what is better

Repost: What Would You Take?

Frank
Reposting as it seems half of Colorado is up in flames. I wrote this when a relatively small fire by comparison threatened my community a couple of years ago. That was nothing. The Facebook updates from my friends are downright scary as these fires continue to spread from Fort Collins, down to Boulder, and on to Colorado Springs (where these pictures are from). Please pray for cool weather, no wind, and especially rain. Pray for the safety of the hundreds of firefighters risking their lives to fight these blazes and for all those who have lost or will lose their homes. Pray, pray, pray.

Last week a blazing fire came perilously close to my community, momentarily displacing many of my brothers and sisters in Christ. Though I was still a few miles away, the reality of losing it all hit home. Upon receiving the notice of evacuation, this is what one of my friends posted on Facebook:

For some reason,the desire for a bigger,nicer home was always a desire deep within my heart..after the events of the last two days, reading Matthew 6:19-20 has burned that desire into an ash heap, especially upon the realization that the most important things we took with us were each other, visual memories with our family and friends (pics), and some “important” papers (wouldn’t have cared if those burned actually).

One of my friends from campus ministry always used to say about things, “well, it’s all going to burn anyway” in response to everything from losing a CD to giving more on Sundays. Yes, it will all burn someday. So what’s important?

If a fire was bearing down on your home, and you had little time to choose, what would you take with you?
(Photo credit: Courtney Colby submitted to the Colorado Springs Gazette and Helen H Richardson, Denver Post respectively)

Resolution: Be a Better…

Frank

After taking a break for the holidays I’m back with a series of posts on resolutions to start the new year. Please feel free to comment and share your own resolutions for 2012. Next week, I’ll get back on the saddle for my study of the book Not a Fan. For Monday’s resolution, career, click here, Tuesday’s resolution, eating right, click here, Wednesday’s, losing weight, click here. Thursday’s, debt free, click here. Please feel free to share your resolutions in the comments. There will be a post tomorrow compiling them all.

Isn’t the goal of most New Year’s resolutions to be a better: friend, spouse, parent, employee? Maybe even to be a better Christian? But doesn’t the notion of being better require some definition of what it means to be good? Jesus challenges our definition:

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.” (Mark 10:18)

If no one is good (and yes, this is hyperbole) then aren’t we maybe chasing the wrong goal? In fact, aren’t most resolutions “I” centered? I want to be… I resolve to… This year I will…

Like the saying, “there’s no I in TEAM”, let me rephrase as, “there’s no I in JESUS”. As I hope you saw this week in my posts, most I-centered resolutions can be turned on their ear to be Jesus-centered. And isn’t that really how we become a better fill-in-the-blank, by being more like Christ?

So if anything, resolve this year to be more like Christ. (and you’ll notice there is a little I in there somewhere)

“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18, emphasis added)

“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:10-11, emphasis)

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)

Resolutions: Career

Frank

After taking a break for the holidays I’m back with a series of posts on resolutions to start the new year. Please feel free to comment and share your own resolutions for 2012. Next week, I’ll get back on the saddle for my study of the book Not a Fan.

I never thought I’d be that guy. You know, the cliche of working 80 hours a week to get ahead, sacrificing family, recreation, and everything else for the almighty dollar. It’s never been about the paycheck or status for me. Yet…

I look back over my short career and I recall the call I took while in the recovery room after my daughter was born. I remember taking a call while on vacation at Disneyland. I’ve gone in to work Easter weekend, traveled on Thanksgiving, held meetings the Friday before Christmas. I often think more highly of myself than I ought. I’ve tried to create job opportunities yet have turned down actual opportunities.

On that last one, it’s weird for me to think back a year ago that I actually was expecting to move and take a new job. All my “fleeces” seemed to check out. Then I interviewed. “This is not a 9-5 job,” I was told. “You stay until the work is done. You will travel a lot. And it might not be the best thing for you with a young family.” Gut punch. Could it be what I thought was a golden opportunity actually wasn’t? So I turned it down. And the year since at work has been one challenge after another, filled with uncertainties, additional demands, and stress. A lot of stress.

But I learned something. I learned that I really have no control over my career. I strongly believe that God brought me to this job. So He’s the one really in control. And the sooner I accept that, the sooner I can let go of that stress, not face the uncertainties with fear, and respond to demands with diligence and joy.

So one of my resolutions this year is to not get ahead in my career, but instead to get behind. To get behind God. Let Him lead. I work for Him after all.

“So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?” (Ecclesiastes 3:22)

“Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.” (Ephesians 6:7-8)

Words Matter

Frank

A weekend ago I attended the 6th Antelope Valley Christian Writers’ Conference. It was my third time attending, and I continue to be challenged and encouraged in my writing endeavors. A theme this time that seemed to be consistent to many of the invited faculty was the priority of Jesus in our lives. Writing as a calling is a challenge, especially if you have another occupation, have family to care for, and/or are otherwise easily distractable. Where do you find time for Jesus in the midst of overcoming writer’s block, doing research, and submitting queries and proposals?

The keynote the first night called our attention to the “writer’s chapter” in Matthew. Matthew 23 to be exact. You are most likely familiar with this passage as the “woe to you!” rebuke from Jesus. But look closely to whom Jesus is rebuking: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees…” (verses 13, 14, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29 in the New King James, emphasis added) The charge against these scribes, aka the writers of their day, was hypocrisy- writing one thing but living another. As a blogger and writer-to-be I have to take this seriously. Do the words I type on the screen match the life I’m actually living?

The guard against this, of course, is Jesus. So he continues in verse 34, “Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city…” Ok, maybe the last part isn’t encouraging. But what is encouraging is that Jesus sends prophets, wise men (and women!) and writers into the world to spread His message. And in order for writers to be sent from Jesus, they need to start with Jesus.

So I ask myself, “how often do I pray about the blog I have yet to write? How often do I seek spiritual counsel about the topics I’m discussing? Am I writing this for my own vainglory or the Glory of God? Am I trying to become famous, credible, have a large following? Do I spend more time ‘social networking’ than in personal Bible study?” and on and on. Naturally, I don’t like the answer to many of these questions.

My words matter. So I need to be firmly rooted in Jesus and His Word. I need to be about Him, not me. I need to take seriously the truth that the words I type have spiritual consequences. I need to take seriously the warning from James: “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” (v 3:1) And as an author I have to recognize the ultimate Author in “Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith…” (Hebrews 12:2)

Treasure, Aaarrrgghh!

Frank

My son loves pirates. It’s one trend he isn’t fickle about. Star Wars is hit and miss. He’s lost interest in his monster trucks. He no longer wants to grow up to be an astronaut (snif). But you can never go wrong breaking out some pirate toys.

So it was fitting that over spring break we went with grandma to a museum exhibit on pirates. I wasn’t sure how well it would hold my six year-old’s attention, but I shouldn’t have worried. Myself, I’m a museum nerd. I will read the description on every display and I’ll be lucky to make it through a single wing in a day. I even bought the audio guide to the exhibit. A lot of good that did, as I would be listening intently, studying what was before me, while my son would be ripping my arm out of its socket to lead me around the corner to see what was next.

There were canons, guns, flags, and of course, treasure. Real pirate treasure! Funny thing about pirates, much of what we think we know are really products of books (Treasure Island) and movies (“Peter Pan”, “Pirates of the Caribbean”). For example, did you know that walking the plank is a recent fabrication? There is one known example of this being documented, but it was in the late 1800’s, well after the peak of piracy we associate with the Jolly Roger. In fact, the image of walking the plank was introduced to our cultural memory by the original stage production of “Peter Pan”.

Another myth is that pirates buried treasure. This myth was encouraged by the book Treasure Island. But the truth was that the “booty” pirates would collect from captured ships was often spent in port on alcohol and prostitution. It would be unlikely there would be any left after a shore-leave of revelry.

That doesn’t make Jesus’ parable of the buried treasure irrelevant however. In Jesus’ day there were no pirates, but there was buried treasure. It wouldn’t be uncommon for a family to hide away some of their possessions by burying them. After all, there were no banks insured by FDIC and they were under Roman occupation. It was a safe (though unreliable) way of protecting what was yours. But there was a risk in doing so. They could forget where they buried it, or they would often be forced to move before having a chance to retrieve it.

So imagine someone’s surprise to find treasure buried in a field. In Jesus’ parable, it is an honest man. I think today, we’d just dig it up and claim it as our own. But he went and sold all he had so that he could buy the land and its treasure.

This is a parable of the Kingdom of God. What is it worth to you? Are you willing to give up everything you have, risk it all, for the sake of God’s Kingdom? After all isn’t the treasure being stored up for us in heaven more valuable than anything we could ever obtain on this Earth? Or like the pirates of old are you wasting what you have here on worldly pleasures as if our short life is no different than a stop in port?

Aaaarrrgghh, indeed.

This entry is part of Peter Pollock’s blog carnival. This week’s topic is treasure. Be sure to check out the many other thoughtful posts.

Later Rather than Sooner

Frank

One of Dave Ramsey’s oft-repeated slogans is to “live like no one else, so you can live like no one else!” Meaning to make sacrifices now, be good stewards, get out of debt so you can be free from the commercialism and materialism that so consumes the world today. I took his Financial Peace University course and towards the end, he changes the slogan slightly. Once we’re out of debt, secure financially, and making prudent decisions with our finances, we can “live like no one else, so we can give like no one else!”

This fits the theme of Chapter 7 of Crazy Love by Francis Chan, “Your Best Life… Later”. It’s a lesson that needs to be repeated and shout from the rooftops. What we have does not define who we are. Our home is not our things. Our identity, our home, is set in heaven. When we remember this, little else matters.

Easier said than done. But look at the examples that came before. Francis turns our attention to Hebrews 11. He doesn’t pick out this particular verse, but it is a favorite of mine on this subject: “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” (v 13-16)

Or to quote from one of my favorite songs, “Make us feel like we’re still living, in a world, I know, is burning to the ground… It’s hard to stay here, but where do we go?”

More Like Falling In Love

Frank

Last week, I compared Michael Spencer’s Mere Churchianity to Francis Chan’s Crazy Love. Both address the same problem but come at it from different directions. Yet I think both come to the same conclusion: Jesus is the focus, loving God is the motivation.

Chapter 6 of Crazy Love hits on the motivation. If you’re reading the book, you might feel beat up and let down after chapters 4 and 5. Francis leaves no doubt that we “all fall short” (Romans 3:23) regardless of religious or denominational affiliation. The examples of the seven churches in Revelation reminds us that no church is perfect because they are made up of imperfect people.

So what do we do?

When I started reading Mere Churchianity, I had been reading book after book looking for that certain “what” to do to fix the broken church. I read a lot of observations I agreed with while I didn’t read much for solutions. The thing is, there isn’t a “what”. It’s about “why”. Why do we even bother attending a church? Why do we read our Bibles? Why do we turn to God in prayer? Why should I repent of this sin that I enjoy so much?

My Crazy Love group is made up of a diversity of seekers (and I’m categorizing all of us in that description). Some are dedicated disciples that lean towards the legalistic side, some have backslidden (if that’s a word?), some are just hungry to grow deeper, some are looking for fulfilling fellowship. But all of us have the same question: why? If I were to reduce the study to a list of to-dos, we’d eventually break them. If I gave a list of do-nots, we’d go ahead and do them at some point as well. I wish I could say I’ve been perfectly sinless since I began the group, but I too fall short.

So we need to change our expectations of this study, or any study really, from a list of “whats” and “hows” to focus in on “why”. We need to fall in love with God.

Integrity of the Game

Frank

It has become painfully obvious that amateur collegiate athletics are as much about money as their pro counterparts. Although it took years to conclude, the NCAA finally did strip USC of one of their championships and Reggie Bush gave up his Heisman Trophy because his family moved into a house paid for by a prospective agent. The mother of LeBron James, perhaps knowing he wouldn’t play a bounce of college ball, drove away from his high school championship in a brand new tricked-out Hummer. Cam Newton’s dad shopped his son around to the school that would pay the most, yet somehow Cam came out scot free with a Heisman Trophy of his own. (Funny that character is supposed to be one of the requirements for the trophy) Even if the NCAA determined he was clear (they didn’t, the case is still open) I’m not sure how he explains away the stolen computer found during the FBI’s investigation. Also during the last football season several players from the Ohio State University were busted selling championship rings and other memorabilia on eBay. They were going to be suspended for their Sugar Bowl game, but a prominent booster and the school president were able to convince the NCAA to wait until next season to implement the suspensions.

In this cesspool, Brigham Young University, the flagship school of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (you know, the Mormons), broke away from its affiliated conference to play football as an independent. The rationale given at the time (and the story has since changed) was that they better serve an evangelistic purpose as an independent, able to reach out to a national (and international with BYU-TV) audience.

For basketball they will align themselves with other private religious schools in the West Coast Conference (Gonzaga, St Mary’s, et al). But this season they continue to play in the Mountain West. In fact they played themselves to a #3 national ranking, boasting potential Player of the Year Jimmer Fredette, and controlled their own destiny to secure a number-one seed in the NCAA Tournament.

They controlled their own destiny. And they also control their message. They showed this week that the message is more important than the money. A team earns “credits” for each game they play in the tournament that pays out over five years. It is also distributed amongst their conference-mates. There’s also the free publicity of being a “Cinderella”. A study commissioned by George Mason after their improbable Final Four run concluded that they earned 650 million dollars worth of free pub. In this economic backdrop, BYU did the unthinkable. They suspended their third leading scorer, and number one big-man, for the remainder of the season. His transgression? Not for possession of drugs or some other high crime, but rather for having consensual pre-marital sex. As some have put it, he was suspended from the team for being a typical 19 year old.

But BYU is anything but typical. They are a religious school with a strict honor code. Pre-marital sex is a violation of said code. It is cut and dry and everyone knows what the expectations are when they sign on the dotted line. It would have been easy to sweep this under the rug, win a couple of more games, go into March Madness as a #1 seed and National Championship contender, raking in millions of dollars in the process. Any other school likely would’ve done just that. But sometimes, morality is more important than money. And examples are more important than fan expectations.

Whatever you think about the Mormon religion, or even the culture at BYU, as Christians we have to respect this decision. As one fan put it, “As a basketball fan I think this is the dumbest move ever. But I just found the college for my daughter.”

Respect the decision or think it’s a sin?

Flashback Friday: Priorities

Frank

***Originally posted December, 2008. I’m reposting because I’m about to scoot to my kids’ Christmas program at school, do some more shopping (ok, I still need to start!), and try and squeeze an almost full day of work in at the office. Sound familiar?***

There are only a few shopping days left before Christmas. You’re likely going to brave the weekend crowds at the mall, scramble to find something off the shelves that have been picked clean, struggle to come up with what to get your in-laws, and all the while forget why you’re doing this to begin with. Then you’ll head home, look at the pile of dishes in the sink and think about the family coming over in just a couple of days and all the cleaning and rearranging of furniture that needs to be done before then. And if you’re like me, you still need to get that last string of lights up on the house and decorate the tree.

Can you relate? Do you feel hurried, stressed, overwhelmed? Do you wish there was just one more week before Christmas? I do. But then I’m a lot like Martha, who in Luke 10 is described as being “distracted by all the preparations that [have] to be made.” (Luke 10:40) But then we forget what we’re preparing for. Yes, we want Christmas to be memorable for our children and we want them to have everything they asked Santa for (within reason). We want to be warm and hospitable towards our family and friends. But what about “the reason for the season?” What about Jesus?

Are we reflecting Christ when we lose our patience at the store? Do we show the love of Jesus to our children when we lose our temper as they try to get into every present that’s already been wrapped and hunt for the ones that aren’t? Are we really being a witness to our families when what’s most important to us is getting everything done?

I write this for myself. My wife reminded me this morning that we needed to take time and get into God’s word, lean on Him in our stress, and not be overwhelmed with our “to dos”. I need to be more like Mary, who knew that “only one thing was needed.” (Luke 10:42)

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”


“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.“ (Luke 10:38-42)

Are you a fan of Jesus?

Frank

Playing catchup on our Mere Churchianity discussion group with Glynn Young and Nancy Rosback. I’m a week behind but am catching up on Chapter 16, “The Evangelical Sellout”. Be sure to check out Glynn and Nancy’s thoughts on the latest chapter here and here. Melissa at In Silence, Humming Softly has also joined the discussion so be sure to check out her thoughts as well.

 

I want to throw some numbers out there to set the tone. From Chip Ingram’s book, Living on the Edge referencing a Barna study he commissioned:

  • 81% of those calling themselves Christians said spiritual maturity is “following all the rules”
  • Half of churchgoers don’t know how their own church defines a “healthy spiritually mature follower of Jesus.”
  • Only 21% of Christians described their relationship with Jesus as a sign of their own personal spiritual maturity, 14% living a moral lifestyle, 13% being involved in spiritual disciplines.
  • A minority of churches have a written statement outlining the expectations of spiritual maturity and they often define this by what people do, not what they believe
  • Outside of this Barna study, Chip gives the anecdotal case where he asked 50 pastors what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and only one was able to give a coherent answer. Everyone else gave a vague version of “a follower of Jesus”. When asked further what that looks like, answers varied as described above.

From an interview I heard a couple of weeks ago with Phil Vischer, writer of Veggie Tales:
  • 50% of adult Protestants cannot define the word grace
  • 60% of high schoolers in youth ministry drop out after graduation

We know the symptoms. In Chapter 16 of Mere Churchianity, Michael Spencer defines the disease: we are fans of Jesus, not disciples of Jesus. He gives the comparison between a baseball player and a fan of baseball. I like the joke of “eating at McDonald’s every Sunday doesn’t make you a hamburger.”

When I became a disciple of Christ, the visible evidence of the numbers above drove me to the fellowship I am in now. I was converted in a campus ministry after being part of another campus ministry that prayed hard Sunday nights after partying hard Saturday night. And the fellowship was more about who was sleeping with who than how were our own personal walks with Christ. I knew there had to be something more than this, and I thank God for leading me to where he did.

I remember when one guy started coming around our campus ministry. He was active in his home church, a few hours down the road, and wanted a local fellowship. He participated in our worship, we studied the Bible, we prayed together, and when he looked at the lives we were striving to lead he told us, “this is just like my church back home. But only for those in leadership.” Michael gives a similar story of a brother who was taking a course on discipleship who dropped out because, “This is for preachers, not me.” (Mere Churchianity, pg 189)

I look around the current Christian climate and I see a malaise that is contagious. I read book after book and follow blog after blog to try and find the magic formula for what is wrong and how to fix it. But I’ve forgotten my own conversion and what brought me to the foot of the Cross. I’ve forgotten the stories of those like my friend above, to whom it never occurred that the lifestyle of a disciple is the expectation of all Christians, not just those in arbitrary positions of leadership. And so I’ve fallen into the Christian consumerism trap that Michael describes. He gives a great outline of the catalogue of endless “Christian” products that would be worth a post of its own, but instead I’ll give my own checklist:

  • I write a blog, tweet about my convictions, and follow several others who do the same as we all preach to the same choir.
  • I’ve taken classes on Christian marriages and Christ-honoring finances.
  • I’ve attended countless conferences, seminars, and workshops.
  • I’ve taken classes on Biblical survey and apologetics.
  • I listen to Christian radio and buy some of the CDs.
  • My kids watch Veggie Tales and we own several DVDs.
  • And I can’t even begin to count the number of books I’ve read, most on how to be a “better fill-in-the-blank Christian”.

And truthfully, not a single one of these has changed my walk with Christ. Sure, they motivate behavioral and attitudinal changes and feed my knowledge as well as my ego. But at the beginning and end of the day, it is only me and Jesus that matter and there’s not one silver bullet program, book, study series, conference, song, et cetera that is as important as that. I am a disciple of Jesus, not just a fan who wears some officially licensed jersey with his name on it and has his poster on my wall. I thank Michael for that reminder.