Author: Frank

Weekend Reading, 21 August

Frank

Phew, I opened this window a couple of hours ago and just now getting to this. Normally I suggest pouring a cup of coffee, sitting back, and reading what I read last week. By now, that pot of coffee is probably empty (at least mine is). But I still encourage you to sit, enjoy, and reflect on blogs that hit home for me this week.

If you read my blog much, you know one of my passions is the current condition of the Church in America. It’s easy to criticize and make blanket statements. A point I stress when it comes to the interplay between Christians and politics is that not every evangelical, fundamentalist, social-gospel, and so-forth, church is the same. The lesson holds true when it comes to the health, spiritual growth, and appropriate focus of the same diversity of churches. But as a comment in the above link noted, the discussion needs to take place. Right now, I’m approaching this from two angles reading both Mere Churchianity and Transformational Church, because I think both points of view are valid. You’ll see that reflected in these links. Having said that, on with the show…

But “as for me and my household…” The best thing we can do as disciples of Jesus is to surrender our lives fully to him, regardless of what’s happening in our churches, our leadership, or even our homes.

  • Jezamama writes an awesome post on what it takes to surrender all and be stripped bare.
  • Similarly, Michael Perkins writes out what he’s giving up for God.
  • Jim Foreman takes a lesson from David that we need to choose the hard things to see what lesson God has in store for us.
  • A real-world example of all the above is found in Glen Coffee who just walked away from a promising NFL career to follow wherever God is going to lead him.

It’s that time of year when our children head back to school. This is a time of transition and transformation and of rites of passage.

  • Billy Coffey writes about the lessons learned while doing back-to-school shopping.
  • Ron Edmondson shares what he wrote to his son as he saw him off to college.
  • Jay Cookingham shares about the passage of his son into manhood and the lessons to be learned from the older brothers who have gone on ahead of him.

The end of summer is also a bit of a letdown. Sometimes we need to take a deep breath and find ourselves again while continuing to push on.

Flashback Friday: Trailblazer

Frank

***Originally posted April 7, 2010. Reposted this week as I’ve “joined” an online book club to discuss the book Mere Churchianity by Michael Spencer over at the blog Bend the Page. Discussion has spread over to Faith, Fiction, and Friends and Poems and Prayers. Even if you don’t join in the discussion, I strongly encourage you to pick up the book.***

What inspires you? I don’t mean encourages, or edifies, I mean honest to goodness “God breathed,” (2 Timothy 3:16) in-spirit moving of the Holy Spirit in you. Maybe it’s a psalm, hymn, or spiritual song (Ephesians 5:19), maybe it’s a favorite verse in the Bible, maybe it’s a friend, a book, or a movie. Maybe it’s the stories of those who came before, who blazed God fearing, Jesus-led trails.

Monday, April 5th, Michael Spencer, aka the Internet Monk, passed away after a long battle with cancer. A little more than a year ago, Father Richard John Neuhaus, author at the blog First Things passed away. I can honestly say that without the inspiration from these two men of God, I would not be blogging today. I was shocked to read that the imonk started blogging 10 years ago. These two saw the opportunities of the Internet to spread the Gospel and shaped the online Christian landscape. From Father Neuhaus, I was inspired as he tackled issues of interest to me. From Michael, he introduced a new way to reach the masses without preaching down to them using this new-fangled interweb thingy. I regret not following them as closely once I set out on my own blog.

The early Christian blogosphere, including Get Religion and Blogs4God soon grew to include the Thinklings and Boar’s Head Tavern, Stuff Christians Like, Purgatorio, and JesusNeedsNewPR. Most recently, Peter Pollock’s and Bridget Chumbley’s Blog Carnival has been a network of diverse Christian blogs that all aspire to encourage applying the Word of God through the Internet. Yesterday’s [April 6] topic, Gentleness, drew 39 posts. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of Christian blogs. I will never have time to find them all, but I am grateful for the inspiration the ones I do read bring to me.

Back to imonk for a moment. Another blogger commented a few years ago that America is due for another Great Awakening and that it would likely come through the power of the Internet. I couldn’t agree more and I believe the legacy that Michael Spencer leaves behind started the ball rolling that direction. I pray his legacy continues throughout the Christian blogosphere and through the hearts and souls of readers everywhere. Michael was too young. He didn’t live to see the next Great Awakening. But he lived to see it begun.

Man Without Fear

Frank
I’m jumping into the fray. I am fearlessly adding my post to the Pleasantly Disturbed Thursdays carnival at Duane Scott’s blog. Pray for me…

It was just announced that the comic book Daredevil will end in November. I’m a comic book nerd (more excited to see Scott Pilgrim than the Expendables believe it or not) and Daredevil has always been my favorite character. He’s my homie.

It was a Daredevil comic that I remember being the first I ever read (that, or some random issue of Superman, but I remember vividly the issue of Daredevil). I have a nearly continuous run of issues that spans twenty years. The last issue will be #512; I have roughly 350 of those. With a small family, tight budget, and a local comic shop (LCS) that I loathe, I’ve fallen back on my reading. I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve only purchased one issue over the past year.
As a kid I daydreamed about being Daredevil. He was a blind, Catholic red-head who always did what was right. That sounded a lot like me. Plus he fought ninjas and mobsters! As I grew older and I took notice of the more mature themes, I could relate even more. Yes, he always did what was right, but not always the right way. He had a bad tempter, was vengeful, and lustful. Hmm, still sounded a lot like me. I admired him because the fight he waged against his sinful nature to do the right thing was a central part of his character. Some writers sadly miss this point (see the movie as the most glaring example), but I kept on reading. Did I mention that he fought ninjas?
So what’s disturbing about this post? Maybe it’s the fact that I own more than a thousand comic books and live in my mom’s basement. (I’ll let you guess which one of those two statements are true).
Actually, what’s disturbing is the recent news that a child psychologist considers super heroes bad role models. Say what? I was reading The Punisher as a pre-teen and loved his unrestrained vengeance against crime as he racked up a body count in the hundreds. I also loved the movie Total Recall, which at the time was considered the most violent (mainstream) movie ever. This was also towards the end of the Cold War with movies like Red Dawn fresh in my memory. I would daydream during school about being either a super hero, a professional wrestler (now that’s disturbing!), or what my friends and I would do if our school was overrun by a bunch of commie terrorists. “Wolverines!”

I’d like to think I turned out all right. Sure, the line blurs for me sometimes between fantasy and reality, but I suspect that’s true for just about everyone. Yet despite the violence and misogyny present in comic books, I took away their most valuable lesson: we are all screwed up in some way, so we must decide if we should use our powers to be a good guy or a bad guy. We are all anti-heroes. And sometimes we get to fight ninjas.

(for a great summary of Daredevil’s on again/off again religion, check out this article.)

Summer Love

Frank

You’ve no doubt had one- the summer love. Maybe your intentions were pure, that “after the boys of summer have gone” that love would last longer than a single season. Chances are however, that your summer love was short lived. “Summer lovin’ happens so fast.”

Summer love aches, yet lingers in our memories. Whatever the summer activity may have been- swimming, boating, camping, laying on the beach, we all look back with sentimentality. It’s easy to forget the heartache when you can remember the sunshine. It’s easy to remember the night under the stars and forget the hangover. We can reflect fondly on the fishing trip. Whether or not we caught anything has long since been forgotten.

“Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O LORD.” (Ps 25:7)

Why do we always remember the ‘best of times’ and forget the ‘worst of times’?


What is it about summer that sticks in our memory?

While our memories deceive us, we are tricked into thinking about what might have been. It’s an easy trap to keep us from being grateful for what is. The memory of spending time on my friend’s boat only reminds me that I don’t have one of my own. The summer love has long since gone. “I try not to think about what might have been, ‘cause that was then, and we have taken different roads.”

“These things I remember
as I pour out my soul;
how I used to… “(Ps 42:4)

Do you ever long for the “good old days”? Why?

But what is it about those memories that hang on forever in our minds? The timing must be perfect. Not all summer loves are remembered with fondness. There’s something about a particular time, a particular place that hits during a transformation period in our lives. The journeys from childhood to adolescence and from adolescence to adulthood are special moments. Personally, the soundtrack of my life consists mainly of songs from those periods. Maybe we are most impressionable at those times, making us more vulnerable to the summer love.

I think the love story we have with our Creator is similar. Though “he is not far from each one of us” there are times and places where our hearts are more sensitive and receptive to Him.

“…he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.” (Acts 17:26-27)

How old were you when you reached out and found a relationship with God?


What transformational period was going on in your life at the time (college, marriage, etc)?

There is no greater love story than that between God and his people. So much so that marriage is used as an illustration (some would say a sacrament) of the relationship between God and his people and Jesus and his Church. In fact, the Bible begins with a marriage (Genesis 2) and ends with a marriage (Revelation 19-21). (thanks to John and Staci Eldredge’s Love and War for pointing that out!) But unlike the summer love, God’s love endures forever.

“Oh Lord, where is your former great love,
which in your faithfulness you swore to David?” (Psalm 89:49)

“The word of the LORD came to me…
‘I remember the devotion of your youth,
how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the desert,
through a land not sown.’ “ (Jeremiah 2:1-2)

“Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.“ (Deuteronomy 7:9)

Are you still madly in love with God? Were you ever?

Summer love is fleeting. So are our lives. “Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.” (Psalm 39:4) So if you find yourself this season longing for a love that will last, look to God, for “God is love” (1 John 4:16) Seek Him and you will find Him.

“I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.” (Proverbs 8:17)

Today continues this summer’s ‘virtual small group’ (VSG in the tags). I hope you come back as I take this season to reflect on the wonders of God’s creation, share vacation stories, etc, with the prayer that we come out of this season closer to God than how we came into it.

When Church Signs Lie

Frank

Normally, I’ve been reserving Tuesdays for my “virtual small group“. I haven’t been able to work out a post yet, so try again tomorrow. In the meantime, I strongly encourage you to stop over at the blog Bend the Page for a discussion on Michael Spencer’s book Mere Churchianity. Also check out the discussion at Faith, Fiction and Friends and Poems and Prayers.

My comment from the blog if you wish to discuss it here:

I think the trap of the church sign is that we, as individuals, are supposed to be the evidence of Christ’s presence. We gather as a community of believers in a “church” to worship together, to fellowship, to study, and support one another (all the “one anothers” in the NT). What I struggle with, and is evidenced by the lying church signs, is that the church too often is the end, not the means. The end should be a Christ-like life, not filled pews.

Are you investing your talents?

Frank

Yesterday I taught my last 3rd/4th grade Kid’s Kingdom (Sunday School) class. At least for a little while. Based on the curriculum, I’ve been teaching this class for four years and I know I was teaching for a while before we changed up our schedule. So I figure I’ve been at this for roughly five years with intermittent “rotations” before that. I’m ready for a break, though I am sad to give this up for a while.

This is just a season, like many others before, where either I don’t feel my needs being met or I don’t feel my spiritual gifts are being put to their best use. This time, it’s both. Between this class and my travel schedule due to work, I’ve been sorely missing out on fellowship and worship. I also don’t feel like my lessons are being received by the latest crop of kids like they have in the past.

Of course I’m not hanging it up for good, and I’m not going to go hide in a corner on Sundays and not be involved. One of my strongest convictions is based on Ephesians 4:1-16,

“But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it… It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Eph 4:7,11-13, emphasis added)

I strongly believe that the Body of Christ can only grow as “each part does its work” (v 16). I have the talent to bring lessons from the Bible to life in practical, applicable ways. I exercise this talent through this class, in my small group, and on this blog. I don’t say this to boast; I’m just one part of the body and this is what my part does. But as I step away from my kids’ class, I need to continue to apply this talent, or at least become more invested in the other ways I’m presently involved. I’m leaning toward the latter as I want to venture into some new territory with my small group and focus more on my writing. I felt as though I was being spread too thin, so my prayer is this move will make me more effective in these other areas.

But this decision, and my looking ahead, brings these questions to mind:

What are the talents God has given you?

How are you applying those talents to build the Body of Christ?

For reference, I think it is worth checking out the lesson Your Divine Design from Living on the Edge. That lesson has really helped me to focus my talents where I believe God has led me.

Weekend Reading, 14 August

Frank

Sometimes the look back on the week is a highlight of the many articles and blogs I read that hit me just right. Other times, there are themes that run between different posts, and it’s the theme that merits mention. This week (and stretching into last) is the latter.

First common topic, pastoring:

Meanwhile, living our faith in the public square is worth greater discussion.

Many thanks to my Twitter community, without whom I wouldn’t have found many of these posts. Hope you enjoy and that they challenge your faith and your status quo.

Flashback Friday: Walking in Another’s Shoes

Frank

***Originally posted on August 24, 2009. Posted in the wake of the Court overturning California’s Proposition 8. It’s been a while since I kicked this hornet’s nest…***

One of my goals with this blog is to be even-handed in my analysis and commentary, though I do have obvious religious and political beliefs. That doesn’t mean I’m not open to taking a different point of view. Walking in another’s shoes, so to speak, and these two articles do just that. They both highlight how one’s worldview impacts their decisions. By reading these articles, I gained a great deal of respect for both men because they are consistent in applying their worldview, something I seldom see in the present culture-war.

The first is about Ted Olson, a conservative lawyer who is fighting to overturn Proposition 8 in California. His defense of gay-marriage is based on his conservative principles to keep the government out of our personal lives. You can’t argue that he’s not consistent with his conservative view of government, in contrast to a conservative view of social moors taken by many politicians and activists. Now, I’m not about to change my opinion on gay-marriage. However, given the background in this article I will concede the point of “fundamental right” though I still worry about the “slippery slope” and disapprove the means by which homosexuals are trying to gain this right. (Specifically, not responding to Prop 8 with a proposition of their own and instead throwing a legal hissy fit)

The second article is about the “abortion evangelist” (gotta love the sensationalist headlines) LeRoy Carhart. I don’t approve of his practice, but I understand his motivation for providing it. I also admire that he does stick to his guns. In one example, “Carhart asked her what she would do if she had to carry the baby to term. ‘She didn’t say she was going to kill herself,’ he says. ‘She said she would put it up [for adoption].’ He turned her away..” I do regret that he feels the way he does about his own safety. I hope he realizes that not everyone who is opposed to abortion wants him dead. But given the slant of the article, I don’t expect that perspective to be conveyed. What is also important to glean from this article is how tragic abortion really is and that criminalizing it only marginalizes those who “need” (I hesitate using that word, but I think it’s appropriate here) the service. The real war against abortion needs to be against this need (“abortion should be available, but rare”). Think simple supply-demand economics. Legal restrictions to abortion reduce the supply which only increases the cost (emotional and physical in addition to financial) to women. Instead, the demand needs to be brought down. And no, I believe showing pictures of fetuses to women entering a clinic is too late to have any measurable effect. Instead the preciousness of life (via Scripture) needs to be emphasized alongside the value of reserving sex for marriage. There is a moral case for family planning.

In both of these cases, it can be seen how their careers are guided by their respective worldviews. But neither worldview is Biblical. Get Religion points out that the profile of Ted Olson only mentions that Olson is “not a regular churchgoer”, and Newsweek fails to mention any religious affiliation of Carhart. Yet, while we may not agree with them, we should take the lesson that our lives should be guided by some particular worldview. As Christians, our worldview should be built on being Christ-like and “what would Jesus do?” I also think it is important to be open-minded and respectful of others’ worldviews. I linked these two articles above despite my being against both cases. It is always important to see the other side of an argument. That may sound wishy-washy, but I’m not saying “we can both be right” or “truth is relative”. Instead I’m saying that I disagree with, but respect your opinion, just as you are free to disagree with mine.

Be Careful How You Talk About Your Bride

Frank

One of my convictions when it comes to marriage is to never speak negatively about your spouse in public. This conviction came about from observation- almost every Sunday I will hear someone bad-talking their husband or wife. It’s one thing to be open for the sake of getting help, but it’s a whole other to just gossip and gripe.

We treat Christ’s bride the same, sadly. And I am guilty of this myself. I just read this fro the first chapter of Transformational Church bt Thom Rainer and Ed Setzer and I need to camp out on it for a while:

Right now it is en vogue to look down on the church. If you take a look at certain sections of the blog and book worlds, or just peruse the Christian Twittersphere, you can find all kinds of people taking all kinds of shots at the Bride of Christ. And they’re doing it for all kinds of reasons. Many are disillusioned with the church of their upbringing. Some are discouraged by decline or scandals. A younger generation is frustrated with the church’s apparent apathy about social justice causes. Some are upset that the church won’t get more modernized; some are upset because the church has lost it’s ancient ways. There are criticisms abounding of emerging churches, seeker churches, missional churches, traditional churches, Boomer churches, multi-site churches, old churches, new churhes, and the list goes on. Sometimes it seems there are as many complaints as ther are Christians, and some of these complaints are well meaning.

But… If you can’t do, teach. And if you can’t do or teach, become a critic.

Who’s fighting by your side?

Frank

Saturday, my family attended the wedding of a young couple in my church. The groom was the first person I met here when I moved out. At the time he was a young teen with a serving heart, seeing an unfamiliar face looking around not sure if he was at the right place. He took me under his wing and made sure to introduce me to those who would later become some of my “closest” friends. He didn’t know it at the time, but he left a life-long impression on me. Now, eight years later he enters into marriage, a new kind of relationship, a new kind of battle.

Coincidentally, Sunday was the going away party for the Best Man at my wedding. I was also his Best Man. After I moved out here, I stayed with him while looking for a place to live. We led our Singles Ministry together. We stayed up late most nights. We studied together. We led people to Christ together. But I wasn’t at his party. Instead I was on a plane, on yet another business trip. He will be moving overseas, on to his next adventure. I’m not sure if I’m ever going to see him again in this life.

That, sadly, is typical. I’m not close to many people. Not as many as I should. While I’d lay down my life for just about anyone, I’m not sure many would for me simply for the fact that I’ve let few others in. My best friend and I started to grow apart after we were married, further apart after he divorced, and even further apart when my children were born. I found out he was moving second-hand, though he did tell me it was coming. Honestly, these words are hard to put on the page. I’m on the verge of tears just sitting here.

But this wasn’t (entirely) meant to be a confessional. Recently, Jay Cookingham has posted a series based on the documentary Band of Brothers. In his first post, he measured his life by adding up the years he has been friends with his BoB. He counted them up to 313 years. Sure, he’s got a few more years on me. And I could make the excuse of only living where I am for eight years. But even with those excuses, I couldn’t even name 13 of my closest friends. This point was also made in the sermon a week ago. But that challenge was simpler. I couldn’t name three. Like I said, this isn’t meant to be a confessional. Instead I am convicted. I am intentionally going after friendships I take for granted- recognizing that by standing side-by-side in the fight is what bonds brotherhood, not simply being part of some arbitrary group.

Friday night we were over at a friends house for their daughter’s birthday party. While there a brother confronted me about hanging out. Something we’ve been talking about doing for far too long. We had a good conversation that night. It won’t be the last. In fact, I’m picking up my phone right now.

My question of the week this week has three parts:

Who is your closest friend and how long have you been friends?


Do you have at least three close friends that you can turn to when your back is against the wall?


Can you name 13 in your Band of Brothers (or Sisters)/Mighty Men/or whatever you wish to call it?