From Henri Nouwen:
"For us who still live in time, it is important not to act as if the new life in Christ is something we can comprehend or explain. God's heart and mind are greater than ours. All that is asked of us.....is trust"
I had lunch today with a new friend, a recent graduate of Fuller Seminary, with a Master of Arts in Christian Leadership. My friend, Michael and I discussed his vision of his future vocational and ministry calling. I have not been so energized by a lunch discussion in some time.
Michael has a vision for beginning a ministry to recent college graduates, living in community, very much similar to the original vision of Hollywood Urban Project, a ministry I had the priviledge of being a part of a number of years ago. Living in community, sharing lives, learning about the calling of Christ, and figuring out what in the world this means in the context of modern life.
One of the topics that we discussed was the way in which the church seems to often be so irrelevant to our lives today. Here I was, with a Fuller grad, agreeing on the irrelevancy of the church. We agreed that the church is good at sending missionaries overseas, of equipping pastors, of teaching the scriptures, but is completely inept at reaching the world of commerce. The world where so many of us work each day. To coin a phrase, what is with THAT?! Seems like the secular world needs to be affected by the people of the Cross in a way that is new, engaging and affecting.
Can our work be holy? Can we do things at the office that have the same eternal merit as things we do in church or in other ministry settings? Can we make a Kingdom Difference in the real world?
I mentioned in our conversation, that if I could say just one thing to "The Church", I would likely stand on the top of a pew during the hushed silence of an otherwise reverent moment, and shout:
"Please.....Be Relevant!"
Michael and I are starting a relationship, that I hope goes places, blesses people, and brings the Kingdom together more. And maybe, it might just be relevant.
As we approach the Holidays I want to share with you the joy of Christmas, as seen by a child. I wonder if this Santa ever returned to the ranks after this experience? I am sure that his beard was actually straight prior to the 500 decibel scream that emanated from this sweet little girl; the sound shock curled the beard. Note that she had the presence of mind to NOT drop the free candy cane. Good job there, little Susie!
I have other holiday thoughts I that are knocking around inside my semi-balding head that I will share soon, including my low budget review of this book.
Only 23 more shopping days....
As perhaps most of you know, the most important college football game of the year will be happening this weekend. As typical, I can make a connection between the most mundane things of life and the things of the spiritual world. And of course, God is a Bruin.
And as well all know, football is only a metaphor for the spiritual battle of real life. Really. I am not kidding. Shown here is a classic album that illustrates my point. You think I am kidding, go here to listen to what the real meaning of football is all about, and try and keep a straight face.
Update: The link to the sound file appears to have broken....another act of Evil!
Pictured to the left is the "No Nombres", my 11-year old daughter's AYSO soccer team. No Nombres translated from Spanish is "No Namers"; the girls thought this would be a funny name. Sorry for the blurry photo, my cell phone can only do so much. This is a great bunch of young ladies.
Today was the last game of the season, and the game was decided in the last minutes of overtime. My daughter Heather was the goalie during those minutes. This is a story about winning and losing and people of character.
The No Nombres have had a less than stellar season. Their season record was something like 1-11, but they had fun in every game, and rarely lost by much. They never stopped smiling, or enjoying time with each other on the field and at practices. They laughed lots.
This team also had a wonderful coach. Coach Scott has been a friend of mine for more years than either of us wants to remember. We are also professional friends, both owning small businesses in the same discipline of commercial real estate. Scott is a wonderful guy, the type of fellow you can always depend on. There are not many Scotts out there in the world. He is also the father of three girls, ranging from 11 to 18 years old; all of whom are lovely young ladies. Coach Scott made sure that every girl played equally, had fun, was valued, and participated. For Scott, winning was definitely not what it was all about. Thanks, Coach Scott - job very well done!
The winning goal went in with about 2 minutes left in overtime. It slipped past Heather, and she immediately crumpled to the ground in tears. Her entire team surrounded her and offered words of encouragement. "Its all my fault", she kept repeating - and I thought my heart would break as well. She got her emotions together, and finished the game, but then fell apart again afterward. Final score 1-0; my shirt got very wet from tears. Sometimes it is hard to be a kid.
Tonight, after the end-of-season swim party was over, and we had settled in back at home, I asked Heather if she had learned any lessons from the day. "Yeah, I think I learned that it wasn't just my fault, you win as a team and lose as a team".
And who says kids can't teach us lessons?
Rest on the Flight into Egypt, David Gerard, 1510, Bruges
Those living in the early centuries lead lives surely full of struggle, hardship, turmoil, and a constant awareness of the tenacity of life. Through the centuries, as lives became more comfortable, those Bible stories, the narratives of real life, and the remarkable life of the Savior tend to fade in importance.
The Artist's Garden at Vetheuil, Claude Monet, 1880
We have become too comfortable in our aristocratic lives, in our gardens fair, in our inventions and society. We don't need those old stories, we have made a new story that is fairer to the eye, and more easy to digest. I think I fear for our modern society. We have forgotten from where we have come.
I don't know a thing about Sara McLachlan's theology, but she gets this.
Watch this. (HT to Rhett Smith)
Today my friend Tod Bolsinger has an interesting post about what may be a good book. Go look.
As a part of the post, Tod directs us to the Common Grounds blog, which might make great reading. Anyplace where thoughtful Christian folk get together to talk about the Christian Journey is wonderful. Just take a look at the contributors, it looks like the Who's Who of cool Christendom. My favorite, at least visually for scare factor, is this fellow!
However, this leaves me wondering about the regular fellow, the Norge Repairman, if you will. As I peruse the list of contributors to Common Grounds, I don't see a broad collection of regular folk, the lay people of the church. Might broadening the field make it tons more interesting? Just think of it, the "Norge Repairman's Theological Musings!"
However, I do know some of these (regular) folks, and love to read their thoughts - check my BlogRoll for more - both regular and "fancy" people, both those with and without at least an M.A. or M.S. after their names.
Here is something interesting. When I Google "the church drunk uncle", I get my own blog! Chalk up another great blow on my behalf for Jesus and evangelism. I should get some form of award from the people at GlogBlogCon.
Strangely enough, I actually had a Drunk Uncle when I was growing up. He was a refined and subtle drunk though. I never saw him smashed, falling down, shameful. In our family, that sort of thing never happened. You kept your dysfunction well hidden, proper-looking, and in check. But I remember when my Dad would speak of The Uncle, it was with a mixture of sadness and anger. The Uncle never stopped the drinking, and ended up passing away, early, in his mid 50's, during my senior year of college. Although it wasn't spoken of, it was probably from the drinking.
Why do I tell you this? I had lunch with a good friend today, someone I have known for more than 20 years. Turns out this fellow is a pastor as well. He took over a church that was pretty sick about 7 years ago. The pastor had misbehaved, left the church, and nearly drove the place into the ground in the act of leaving. Those left behind were shell shocked, tired, wounded. It took a long time to heal, but by God's good grace, this same church today is a vibrant and growing place.
My church? Well these days, it feels not unlike a Drunk Uncle. From the exterior, nice looking buildings, albeit old and traditional. But on the inside, pretty messed up these days. When I think of it, we are all like that, in varying ways, including me.
Guess what I decided today? I decided, again, that I love the Drunk Uncle. I am willing to hold his head while he barfs, get some coffee into him, and see if he might not want to try out a good recovery program. We all need some recovery. There is still lots of hope.