Proving God Exists...

At the youth conference this past weekend, a group called onetimeblind did some powerful dramas. The first night they did this one on truth and what is truth based on a red balloon. At the end of the drama, the devil came out. They had warned us ahead of time that anytime we saw someone in sunglasses, it was the devil. Anyways, this person in sunglasses portraying the devil started taunting the audience. Asking us to prove that God exists. He had answers for all the proofs that were offered. Really did a masterful job of pushing the edges beyond our typical in the box answers.

Never did he get the answer that I would have given (I didn't because we were in the back of the large room and he would never have heard me). But I would have said that one way to prove God exists is by his people (those who know him) living out the transformed lives he has given us. By being the hands and feet of Jesus in the world. By living the belief we claim to have... not just mouthing it and then living another way.

In my mind the greatest proof for God's existence is transformed lives!

Holy Moment ruined...

In the awesome worship experience at this weekend's conference, we were singing the song "The Heart of Worship" and in the chorus it says, "I'm coming back to the heart of worship. And it's all about You. It's all about You, Jesus. I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it. When it's all about You. It's all about You, Jesus" It was a holy moment... the group of 4,000 was really into the song. I was really enjoying a sweet sense of connecting with God when I noticed some light flashes. When I opened my eyes to see what was happening. I noticed an advisor taking pictures of her group in front of us and beside us.

What a sad picture... singing a song that says it's all about Jesus and here it was all about her... wanting her pictures... so focused on getting them that she was missing the sweet worship and was disturbing others.

And I thought about all the times I desire to make my life all about Jesus when in reality, I get in the way of that! Forgive me Lord for making too much of me!

Highest place on earth...

Heard a great quote at the conference. Especially as we move toward Easter... "The highest place on earth is at the foot of the cross."

Think on that one.... not gonna say much more. The quote speaks for itself!

What a great conference...

What a great youth conference in O.C. over the weekend. Over 4,000 youth and advisors there. Awesome worship band... pocket full of rocks. And super speakers. Plus great to spend time with our kids. Especially enjoyed spending time with my daughter Caroline. She is an awesome daughter! And what a leader.

Goin Home...

Really looking forward to going home to preach at my home church... the Fairview Church of the Brethren near Cordova, MD on Wednesday! Gonna have some fun there and challenge hard.

Looking forward to seeing their new multi-media equipment and helping them break it in!~

Seems like this spring fling at Fairview is an annual thing... this make 3 years now that I've been asked to speak there. Sooner or later they're gonna get tired of hearing from me!

Got a invite to speak at the Talbot Co. Farm Bureau Vespers service in May.... don't know on that one but was honored to be asked!

Prepping to Hang...

Gettin ready to hang with the youth this weekend at a youth conference in Ocean City, MD. Lookin forward to that! Especially spending time with my daughter... Caroline. She's a great kid!

I've never been to the conference, but am told it is totally awesome!

Breaking the Chains...

What if worshipping God breaks the chains that bind us in life? Consider this... the Apostle Paul and his friend Silas found themselves in jail bound in chains. And the bible tells us that they were singing hymns and praying and the other prisoners were listening in this dark, bound state! And it was around midnight that the spirit of God caused a great earthquake that shook the foundations of the prison and the chains fell off and the doors flew open.

No matter how bound we find ourselves in the chains of life, when we worship God, we shift the focus of our situation and find freedom that only God can offer.

Pastor and author, Mark Batterson says, "Don't let what's wrong with you, keep you from worshiping what's right with God." AMEN!

More on Offense...

When we get tripped into playing defense, all our time is consumed by responding to and defending not by moving forward. So, what's the future look like and how do we get there? A lot of energy and time is consumed playing defense. Defense is about holding ground, not necessarily advancing ground!

When I look at the life of Jesus, I think he played offense almost exclusively! It's almost Easter... look at his movement toward the cross... he definitely did not let the critics keep him from the larger reality of his destiny! Nor did he loose much time or energy focusing on the present challenge, but was focused on what he knew was ahead.

Just this week I had a situation where it would have been easy to slip into defensive mode, but I stayed on offense and God honored that in a big way... can't disclose details yet... but one day it will be a great story of God's awesome power and provision to share with others!

Living on Offense...

I've been thinking lots about life lately and what I have acheived and what I want to acheive in the time I have left. It seems that so much of my life has been lived in response to what has happened to me (defense). And I am finding that I'd like to think seriously about what it might look like to live life on offense! What would it look like to lead on offense? What would it mean for my life if I spent more time anticipating or imagining rather than reacting to what's happening. Or more time imagining/ anticipating a preferred future rather than getting sucked into the daily grind and bouncing around like a beach ball on the ocean. What if I knew where God was calling me and I charted a course in that direction? What if I took risks and dared to achieve things that I can't do on my own, but need God to show up to help out or to make possible. How would my life be different? Would I find more satisfaction and fulfilment?

Living on offense shouldn't be hard... after all we have the promise of God to "Be with us always, even to the end of the age."

I'll probably post more on this soon.

Great Coalition Forming

What a great coalition is forming to work on the issue of homelessness here in Salisbury. The meeting with the mayor and company clarified a lot of things for me and Donna Clark. We are moving forward with the things we hears and making plans for a way to help break the cycle of homelessness. Instead of our church owning a building and providing it to Salisbury Adult Resource and Empowerment Center, we will partner with SAREC to do ministry.

The meeting yesterday was attended by a wide cross-section of people from Salisbury with a concern for the homeless in our community and how to help those who can break the cycle and show compassion to those who can't break the cycle. It truly was an encouraging day!

Interesting Day in the Bury...

WOW! What a dynamic meeting with the mayor and company today. Fireworks could probably be seen in nearby towns. I pushed hard in the hopes of getting the cards to come on the table and I think they did! I doubt that we would ever be able to operate a Resource and Empowerment center for homeless people in Salisbury. Might have to make a move to the county to do that.

Politics sure are frustrating! After the meeting several of the city officials spoke to a couple of us about possible ways to address the concerns that were brought out. Don't know... guess we are discerning that one now!

A Manifesto to Live By...

I am indebted to Rev. Mark Batterson for this manifesto that he wrote. I highly recommend his book , In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day.

The Manifesto comes from that work. I am going to preach a series at Community of Joy on this book and the biblical text from 2 Samuel 23:20-21 where the book gets it's name.

Here is the manifesto...

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death.
Set God-sized goals.
Pursue God-ordained passions.
Go after a dream that is destined to fail unless God intervenes.
Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes.
Keep seeking God.
Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution.
Stop repeating the past and start creating the future.
Stop playing it safe and start taking risks.
Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences
Enjoy the journey.
Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can
Live like today is the first day and last day of your life.
Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshipping what’s right with God.
Burn sinful bridges.
Blaze new trails.
Criticize by creating.
Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks.
Don’t try to be who you are not, be yourself.
Laugh at yourself.
Quit holding out.
Quit holding back
Quit running away.
Chase the Lion.

I'm ready to chase the lion! How about you?

A BIG Day...

Today will be a BIG day for our church! This afternoon we meet with the Mayor and her team to explore possibilities on a property we are interested in both as a worship/ ministry center and as a place to resource and empower homeless people in our community. It should be interesting!

And then our leadership team will look at a small church building that is for sale. That will be interesting as well!

Lots to pray about! I've am praying that God will make his direction for us clear TODAY!

To Risk or Not???

To risk or not is kind of, for me, like the question to be or not to be! I find that I am in a situation where taking a risk is necessary. And yet it is so scary. But sometimes, to follow God to the fullest, it requires that we take a risk.

Consider the disciples of Jesus. When James and John were approached by Jesus to follow him, it was a huge risk. I know we might not see it that way, but let me explain. James and John were fisherman. In their society, boys largely followed the career path of their father. And he as a fisherman. They grew up around the water and fishing. They knew what to expect. They knew how to catch fish. They knew when to catch fish. They knew how to mend nets and keep the boat operating. They knew where to sell or barter the fish. Much of their life was safe and predictable, even secure!

And along came Jesus. Yes they may have heard about him. Yes they may have even heard him speak. But the idea of leaving their nets, their father, their way of life to follow someone was risky!

Isn't that kind of like the situation we face in life. So much of our lives is predictable, safe, and maybe even secure (or at least we think so!). And along comes Jesus inviting us to follow him. Dropping our nets, leaving the safe, secure, and predictable is what that invitation is all about. Following Jesus into the unknown, where we must depend on him, trust him, even lean on him is the invitation that is before us. So, it comes down to risk. Will we risk the comfort of the known and predictable for the adventure of the unknown and an ever deepening relationship with Jesus as we follow him and trust him? That's the question I am facing these days. That's the question my church is facing these days. In many ways, that's the question that all of us face everyday.

To risk or not to risk? I'm ready to risk! What have I got to lose?

Playing Church

I find myself reading a lot in preparation for messages at my church. This week, after going to lunch with my wife on Monday, I stopped at the local Christian bookstore and saw a book that caught my eye. On Sunday I am on message 5 of a 7 message series on the Great Commission. This week is called, "Disciples are Glocal Trekkers." When I shared the word "glocal" with the worship design team, they all laughed! But at the bookstore, I found a book by Bob Roberts, Jr, called "Glocalization: How followers of Jesus engage a flat world." I highly recommend the book.

In it Bob writes...something I have been saying for a while..."Until our faith engages the whole of society, we will not see transformation. Until our understanding of the kingdom of God moves beyond the gospel of individual conversation, we will keep it all inside churches. Until our vision is expanded beyond what makes me feel good and successful to what brings the most glory to God, we'll just be piddling around playing church and being religious, all the while missing what God has called us to do."

The older I get the more impatient I am with the way we do church! The impact we are having on the world is minimal at best and often negative. That's because our focus is wrong. We see what we are doing as building a church. When we need to be building the kingdom of God by building lives... helping people find the transformation God offers and living it 24.7.365. That's one of the reasons that the idea of a modern well is so exciting to me. It is a shift. A new twist on an OLD way to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth!

I'm tired of playing church! Bored with playing church! I want to give the rest of my life to seeing God's kingdom become a reality in the world! And in some ways it is easier now than ever before... the world really is flat. Technology has made it so!

A Community Well...

Throughout the Bible wells played a vital role in the lives of people, towns, and animals. Wells were places just outside the main gate of the town where people, especially the women went to connect with each other and to draw water for their families and animals. A lot of important things happened at wells. When Abraham wanted to find a wife for his son Isaac, he sent a servant to the town of his ancestors. And the servant decided to sit by the well outside the main gate and watch the women who came out to get water. That is how he found a suitable wife for his master's son, Isaac. (See Genesis 24)

It was at a well in Midian that Mosses found his wife. (see Exodus 2) It was in a well that Saul's son Jonathan hid in 2 Samuel 17:19.

Probably the most important biblical well encounter was the one Jesus had with the Samaritan woman in John 4. Jesus got into town and decided to sit by the community well to wait for someone to come to offer water. At this well he had a life-changing encounter with the woman that not only affected her life, but the life of countless of her friends.

Wells were important to the people and communities of the ancient days. They are important to our communities and people now. Only they look a little different now. They are places where people gather to share the joys and struggles of life, where people gather to connect with old friends and meet new ones. There is a term that is often used for these modern wells... it is called "third places". With home and work being place number 1 and 2. These third places are wells where people gather, like starbucks, barnes and noble, panera. It used to be dinners. But now that is changing.

Wouldn't it be neat for the church to operate a modern well... where people could gather to connect with each other, share the joys and struggles of life, meet old friends and make new ones, and even connect with God in the process? A place where people would naturally come just as they did of old to get water from the well. A place where the followers of Jesus and the not-yet followers of Jesus could connect and relate to each other in a way that is not happening inside the church today. Once in our culture... the church was the center of community life...no longer... but a modern well could be that once again! I'm excited about that possibility. And am praying about just that!

The Primary Job of the Church

The primary job of the church is to function as a connection center! Connecting people with God and with each other! It's all about relationships and life-change. It is NOT about producing nice, or not so nice, religious people!!!! It is NOT about getting people to join the church or to say THE prayer! It is about producing people who are in love with Jesus and seek to live the way of life he taught in our 24/7/365 existence!

It is NOT about coming for an hour, BUT is about how the hours we spend with Jesus change the way we live life and make the world a different place! That is the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven! Sounds familiar doesn't it?!

Jesus in Suburbia???

Just saw a promo on Good Morning America about Prime time The Outsiders show tonight that will interview a man who claims to be Jesus. He has quite a following and lots of people who believe that he is Jesus.

When asked IF he was Jesus... he said, "the same spirit that lived in Jesus of Nazareth lives in me." How true! But that man is NOT Jesus -- God's son, the savior of the world! BUT God's spirit did live in Jesus and does live in us. Jesus promised that he would send the spirit to live in us and to guide us AND to give us power... (see Acts 1:8). When God's spirit lives in us, we will be witness to Jesus love, power, grace, forgiveness, and peace in the whole world. BUT we will NOT be Jesus.

Wish I had a free night to watch this special! It would be entertaining.

Ebay heart throbs...

On some of my personal ebay auctions that ended last night, the winner was new to ebay. And ebay check out charged way too much for shipping. So, after combining all three winnings into one box and taking them to the Post Office, shipping charged versus actual was $31.56 too much. So, I did what I would always do and I sent him an email and told the winner that a check would be forthcoming for that amount. I never gave it another thought! That's the only right thing to do!

Well, his grateful response back, made my day. He couldn't believe that there were any honest people left in the world! And then added, "May God bless you and your family." And I responded to my new friend, that "God has indeed already blessed me, that's why I must return the money." Then I sent him to my website so he could see who I am.

Representing Jesus is an awesome responsibility... but one that I love!