Is It Really A Sacrifice?

Photo by Craig Volpe

Today is our monthly day of fasting and prayer from our Agape Church plant team. One of the things that today does for us is to remind us that we can easily get into a routine. This morning I can't tell you how many times I almost put something in my mouth--leftover breakfast from the boys, a granola bar, pieces of cereal, that fruit that might as well be thrown out. It reminds me that I have been doing something the same way for 30 days. Today is change. Today is different. Today is out of my normal routine. Today I conciously make a decision to be different. Some would question why we would give up freedom--for only a few hours. Will it really make a difference? Why change the way I usually do things? Why--for a goal, a cause, a committment. To reach people I don't know, have never met, and who think differently than me.

Is it uncomfortable?
Is it abnormal?
Is it strange?
Is it Biblical?

But fasting and church planting/evangelism are the same. They are a concious choice to do something that is not part of my normal routine. They are a willingness to say, "I'm tired of watching others starve spiritually and I will make the sacrifice to change that." Yes it is a small sacrifice--but it is also a willingness to alter a routine.

Wireless?

I love all the wireless technology that is out there. Portland is wireless, McMenamins is wireless, Starbucks is wireless (not free of course), our house is wireless, most hotels are wireless, and airports are wireless. I hear that God is the original pioneer in wireless cdommunication. It is great being able to get a connection anywhere without wires, cords, or cables.

Yet for all the wireless technology we have in the 21st Century, those Little People play sets have more wires than the rest of the country. Oh yeah, at first I liked it. “Hey,” I thought, “plastic coated wires—I can use these to tie up cables rather than those bread twist ties that break easily. These are eve better than rubber bands.” So I thought until last Christmas when every toy was “Little People.” Fortunately I was given a pair of wire cutters for Christmas, which I opened first, and was able to easily disassemble the wires that held each people, part, and object in the package. I remember mentioning this in my sermon last year and wondering why Fisher Price worried about people stealing each part of the product. Were they thinking someone would steal a “Little Person” out of each package?

Someone came up after the sermon and claimed that the product was made in Taiwan and they wanted to make sure that everything stayed in exactly the same position in the overseas shipment. Sounded good to me.

So here we are in Kansas City at the Plaza staying in a hotel. Lori’s dad has been in ICU for 5 days and Santa had to find us at a hotel in the Plaza. Here I was without my wire cutters. Even worse, now they put glue on the end of the wires, after they twist tie them 150 times, so that my fingers are raw from pulling the glue off. Don’t tell me they do this to keep the people in the same position in the package. It’s a toy; for crying out loud. Pablo and Uniqua stand in an imaginary boat, and all they do is go in for a snack when the ship sinks.

My solution—I think they do this to mess with us. Sure they are not charging a lot for the toy and I give them that. So how do they get even, they make parents rub their fingers raw while the kids are saying—“Is it ready yet?” Then we go to the next toy and work that one. Sadly, most of our kids play with them for 5 minutes and then spend the next hour playing with the wrapping paper or the cardboard box. I think I am ready for a nap by the end of the day, not them.

Next year—Fisher Price—please be like the rest of the world and go “wireless”!

Merry Christmas to all the frustrated parents out there. Be glad we have fingers, wires, and each other.

John the Baptist

A lot of Christians, according to the Advent calendar, talk about John the Baptist this week.

I remember the day John the Baptist showed up in Dewey Church of Christ when I was a teenager. We joked about it after he'd left, that we thought he'd gotten beheaded and where was the scar?

As I reflect on that weird experience of standing in the lobby talking to "John the Baptist," I wonder how many odd people remind us of Jesus. Even in his day John the Baptist was a quack in the eyes of many. He alienated the religious leaders, called them snakes. He stuck his nose in Herod's allies-and-additional-wife program, suggesting his allegiances and indulgences were far from God's desire. Still, soldiers, the crowds, and tax collectors asked him, "What should we do?" For each he had practical spiritual answers. Have two coats, give away one. Stop extorting money from civilians. Be satisfied with your pay and don't charge ursury and exorbitant fees.

John the Baptist dressed weird: camel skins. He ate weird: locus and honey. Although, I've eaten handfuls of locus in Uganda, honey is a beautiful food, and mohair is still popular today.

Yet for all his off-the-wall prophetic oddness, John the Baptist got it, and he knew Jesus was the one who should be washing him in the Jordan River. It was John who witnessed one of the most beautiful moments in the story and life of Jesus, when the Spirit came down on them and God the Father said, "I'm proud of you, my son." And when John got discouraged in prison and sent messengers to ask Jesus, was he really the one, Jesus sent loving assurance that what John had preached was indeed the truth, that Jesus was the One and that the blind see, the lame walk, the dead are raised, the poor have good news preached to them, and then he added a blessing for him and all who would not reject God in this moment (Matthew 11:5-6).

So all this gets me thinking about that guy who came to church one day years ago. I don't remember what time of year it was, but maybe it was this week of that year. Maybe John the Baptist had come to visit, and maybe we just didn't have ears to hear.

I'm filling in the high school class in my church on Wednesday nights for a while. Last night I challenged the students to have ears to hear those who are a bit odd or uncool or wearing mohair, sucking on a bit-o-honey who might be announcing the arrival of Jesus in their lives, calling them to make their path straight. Some have closed their ears to their out-of-touch parents, others are seized by bitterness, others may be listening but have hearts that, like those snakes John shouted at by the river, need to be softened.

What do I need to repent of today? What's John the Baptist calling me to prepare for, to make straight, to right in my life? How would John the Baptist respond to your question, "What should we do?"

Perhaps it's to make it through this season without going into debt. Then keep track of your money you spend on Christmas. Next year you tithe that to a charity or just give $100 or $500 to people you know in need. And perhaps you need to spend 2007 getting to know someone in need. If you don't know someone you can help who is need, you are blind and avoiding the realities around you. You need to repent and open your eyes and ears. Christmas is a good season to start.

Wisdom, Jesus says (Matthew 11:19), is proved right by what it does.

Disciples of Christ elect chairman

Disciples of Christ Historical Society announced today that its Board of Trustees has elected Dr. Raymond Brown to serve as Chair of the Board for 2007-08. He becomes the first African-American to hold that position in the 65 year history of DCHS.

Dr. Brown studied at Jarvis Christian College and Drake University. Now retired, he and his wife Suzanne are members of Downey Avenue Christian Church (DOC) in Indianapolis.

Over a long and fruitful career, Dr. Brown served in numerous posts, but has always remained a pastor at heart. Among his many ministries were his leadership role at Church Extension (Senior Vice President) and an interim at the helm of Disciples Home Missions.

Already a member of the DCHS Board, as Chair, Dr. Brown will oversee new programming and initial stages of restoration to the historic T.W. Phillips Memorial, home of the Society in Nashville, Tennessee.

Disciples of Christ Historical Society is a general ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and also serves Churches of Christ and Christian Churches/Churches of Christ. Glenn Thomas Carson is president.

Are Babies Sinners?

This news article hit close to home. When I went to church as a child it was one that believed infants should be baptized because they were born with "original sin" (the sin of Adam). I was sprinkled as an infant but questioned the teaching in college. I was baptized at 21 because I was convinced that sin was a choice I made--and believe me I did a lot of it. I remember studying with my old minister back in Marshall, MO. We studied Ezekiel 18:20 which suggests that children will not be punished for their parent's sin--but for their own. He said, "Wow, that's the first time I really looked at this verse that way. However I am too old to change but will pray about it."

While we were not Catholic I wonder if he is thinking what I'm thinking while reading this article.Isn't it great that we can change our views, no matter how old they or we are?What do you all think?

New Book Review Editor Search

The best part of my job as editor is working with writers and the thrill of seeing someone get published the first time and giving people opportunities to write authentically and coaxing new writers to dig deeper. Giving new editors the chance to work with writers is another joy of my work . . .

Today I'm announcing a search for a new book review editor for Wineskins.

If you are interested, please answer the following questions and send to my email: gtaylor@garnettchurch.org

1. Have you written or published reviews before?
2. If so, include one of your best here . . .
3. Do you have any editing/literature teaching experience?
4. What about your desire, reading and writing life, would lead Wineskins to give you a shot at this?
5. How do you handle deadlines and how would you feel about managing several writers and editing their work for publication?

Can you handle this compensation? Free books sent directly to you for the life of the job from all the best publishers related to types of books Wineskins reviews: Brazos/Baker, Zondervan, Thomas Nelson, Leafwood/ACU Press, Westminster, Bethany House, Jossey-Bass, Paraclete, Eerdmanns, Waterbrook, IVP, NavPress

I'd like to put someone in place before the end of the year, so please answer the questions and send to gtaylor@garnettchurch.org by November 1, 2006.

Who really cares what media is legal to use in church services?

Many churches have a maverick attitude about the resources they use in public worship. They grab photos from the internet, rent a movie from Blockbuster, and with little thought to the legalities, boom, Sunday showtime!

For years churches have needed wisdom and advice about how to properly use internet, video, sound, and music media. ZOE has done sessions over the years on this, and we have brought in various resource people.

Now here is a biggie: many churches--some with developed praise teams and paid leaders--use whatever songs they want, tape them, copy sheet music, do whatever they want, and never think very much about the paperwork that is required to present songs in a church when using copyrighted songs that are owed royalties through CCLI and other songwriting organizations.

How does your church rate? Let's start today with music.

Here is one resource I'd like for you to check out. Come back and comment on what you've learned, what your church practices, and let's learn together what we can about church copyrighting. Let's do the right thing, even if it's not the easy thing.

ZOE Conference and Lauren Winner

We start planning the ZOE "Look to the Hills" Leadership and Worship Conferences in the Spring and the first one is in Nashville the first weekend in October each year.

This year the theme is "Closer," not to be confused with the homonym name for a popular TV show. This is closer as in intimacy and drawing near to God. I'll let the cat out of the bag here a little bit because I'll be happy to have input as we put some finishing touches on the sub-themes.

In the last two years I've invited my friend and co-worker, Wade Hodges, who Mark Riddle calls one of the greatest thinkers in Tulsa. Yeah, that's about right, but once you get out of Tulsa, he's about par with guys like N.T. Wright and McLaren and they could probably outwit him on a given day, if not outpublish him, though not digitally, because like Riddle I've used my own superlatives for Wade, one of the best bloggers "we" have, the "we" meaning Christian progressives I guess, and Wade is currently my favorite preacher, and he's also in good company there, where some of my favorites and friends have been Mike Cope, Rubel Shelly, John York, John Barton, Mark Moore, Deron Smith, not to leave out prominent other friends and family of mine who I've worked with but these are guys out there preaching regularly or semi-regularly.

Back to subthemes for ZOE leadership part of the conference . . .

Wade had the idea for breaking the Closer theme into these four subthemes: we draw near to God through Heart, Head, Hands, Home. So we'll have "discerning communities" led by four people who I'll announce in a few days. Our keynote speaker who will deal with the main theme that leads to these breakout discerning communities (everyone will go to each of the four subtheme breakouts), is Lauren Winner. If you haven't read Lauren Winner's writing, you are missing one of the great, authentic and engaging writers of our day. Her first breakaway book was Girl Meets God and her most recent is Real Sex. I'll be featuring excerpts from her writing in Wineskins in the parallel universe Wineskins issue also called "Closer."

I primarily draw near to God through home: right now I experience God with, in, and through my wife and children and how we are drawing near to God and being shaped into Christ's image together. I have exchanged much of my "personal" time with God for family Scripture reading, storytelling, and prayer.

Where do you most often draw near to God? Through head (study, Bible), heart (emotion, prayer, spirit), home (shared experiences in family), or hands (service experiences)? What stories can you tell about that?

Who will stand with Ron Clark against sexual violence?

Ron Clark is living where Wineskins right now is calling us to live . . . he is a church planter and one who meets people in the messiness of life. For twelve years they have been ministering to those suffering quietly in houses of sexual violence and abuse.

I want to encourage you to read Ron's article on the Rape of Dinah (Genesis 34) that was published in the Swiss journal for feminist Biblical studies. He was recently asked to join the Attorney General's Sexual Assault Task Force.

Who will pray for Ron? Who will pray for the violence to end in their communities? And will we pray for the dark secrets to slowly edge out of the shadows or to be thrown out like a drunk through a window?

Beginning in September Wineskins looks unblinkingly at intimacy of God and his people, and we will not be silent where the Bible is not silent, where God is not silent. Ron says,

In my experience with ministry in abuse and sexual assault, I have noticed that people tend to blame abuse on alcohol, drug addiction, race, or economic status. Domestic violence affects all races, social groups, and sexes. My clergy trainings with Communities Against Domestic Violence (CADV); a non-profit organization committed to creating awareness in our communities, have focused on faith communities and leadership. Faith communities are viewed as being slow to respond to abuse and sexual assault. Faith communities do not teach and preach texts such as Genesis 34. Is this silence similar to Jacob’s?

I'd like to publish Ron's article in our Intimacy issue of Wineskins because we need to show more than the beautiful side of relationship with God and with one another. We need to expose and speak out against the injustices going on among us.

Read Ron Clark's article. The introduction is in German and some computers may not render the Hebrew terms correctly, but don't let those things distract you from a moving article and application to today's violence and injustices.

Beyond the Rituals:Letting God Reign in Our Lives

“Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees you’ll not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”—Jesus

In a culture being lulled to sleep by mediocrity, passivity, acceptance, political correctness, moderation and tolerance Jesus would be considered an intolerant radical fanatic:

He ran the money changers out with a whip – "Intolerant, rage-aholic!"
In essence, He told the rich ruler, “My way or the highway.” – "Narrow. Extremist."
“I am THE way, THE truth, THE life..” – "Who does He think He is!? God?"
“You have sins and I’ll forgive them.” – "Holier-than-thou. Judgemental."
“If you don’t repent ,you’ll not be forgiven” – "Militant, hateful bigot!"
“If anyone wants to follow me he must deny himself” – "Radical right-wing conservative."
“You preachers are in it for yourselves.” (Matthew 11:45ff) – "Meddler!"
“Don’t worry about the bills, refuse to cook the books and trust God.” (Matthew 12) – "Naïve. Idealistic."
He said, “God gave one man 5 talents and another he only gave 1 talent.” – "Republican!"
He said, “God gave talents.” – "Democrat!"
He said, “God.” – "Christian!!"

If not literally, then essentially, Jesus would have been “nailed” today for his positions.

Watching over 6000 Christians come through our place during the past ten years, I’ve been saddened and actually become somewhat worried. I'm especially worried about the youth.

The majority lack the independent spirit of Jesus. They follow the crowd, stay in the pack, do what everyone else is doing, take their bottles of spiritual milk and go play church. They lack holy defiance. They lack vision. There is little or no personal motivation, much conformity.

They’ve settled for goodness when they should have sought fire. They have a fondness for Christ, not passion. Though spiritually well-fed they have no strength. They are surrounded with God-stuff yet self remains at the center. They are polite, but not pure. They are acceptable not radical. There is knowledge, but no resolve; an eagerness to serve the poor, but little sense of man’s lostness. I do not see Christ formed or forming in them; instead, I see the righteousness of the Pharisees. I wish I saw more of that intolerant, fanatical, raging Meddler who went against the tide, died for it, and shook the world awake.

Is Anybody Listening?

I was completely blown away when a Swiss journal for feminist Biblical studies asked me to submit my article on the Rape of Dinah (Genesis 34) this Spring. I was also struck when a representative of the Attourney General's Sexual Assault Task Force asked me Thursday to join the committee. God pushes, but I never knew it would be this hard.

Ever since my first sermon on domestic violence (in 1995) my wife and I have been on a roller-coaster ride. We have both been immersed in ministry to a dark world of pain, injustice, suffering, and fear. Yet God shines in the darkness and has brought healing to many women and children suffering alone. We see the power of God in the lives of many, only to be proded to tell others about the secret things of the dark world of abuse, sexual violence, and human trafficking. Then God sends us back not only to listen but to tell those in the darkness that their voices and screams are heard.

It makes me wonder, and you can wonder too, if God is the only one listening. How often have we been silent on this issue? How often have we heard a sermon or class on sexual violence? Even worse, since we have about 5 Biblical texts that address this, how often have we heard them taught? In Genesis 34 Dinah never says a word. Neither does her father Jacob (at least not until the end). Why doesn't she scream? Why doesn't he call for justice?

What do you think?

Jesus Among Us

In the Gospel of John he tells us that the word became flesh and dwelt/tabernacled among us. Instead of living in a tent, building, or reconstructed temple, God came to live in flesh. Jesus is God in the flesh. Have we ever really contemplated what that means.

This picture was done by one of our artists at Metro Church of Christ, in Portland, OR. It reminds me of what this incarnation really meant. Can we see the creator of the world holding children, talking to women, healing the sick and lame, and patiently listening to the poor (Luke 7)? Is it too much for us to imagine that God became vulnerable and open to abuse? Is it hard to imagine God taking the time to be with the "insignificant people" of the ancient world? The Talmud says it is a waste of time to teach or spend time with children. The disciples tried to keep children away from Jesus. But Jesus held children in his arms, even the ones with messy diapers and snotty noses. While this may have offended ancient people does it offend us?

It reminds me of Joan Osborne's song, "What if God was one of us".

How do you think God would do this today?

Praying With The Church: A Book Review

Scot McKnight of The Jesus Creed fame brings us another treat with Praying With The Church. In this highly accessible book, McKnight draws the reader into the world of prayers from the Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant traditions in such a way that makes entering into foreign ecclesial turf a comfortable experience. In a sense, he gives us permission to wander outside of our zone of prayer comfort without the seeming requirement of weirdness.

McKnight, a master teacher, provides early on a metaphor which makes understanding the differences between praying in the church and praying with the church. It is a metaphor that reappears in just about every chapter at just the right times. After using this metaphor to set the stage, he goes on to make a convincing case that Jesus prayed many of his prayers at regular times, mostly from the Psalms, the prayer book of his day, and that we should do the same.

The gift of this book is threefold:
1. Dismantles (gently) most objections to praying prayers other people have written. For people who have grown up praying spontaneously in public and private, there are usually reasons why they don’t pray their prayers from books or any pre-written prayers. Whether it is skepticism about the sincerity of praying someone else’s prayer or discomfort in reading a prayer or fear of being "too Catholic," McKnight enters into those objections gently, but fearlessly. Another objection people have to pre-written prayers is their concern that it is meaningless repetition. Not only does he make a great case for these prayers not being meaningless repetition, he makes a case that our spontaneous prayers become the very same thing. In this part of the book I felt like he had been spying on me. It is not the repeating that becomes meaningless, but rather what we invest into the pray that make it meaningless. Another fear people have is that they might feel they have to give up their current way of praying in order to pray with the church. Not so. McKnight anticipates all of these potential objections and loosens up the reader to consider trying a new way of praying.

2. Introduces prayer resources from Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant traditions – and Phyllis Tickle. By the time the reader gets through this book, he or she will know right where to go next in order to enter into praying with the church on a regular basis. Although McKnight does not go into deep detail about any of the prayerbooks from these traditions, he gives enough to get a feel for what direction one might want to take as a first step.

3. Provides clear and simple tips for getting started. The final chapter outlines nine needs we have in praying with the church. These nine needs free the reader to begin praying with the church without fear of failure or like they are giving up the good things they have going on already in their prayer world.

Finally, Praying With The Church honors Christianity in its various expressions without blurring lines between denominations. There is a very generous tone in the book toward all forms of Christian practice, privileging each of them for their meaningful contributions to the Christian discipline of prayer.

The Submerging Church?

I have enjoyed the book The Greying of the Flock by James Knapp. We used this in my class at George Fox Seminary and my students did presentations on it last week. The ones over 55 had some great insights about their futures, the future of aged Christians, and the futures of churches. I also had one of the staff say, "We have spent a lot of time targeting the 'Emerging church' (young people) but what about the 'Submerging church' (those older folks who have been in church for years)?

Knapp brings a great message for the church and church leaders. He points out that by 2010 Baby Boomers will be reaching retirement age. There will be a huge number of retired folks due to the Baby Boom in the early 1940s. Will the progressive generation of the 20th Century be willing to accept retirement? What will we do with this large body of Christians in our churches?Knapp suggests that in the past we have tried to minister to retired Christians and become caretakers. Yet, he writes, this has always been a powerful force for the kingdom that we have neglected in our ministries, outreach, and missions. Will we continue to neglect them or will we empower them to continue to lead and finish life as active servants of God?I guess this hits home for me.

First, I am at the end of the Baby Boom and will be "retirement age" in over 20 years. Second, I have been reading "The Emerging Church" and reading the research for planting churches. Third, I too have been asking "what about the 'submerging church'?" (those who may be neglected in future ministries). Fourth, I have seen senior saints hit retirement and instead of giving back to God with full time service (retirement is a blessing from God and one worthy of honor to God) they retire from church ministry. Finally, I have spent years blessed by senior saints who help in our abuse and ESL ministry, yet find that most churches try to minister to them rather than empower them to ministry.

I think Knapp's book should be read by all of us, not because we ought to feel guilty, but it helps us to be appreciative of how we need older brothers and sisters in the church to mentor, guide, and serve Jesus and us.

Ron Clark
Portland, OR

2006 New Wineskins Retreat

Male & Female: Made in God’s Image (Genesis 1:27)

The 2006 New Wineskins Retreat will be held on the campus of Pepperdine University on Friday & Saturday, July 14 & 15, 2006. This year’s theme is “Male & Female: Made in God’s Image (Genesis 1:27).”

Our 2006 featured speakers include Dr. Jeanene Reese (Abilene, Texas); Sylvia Rose (Detriot, Michigan); D’Esta Love (Malibu, California); and Irie Session (Dallas, Texas). Each of these women has experience serving in various roles in the church and as Christian leaders throughout the United States. They will lead us in thoughtful and intelligent discussion on our theme.

The $150 New Wineskins Retreat conference fee includes meals and two nights lodging on the campus of Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. Attendees can register and pay by mail. Send contact information and conference fee to Emancipation Fellowship Ministries, c/o Al Jumper, 8117 W. Manchester #221; Playa Del Rey, CA 90293.

The New Wineskins Retreat is not affiliated with New Wineskins magazine. It began as predominantly African American men in 2000. The retreat provides a non-threatening environment wherein church leaders in our fellowship can experience spiritual formation as well as intellectual stimulation.

“We believe the New Wineskins Retreat is a national event that serves as a good starting point for leaders within churches of Christ to experience at a spiritual and intuitive level a small community given to the practice of authentic racial and gender harmony,” says Dr. Jerry Taylor, coordinator of the New Wineskins Retreat and assistant professor of Bible, missions & ministry at Abilene Christian University.

The mission of the New Wineskins Retreat is to provide a spiritually healthy environment for growth, refreshment and healing, while promoting a resourceful national support network for ministers and leaders, and preserving an open atmosphere conducive for honest dialogue and strategic planning.

The 2005 retreat was held at the Richland Hills Church of Christ in North Richland Hills, Texas. Over 75 church leaders attended to discuss the theme “Undoing Racism in churches of Christ and beyond.”

(repeated from posts at gal328.org and Christian Standard)

Guilt-Free Pleasures

I don't read nearly as many books as I used to read (though I am really looking forward to reading Darryl Tippens' Pilgrim Heart very soon). But I do read, pretty voraciously - through copies of old Wineskins.

So I won't be misunderstood, I'm talking about the magazine in its first incarnation before the good folks at The ZOE Group became its caretakers.

On and off for about three years, I've been keying in the articles from these archive editions so that they could be added to the New Wineskins Web site, and it has become one of my few guilt-free pleasures. The articles are like a trip on Mr. Peabody's Not-Too-Wayback Machine ... though many of the topics and thoughts are just as fresh as if they had been written for the current issue.

I've had to key in these articles because the VERY expensive OCR (optical character recognition) software I bought for my old Mac worked only a few times when I purchased it some years ago, then it refused to re-install, and then the software company's name disappeared from the web.

A few weeks ago, the renamed company made the mistake of sending me an e-mail to offer me the same software at a discounted price. After discovering that the discounted software was only the Windows version, I began the process of trying to file a service request online ... long story short: The serial number they sent me with the paid version years ago was apparently good only for the trial version, and it expired. The permanent one was never sent, but still available on a site called "www.findmyorder.com" - and if you've ever ordered software online through Digital River, yours is probably still there, too!

Today I was able to reactivate my OCR software, and breezed through more than half of one issue in one afternoon, rather than a couple of hours a night for a couple of weeks. Though I'm not laboriously keying in each word anymore, I still enjoy getting to (proof)read every article to correct the 0.1 or 0.2% error rate - and that's much faster.

So I'm hoping to accelerate the posting of archive issues for those of you who subscribe - I just added the July-August 1998 issue "A Life Beautiful" on Saturday. Look forward to the May-June 1998 issue very soon.

Feel free to indulge your own guilt-free pleasure!

Pepperdine Lectures

I'll have to leave tomorrow; leave the sunshine, cool breezes and coastal views of the Pepperdine University campus to go home and be a part of my daughter's 10th birthday celebration.

It's a fair trade.

I've never been to a lectureship before. I'm certain that I will try to again. But if it's not in God's will, hopefully it will be within it for me to remember these things for the rest of my life:

• Being there with three elder couples from my church - and one retired elder couple. Seeing many friends ... some of whom I met for the first time face-to-face (like fellow blogger John Dobbs and James Wiser); others for the first time ever.


• The companionship and encouragement of good folks like David Underwood and Keith Riley, the former of whom has long encouraged me to attend these lectures, and the latter of whom encourages me to collect some thoughts in a book. Maybe I will.


• Hearing the grandson of a dear family friend - Philippe Dauner - deliver an outstanding keynote address in the fieldhouse, with his grandmother Colette Daugherty proudly watching.


• Telling him that the mother he tried not to be like and look like was once a teenage girl I had a crush on, and the qualities he has indeed inherited from her endeared me to her then.


• Getting an excellent overview of the causes of the rift between independent Christian Churches and the Churches of Christ a century ago from both Rick Atchley and Victor Knowles (by whom I was privileged to sit on the plane from Dallas).


• Hearing Bob Russell speak about the fundamental concepts that the two church fellowships hold dear.


• Attending excellent workshops like Jeff Childers' on the different "quadrants" of spiritual perception among Christians (a kind of JoHari Window analysis) and Dwight Robarts' ponderings on preaching about politics ... all the great reasons why we shouldn't; and all the biblical reasons why we must.


• Being shocked out of my reason to receive an award from the good folks at New Wineskins at the ZOE Group devotional Wednesday morning. I was totally humbled. I will keep the gargantuan plaque as a reminder of God's grace, for it is certainly not a merited award ... especially in view of the lifelong achievements of others honored at the lectures. (I was led to believe they were flying me out here to work at the ZOE table and talk about New Wineskins since Greg couldn't come.) And I will forgive Mike Cope, Larry Bridgesmith, Eric Noah-Wilson, Greg Taylor and anyone else who recruited my wife Angi to join the conspiracy to keep this truth from me.


• A moment early this morning when a young doe paused in the parking lot to let me take her photograph ... and emerged from behind the Science Hall again at noon when I was by myself to snap a few closer ones.


• Fellowship. The theme of the lectureship, all drawn from the first epistle of John. It could not have been better chosen, nor better lived out by the hosts and participants.

I'd better go, or I won't be able to find a seat to discover what Mike Cope has to say about sex and baptism.

That ought to be memorable, too.

PostScript: Missed Mike's session; it was full by the time I got there. Victor Knowles' second session was an excellent replacement. Check out his POE Ministries site.

New Wine in Old Wineskins

This picture was taken on a 7 hour layover in Vienna, Austria on my way to Albania. It was on a Sunday afternoon while the cathedral was having worship. Notice the scaffolding. They are trying to revive, renovate this ancient church building. Notice, also, the people milling around the square oblivious to the renovation on the outside and the spiritual renovation on the inside. Can the church reach them?

Rick Warren, minister for the Saddleback Church in Orange County and author of the Purpose Driven Life, said this about the resignation of a national leader and the state of the church in America:

"You can't put new wine in old wineskins. When you try to do that, the skin bursts, and somebody gets blamed. The sad symptoms we see in so many Christian organizations, churches, and denominations today are caused by a number of theological, cultural, and structural problems that are deeper than just personality issues. The causes are both systemic and endemic, and should surprise no one who has been watching the past 25 years. We will either have another genuine Reformation, or the American church will eventually go the way of Europe. Nothing less will solve the problem, so I'm praying and working as hard as I can for the first option."

As a minister of 20 years, college instructor, and now a future church planter; I have wrestled with the following question. "Are our resources best used to plant new churches to reach new people or to revive declining congregations (many which resist change)?" While I understand that the answer to this is yes and yes I am still drawn to have conversation about what is working. While I understand that one life is worth saving, I wonder how many lives are lost (or could be won) because we are trying to convince that one person to do what they should already be doing? Is the Great Commission a suggestion or a command?

What Think Ye?

Morning Coffee: Cup of Wonder, Cup of Grace

Some cups hold coffee; others hold meaning.

Coffee cups come in all sizes, some are silly, some plain. There are cups received for service, in remembrance of events, in celebration of happenings.

My children have given me cups. I keep them on bookshelves, on my desk, and store in boxes with other treasures.

We use our metal cups from Kenya when we drink our hot African Chai. Someone gave us a dozen ceramic promotional mugs which help us serve large groups of guests. My most used cup is a plain white one with a crack in it. I like the crack. It is my favorite.

Cups hold coffee, tea, or even cold drinks, but for some of us they hold meaning.

My wife once bought a cup-decorating kit. The kids used it to make a personal cup for Grandpa. It became his instant favorite because is reminded him of them. A few years later, they gave him a different one with the phrase “We love you!” written along the inside lip so he’d see it every time he took a sip. A new favorite had arrived.

What’s incredibly important to one person may hold little value to another. I once had a cup that my children gave me. I loved it. It felt good in my hands and to my heart. A visitor to our home dropped it and it shattered. They apologized, but they didn’t share my sense of loss. That cup has special meaning for me; it didn’t for them. Some cups are that way—they have special significance.

This past Easter Sunday we celebrated a cup with special significance and meaning.

Jesus said, “Take this cup and drink it.” It was wine. It was a token – a symbol.

Jesus said, “This is my blood of the covenant.” It sounded….it still sounds…bazaar! What did He mean?

Later, that same evening, he talked about that cup again. His second conversation added to the understanding of the first. He prayed “May this cup pass from me.”. He was praying about his death that would occur that night….that hour!

Pain. Shame. Ridicule. Rejection. Suffering. They were in His cup. Bitter stuff to swallow.

“Let it pass—if possible, but, if not, then let it be.”

“This is my blood of the covenant” meant, “This is the extent of my commitment to the covenant. This is the level to which I’ll go for God’s will. Shame. Ridicule. Loss. Death…even a bloody one. If that’s what it takes, it’s what I’ll give.”

“And when ever you drink this cup” —your personal cup of suffering, loss, scary dose of walking on faith – “remember me.” Recall what I’ve done. Everything is not too much…when necessary.

Truly, some cups hold meaning.

Life on the Farm: Spiritual Insights from Rural Living

“Make straight the way for the Lord.” Jn 1:23b

Mowing on mountains is dangerous. Two autumns ago I borrowed a neighbor’s tractor—a big four-wheel drive orange Kuboto monster tractor...with a lift on the front! Men who ride such beasts develop muscles (mostly around the mid-section). What phone booths do for Superman, big powerful machines, like the one I borrowed, do for farming men. “Arrrggggh!”.

Well, first, I drove it across my pasture dragging a bush hog attachment-- a heavy mower deck with two steel blades--each about 3 feet long and ½ an inch thick—able to take out two inch sapling trees like your Murray mower snips off lawn grass! I was feeling pretty “Arrrggggh!”.

After a manicure of these relatively flat fields my confidence had risen above my intelligence and I determined to take on the hill behind my house. The hill is steep. Very steep. Too steep in fact for safety, but Superman was wearing fourwheel drive orange cape with plenty of horsepower and well, the old saying about men climbing mountains nudged out a win over safety and wisdom.

A friend--who owned his own orange cape--advised me to mow up the hill in reverse and then, without turning around, mow down in forward. I cautiously backed up nearly one hundred yards on a 45 degree - at some points more!- angle. I prayed the brakes would hold. They did. I shifted back into a low forward gear and slowly crept back to the foot of the mountain. Whew. I had to lean back hard into the seat or be tossed overboard. It was nerve racking, but I became more relaxed with each completed pass.

The mowing went well. The mountainside was looking very nice and the tractor wasn’t overheating or staggering under the steady push and pull. I stopped for lunch, taking time to admire my now neatly trimmed fields and half a mountainside. I was feeling pretty satisfied and very “Arrrggggh!”.

I should have remembered that pride goes before a great ‘fall’. I didn’t, or maybe I did but disregarded it. I don’t recall exactly. I do however recall the leap of my heart into my throat. On literally the very last run up the mountain, the hill had begun to slope away steeply to one side in addition to the up and down sloping. I didn’t allow for this when I turned the tires just a little to one side so as to reach a last small area. That’s when the right rear tire lifted off the ground!

I hung in midair as my heart smacked the roof of my head. I shifted my body weight to compensate, but immediately realized it had no effect. My mind raced through a dozen escape scenarios in less than a second while the 5 ton steel death trap decided my fate.

I swore-- I mean, I promised-- I’d never try it again. Proof that the tire returned to earth before the tractor rolled is that you're getting the story via blog rather than eulogy. Had the tractor tipped I'm sure I'd have been crushed.

Level ground is much easier work than hill sides or ditches (which also produce accounts of getting stuck, breaking equipment, and bucking riders off seats).

John the baptizer appreciated the difficulties of working unleveled ground. He came proclaiming that men should make way...level paths...for the arrival of Jesus. Hard, unrepentant hearts are hillsides and ditches that impede the easy arrival of Jesus. Not that Jesus can’t climb hillsides or jump gullies. He can. It’s just that progress is difficult and ill prepared hearts are constantly at risk of falling, loosing their grip, making a faith-crushing misstep, getting stuck or being tossed. Trying to live in Christ with a divided heart is dangerous, even foolish, business-- like mowing on mountains.

When faith seems an uphill climb, it may be that you’re not leveling with the Lord in some area of your life. Be honest with yourself, and with Him. Is there sin? Sin easily entangles progress in Christ. Put it aside. Make level the way for the Lord. Your faith walk will be more secure and you'll experience true “Arrrrggggh!”