Our session (our 6 elders) is going on a retreat this weekend. And I have to say, I’m a bit excited. We’ll be taking some time to look at where we’ve been heading as a church, and hopefully be able to evaluate it.

I think continually reexamining and evaluating your vision (or whether you are actually implementing and applying that vision) in any area of life, be it your spiritual walk, leadership, marriage, business is always a good thing. I’m not saying that I do it often, but I’m learning to.

Why? Well let me sum it up with a short story about a Tuna. I once asked a Hawaiian commercial fisherman how he could catch huge tuna on hand-lines. He told me it was simple. Once you turn the fish’s head, you’ve won the battle. The fish will swim in whatever direction his head is facing (this is not meant to be sexist-female fish do the same thing). It’s not hard to bring in a several hundred pound fish when he is swimming right toward you.

Like big tuna, we will head in whatever direction our eyes are fixed upon. Everything from pizza, to sex, to approval, to success vies for our attention. So it is wise to continually evaluate whether your head (vision) really is pointed in the correct, or desired/planned, direction.

Same principle put forth by the writer of Hebrews: “Fixing our eyes upon Jesus”(Heb 12:2 NAS). So ideally, we would like to head in that direction. The neat thing is that as different churches fix their collective eyes upon Jesus, they can still look very different from one another.
Their vision may have them reaching and shepherding different people with different methods.

I think that’s pretty cool. There may be different visions as long as its the same Jesus, and the same Kingdom (not your own) going forward.

If I look different to you, its because I am. I’m starting to catch up, technologically speaking of course (I’ve always been hip and down with the times), to the world around me. I’m not going to look like this guy anymore. The balding guy with the old cell phone. Not a good look for me.

I purchased an IPOD today. Yes, an IPOD. You know those things with a ton of Gigs, and memory, and everything. I got one now. I’ll still be balding, but I’ll be looking good doing it.

I really don’t know how to use the IPOD; I haven’t exactly taken it out of the box yet (it’s only been a few hours though so don’t judge me). But I made the first step. One small step for Geoff, one large step for Geoff-kind. I’m sorry that didn’t make any sense, but it just seemed apropos.

In addition, I’ll be retiring my Motorola phone since Amy and I just purchased new ones. It was actually the oldest working cell phone in Bradenton. Someone called me the other day from a museum and asked for it, but I cordially declined. Big money too. Now if they’ll only call me back…..

So to quote Bill and Ted during their Excellent Adventure, “Strange things are afoot at the Circle K.” Yes strange things are afoot at the Circle K of my life indeed. I only hope that I can handle the overwhelming flood of new technology. I’ll keep you posted, but don’t expect a text message or anything. Not yet.

The other day, and when I say ‘the other day’, I can mean up to a year (however this was only a month ago) someone recommended to me Derek Webb’s album The Ringing Bell.

Derek Webb, formerly of Caedmon’s Call, has already put out several solo albums, and The Ringing Bell is his most recent.

I know I’m not a professional music reviewer, but I do have ears and I do have a little bit of taste. So I’ll tell you what I think of his new project (don’t I sound sophisticated saying ‘project?’). Anyhow, here’s my first review.

The sound varies from song to song, featuring acoustic numbers, as well as folk, and rock. What I really appreciate the most from Webb are his thought/emotion provoking lyrics. The lyrics however, will not win him approval from any positive-thought pimping preacher. Instead they can be quite dark and very heavy, dealing with the frustration of life this side of heaven.

Contextualizing Ecclesiastes 3 (you know, made famous by that Byrd’s song “Turn, Turn, Turn”) and Romans 8:18-25, Webb expresses the frustration of living in between two different worlds. The old has gone and the new has come (II Cor 5:17), but the world still awaits Jesus’ return to complete that newness. He sings:

There is a time for hunger and genocide, a time for babies to lose their lives.
And this too shall be made right.

Pretty heavy stuff. But he at least recognizes that “this too shall be made right.” There is an end in sight. Web beautifully weds these two truths (what we see now vs. what is not yet seen) which divorce both despair and an ignorant dishonesty from our hearts. It will do us well to see how much we need Jesus to complete his work in this world. Heck he might even use us somehow.

In another song, he challenges the notion of having a “savior on Capitol Hill.” The song is politically charged, but in such a way as we can listen. Webb’s voice is the prophetic voice calling us to think biblically, even before we think conservatively or liberally. He’s not a Dixie Chick who just hates the president. And so I do appreciate a dissenting voice who criticizes even himself. He also sings a confession:

I don’t even know the suffering outside my front door.
I join the oppressors of those I choose to ignore

The album is filled out by some love songs and a few other songs expressing honest frustrations and a deep need for Christ. Webb is really the voice of a modern day prophet, not one that predicts the future, but one who challenges the church to a deeper faithfulness to the gospel and covenant. That’s more of what OT prophets did anyway.

Overall, I highly recommend the album not just for the musical quality but for the lyrical richness. The music is pleasant to the ear and the lyrics inspire immediate, and sometimes challenging, reflection. Like everything, you can purchase it on Amazon.com

Yesterday I was pulling out of my favorite local fishing store in Bradenton. As I was easing out onto 1st St, I recognized that I was blocking the sidewalk. A man, who looked to be homeless, or at the very least shirtless, rode his bicycle directly in my path.

Instead of making him go around me into the street, I promptly backed my car up so he could stay on the sidewalk. His look of appreciation and hand wave spoke 5,000 thank you’s to my heart.

I think he was taken aback that someone would do something, even something small, for him. Something that showed he was important, and worth backing up for.

Now I’m not patting myself on the back here or claiming that I am a mini-Good Samaritan. This is probably the second or third time I’ve done something like this, and I’ve received the same extremely grateful response the other time/s as well.

It is just an observation: people really respond to you treating them like they are important. And when someone is treated like he/she is important, they really appreciate it. Particularly when they may not have been treated in such a way very often, or even ever.

Psalm 8 reminds us that even though men and women are sinful, they are still amazing creations who reflect something true of their creator. That is why doing things to honor others, or as Paul puts it in Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves” really resonates with folks who are often treated poorly.

Our actions, no matter how seemingly small, ought to reflect this truth. Whether we like it or not, our actions do reflect what we truly believe. Believe me.

How often do you get angry? Well, I imagine a few times a week. Perhaps, if you’re like me, a few more than few. Or maybe even a few more than that. Anyhow, I think people get angry with God and with each other all the time. But how many times are we actually justified in being angry with God and others? With the latter rarely, with the former never (even though it is healthy to express frustration to God like in the Psalms).

There is a funny little situation (although its more silly than funny) in the book of Jonah. In the Fourth and final chapter, God appoints a ginormous plant to grow up really quickly to provide shade for Jonah. But the next morning comes, and so does a worm. And we all know that the early worm gets the tree. So God takes the shade away, and Jonah is left treeless and angry.

God then asks Jonah if he has a right to be angry with Him for taking away the very tree He made grow. This is the silly part. Yes, of course I have a right to be angry. I am angry enough to die! (Jonah 4:9).

That’s pretty ridiculous. But I wonder how often we really do have the right to be angry at people, at God, friends, the church, enemies….More often than not we just get angry, and have problems with folks. But how often do we ask the question God asks Jonah? Do we have the right to be angry? Sometimes we do. Often times we don’t.

I think if someone were writing a story about our lives, like a very close personal biography, I bet we would look pretty silly in our anger. Probably as silly as Jonah. Probably more dumb than silly even.

I got an interesting call from a local yesterday. Apparently someone who read my article in the Herald last week (it’s good to know that more than one person outside my family and church family reads those things!). She passed it on to her mother and father. Well, in case you didn’t get to read the Pullitzer prize winning article (probably the wrong prize, but I don’t know which one’s go to good articles), I made reference to the survivors of the USS Indianapolis floating in shark infested waters.

Well apparently this father was a survivor the USS Indianapolis tragedy, and was actually interviewed in the recent special during Shark Week called “Ocean of Fear.” How crazy that he lives in the area! Anyhow he sent me a speech that he gives to high schools and colleges. We’re going to get up and have a cup of coffee or something when he gets back from his trip to North Carolina to interview with the preacher Charles Stanley.

I haven’t read his speech yet, but will check it out soon and relay information as it becomes available. His main point behind the speech is that freedom isn’t free. And he’s right. Someone paid for it.

Christians ought to be the first to realize that, since our freedom has been purchased. And with that freedom, we are able to live life fully, fully enjoying and following our Savior.

As Charles Wesley once wrote, “My chains fell off, my heart was free. I rose, went forth, and followed thee.” Hard to believe that this dude was very anti-Reformed. But even theologically/practically, he’s a heck of a hymn writer.

After much strife, calling, faxing, and fretting, I finally have my tax return. While I religiously checked my mail each day hoping for the envelope marked “IRS,” I instead found the good news electronically. Checking my balance at wachovia.com alerted me to the good news of the much thought about governmental deposit.

There it was. Finally. I already had confirmation from an ‘agent’ (or more like underpaid customer service rep I guess) once before. So just because I had confirmation this 2nd time, I couldn’t begin filing away my income tax info. But now I can; it is actually in my ‘hands.’

Now I can’t say that I’m all that comfortable with people I don’t know putting money into my account. But as long as they don’t take any out, I guess I shan’t have any problems. Before they try to take it back though, I might want to think about spending it on something soon. You can never have enough fishing reels.

Why did I not expect it to come? Because the IRS had proven themselves untrustworthy (saying I needed more forms, then losing that form I faxed, then telling me that I would be receiving the money, then sending me another form explaining how much I owed with interest…..) They had a track record (why is that a bad term when getting a record in on a track is good thing?).

I only hope that I don’t become hardened by my experience and project my lack of trust with them upon others in general. It might be better to be disappointed at times, then to always assume the worst. Worst case scenario, they still don’t have my banking info, you know.

Yesterday I worked out at my new gym. Well it wasn’t really new; Fusion Fitness just rearranged all the free weights and benches to isolate the meat heads like me. I actually don’t deserve that title yet, but we should all have goals, you know?

The new room was an ugly off-smurf blue color, and noticeably smaller. I’m actually not even looking forward to going in to there today, but I need to do so. I was noticeably weaker in there as well!

Apparently the goal of the new management at Fusion is to focus on people who don’t want to get big, but instead those who simply want to ‘get fit.’

Sometimes I love when things change. Sometimes I don’t. Without disagreeing with the fact that people, families, churches need to change/adapt, I can at least sympathize with the fact that it is hard on some.

However, it would have made it harder for a meathead like me (just kidding again, I need like 50 more lbs of muscle in my upper body alone) if I didn’t understand and appreciate their vision at Fusion: to keep those meatheads around, but also to adapt to their surroundings.
It also would have made it harder if they simply threw out the free weights and bars, and just asked me to switch to machines. There was a vision behind the changes, and I was still included. When I understood that, I was less angry.

Ultimately their purpose for the changes at Fusion is money. And that makes it hard. However if there is a greater purpose behind change in general, (like my sanctification, Jesus Kingdom moving forward and reaching more folks, not just change itself), then I can more easily go along. Not necessarily easily, but ‘more’ easily!

Today on the way to the church, I saw a woman pushing another woman in a wheelchair. The passenger was certainly an invalid, and looked to be fairly unresponsive to the morning walk/ride. I have seen these two woman on a number of occasions, and wondered what the relationship is between the two.

Now I have NO idea of her motivation. But I can figure that this is probably a thankless act, as are many which have been performed, and yet to be performed. But taking care of the needs of someone who can’t take care of themselves (emphasis on CAN’T) is just as ‘spiritual’ as going to a bible study. Showing mercy is to typify God’s people (Micah 6:8-love justice, show mercy, walk humbly with God).

No deed is good in and of itself (Romans 14 tells us that everything not done in faith is sin), but if done in faith honors God greatly. Deeds such as these are often considered less ‘spiritual’ and are certainly unnoticed by most. But biblically there is no dichotomy. God commands mercy, and Jesus commended doing things without the praise and thanks which come from spectators. Thankless acts honor God.

So I guess you could say that God smiles the widest when He sees such deeds done in faith (not for approval, but simply because we already have His approval), and not for thanksgiving and approval from others. His smile, in some interconnected way, brings us more joy than praise from people.

In case you didn’t get a chance to read my article in The Herald, here it is. However once again my title has been deprived from its rightful resting place. The correct title is, “What else are sharks good for?” One of these days, I’m naive enough to believe that they will reward me with my actual requested title. One day. Click here to read the article.