Holiness Reeducation

What are we as Christians to make of dreams? Dreams are one of the least talked about spiritual encounters in the church, yet we find God speaking to people through dreams throughout the scriptures. It is impossible to miss all of the encounters that people have with God in scripture. Yet, we are typically very dismissive of the power of dreams and their ability to connect us to God. We often believe the words of this Despair poster, that only idiots chase dreams.

Certainly some of this struggle comes from our Enlightenment manufactured education and culture that tells us that reason is the primary vehicle for understanding God. But, it goes beyond that. For some reason we take our dreams and relegate them to simply the dark or difficult to understand parts of our brain that having nothing to do with the active reality of living. But I don’t think that is true. The more I think about the dreams I have, both actively and subconsciously, the more I realize that my dreams give me a lot of insight into my soul.

Dreams have an ability to connect us to the mystery of God. As you think about God as creator, doesn’t seem that somehow God dreamt us up. God imagined us and spoke and crafted us into existence. God imagined us and then we existed. Our ability to dream reconnects us with the very act of creation. So we need to learn how to dream in order to really explore who it is God has created us to be.

I have a lot of dreams. Most of my dreams growing up were for fame or glory. I dreamt of being a star athlete, the lead singer of a band, or even president. But at the heart of those dreams was the belief that something great could come from my life. That is still my dream, but I understand greatness a lot better now. As I dream about God’s plan for me and God’s call for me, fame, money, and acclaim have nothing to do with greatness. I desire now to see God do great things all around me and through me, but understand that none of it will be done through my efforts or gifts. God can use each of us to bring about the greatness of his kingdom on earth simply through our submission and faithfulness. All glory there is to be had is God’s glory.

So I dream of churches that are thriving. I dream of churches that lay aside all that entangles and traps us from truly loving God (money, sex, power, success, the praise of others) and really discovers God’s mission for the church. I dream of seeing a revival sweep across our nation. Ever since I was in college and had visions of revival I have believed that our generation will see a spiritual awakening the likes of which haven’t been seen in a hundred years. I dream of being overwhelmed by the glory of God manifested in transformed lives all around me. I dream of God.

We need to dream more. We need to share our dreams together. We need to encourage one another and offer input and interpretations to our dreams. We need to take seriously the connection that our dreams can have with our creator. So what are your dreams, everyone has a dream…..

Cake makes you happy

Today is my son’s 2nd birthday. That sure went fast, wow! I always dreamed about having a son, but the reality has been far more wonderful than anything I imagined. What I really appreciate about my son is his spirit. He is gentle, laid back, full of life,  very loving and he thinks he is hysterical. I can’t imagine where he got that.

Here are some highlights from the weekend.

Jack Kent Cooke is Smiling Today

What a great weekend to be a part of Redskins Nation! Seeing two all time great Skins like Darrell Green and Art Monk go into the Hall of Fame together was amazing. The entire stadium was decked out in Redskins jerseys, mercilessly booing every time a Cowboy was mentioned and giving Art Monk a 4 minute ovation when he stepped to the podium. It was awesome. The ovation made up for the ridiculousness of Monk having to wait 8 years to be inducted.

My favorite moment from Darrell Green’s career was definitely the playoff game against Chicago, a classic grind it out cold weather battle that Green won with a punt return for a touchdown. He actually torn his rib cartilage on the play and still scored. The man intercepted a pass in 19 consecutive seasons, that is absurd. My favorite Art Monk moment was the game when he set the then all time record for career receptions. Monk, like Cal Ripken, was marked with consistent steady production that showed unbelievable dedication and sportsmanship. Plus he rocks a sweet ’stache. I am glad for them both.

Then in an absolutely meaningless game the Skins looked pretty good, especially the QB’s. How about Colt Brennan flinging the ball around like he belongs in the show? It was meaningless, but at least no one had a devastating injury. Of course it was hard to even realize there was a game since it was mainly a three investigative report as to whether or not Brett Favre’s plane had landed, which seat his wife was sitting in inside the luxury box, and what he ate for dinner. This whole thing has made me not ever want to root for Favre again. Let’s go Vikings!

Worship is better with bubbles

I got a chance to preach outside yesterday at Green Chapel. It was wonderful. What a joy it is to worship outdoors. The simplicity of the service, the relaxed and welcoming spirit of the people, and the joy of feeling connected to the creator were such a blessing. Come and check it out if you haven’t yet. The kids were even blowing bubbles throughout the service yesterday, so the Spirit was with us!

A Holy Headlock

Yesterday the lectionary took us to the story of Jacob wrestling with God. This story has so many levels, but the part that stuck with me yesterday was Jacob’s determination to grab onto God until he received his blessing. That kind of determination to seek and know God is vital to maintaining our zeal and passion for the gospel. This week let us all renew this zeal and grab hold of God with all we have, knowing that the blessing that come are not because of our determination, but because of God’s never changing mercy and love for us.

Last night Shay, Loren, David and I ventured to Raleigh for the Church Basement Roadshow with Tony Jones, Doug Padgitt, and Mark Scandrette. It was truly a unique experience (except that the Jesus for President show that Shay went to last week was very similar in format) and very entertaining. Here is a video from the show. It was a hybrid show/revival/book tour that you have to experience to really understand. Thankfully, David, Shay and I recorded a podcast this morning so that we could share all of our thoughts about it with you.

So go to my podcast and check out our review. If you have seen it, we would love to have your thoughts as well.

Sorry this week’s ramblings and links are a day late, I know many of you had the entire rhythm of your life upset by my tardiness. Yesterday was 7 hour staff planning meeting day. The meeting was good. The meeting was long. The meeting took away my capacity for proper cognitive function. So here you go…

Middle School Drama on the Gridiron

The Brett Favre saga is difficult to make sense of. In some ways I feel for Brett because all he wants to do is play football for the team he loves, that he has lead so effectively, and that he has been loyal to for so long. On the other hand, he brought this on himself. Every off season for the past 3 years it has bee the Brett Favre retirement watch. He loves the drama. He assured them he was done playing, and they had to move on. If they allowed Brett Favre to come back now and reclaim his starting job, they might as well trade Aaron Rodgers because he would never recover from that. Sorry that it has ended up this way, but in the end I don’t feel sorry for anyone involved except for Aaron Rodgers whose entire career is being dictated by his misfortune of being drafted by the Packers. After all this drama, I would be shocked if Rodgers has anything more than a pedestrian career.

The Leadership Market is showing great returns

Every church has its distinctive culture. God works in each place uniquely through the setting and the people who are there. At Christ Church one of the real distinctives is that this is a place leaders are called and trained for ministry. We have had a major hand in developing and sending off  over a dozen pastors in the past 10 years. That really is extraordinary. This is a place where we readily invest our resources in raising up new leaders for the church. There is a huge cost in time and resources associated with it, but we never seem to mind either because it is so important. During meetings yesterday we were talking about this part of our church and it made me feel privileged for Christ Church’s investment into me and humbled by the opportunities I have had to invest in others.

Your New Best Friends

I have not and probably won’t see the movie Step Brothers, however, there is a really funny link where you can insert your friends into a video with Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly and they will call their phone. Check it out.

An Old Timey Revival Sort Of

I am going to go and check out the Church Basement Roadshow with Tony Jones, Doug Padgitt and Mark Scandrette tomorrow night in Durham. The whole concept makes me laugh, but I am sure it will be an interesting show and involve some cool discussions. I don’t expect to encounter many new ideas, since I have read a lot of their stuff, but I am interested in the spirit of the gathering. Emergent gatherings have a tendency to go one of two ways for me. They seem to bounce back and forth between this disenchanted and reactionary sessions and the most gracious, Spirit filled sessions of exploring our faith and trying to grapple with the gospel. I am definitely hoping this will be the later.

On the blog Stuff Christians Like, they had a post the other day about the different roles of the Pastor’s wife. He suggested that most pastor’s wives fall into one of three categories: Sunny Rainbow Happy Lady, The Grumpiest Person on Earth, and Keyser Soze. The post was problematic in a couple of ways. First, the categories he alloted for this role were very limited. Second, the changing scope of pastoral ministry needs more categories for the role of the pastor’s husband, a difficult and changing role indeed. I can’t say much about the role of the pastor’s husband, but I can talk about the the role of the pastor’s wife.

For a long time the pastor’s wife has conjured up images of jumpers, hair in a bun, running bake sales, playing the piano, running VBS and being an ever present part of the church. This however, is not the role of my wife, nor will it ever be. The only thing I usually say about my wife on my blog is that I don’t talk about her much, because I try to keep protect her from the public nature of my job. Gretchen does, however, have a very significant role in my ministry and the church. It will just never be the role that other people assign to her, it will always be the role she desires.

If I were to offer a category for the role my wife has chosen to take in our church, it would be what I call the First Lady pastor’s wife. This is the well loved pastor’s wife who shows up to make otherwise dull events look better, who had personal projects they are passionate about that they throw themselves into, and whose style and charm make them far more liked than the pastor. This is a formal role that my wife excels at. She is a very gracious hostess, excels in front of people, and has parts of ministry that she is very passionate about.

But, one of the things that comes with being a pastor’s spouse (wife or husband) is that other people constantly try to add to your role. The roles that other people try to assign to the pastor’s spouse include, the press secretary (the person who has all the information), customer service representative (the person you come to complain about the church to) and pastor (assuming the spouse can or will do anything their spouse will). This can be really hard on any spouse whose life is already made so much harder by their spouse serving the church.

So give your pastor’s spouse some serious love. They have a difficult life as it is. Allow them some boundaries, love them no matter the role they take, and don’t project your expectations on them, their spouses already deal with that enough.

I would love to hear from any other pastors or their spouses out there about the difficulties of these roles and what they experience.

Editor’s Note - I found this picture and thought it was hysterical. That is the only reason it is here. This is not a picture of my wife, just for the record

For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.

-1 Corinthians 4:9-13

Hey all! Shay here. Guest blogging on Greg’s blog again. I have an interesting story for you from last weekend:

I was invited to guest host a local improv comedy show on Friday. What this means is I stand up and share stories and between each story the players do a series of short skits based on material from my stories. This show generally features artists, authors, poets, musicians, local politicians, radio DJs and other similarly known personalities. As a youth pastor I was immediately confused at the proposition that I should host this show, but I agreed.

I prepared several humorous anecdotes about some kids in my youth group and even a few about when I was in youth group growing up. As the show began, I slowly realized what I had gotten myself into. I had hoped that my beliefs and values would not be exploited or ridiculed and that the material for their show would come from the wacky antics of teenagers rather than from the religious setting in which these antics took place. I was wrong. After the first set of scenes, I didn’t know what I could possibly do to redeem the show. The scenes involved an angry Jesus who cussed kids out, people wiping their private parts with cake and then feeding it to others, a demon bird, drilling holes in Bibles for fun, a lot of sex, a lot of random cussing, and a lot more potentially offensive material that I cannot recall right now. It seemed as if the Church, Christianity, and Christ were quickly becoming fodder for cheap jokes and bitter ridicule.

I have spent a lot of time reflecting on that evening since then and have a few thoughts on the situation. I love comedy. I think good humor is better than most things in life. I love laughing and having fun and witty conversation and good jokes. However, as with most good things, humor and laughter can be twisted into something harmful or degrading. C.S. Lewis addresses this concept when he identifies several different types of laughter: joy, fun, ‘the joke proper’, satire (or mockery), and flippancy.

With improv, the challenge is to avoid the easy way out. The easy way is flippancy and a close second is exaggerated satire. In the world of acting this is known as ‘going blue.’ Crude and vulgar content is often used in place of wit, good satire, observant jokes, fun, and joy. In the show there was a lot of mockery, satire, and flippancy. And this is where the conversation begins. Paul warns us of the worse part of satire and all of flippancy when he writes, “Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving (Eph. 5:4).”

Standing on the line between the Kingdom and the World, I could have seen myself as being too sensitive and prudish and taking the whole thing a bit too personally, but at intermission and after the show a couple of the players came up to me and apologized and said they would try harder to keep the show “clean.” I even got an email later that night from the friend who asked me to host the show but couldn’t actually be there that night. He apologized because he heard the show was very raunchy and crude.

Sure, I could have been offended and angered because I was invited as a guest and then not treated with respect. I could have been upset that the things I care about were mocked and the values I hold were disregarded. I could have puffed my chest out and declared that my God and I did not deserve to be treated that way. But I don’t think this is the attitude or mindset Christ would want me to take.

If you read the letters of Paul carefully and have some understanding of the language and culture of drama and spectacle of Paul’s time you can start to see a very specific message about the image we as Christians should take in the world. One key passage is found in Corinthians: “We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. We are fools for Christ (1 Cor. 4:9-10).” In Paul’s letters, he makes a comparison between Christ on the cross and the spectacle of being the buffoon like ‘fool’ character in the theater productions of his time or those who were sent into the arenas to be humiliated and killed.

We are called to “have same attitude of mind Christ Jesus had” as Paul writes in the Philippians hymn: “Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be exploited, rather, he made himself nothing by taking on the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human being, he humbled himself by being obedient to death, even death on a cross (Phli. 2:5-8)!”

Instead of seeing this evening as a humiliating waste of time, I have come to see it as being an opportunity to live the humble gospel out with joy. The actors and the audience have a new perspective on Christian leaders because I was willing to go into their world and sit among them. I showed them I can have fun and be gracious even in the face of obvious ridicule. Nothing I did or said was condoning their behavior, but nothing I did or said condemned them, either. I even ended the night with a brief summary of my sermon for the following Sunday and an invitation for them to join me for worship. I made a few new friends and hopefully opened some eyes to what it means to follow Christ.

What would you have done in my situation? What are your thoughts on playing the ‘fool for Christ’? How do we as the Church fail to accept the role as ‘Christ’s fool’ and instead join the world in their image game?

Dancing with ACL Injuries

Aren’t you glad you are not an NFL head coach. Jim Zorn the rookie head coach of the Washington Redskins discovered what it means to be the top man of an NFL team real quick this week. On the first play, of the first practice, on the first day, of training camp one of the truly indispensable defensive players on the roster, defensive end Philip Daniels, was lost for the season with a torn ACL. Then before the day was over, another defensive end, one of the players who could take Daniels’ spot was lost for the season with a torn tendon. No wonder coaches burn out within 4 years and have such physical problems.

The Skins did the only thing they could in the situation, they traded for Dancing with the Stars phenom Jason Taylor of the Dophins. Taylor should be a good fit for the Skins. He seems to have some tread left on the tires, and paired with Andre Carter he should give them a bona fide pass rush for the first time in a while. But the Skins better be investigating some young d-linemen who are available or get cut throughout camp. They need some depth. Welcome to Washington Mr. Taylor, may your stay be more fruitful than Bruce Smith’s, Neon Deon’s, and Brandon Lloyd’s.

Heaven is closer than you think

Is there a larger part of orthodox theology that Christians have little or no understanding of than heaven and the afterlife? Whenever I poll my congregation, talk to strangers, ask teenagers, or speak to people who claim the name of Christ, I am amazed at how little real instruction they have received about heaven and the afterlife. How many people believe they will be angels when they die? Angels and humans are very different, scripture makes this quite clear. How many do not believe in a bodily resurrection? I am talking about real skin and bones, an actual physical resurrection that will be the bodies we have for eternity. Do people believe in those? Very seldom do they have any idea that this is a central, orthodox, teaching of the church. It is in the Apostle’s Creed, really take a look.

So if you struggle with the theology of eternity, thankfully God has given us Bishop NT Wright. His latest book, Surprised By Hope, is the best work on the subject I have encountered. He delves into our bad theology, the true origins of theology, and Christ’s teachings in a very thorough and engaging manner. Pick up a copy, read it, and share it with some friends. It is worth every penny.

You can pick up my first book at Costco

An article last week talked about the changing reality of Christian bookstores. I have never been a fan of Christian bookstores, at least not the ones you can easily find in strip malls around the country. When I walk into a place and see Christian kitsch, just junk that somehow supports our faith and proclaims the name of Christ, it really drives me crazy. Not that there aren’t books worth getting there, it is just that you would have no idea how to find them amidst all the junk. Publishing houses figured out a long time ago that Christians spend a lot money on Christian stuff, so they should publish Christian books. But, the changing culture of commerce and the changing culture of the church in our country are reshaping bookstores and hopefully bringing an end to the vast wasteland of resources that makes up Christian kitsch. Maybe if we buy less overpriced Christian t-shirts and eliminate figurines from our existence we will find resources to make a difference in the world.

Christians get offended by potty language

Tom Davis from Children’s Hopechest wrote an interesting article for beliefnet called Why Christians S**K. Why they had to mark out the word suck, I don’t understand, but that is besides the point. The article is thought provoking even if it only touches the surface of why we struggle to live faithfully, and you can check it out here. More interesting are some of Davis’ idea about how to live out our faith more effectively.

Alright, there are some thoughts to get the week started. Here is to hoping that the Redskins don’t lose three more players in todays walk through.

Not a day goes by without a major article chronicling the fluctuating and unfriendly housing market here in the US. Major lenders are getting government aide to stay afloat. Some housing markets have experienced such a decline that many people are simply giving their house back to the bank. Foreclosures are at an all time high.

All verifiable evidence points to the housing bubble having burst. For years we have borrowed extensively and invested our funds, made ridiculous returns in a short period of time, flip houses, and increasingly used our profits to buy bigger and bigger houses. We have mortgaged our future for visions of get rich quick opportunities and the promise of more square footage. Is there any more American problem than this housing crisis? We have had too much money, too easily borrowed, that we used to borrow even more inconceivably large amounts of money and now we are finally paying the price.

In someways I feel like the church in North America has suffered from some of these same poor decisions. I look at churches with tens and hundreds of millions of dollars invested in facilities and I wonder, what happens when the bubble bursts? What happens when decline hits the mega-church? With such monstrous overhead and cost wrapped up in facilities, what happens if their growth bubble levels off? What happens when their markets are saturated? Many mega-churches are planting satellite campuses to address this issue, but it isn’t an easy or quick fix. Those sites will need to  be self sustaining as well, so they don’t necessarily address a problem there either.

But this isn’t just about mega-churches. Many churches, suburban, urban, small and large, have jumped at the opportunity to build bigger and bigger facilities, but is this a good thing? Indebtedness has strapped the church when it comes to mission and ministry. If we don’t begin to address this indebtedness we will increasingly find it difficult to have the resources necessary to sustain the work of the church.

At our church I am glad that we have gotten serious about this. We have a lot of debt. This debt costs us almost $1000 a day in mortgage and interest payments. That is $1000 a day we could be using to feed people, care for people, and help start new churches. So we are tightening our belts, digging a little deeper, and within three years we are going to try and pay off our debt, with a commitment that the savings won’t be poured into buildings or staff, but instead into missions and ministry. That makes me proud of our people that they are so serious about stewardship.

What do you think? How has the love of brick and mortar affect the churches present reality and future dreams?

Just got back late last night from another out of town venture and I am tired. But I am thankful, blessed, and ready for the week. So here are some thoughts to get the week rolling.

There usually isn’t much of a debate about this, in my life, but this weekend affirmed it: Sandwiches are my favorite food group. I love sandwiches, especially ones I can creatively piece together on my own. I am always looking for new sandwich combinations does anybody have one for me. Here is one I have been eating lately.

Sourdough Bread, Fresh guacamole (homemade of course), provolone, thinly sliced turkey, I like to put the bread, meat and cheese in the toaster oven till it is just right then add the guacamole.

It is simple and delicious. I like my guacamole a little spicy which makes it go well with the turkey. Other variations of this are to exchange the provolone for pepper jack cheese or to go with chicken breast.

If you are looking for some good fun summer reading, I have been enjoying Daniel Silva’s collection this summer. Typical spy, espionage, terrorist plots, but with some nice European and Israeli flavor. I am also chewing through The New Conspirators by Tom Sine which is a great book about the future of the church in the 21st Century. I also had the book Deep Change by Robert Quinn highly recommended to me this weekend.

I love my new phone. Picked up a Samsung Blackjack and I am really enjoying it. I debated waiting and saving for the new Iphone which is far cooler and more stylish, but I am pleased with the blackjack. Now I can check my email at all times. That can only make life simpler and easier, right?!?!

I sing to my kids a lot. This isn’t because I am a great singer it is just because I love music. Right now my daughter keeps requesting that I sing Sugar Mountain by Neil Young. She likes Neil Young, and knows the lyrics to several of his songs. Here is what the song is supposed to sound like.

On a Biblical note I was visiting another church on Sunday while I was out of town and two things happened I haven’t seen in a while. First, people brought their Bibles to church. Second, when I read from a passage, they turned there and followed along. They actually have, use, and know their Bibles. It was cool. I am really trying to help promote and provide more Biblical literacy for the people I am blessed to preach to and to live life with and it was just a nice reminder that there are places where Biblical literacy happens. I needed that encouragement.

Anyways, have a great week and as Neil says, Keep on Rocking in the Free World.

I have been spending a lot of time in the book of Joshua this week. Joshua is a complicated book. There are some tough theological questions about genocide and the will of God in this book. But, I haven’t really been concentrating on those issues. What I have been thinking about and wrestling with is how to stop thinking like a slave.

The people of Israel spent generations as slaves in Egypt. Their whole lives were predetermined. Where they lived, what they did, when they could worship, all of these things were dictated to them. As a slave your mentality is shaped by such forces. You don’t think about self determination. You don’t learn to trust or to have faith. You simply learn how to survive in the midst of a system meant to crush your spirit and contain you.

So as they wander in the wilderness, following Moses, learning to be a people of faith and to go into the unknown, they continually long to go back to Egypt. God had just delivered them from Pharaoh, why would they want to go back? They wanted to go back because it seemed easier to go back to the life they knew as slaves than to press forward and become something different. The evil they knew was less scary than the unknown.

In Joshua we find a new generation of Israel, one that didn’t grow up as slaves, but instead grew up as wanderers. And now their leader is gone and God is calling them to settled down in the Promised Land. They are scared too. They don’t know how to live that life. They are unsure of stepping into their future.

We are all slaves. We are slaves to sin, slaves to ourselves. And like Israel, even after we have been freed from slavery to sin and set on the path of the righteous, we struggle not to long for our previous life. Life freed from sin is unquestionably better, but it isn’t necessarily easy. It is full of tests of faith, and moments of growth, and increasing levels of clarity as to our ineptitudes and brokenness. But, in order for us to reach the Promised Land we will have to leave behind this life we have known and step out in faith into the promise of God’s future for us. We have to learn to stop living as slaves.