moving

So I'm moving in June! I am going to be one of the ministers at St. John's United Methodist Church in Albuquerque, NM. I have a lot of new ideas for church and it looks like I am going to be able to try them out here. This is a really good church that has grown into a pretty big church. Someone told me recently that churches don't want to grow. They said that pastors want churches to grow, but that churches aren't interested in growth. I feel like this church is... at least they seem like they will tolerate many of the things it takes to grow, where most churches don't seem to. This is why there is such a big push to start new churches. So it's a sad time as I say goodbye to many special friends. I announced it in church last Sunday and there have been tears (not my tears) both Sundays. I hope this is not a trend that continues, cuz it makes me feel bad, but it does mean that my time here has been meaningful to people... so that's how I take it. A new chapter is gonna be starting and I am pretty pumped! I'm thinking about buying a house in Albuquerque, but I have no idea what I am doing. Seems like a good idea at the time though :)

Easter with Nirvana

The words for Nirvana's song "In Bloom" has a special meaning to me on Easter Sunday...

Sell the kids for food
Weather changes moods
Spring is here again
Reproductive glands

He’s the one
Who likes all our pretty songs
And he likes to sing along
And he likes to shoot his gun
But he don't know what it means
don't know what it means
and I say

He’s the one
Who likes all our pretty songs
And he likes to sing along
And he likes to shoot his gun
But he don't know what it means
don't know what it means
and I say yeeeaaahhh

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

We can have some more
Nature is a whore
Bruises on the fruit
Tender age in bloom

He’s the one
Who likes all our pretty songs
And he likes to sing along
And he likes to shoot his gun
But he don't know what it means
don't know what it means
and I say

He’s the one
Who likes all our pretty songs
And he likes to sing along
And he likes to shoot his gun
But he don't know what it means
don't know what it means
and I say yeeeaaahhh

He’s the one
Who likes all our pretty songs
And he likes to sing along
And he likes to shoot his gun
But he don't know what it means
don't know what it means
and I say

He’s the one
Who likes all our pretty songs
And he likes to sing along
And he likes to shoot his gun
But he don't know what it means
Don't know what it means
Don't know what it means
Don't know what it means and I say yeeeaaahhh

Easter with Powerman 5000

This is a great Easter song... when you think about the physical world colliding with the Kingdom of God... that's Easter! I would play it in church if it meant something to the people in the churches that I serve, but I thought it might mean more to you out there...

[Now this is what it's like when worlds collide
Now this is what it's like
Now this is what it's like when worlds collide
Now this is what it's like]

What is it really, That's going on here..
You've got the system for total control..
Now is there any, body out there..
Now watch us suffer yeah cause we can't go.
What is it really that is in your head
What little life that you had just died
I'm gonna be the one that's taking over
Now this is what it's like when worlds collide!

Are you ready to go
Cause I'm ready to go
What you gonna do baby, baby
Are you going with me
Cause I'm going with you
That's the end of all time

What is it really, That motivates you..
This need to fly or this, fear to stop.
I'll go along, when you realise..
When we get there I say 9 to 10 drop
Now who's alive and who is the devil...
You can't decide so I'll be your guide..
And one by one they will be hand chosen..
Now this is what it's like when worlds collide!!

Are you ready to go
Cause I'm ready to go
What you gonna do baby, baby
Are you going with me
Cause I'm going with you
That's the end of all time

(You will find, a robot)

[Now this is what it's like when worlds collide
Now this is what it's like
Now this is what it's like when worlds collide
Now this is what it's like]

What is it really when they're falling over
Everything that you thought was denied
I'm gonna be the one that's taking over
Now this is what it's like when worlds collide

Are you ready to go
Cause I'm ready to go
What you gonna do baby, baby
Are you going with me
Cause I'm going with you
That's the end of all time!!

Are you ready to go
Cause I'm ready to go
What you gonna do baby, baby
Are you going with me
Cause I'm going with you
That's the end of all time

Are you ready
Yeah, I'm ready
That's the end of all time
Are you going
Yeah I'm going
That's the end of all time!!!

My First Movie Review: Juno

These will soon be more creative, but for now I am going to start reviewing movies because as someone recently pointed out to me, "Good movies are the literature of our time." I recently saw "Juno" and the more I think about it, the more I like it.

1. This presented a very real view of sex and pregnancy that was based on reality, not some horror story or some romantic view. It was a great and realistic balance.

2. This was a movie that people can relate to, that shined a light into the mystery of what makes up Generation Y. The characters were very real and likable and it made the movie very enjoyable.

3. It was straight up funny! The dialogue was brilliant and believable and funny in a way that many movies aren't. It was like Napoleon Dynamite funny, without the stupid stuff (don't get me wrong, Napoleon Dynamite was super funny and I like stupid humor, I was just making the distinction).

4. It really had some good lessons in it and the girl was super cool! Really... she is one character that I seriously look up to and wish I was more like. You may laugh, but just check out the movie and see if you don't agree...

Grunge Messiah

I think that there is a theological reason that I was and still am moved by the grunge movement in the early 90's. This kind of pattern happens all throughout the Bible, the music scene and probably in just about every platform and movement. I will just focus on Jesus and music and you can make all of your own connections. There is something about the punk rock movement and the grunge movement and all the other changes in music scenes... they resonate with so many people because of something spiritual I would argue.

In the 80's, rock music became increasingly shallow and materialistic. Everything seemed to be for show and I would even make the argument that it didn't much matter what a band sounded like... as Andre Agassi pointed out in that time, Image was everything! Jesus took a superficial religion and gave it a soul, just like the grunge movement gave rock back its soul. When I listen to Pearl Jam or Nirvana, or some of the lesser knows grunge bands like the Melvins and Mudhoney, it resonates with me in a spiritual way. These movements brought authenticity and spirituality to something that had lost it. If I work at a large church some day, I want to be an "alternative pastor" rather than an associate pastor in honor of the punk and alternative rock movements that revolutionized music as we know it and will continue to revolutionize it as time goes on.

not quite a macbook air

Embedded Video

following Jesus or already followed Jesus

Here's a thought... why do Christians act like their faith is based on something they DID rather than something that they are DOING? There is a difference between following Jesus and making a commitment to follow Jesus. We focus on what we did instead of what we are doing. Our language reflects this as well. I BECAME a Christian... When I BECAME a Christian... BEFORE I WAS a Christian etc. The word Christian means "Christ-like" we are striving to be more and more like Christ so to even claim that we are already there is both arrogant and ignorant. How would the perceptions of Christianity change if we acknowledged that we are in the process of being Christ-like (sanctification) instead of basing our identity on the past. If Christianity is a process it changes how we approach each other and how we approach issues. Perhaps this idea can help us be humble and loving... both huge topics that Jesus addressed often...

If what connects us is our desire to follow Christ instead of what we already believe about Christ... I think it is closer to the original discussion that Jesus had with his friends and I think it is much more constructive!

Born again and again

John 3:1-17

3Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. ²He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” ³Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” ⁴Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” ⁵Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. ⁶What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ ⁸The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” ⁹Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” ¹⁰Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? ¹¹“Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. ¹²If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. ¹⁴And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. ¹⁶“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. ¹⁷“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

1. the guy comes at night because he is one of the religious leaders that feel threatened by Jesus. He can't let anyone know that he is down with what Jesus is doing. He is afraid but he still comes.

2. Jesus' message to the religious people is to be "born again"! This is still Jesus message to the religious people. Be born again... so to "born again Christians", be born again... again. I would say that we need to continue to be born again. It is problematic when we stop growing or stop refreshing our worldview and sense of identity.

3. The famous John 3:16 verse, when put into context is in contrast to the oppressive, judgmental religion of that time. Jesus tells this guys that God isn't trying to condemn people so why are you? God loves. What if we asked religious people that right now, God didn't come here to condemn people, God came to love people. So why do you condemn __________? It is also a good question to ask ourselves.

Learning about me

This is what my personality test said about me... its the DISC test if that means anything to anyone. Seems to be a pretty accurate description in a lot of ways!

Entrepreneur

Aggressive, persuasive, active, and extremely independent: all these characterize you as an entrepreneur. You are a supreme individualist: confident, energetic, and persistent. You are incurably venturesome and will try anything once. Your desire for power is combined with a stubborn determination to control both events and people. You act decisively and positively, usually moving ahead without consultation or conference. Your impatience results in quick reactions, virtually instant boredom, and an itch for greener pastures. You are versatile, flexible, and self-motivated, with a great sense of urgency and a high tolerance for pressure.

You are hard-driving, sociable (on your own terms), alert, and very sure of yourself. In daily activities, you tend to charge ahead against resistance and opposition. You view restraints as a challenge to getting the quick results you want. You value freedom more than equality and want room to operate. You are most effective where innovation, experimentation, and results are important, and where there are few rules and guidelines.

You dislike corporate structures and controls unless you do the organizing and controlling. As a subordinate, you tend to be a maverick. You may usurp power, overstep bounds, and want to do it your way. You are often critical of supervisors and you resent criticism of your actions. As a young person, you are likely to move from job to job looking for the right challenge.

You can often be a challenge to manage. You must be given as much freedom as possible to run things your way, but you must also be made to understand that limits to your authority do exist. You are ambitious and want to move quickly toward greater responsibility. You work best for a positive, competent, friendly supervisor with whom you can honestly and openly discuss what is expected on a no-holds-barred basis.

Personable You can be impulsive and feel the need to attract attention. You reach out to people and initiate contact with them easily and smoothly. Your contagious optimism, instant enthusiasm, and spontaneous persuasiveness are geared to win people over, and you often succeed.
		Gets Results You are impatient for quick results and can have an instinctive drive for power. You react quickly, are easily bored and respond well to challenge. You are versatile, flexible, self-motivated, urgent, and sometimes irritable. You can withstand pressure and exert pressure on others. Critical and dissatisfied, you are comfortable with shifting goals, new projects, and innovative methods.
		Confident You are very sure of yourself. You need, and usually have, supreme confidence in your own ability. You prefer to act with others to get what you want. You can be stubborn in a friendly way, dominate a social situation, and smile while arguing the point. You display an effusive independence, and if people reject you or your ideas, you may reject them in return.
		Decisive You thrive on opposition; you will take a strong stand and fight for it. You are determined to do things your way. Frank, honest, and direct, you can take over, act positively, and move without consultation. You are usually well respected when things are going well, and you are right most of the time. When a shortfall occurs, someone will usually identify your rashness as the reason.

Christmas Fun

Here's some Christmas fun!



I got this from my friend Josh's blog... check it out at http://www.loveisthemovement.com/

Follow the Leader

Matthew 3:1-12

3In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ²“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” ³This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” ⁴Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, ⁶and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

⁷But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸Bear fruit worthy of repentance. ⁹Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ¹⁰Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ¹¹“I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹²His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

• So... here is where the some of the difference comes from between Christians and Christian denominations. John the Baptist had followers just like Jesus later has followers. "Christian" means a follower of Christ.
• It is very easy to like what John the Baptist has to say or what Paul has to say versus what Jesus has to say. These aren't directly at odds with each other, but the question must be asked, "Who are you following?"
• If someone is following Paul, they are a Paul follower, not a Christ follower. I'm not making any judgments here, just by definition, that's what it is logically speaking. If someone is a John the Baptist follower than that is what they are.
  
• Both John the Baptist and Paul point to Jesus and tell people to follow him, not them, yet that's not what many of us do.
• Perspectives of these guys are part of a much bigger story and when we get caught up with them,such as with issues about baptism, homosexuality, calling out the "sin" of other people, etc. we miss the bigger picture of  Jesus.
  
• John the Baptist here, gives a sermon that you might here in many churches today, but it is just a small part of the point. These churches stop after the sermon and miss the part about looking to Jesus and the fact that there is WAY more to the story.

Jesus is coming... look busy!

Matthew 24:36-44

³⁶“But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³⁷For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, ³⁹and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. ⁴²Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. ⁴³But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

This reminds me of those annoying "christian" bumper stickers that say something to the point of, "In case of the rapture, this car will be unmanned." or something similarly obnoxious.

This is a radical misinterpretation of this and many other parts of the bible in my opinion. This is about the beginning of a relationship with God, not the end.

The "coming of the Son of Man" is analogous to having a revelation or epiphany of some sort. A life-changing realization that completely alters your world view. So often, church people try to force this sort of thing or create an artificial conversion experience. As this part of the bible exposes, it should be something much more organic and authentic. We aren't supposed to be doing this or that, only being ready for what is about to happen.

Heaven isn't too far away!

Luke 20:27-38

²⁷Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him ²⁸and asked him a question, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. ²⁹Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; ³⁰then the second ³¹and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. ³²Finally the woman also died. ³³In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.” ³⁴Jesus said to them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; ³⁵but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. ³⁶Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. ³⁷And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. ³⁸Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.”

This is a bit confusing, and seemingly pointless... but once we discover a few things, it really opens up!

• Sadducees rely only on the Torah (1st 5 books of the Old Testament) they take it literally.
  
• Marriage in the Torah was the way to live on past death. It was about keeping your name going rather than romance or love like it is today. It was also about property as men would trade some property for their wives. The father owned the daughter until some dude would buy her from him, basically.
• If a guy dies, his brother marries his wife so that the name will live on. This is the Sadducees idea of "eternal life."
• This was a polygamous society so a brother could marry the wife even if he was already married.
  
• They are arguing about "life after death" not physical resurrection.
  
• The Torah doesn't talk specifically or directly about life after death, so the Sadducees reject the idea.
  

So the Sadducees concoct this absurd story to trick Jesus into either choosing 1. the Jewish Scripture or 2. His promise of eternal life. Jesus doesn't choose either, but shows them how they are idiots by

• reframing the idea of marriage, saying that his idea of eternal life has nothing to do with this institution of marriage which is ultimately self-serving and oppressive at that time.
• Using their own scripture to show them how silly their little story is.

This is relevant because

• Many "Christians" still read Scripture just like the Sadducees and molest it in a way that proves what they want to prove.
• Jesus speaks to them in their own language to show that their own scripture talks about resurrection.
• The idea of "heaven" isn't as simplistic as we like to make it... it may have a much deeper meaning.
• Many people, Christians and other people like to make these kind of ideas literal so they can try to "prove" or "disprove" something. If it is not meant to be so literal and the beauty comes out in symbolism, metaphor and poetry... we don't get into these arguments and we find truth in beautiful ways.
• This is a shift from "modern" logic and reason based thinking to "post-modern" creative and intuitive kind of thinking. Maybe Jesus was "post-modern" and that's why nobody gets him a lot of the time. (just a joke, kind of...)
  

a little help from my friends

I want to thank all of you that participated in this weeks message. Your comments helped to craft a sermon that reflected both the ideas of the religious community and those outside of it. I appreciate your help and in my opinion it went really well on Sunday. I didn't record this one, but I hope to have recordings available on a regular basis, in the near future. I am only ever as good as the people around me. Thanks to the internet, I am surrounded by all sorts of great and different people as well as the great people I am physically surrounded by. I will post this weeks scripture soon... but it is a tough one and I need to either figure it out or change it so I should have something posted later today or tomorrow. Thanks again everyone and keep up the good work!

A "Wii, Little Man"

Luke 19:1-10

19He entered Jericho and was passing through it. ²A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. ³He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. ⁴So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. ⁵When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” ⁶So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. ⁷All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” ⁸Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” ⁹Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”

• What we notice about Zacchaeus: 1. Seeking Jesus 2. Chief Tax Collector and rich 3. His size and the crowd kept him from seeing Jesus 4. He did what he had to do despite what anyone else tried to do to stop him 5. Welcomed Jesus 6. Took action, Participated 7. Realized that what was "his" was not really "his" 7. Did what he could to make up for his mistakes 8. Didn't just pay for his mistakes, but for the mistakes of other Tax Collectors by giving away half of what he had before even paying back those he wronged.
• Why is the Nintendo Wii so popular? Because of the participatory nature of it? Zacchaeus is an example to us because he "participated" and didn't just play church or play Christian. He was authentic and real. His actions prove this.
  
• Tax Collectors were mostly thieves and ripped people off regularly... a "chief tax collector" probably even more.
  
• The "crowd" keeps people from Jesus... how does the church "crowd" keep people from Jesus?
• Verse 10 "For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.” Is that what the church models? Is that what we are here for? Is that our goal? Or is it to "get something out of it" or to be comfortable. If church is not for the "lost" what is it for? Does the church "seek out" the lost and meet people where they are and give them something to "get out of it?"
  

Lectionary Blog for October 14th 2007

Luke 17:11-19

¹¹On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. ¹²As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, ¹³they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” ¹⁴When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean. ¹⁵Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. ¹⁶He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. ¹⁷Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? ¹⁸Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”

We know we are supposed to reach out and take Jesus to the world. John Wesley said that we are changed when we serve others. This Gospel passage shows us how an "outsider" can show things that we can't see for ourselves. When we are around something all the time, we tend to not appreciate it. Bringing "outsiders" into our church can enlighten us to things that we take for granted or just ignore. This Samaritan man shows us how important outsiders are to God, to us and to the church. We can learn from those that aren't familiar... and should. How can we do this in our own lives every day?

Lectionary Blog for September 30th 2007

1 Timothy 6:6-19

⁶Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; ⁷for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; ⁸but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. ⁹But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. ¹¹But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. ¹²Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

¹³In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you ¹⁴to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵which he will bring about at the right time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. ¹⁶It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. ¹⁷As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. ¹⁸They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, ¹⁹thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.

This goes along with the gospel reading for the week rather well. I think the Gospel is pretty clear about money and how we should not let it be too important to us. I don't think there is much of a contextual difference on this issue between the times that this was written and today. Money is what money was: security, status and comfort. If we are counting on our wealth to give us these things than we are not depending on God. It is difficult because we can easily use this as an excuse for poor stewardship because if money isn't important to us we can just blow it on whatever and then wonder why God isn't providing. We must be good stewards with what we have as well as depend on God for security, status and comfort.

We have many other idols besides money that we get these three things from and this is just as problematic. Just because we aren't rich, doesn't mean we aren't idolaters. When we fight about worship, it is an issue of comfort and security in a different way. It is so interesting to me how songs people are used to mean the most to them and touch them the most. I think sometimes we desire comfort so badly that we confuse it with being touched in a way that leads to progress. Being comfortable is important but it isn't going to make you better unless you use such comfort to be uncomfortable in new ways. Discomfort can lead to progress in many ways and we have a choice when we are uncomfortable... we can move forward into new comfort or back into old comfort. The more we do uncomfortable things the less uncomfortable they become and this allows us to "get out of the box" in different ways.

who' wants to get dirty with me?

Some things have been happening lately that have put me in a certain frame of mind. On Mondays they have all of the coaches press conferences on TV talking about Sundays game. This coupled with the fact that I've been playing basketball with the coaches and high school team during the off season has made me realize something. You know in the movies, when a coach takes some pitiful team and drives them to do better? This is what if feels like sometimes for Methodist Ministers recently. What struck me, is what the coaches in these movies do on a consistent basis: they recruit!

I recently preached from Luke where Jesus talks about God needing to know who's on God's team and that you can't do this thing halfway. Now we visit people... don't get me wrong, I'm sure all pastors visit people when they are sick and when they are in need of something, but what if we made "recruiting visits?" I don't mean bringing a coffee cup with the church's picture on it to somebody that visits, but to really find out who's gonna be on the team and who's not. Here's what I'm gonna do: I'm gonna start visiting "key" people in the church and taking the "new member" packet with me and finding out who's really on board. Then I'm gonna have a game plan for the week, just like the coaches do. I've always wanted to be a coach, so here's my chance... no more office work, no more fluff, it's time to get down and dirty!

Forgetting our opinions

I am sitting in a coffee shop and there is an older lady sitting at a table next to me talking to what I am guessing is her mother. One or both of them have a hard time hearing so they talk fairly loud... so I am overhearing more than I probably want. I am just about to jam out to some tunes, but before I do, I heard something very funny that turned profound. The older lady, (I'm guessing mother) said, "I forgot my opinion about that..." I laughed to myself at first and then felt bad for her. But as I sit her thinking, maybe that is a really good idea! What if we just forgot our opinions and reconstructed them over and over again! We stick to what we think so much, we miss a lot! I'm going to work on forgetting my opinion!

An organic lectionary Blog

Jeremiah 18:1-11

18The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2“Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” 3So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him. 5Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it. 9And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it.

11Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the Lord: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.


so my new thing is to try to read scripture organically! This is going to be slow going for a bit, but bear with me as I try to exegete the text in a post-rational way!

Potters- what do they do? They form, they create, they mold, they shape, they spin a pot they transform clay into a pot

clay- what does it feel like? mushy, soft, flexible, potential, gross, messy, dirty, stains your hands, pretty worthless, controlled, helpless

sight- lump into beautiful, useful pot

sound - hmmm?

touch - formation

smell - kinda gross, then smell goes away

taste - don't think this is applicable

The main sense I am getting at the moment is how we are like clay and we are easily manipulated by whatever hands are on us. The difference is that as human beings, we have a choice of who our potter is going to be. We can be molded and shaped and transformed by God, or we can be shaped by something else, or we can just sit there like a lump of clay!