Monthly Archives: January 2008

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LOST: A show about Junk in the Trunk

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Finally it’s here. The 4th (I think) season of “LOST.” Amy and I are huge fans of the show. For some reason they decided not to air any new episodes this fall, but instead to wait for the Winter. I really don’t understand what goes on with all that stuff. It really makes me mad that TV shows can basically do whatever, and I’ll still be hooked. Guess the problem really lies with me then. Hmmm.

Regardless, one of the things I like so much about “LOST” is that the everyone on the island has some serious baggage. EVERYONE. They all come from family situations that leave something to be desired: shame, poverty, abuse, neglect, alcoholism to name a few. 
All of the junk starts to come out immediately after they crash on the island. In fact that’s why very little ever seems to actually happen on the island; the episodes consist primarily of flashbacks to their lives before the island. Yet no one ever actually talks about their junk. They’re ashamed.
 
The church is no island. But it does bear some resemblances with the island on “LOST.” When we’re in the church, junk does come out. The closer we’re in relationships with others, the closer we are to seeing their junk-and them seeing ours. That’s normal. If we leave for another church, we’ll get their junk, and bring ours with us. If we become cynical about the church, and isolate ourselves-calling everyone hypocrites-then we’re simply in denial about our own junk. 
But unlike the ‘island folk,’ we need not be ashamed of our junk. Our junk is covered by the blood of Jesus, and so we can admit it freely (though easier said than done). 
And yet like the island, our junk will come out. Fortunately for us, our junk isn’t seen by millions of viewers, but primarily before one who has taken that junk to the cross. While our junk will remain until we leave this ‘island,’ it doesn’t need to alienate and destroy our relationships. Just some thoughts to pass on from one junker to the next. 
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A better voter turnout: for me that is, not Guliani

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Yesterday Amy and I performed our civic duty of voting. And we were rewarded richly with an “I Voted” sticker for our 5 minute effort. Not bad this year.

Last year, on the way to vote, we got into an accident. An unsuspecting teenager rear ended us and did about a grand of damage to the Civic. In addition, I partially tore or bruised (I can’t remember what Doctor Pops said) my labrum. So it was an accident that had repercussions for several months until I was able to get back to working out. 
This year I printed out the directions to the precinct. Last year we were actually heading in the opposite direction when we get nailed. Unbelievable. 
For some reason it was part of God’s plan that we got into that accident. Why? I’ll never know. But I’ll also never care, so no problem.
But it is interesting to know that there are myriads of ‘little’ choices that we make everyday that can have big consequences-good or bad. However that shouldn’t make anyone freak out or over-analyze stuff. 
Only ‘good’ things are going to come to Christians (whether they cause pain or not-the ‘good’ is our sanctification), so we can relax. Even the hairs on our head are numbered so God is involved in working all things, even small decisions, for this ‘good.’ So we can move forward in confidence, be responsible-try to remember to print out maps if needed-and trust God with what happens. 
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Forgiveness

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During Christian Ed this past Sunday, we began a series on Marriage and Relationships. Most of the brains behind this ‘operation’ come not from inside my noggin but from that of Bryan Chapell’s Each for the Other. I’ve found this the most easy to read, informative, challenging, and well illustrated of marriage books. 

Based upon the famous wedding/marriage passage in Ephesians 5, Chapell identifies several general commands which explain how the husband is to love the wife. Some include Prioritizing Partnership, Providing Care, and Communicating Forgiveness. We camped out on that last one briefly but found it nevertheless quite challenging. 
For the husband to communicate forgiveness, he must be willing to be an open repenter, even the lead repenter in the house. Not necessarily a Tim “the Tool Man” Taylor way (who was ALWAYS wrong; I never heard Jill apologize-but you can correct me if I’m wrong), but one who is quick to admit his own need of forgiveness. 
One of Chapell’s subpoints under Communicating Forgiveness, was to offer forgiveness not as one who forgives out of obligation, but one who forgives because he needs forgiveness himself. 
Probably we’ve all experienced people who offer forgiveness because WE need it. Its really quite condescending. 
But to offer forgiveness because THEY need it as well (not necessarily for the same action) is something quite different. Its freeing. It creates an atmosphere of grace where repentance, faith, and forgiveness can become a regular part of life. As it should be.
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Another infamous Jackson: not Janet, Michael, or Tido, but Andrew

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I’ve been watching a special on PBS (I DVR’d it-possibly one of the best inventions ever) on Andrew Jackson. Its been very informative on both the good and evil things President Andrew Jackson did before and while in office. 

Just a fun fact, he was the first President to bring campaigning to the presidential race. And of course with campaigning, came the first mudslinging. Lovely.
But of course the evil that men do lives after them, said Mark Antony (not the singer married to J-Lo). So I’ll speak of some evil.

Perhaps one of the darkest points in his office-and as some have even pointed out, even in American history-was the removal of Cherokee Indians from East of the Mississippi to West of the Mississippi. 
The Cherokee Indians had actually taken Thomas Jefferson’s advice to assimilate into the European way of life. So they began schools, a newspaper, wore clothes, lived in houses, etc…. Yet they were still ‘savages’ which needed to be removed for civilization to take place, prosperity, and ‘religion’ (words from Jackson).
While the Supreme Court actually heard and voted in favor of missionary pleas to keep the Cherokees there (they got something right!), Jackson informed Georgia they had no obligation to honor the Supreme Court’s decision on account that the Cherokees were not really a nation. Not really sure how that would go over today.

The irony of it all, is that the Cherokees helped Jackson’s militia defeat the Creek Indian tribe, which put his name on the map. 
Well, as you know, the Trail of Tears took place, and over 2000 people died on the journey. According to missionaries who remained with the Cherokee (at least they had some white people to trust), many were allowed nothing but the clothes on their back. 
Does this story bother me so much because I’m 1/32 Cherokee or that I’m married to a 1/4 Pamunkey Indian? No, it bothers me because it is pure evil. I like America, but we have many skeletons in our closet that we forget about (I guess that makes them skeletons in the closet and not skeletons laying on the floor). Let’s not pretend that this nation, until recently, has operated under Christian principles. Removing the savages, and the missionaries ministering to them, so we can practice prosperity and religion. Nice work guys.
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Shopping Carts

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Last night my wife and I made the ever popular last minute trip to Wal-Mart. As we pulled into an empty space, we noticed what didn’t surprise me in the least: a shopping cart in the middle of it. 

So bring the swift reactionary driver that I am, I pulled into another space about 20 feet away. Lo and behold there lay another cart, though this time the cart was kind enough to let me pull in just enough so that my back side wasn’t ‘sticking out.’

And then I noticed the “Return Carts Here” sign just about 10 feet away. I crowned myself citizen-of-the-week after returning the cart to its proper home. I’ll never understand why people can’t walk an extra 10 feet to put their carts up. Instead they choose to leave them in parking spaces. 
I believe, though I don’t have any ‘real research’ (just observation from my many trips to supermarkets and other large stores) that Wal Mart regularly ‘leads the league’ in most number of carts found in parking spaces. 
I’ll never understand the mindset that says,  “Just leave the cart here.”  I guess its the same mindset of people who throw trash out their windows. 
I’ll stop ranting now because I feel a little self righteous. And I just listened to a sermon yesterday that reminded me how we all fall into that trap. Nevertheless, if elected President, or any office with real power for that matter, I would propose stiff penalties for leaving carts in parking spaces. Nothing like flogging or public hanging, but more like a night in jail or community service or something.  
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F@#$ Jesus

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On the way home from my small group at Bradenton Christian School this morning, I heard something shocking on the radio. Dana Jacobsen, of ESPN’S  “First Take,” was heard saying, “F@%$ Notre Dame, F!$% Touchdown Jesus, and F%$# Jesus!”

The drunken Jacobsen did this during a roast, and was apparently ‘trash talking’ fellow ESPN worker Mike Golic.
I wouldn’t have expected Ron Diaz from the Ron and Ian Show to have cared all that much. After all, about 1/3rd of the show is dedicated to talking about and looking up sexy women on the net, and Karma is about as close to God as you get. Yet he compared this guffaw to Don Imus comments, and said it was even worse. Clearly a believer in God, Ron took great offense at this and wondered if the week long suspension was strict enough.
I guess you just don’t touch the name of Jesus. Even if you don’t follow much of anything that he says, you don’t want to say such words. If that is the case, I wonder how many people at least respect Him somewhat, and would be interested in studying more of the life of Jesus. 
We may be surprised. The study that our community group is doing right now (as a discipleship tool) is also being used by many as an outreach tool for all kinds of demographics. I know one lad who invites a group of men into his house for beer and fellowship, and then they spend some serious time in this Jesus study.
Regardless of whether you think the suspension was too light, I’m just thankful that someone saying “F&^% Jesus” is getting disciplined. Of course the same thing or worse (probably worse) would happen if someone cursed Allah or Mohammed. That I know. But I’m surprised that anything happened. And I’m glad it did. 
To read one brief article that may give some more details, click here.
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Trusting a tire guy

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I ‘like’ to give my money to local Mom and Pop businesses. First of all, they’re local. Second of all, I’ve found several which have earned my trust, and therefore my business. It’s good to find a place you can trust.

My ‘check engine’ light went on yesterday, so I did what I was supposed to do: Have someone else check the engine. So today I came to a place that really specializes in tires. But they were willing to check it out and not charge me 68 bucks just to look at it (like the Mazda dealership yesterday).

Apparently the spark plugs needed changing, as did a corrosive wire. Thirty minutes later a dude came to me and explained that one of the wires, which didn’t technically need to be changed, wouldn’t come to the shop until 3pm today. So he awaited my decision as to what they should do.

I simply asked a question that I always ask when I trust someone: “What would you do in my case?” If that person knows more about the situation than I do, that advice usually gets put into practice. That’s the advantage of having people one can trust.

I just can’t read everything (I read really slowly, which makes ‘everything’ that much more impossible-as if something can be ‘more’ impossible than something else), I can’t do everything (I pastor, husband, fish, watch football, workout, play guitar), and I can’t know everything (I’ve even forgotten a lot that I’ve learned-sorry Mom and Dad, my educational benefactors).

So I often have to rely on knowledgeable people I trust to assist me in decision making. Having people you can trust makes life a lot easier. And that is by design.

A local church community, the Church at large, and even those in the community all play a role in helping us make tough decisions.

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The Letter Jacket

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On special holidays, Amy and I usually do something really special and fun. On Labor Day, we painted. On MLK Jr. Day, we threw out-or gave to Goodwill-everything we didn’t use to make room for “Little T’s” closet. 

At least we can look back on our day, and see the results of our hard work. I mean, you can’t really see the fruit of fun activities like going to the beach, or fishing (if you don’t bring anything home to clean), or to a movie. But we can now look through the closets, and see something the closets hadn’t seen in a long time: empty space and organization.
 
When I was going through the office closet (now it’s “our office” and no longer “my office”), I came upon my High School letter jacket. That jacket represented hours and hours of hard work, running many miles each week-which made me look emaciated-to achieve the name, pins, bars, and awards ‘forever’ stitched on that jacket.
So at lunch time, I was very quiet. I became incredibly reflective. Here are two thoughts that came to mind:
1.) No one really remembers
No one besides my family will ever remember that I was district champ in the 800 meters my senior year, and anchor of the 1st place 4 X 800 relay. Winning races in Track became some of my main goals in life, and yet no one really cares anymore. Perhaps the achievements and accolades we all seek, though different than district championship crowns, will be forgotten quicker than we think. Respect from peers, big houses, possessions, any sort of ‘glory’ now will really not last. The sooner we realize that, the sooner we’ll consider them rubbish (Phil 3:8), that we may truly seek the true Glory that comes to children of God in Christ.
2.) At the same time, memorabilia, isn’t necessarily bad to hold on to. 
It can remain simply a memento, or even monument/Ebenezer (if it never leaves my closet) to remind me that God gave me the speed, endurance, perseverance, and opportunity (the previous district winner chose not to run my senior year). So instead of ‘my glory,’ it becomes a tribute to Christ. It was too hard to throw away. For now it will become a tribute to a different glory instead of the rubbish I had originally planned before lunch.
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Tornadic Camping

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This weekend, we took the youth group camping. I say “we” because I didn’t, and would never dare do anything like this alone. An elder and another young adult came along and were incredibly helpful. I’m forever grateful for all those who’ve helped serve alongside of me (for free!), and particularly grateful to have had their help this weekend.

On Friday evening, we set up the tents in the dark, but were aided by the lights from my Mazda Protege. After an hour or so, we had all three tents up, including the portable Hilton: which sleeps probably 8 or so. 
Saturday was fairly eventful. We spent some time doing morning devotions. The youth were to take a colored sheet apropos to a specific setting and actually go there. For instance, if the devotion was on ‘rest,’ then they were to go to a tree, ‘living water’ a lake, ‘running the race’, an athletic field, ‘boundaries’ then a road or fence, etc…
The only complaint was that there was not enough devotion times. Not a bad complaint. My only problem was that I had no bible: I had already given my two spares to folks who forgot.
We played Human foosball, which only pictures can describe, and enjoyed a delectable lunch and dinner. The only downside with the dinner was the torrential rain and the tornadic activity in the area. So we ate quickly and went to a shelter for a few hours. The rain subsided, we went on a hayride, the tents got wet, 6 folks ‘slept’ in cars that evening. But we survived-of course my tent only got ‘moist’  and we used two towels to dry it up enough to sleep.
 
Sunday morning I gave the quickest sermon I’ve ever given. Probably 12-15 minutes tops. The temps were in the high 30’s-low 40’s and kids hadn’t slept (and it didn’t help that they didn’t think about checking the weather report!). A tough crowd to say the least.
 
But God was good to us this weekend. And like the Psalm I preached on (Psalm 91), “no evil came near our tent. (GIV-Geoff’s Int’l Version)”  At least not real evil. Just some moisture, and not the tornadic activity some feared. 
It was a restful weekend, but similar to what T.S. Eliot wrote in the Journey of the Magi, “I shall be glad of another rest.” Rest in my bed. 
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The Chair vs. The Dictator

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Last night I had my 2nd Candidates Committee meeting as the Chair. Our committee of the presbytery is responsible for bringing those seeking to be ministers ‘under care’ (our supervision, testing of gifts, encouragement, approval of internship). 

I had to do a decent amount of work in contacting folks, organizing (my greatest strength, yeah whatever), preparing our agenda, etc…
Each time I talk with a candidate and they ask me if something is going to be OK or not, I have to say “As a committee, we will discuss it and I will get back with you.” 
Just last night I complained to my wife that since “I do all this work, I ought to have some real ‘power’ in making decisions. But last night I was reminded why I shouldn’t really aspire to this power. 
The previous meeting we had 2 in attendance (including myself) and a third via tele-conference. Last night we doubled our attendance with 4 actual bodies/minds present. I had not expected the meeting to take as long as it did. But it took some time because different men provided wisdom that I just didn’t have. 
They saw things slightly differently at times, but we were all able to come to agreement on several different issues. Looking back, even though I sometimes would like to be the “Dictator” of the committee, I’m now happy just to be the “Chair.” Because God provides greater wisdom in community than in isolation, I’ll try to stick to the title and job description of the “Chair,” no matter how much extra work I do.