopping on Black Friday this year.  Black Friday is infamous for being the biggest shopping day of the year with long lines, disgruntled people and mass chaos.  I usually find that it isn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be.  I believe most people stay home to try and avoid the shopping madness and a few of us insane deal shoppers brave the unknown to get our DVD's for $2 and our baby food half off.  But I guess it isn't always so pleasant everywhere else.  I ran across this article on the internet that absolutely shocked me and I thought it represented the worst of America's consumerism that marks Christmas. 

Daily News NY Local

A Wal-Mart worker died after being trampled when hundreds of shoppers smashed through the doors of a Long Island store Friday morning, police and witnesses said.

The 34-year-old employee, a temporary maintenance worker, tried to hold back the unruly crowds just after the Valley Stream store opened at 5 a.m.

Witnesses said the surging throngs of shoppers knocked the man down. He fell and was stepped on. As he gasped for air, shoppers ran over and around him.

CAUGHT ON CAMERA: WAL-MART CROWD MOMENTS BEFORE DEADLY STAMPEDE

"He was bum-rushed by 200 people," said Jimmy Overby, 43, a co-worker. "They took the doors off the hinges. He was trampled and killed in front of me. They took me down too...I literally had to fight people off my back."

The unidentified victim was rushed to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 6:03 a.m., police said.

The cause of death wasn't immediately available pending results of an autopsy.

A 28-year-old pregnant woman was knocked to the floor during the mad rush. She was hospitalized for observation, police said. Early witness accounts that the woman suffered a miscarriage were unfounded, police said.

Three other shoppers suffered minor injuries, cops said.

Wal-Mart spokesman Dave Tovar called the incident a "tragic situation."

"The safety and security of our customers and associates is our top priority," Tovar said.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families at this difficult time."

Before police shut down the store, eager shoppers streamed past emergency crews as they worked furiously to save the store clerk's life.

"They were working on him, but you could see he was dead, said Halcyon Alexander, 29. "People were still coming through."

Only a few stopped.

"They're savages," said shopper Kimberly Cribbs, 27. "It's sad. It's terrible."