theological ramblings
Plumbing Consecration
This originally appeared as a weekly devo for whillschurch.org
As Mari was teaching this past weekend about the Ark and the people of Israel consecrating themselves for the journey ahead (Joshua 3), I started thinking about my tub. I had to fix mine this past weekend and it’s been rumored that the average home repair takes 3 trips to the local hardware store. Personally, I’d love it if it only took me 3 visits. Fortunately for me, I didn’t need any trips to the store for this fix. We had a slow drain.
The big decision I had to make was this – should I lug my whole, heavy toolbox upstairs or just grab the tools that I need? Obviously, I don’t want to be carry all that weight and all those tools upstairs. Besides that, I’ve done this job before so I know what I’m doing.
Trip Downstairs #1: I grabbed my channel-lock pliers, a screwdriver, and a wire coat hanger. Why the coat hanger? Ask someone who has daughters or a wife with long hair. They can tell you the gross details.
I get back upstairs to the tub, grip the top of the drain with the channel-locks and quickly realize that I cannot hold on to the bottom part of the drain. It’s too slippery. I need another set of channel-locks.
Trip Downstairs #2: Get second set of channel-locks.
Back upstairs to the tub, grip the bottom of drain. Top turns right off with little problem. Grab screwdriver to completely remove drain when I notice I have a Phillips head and I need a flathead.
Trip Downstairs #3: Grab flathead screwdriver.
Back upstairs to the tub, put screwdriver into tub drain and now see that this particular flathead is too narrow. I need a wider flathead.
Trip Downstairs #4: Grab fatter flathead screwdriver.
Back upstairs to the tub, fatter flathead works like a charm. Drain comes right off. Grab wire hanger to clean out drain. Realize I don’t have my plastic trash bag to put treasure that I am digging up.
Trip Downstairs #5: Grab plastic trash bag. Grab rubber gloves. Pat myself on back for avoiding Trip Downstairs #6.
Back upstairs to the tub, clean out drain with no problem. Put…stuff in bag and then tie bag up.
Put drain drain back together and realize that during Trip Downstairs #5, I took the fat flathead out of my pocket to answer the phone. Fat Flathead is now sitting on downstairs kitchen counter.
Trip Downstairs #6: Grab fatter flathead.
Back upstairs to the tub, put the drain back in with no problem. Grab bag to throw. Bask in the glory of a job done.
Trip Downstairs #7: Grab an ice tea and some peanuts. Amy asks – did you test to see if that solved the problem?
Back upstairs to the tub. Turn on water. Drains like a…well…not really sure what simile to use here. It works great.
Trip Downstairs #8: Tell Amy yes. Realize I left my drink on the bathroom counter upstairs.
Sell the house for a single floor, ranch style home.
I am curious how many of us approach our faith like this? We show up to a task bringing the bare minimum of what we think is required for the job. After all, we’ve done this before. We know what we are doing. We just want to get this done so that we can go on with the rest of our day/week/life.
Instead, our lack of CONSECRATION to the task at hand turns a simple job into a lot of work, a lot of frustration, and at times makes the accomplishment of the task impossible.
I loved Mari’s definition of Consecration she taught us this week – to make ready, to get prepared. When God told the Israelites to Go!, He first told them to GET READY – to consecrate themselves. Do what you know to do, what you need to do to be in a place to obey, to get the job done.
Next time you hear a GO! from the Lord, consecrate yourself. Bring the whole tool box.
Prepare The Room: Psalm 51
This is the video I did to help us get focused at the start of our services.
Prepare The Room: Psalm 51 from Grant English on Vimeo.
Prepare The Heart and You Prepare The Room
We’ve been trying a new ‘discipline’ in our worship services the last couple of weeks at Western Hill – we’re calling it ‘prepare the room.’
Rick actually came up with the phrase after going to a worship conference last year. He observed that at the conference before any worship service, there was always a few minutes at the start where they prepared the room. Could have been a video or a practice or silence – but it was a prepared, purposeful pause at the start of the service to remind themselves that they were about to engage with the Holy God in worship.
What does that look like in a local congregation that meets every single Sunday morning?
And no – the Opening Song doesn’t really count as “prepare the room.” See Northpoint’s video below to see what I’m talking about. So last week we started with the video below followed by another video depicting Psalm 31 – My times are in your hands.
The feedback has been pretty positive. Not everyone got the “artsy” rendition of Psalm 31, but everyone loved the reminder to get prepared to worship.
It’s a new tradition, new spiritual discipline of worship for us at Western Hills – prepare the room. And it’s rubbing off in other areas as well. I find myself walking into a meeting or a lunch – pausing in the car to ‘prepare the room.’
Prepare The Room
Psalm 31//My Times video by Jakub Blank
I hate Religion, love Jesus Video
I actually stumbled on this video the day it was uploaded – January 10. I sent it to our creative team before it went all viral. Now it is everywhere with different people sounding off on it. We ultimately decided to NOT use it mainly because it didn’t exactly fit the series we were in and we thought it would work better in a small group setting.
I’m showing the video below.
Overall, I like the video. I don’t interpret this guy as trashing the Church. Some will disagree. Which is part of the problem of the video, the shortcomings of the video. I really have 3 issues with the clip – that I think would be great for a small group discussion.
First, love the “voting Republican doesn’t make you Christian” slap at the very beginning of the video. Very true. But I wouldn’t have stopped there. Jesus had words for the Zealots and the Pharisees. Anything that compromised Jesus as the solution to the problems of the world, Jesus had a quote for. Politics, education, religion.
So my question/issue to him is this – does he feel that way about all political parties? Or is it angst just reserved toward the Republicans? Democrat, Libertarian or anyone else who’s hope for our culture is in the political system is in the same boat (albeit the opposite side) as the Republicans. To limit the sting of his words to one party is doing exactly what he is railing about.
Second, I don’t think Jesus was thinking of me on the cross. That is a very ego/man-centric understanding of what is going on at the cross. The cross is all about God’s character and glory, not the value of us. Yes, we get the benefit of the transaction of sacrifice – no doubt about that. But God was thinking of Himself – his promise and vision of a world without death and sin. And dieing for the consequence was the only way that was going to happen without blowing it all up and starting over.
So I think God was thinking about that. Not me.
Lastly, I can see where he comes across as an anti-church, anti-organized anything guy. But as I read his other comments, I don’t think that is him at all. I think he cares deeply about the church and wants to be a part of a movement that sees church get closer to being a Grace Station instead of Code Enforcement. I think there are glimpses of that in the video but not overtly so. I hear a guy who loves the concept of the church as the Bride of Christ but hating the examples and experiences he’s had with her so far.
And that I think is the real shortcoming of the video. There isn’t a deep, holistic handling of the issues he brings up. They make great soundbites. At times he sounds like a prophet…statements of profound truth and conviction. Then he takes an abrupt left turn leaving that conversation to sound like an angry teenager screaming shallow, pithy cliches at his parents that he himself doesn’t really understand. There are some nuanced, deeper opportunities he missed. Instead of pushing us into deeper conversations about theology or the church and what transformation COULD look like, he’ll take the quick exit to hit another platitude.
But then again, that might have been the point of the whole exercise anyway. Maybe his point was to generate conversations and dissonance with people who otherwise wouldn’t think twice about their own understanding of grace, church, Jesus, or religion.
Like I said earlier – I like the video. I’ll keep my eyes out for the next piece they produce. My hunch is they will get better and better. I think it’s worth a watch and even worth some discussion time in a small group. I think it would spark some deeper conversations of what is the church, what marks Christianity different from all other religions, and what exactly is my role in all of that.
Here’s the video:
Multiplying Your Ministry
This is the first part of some training I’m taking my leaders through at Western Hills. Here are the notes to part 1.
Couple of thoughts as we begin on this topic of multiplication.
First, when we speak of multiplying our ministry, what we are really talking about is multiplying people. People advance the Kingdom of God, not programs. Programs will and should come and go. Programs are tools to be used and evaluated and changed. Their effectiveness will change from year to year.
People on the other hand are the constant. It is people that we are called to multiply and make disciples. The life change stories, the relationships – these are what we are talking about when we talk about multiplying ministry.
Second, this is essential if we really want to be an outward-focused church that functions as the hands and feet of Christ to our community. ESSENTIAL. Any church or follower of Jesus that takes seriously the words of Jesus MUST effectively and consistently multiply their ministry. It is what is at the core of the Great Commission (Matthew 28).
Quick Exercise #1
List all the stuff you are involved in. School stuff, family stuff, church stuff, work stuff. Just a quick list that demands time of you other than specifically your job.
Keep that list handy – we are going to come back to it.
The 3 Circles Of Multiplication
I think there are 3 concentric circles that we need to think about when it comes to multiplication. No particular order, all are needed and important. Ministry, People, and Process.
Circle 1- Ministry WORTH multiplying
This is the program side of the equation. Lot’s of questions and issues we can deal with in this circle. Is it relevant? Is it fun? Is the effort it takes to pull it off worth it? Is it making a difference? Is it producing what we want it to?
But the fundamental, core question that MUST be dealt with is this: Is the focus of the ministry the same as God’s focus?
God’s focus is clear. Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37-40) and Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). Love God, Love Others, Serve All, Make Disciples who do the same. At Western Hills we articulate these as – Love, live and serve.
Just pay careful attention to question. It’s not “are there elements that support or participate in love, live and serve?” Almost every program does that in a church but not every program has it as its focus. The question is what is the real focus of that ministry? Is it reaching the lost, making disciples, serving the community? Time to be brutally honest.
Hold on to this question — put it right over here. Let me quickly hit the other two circles.
Circle 2 – People READY to Multiply
Should you multiply yourself in every person inside your ministry?
Harsh reality is NO. Every person deserves to be ministered to. NOT every person is ready to be multiplied into leadership. 2 Timothy 2:2 – invest in able, qualified people.
Some are not ready because of character issues, giftedness, competency, season of life.
Different roles will have different expectations.
The core question in this circle is this:
Do you invest in potential OR do you look for provenness?
Circle 3 – Process WORTH Multiplying
Key Question: Is there a simple yet proven process that moves people from spectator to participant to multiplier?
Lots of other questions go into this circle. Do you have processes that protect the people AND the ministry in case things go upside down? Do you have clearly defined roles and leaders in that process? Do you have markers that let you know you are heading the right direction? What skills and competencies are you looking for?
To successfully and consistently multiply leaders, all three of these circles need to have these key questions answered with definite action points.
The point tonight is not to answer all these questions or even flesh out all of these circles but rather to give us a 35,000k foot viewpoint of this process. To begin to start thinking in these terms so that as we add these pieces to the puzzle, multiplication can start happening.
Quick Exercise #2: The Importance of Ministry Worth Multiplying Circle
Take that list of activities that you created at the start of the evening.
Ask for volunteer.
There is a great opportunity to tutor at risk kids after school, using any curriculum I want. I can even use the scriptures for character studies but I need someone to help me, are you in?
First – any opportunity that I’m offered I’m first going to my list of stuff that I’m already involved in and I’m asking myself – is this opportunity WORTH fitting into my life? Either cramming it into an already packed life OR by saying NO to something else. WORTH is relatively defined.
I’m also going to evaluate my list of activities with this question – is this WORTH doing?
Second – as a leader – I want to make sure I define WORTH like God has defined WORTH. This is a love, live and serve opportunity. This is a Great Commandment/Great Commission opportunity.
My job as a leader is NOT to guilt people into showing up or participating. That won’t last and it’s not of God. My job is to be a champion of what God is doing. To point out the already there eternal value and worth of the opportunity.
Quick Exercise #3 – Take a ministry you are in and walk thru 3 circles answering key questions.
Example: Men’s Fraternity
Circle 1 – focus is to disciple men into being spiritual leaders who love, live and serve. YES, worth it.
Circle 2 – Need a key PROVEN leader for director/champion position. Same vision, passion for discipleship. Deep Christ-follower, self-starter, available to do it, teachable, high character, honest, not perfect, vulnerable.
Found the guy – now ready to start.
Circle 3 — Process proven to work
Other churches have their trophies, we don’t…yet. We have process we want to try, run with it and evaluate as we go.
Nor do we have a process to replace Director…yet. We will need to address this if this is going to make it beyond just one season. Every ministry needs to wrestle with that question otherwise focus becomes the program and filling slots.
4 Foundational Multiplication Principles
1. Make micro decisions with macro viewpoint of does this advance God’s Kingdom?
2. Call people NORTH. Even yourself.
Ask more of people than where they are. Don’t ever demand more of those around you than yourself. Keep Love, Live, Serve in the forefront.
3. Something is better than nothing.
It’s easier to steer than start. GO! Starting somewhere and changing it later is better than doing nothing until you have the perfect plan. We know what doing nothing produces – nothing.
4. Invest in PEOPLE, not the program.
Programs have shelf life. Our job isn’t to keep the program running. Our calling is to make disciples who love, live, and serve.
Open Questions, Comments, and Thoughts
Which circle should we start with? Depends. All three need to be developed and dealt with but program and condition of culture will have a HUGE role in determining which circle to tackle first.
Key entry points into ministries is PEOPLE (relationship) and MINISTRY (program) but long term investment will only happen if all three are developed.
PROCESS is the most neglected circle in most churches. They spend time and energy running around to fill slots instead of developing people. Must change in order to be a multiplying church.
He Uses The Dark Threads Too
Image is of Stirling Castle in Stirling, Scotland. More info can be found here.
This originally appeared as a weekly evo for whillschurch.org
Last night we opened Christmas gifts from my Dad and Mary while they were on FaceTime. (By the way, this is just one more reason why I think the iPhone is best invention ever. But I digress.)
Mary is my stepmother who turned my son and daughters to the dark side. She discipled my own kids against me right under my nose to become Auburn fans. I was powerless against her. My dad has questioned my paternal leadership because of this. My only response has been – she’s your wife and you couldn’t stop her either.
As the wrong kind of orange and blue presents were being unwrapped, my dad asked me – “How many Christmases is this for y’all?”
“Too many. I’ve quit fighting it.”
We will have Christmas with my Mom and Dad (stepdad). Christmas with Dad and Mary. Christmas with Amy’s parents. And then our kids will get the gifts we got them as well. It’s ridiculous and I’ve fought this for so many years and lost every single time. It’s hard enough for parents to win against one set of grandparents. Try three.
But 35 years ago, I would have never seen this day as a possibility. That was when my world was put upside down by my parent’s divorce. It wasn’t common back in the 70′s particularly in the Deep South. I had never heard of it. Didn’t even know that was possible.
But it was happening to me and it wasn’t pretty. At age 7, I understood little of what was going on. I just knew that my world was completely shattered and changing in ways I had no control over.
A very dark thread.
Black threads on a tapestry add depth, perspective, and balance. In the hands of a master artist, they give a framework for the masterpiece. They are never the focal point. But without them, the focal point never takes center stage. Those that enjoy the art hardly ever notice the black threads. We are too overwhelmed by the rest of the picture. But they are there.
We all get black threads. The question is what to do with them. Do we stuff them away? Denying the shame, guilt, and hurt? Believing that there is no place for them in our lives? Or do we make them the centerpiece? Choosing to be a victim forever more. Focusing on the darkness, believing that there really is no color left in life?
Only a true, gifted master artist can take a mistake, a blotch, a dark thread and weave into the larger picture to make it look like that it belong there all along. Using the mistake as a strength. Taking the bad and make it reflect something good.
But this requires leaving the black threads in the master’s hands. Allowing him to use it when and where he sees fit. It might not be immediately seen what he is doing but we trust his handiwork. We’ve seen him do this before – over and over again. So we trust him, even though it looks unfixable, unredeemable.
35 years later, I’m living in the middle of a rich, deep, wonderful tapestry. All of the in-laws, out-laws, and step-laws love each other. They exchange gifts between themselves. They’ve spent holidays all with each other over the years, stayed in each other’s houses. Impossible? 35 years ago – yes.
But God does his best work in the 9th hour with the darkest threads…when He’s given the chance. His own birth is proof of that.
Merry Christmas. And know that He still uses the dark threads.
A Different Kind Of Appointment
I fell off a ladder a couple of weeks ago and in the process of ridiculously embarrassing myself, got a cool bruise on my rear end and a pinched nerve in the neck.
I’d been going to the chiropractor and was having some improvement when the workman comp people called and said stop going there and go to this other doctor. So I did. But I wasn’t happy about it. You can guess some of my thoughts – waste of time, money…blah,blah.
My appointment was for 12:30 today. I showed up early for the paperwork. Was in the room at 12:30. By 1:15 there was still no doctor. 1:20 – no doctor.
I tweeted my complaint for the world to read. I thought about leaving. I’ve got things to do, people to see.
She came in the room at 1:25.
First, she was incredibly nice and personal. Nice experience after having to wait an hour. She asked the question…
“So, Mr. English, where do you work?”
“Western Hills Baptist Church.”
“What do you do there?”
“I’m one of the pastors on staff.”
“Really? You the Senior Pastor?”
“Guilty as charged.”
“I’m curious as to what kind of Baptist church would hire an earring wearing pastor?”
“One that is really learning how to love Jesus.”
We talked for a while.
A Unitarian and a Baptist talking Jesus in a Catholic hospital.
You can’t make this stuff up.
As she left the room, God poked me. You’d think at some point I would get it. You would think that the light would come on reminding me that my schedule really isn’t my schedule. It’s His. It was like he was sarcastically asking me – is it okay if I steal an hour or two of your day in exchange for an opportunity for you to tell my story?
You know that it is, Father. You just may have to remind me to see it thru your eyes…not mine.
A Modern Take on the Nativity – O Night Divine
An edgy look at the Night Divine. (There is one cuss word that is mouthed but never heard.)
Dear Facebook, It’s Finally Over.
It’s over.
We’ve been dancing around this issue for a while now. How many discussions and arguments have we had? To many to count. And I know I’ve said these words before but this time it’s serious.
I’m done with you, Facebook.
I’m leaving. The key is on the counter.
Don’t even ask why. You know why. And yes, we started out well – a place where I could keep parents updated on the kids and life in general. A place to catch up with students and post announcements and invite the guys over for Halo.
But then it went….pear-shaped. It got complicated. Awkward. Hurtful.
Every time we settle into a good groove, you’d change. Security settings, features, layout. In short, you became the focus of the relationship instead of a means of relationship. It’s like having another wife – I can’t keep up with all the buttons I have to push or unpush to keep you happy and safe.
And the uninvited “Wall Posts.” I get there are people that really into Twilight or politics or Pirates vs. Ninjas or Farmville. I’m happy for them — okay, honestly, I’m not happy for them. I seriously wonder about their ability to function in normal society but that isn’t the point right now. The point is – it’s my wall, not theirs. I don’t want that junk on there yet I can’t keep it off without having to constantly clicking on your website.
While we are talking about this – can you explain the logic of this? You’ll let anybody post on my wall but you won’t let me publish my blog to my own notebook anymore. What’s up with that? Petty. Very, very petty.
And you’ve devalued what a ‘friend’ is. Current friend count for me – 804. How many of these friends would stop on the side of the road to help me change a flat tire? (I know how to change a flat tire by myself – do not miss the point.) How many of them would I WANT them to stop and help me? Who would have ever thought a friend request would send me into some deep, existential debate? Are we really friends or are we just acquaintances?
You’ve forced people to be lazy and unreasonable. This isn’t totally your fault. But I can’t keep up with all these people’s lives that they seem to be living vicariously online. Partly because I have my own life that I am in the middle of. Partly because I don’t want anything to do with this voyeuristic ritual of knowing what is going on with every single person I’m connected to.
I’m tired of people putting stuff online that they would never say in person. Tired of the immaturity of trying to prove creation, evolution, truth of scripture, pro-life, pro-choice or whatever hot-button issue through links, posts, and comments. I’m tired of people dragging everybody else in the middle of their drama by posting these not-so-cryptic updates slamming someone else. I’m tired of others thinking that just because it’s on Facebook, they should have an opinion on it.
I’m tired of people asking me ‘did you see what so-so put on Facebook?’ (I didn’t. And if I did, I wouldn’t talk to you about it.) I’m tired of those people who get offended easily because they honestly think every post is a personal attack against them. (By the way, I’ve learned it’s just easier to tell them it was about them.) I’m tired of people getting unjustly upset because I am not up to speed on the drama or issues in their life that they have carefully recorded on their profile.
I’m tired of having to only ‘like’ things. Where is the unlike button? Not that it matters. I wouldn’t come back for that.
I’m tired of having to think through a post to make sure it is kind, smart, insightful, funny, non-offensive, vague enough to protect the guilty, or remotely relevant.
In short, I’m tired of you and your drama. And your unspoken expectations. And your unfulfilling, time-wasting, mind-numbing games that steal time from real life, real conversations, real relationships.
So we’re done. I’m walking away. It’s over. I hope you understand but then again it doesn’t matter if you do or not.
Real life awaits.
Grant
A Thin Place: Adopted
Photo is of the Scottish Highlands from the personal journal of actuality.log on emphaticallystatic.org.
I first heard the term ‘Thin Place’ from my closet-mystic buddy in Little Rock, Arkansas. He was a brilliant mind, worked in the medical field and for all exterior looks was a very rational, cerebral man. But on the inside he longed for the ‘thin places.’ Those places where the holy and mundane collide. Those places where we get a surprise glimpse of the eternal, the Kingdom revealed – he used to tell me.
The phrase stuck with me – Thin Places, holy moments. He always slipped into an Irish brogue when he said it – so I’ve always equated Thin Places with the Scottish Highlands. Even though Scottish and Irish are different…I know. The point is we had a Thin Place moment this weekend in our service.
You wouldn’t think a Thin Place moment would happen in a service where all the kids under 5th grade were at the front in a conversation with the pastor. At least, I wouldn’t have ever thought it would happen in that kind of setting. My biggest goal was to stay as engaging and active with the kids as possible so they would understand the concept of Wonderful Counselor.
I also was prepared in case it went pear-shaped (see last week’s devo).
It’s a double-edge sword working with kids like this. They have no filter. Which means awesome interaction as well as …”Hey look, it’s a squirrel” moments.
And we had some squirrel moments. One child saying she hated wearing clothes for Christmas. Another saying that her cat was the most wonderful thing in her life. Another talking about how wonderful ninjas are.
And then it happened.
“What else is wonderful, beyond words wonderful in your life?”
Adopted.
The. Room. Just. Stopped.
Thin Place. Holy Moment.
It felt like eternity was stuffed in those 3 seconds.
Adopted.
The boy was in our life group. He and his sister loved coming over. I looked at the boy’s dad. He was in part shock, part awe. I knew him well. I wasn’t sure how he was keeping it together. I figured he’d be a blubbering, crying mass of emotions. I looked at the mom. She was beaming, like she was going to float right out of her chair.
The entire room took a breath.
Adopted.
The parents had already raised their own kids – gone, on their own. They were looking forward to some grandchildren. Then the someone asked for the largest favor on the planet – we need help. We’ve got these two kids – a brother and a sister – they don’t have anywhere to go.
What were they supposed to do? Say no? On the other hand, what were they thinking? Start all over again? Did they have that many more miles on the tread?
Adopted.
It’s been a year or two. The adoption was final just in the last couple of months. There’s never been any regrets. The kids think they got the coolest parents in the world (they do), the parents wonder how they are still doing this and loving this (they really do know the answer to that as well).
Adopted.
What a word for the rest of us at Christmas. The boy was talking about himself but he might as well been talking about all of us. Christmas is about adoption. Our adoption into the family of God through our faith in the Christ-child.
Adopted.
Christ was born and lived so that we could say the most wonderful thing in the world is…
Adopted.
What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are. I John 3:1 MSG
Worship Leader vs. Worship Pastor
Got into an interesting discussion this past week with a buddy about worship leaders and worship pastors. After we made the requisite metro jokes – we got serious for a moment. Here were some of thoughts….
A worship leader (wait for it….) leads music and song whereas a worship pastor leads people into experiences that collide them with God.
A leader plans and practices transitions from song to song whereas a pastor looks for holy interruptions that could send us deeper.
A leader will make sure his part of the service is done well while a pastor focuses on the WHOLE worship experience.
A leader will be great with the music, a pastor will experiment with different disciplines (silence, prayer, readings, communion, video, etc).
A leader will evaluate notes and tuning, a pastor will evaluate the impact and response.
A leader will understand response as someone walking down the aisle, a pastor will see response as life change once the service is over.
A leader wants to run a smooth practice, a pastor wants to develop other worshippers.
What would you add?
I’m Trying To Be More Of A “Yes” Parent
This originally was written for the weekly evo on whillschurch.org
Cooper and I stayed up to midnight Monday night to get the ‘new’ Halo:Anniversary Edition video game. It’s actually an old game that they’ve digitally remastered. Think the Star Wars movies in the ’90s without making Han Solo shoot second. (Yes, Lucas…we are still mad about this. And it’s not going to matter if you put it in 3-D. Han shot Guido first and it should stay like that. And I’m not thrilled about the end of Return of the Jedi on the Blu-Ray either…another post, another time.)
We do things like this. We did the midnight Harry Potter movie experience – both part 1 and part 2. We did the midnight Star Wars experience. And now the Halo Midnight Experience. And so far, they’ve always been fun but last night was a bit different. The crowd was a bit different. Lots of black, wallets on chains, goth, boot wearing kind of people. Not really what I was expecting.
I’ll let my texts between Amy and I tell the story…
Amy: Lots of people there?
Grant: (Sends above picture) Yep.
Amy: Anyone Coop’s age or all older?
Grant: All older. And probably all live in their parent’s basement. With Cheetos.
Amy: Ha ha
Grant: I’m dead serious. I honestly think that most of these people are not normal.
Grant: Cooper just informed me that if he had a Master Chief outfit, he’d totally be rockin’ it right now. I told him … “By yourself.”
Grant: The guy behind me just said that this line (around 75 people) is small compared to last week. (It’s like this is church or something..) I’m tempted to turn around and ask how does he have the money to buy new games every week but then that would probably lock me into a conversation with a guy that I really don’t want to talk to.
Amy: No need for weird random conversations at midnight.
Grant: Amen to that.
A few seconds of silence…
Grant: There are some REALLY weird people out here. I really need to tweet some of this stuff.
Amy: Don’t forget – you are in that line as well.
Awkward moment of realization.
Two things that are important about this experience, though. First, there was another game released beside Halo this week. Some game called the Elder Scrolls or Trolls Are Us or Dark Magic. It explains all the goth that was being thrown down in the line Monday night.
Second, I really wanted to stay home. But I’m glad I went. That’s a night that won’t happen again. That’s laughter and a memory that one day we will both tell around the Thanksgiving table with multiple generations. And all it cost me was just a few hours sleep. That’s it. Small price to pay.
I’ve caught myself at times taking the lazy way out of parenting. Saying ‘no’ to things that really don’t have a moral or value judgement behind it. More like – “I’m tired and I want to be left alone” value. And there are times when I absolutely need some alone time to recharge and refocus…but it can’t be at the expense of my family. Can’t.
Ephesians 1:3 got me thinking about this. Our Heavenly Father has given us every spiritual blessing in Jesus. Anything that has to do with a relationship with Him, deepening an experience with God, He has said “YES” at every single point. Jesus was the biggest YES in history. No – you’re to sinful, messed up. I’m too busy, too pure comments from God. Jesus was his “Yes” to every relational question and pursuit to humanity.
I want to be that kind of dad to my kids as well. Anything that is going to deepen my relationship – yes. Anything that is going to further their journey towards and with Jesus – yes. And when my first reaction is to say “no”, I’m going to pause and ask ‘how come?’ Is there a deeper value at play here? Is this a situation where I need to protect? Or is the ‘no’ just part of being lazy?
We got home and played the first mission. Coop crawled into bed by 1 am. We were both seriously dragging Tuesday morning…but it’s just sleep.
There Is No Private Life
This originally was posted as a weekly devo on whillschurch.org.
Oswald Chambers in My Utmost For His Highest:
There is no such thing as a private life…God divides the private life of His saints and makes it a highway for the world on one hand and for Himself on the other. No human being can stand that unless he is identified with Jesus Christ.
This is the biggest obstacle for anyone who wants to really grow in Christ – the letting go of the fantasy that we have a private life.
Let me clarify a bit. There are parts of life that are not public. Cuddling on the couch with my wife. Listening to one of my kids process failure and hurt. Correcting the selfish behavior of a child. Helping a friend deal with loss. Repenting of my own failures. These are moments that are not public but neither are they private.
There are also conversations and thoughts that I either keep to myself or only share with trusted friends. Why? Some of them could harm other’s walk with Christ. Some of them are just stupid and not ready for public consumption yet.
Most of us think of “private” as this secret place where we can do pretty much what we want with no implications or fall-out in the public realm. That’s the kind of private Oswald was talking about. And that kind of place is called Fantasy Land. It doesn’t exist. That is an impossibility solely based on the way humans are designed. We are a tangled mess of emotion, thought, spirit, and body. What I think effects what I feel effects everything else.
What we do and think in private eventually plays itself out in public anyway. What is IN us will eventually show OUT of us.
The irony of our culture is this – we hear messages every day that tell us that our private life is our private life and it’s different than our public life. We’ll hear so much of this during the upcoming election year – that the private shouldn’t really matter in the public. Yet every reality television show proves different. “The Secret Life of an American Teenager”, Survivor, Jersey Shore,…heck even Basketball Wives blatantly shows us that the private never stays private and it ALWAYS effects the public.
But back to my original point in all of this – if we (Christ-followers) really want to grow in Christ, we have to get it out of our head that we have a private life. Or even that it is our life to begin with.
People who function with private and public departments in their being never become whole. At best, they live scared. Always wondering when the other shoe will drop. At worst, it all comes caving in on them…sometimes in very public ways.
It is a huge place of growth to get to this place of – my life is not my own. I’ve been bought with a price. (1 Corinthians 6:19).
When this happens…we’ll really be in a place to infiltrate.
Did You Listen To The Rest Of Your Own Sermon?
This originally appeared as a weekly devo on whillschurch.org
After my message a couple of weeks ago on ‘inflitrate’ I had a couple of people confront me. Here is the backstory. I said Jesus’ model on earth was to infiltrate and change. Salt. Light. Incarnation. All about dealing with people up close and personal and working life change into them by grace and truth. We as the church are called, gifted, and expected to function the same way. Infiltrate where God has put you.
Then I said – I’ve got a couple of meetings to go to over the next few weeks that I’m dreading. I’m going to sit in the back with my arms folded because I’m tired of hearing about big solutions to big problems that will never work because the only real hope of the world is Jesus.
Those two dear friends asked me the same thing: “Grant, did you listen to the rest of your own sermon? Did you ever think the reason you are at these meetings is to infiltrate?”
Ouch.
I pondered on those words as I attended the KNCSB Annual Meeting. For those of you who don’t know, Western Hills is a part of a larger community of churches called the Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists (KNCSB). What does that mean? It means that while we are ‘autonomous’ as a local church, we choose to participate with other churches for the purpose of missions and other ministry opportunities. Together we can do more than apart. Autonomous means that we hire who we want to, partner with our community the way we want to, decide what ministries we want to invest in, and personalize how we want to accomplish making disciples in our context. Being in the convention connects us with other churches who share the same theological base as we do for the purpose of sharing the load in missions and other ministries – In-Depth, Super Summer, women’s ministry retreat, disaster relief, and other opportunities as well.
I’m new to this convention stuff…this was only my 2nd Convention meeting. But there were two things that I heard that practically stopped me in my tracks.
Only 2% of Christ-followers have verbally shared their faith.
Christ Followers are saying having an ‘outward’ focused church that deeply teaches the scriptures is vital to their own spiritual walk.
The first one stopped me in a bad way. I just don’t want to believe that 98% of Christians are quiet about what is supposedly the most important aspect of their life. I don’t want to believe that but what if it is true? Then I wonder why are they quiet? Do they not know how to share their faith? Are they scared to? Are we as churches becoming the “Gospel Station” for people – drive by with your friends, we will fill them up with the Jesus story?
The second statement stopped me because I didn’t realize it needed to be said. But it does. It goes back to what we’ve been talking about the last 3 weeks – institution vs. infiltration. An organization left to itself without a vision to drive it forward will become an institution. And institutions are inward, self-preserving entities.
This Sunday, I’m going to unpack from Scripture, God’s plan for keeping the church on an infiltrate path, not an institution path. But I’m happy to report that we have leaders in our Convention that are committed to this same idea – infiltrate.
Not institute…but infiltrate. More to come.
Grinding It Through
This originally ran as a devo on whillschurch.org.
Amy ran in the Race for a Reason Half Marathon this past weekend. That’s 13.1 miles for those of you scoring at home. This is her 5th half marathon. She ended up finishing 6th in her age division. I’m incredibly proud of her and happy for her.
On a normal race, I’d have the 3 kiddos and our job is to meet her as often as we can along the race, giving her encouragement. This race – I followed her…on my bike. That’s right. My bike. It was great. I could ride alongside her from mile 6 onward.
I’d never been able to do that before. Even when she trained and took her long runs, somebody had to kinda stay with the kiddos. But this time I got the behind the scenes tour.
Allow me to state the obvious about 13.1 miles. It’s a long way to run. The physical aspect alone intimidates me. The mental aspect – it’s boring as heck. I mean…right foot, pain, left foot, pain, right foot, pain, left foot, thirst. Rinse and repeat forever.
I kept talking to Amy and pointing out stuff. Trying to just keep her encouraged because you know — 13.1 miles is a long way to run.
I am crazy proud of Amy. I enjoyed chasing her on my bike for 13 miles. But after this I think I’m pretty convinced that I am NOT running 13.1 miles. I fairly convinced my body wouldn’t make it. I’m entirely sure my mind wouldn’t.
Then again…who knows. Maybe. Who am I kidding?
Amy’s been trying to talk me into running one with her for a long time. I’m guessing she will continue to try to talk me into it. Here is her theory…
It’s more mental than physical. You just have to be able to put in around 8 or 9 miles, adrenaline and determination will take care of the rest. She says that it is more important to have the mental make up to grind through perceived walls. You have to be able to push through.
I’ll take her word on the half-marathon but I think she is on to something in the spiritual realm. There are times when you just have to grind it out. The real depth and growth of a person happens in the everyday routine, putting one foot in front of another. No parades, no songs, no magic. Just the grind of putting miles underneath your feet.
Oswald Chambers said it this way…
The test of a man’s religious life and character is not what he does in the exceptional moments of life, but what he does in the ordinary times, when there is nothing tremendous or exciting on.
The real training of a half marathon happens on those long runs – 8, 9, 10 mile runs. Those boring, long runs when no one is there. The discipline and guts to just keep putting one foot in front of another.
The real training of spiritual depth happens on those long days, when no one is watching. When no one is keeping score and there is no audience. The discipline of keeping one foot in front of another.
And it always help to have a running partner with you.
Keep grinding through it. That’s where real spiritual maturity is found.
Maybe I will run a half….one day.
On A Mission From God
This originally appeared on whillschurch.org as the weekly evo.
If our only participation in the Missio Dei occurs on Sunday, we are missing multiple opportunities to step into God’s story and activity in the world throughout the week.
David Manner
These words came from David Manner’s blog (which is a great read, I highly recommend it). And in case you were wondering – Missio Dei is Latin for Mission of God.
And I can’t NOT think about the Blues Brothers when I hear those words.
Say what??
There is actually a point in this…hang on.
David’s point is this – to show up on Sunday and worship is to miss God’s story. To only see worship as that one hour on Sunday morning, to only go to worship with the mindset of “what will I get fed this morning” is to miss the whole point of life after the cross.
The mission of God happens 24/7. It’s us being Jesus where we are. We ‘church’ wherever we go, we participate in the ‘Missio Dei’ where ever we are Jesus. And these experiences outside of the Sunday morning experience is true worship and will add to the experience on Sunday morning, making it a richer experience. True worship makes us engage in the story of God, not retreat from it. True worship pushes us to focus outward, not inward.
On October 15th, we are going to participate in the ‘Missio Dei’ at McCarter for Sharefest. (Sign up now if you haven’t already!) On October 29th we are going to participate in the ‘Missio Dei’ at the Potawatomie for Trunk or Treat. We participate in the Missio Dei with Upward, with the work at the Topeka Rescue Mission, and others that I’m sure I am forgetting.
So what has that got to do with the Blues Brothers?
EVERYTHING!! Can’t you see? The whole movie was about getting the band back together for a gig — but it really wasn’t about getting the band back together. It was about helping people in their journey…the gig was just the icing on the cake. (Yes, the analogy breaks down terribly from this point on and this is why I’m stopping here…)
To only show up on Sunday – to focus on the ‘gig’ – is to miss the mission of God. And that’s for both the staff that creates and leads the service as well as those who show up to attend. The Missio Dei is a lifestyle, a journey. It’s an adventure of investing ourselves in others in the name of Jesus.
And that’s what we are supposed to be about. Join the Mission.
Cue music –
Is Divorce Ever Okay, Part 2
This was originally published as the weekly devo on whillschurch.org.
This is part 2 of a 2-part devo. Part 1 is here.
Last week’s devo ended in a pretty uncomfortable place. After reading Jesus’ words in Matthew 19, both the disciples and the Pharisees walked away thinking there was no escape clause in marriage and it is better to remain single than to get married.
That’s good news? Is that the whole story?
I will unpack the ‘rest of the story’ with all it’s messy details this coming Sunday morning with the message “Love Implodes.” But for now let me throw out a couple of not-so-random thoughts that actually are relevant to this discussion.
The Good News (gospel) is only good news to those who REALLY understand the bad news. There are two kinds of extreme people that don’t understand the gospel. Those who don’t see sin as a problem. Sin isn’t really sin and it isn’t going to kill me – physically, emotionally, and/or spiritually. To these kinds of people the gospel is just another attempt by the religious establishment to control behavior.
The other extreme is just as dangerous – the religious right. This person acknowledges that there is sin and that it is a serious problem. So serious that only a complicated, devout series of rituals or actions can fix it. These people (like the Pharisees) see the gospel as a scandalous tolerance of sin.
One side doesn’t understand the reality we live in. The other doesn’t understand grace. Both miss the point completely.
One side needs to understand that sin is evil, it is short of God’s best desire, sin kills everything it touches, we all sin, and we all are going to die – physically, emotionally, and spiritually – because of it. The other needs to understand that no fix will cure it save Jesus. He is the only solution and that is by grace through faith.
This same grid applies in the marriage context. There are people who believe divorce – while horrible – is just a reality for most marriages. It’s like buying a car. You’ve got a 50/50 chance of it being a lemon. Worse case scenario is you trade it in after a few miles. Then there are those who have marriage as their idol. Divorce or anything else that tarnishes marriage is the unforgivable sin and it is time to break out the scarlet letters.
One doesn’t understand the sanctity of marriage and what it is supposed to represent. The other doesn’t understand grace.
So what am I trying to say? Is divorce ever okay?
No. Divorce is never ‘okay.’ Divorce is always going to damage and harm. Always. At the very least, it is an indicator that something is already damaged and harmed inside the marriage.
BUT sometimes divorce is a concession to mitigate the damage. There seems to be three instances in scripture where divorce seems to be allowed: adultery, abuse (Malachi 2:16), and abandonment (1 Corinthians 7:15). If someone finds themselves in any of these situations, there seems to be an allowance to seek divorce.
This Sunday we will look a bit deeper into this subject and God’s redemptive heart and ways concerning marriage. See ya’ there
The Ministry of Interruption
It’s only Tuesday night and it’s already been a week of interruptions. Which is better than okay. It wasn’t that long ago that a week like this would have totally cratered me and made me one irritable, exhausted man. That was before God smacked me around a bit.
Interruptions are God-opportunities. And they are not even in disguise. They are God’s billboard that is screaming “I AM DOING SOMETHING HERE AND YOU NEED TO WAKE UP AND JOIN ME RIGHT NOW!!!!”
A couple of late night phone calls. Some early morning conversations. Another friend who is dealing with the loss of his dad. Another friend dealing with her last days on earth as cancer wins. Another friend dealing with the loss of a sibling. Another young man processing the loss of his best friend at the young age of 29.
God is close to the broken because the broken seem to be open to hearing Him. And that’s the ministry of interruption – being there in that moment. Not to fix it. Good night, some things just can’t be fixed this side of heaven. In fact, I think God chooses not to fix some situations because their is something in the brokenness we can’t get anywhere else. Not sure if I can articulate exactly what THAT is but….
To be in that moment is not rocket-science. Pray, show up, love on them like Jesus, pray, be still, pray, wait, then speak when He speaks. Keep quiet if He is quiet. Be there.
Is Divorce Ever Okay? Part 1
This originally appeared on www.whillschurch.org as a weekly devo.
This is part 1 of a 2-part devo.
Our Art of Marriage series has been absolutely incredible. We are hearing some incredible stories as a result of it but any series on marriage is going to bring up one question:
Is divorce ever okay?
Very rarely is this question asked for theory’s sake. There is normally a very personal, very painful reason for the question. There is no easy button with this question but any answer must start with Jesus’ dialog with the Pharisees in Matthew 19:1-12 on the same exact subject.
It’s not very encouraging to realize that religious leaders have wrestled with this question for centuries. In Jesus’ day, there were two common position that the Jews held concerning divorce. The first one believed it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any offense – disagreement, disrespect, disobedience, burnt the toast. The other position believe that only for the reason of sexual immorality was it allowed. The Pharisees came to Jesus to get his position on the matter.
If you are asking about divorce, you’ve missed the point of marriage.
Jesus takes them back to Genesis 2:24. God’s intention from the beginning was that a man leave his mother and father, be united to his wife, and the two become one flesh. Forever. What God has put together, let no man tear apart. Ideally – even in the instance of sexual immorality – marriage is one man + one woman for life. The story of Hosea makes this crystal clear. God designed marriage to reflect His character and His character is to seek and love us even while we were still sinners.
The Concession of Divorce
This was obviously NOT the answer any of them expected. Even the disciples were a bit shocked by the answer (we’ll get to them in a minute). The Pharisees counter with the story of Moses issuing divorce certificates in Deuteronomy 24. The Pharisees claim that this story shows that God allows divorce and the real issue is figuring out the parameters of what is a ‘lawful’.
Jesus corrects their memory. He reminds them that divorce was already happening and the certificates were issued as a concession to protect the woman from the hard-hearts of the man. Women were being abandoned with no legitimate way to provide or protect themselves. With no proof of divorce, remarriage was dangerous and could get her accused of adultery and killed. The certificate of divorce allowed the women to remarry without fear of punishment from the ex-husband. Concessions like this in Jewish law were common and they sought to protect victims from further abuse or harm, to mitigate the damage of a sin. Laws concerning the treatment of slaves or accidental deaths are other examples of this.
The concession on issuing the certificate of divorce didn’t justify divorce as option anymore than the slavery laws justified slavery. It was allowed and provided for the protection of the woman.
Then Jesus dropped these words – “I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
There are two ways to understand Jesus’ words here. The most common understanding is that the only legitimate reason for divorce is adultery. While I think this is acceptable, I’m not convinced this is exactly what Jesus meant nor am I convinced this is how those around Jesus understood it.
I think Jesus was reframing the morality of marriage – much like he did in the Sermon on the Mount. I think Jesus was saying – remove the clause – if anyone divorces and remarries, he has also committed adultery. The clause just says the obvious – a marriage that has experienced adultery is already shattered and already experienced adultery.
I think everyone left there, including the disciples, just completely dumbfounded at what they had heard. Neither side was “right” in their understanding of marriage or divorce. Marriage was lifted to a whole other stratosphere with this teaching.
There is even a hint of despair in the disciples response to Jesus’ words:
“If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”
Jesus response of “Not everyone can accept these words but those who have ears to hear, let them hear” seems to support this same understanding – DIVORCE is never on God’s agenda.
So does this mean there are NO concessions today? If a woman or man is in an abusive, or adulterous relationship they are just stuck there forever?
Next week, we will look at some more scriptures to round out our answer to this question.
What’s the Key To A Great Marriage?
Do you mind if I vent for a bit? Thank you. I get asked all the time – “what’s the key to a great marriage?”
My first reaction is – You mean there’s only one?? I’m 19 years, 9 months, and 15 days into this experience called marriage and I could have sworn there are more like 476 of them.
I really hate the question. It’s like getting a text – ‘G – u xplain revelation 2 me?’ Like we can text it out what it takes to make a great marriage. Like we can put all the mystery and magic of marriage in 140 characters. Impossible. Nothing great is ever easy or that simple.
Nothing.
Don’t misunderstand my vent as being negative about marriage. That’s not it at all. I still think it’s the second greatest institution on the planet. It’s just I’m sick of what we’re making it in our culture. We’ve cheapened it to almost the level of buying a car. “If it gets too many miles on it or I get tired of it or if I wreck it – I’ll just trade it in for another model.”
I understand the drive behind the question. Most of us that are married – we want a great marriage. But we approach it like the broken garbage disposal or leaky faucet. We notice it when it breaks. We then want the quickest, cheapest fix so we can get back to what we were doing. We see it as a distraction. The goal is to get it fixed as fast as possible. So maybe it will take a couple of trips to the hardware store but if I find the right guy who can give me the right tool and right tip, I can fix it fast.
Allow me to offer another metaphor for marriage. Art. Jazz. Blues. Painting. Sculpture. An artist isn’t concerned about hurrying through a fix. He’s focused on creating something deeper, something that provokes. If it takes days, weeks, months – so be it. The outcome is a result of this mystical partnership between the artist and the medium. The painter and the colors and canvas, the musician with the instrument – there is give and take, there are moments that are complete messes followed by moments of perfection. Neither really knows what the end will look like but then again that really doesn’t matter. Half the fun is getting there.
Any true artist will tell you – the process is often more important than the product.
We don’t ask artists that kind of question. “What’s the key to a great piece of art?” Instead we ask – what inspires you? How did you do this? What is the story behind this? We don’t ask the question because we already know the answer – the artist is the key to a great piece of art. An artist that has given his or her life to the craft. An artist that is courageous enough to risk bold colors, passionate enough to keep pursuing beauty through the mess of the creative process. An artist that is determined enough to not give up on the painting – even if it means stripping it all down and starting over.
Here’s another little secret about artists – they work. They work hard. Sure they may have a gift or a talent but they put that gift to work, sharpening and improving it. They put in hours and hours of work so that one day a masterpiece will be birthed.
So maybe I’ve answered the question. Marriage is more art than anything else. And like art, even a novice can create something beautiful if they are willing to put in the time and effort.
Join us for this special series Art of Marriage, created by FamilyLife. For complete details click here.
Image “Broken Keys” originally appeared on SoundLogik.com on a review for the band “The Black Keys”. Who, by the way, are completely awesome. I’m just saying…
He Who Holds The Keys
This originally appeared on www.whillschurch.org as the weekly devo.
It’s an unwritten rule in the English household that whoever holds the keys determines when we leave. It doesn’t seem to matter how much warning we give the entire house or how many “we are leaving right now!” screams that echo through the kitchen. When the keys jingle and the garage door opens, it sends panic and mayhem everywhere.
“WAIT!!! I can’t find my shoes!!!”
“I’m not ready!”
“We’re leaving right now!?”
Why this produces such shock and awe remains a mystery to me and the subject of another story. What’s important to note here is that whoever holds the keys, controls the situation. If the keys go out the door and starts the car, we are leaving. Can’t stop that train.
This isn’t the Marines. We leave people behind. Sometimes mercy is shown. It’s purely at the discretion of whoever holds the keys.
I was thinking about this as I read this passage this morning…
“I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” – Jesus, Revelation 1:18
Whenever the topic of eternity or life after death comes up, there is always that person that has a “I’ve seen the light” story. There is also that person that is looking for the nearest exit. Almost every body believes that there is something waiting for us after death…and almost everybody disagrees on exactly what that is.
This Sunday we are going to finish our We Believe series talking about this topic – eternity, heaven, and hell. Are they real places? If they are, what are they like? What does the Bible really say about life after death?
We’ll look at much of that this coming Sunday. Some of the questions we will find answers, others we will not. At the end of all the discussion, I find myself right back to this verse…Jesus holds the keys.
There has only been one person who has died and rose again to NEVER face death again. Jesus. He holds the keys. He controls it. So whatever we discover about eternity, heaven, and hell – it will come back to this foundational truth. For some people that fact will bring terror and shock. For others it will bring comfort and peace.
See ya’ Sunday as we unpack what we believe about eternity.
The Ft. Georges In Your Life
This originally appeared on whillschurch.org as the weekly devo.
Thanks to my in-laws, Amy’s entire family was treated to a cruise vacation this summer. That’s a total of 13 of us. It was a great time even though a tropical storm diverted us from our original destinations of St. Martin and St. Thomas to Grand Cayman and Cozumel.
When you travel in a group of 13, a little bit of research goes a long way. We had done our research for St. Martin and St. Thomas but we were no longer going there. There were a couple of flyers on the boat about Grand Cayman and Cozumel but nothing in detail. One possible destination in Grand Cayman was a place called Ft. George.
I love old forts, the history, the cool canons. You can get the best viewpoint of the surroundings from a fort. I drag my family through them whenever I get a chance. Most of the time they end up liking it but quickly get bored. We do get some cool pictures out of these trips…so most of the time, it’s worth it.
According to the brochure, Ft. George provided a great place for pictures. It was the fort that protected Grand Cayman’s bay from pirates. I decided not to really push the fort on the rest of the family but I was going to explore it whether anyone else went with me or not. I did go around humming the theme to Pirates of the Caribbean just to see who else would get in the mood to go with me.
Turns out, I was the only one. But my brother-in-law and his sons reluctantly said they would go. That in turn guilted Amy and my sister-in-law to go along as well.
We get off the boat, I go into the visitor’s center and grab a map. I meet the rest of the crew right outside the gate of the port area. I spread out the map completely looking like a tourist but I don’t care. We’ve got a fort to find. “Gang, listen…this is going to be fun. I promise. These old forts are awesome. It’s not going to be as bad as you think it is.”
As I’m looking at the map, Amy pipes up. “I think found your fort.”
She can barely keep from laughing out loud.
The picture above is Ft. George. Located a mere 12 yards from the entrance to the port. All of it. At least, all that is left. If you look closely, my nephew is sitting on a replica canon. That’s right – the canon isn’t even real. The wonderful view has been replaced with a chain link fence and tropical pink wall. Right behind that wall is the bay and port of Grand Cayman. It’s beautiful. You’ll have to trust me on this one.
I’m still holding the map in my hands with this look of utter disbelief as Amy starts snapping pictures. My sister-in-law is in tears. Amy moves from pictures to video of my stuttering and looking in circles. My nephews start in on the Fort jokes. My brother-in-law said…”You’re right, Grant. That didn’t take any time at all. Not nearly as bad as I thought.”
As the gang took video and pictures – and made many a joke at my expense – I shrugged my shoulders and had to laugh. The trip to Ft. George will be remembered by our family for a long, long, long time. It’s one of the most memorable experiences of all of our time together.
We all have Ft. Georges in our lives. Things that we build up as so important, so meaningful, so wonderful then when we get there it is nothing like we thought it would be. Great plans that don’t pan out. Something or someone doesn’t deliver what was promised or what we thought it should have delivered. Those times can either be a place of major disappointment OR a place of laughter and refocus. Depends partly on our attitude but also partly on who we are traveling with.
This is why a Life Group is such a necessary part of our walk with Jesus. Ft. Georges are going to happen. Some will be funny, some will be painful. All can be bearable if we decide to travel with others that love us and love God.
Before this school year gets too crazy busy and full of your own Ft. Georges – check out a life group and get involved in one. I promise you it will be worth it.
For more information on a life group – click here or email Gary Manford at gmanford AT whillschurch.org.
Answering Bible Questions
Preached on the Trinity and the authority of scriptures last week. As usual, that kind of sermon generates some questions. Here are some of the ones I’ve dealt with this week so far.
Why isn’t there just one book that all religions use? Why doesn’t everyone use the bible?
For the same reason there are more than 1 “gods” that people worship. People since history have worshiped and they created their own “bible”, their own standard of what is truth and accepted beliefs. These oral traditions from these different backgrounds were placed in written form as the technology became available – animal skin, papyrus, paper. Over the years, the most important, the most reliable ones stuck around.
Now days – technology is cheap and easy – so now it is easy to write “your own religion.” The smart question then for a seeker is which book is most reliable, most accurate, has most scholarship and history behind it. The Bible hands down wins that competition.
Why did God allow man to make so many different versions of the bible? Why isnt there just one version that we can all read and believe in?
1. Theory of translators. Some translate word for word (New American Standard) – very wooden because not all things translate from word to word. Some translate sentence for sentence – NIV is an example. Some translate thought for thought – Message, NEw Living translation is an example.
2. Words change their meaning over time. Fag used to mean a stick used in a fire, (then cigarette), then it meant to be tired. Now it means none of those things. Artificial – originally meant ‘full of artistic or technical skill’. Nice – Latin meant ‘not to know’. In other words, a ‘nice person’ was an ignorant person. Awful -‘full of awe,’ wonderful, delightful, amazing. Doesn’t mean that now. (You can read some more of these here.)
The point is – as time goes by, words change their meaning and a new translation is needed to keep the scriptures relevant with current language. A good resource for this kind of discussion is “How To Read The Bible For All It’s Worth” by Fee and Stuart.
At the Campus Crusade for Christ, err… I mean Cru Headquarters
I preach this coming Sunday – new series called “We Believe” – and so I got up this morning to put in a few hours of writing while my father-in-law went to some meetings.
CCCI made the news last month with its new name change coming in 2012 from Campus Crusade for Christ to Cru. Reaction was all over the place – some saying “they’ve taken Christ out of the name,” “Bill Bright is rolling over in his grave,” and even had some folks quit giving to the ministry.
I’m here in the heart of the beast and I think it’s my duty to report to you the horrific truth of the matter – these people…are still the most Jesus focused people I know. There are signs at every desk cubicle in the building that say – “People are coming to Christ today because of the work I do.”
I like that.
I also like the name change. It’s actually not anything radical. If you’ve been on a college campus that had Campus Crusade on it in the last 15 years, you’ve already heard “Cru.” Over the years Campus Crusade for Christ got shortened to Campus Crusade then to Crusade then to Cru. Do you have any idea how hard it is to text “I’m going to Campus Crusade for Christ tonight, wanna go with me?” Much easier to say “Going 2 Cru, U can 2.”
I like the name change because it is going to infuse some courage into the campus ministries to keep changing HOW they tell Jesus’ story. The point is to reach as many as possible with Jesus’ story, build them into maturity, then send them back into the wild to do the same. As generations change, so must our methods.
Not the story…just the methods.