Grace Will Cover Our Motives

This originally appeared as a weekly evo on www.whillschurch.org.

Had this great conversation spring up during our Men’s Fraternity small group time yesterday morning which proves two myths wrong.

Myth 1: 6 am is too early for any kind of deep conversation.
Myth 2: Men can’t really talk about deep spiritual matters longer than 10 minutes.

But that’s not the real point I’m trying to make here. The topic is our motives.

When David faced Goliath, was he doing so because he was genuinely concerned about God’s reputation and the future of Israel or was he really that cocky and self-absorbed to think he could do what an entire army of men for 40 days hadn’t done?

My contention? What if both are true? David is a great example. We like think that David was this innocent young boy just standing up for God and had more faith than anyone else in the nation. What if he was just a little on the cocky side, self-absorbed youngest child trying to make a name for himself because he thought his life had a greater purpose than those around him? Or what if there was a little bit of both in him?

We tend to paint people into “either/or” categories concerning their motives. We treat everybody with broad black and white strokes. “She knew that would hurt me and she did it on purpose.” “He knew I wanted that and that’s why he picked it so that it would upset me.” She meant to. He meant to.

We treat everyone like this except for one person – ourselves. When we mess up or have our actions questions, we immediately run to the grey areas. “Well, I meant no harm, I was trying to do this. i was trying to help.”

And most of the time – we are sincerely telling the truth. It’s just funny how that doesn’t always translate over to the other people that we interact with. Shortsighted, maybe?

David let’s us deal with us problem in a removed manner. I don’t think David faced Goliath solely because he was a man after God’s own heart. That wasn’t all that was in David’s heart. See Bathsheba story.

Yes, David WANTED to please God MOST of the time. I believe that. But notice that before David goes out to fight Goliath, he finds out what the reward is from the King. He takes advantage of the opportunity to have a face to face with the King.

And David wasn’t short on confidence either. “I’ve killed the lion and the bear. I’ve beat them both down with my bare hands.” Then he adds – The Lord has delivered them to me. (Don’t take me word for it – read the story – 1 Samuel 17.)

David has both self-less and selfish motives driving him to face Goliath. He is neither an altruistic saint sent to deliver his people nor is he a total self-absorb jerk. It’s there in his words. Yes, I’ve got the skill set to kill this giant. And yes, God has been with me and will be with me in the future. Yes, I can kill this Philistine. Yes, God will deliver this giant into my hands.

Yes, I love my country and my God and want to fight for them both. Yes, I want to know what the payoff is when I win.

It’s both/and, not either/or.

And most of us function the same way. Think of all the different thoughts and angles that go on in our heads when we make a decision? Why do we parent the way we parent? Why do we speak the way we speak? Why are we involved in the things we are involved in? It’s seldom one reason we do anything.

And I think God’s grace covers that. I think he recognizes our heart, sees the general direction we are trying to go and goes there with us. His grace covering our motives, his hands disciplining us back when needed.

Does this make me a cynic on the human race that I don’t think anyone’s motives are 100% altruistic all the time? Does it make David any less of a man of God that he asked how he would be rewarded? Does it detract from God’s glory at all that David had great skill with the slingshot?

I don’t think so. If anything, this is just more evidence of God’s unending grace covers us all – to some extent or another.

And it’s just another reason why I love Him and why I pray daily that He gets the last voice.

But if He doesn’t…I’m praying that God’s grace covers that.

There is pretty good evidence that He does.

Pear-Shaped

This originally was written for Western Hills as a weekly devo.

Allow me to introduce you to some English family slang – pear-shaped. When something goes pear-shaped – it means that something or some experience had the promise of being very, very good but it didn’t. It went…pear-shaped instead.

The term works on a couple of levels. First, pears look incredible beautiful and their taste isn’t. Second, the appearance of a pear is basically an out of shape green apple. A green apple gone bad. Hence the term – Pear-Shaped.

Maybe the metaphor isn’t doing anything for you but you get my meaning, right? Something goes bad, an expectation isn’t met, a reality that isn’t good sets in.

Could be as trivial as the water intake valve on your washer is messed up and you need to replace it. Or it could be a bit more serious than that. A job that is sucking the life out of you. A marriage that is dieing. A relationship that has soured. Poor health. Dealing with mean people.

Pear-shaped.

…Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or think about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the sky…aren’t you worth more than they? Jesus

It’s hard to keep this perspective when things go south. Who are we kidding? At times it almost seems impossible to believe those words.

Yet…they are true. And those who HAVE preserved through the pear-shaped experiences will attest to this. They also have a couple of disciplines and practices that help them through their pear-shaped experience.

1. The real battle is spiritual. Whatever is going on in the physical, remember the real battle is spiritual over more than just temporal things. I can put on the armor of God when things go bad and it always helps. (Ephesians 6:10-18)

2. Eat something. Not physically, spiritually. Get back in the Word, get back in prayer. Read a biography or other good back that is going to put fuel back inside your soul. My staple – My Utmost for His Highest.

3. Stay In The Car Don’t quit. God uses all of these experiences for our good. Doesn’t mean he caused it or is responsible for it – although he MAY be. It does mean that God is using this experience to shape something in or out of you. He can shape you if you leave or quit. Stay in there.

4. Get some teammates. Ask for help and prayer. A life group is HUGE in this area. You will see the different when a group of people start praying and encouraging you.

5. Lift your eyes up.

I lift my eyes towards the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth. Psalm 121:1-2

Perspective is everything. Being able to look up and be reminded – God is still God. He still loves people and is pursuing them. He’s still working through me and on me.

Big breath…yes, He is.

Then maybe those pear-shape experiences won’t be so…well…pear-shaped.

The Silence of the Blog

I’m in a mode of retreat and focus right now. Been doing a lot of studying, praying, reading, and writing about the 2012 teaching calendar so the blog has been a bit dormant.

It’ll be quiet again this week as I wrap up some teaching and get ready for 2012.

I know that I need to be in the NOW when I teach but looking ahead to 2012…I’m really, really excited about the journey I think God is taking me on in the Scriptures. It’s leaping off the pages right now.

But I wanted to come out of the cave a bit and just say — Hi…and I’ll be back soon.

Dropping the LBS

This post originally appeared on www.whillschurch.org as the weekly devo.

I’ve lost 27 pounds since May.  I’ve got about 20 more to go but my favorite part of this whole journey is answering the question ‘how have you dropped all that weight?  Are you doing the South Beach diet?  The hormone plan?  The starve yourself skinny program?’

It’s actually called the ‘get off your rear-end and walk 3.5 miles a day’ program.

I know…it’s an original and I’m waiting on the copyright and trademark to go through. 

I don’t think those other programs would have worked for me.  First of all, it wasn’t just about dropping a few pounds.  I want to drop close to 50.  And I didn’t just want to look like I lost weight, I wanted to be in shape.  I didn’t want to be winded after walking up the stairs.  I was tired of being tired.  I wanted to be able to walk uphill both ways again. 

You get what I’m saying?  It wasn’t just about looking lighter or skinnier.  It was about being healthier.  I wanted to BE better.  And that is an altogether different prospect than just losing weight. 

There’s only way to get in shape.  It’s the ‘get off your rear-end and walk the 3.5 miles everyday even when you don’t feel like’ program.  You have to sweat, move, work, and then lather, rinse, and repeat over and over again.  And I wasn’t going to be successful at that without some one doing it with me. 

This situation applies spiritually as well, you know.  If I just want to drop a few pounds to look better spiritually speaking – memorize a few verses of scripture, show up a few more times at church…maybe give a little bit of money or pray out loud at bedtime. 

But if you want to BE in spiritually fit, that’s a whole other endeavor.  It will require some exercise, some sweat, some discipline.  It’s taking that extra step of actually understanding what the verse that you memorized and try to apply it in your life.  It’s choosing to serve others.  Or maybe risking some of your comfort by getting involved in a life group. 

Looking healthy and being healthy are two very different things. 

That’s one of the reasons I really love this Art of Marriage series.  The night sessions and the workbook are about putting on the running shoes, not just a crash diet to drop a few pounds.  And it’s work but it’s worth it.

This week in our night session we are going to look at conflict resolution.  Learning how to fight fair and constructively is REALLY putting on the running shoes.   

There is still space to join us! Come check it out. 

I’m a Drew Litton Fan…and it finally paid off.

I grew up with Drew Litton. Not literally, mind you but he was a sports cartoonist for the Rocky Mountain News (may they rest in piece…loved that paper) and he was as much of the Denver sports landscape as the Broncos.

He now does freelance stuff and some drawing for ESPN as well. Every week he has a weekly caption contest. He’ll draw a picture then allow all the fans the opportunity to write the caption…hence…the Caption contest…you get the point.

I finally made the LIST!!! No…I didn’t win but I was a finalist. It’s a honor and I’d like to thank the Academy and all the little people that made this possible.

Here is the link…

Great entries Everyone! Congrats to all of the finalists:

Derek Bartlett:
WOW! That Von Miller can hit!

Ed Walsh:
Josh Mcdaniel’s Draft class of 2010.

Louis: (2 awesome ones!)
I guess C.U. got a good look at their Pac-12 schedule
and
That reminds me. I’m having dinner with the in-laws tonight.

Dale Stout:
It’s opening time at IKEA.

John August McEvoy:
Isn’t that the place where they buried all that recalled sauerkraut last month?

Grant English:
Well, looks like McDaniels is settling in nicely over in St. Louis.

Brazil, Day 3

7.30 – breakfast was fast and light. Pancake, honey, coffee, and cereal. No bananas. Bummer.

Ride with Thomas and DoDo into town to visit Catholic school. First time for WOL to get access in the school.

Students are doing great, jumped right in and are acting like veterans. Shelby & Caroline attract a lot of attention. Everybody just thinks they are so beautiful. We are pushing Shelby as she is very quiet and an introvert. But she is getting in there and talking with students.

Caroline lights up the room wih her personality. Students love talking with her.

Ben played soccer with kids and did well. He is also the one that is picking on Shelby. The goal is to see which of the two of us makes Shelby angry first.

John is the diplomat of the group, very articulate. Very comfortable in front of group.

Common questions are music, college, parties, and is the movie American Pie an accurate description of USA.

I’m astonished at how ridiculously stupid and irresponsible these movies make us look like. It’s equally astonishing that the rest of the world believes it. It’s why the East thinks of as a bunch of Devils. It’s embarrassing.

Lunch-
We had pasteis. Ooh so good. Imagine a flaky fried bread crust stuffed with meat or cheeses or both.
The next school is the other extreme of the Catholic school. Very poor. School located on side of major highway. No air or heat. No insulated walls. Tin roof and open air windows.

Funny exchange between John and male student trying to be cool:

‘Do you like Justin Bieber?’

John: ‘Not so much. But he’s real popular with 10-12 year old girls.’

Back to the party questions again. It’s easier to see the hedonistic agenda of Hollywood from afar. How accurate is it? Debatable. Most hedonism gets fleshed out in culturally accepted ways. We buy larger than we need cars, larger than we need houses, newer than we need clothes, faster than we need technology. We spend more than we make on stuff we want. So in the strictest sense we are very hedonistic.
So while the typical teen looks nothing like American Pie, he (she) is every bit as self-centered. And we (parents) led them here.

What is the solution? A life given away to something larger than itself. That’s what I hope our students catch while we are here.

Brazil Mission Trip, Day 1-2

Late out of KC. Late out Dallas. Late into Sao Paulo, landed when flight to Porto Alegre was leaving. AA attendant was standing at gate with new tickets for next flight.

Got thru passport control and customs just fine. No issues. Students are tired but good. Tried to contact Thomas but to no avail. Language is still a huge barrier.

Met man from PA and he was returning from Wichita, KS.

Security was a bit testy with projector. They cleary had no idea what I was carrying. Once I completely unpacked it, there was no problem.

Landed and made them eat pao de quiejo. Tired but had to push on. 24 hours of straight travel and no complaints from kids. Great attitudes amd there is a lot of laughter and teasing.

Dinner was incredible. Fish, chicken, pork, beef, and bacon wrapped beef. Lemon mousse for dessert.

New missionaries this year, good to catch up with old friends. New DTC is incredible. Great facility for gap year students. They come here before college, spend year learning from camp missionaries, deepening their faith. Learning from vocational christian professionals. They also serve as camp volunteers. Dodo is tuning this and he lives in the house next door. We are starting with him and his wife, Martina. Rebekah and Filippi are their kids, 3 and 5.

We stayed up to late drinking hot tea and talking. Very cold. 32 and humid.

Early wake up call – 7.30 breakfast.

Special Needs and the Church

The weekly service that most churches spend a lot of time and effort creating is both a blessing and a curse at times. “Church” is not a service, church is people. The service is a time of celebration, remembering, mourning, encouragement or teaching. But the service isn’t church.

And I love the service but church is bigger than the service. I want the service to be meaningful and well thought out. I want the service to be deep and stretching. But ultimately the service is about connecting with God, not making sure the “show” is run well. So when something interupts the service, like this, how the leaders deal with it will be driven by their understanding of the service. For this particular church, a “special needs” child (he has cerebral palsy) was asked to leave a service because he was making noise. They offered an overflow room for the family.

Then it appears a bad situation got worse because the mom ended up asking for a meeting with pastor, asked to start a new ministry at the church, AND talked to media about it all before she got any answers. The pastor refused to meet with her once he found out that she contacted the local news media. And the church said “no thank you” to her starting a new ministry at their church.

I understand both sides. I’d be upset if asked to leave a service. It’d be embarrassing. But I completely understand the church saying no to a lady they didn’t know to starting a new ministry with kids. I also understand not meeting someone who calls a TV station before talking to me about a problem they have with the church.

And who knows how loud or distracting the kid was. But I’ve got a little experience in this arena. In Parker, we had a family with a kid with cerebral palsy. He loved sitting in the service. Every now and then, he’d get a little talkative. And yes, he was loud. But we just dealt with it. We loved him and his family. It’s okay. It happens. It’s his opportunity to worship in his way as well. We smile, we laugh. We pause. We care. We love. We move on. In many ways, that kid made us better worshipers of Jesus because of his “interruptions.”

Currently, we’ve got a student at our church that has autism. I love this kid. Everyone loves this kid. He is a constant source of joy and wonder to us. If I ask a question during my message — I now know that I need to be ready for him to answer back. Out loud. He’s following me. He’s listening. He’s in dialog with God and the scriptures…in his way. It’s happened on an occasion. I’ll ask a question — not expecting an answer — and he’ll just blurt it out. And he’s right. It’s an awesome, holy interruption. He’s modeling for us how to be engaged with God during worship.

What was my reaction to him? I high-fived him.

This student keeps us – all of us – honest… and humble. I want that guy in our services, around our kids. I want this guy serving and hanging with us. Not because he is some project that we can brag about. Because…we like him. Because through his actions and service to others (he volunteers in a couple of ministries at the church), he is modeling what Love God, Live Connected, and Serve All means and that following Jesus is for EVERYONE. Because I’m pretty certain that he is teaching us much more than we are teaching him.

And I believe that the interruptions are part of the lesson plan of God.

Why The Mantra?

This originally appeared on whillschurch.org as the weekly devo…

Part 2 of the Renew My Vision devo series. Part 1 is here.

Just Do It.
The Ultimate Driving Machine.
When it absolutely, positively has to get there overnight.
What can Brown do for you?
You’re In Good Hands.
It’s In the Game.

I bet you can name every single one of those companies. These are the “mantras” of some of the worlds most successful companies. A great mantra does not make a great company. They have to deliver what they promise and do that for a long time. BUT a great mantra does more than just advertise the product. It guides, it directs, it speaks to the foundational principle of that culture. It answers the “why are we here” question.

At Western Hills, our mantra is Love God, Live Connected, Serve All. Sometimes we get lazy and shorten it to just Love, Live, and Serve.

We’ll unpack each one over the next few weeks in greater detail, but think for a moment about the simplicity of these words. Think of all the questions these words answer?

What is a disciple? What does it mean to follow Jesus?
Someone who loves God, lives connected, and serves all.

What’s the mission of the church? What are our ministries supposed to be doing?
To make disciples who love God, live connected, and serve all.

What’s a leader look like at Western Hills?
Someone who reproduces another disciple who loves God, lives connected, and serves all.

What should I do as a new believer in Jesus? What’s my first steps?
Love God (worship), live connected (community), serve all (service).

It’s simple. It’s memorable. It’s tangible. It brings focus and clarity to the task ahead and the next steps and we need simplicity and clarity.

Besides all of that – they are Jesus’ idea in the first place. It’s His Bride (the church) so he gets to write the mantra. And his mantra was the story of the Good Samaritan. That story was his answer to the question – what is the greatest commandment? What should we be doing? What should we focus on?

Love God – Love the Lord, your God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength.

Live Connected – The second is like it – love your neighbor as yourself. Live in community with others.

Serve All – Who is your neighbor? Whoever you walk by and needs a neighbor.

Rinse and repeat.

Proof of Intelligent Design?

Recently had an interview with a student doing research on evolution versus “creation.” Thought I would post the interaction here.

Interviewer: I am supposed to use physical proof of creation instead of bible verses to prove my point. So if there was any, what was the proof that convinced you that God created the world and that it wasn’t evolution?

GE:
Couple of thoughts, when we enter the conversation of the beginning of the universe – it is no longer just science. The question of origins ultimately lands in the philosophical arena. Furthermore, no matter what theory we hold to, we all have the same “physical evidence.” The physical evidence doesn’t prove one side or the other. It is there to be interpreted.

And we all come to the evidence with different lenses and biases. There really isn’t any escape to this. Unfortunately in our culture, the sense of wonder that normally accompanied this conversation has been replaced with political rhetoric and debate that seems to create more enemies than really advance the conversation.

I came to the conclusion of Intelligent Design BEFORE I really started following Christ. It was a long journey to this position from evolution but there were three huge pivot points for me. I’ll try to hit the highlights without going to deep.

#1 – Law of Biogenesis
It’s the first law of science we are taught -in like the 3rd or 4th grade I believe – life begets life. Nothing comes from nothing. Must have life to get life. Louis Pasteur’s experiment of where did the maggots come from on rotted meat? Remember this? Superstition had it that the demons put the maggots on the meat. Reality was that flies laid their eggs on the meat and the eggs produced maggots. So the idea that life sprang out of a soup of nothingness or “just happened” is illogical. Must have life to get life.

#2 – Irreducibility of a Complex Organism
This took a long time for me to understand – due to my slowness – but here’s a basic understanding. Macro-evolution (species to species) teaches us that only the strong traits survive, strong species survive. If a trait helps a species survive better, it is passed on. If a trait doesn’t, it eventually is replaced or gone from the gene pool. The classic example is the short-necked giraffe versus the long neck giraffe. Basically – if a trait doesn’t help the species survive, it is replaced or lost.

However, if macro-evolution is true there MUST be evidence/proof/possibility for an organism to grow more and more complex components of their system. An example is an eye. An eye is a huge evolution advantage but — how did the first eye in any organism “evolve?”

IF you take away any component of an eye, it is no longer an eye. It won’t work. And if it won’t work – it is useless in a species. And if it is useless and won’t help the species survive – it will eventually be lost or replaced or the species dies out. Hence, there is no logical/evolutional reason that the eye should have ever come into existence.

So there is this conflict in evolution theory. It works one direction — from the complex de-volving to the simple but can’t from the simple to the complex. This is the basis for the 2nd law of thermo-dynamics. (I’ll let you look that one up on your own!! ha ha ha)

I could give more examples but hopefully this helps in the short term.

#3 – The ongoing research of DNA
DNA are the building blocks of life. This “code” is where all life springs from. So if any theory of origins is going to work, it must work on the molecular level.

And evolution doesn’t. We now know that all of the “adaptations” that a certain species has was there the WHOLE time in their genetic code. It was only when the conditions changed that those other “recessive” genes were then given the opportunity to be dominant. The species themselves didn’t evolve at all since the CODE was already inside the animal to start with.

This has HUGE implications. The code is there from the moment of conception. All the DNA code a person needs is there at the very beginning. They code didn’t evolve — it was there. And all codes have a codebreaker, an author, a designer. Darwin knew nothing of this code. I do wonder what he would have written now.

Michael Behe — Molecular Prof at Boston College — was huge shifting point for me. Try to read some of his books. Very helpful.

Interviewer: Have you heard of any legitimate proof that the theory of evolution could be real?
Yes. In fact, a lot of evidence points to the validity of micro-evolution. That is – inside a genus or species, an animal or organism changes and adapts to their culture. Certain traits and aspects become more dominant or less dominant as it helps them to survive. Long versus short neck giraffes, moths and so on. For this there is much evidence.

My particular problem/hang-up came with the concept of MACRO-evolution. A reptile becoming a bird, an ape becoming human. For this to happen on the scale required for evolution to work, we should have thousands of transition fossils….which we don’t have. Plus MACRO doesn’t overcome the DNA issues or the irreducibility of a complex organism.

Interviewer:What do you think leads people to believe that it couldn’t be God that created the world?
I completely understand the reluctance in making the leap from “Intelligent Design” or evolution to God as Creator. Just think about the implications for a minute. God in the picture changes everything – meaning of life, morality, purpose, values. What about the question of evil and suffering?

Any system using God as the Creator has a whole host of other issues to sort out on top the question of origins. Adding God in the mix makes it much more complicated, not easier.

And the topic of God is not one that the scientific realm can really discuss with authority anyway. The theologians and philosophers are at home in that discussion.

Citadel, Downtown Budapest

Budapest is just a beautiful city. Learned today that the government has a limit on how high a building can be built so there will never be a modern skyscraper in the city. They love the old European feel and don’t ever want to lose that. That’s pretty cool – a whole city committed to that.

I speak 2 times a day starting tomorrow. It’s been a great couple of days of enjoying the Seely’s company, enjoying the city and recovering from jetlag but tomorrow is the reason I’m over here – to bring God’s word and story to ICSB.

Enjoy the video…

A Sunday Morning Hello to WHBC

Being Sick On A Sunday

This is very odd for me. I got pretty sick yesterday, sick enough to sit in a waiting room for 3 hours. And we all know how much I love those two things – doctors and waiting. ( I had some kind of allergic reaction. Meant 24 hours of panic followed by the now 24 hours of complete boredom.)

Amy looked at me and asked/commented/commanded, “Are you still thinking about preaching tomorrow?

I called Brandon Gunn. He’s preaching this morning on less than 24 hours notice…and he’ll do fine. He’s in the ultimate win-win situation. If he completely sucks it up (and he won’t), he can blame me. If he hits it out of the park (and he will), he can humbly say “It’s a God thing.” And he’ll mean it.

But it’s odd this morning. A little out of rhythm, a little different.

On a normal Sunday morning, Cayden and I leave the house before everyone else. We’ll sit in the parking lot a bit. If she sees a friend already there or if someone on the worship team has a baby – she’ll bolt inside, leaving me in the dust.

It’s usually there – the only really silent moments of a Sunday morning – that I’ll pray.

Father,

My only Your words come out today…from every single one of us that speak on Your behalf today. My this morning be a connecting point for a hurt person, a lost person. May this morning be the start of a journey and may all that enter this space leave different, changed, inspired, deeper because of their encounter with You.

Then as I walk through the building – I pray by name for the volunteer serving in that area – children’s workers, student ministry staff, kitchen & hospitality crew, library crew, worship team, office people, rest of staff, and life group leaders.

I’ll miss my second family this morning but know they are in good hands.

2010 Broncos Prediction

My buddy Stan Ball has been ribbing me about my 2010 Broncos -wanting my take on this season so he can (I presume) rub it in at some date and time later.

My good friend and former cohort in crime David Baumgartner has made his prediction. A very middle of the road 8-8. Mediocrity at its best. (Talking about Denver, not David.) Let me say a couple of general thoughts then I’ll get to the record.

First, if any of the front 7 on defense gets hurt, this defense is going to look like the Saints…..of the 80′s. Majorly thin on the line and linebacker positions. Yes, Denver has great/outstanding DB’s but nobody is going to need to pass when they can rush for 300 yards a game.

Second, (I can’t believe I’m going to write this) if Orton gets hurt, the good news is we will have one of the top 3 picks in the 2011 draft. Of course, we may not have football in 2011 but that is another story all together. Tebow will be the #2 QB. Only way Tebow starts this year is if the bottom falls out of the Broncos OR Orton gets hurt. Neither Tebow or Quinn are ready to run this offense.

Third, Bronco fans can handle another playoff-less season as long as they see some fight and finish to the Broncos. What I don’t what to see is what I saw at the end of last season. A complete meltdown and collapse.

Lastly, this summer has made me very nervous about the leadership of Josh McDaniels. He’s cut 2 of his top 2 draft picks this summer, signed veterans to larger than normal contracts only to cut them before ever playing a game, and then there is the whole Tebow experiment. And yes — if he hits on Tebow — all will be forgiven and forgotten.

On to the year…

@ Jacksonville – W
Why? Why not.

Seattle – W
Wish they were still in the division because they are more jacked up than we are.

Indianapolis – L
Ugly. This one could get ugly.

@ Tennessee – L
See CJ run. See CJ get 20% of his quest for 2,000 in this single game.

@ Baltimore – L
This is really looking like a 1st place schedule, isn’t it?

NY Jets – W
It’s not that I think Denver is that good. I just don’t think the Jets are that good. I’m not buying the kool aid on the Jets. I hate the Jets anyway.

Oakland – W
I hate the Raiders more than the Jets. And I’ll never pick the Raiders over the Broncos but honestly — the Raiders have talent. And this could be a loss.

@ San Francisco – L
I think they’ll win this one and lose the Raider game but I’m not picking the Raiders. Ever.

Kansas City – W
KC is better this year…we think. I think Cassell was/is a huge bust of a risk and until they get a decent QB, they aren’t going anywhere. IF they run the ball — they destroy the Broncos. But it always seems to take them a game to figure that out.

@ San Diego – L
I agree with David — SD isn’t as good as people think but neither are the Broncos.

St. Louis – W
Another team that I’m thankful I’m not a fan of at this point but Bradford looks like the real deal. So did Cutler.

@ Kansas City – L
They figure out Denver doesn’t have a run defense.

@ Arizona – L
I think this is a win but I have to count it as a loss because…

@ Oakland – W
I’m never picking the Raiders. Ever.

Houston – L
It took Kubiak longer than expected and he’s in a ridiculous division (Colts, Titans, Jags) but Texans are good. They’d win the West if they were in it.

San Diego – L
SD plays strong at the end of the season, Denver has yet to finish a season strong since…oh….Plummer era?

7-9
And the off-season will consist of dealing with rumblings of whether or not Josh McDaniels will remain the Bronco’s head coach and when will Tebow start. But that’s why they play the games.

The Hardest Thing I’ll Ever Do

Saturday will be brutal. I’m doing the funeral of a 14-year old boy named Nick. He died in a house fire on Tuesday, I met with the family this morning and will again tomorrow.

The pain is leaking out of every pore in their bodies. There is a 2 year old sister who can’t quite figure out where her older brother is. There is a mom and stepdad who are struggling to put the pieces together. There is a dad who is in a nightmare fog. There is a younger sister who mourns. There is a small community rocked to the core as well as a tight-knit group of teenagers in the marching band that wonders if the hurt will ever stop.

Raw. Tender. So many needs. So many questions.

God – show up. Just show up.

Refocusing on the Future

Brazil, then Middle School Super Summer, then High School Super Summer, then VBS, then we took a week off at my dad’s lake house.

Got back at 1.30 am this morning.

And school registration was today and getting clips ready for this Sunday – (Toy Story is our clip for this week, by the way).

And I’m so amped about the next month of ministry I could just EXPLODE!!!!! On August 15th, we are doing a baptismal service at Lake Sherwood and we are not only going to see double digits of people get dunked for Jesus but we are going to have ICE CREAM!!!!!!!

Anyway — just a quick post to say — I’m back. Will resume some writing this week.

Now off to youth then Wipeout.

39 and counting…

In the last 30 days, Western Hills has seen 39 people come to Jesus as their Lord and Savior. If that doesn’t just amp you up, you are dead. And VBS is going on right now!!

So that is just awesome…

VBS and Snacks

I love VBS. The whole church looks like a ranch – hay, ropes, saddles. It’s so much fun. I love the decorations and the time and work our crew put into transforming our church to Saddle Ridge Ranch. The ‘set’ really does make the difference.

I love the laughter and the energy of the kids. It’s contagious and fun.

But there are two things about VBS that the best. Working with adults that you normally don’t work with AND the snacks. We’ve got a lot of new faces working VBS this year. It’s cool to get to know people while serving with them. I’ll post up some pics starting tomorrow night.

And the snacks. We’ve got the best snack crew I’ve ever been around. The last two years the snacks here have off the chain good. (Yes – I used the late ’90′s reference ‘off the chain.’)

Tonight we had Cow Pies which was chocolate and vanilla pudding with graham cracker crust plus whip cream. Oh. My. Gosh. Just a taste of awesomeness.

If you are in town – come join us, 6 to 8 pm at Western Hills.

Lies That Hold Us Hostage

We are going to talk about LIES this weekend at Western Hills. This is the one message of the series that I think EVERY believer needs to hear. EVERY!!!

LIES will be about those lies we believe about God that halt our walk with Jesus. They stop us in our tracks, rendering us useless and ineffective. They make us live smaller than what God intended.

Here are some of the lies will deal with —

God won’t accept me.

I am insignificant to God.

You’ve heard them. Maybe you’ve even believed them. But they are all lies from the enemy himself and they have held so many people hostage. This weekend, we’re going to tackle these lies with God’s truth and I think some of us are going to be pleasantly SHOCKED at what the TRUTH really is!!

We are reading The Screwtape Letters in my Wednesday morning Messy Crew. (The Screwtape Letters is a collection of letters between a demon tormentor and his uncle) and this quote struck me this morning about this subject:

Jargon, not argument, is your best ally in keeping him from the Church.

The older uncle is telling the young demon – the TRUTH (argument) is NOT a friend of Satan’s.

Join us Sunday as we cut through the jargon to the TRUTH.

Living in Big 12 Tornado Alley

I’m a SEC guy — there is no better conference — of this there is no discussion. However, I don’t like seeing what is happening to the Big 12. This week has been a series of leadership lessons. And a lot of local fans are blasting Nebraska for the destruction….but that’s not where the real leadership goofs took place.

Exhibit 1 and Only — Dan Beebe, commissioner of the Big 12 or (now known as the Little 4).

Let’s start with the not-so-obvious. Sometimes the hardest decision is to do nothing. It can also be very stupid. In the world of College Football, doing nothing is more often stupid. Every leader makes decisions and those decisions have COSTS. To NOT make a decision — STILL COSTS you something. So you are going to pay the COSTS one way or another. Maybe it’s momentum, maybe it’s money, maybe it’s opportunity. But to stay the course, with no push to be better, bigger, deeper is a recipe for death.

Beebe’s decision to stand pat with “the way things are.” No Big 12 Network, no expansion.

Playing Chicken With Farm People Is Stupid
Why? Because farm people kill and eat their own chickens. The day Beebe told Nebraska and Missouri they had a deadline – I still don’t understand that? Was he going to kick them out of the conference if they chose to leave the conference? I don’t get it? Wouldn’t it have been better to partner with them on how to expand? Did Beebe really think Nebraska was going to be intimidated?

Or maybe Beebe was tired of his job and needed an exit strategy…

Pac-10 Gets It
I remember the death of the SWC and the Big 8 was so desperate to get Texas, they let one school basically drive the wagon. So Baylor, Tech, A&M came with the package. The Pac-10 by inviting Colorado first has just sent a HUGE message to the state of Texas. You’re not all getting invited. The Conference will be bigger than an individual school. (Baylor will probably be left standing without a dance partner.)

What I Think COULD Happen
Texas, Tech, A&M, OU, OSU + Colorado go to Pac-10. Those teams and the two Arizona schools make the East Division, rest make West. (Or do they break it up into 4 mini divisions?)

OR – The Texas legislature could block Texas from going to the Pac-10(16) if all 4 Big 12 schools aren’t included. IF that happens, Texas will leave the Union, establish itself as it’s own country, and have it’s own Texas National Championship playoff. New Mexico could be invaded and annexed.

OR – (and this is the only real chance the Big 12 has of surviving) the Texas legislature blocks the move and the remaining Big 12 schools make a full press to get TCU, Boise State, Utah (who was previously courted by Pac-10), and the UCSB Banana Slugs. But only because they have the coolest mascot ever. But I digress.

Sure, the NEW Big 12 wouldn’t be the OLD Big 12 but it could hang/survive. Maybe Iowa State and Missouri could start paying players and get good again. Kansas could be in charge of the tickets.

OR — KU, KSU, MU, ISU talk SMU, Arkansas, Houston, and Rice into forming the Mini 6 + a Big 2 Conference.

OR — KU goes to Big East and thus relegates it’s football program to die a slow death outside a BCS conference. Some KU fans are talking about the SEC. I can’t see that happening. First, KSU is tied to the package. The SEC wants nothing to do with KSU. It’s doubtful they want anything to do with KU either. Second, if the SEC was going to expand – Virgina Tech, Clemson, and Florida State are all better fits, bigger markets, better recruiting, more money.

But lets get REALLY crazy for a moment, huh? What if Nebraska DOESN’T leave and instead Texas and A&M say to Big Ten — we’ll join your conference? That bumps Nebraska out of the picture in the Big 10.

Basically, any scenario that includes Texas leaving the Big 12, kills the Big 12. I think they could survive Colorado and even Nebraska defecting. Texas would be too huge of loss.

What’s interesting is that OU/OSU has been very quiet through all of this — much like Colorado was. Makes you wonder what is going on done there, huh?

Holy cow — this is crazy nuts confusing. Glad we have the BCS to help us figure it out.

Summer Perspective for Western Hills

This is the e-letter I just sent out to our congregation…

Dear Church family,

The summer is here and before we all get so crazy busy with our schedules, I wanted to hit the pause button. We have so much to be thankful for as a church. Just in the past couple of months we’ve seen 13 new people join Western Hills as well as baptizing 5 new adult believers. We’re taking over 80 middle school and high school students to Super Summer. We have an international mission trip to Brazil, the POW WOW this weekend. The Student Ministry Graduation service on May 16th is still being talked about. In fact, a sister church heard what we did and are making plans to do that in their church next spring.

Love God, Live Connected, and Serve All is getting fleshed out in front us!!

In our Children’s ministry area – we not only hired Darci part-time but updated our Children’s ministry toddler area – the Aquarium – (if you haven’t seen it — pop your head in this Sunday.) This past Sunday, that room was put to the test with over 20 pre-K kids. It shows us that young married with kids are invading Western Hills!

Part of the reason they are coming has been seen in our Hostage series. When Jesus is lifted up, He draws people to Himself and His desire is to restore them. We’re seeing that clearly in this series. I’ve had the opportunity to not just lead new people to the Lord but see lives set free from the bondage of bitterness, worry, and addiction. Our response room has been used every morning of the series. The stories we are hearing from our Life Groups are inspiring.

We’ve seen incredible change and growth this past year. I honestly believe that the best is yet to come for Western Hills and our unique opportunity to flesh out Love God, Live Connected, and Serve All in Topeka and beyond.

And speaking about “the best is yet to come” – right now, the Council and staff are preparing to come to the congregation with the direction God is giving us and how CLEAR He has spoken these past 5 months. I’ll be able to tell more later (I know — it’s not fair) but let’s just say for now — WE ARE AMPED!

As we get ready for the next season at Western Hills, I’m asking our congregation to do three things this summer to KEEP the momentum going!!

PRAY!!! Pray for the Church Council (names listed below) and your staff for wisdom and clarity. Pray that God would continue to speak clearly and lead clearly. Pray for the ministries of Western Hills. Our children’s ministry are growing and need volunteers. Our student ministry is growing. Our adult Life Groups are growing. Pray for our mission trips, service opportunities, and summer calendar. Pray for students to know Jesus this summer. Pray, pray, pray. Then pray again.

SERVE!!! If you’re new at WH or want to know more people – serving is THE best way to do this. Find a place to serve – children, youth, adult life groups, men, women, worship, greeters, ushers, counters, builders, and other places that I can’t think of right now. Don’t know where to start? Hit the reply button on this email and say – I want to help, give me some direction.

GET CONNECTED!!!! Summer is an outstanding time to find a Life Group and get to know people. Gary Manford is our Life Group Minister and he would LOVE to get you connected. Hit reply to the email — he’ll get back to you in 24 hours. Experience a whole other level of church with a Life Group.

I am amped about our future. Confident in our vision. In awe of our Savior.

HOSTAGE Series starts this weekend

I am super excited about our next series – HOSTAGE. We are asking the question – what holds you captive? Bitterness? addiction? worry? anger? lies? It’s time to break free.

This is one of those series that many of your friends need to hear and experience. The teaching is going to focus on God’s solution and healing for these issues. In other words, we’re going to focus on practical help. There are going to be some people who find freedom in Christ for the first time during this series — and that is why I’m amped about it.

Couple of things we will be doing a bit differently during this series. First, it’s designed for ages 12 and up. Most of our series are fairly kid friendly. This one is going to deal with some issues that younger children could find disturbing. If you are a parent of a 5th grader or older, there will be some uncomfortable topics talked about but they are issues that your student will (or already has) face as they enter middle school and high school. And I honestly can’t think of a better way to talk about some of these issues than first talking about God’s plan.

Secondly, we will have a response room available after every service. For those people who need someone to pray with them or talk with them, or maybe just ask questions about God, we will have a room ready with some of our ministry leaders who can help. After every message, an opportunity will be given to go into that room and find help from someone.

Lastly, we are asking all of our small groups to walk through this material with their people. A study guide DVD with intro videos is available for every Life Group at the information desk. Or you can visit www.whillschurch.org for more info. We think this series can and will have such a healing impact on people.

See ya’ Sunday as we look at bitterness.

A special thank you to Lifechurch.tv who originally did this series. They have been SUPER gracious in giving us their outlines, small group questions, trailer videos, and discussion starters for the series.