Truth amidst lies

I receive a daily email with quotes from movies. It's an interesting way to start the morning, as the quotes are sometimes irrelevant, or, as today, sometimes very relevant. Sometimes I've never heard of the movie, and sometimes it's one of my favorites. You get the idea. Here's today's quote:

“Mortal forms are but shadows of a purer reality.”

Tom Jones (1963)
Parson Supple(James Cairncross)

Today's quote is profound for it's truth about reality, and all the more so because the film it comes from is such the antithesis of truth. I went to IMDB to check out the movie, and it's all about a guy who sleeps around. Near as I can tell, it's a story about the different girls he sleeps with - how he gets them to bed, and the comical reactions to that. Yet, in the middle of this movie that shows that nothing's really changed for hundreds of years (it's set several hundred years ago), nor for the last forty, there's this profound truth: The reality we see here is really just a shadow of the spiritual reality going on all around us; a hint of what is to come when we get new bodies in Christ. The person who best explains this is C.S. Lewis, who calls the world we see, "The Shadow Lands."

But this is the point that I want to camp on for a moment - though this movie is certainly not "Christian" movie, or even a movie portraying good morals, yet even here there is truth. That doesn't mean I'd recommend the movie by any means (I think it would still be rated R, even by today's standards), but it does communicate that God's truth can be anywhere and everywhere. It may be twisted by the enemy, but it's still His truth. So, wherever we find it, let's be aware that God is at work, even though we may not see it clearly. God created us in His image, and, as such, we are made to create and to be artistic. So even when the art isn't Godly, it's still a picture, however distorted, of what we are created to be, and - possibly - somewhere in that picture is God's truth.

I don't think I'm communicating what I'm thinking clearly enough. Therefore, I want to encourage the reader to click on over to Walt Mueller's blog to read a man who's made a lifetime study of these types of things in our media and culture, and understands better than I how to find Christ in our culture, while still be well aware of how not to be in the world.

Colossians is such a rich book of the Bible. Over the past couple of weeks I've been planted primarily in chapter three, and a little in chapter four. Here are some verses I've been meditating on.

"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth." Col. 3:1-2.

Pastor Jeff preached on this one a few years ago, and he said that the sense here is to "persistently pursue." He asked the question, "What's the #1 priority of my heart?" Am I persistently pursuing Christ - desiring to hear His voice, seeking to obey Him no matter the cost, simply taking time to be with Him?

Col. 3:12-17 is a powerful paragraph similar to Paul's "Fruit of the Spirit" in Galatians, but this verse caught my eye:

"... And be thankful. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God." vs. 16, with the end of vs. 15 thrown in

"Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving." Col. 4:2

Am I being thankful. Recently Shari and I went for a walk around our neighborhood, and, as usual, we saw many homes for sale, including a couple foreclosures. As we walked we dreamed. However, at the end of that walk, when we came home to our rental, we once again realized just how blessed we are with the house we are in. While dreaming's not bad, I'm reminded that I continually have to fight covetousness in my life, and make sure that I'm thankful for all that I have - my wife, my kids, my house, my car, my job, my coworkers, etc. God has blessed me tremendously, and I must continue to learn to be thankful.

Those are some musings on Colossians that I've been meditating on.

Losing the Mystery

This past Sunday our church celebrated a baptism service. There were six people baptized, including two from our marriage group last winter. Those two have grown so much in the past year, it's been exciting to hear about. My frustration isn't with them, it's with myself. Not only did I not celebrate with them, but I didn't even get excited. I didn't even tell Shari (for which I have been duly reprimanded). Baptism is an exciting thing, but in the business of preparing the paperwork and class (interviewing people we don't know, making sure everybody's got their paperwork in for their certificates, etc.), I've lost something. I've lost the excitement of what it means for these folks to be baptized. This is an exciting occasion in which they are publicly declaring their death to self, and life in Christ, as well as that mysterious thing that happens in us when we are baptized. I want that excitement back, but I really can't blame anybody but myself. So, I make the choice today to work hard to remember what's important, and celebrate what God is doing in folks... and encouraging more to be baptized and celebrate that event.

On the plus side, because it was at the lake, I was able to celebrate a young man's baptism who is very new to our church. He has MS, and he and his family were tremendously excited to celebrate this event. He's a great kid (less than 21 yrs. old), loves the Lord with all his heart, and has made an impact amongst his family and friends, including his dad, who doesn't know Christ yet. Yet even there, as I'm trying to get my kids out of the water to watch this, I realized that I'm not excited about this like I want them to be.

God, please re-energize my heart for this tremendously important worship service.

Lessons from Mr. Hybels

I am currently reading two books: "Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy" by Eric Metaxas, and "Axiom" by Bill Hybels. Both of these books are excellent, but I want to mention some of the lessons I'm learning - or relearning - from "Axiom," a tremendous little book on leadership principles. It's not really a, "This is how you lead" type of book. Rather, it's a book with an axiom, then Pastor Hybels' explanation of what he means, how he practices it, and why it's important. Here are a few that have caught my eye so far, especially in the context of leading the small group ministries here at GHC. I'm not even sure this post will do justice to these, so I encourage the reader to get the book. It's a little more expensive than it should be for its size, but if you go to the Amazon site linked above, there are some really good deals for used books, which is what I got. I'm sure there are other book store sites with similar deals.

Probably the most important one for me, as Shari and I work to create our coaching team for small groups, is, "The Three C's." This is a relearn for me, as Bill also wrote about this in his actual leadership book, "Courageous Leadership." (Another one I highly recommend.) Here's the gist of it: When recruiting for a position on your team, look at these three issues, in order: Character, Competency, and Chemistry. You can't fix or train character. If they don't have it, nothing else you do will matter because they'll torpedo it pretty fast. God can fix their character, but don't put somebody in leadership until He does. Competency can be trained, but if you are endeavoring to put somebody in a leadership position, you want to find the best you can to fill that position. Don't compromise or lower your standards. Even if they need to be trained on something, are they competent learners? Finally, chemistry is still very important. If things don't click between the leader(s) and the person coming on board, there can be some real fireworks, causing some large fires that you, as a leader, will need to put out. Now, after looking at all of these, it's true that one can work around the other two, but Pastor Hybels contends, and I tend to agree with him, that working around those - not considering them important enough to find the right fit - is not only asking for conflict down the road, but maybe serious conflict, and eventually having to find another person. It's much better to hire the right person with all three C's fitting in the first place.

There's so much more, but I need to get to work. I'll post more on this later. I'm about halfway through the book. I have so much to write about Bonhoeffer, too. It's amazing how much hasn't changed; that is, there's nothing new under the sun in terms of our sin nature.

A Few Days of Happenings

It's been a good week. Monday I figured out a work-around for the church web site, allowing me to see what I'm doing as I'm doing it, which is huge. This allowed me to update our events page and our staff page, among other places. Tuesday Shari and I worked on G.R.A.C.E. Group stuff, which we've continued all week. We have a letter written to send out to the church membership, inviting them to become leaders of a small group. Of course, not all will, but even if all did, it would be a tremendously exciting problem to have, and one I'm sure the leadership of the church would help us wrestle with. We are really trying hard to maintain and grow our passion, not because we have to fake it, but because it's easy to lose it in the busy-ness of life.

Wednesday night Shari and I watched "Raiders of the Lost Ark" with Michael and Mark. That was an interesting experience, reliving the days when we first watched it, while also experiencing it with our boys. What I didn't do, and I want to do, is take time after the movie to debrief the experience beyond, "That was scary," or, "That was funny." I want to teach my boys to take in media with a Christian worldview, which may include not taking in some media at all, while watching other media with wisdom and discernment. Over all, I want them to think about what they're watching/listening to/engaging with, not just mindlessly soak in information that may or may not encourage them and build them up in their faith.

Yesterday my "win" was making significant headway in gathering information to help Doug create at least an annual performance review for us as staff, if not twice a year or quarterly. This not only included collecting different forms that are used, but also talking with a few people who do annual reviews, and getting their input. It was also interesting to me who doesn't do annual reviews, yet have a larger staff than we do. In the context of this work, it was interesting to me to actually count the number of full- or part-time staff we have working here (not including the day care staff under the director). There are actually ten staff people here, from custodian to the pastor. I didn't realize there were that many.

That's a brief picture of my week. How was yours?

Rite of Passage, Pt. 2

Two days ago I started writing about rites of passage, and the one we had for Michael last weekend. I ended by saying that we made a special presentation at the end of the event. There was nothing special about the way I presented it, but what I said, and what the gift is, makes all the difference. Please allow me to simply print what I said to explain both of those.

Michael, at each stage of life - at each rite of passage - my desire is to give you (and your brothers) a special, symbolic gift that will not only remind you of this time and what you heard, but will also be useful for the next stage. So, I don't give this as a birthday gift, nor do I give this because we need more meat on the table. These men and I give this gift, and it's accessories, to you as a symbol of you learning to become a man of God.

[Give him the rifle with the gifts so that those who couldn't give don't feel singled out.]

This rifle, and its accessories, is a symbol to help you remember this evening. In addition, it's symbolic of the process you will be going through. For example, obviously, through hunting, you can provide for your family. Similarly, part of learning to be a Man of God, learning how to provide for yourself and your family through hard work. Hunting is also a time where you can rejuvenate yourself through time spent alone in the woods. Similarly, part of learning to be a Man of God is learning to take that time away in order to allow God to refill your soul. You must care for this valuable tool, or all its value will be lost, and it won't be usable when you need it. Similarly, you not only need to learn how to care for valuable things, but you also need to learn to care for the souls of people, and your own soul, things that are valuable beyond measure, not so you can use them, but simply because they are valuable.

There is a ton more symbolism here, and I'll keep coming back to this moment as you are growing and learning over the next 4-5 years. However, I think you get the idea. Allow God to show you things as you grow.

In some ways, son, you are already of man of God. However, over the next 4-5 years, as you will see, you will be becoming an adult Man of God. Your world view, knowledge, and relationship with God will grow and become what He's created you to be. This is simply a place you can look back on and say, "It was on July 3, 2011 that I crossed a line and stepped into a new time in my life." Like Paul says in 1 Cor. 13:11, "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways." You are no longer a child. You are in that stage of giving up childish ways, on your way to becoming the Man God created you to be. We as men welcome you to this new stage in your life, and look forward to seeing how God transforms you into that adult Man of God.

Two days later, we went and tested Michael's new tool/toy/symbolically important gift. After the first shot he was hooked. Hunter's Safety classes start Aug. 1.

Rite of Passage Pt. 1

I have been trying to post this for a few days now. I finally have a moment, if not alone, at least away from responsibilities.

Most people would consider 13 yrs old to be a rather special birthday, and we are like most people. In addition, Shari and I believe that one of the things missing in our culture are rites of passage - special moments commemorating a change in a child's status. A bar mitzvah is a more well known rite of passage, but most cultures have some sort in a child's life, if not multiple ones. Our American (dare I say, Western?) culture has seen fit, over the generations, to allow our rites of passage to fade away. So, Shari and I have decided to celebrate different passages with special rites. When it's time for us to talk about sexual purity with our boys, we take a special retreat away. When our boys become 13, they'll have another special rite, then again at 18, and probably when they're married. Now, seeing as we only have one who's made it to 13, most of these ideas are still in the "figuring this out" stage. However, for more information about this idea, at least for boys, I highly recommend, "Raising A Modern Day Knight" by Robert Lewis.

As I said above, 13 years old is a special time of leaving childhood and entering into training to be a man. In our family, the goal of becoming a Godly man. Unfortunately, our oldest son had his 13th birthday at a time when we couldn't afford to perform a rite properly. Last weekend, we were finally able to do so.

The evening consisted of five men, plus myself, speaking into Michael's life about different areas that I believe are imperative to being a Godly man: A Brotherhood of Friends, an Adventure to Live, a Women to Love (or, until marriage, learning how to respect women), a Battle to Fight (primarily in a spiritual sense), and knowing his identity in Christ, and all that means, especially in regards to pursuing spiritual gifts. Shari's dad was here from Illinois, so he was able to take part in this process, as was my dad, Michael's first youth pastor, his current one, and a great pastor friend in Lolo. All these men spoke into his life, and each person (except for Pastor Don, who had to call from Lolo) had a special place in town they chose, or I did, that went along with his theme. I especially like the youth pastors' spots: a fire dept., and a cemetery.

After that, we arrived at a friend's house for pizza, pop, and a special presentation. It's here that I gave Michael a special, symbolic gift. Stay tuned for what and why.

Valuing Others as a Leader

Doug Fields is an amazing leader, even with all his foibles (which he talks about more than I could ever see). He had an excellent article on his blog, "Marriage, Family, Youth Ministry, and Leadership," the other day. Whether you're a dad, a CEO, or a person who leads a few volunteers, the principles Doug lists here can apply to any leader. I was especially convicted as a dad to remember some of these things in order to love my boys better. I would encourage readers to check out the full article. Here are a couple points he made to whet your appetite. It's probably not a surprise that they're also the ones that impacted me the most.

7 ways to VALUE others you work with and/or lead

3. Affirm, affirm, affirm
This should go without saying, and unfortunately, many times it does. I know leaders will say, “He knows he’s important to me.” Really? When was the last time you told him? It ought to be often! This is such a basic principle that it’s almost embarrassing to write, but I find it so rare in leaders that it’s worth mentioning and repeating.

5. Do the “little things”
The people who work for and/or serve you (or your ministry) have real lives outside of the “job”. When you acknowledge that reality you communicate value. It’s the little things that send a big message: a card on their birthday, remembering their kids’ names, sending the spouse a gift (flowers or gift certificate) when you’ve asked ‘above and beyond’ from their spouse, an invite to share a meal with no-agenda, an occasional “I appreciate you” letter/gift, etc… Little actions are a big deal!

Now to go look for ways to put it into practice.