Thoughts of the week

1. Shell shock.

2. Seminary seems to be more about developing a good root than about fancy words & big books.

3. "To be a son or daughter of Abraham you have to have the faith of Abraham." -Greenham

4. In America we call it ministry; internationally we call it missions; in reality they're both apart of the Mission. We must not separate the idea mission from our culture.

5. Classes started, gonna be good stuff.

6. Sometimes it's better to be ignorant of a situation when the alternative of knowing means sinning.

7. It's regular for my wife & I to work our way through 3 mugs a day.

8. Ever had to do too many grown-up things in a week? #buildafort

9. The order of words in a sentence shows the order of loves in one's heart.

10. "Amidst all our pursuits & designs, let us stop & ask ourselves, For what end is all this? At what am I doing? Can the gross & muddy pleasures of sense, or a heap of white & yellow earth, or that esteem & affection of silly creatures, like myself, satisfy a rational & immortal soul? Have I not tried these things already? Will they have a higher relish, & yield me more contentment tomorrow than yesterday, or the next year than they did the last? There may be some little difference betwixt that which I enjoyed before; but sure, my former enjoyments did show as pleasant, & promised as fair, before I attained the,; like the rainbow they looked very glorious at a distance, but when I approached, I found nothing but emptiness & vapor. Oh! What a poor thing would the life of man be, if it were capable of no higher enjoyment." ~Scougal 

A Nephew's Uncle

I’m an uncle again!

It was a hairy weekend, with all kinds of realizations, thoughts and fears all tossed into two days.

My second nephew was born via emergency c-section four weeks early. In a moment thoughts of, “if this doesn’t work things won’t be good,” and, “Dear Lord, I don’t want to preach a funeral with a tiny casket…” went pouring through my head. You can imagine the fear, but still more I think of my sister and brother-in-law, the thoughts running through their minds, the fears of their hearts.

I broke down at one point – you know the “nasty crying” kinda break down. Classes seemed to be more than what could be handled; at the time, there was no idea of what was happening in that cold hospital room, and I’d just sat in an all day conference. Emotionally drained, physically exhausted, mentally sleepy that was Saturday night.

Yet, there is hope. It came in the form of a question on Sunday night. “What get’s in the way of mission?” My priorities, my priorities are getting in the way not simply of mission, but of my view of God.

The three priorities of my life had become my gods. They’re good things, my priorities, things worth taking prior notice of often, but they will not save me.

There is an overarching greatness and goodness that ought to be viewed as better than those nifty things, which fill my time, he is the one who does sustain them after all, he is the one who created them.

So in a weekend full of fear a nephew was born (he’s doing great BTW) and was used to reveal the perpetual brokenness of his uncle’s heart.

Friday Thoughts!

1) Writing a series is fun, but it's nice to be done with it. Give 'em all a read would you?

2) There's another one coming up.

3) I turned on the sink thinking it'd turn on the lights... It's been a busy week.

4) I'm excited about tonight because of this.

5) Have you seen the What Nots page?

6) Dear Lord, I need coffee like a fat kid needs insulin. (Too much?)

7) Reading Harry Potter is like going on vacation in my brain.

8) My friends from India are coming to Wichita, Yay!

9) I got a Gandalf pipe.

10) Mission isn't safe, or is missin clean; don't expect to be the same.

Rumored Thought (Pt. 5)

(Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, & Part 4)   

Jesus is to be our example here, in the scheme of mission (as pastors and as people), for he lived the ultimate mission, and he did so for the right reason, his own glory.

But what I want us to see in the story of Jesus is exactly what I’ve been writing about.

Jesus proved mission wasn’t clean; he took on the sins of every member of his Church. He proves mission isn’t safe; he’s killed in the worst possible manner. He proves the leader is the one in the fray; he’s the one doing the saving not a contractor.

He hung around with a tax collector, a zealot, a bunch of fishermen, and a guy who'd stab him in the back; the jokes probably weren’t clean, the wine was probably nicely fermented, and the brotherhood was better than many of our churches now know.

But here’s what I’m not saying.

I’m not saying we are all called to be on mission in the same capacity. I’m not saying the congregant must be as vocal as the pastor. I’m not saying you better hang around drunks and be personable to geeks or you’re a failure.

What I am saying is this:

We are all called to make disciples. To lovingly lead others in the walk called faith. Being sensitive to the movement of the Spirit and in so doing reflecting the glory of God to others. Which means what?

It means mission happens in everyday life. When moms disciple their kids, and dad’s wash their wife in the Word. When a co-worker is loved and cared for, because of one’s love for Jesus and the person. When relationships are built and Jesus is shown and proclaimed to be the most beautiful hope giving reality of all reality.

(I suppose it’s typical to start something like this series of post with a defining of words, so everyone knows what I mean. But doing it at the end should be jarring.

Specifically, mission, what I mean when I say mission, isn’t a two-week trip. What I mean is, “building relational bridges that are strong enough to bear the weight of truth.” Which, quite frankly, is a great definition for discipleship. So what I mean when I say mission, is discipleship. There, that’s what I mean.)

Rumored Thought (Pt. 4)

Here are Part1, Part 2, and Part 3.

“And who knows who are the people of God, when throughout the whole world, from its origin, the state of the Church was always such, that those who were called the people and saints of God who were not so; while others among them, who were as a refuse, and were not called the people and saints of God, were the Peoples and the Saints of God? As is manifest in the histories of Cain and Abel, of Ishmael and Isaac, of Esau and Jacob.” (Luther. p 97-98. Bondage of the Will.)

Just because one carries the title ‘Pastor’ does not make them a part of the Church. The title, you see, doesn’t make the Christian, not at all, Jesus makes a person a Christian and his Spirit gifts them to be pastor.

But leaders abound in all the world, in every religion, and in business. So is it possible to be a leader in the Church and not be a Christian? Yes. To the destruction of hundreds of souls, yes, it is possible.

Possible to preach week in and week out on the beauties of true religion, but not know it. Possible to elaborate on the nuances of the gospel and the life it ought to produce, yet dead. Possible to expound on the light of glory in the face of Jesus Christ, yet be blind.

Yet more horrifying than this, it is possible to lead a congregation to the pits of hell and be greeted by their screams upon his own entrance…

(Let that sink in and ask yourself whom are you following? A boy with a vendetta to have a following, or a man seeking to glorify God by giving up all he is to preach for nothing else than the glory of God?)

How does this tie into mission? By the pastor knowing the condition of his own soul before attempting to proclaim the gospel to other souls.

He is to be the leader in mission, and therefore he must believe what he will proclaim, or he will prove to be more of a hindrance than a help in the fight of faith; because his fight will be in another sector (maybe even another country) rather than on the same field as the true Church.

So simply being a pastor doesn’t make one Christian (and simply calling yourself a Christian doesn’t make it true). And sadly, now, it doesn’t always inspire hope that all pastors are Christian. So as those on mission for the glory of God and the good of the Church in the redemption of souls we must carefully submit to godly leadership to lead us in mission.

Rumored Thoughts (Pt. 3)

(Part 1 & Part 2)

So all of this began my thoughts on a pastor’s role in/on mission.

Leaders are what pastors are, the ones who are to be in front of the rest of the people both showing them how to do things and how to not do things. Teaching doctrine and discipleship while living a life on mission.

So it should follow that a pastor should be leading the charge in the mess of mission, right? That these men shouldn’t be the archetypal clean man, but rather the one in the fray, learning and leading with cuts on his knuckles and blood in his eyes.

Yet, often times the one who’s the cleanest is the one in leadership. (This is what my past has shown me at least.) Ironic, if you ask me.

This isn’t flattering to pastors. This isn’t flattering to myself. This isn’t flattering to any Christian. It ought to be hurtful, to all of us. The ones leading us aren’t the Braveheart type of leadership; rather they’re the one’s standing in the back, “’Cause they’re too important to lose.”

Our leaders (me) aren’t showing us mission well, because rather than disciple-ing (teaching while going about life) they sit behind their desk (or coffee mug) and tell others how they ought to do mission.

So the change should be, what? That a pastor should lead his people in the charge of mission? Yes. That’s exactly what I’m saying. It ought to be the pastor’s primary aim, mission.

Indeed, preaching and administrating are affective tools in mission, but they are not mission itself; they are not the aim. Rather discipleship is the focus of mission and therein the pastor should strive to thrive.

Discipleship is the focus of mission because the gospel is the focus of discipleship, and the gospel is the focus of discipleship because the gospel reveals to us the glory of God, and to that end the leader must lead, or he is no pastor.

At least this is my understanding of the pastor’s role.

Rumored Thought (Pt. 2)

Check out Part 1

Safety in mission is a relative impossibility, rather implausibility.

My dad told me just before I trounced off to Egypt for a summer, “I know you’ll be safe, ‘cause you’re in the center of God’s will -- but I guess that’s not safe, it’s just right.”

We can’t embark on mission and expect to come out the other side the same. We’ll be changed; we’ll be effected by what we’ve seen, whom we’ve spoken to, and the relationships we’ve built.

If we informally understand safety as the retention of normality than we must never see mission as safe. (And more often than not when we, as modern Americans, talk about safety we mean the normal.)

Internationally I’ve been in some rather dangerous experiences all for the sake of mission (things I’ve not told my mom… until she reads this that is), it wasn’t safe. Locally I’ve been in situations just as hairy.

My point is this: mission will never leave us the same. It won’t allow us to be just as spunky as we were when we were kids. It’ll wear our souls out and cause us to be ragged and rough. It won’t polish us up and let us be the neat little Christian legalism has told us we ought to be.

“The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;

His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure, 


One little word shall fell him….

Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;

The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,

His kingdom is forever.”

Life is a tempest, which will drowned our tiny boats eventually. We are not as we once were; we are not children anymore. No, and the cares of life have brought us the realization of reality. So why should mission be different? Why should mission cause us to be clean and neat and safe when it asks us to do precisely opposite?

No. No, mission isn’t safe, and we’ll not come out the other side of it the same. Thank God.

Rumored Thoughts (Pt. 1)

Mission is never clean; never is mission simple; never is mission easy.

Recently I’ve been confronted by the fact I don’t look like most pastors (neither do the ones I work with). I’m glad for it.

Sure there’s the preconceived notions of what pastors should look like, the way we ought to dress, the jargon we ought to use, and the places and people we ought to hang out at and with.

My thoughts on this began a while ago, but they were solidified with a rumor I heard about me (I guess being plugged into the Wichita grapevine has an advantage). It wasn’t a nasty rumor, not at all, and it was absurd enough to let it slide off my back, but it has also made me ask some questions. And the answers I’m coming up with aren’t too flattering, to myself or to other pastors.

You see mission is dirty. We’re called to go and to be within the crowd, to get to know ‘tax-collectors and sinners’ and love them in such a way so as to show Jesus to them. I don’t think there’s a way to do this and remain clean.

There’s no way to get to know a drunk unless you go to the bar. There’s no way to love the homeless guy unless you sit with them and listen. There’s no way to befriend the artists unless you go to their exhibit…

There’s going to be a few posts in this, because this is something I need to learn. Hopefully you can learn with me.

(Read all of these posts: Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6)

Atheist Paper

I’ve been working on a paper for a class quite a bit.

We were allowed to pick any topic (one we cared about) and use what we’ve learned in class to analyze a piece of rhetoric.

I picked Christopher Hitchens’ last public address from the Texas Free Thought Convention.

Little odd, I suppose.

But honestly we, as Christians, fail to reach most true atheists effectively. Sure there are some atheists who are just angry at God, the Church, and their parents, but there are others, ones who are, “free Thinkers,” in the, “Community of Reason.” Those ones are written off as lost.

And they may be, but someone, some believer, should try to befriend them, right?

I mean that’s the point of mission.

But more so they’re written off because we don’t know what we believe. More often than not we’re bickering over some menial issue, which doesn’t do or promote anything.

Christians are great at locking up in a convent all alone and leaving the world, those dirty sinners, to die… (Irony)

Yes, speaking freely is scary. Yes, not all are called to be evangelists. Yes, the mission still remains the exact same as it did 2000 years ago, but I’ll re-word it for us: Get to know some folks, make some friends in hope of one day telling them more about Jesus.

But on a completely different note: I saw two guys get arrested last night.

Mundanely Radical

Hope that is seen is not hope it’s idolatry.

In Romans 8:24-25 we read the rhetorical question: “For who hopes in what he sees?” Yet all too often our hope isn’t in anything past our noses.

Sure it’s easy to write about how we must be hoping in Jesus… But practically, like in the everyday stuff of life, how do we do this? What’s it look like to be radically Christian in a world of mundane nothings?

Doing all things for the glory of God, all things.

We’ve been freed from what we were once slaves to and can now do things to the glory of God. So, now, all of life is amazing.

A good buddy (mentor) of mine wrote a post, “The God of the Mundane,” it’ll be a book soon, but he works through just this idea. How do we as normal Christians live extraordinary lives? Because the likelihood of every believer ever being called to do ‘radical foreign mission’ is pretty slim.

The thought of being able to make friendships to the glory of God and that be a radical thing should floor us! We can get to know our friends and that is radical mission. Crazy. We can fold laundry to the glory of God. Breathing, seeing, smelling, walking, eating, drinking, any and all things can be and now are for the Christian an amazingly radical thing. Because God is, and causes us to be.