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Follow the Star

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:29:17 GMT

When I was growing up Christmas was all about getting what I considered bigger and better gifts than my brother. Maybe brothers are just competitive by nature… or maybe I just wanted to feel like the “star of the show.” You know what I mean, right? Like, forget what everyone else is doing and let the spotlight be on me! I used to love getting what I thought was the best gift, and then showing it off to my friends and family. I don’t think I desired them to rejoice in my happiness as much as I wanted their attention. When it came to Christmas, I felt like I was the star.

My thoughts for this Christmas season are “Follow the Star” ...and it is not about me! Probably, you are familiar with the “Christmas Star,” the legendary star that stopped in the sky above the very the cave in Bethlehem where Jesus was born. This story is found in the Bible in Matthew 2. But the story actually predates Matthew 2. Check out this prophecy found in the Torah:

I see him, but not in the present time. I perceive him, but far in the distant future. A star will rise from Jacob; a scepter will emerge from Israel. –Numbers 24:17(NLT)

Some scholars say this is a prophecy of the literal star we read about in Matthew 2. It is also a metaphor for the rise of the One who would be (and is) the King of kings! There is One who is the real Star of the show! This is a way that Jesus revealed Himself as Messiah:

“I'm the Root and Branch of David, the Bright Morning Star." –Revelation 22:16(Msg)

Jesus is now the Star! He is the Bright Morning Star! He is the Star of Bethlehem! He is the Star from Jacob! He is the Star of David! He is the Christmas Star! He is the Star of the show!

There is a cliché that’s surfaced in the past few year, and I’ll admit that I really like this one: “Wise men still seek Him.” This year, let’s be people who definitely seek Him – I mean, let’s PURSUE Him! But, even better, let’s follow Him!

So here’s a challenge to us all: Follow the Star. Show the love the Christ this Christmas. Let a mom shopping with her kids cut in front of you in line at the grocery store. Randomly, anonymously pay for someone's meal at a restaurant. Put a dollar in every Salvation Army bucket you pass. Start sponsoring a child at the Prince of Peace Home for Girls in Guatemala. Go to the mall and select a child from the Salvation Army Angel Tree to buy gifts for. Fill up a bag of groceries and help STOMP OUT HUNGER!

Follow the Star. Be the church. Let’s make Jesus famous in our community!

Stomp Out Hunger commercial

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 01:44:45 GMT

3 out of 5 pastors update Twitter/Facebook while shooting commercials

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:44:26 GMT

Hey gang! Just finished shooting the commercials for STOMP OUT HUNGER with Pastors Greg, Lamar, Ben, and John! This holiday season we're seeing a mighty move of the hand of God in Hot Springs, so get ready! "The time is NOW!" (hehe - a little inside joke) Keep your eyes open for the commercials, which begin airing on black Friday (the day STOMP OUT HUNGER goes live), and will air through Christmas!

Here's a few pics different ones of us took while having a blast working together on the commercial!

Amazing Man!

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:23:22 GMT

Today is another first for me! I'll be speaking at Rector Heights Baptist Church this evening during their men's ministry shindig ("shindig" is my word, not theirs... not sure if Baptists have shindigs- can anybody help me out on this one?). I love opportunities that take us across the "brand lines" of Christianity! Like this holiday season, I'm stoked that Oaklawn ChoG is collaborating with a whole bunch of great, Kingdom-minded congregations to STOMP OUT HUNGER in Hot Springs! Stay tuned for more to come on this...

Since most of you won't be able to join us tonight at Rector Heights Baptist... it's a "gender" thing, not a "denominational" thing - but still... sorry ladies... here's a few thoughts that I want to share tonight about -dunh dunh dunh- "Amazing Man!" Seriously, has anyone else ever noticed how in Christianity, we celebrate how amazing and wonderful and exemplary women are (and you are those things, and MUCH MORE, ladies!), but when we speak directly to the men it's stuff like, "You're not doing your job!" "You're not good enough!" "How dare you skip church to go hunting!?" OK, see... I don't care at all if you guys go hunting on Sunday, just know that a tenth of the meat of the game you kill belongs to your pastor. Just sayin'

It is a travesty, though, that we do this. I know some pretty amazing men. I'll not name them all here for fear that they may read this, get a big head about it, and then cease to be amazing. But my dad... my dad is definitely an amazing man. And I can say this without fear that he could ever cease to be amazing (and it ain't even Father's Day, right? ...But Christmas is coming ;})

In his book, "Wild at Heart," John Eldridge wrote: "Every man was once a boy. And every little boy has dreams, big dreams: dreams of being the hero, dreams of beating the bad guys, of doing daring feats and rescuing the damsel in distress... but what happens to those dreams when we grow up? Walk into most churches, have a look around, and ask yourself: What is a Christian man? Most Christian men are... bored."

One of my favorite hobbies is knocking out boredom. Every once in a while I like to grab boredom, throw into a steel cage, set up a 20-ft. ladder, and nail that boredom with a swanton-bomb off the top of the ladder! My fellow Jeff Hardy marks know what I'm talking about.

So I'm faced with this choice, and it really is my decision to make: Boring Man or Amazing Man, which is it gonna be? Boring Man thinks about what he has and doesn't have all time - it really is selfish to be bored. On the other hand, Amazing Man is wild about God and has a heart for his family. Note that the difference between Boring and Amazing is in direct proporation to focus of my attention.

So, here I am - my dad is an amazing man, and my son becoming an amazing man - and I'm learning how from the both of them. Who is Amazing man to you?

spew this

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:26:06 GMT

Hot coffee is REALLY good!

Cold coffee is REALLY good!

Hot coffee or cold coffee that sits out and becomes lukewarm is useless, and makes me spew!

Be hot. Be cold. Be useful.

Revelation 3:14-20

The password is... Thank You!

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:12:59 GMT

Wow, it's November already, and I'm thinking of Thanksgiving – food, family, and football! I’m sure you’re already tracking with me! I am so thankful for each and every one of you! Your presence in my life, and in the life of my family, is one of God’s true blessings.

I am also thankful that, as Christian broke his arm in a football game last month, the injury wasn’t worse than it was. He is almost back to normal… such as it is in our household! Speaking or “normal” in our household, we are all excitedly thankful for the news that our family is going to growing sometime around June 1 of next year! Surprised, but thankful!

There is a great call-to-worship Scripture that the Message renders, "Enter with the password: "Thank you!" Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him." (Psalm 100:4)

“Thank You” is the password into God’s presence. He is always present with us, but it is when we express gratitude to Him that His presence is made known. Thanking God is actually acknowledging His presence in our lives! When we’re ungrateful, or take life for granted, we can so easily miss the awesome, WHOAH!-inspiring presence of God.

You see, I have this problem – I don’t want to miss anything. My inner desire to experience everything this life can possibly offer has led me down some pretty dark and difficult roads. Something that is really cool about God is that He doesn’t want me to miss anything either. What I have learned is that He wants me to experience what He has planned for me to experience – He wants me to embrace the life that He has given me, and really live! But, God knows that there are a lot of things to experience in this world that are not what He has planned for me. As a matter of fact, God’s desire is that I not experience those things which cause me to miss what He has for me. The best part of all this is that the things God has for me to experience are so much more amazing than those things I might experience outside of His plan for me. When I experience everything God has to offer, I find that I absolutely am not missing anything – and I experience, above all else, that awesome, WHOAH!-inspiring presence of God!

When we experience the presence of God, we can’t help but be thankful. This is a great opportunity to reflect on what the word “thanksgiving” means. The Hebrew word translated as “thanksgiving” is tôwdâh (pronounced to-daw’). Tôwdâh means to literally extend the hand in adoration or appreciation. Being thankful is saying “thank you”, but it’s also extending the hand – doing something for someone… doing something for God!

Let’s continue to do the work… often difficult work… of merging faith, family, and culture. As we extend our hands, let’s pray that we see our community transformed as we be the body of Christ! Love God. Love your neighbor. Be the church!

Are you who you say you are?

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:19:20 GMT

This week I'll be starting a new series of sermons called "Practical Atheist." I first heard this term from a professor named Cliff Sanders, when I attended Mid-America Christian University. Recently, I became re-acquainted with the term "Practical Atheist" while listening to some sermons online. Craig Groeschel, pastor of Lifechurch.tv did a whole series of sermons based on this idea that there those in our culture who say they believe that there is a God, or a higher power, or a Spirit, or... something, but actually live as if God doesn't exist.

I'm really excited about this series, and about the Scripture that we'll diving head-first into over the next 30 days or so! As a heads up, check out 2 Timothy 3:1-5. The question we are really dealing with here is, "Are you who you say you are?"

Get involved

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:48:42 GMT

For those who missed it, last Sunday we did something a little (a lot, maybe?) out of the ordinary at Oaklawn. We didn't have church, nor did we "do" church; we took the day to be the church. As a part of national Faith In Action Sunday (www.putyourfaithinaction.org), we put together a project we called Arms Around Hot Springs. We decided worship "service" should mean actual service (one reason we call what we do on Sundays a gathering instead of a service), so we served the community with 5 service projects. After a brief devotion (that's a "pep talk" for those who don't speak Christianese), everyone headed to their chosen place of service.

Over 200 baby blankets were made, and delivered to police stations and sheriff's department, to be used in situations where they might encounter infants.

130 box lunches were made and delivered to Garland Co. civil servants. All on-duty police officers, sheriff's deputies, and firemen had a hot bar-b-q lunch. Even those off-duty were invited to use our "drive thru" option at our facility.

Exam rooms, and a little on the outside, were painted at the Charitable Christian Clinic. This took right around 80 hours worth of work.

A free "yardsale", that we called Community Closet, took place in our gym. 77 people found useful clothing, appliances, entertainment, toys, etc. PLUS a bag of non-perishable food items! A HUGE thank you to the students at Cutter High School for the canned food drive!

And right across the street, about 80 hours worth of landscaping took place at Hot Springs High School.

I have had numerous conversations where someone says "I hate organized religion." Right now, I would like to pause and thank the Creator for giving us the ability to organize in such a way to show the community what we are for. We are for love, connecting, and lending a hand. Who in your path today could use a hand... or a smile? Be the church. Get involved.

With smypathy... or empathy... or something

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:40:34 GMT

In case you missed it, our son broke his arm. Christian plays 7th grade football, and on his first play in the game this week, tried to catch himself as he fell to the ground, and there you have it. The thing is, he didn't want to appear to be a wuss or a crybaby, so he didn't say anything... he just kept playing. Of course he obviously wasn't playing at full strength or passion, but he never told any of the coaches, "My arm REALLY hurts!" So, a couple of hours in the ER later, and it's official - broken. It is a small break, and according to the doc, "Everything is lined up, so healing should be relatively quick."

Last night in our Community Group (a group of about 16 or so that meet in our den every other Thursday), we got to talking about the difference between empathy and sympathy.

Sympathy is feeling sorrow or compassion for someone, or maybe even with someone. You don't actually feel the pain or experience their emotions, but you come along side them.

Empathy is feeling the sorrow or anger of the other person. Their emotions are vicarious through you. You actually feel what they feel.

Several in our group were surprised when I made the statement that I don't feel empathy. I think the surprise may have been because it often appears as if I do. That is sympathy; I am a very sympathetic person. I come along side people with brokenness and pain all the time, listening to them intently, and offering encouragement when I can. But I don't feel that person's pain or turmoil.

There are also many opportunities throughout my week to listen to people vent, or get on particular soapboxes. People generally need to let off steam every so often and feel a pastor is a good person to listen... which I think is true, so long as the blowing off of steam and venting do not involve gossip. I can sympathize with your anger, but I'm most likely not going to join you in that anger.

This isn't a "want to" or "don't want to" kind of thing. There isn't a right and a wrong here. Empathy is not a choice, it is a personality trait... perhaps at times a "spiritual gift (a personality trait or talent given by God for a specific purpose in a specific situation)." A person doesn't decide to empathize or not to. Sympathy, however, is a choice. My opinion is that it is the responsibility of those of us who do not feel empathy to choose to show sympathy.

Which are you - empathetic or sympathetic?

Common community

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:54:20 GMT

It doesn’t seem like much of a stretch to say that most congregations struggle most with how to interact with, and impact, their local community. This struggle can probably be attributed to many factors, but there are two that stand out to me.

First, (being very candid and honest here) we get comfortable with putting our lives into “sections”, i.e. “this is my ‘church time’, this is my ‘work time’, this is my ‘family time’, and this is my ‘me time.’” When this way of thinking guides our lifestyles, it becomes increasingly difficult for church members to see the need to impact the community. The ultimate danger with this is that the church eventually loses touch with the community.

Secondly, congregations can be too “pastor-driven.” I will only speak for myself, but I do see this in many of my peers in the pastoral vocation – there is a tendency toward “Lone Ranger ministry.” This is due to many of us being natural “work-a-holics”, but also due to the perceived expectations of the congregation. Most Lead Pastors feel expected (even if it is not actually the congregation’s expectation) to be all things to all people at all times. Pastors can get spread too thin really quickly, and get so caught up in equipping and caring for the congregation, that they themselves get completely disconnected from the community.

This is where I have to express how excited I am to pastor Oaklawn! You get it… WE get it! It is encouraging to have the number of conversations that I do, which someone is excited about being “Jesus with skin on” at home, on the job, or in the marketplace. It is also fantastic to be surrounded by this church family, who takes ownership of the responsibility of ministry! I love the fact that I’m not expected to do everything for everybody. That is what leads to pastor burnout – one person cannot do everything, plus we get too busy putting out fires and handling everyone’s issues, that we have no time for a major part of what God has called us to – be the hands and feet of Jesus in the community.

As I write these words, I’m sitting in Java Roasting Café. Today, God has provided opportunities for me to meet Todd (who attends LakePointe Church) and pray for his wife as she recovers from knee surgery, to visit with Carol about how much she is enjoying retirement from teaching, to invite a young couple to the worship gathering this Sunday at Oaklawn, and to smile and say “Hello” to countless people as I have positioned myself right by the front door. As a bonus, I’ve just had a big fun “debate” with ten people I don’t know about the football game scheduled for the day after Thanksgiving (ya’ll know which game I’m talking about)!

In the Message paraphrase of the Scriptures, James 3:18 says, “You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.”

Let’s continue to do the hard, and sometimes messy, work of merging faith, family, and culture. As we do, let’s pray that we see our community transformed as we be the body of Christ! Love God. Love your neighbor. Be the church!