Tight rope or Noose?

This week I had the opportunity to attend a great event in our city. There were over 5000 people gathered to 'worship.' I am sure those who put the event together did so with the purest of motivations, but I was incredibly disappointed. I don't write this to rail on the event; rather to talk about the check I found in my spirit.

Here's what happened...While the bands where playing worship music and encouraging us to party for Jesus, celebrate Jesus; in the background on a huge double billboard like lighted board the name of the band continually flashed. I don't know maybe I am getting old [lol please]. It seemed to me like the bands were promoted more than Jesus. Again I am sure this was not the intent.

Then came the check in my spirit, do I promote me more than Jesus. In our media saturated age, how do we safe guard against self promotion. God has given us the gift of excitement and energy and music, but His glory. I like the spotlight at times, too many times. How does one stay humble in age where everyone has access to you through this medium. We want the world to hear the message of Christ, we want to be excited, we want to make a difference. Is it wrong to want to be known too? Seems like a tight rope at times that can slip into a noose.

Forgotten God

I am reading the book by Frans Chan entitled "The Forgotten God." I love the title! The book is about the Holy Spirit and how we have forgotten Him. This year in NewSong, I want us to begin to explore the workings of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Too often I too feel like I have neglected the power of God and tired to accomplish life on my own. This year I simply want to lean more into Him and allow the Holy Spirit to be active in my life.

It sounds good, but I am not sure what it all means. But I am looking forward to the journey.

No Time for New Years

Does anyone else out there not like the fact that New Year's Day is a mere 7 days after Christmas? We completely miss out on the New Year. Not the celebration and I do like the fact that we get a longer break. But New Year's Day is a day to reflect and plan the new year. What happens is by the time we get through the Christmas 'hangover' New Year's Day is upon us. We don't think we just make silly resolutions. When was the last time you really thought about your resolutions? When was the last time you really thought about you and your life and where you are going?

So maybe for Christmas this year we ought to give ourselves the gift of reflection. The gift of New Years, and then turn to the gift of Christmas, Christ, to bring newness in the new year.

Happy New Year and Merry Christmas

Saying No to Hope

As I was working on the Advent/Christmas sermon, I was wondering if Mary could have said no. Did the Angel ask or announce. What difference does it make? I wonder how many opportunities come our way and we say No to hope.

Confession

Confession is good for the soul, but it doesn't do much for one's reputation.

This week in NewSong we talked about the spiritual discipline of confession. We specifically talked about confessing our sins to a trusted friend. But it got me thinking, how public should one's confession be? Does the old adage, "The more public the sin the more public the confess." hold true?

But if the other person doesn't know anything about the wrong is it worth confessing to them and hurting them in the process just to cleanse your conscious?

I can remember as a young person not liking one of my teachers. I would even make fun of him behind his back. But he had no clue. Well one day under a fit of guilt I publicly confessed that I never liked him. He was shocked. I think he wrote it off as a deranged teenager, I hope so. Would I have been better off to confide in another person and just change behaviors?

41 years experience or 41 one year experiences

“Superficiality is the curse of our age… The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people.” Richard Foster

That is a pretty profound statement for our world, but specifically for the church. You know we wrestle so much to get our theology just right, or to be able to sing the perfect notes or spin the perfect phrase and wow the crowd. If you know who Nahum was and what the wheel within the wheel means, well then you are award the prize. (The prize of people's, church people's praise.) But what I am finding in myself and in others is the same superficiality that Richard Foster is talking about. I want my heart to grow. I want to my want to's to change. I want to know Christ is a real way.

Here is what is amazing; I have been a follower of Christ basically all my life. You would think that that means I have 41 years experience as a follower of Christ. But the truth just might be that I have 41 one year experiences. Or I have 10 four year experiences. You see I go back and fight the same battles over and over again.

In the book of Hebrews the writer says (5:11-6:1)

11We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.
12In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!
13Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.
14But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
1Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity

The question is how? How do we grow spiritually? How do you make a flower grow? Well you don’t. But you create an environment in which growth is possible, even probable. But the grow is really up to God.

Over the next eight weeks in NewSong I will be talking about some Ancient Ways that believers have observed for centuries to help prepare the soil of the hearts for the growth that God wants to do in them.

We know these practices as spiritual disciplines (there's a fun word!) I would love to hear your thoughts on what spiritual disciples are and what place they have in ours lives today.

Closed Doors

In NewSong, the service in which I teach at CUMC, we are in the middle of a series called doors. The whole premise is that we were created to know and be known to love and be loved. In order to do that we have to open the door and let others in and let ourselves out.

Today I ran across an interesting post about doors. It is a different doors approach but it got me to thinking. The question was, "When God closes a door does that mean go a different direction or push harder?"

My initial response was, if God closed it, leave it closed. What do you think? And no easy answers here. Because we all can say it was just God directing us. Well maybe, and maybe you shut the door. And we all know people who didn't get the job or the date or the promotion or the house on the first try. But on the second or the third. And didn't Jesus say we should keep on asking in prayer.

Looking forward to your response.