On this Sunday afternoon around 3 pm, a few visitors stopped by our church. Actually, they were here to paint. Now normally that is good news, because our church is being painted now, but these were really not the painters/visitors we’d been praying for. They carried cans of lovely blue spray paint.

Something that Al Queda and gangs have in common is that they always take ‘credit’ for the bad things they do. Such was the case this time at it was spray-painted on the wall. Fortunately for us, we are in the process of painting, so it really wasn’t that big of a deal: someone just painted over it with the off-tope color of the newly painted other buildings.

Anyhow, these same hoodlums (he could hear their conversations) had been here before and painted “No Surremacy” on the walls.

I have several thoughts on the matter.

1.) Is there a special place in Hell for folks who steal from and vandalize churches? I think there easily could be but I shan’t take the time to explain. But do I deserve to be there for my sins, seeing as my heart has been made alive and I still continue to sin? Of course.

2.) How should I think of folks who do such things? The apostle Paul did much worse than vandalize the church; he arrested early Christians and approved their executions (Acts 8:1). And Jesus looked with compassion upon those crucified him. While I will not overlook justice for these spray-painting Latino gang members (I hope they get locked up), I think I should feel more compassion for these lost folks then dreaming of catching them in the act and beating them up (my first reaction/dream). They are young and desperately want to fit in this gang, this surrogate family. And that ought to make us sad. They really have more in common with us all than we would normally think. People wanting to fit in with other people who really don’t care about them. How common is that? About as common as air.

I hate it when people steal. Stealing of materials (like lawn mowers, cars, or illegal downloads) or material (ideas from people like jokes or even biblical insight-WHEN they have PROPER time/need to give reference; just my personal opinion). So I’ll tell you this up front: someone pointed out something really cool to me the other day during my discussion leading “Training Day.”

Now that I got that off my chest, and can limit my hypocrisy (all people are hypocrites I think-just to what degree), I want to share with you something I think is pretty cool. It concerns personal evangelism strategy.

Some people think they they can live godly, near perfect lives, in front of others in hopes that this near perfect life would make those around them say-in a nutshell-“Tell me about Jesus because I want this life that you’re living.” But if you study the gospels carefully, you’ll see that this strategy didn’t work for Jesus. His brothers and even his mother (yes even mother Mary) were concerned about his sanity (Mark 3:20-ff). It wasn’t until after Jesus’ resurrection that we see his brother James really come on to the scene.

Since the perfect life strategy didn’t work for Jesus, it shouldn’t be our M.O. The Jesus-centered life of faith and repentance is something people don’t see very often. And they want to. So relax if you ‘mess up’ and repent. Repenting is more likely to get others thinking than this attempt at near-perfection. Going and repenting is more Jesus-centered than staying and trying to be good. Who knows, you may one day point them to Jesus, and not yourself….?

We had another neighborhood cookout, or rather “smoke-out,” this Saturday. The last smoke-out involved someone’s car. This time we switched to beef.

And some folks came. And some folks stayed inside their houses. Trying to get people to get to know each other is like trying to get kids to eat vegetables. The only difference is that you can’t load neighbors up with ranch dressing or a pound of butter to make them ‘taste’ better.

However there really are those who want to live in community. And the number is growing: we had two first time households. One of those folks actually has a passion for smoking meat. Just a few days ago he was wondering if our neighborhood ever had a block party so he could smoke out. And then came a flyer to his mailbox. He will be replacing my burgers from now on. Even though the beef arrived an hour late, it was well worth the wait.

He not only brought the meat, but several members of his family. And his arrival reminded me that people really do appreciate these cookouts. He actually wanted to get to know his neighbors. And I have to believe there are more out there just like him. While we lacked the quantity of our previous cookouts, I was reminded that the friendships we’re building through these opportunities far surpasses my anxieties regarding them. Everyone who God planned to show up, did just that. And we all enjoyed our time together. Well worth it.

I just finished my personal bible study in Ephesians recently and decided to take a road less traveled and hit up some of the minor prophets. They are very difficult to understand, and one really does need some sort of reference tool like a study bible or commentary to really understand what’s happening. That’s just the price we pay for being 21st century Gentiles. But that’s fine with me: I don’t think I would fare too well back in the ‘old days.’

Anyhow, I came across a verse that seemed very relevant and comforting for a 21st century Bradentonian (or anyone living in Florida) during the months of November through March. Check it out:

Joel 2:20 “I will remove the northerner far from you, and drive him into a parched and desolate land…

Here was my first thought, “Great, traffic will finally be better now in Bradenton!” Now I have nothing against the Northerners being down here during winter time per se. They keep our economy floating, I think. But for traffic purposes-and the hope of waiting under an hour to be seated at Olive Garden-most residents here would be glad when the Lord ‘removes’ them from us.

It would be fairly ludicrous to interpret this verse to refer to Florida’s winter residents. I think all of you would agree (though many Floridians begrudgingly, as though you wish I were on to something). While this example is hyperbolic, folks do like to pick and choose isolated verses to support personal agendas that have nothing to do with the context.

God’s word is a sword. But we must be careful and responsible in interpreting it. Improper interpretation of God’s word can cut people in a bad way: either by weighing them down with pharisaical burdens or moving them away from the church.

This morning I was reading an article in my ever-s0-informative Florida Sportsman (I actually got one SAT answer correct because I knew what the word ‘burly’ meant as I saw it describing some big redfish-true story). Usually the magazine lasts about 5 minutes, but today it outlived its normal shelf-life and provided some actual useful insight (when I say useful, I don’t mean that it actually helped me catch a fish; I’m not sure I’ve caught one fish because of that magazine).

Let me explain. The article discussed a family of fish called Grunts. Grunts (which obviously ‘grunt’) hang around Grouper and they are the other species of fish most caught when targeting Grouper. My family doesn’t like to eat them because they are 90% head and 10% rest of body. Not good odds for getting meat. Of course party boats (those with 20-50 anglers on them) catch the heck out of them and bring back long stringers. Again, not my bag.

So I was strangely intrigued why someone would write an article about “Grunts.” I succumbed to my curiosity and proceeded to read until I found this Grunt ‘fun fact.’ The juvenile Porkfish, a member of the Grunt family (what an honor) spend time cleaning the mouths of large grouper. To clean a grouper’s mouth, these young porkfish have to actually swim inside the mouth. Obviously. And yet they do so without ‘fear.’ They don’t get eaten. How crazy is that?

Grouper, in case you don’t know or care, eat ANYTHING that they can fit in their mouth. That’s why they are terrible for aquariums. They eat all the fish, because all the fish can fit in their huge mouths. You can catch Grouper on fried chicken sometimes. They are not picky. I’ve caught many a grouper on several different species of Grunt before. But I’ll never try to use small porkfish if given the opportunity.

This is actually going somewhere, believe it or not. How do Grouper know that the juvenlie porkfish are there to clean? How many were eaten before they understood that you just don’t eat ‘the maid?’ How could this process evolve on its own? I mean Grouper suck down everything. They suck down every other fish. Bigger members of the grouper family (called Jewfish or Goliath Grouper to be P.C.) suck down other Grouper.

Its a fish-eat-fish world out there, at least in most cases. But not this one. I applaud God on His creation. I’ll try not to look at Grunts (at least some Grunts) in the same light anymore.

I remember the first time I heard the word ‘hermeneutic:’ I was a junior in a college bible study. I didn’t like the sound of it. But I later learned it simply means the science/method of interpretation. That sounds more like me.

Several weeks ago the bookkeeper at my church went on vacation. At the hotel she received a complimentary USA Today newspaper and came across this article. The article is certainly sad, but it is quite helpful. It really is worth your 5 minutes.

The gist of the article is this: in a religion class, college students create and present their own religions. Most of the religions created were nothing more than individualistic, atheistic, relativistic attempts to be free from authority. That was sad. But the article was quite helpful in revealing some of the questions and idols people are truly seeking.

Christianity as the true religion does deal with the real questions people are asking. And as Christians, we need to be aware what questions people are actually asking. We are notorious for trying to answer the wrong question. For instance, in the 80’s, Evangelism Explosion’s question “What would you say if God asked you ‘Why should I let you into heaven?'” was appropriate and effective.

But heaven, as evidenced by this article, is not even on the radar of college students. Thus this is not the approach to take with them. If their idol is freedom and autonomy, we need to ask questions like “Is anyone really self-made” and “Is it really freedom when you are enslaved to doing your own will all the time?” The goal is to take their questions, expose their false answers, and point them to the true answer: Christ. Jesus is the one who sets us free, and we can feel unbelievable freedom in living without shame, guilt, fear within the parameters he sets in His word. That’s freedom, not slavery to whatever someone else has determined is cool or kosher.

Now it may happen that someone’s main question is What happens when we die, or how can Christianity be true when Evolution says it isn’t? But these, with some exceptions of course, are NOT the questions my generation is asking. So trying answering them and trying to prove evolution false will inevitably get you the response so what? What questions are people asking? You have to spend the time and figure out. But its not that hard. Just ask questions and listen.

Not too many things in this life last as long as we’d hope. Enter the tattoo. Psychologically speaking, I think they serve several purposes, with the foremost being that they provide stability. And keep in mind that I’m not bashing them; I do want one someday, thought the doors of opportunity are quickly closing-probably not a good use of resources at this time in my life.

Anyway, nothing lasts forever (even Cold November rain, according to Guns-N-Roses), but tattoos last as long as we do. Sometimes people will express the depth of their love with tattoos of loved ones. But deep down I think it really exposes the desire for relational stability. We’re serious now, and this tattoo proves it. You wouldn’t leave any time soon would you? It didn’t work for Angelina Jolie, although it may have bought her a few extra months with Billy Bob Thorton. Hard to tell at this point.

Personally, I stick to the airbrush license plates that say something like Geoff-N-Amy 4 Eva. When the relationship is over (not referring to mine), one can just take the plate off the front and get ready for the next relationship plate. Fairly inexpensive way to express your love.

But since divorce rates are very high these days, one thing you can surely count on staying this same in this transient world is NASCAR. Right? Well I saw a woman at Sweetbay’s Supermarket the other day who thought so; she tattooed Dale Jr’s number on the outside of her shoulder. The problem came when Dale Jr left DEI and changed numbers.

Although we have to applaud his sensitivity to his fans: his new number is 88. So that woman at Sweetbay’s can add an 8 and not miss a beat. The tattoo ‘addendum’ may be a little off-centered, but beggars can’t be choosers.

I apologize for this longer entry. Hopefully it will be a quick read.

During our Comm group this past Wed we did something a little different. Our senior pastor every so often ‘interviews’ folks to give them a chance to share how they came to Christ and what difference that has made in their lives.

So instead of continuing our 4 part video series on relational outreach called “Just Walk Across the Room,” I figured I’d steal a page out of an older coach’s play-book and interview someone who spent the last week involved in relational outreach. Staci and John, who deserve their own Wikipedia page in my opinion, have hosted week long reunions the last several years. You could call them family reunions of sorts, for several different families who adopted children out of the same orphanage in Vietnam reunite once a year down in sunny Florida (pronounced Flar-ida of course).

Largely successful and quite anti-Christian, these families have built a strong bond with John and Staci over the last several years. They already have planned a trip for next year.

Since I didn’t podcast my interview with Staci and John (interviewing someone is harder than it sounds on the radio-I have to give that to Jim Rome, who is the best I’ve heard), I’d like to just conclude with some of her concluding points, encouragement and challenges to our group.

1.) Hospitality-Having people in your homes opens up a new level of trust, intimacy, friendship. After several years, one woman quite hostile to Christianity allowed Staci to talk with her about the gospel. In addition, having folks in your homes allows people to see your strengths as well as your weaknesses-which gives you a chance to model repentance. Weaknesses probably give us more of an opportunity for the gospel, so there is nothing to fear (like screwing up or accidentally saying something you shouldn’t) for the repentant person! There is simply a deeper level of intimacy when people come into our homes. Staci mentioned that it is different than just being out in public or hanging at a coffeehouse.

2.) Intentionality-Staci specifically mentioned being convicted about being intentional with her neighbors. The Vietnam gang takes the initiative with this whole deal each year. While Staci has been involved in bringing several folks to Hope and even more into her house, she still felt a need to continually be intentional in seeking to bring folks into their homes. She has seen the gospel go forth in the context of hospitality over the years. Obviously a very hospitable woman already, we all felt challenged/encouraged to keep pressing forward to advance His Kingdom, not our own. I love it when ‘non-professional Christians’ (I’m being facetious of course) communicate my vision and live it even better than myself. I left encouraged, and excited to continue moving forward.

First of all, I do need to make reference to an earlier post. I left early from the Casting Crowns concert on Sunday night, and apparently the lead singer chose a later time to encourage people to find a church home. And one of the folks whom I thought didn’t attend a church, apparently, has been visiting a church. It takes a big man to admit he’s wrong, and sometimes I’m big. I’m being big now. Big and humble.

I chose not to attach an image to this post. You’ll understand why very shortly.

When one is an expectant father, he will find himself doing things he never would have seen himself doing. Here’s an example. Yesterday I made a few phone calls during my lunch break to doctor’s offices. Why? Our OBGYN doesn’t do circumcisions anymore. And neither does our desired pediatrician. I’m not going to do it, so I realized I would have to ‘hire out’ or ‘subcontract’ (not really sure what the correct term is) out this procedure.

The two offices I talked to yesterday both informed me of their prices. So I was trying to find the cheapest circumciser in the area (the strange thing is that we don’t know what we’re having so it all might be a moot point). Not sure if that’s really wise. The cheapest circumciser? One place told me they take cash only. 200 dollars as opposed to 250; but they take cash only. Not sure if that was a good option either.

I really wanted a boy at first (I would be happy with whoever God will bless us with-so don’t go nuts on me please) so I could take him fishing, coach his sports, etc….But I actually think we’re going to have a girl, which I will be plenty and JUST AS thankful for. And I really want a girl some time. Maybe sooner rather than later, especially after these strange conversations!