Yesterday, I went to Barnes & Noble on my day off. I walked around looking at random books in christian inspiration, biographies, history, and leadership. I love reading people who are in business or other fields about leadership and then trying to apply them to our life in the church. I enjoy history and biographies because I think there is so much we can learn from choices made by leaders. So, as I am going through I run across a book by Deepak Chopra called "Jesus: A Story of Enlightenment". Knowing a little bit about Chopra, I was curious as to what he was saying about Jesus because it isn't like he is a Christian. He has been know for his new age beliefs for years. This book he wrote was Chopra's take on what happened to Jesus from the years of 12 to 30. I think it is interesting how many people have come with different theories about those years in Jesus life.
Christopher Moore wrote a very funny, very irreverent book about those years in Jesus life. It had Jesus going all over the world doing different things and learning things in order to prepare himself for the ministry. But yet again, another author that would probably not describe himself as a Christian writing about the "untold years" of Jesus life.
I find it interesting, people that don't consider themselves Christ followers pondering the life of Jesus. As a kid's pastor, I know I have wondered what Jesus was like as a child and a teen. All we really have from the Bible is, "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." from Luke 2:52. Okay, but what kind of sense of humor did Jesus have? Did Jesus play practical jokes? How was Jesus at in school? Did Jesus ever sleep in after a night of studying? Was he ever late for synagogue school? What kid like stuff did Jesus do that gets pinned only on "bad" kids? I think it is fun to consider what Jesus was like. I also think it is important that we think about Jesus as a kid. I think it is important because we spend time thinking about Jesus and it makes it easier to apply it to our lives. I just think it is good to think about Jesus. Read about who he was as an adult and consider the people that influenced him as a youth.
Spend some time considering Jesus. Spend some time considering who he was and how that should shape your decisions in life.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Christmas Verse
I will never forget the Christmas message I taught when Margaret was 5 months pregnant with Scout. We were working at a small church in Waco. I think we may have had 20 both preschool and elementary in kid's church. We met in a school's music room using a karaoke machine for sound. (I think back to those days and just realize how spoiled I am now with all the lights, equipment, and space we have now.) It was still one of those days in Ministry I don't think I will ever forget.
I decided I was going to use John 3:16 as a text to teach the kids about God's love for us at Christmas. I had written out the lesson. I spent time in prayer about it. I was ready to teach it. We went through the normal parts of our lesson. We played some silly Christmas game. Sang some fun songs. Had a puppet come out and taught the memory verse. Worshiped. I got to the lesson and began talking about this verse that we all have heard a thousand times.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
I began crying right there in Kid's Church. It hit me. I don't think I really understood what God gave up for me that Christmas until I was teaching that room of kid's that day. I realized, I would not be willing to give up my unborn daughter who I had not even met yet for anything in this world. I realized my love for her was so strong that I would do whatever I could to keep her from any harm. I realized that instance what God gave up. I knew the verse. I thought I understood what it said. I knew at that moment I couldn't do what God did for anyone. That is why, to me, John 3:16 is the most important Christmas verse. He gave up the most important thing to him for me. He knew the pain Jesus would go through. He knew the kind of death Jesus would have to go through. This Christmas, think about that. If you are a parent, you know what I am talking about. If not, one day you will know exactly what I am writing. God sent his son that Christmas morning for each of us.
I decided I was going to use John 3:16 as a text to teach the kids about God's love for us at Christmas. I had written out the lesson. I spent time in prayer about it. I was ready to teach it. We went through the normal parts of our lesson. We played some silly Christmas game. Sang some fun songs. Had a puppet come out and taught the memory verse. Worshiped. I got to the lesson and began talking about this verse that we all have heard a thousand times.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
I began crying right there in Kid's Church. It hit me. I don't think I really understood what God gave up for me that Christmas until I was teaching that room of kid's that day. I realized, I would not be willing to give up my unborn daughter who I had not even met yet for anything in this world. I realized my love for her was so strong that I would do whatever I could to keep her from any harm. I realized that instance what God gave up. I knew the verse. I thought I understood what it said. I knew at that moment I couldn't do what God did for anyone. That is why, to me, John 3:16 is the most important Christmas verse. He gave up the most important thing to him for me. He knew the pain Jesus would go through. He knew the kind of death Jesus would have to go through. This Christmas, think about that. If you are a parent, you know what I am talking about. If not, one day you will know exactly what I am writing. God sent his son that Christmas morning for each of us.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Scattershooting
How come when we start thinking about random things the first thought is weather? or food? I think about food all the time. The problem though is when I eat without thinking about food because that is when I don't know what I am eating. I wonder how many calories we consume just because people leave food out on their desks? I can stand there and eat and eat as I am talking. Does that count as multitasking? I think one of my favorite things about Christmas is hearing kids talk about what they want. It is truly a passionate thing. They may not tell you the same thing every single time but every time they have passion about what they want. I find it funny when a kid knows all the details about whatever it is he wants. I find it sad when a kid wants something that is totally inappropriate for them. It is even more sad when a kid gets that gift... I love how people have expectations from the past but they don't want to take charge and make it happen...
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Date of Infamy
Today is "Pearl Harbor Day", it is "A date that will live in infamy" as President Roosevelt Said. We have plenty of days like that: 9/11 (Twin Towers), 11/22 (JFK's assassination), 1/28 (Challenger Explodes) are just a few that I remember. We remember these days for the wrong reasons. We have personal days of infamy too. Days that loved ones pass away or are diagnosed with an illness, days a relationship crumbles, or just really bad days are all examples. These are scary days that we remember in our history both public and personal. In every one of these cases, people lives are altered and shaped. How they are shaped is up to that person. When effected by such an event we have many options how we can respond.
Some people respond through service. Think about Pat Tillman after the twin towers crashed. He decided to join the Army and defend his country. Even though, he had a great position of influence at home as a football star. He gave a great sacrifice for our countries safety. He gave his life.
Some people respond through anger. Think of Peter and all his actions as Jesus was being tried and tortured. He began the night by cutting off a soldiers ear. He cursed people. He was very angry with the entire situation. It was his way of dealing with the trauma at hand.
I remember sitting in a 6th grade science class in January of 1986 when the challenger exploded over the Atlantic Ocean. Our teacher said, "hey, let's turn the tv on and watch the shuttle take off." It was a sad day. I was shocked. I think it was the only time ever the teacher went without getting on to us for talking as a class because my classmates and I just sat there dazed. Something that had become common place for all of us was now a super sad event.
I remember sitting in the lobby at college, the day the twin towers came down and the plane flew into the pentagon, just anxious about life. My wife was expecting our first child. I had a million things going on in my head. Questions that I had no answers to. The thing I remember about those days is it caused many people to turn to God and pray.
As I look through scripture, I tried to find the one correct way to handle tragedy. I wanted to find if God wanted us to rise up from the ashes and become strong warriors. I wanted to see God say, "Thou shalt not be saddened by the events that have taken place". I wanted to see a specific answer of what to do when the crap hits the fan. An emotion to have when shocked by a single days horrific events. I couldn't find anything like that. I did find two things.
First he said trust me. Acts 1 is very clear. Jesus is taking off and leaving his crew behind. I can see that being a horrible day. Imagine the emotions these guys have gone through in the weeks leading up to the event. One moment your life is rocked because your leader has passed. The next it is saved because your leader is alive. Just as soon as you get used to him being back, he says I am leaving again. He told them "You don't get to know the time, that is just the Father's business" He expected him to have faith. He expected them to put their trust in his promises. When we have a moment of crisis, God wants us to trust him. Trust that his promise to take care of his people is true.
Then he sent them to pray. God expects us to pray in those moments. It almost comes off as a secondary nature. It should. I pray that we don't lose that nature to stop and pray either as a church or a nation. I hope my kid's both personal and church learn that from me. I hope that I live out an example of prayer for them so that when something horrible happens. They turn to God in prayer. I hope that they learn to spend time in prayer for the daily stuff but in a time of crisis, I pray that they pray.
In times of trouble, I don't know if everyone should jump in service. I don't know if everyone is supposed to get angry. I don't know if everyone should be scared or shocked. I don know we need to stop and have faith that God is still in control and pray for everyone that is affected that day.
Some people respond through service. Think about Pat Tillman after the twin towers crashed. He decided to join the Army and defend his country. Even though, he had a great position of influence at home as a football star. He gave a great sacrifice for our countries safety. He gave his life.
Some people respond through anger. Think of Peter and all his actions as Jesus was being tried and tortured. He began the night by cutting off a soldiers ear. He cursed people. He was very angry with the entire situation. It was his way of dealing with the trauma at hand.
I remember sitting in a 6th grade science class in January of 1986 when the challenger exploded over the Atlantic Ocean. Our teacher said, "hey, let's turn the tv on and watch the shuttle take off." It was a sad day. I was shocked. I think it was the only time ever the teacher went without getting on to us for talking as a class because my classmates and I just sat there dazed. Something that had become common place for all of us was now a super sad event.
I remember sitting in the lobby at college, the day the twin towers came down and the plane flew into the pentagon, just anxious about life. My wife was expecting our first child. I had a million things going on in my head. Questions that I had no answers to. The thing I remember about those days is it caused many people to turn to God and pray.
As I look through scripture, I tried to find the one correct way to handle tragedy. I wanted to find if God wanted us to rise up from the ashes and become strong warriors. I wanted to see God say, "Thou shalt not be saddened by the events that have taken place". I wanted to see a specific answer of what to do when the crap hits the fan. An emotion to have when shocked by a single days horrific events. I couldn't find anything like that. I did find two things.
First he said trust me. Acts 1 is very clear. Jesus is taking off and leaving his crew behind. I can see that being a horrible day. Imagine the emotions these guys have gone through in the weeks leading up to the event. One moment your life is rocked because your leader has passed. The next it is saved because your leader is alive. Just as soon as you get used to him being back, he says I am leaving again. He told them "You don't get to know the time, that is just the Father's business" He expected him to have faith. He expected them to put their trust in his promises. When we have a moment of crisis, God wants us to trust him. Trust that his promise to take care of his people is true.
Then he sent them to pray. God expects us to pray in those moments. It almost comes off as a secondary nature. It should. I pray that we don't lose that nature to stop and pray either as a church or a nation. I hope my kid's both personal and church learn that from me. I hope that I live out an example of prayer for them so that when something horrible happens. They turn to God in prayer. I hope that they learn to spend time in prayer for the daily stuff but in a time of crisis, I pray that they pray.
In times of trouble, I don't know if everyone should jump in service. I don't know if everyone is supposed to get angry. I don't know if everyone should be scared or shocked. I don know we need to stop and have faith that God is still in control and pray for everyone that is affected that day.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Stories about Parents Number 1: A Tree for Lunch?
Being a kid's pastor, I get to see parents in all kinds of situations. Bad times: when a child brings home bad grade. Fun times: at a football game when their son scores a winning touchdown. Scary times: sitting with them in the hospital as a surgery is done. All sorts of different moments in kid's lives that I get to share with a family. With this being said, I get to see some pretty glaring moments of both good and bad parenting. Just because a parent has a bad parenting moment doesn't mean they are bad parents. It just means they made a choice that wasn't necessarily wise in the raising of their children. It is okay. We all have bone headed moments in parenting. I promise not to use any names in these stories, so don't worry no one will know except you and me and Margaret and your kids...and anyone else that was there that day. Well here goes the first installment of Stories about parents.
One time, I decided to host a family day at the Zoo with my preschool department at the church we were at. It was early spring. I thought we would have a great time. We got to the church to meet up and I remember being very disappointed at the turn out because only two families arrived to go with us. I didn't mind it just meant I got to go spend some quality time with those two families. This was before Marge and I had kids, so we were still establishing our own thoughts about parenting and how to raise our kids. Well little did we know when we showed up at this zoo day we were going to receive a huge lesson on parenting.
The two families we quickly find out are polar opposites of one another. We walk into the zoo to find family number one walking together, the parents pointing out different things in the welcome plaza like the fountain, and generally laid back. The other family was running, nearly jumping into the fountain and throwing temper tantrums about wanting to go into the gift shop. I was just trying to keep us moving.
We went to the chimp habitat. It was a beautiful. I asked the kids from family one some questions and they would answer me. The dad would look at his son and say, "shouldn't there be a sir on the end of that?" The 4 year old boy would look up at me and say, "sir". I thought, hey I am just a kid myself he doesn't need to call me sir. Now I understand that, his dad wanted him to understand at an early age that he need to show his pastor respect. The other set of kids would hug us and give me 5 but never was calling anyone sir a priority. When it came to their parents, I think they even called them by their first name a few times. Teaching respect was not a priority.
The glaring difference of respect not just for your pastor but for people in general became evident even more when it came lunch time. I remember sitting down outside at a table along a walk way with all the kids and parents starting to eat our sandwiches. Just behind the table was a line of trees that were used as shade. I was blown away, as I sat and talked with kids about their favorite animals we saw that morning. We were laughing and I didn't notice the Dad of the second family was no longer at the table with us. (That was my first mistake in all this, because I never should have let him out of my sight.) This grown man proceeds to climb up in a tree behind where we are eating. My back was to him so I didn't see him. I don't know if the kids were to preoccupied with eating or talking or both to notice that he was doing this. The next thing I know, We have tree branches in the middle of our table with him just cackling up a storm. I turned and really wanted to yell, "Idiot!" I didn't. I just took a deep breath and watched as their son sprinted right up to the tree and tried to do the same thing. He just lost all ability to tell him no he can't do that. He treated all of us and his kids with little respect as we were eating. Was it funny? Maybe to him. It was still pretty annoying to pull leaves out of my cheetohs. This was a true bone headed moment.
This is what I took away from that day. If I treat people my kids need to see in authority without respect then they will not respect their authority. And if you climb in a tree and drop branches into peoples table you look like a... well I'm sure you can insert a word there. Do we have to be like the first family and be so strict that any time someone asks you a question you have to say sir or keep your kids in a single file line from shortest to tallest as you walk? No. Do we need to find a balance of hey if I treat other people with respect myself then maybe my kids will too? That is more like a plan that I like. Parenting, like life, is about balance.
One time, I decided to host a family day at the Zoo with my preschool department at the church we were at. It was early spring. I thought we would have a great time. We got to the church to meet up and I remember being very disappointed at the turn out because only two families arrived to go with us. I didn't mind it just meant I got to go spend some quality time with those two families. This was before Marge and I had kids, so we were still establishing our own thoughts about parenting and how to raise our kids. Well little did we know when we showed up at this zoo day we were going to receive a huge lesson on parenting.
The two families we quickly find out are polar opposites of one another. We walk into the zoo to find family number one walking together, the parents pointing out different things in the welcome plaza like the fountain, and generally laid back. The other family was running, nearly jumping into the fountain and throwing temper tantrums about wanting to go into the gift shop. I was just trying to keep us moving.
We went to the chimp habitat. It was a beautiful. I asked the kids from family one some questions and they would answer me. The dad would look at his son and say, "shouldn't there be a sir on the end of that?" The 4 year old boy would look up at me and say, "sir". I thought, hey I am just a kid myself he doesn't need to call me sir. Now I understand that, his dad wanted him to understand at an early age that he need to show his pastor respect. The other set of kids would hug us and give me 5 but never was calling anyone sir a priority. When it came to their parents, I think they even called them by their first name a few times. Teaching respect was not a priority.
The glaring difference of respect not just for your pastor but for people in general became evident even more when it came lunch time. I remember sitting down outside at a table along a walk way with all the kids and parents starting to eat our sandwiches. Just behind the table was a line of trees that were used as shade. I was blown away, as I sat and talked with kids about their favorite animals we saw that morning. We were laughing and I didn't notice the Dad of the second family was no longer at the table with us. (That was my first mistake in all this, because I never should have let him out of my sight.) This grown man proceeds to climb up in a tree behind where we are eating. My back was to him so I didn't see him. I don't know if the kids were to preoccupied with eating or talking or both to notice that he was doing this. The next thing I know, We have tree branches in the middle of our table with him just cackling up a storm. I turned and really wanted to yell, "Idiot!" I didn't. I just took a deep breath and watched as their son sprinted right up to the tree and tried to do the same thing. He just lost all ability to tell him no he can't do that. He treated all of us and his kids with little respect as we were eating. Was it funny? Maybe to him. It was still pretty annoying to pull leaves out of my cheetohs. This was a true bone headed moment.
This is what I took away from that day. If I treat people my kids need to see in authority without respect then they will not respect their authority. And if you climb in a tree and drop branches into peoples table you look like a... well I'm sure you can insert a word there. Do we have to be like the first family and be so strict that any time someone asks you a question you have to say sir or keep your kids in a single file line from shortest to tallest as you walk? No. Do we need to find a balance of hey if I treat other people with respect myself then maybe my kids will too? That is more like a plan that I like. Parenting, like life, is about balance.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Be Real
But by shifting our focus from what we do to what God does, don't we cancel out all our careful keeping of the rules and ways God commanded? Not at all. What happens, in fact, is that by putting that entire way of life in its proper place, we confirm it. Romans 3: 31 (Message)
When I was younger, I worked for over 5 years at Office Depot both in the store and at a warehouse. It was a learning time for me. I had a call of God on my life to be doing full time ministry, but I needed to go through this to understand what life outside the walls of a church is like. A lady I worked with who was not a Christian and I were friends and talked regularly about life and struggles. We talked about my beliefs and her struggles with having any beliefs. I remember her telling me she had a hard time with pastors and their appearance of perfection. She would talk to me about how I was the first Christian she knew that she didn't feel threatened to share her own mistakes with. As a young pastor, I found it very interesting that it wasn't a form of perfection that someone in the world was looking for as a pastor. I think many times we think about struggles in our own lives and sins that we commit and we compress them so we don't look like the people we are trying to see saved, or just look like the world at all. She wanted someone that was real. She wanted someone that she could relate to, and not someone that was perfect or trying to appear perfect. I think everyone in the world (including nonbelievers) understands and believes Romans 3:23. Everyone knows that everyone messes up. I think many times we as Christians in our striving to achieve righteousness we forget that we are not righteous beings. I think our striving to pull off a perfect appearance creates a divide between pastors and not just the world but our own people.
I have to remind myself on a regular basis that people think less about me, than I think they think about me. When I begin to worry about what people think about me or what I do then I put up this wall of self righteousness that is neither truthful nor helpful. I think every person I pastor or run into on the street know that I make mistakes. They all know that I am a man. Am I trying each day to get better and become a closer reflection of the Christ that I follow? I hope so. I hope that my decisions show that I am getting closer to that. I have to remember that in the messages I give to kids and adults alike they see this process. I hope I never come off as someone who thinks he is perfect. I know I am not. I will always make mistakes because I am a sinful man. My hope is that by being transparent with my life people will still want to come to know Christ through my example. I know kids can tell the difference between someone who is real and someone who is faking it. Is your focus on worrying about what you do or is your focus on what Jesus did? Is it on what he is doing in your life?
When I was younger, I worked for over 5 years at Office Depot both in the store and at a warehouse. It was a learning time for me. I had a call of God on my life to be doing full time ministry, but I needed to go through this to understand what life outside the walls of a church is like. A lady I worked with who was not a Christian and I were friends and talked regularly about life and struggles. We talked about my beliefs and her struggles with having any beliefs. I remember her telling me she had a hard time with pastors and their appearance of perfection. She would talk to me about how I was the first Christian she knew that she didn't feel threatened to share her own mistakes with. As a young pastor, I found it very interesting that it wasn't a form of perfection that someone in the world was looking for as a pastor. I think many times we think about struggles in our own lives and sins that we commit and we compress them so we don't look like the people we are trying to see saved, or just look like the world at all. She wanted someone that was real. She wanted someone that she could relate to, and not someone that was perfect or trying to appear perfect. I think everyone in the world (including nonbelievers) understands and believes Romans 3:23. Everyone knows that everyone messes up. I think many times we as Christians in our striving to achieve righteousness we forget that we are not righteous beings. I think our striving to pull off a perfect appearance creates a divide between pastors and not just the world but our own people.
I have to remind myself on a regular basis that people think less about me, than I think they think about me. When I begin to worry about what people think about me or what I do then I put up this wall of self righteousness that is neither truthful nor helpful. I think every person I pastor or run into on the street know that I make mistakes. They all know that I am a man. Am I trying each day to get better and become a closer reflection of the Christ that I follow? I hope so. I hope that my decisions show that I am getting closer to that. I have to remember that in the messages I give to kids and adults alike they see this process. I hope I never come off as someone who thinks he is perfect. I know I am not. I will always make mistakes because I am a sinful man. My hope is that by being transparent with my life people will still want to come to know Christ through my example. I know kids can tell the difference between someone who is real and someone who is faking it. Is your focus on worrying about what you do or is your focus on what Jesus did? Is it on what he is doing in your life?
Friday, August 20, 2010
Pleasing God
Yesterday was my son Cooper's birthday. He turned the big age of 6. Whoa! My wife asked him what he wanted for his big birthday meal. He sat and thought for a moment. He said green beans and meatballs with no sauce. Margaret and I have been on a diet for the last several weeks. One of the first nights on the diet, she fixed green beans and meatballs with no sauce. He liked it. Still, knowing my son, I knew that was not one of his favorite meals. So we made sure to make him understand, he could choose anything for dinner not just Mommy and Daddy's diet food. At that point he quickly changed his mind. We ate hot dogs, mac & cheese, and green beans with cookies for desert. I sat down and thought last night about this, and wondered about my son's love for his parents. He didn't go all selfish and crazy when we first asked him what he wanted for dinner. He knew the things we have been eating over the last several weeks to get healthy. He was willing to sacrifice his choice of a meal for us to continue our diets. Sometimes, I think when it comes to us as Christians we get to stuck on trying to do stuff to make God happy when in actual reality he just wants us to be happy.
Psalm 37:4 says Delight yourself in the Lord and, he will give you the desires of your heart. Basically, if you love God and do the right stuff then the things you want to do in this world will fall into place. I know people that will go around wondering about the perfect will of God. We think, maybe this thing I want to do just isn't what is going to make God happy, it isn't in his "perfect" will. Even though it is not sin nor is it something that could lead us down a road headed toward sin. Things that make us grow, things that help people, or things that are genuinely good God wants you to do if it is your desire. He just wants our worship. He just wants our faithfulness. He mostly wants our love. Cooper didn't think he had the option of picking fat foods because the previous few weeks our diets did not allow it. All I wanted for him was to have a great birthday meal. All God wants for us is to be happy. Cooper didn't need to please us, but his love for us made him want to. If we show God our love then he is going to give us the things that we want. It would probably surprise you how often that lines up.
Psalm 37:4 says Delight yourself in the Lord and, he will give you the desires of your heart. Basically, if you love God and do the right stuff then the things you want to do in this world will fall into place. I know people that will go around wondering about the perfect will of God. We think, maybe this thing I want to do just isn't what is going to make God happy, it isn't in his "perfect" will. Even though it is not sin nor is it something that could lead us down a road headed toward sin. Things that make us grow, things that help people, or things that are genuinely good God wants you to do if it is your desire. He just wants our worship. He just wants our faithfulness. He mostly wants our love. Cooper didn't think he had the option of picking fat foods because the previous few weeks our diets did not allow it. All I wanted for him was to have a great birthday meal. All God wants for us is to be happy. Cooper didn't need to please us, but his love for us made him want to. If we show God our love then he is going to give us the things that we want. It would probably surprise you how often that lines up.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)