I'm listening.

Sometimes I'm just really aware that repetition is the only way we'll actually hear and learn something. And when repetition comes our way, it's probably a good bet that God's trying to tell us something important.

Lately, the recurrent theme seems to be "if you'll take the blame for the failures, you'll likely take the credit for the successes."

Sounds reasonable. On the face, it's sounds like an accountability lesson with rewards promised for the guy willing to "take it on the chin for his mistakes." But when I talk to God, over and over He tells me it's really a lesson about arrogance and pride.

I love to give God thanks and praise for the victories. Success seems to be His "middle name." He's very good to me--and all of His children. We know that every good thing comes from God. And we want to give Him praise for the successes we enjoy. But there are times when our experiences require adjustments many of us can only describe as failures. We are willing servants of the Almighty, all-knowing God, who sometimes calls us to service that to us may appear fruitless. Because we can't see the future of the larger picture, we can't know the part our sacrifice plays. The significance of our role may seem small or, worse, huge--and embarrassing--when we perceive failure.

But the truth is, when we sign as disciples of Christ, we are called to follow Him to a cross. His greatest success surely looked like a failure to most onlookers of that day. I'm willing to give Him credit for the successes. I know full well that He is able to do all things. I know that if I am able, it's because His Spirit lives within me, enabling & empowering me. By the same token, I must be willing to give Him credit for the failures, trusting that, although I may never see the other side of the failure, it plays a role in the development of my "reasonable service" and His Kingdom.

Success? Failure? I'm OK with that. Or I will be.

Age and Sloth take their toll

Happy Birthday to me and anyone else born on January 15.

It's not hard for me to believe I'm 50 years old today. I feel it. Hard work makes me tired. Muscles, unaccustomed to repetitive use, cramp and knot, reminding me that I have become soft, as well as old. I think, perhaps, a disciplined regimen of physical exercise truly is called for, so that I might slow the advance of debilitating disorders of sloth. I hope Christian friends and family will encourage me and hold me accountable to the commitment.

What is a difficult for me to accept, is learning to slow up a little. My mind races and dreams like a teenager. My heart is still stirred by visions of love, hope and justice. How can you slow the desire to change the world? I'm not convinced it's possible. And frankly, I'm not sure I want it to be possible.

I think maybe it's still "better to burn out, than it is to rust."

But I also believe it's possible to discipline myself to burn maybe a little longer, a little brighter, a little hotter. Wish me luck.

The March to the Sea

I thank God for people like Os Hillman, who write things that might not be popular or appear reasonable to many, simply because they are following their sense of the Spirit's leading. People like this are often criticized for "not being very smart," because many see no sense in going a direction not commonly taken, or that doesn't appear to lead directly to the goal.

In a recent devotional from his book "TGIF (Today God is First), Os talks about the path God chose for Moses and Israel to follow on their departure from Egypt. The route most everyone chose to travel in those days went to the north and east, generally close to the Mediterranean coast, and more directly toward the goal of the Promised Land. Moses followed the course God provided, leading directly to the deep, southern waters of the Red Sea.

So crazy does this seem, that most scholars find the course described in Exodus as "nonsensical" or incomprehensible, and believe it was simply written from some ethereal, spiritual perspective--not real or true. The Israelites thought it crazy at the time, too. Certain that Pharaoh's armies would kill them all, they complained loudly about the stupidity of their leader.

God said "keep moving" even though the Red Sea was in front of them, blocking their path. It just didn't make any sense--at least, not from any human perspective. We know how the story worked into the miracle, with God making the way for deliverance through the waters that ultimately swallowed Pharaoh's army. But the fear, anger and doubts of God's people at that time remind me that the miracles of God don't come because of our faith or anything we do. Miracles happen because God is God.

We're not usually at the place where God is doing God things. Because we think it's not cost effective. Because we don't think it makes sense to go south, when the "straight" route is north. Because we think it's easier to do what we want. Because we don't like to be uncomfortable. Or lonely. Or poor. Or . . . whatever. But when we listen to God, do what He says, go where He leads, and just generally follow His instruction, we increase the probability of being exactly where He is doing the things we call miracles. Right in the middle of the fear and doubt. When you think there's nowhere left to turn. When you're scared out of your wits, ready to just die.

I don't think God intends faith to be just for adrenaline junkies. But I do believe He does what He does in places and times many are unwilling to be. Faithfulness is required throughout the mundane hard march to the place God calls us, even when we don't see the logic and want to complain about the insanity of it all. We don't even have to understand what God intends. We just have to be crazy enough to keep marching to the sea.

Stellar Performance?

Five star hotels are constantly critiqued based on a comprehensive list of things that evaluate how effectively they meet the needs of their guests. The assumption is that the guest paying the bill has choices, and can stay wherever they are most likely to find the level of excellence they choose. While many older hotels don't make the list, for a variety of reasons, some do. The age of facilities is not nearly as big an obstacle as the "good enough" mind-set that balances costs of improvement against the perceived probability of profit. Believe it or not, working toilets and showers in the rooms are the "insurmountable" obstacle to many making the list. Cleanliness and safety are disqualifying factors for others. Obviously, the list is more than restrooms, clean sheets and doors that close and lock, but those, to me, seem pretty basic. They might not get you five stars, but you surely won't get the stars without them!



A couple of Christian businessmen have co-authored a book (Stan Toler & Alan Nelson, "Five Star Church") based on the premise that churches must constantly keep in mind that our number one goal is to serve God and others. Their premise prompts me to think what God might consider 5-star service. We forget too easily that members and attenders are not "the customers" of the 5-star church. We serve the One True God, Who deserves our very best. Every week, we pray, inviting God to come into our midst and receive our worship and praise. He is the one who evaluates our performance as Christians and as a Church.



If we follow the example of His Son, we'll serve our One True "Guest" best by giving ourselves to Him, and others, in sacrificially loving ways. Jesus said that our judgment would be found in the answers to the questions "When did we see you hungry or thirsty...destitute, a stranger in need of clothes or a place to stay...sick...in prison or bondage...?"(Matthew 25). Jesus said when we bless others, meeting their needs, we are doing it to Him. It is our reasonable service, worship. These are the basics toward becoming a 5-star Christian and Church!

Some days I get to be a pastor

Some days, I get be a pastor. Some days, not so much. And I like it like that.



God knows that I can only handle so much of anything for so long, before the fatigue factor begins to take its toll. My mind is not capable of sustaining long periods of analysis or problem solving, my patience begins to wear thin (especially with people whose foibles, failings and general weaknesses remind me of my own) and I need to sleep. If I don't get adequate sleep, my mouth begins to betray my humanity at such a level that most people (especially church folk!) find me totally unacceptable.

So I hope for periods of sleep and rest, among a reasonable variety of experiences.

I AM He is; You are. Active Faith

Christianity is an activist religion, if I dare use the word religion in association with Christianity.

Christianity is all consuming faith, resultant of the relationship that develops between God and the disciple. The Holy Spirit of God is welcomed into the life of the believer, and the believer is completely transformed by the experience--weak become strong; fear becomes courage; weariness becomes excitement; joy is found in the work the leads to the victory that consumes what once was a spirit of defeat. The poor become filled with the richness of the Kingdom, and the sick find their strength renewed in the healing power of Christ.

Such experiences beg to be shared! How can one experience joy and not show it, share it? How can one receive forgiveness and not be moved to forgive? How can one receive so much and not want to give?

Our experiences in Christ move us to act. Faith is a verb. We doubt that anything can be done to overcome the evil in the world, until we encounter Christ. Filled with the experience, we realize that the power to overcome evil is within us. We can do as Christ has done before--we can give ourselves to the liberating cause, investing ourselves, all we have and all we are, in the cause of defeating the evil, setting the captives free, paying the debts of our brothers, salving the wounds of our sisters, making a new world in the midst of what has for too long been the enemy's domain.

The Spirit that lives within the believer is the Spirit of Christ Himself. He is love, He is grace, He is healing, He is sacrificing, He is power, He is the Son of God. "To all who receive Him, He gave power to become sons of God." He lives within you, and He is all those things. Therefore, you are too.

Believe.

Act.

"I see the grass growing in your path..."

In his book "Chazown," Craig Groeschel (pastor of LifeChurch in Oklahoma) tells the story of African Christians who, when the gospel first came to them, valued prayer above all "religious" disciplines. They actually built private prayer huts, with each Hut set apart for just one person, and the path used only by that person leading up to its door. If someone neglected the loving discipline of prayer, grass would begin to grow on the path. The straying brother or sister's best friends were the ones with the courage to say, "I love you, and I see the grass growing on your path." In other words, I love you enough to correct you. You are not doing what God has called you to do.

Given that prayer is our direct-connect to God, the method whereby our entire success as a disciple of Christ is realized, the importance cannot be overstated. Prayer is the lifeblood of the believer. It is the moment of private worship, wherein we lay ourselves before our almighty God, paying homage, honor, and respect, in the small fashion we can. It is the source of our wisdom, to be able to see things through the eyes of God. It is the source of our strength, to be able to endure, persist, and to accomplish all things, up to and including the impossible. It is the source of our power, to be able to call into play the mighty God Who can, when we cannot. Prayer is Christianity. How can we neglect so important an endeavor? And yet, we do.

Who loves you enough to point out the overgrown paths in your life? Who will hold you accountable with your New Year's resolutions--with your resolve to follow Christ, above all else? Is there grass in your path?