Wanna Get Away

These commercials by Southwest Airlines always amuse me.  Recently they had some odd commercials of people racecar driving and performing other events. The company moved from portraying vacation spots and awkward moments to unique experiences.  No matter what happens in life there are always moments from which we want to get away.  There are things in all of our lives that give us pain and struggles.  They are products of sin, and therefore moments from which we want to escape. 

            Just this week I was at Walmart, standing in line to pay, when Jacob reminded me that he had to go to the bathroom.  Because the bathroom was right in front of me, I said, “Just go!  I will be right here.”  As I finished paying, there was no sight of Jacob.  So I looked in the bathroom and could not see him.  I freaked out and left my cart to find him.  I did remember, even in panic mode, that sometimes he goes to the video games if I am in the checkout isle.  And he knows that I am usually able to see him from there.  Sure enough, that’s where I found him.  At that point, my mind eased, but then I started second-guessing that whole situation.  Should I allow him to do things like go to the bathroom on his own?  As we walked out of the store, I was talking to Mindy on the phone about our house when Gavin started running.  I yelled at him just in time to stop him before he was only a few feet away from being hit by a car.  By all means this was my worst trip to Walmart in a long time.  I just wanted to get away.  I thought through all the potential repercussions of both of those events.  Things for the most part seem to be going well in our lives, but I thought about how either of those circumstances could have completely impacted our family.

            On the Mount of Transfiguration, a few of the apostles caught a glimpse of the glory of God.  They immediately wanted to get away from this life, build tents, and stay up there.  It is amazing to realize the glory and forgiveness of God, which reminds us that there will be a final get away to Heaven.  This weekend we reflect on the Mount of Transfiguration and the Glory of God.

Questions and Answers

They asked my friend over and over again about words that rhyme.  They picked everything from dog and cat to root beer and shirt.  There was no real method to their madness.  But it soon became apparent that this was a never-ending game.  As cute as these moments can be, they eventually lose their luster, and at least in my mind, I contemplate when the boys will really understand how to rhyme.  This is not a criticism--more my relational side trying to figure out how we ever learn how to rhyme in the first place.  What part of our brain finally gets this?

The other day we were hanging out with one of my friends when the boys began the rhyming game.

            I wonder if it is this kind of logic that causes us to doubt whether we can ask questions as Christians.  I think at some point in our faith walk–just like in school--there is that fear that we are expected to just know certain things like rhyming, or other skills.  I will not deny any truth in that, but I think the thing about giving Christians questioning permission is that there will always be questions and they will always be ok to ask.

            One of my favorite parts of being a youth pastor was answering questions. For the most part, youth didn’t have this fear that they were expected to know things, so they felt free to ask questions.  It was fun to dig into the different pieces of Scripture.  I am always looking for the part of Scripture where I ponder why God said that. Those are the things that keep blogs and sermons coming with new themes.  All of this type of question and answer is a beautiful and amazing thing with God.  We will never really grasp Scripture in its entirety, or have a complete understanding of Jesus until we are in Heaven.  So until then, we continue to ask questions and seek the answers from our Lord and Savior.

            This weekend Dan Bodin, one of our fieldworkers, will help us think through some questions and answers on a parable.  Hopefully some of those questions will be the ones that we have wanted to ask.  But either way, it will remind us once again that just like two little boys playing the rhyming game, our Father in Heaven always wants us to ask questions and learn more.

Tough Topics

One thing I was constantly stressing over while I was in youth ministry was having conversations on tough topics.  No matter the subject--sex, cussing, friends, drugs, or whatever--these are hard conversations to have.  Often people wanted the youth ministry silver bullet.  They were often disappointed when there wasn’t one.  These issues developed from the pains of sin in this life, and the only way to get through them was to have challenging talks about the growth of the Holy Spirit and God’s guidance.  The more these topics are in the air, the better they are more readily discussed.  Ready discussion is important because it means when the situation arises the person is willing to talk about it.  I realize it is much easier to set up rules, and ways to follow them, and hope they are never breeched.  But the truth is that one way or another a difficult subject will arise, and whether your kid, spouse, or friend is willing to talk to you is the question.  If we portray ourselves as flawless and put up a front, we find that those conversations won’t happen, and will only create a further struggle.

            A few weeks ago I was preparing for worship with help of a faithful extraordinary servant.  This person looked at me and asked what lesson I was going to teach this week.  The Gospel reading focused on murder, adultery, divorce, and oaths.  The question was asked, “Are you going to preach on those topics?”  I drew back for a second and thought about it.  “Yeah,” I said.  “Wow,” was the response.  It made me think for a minute and second guess myself.

            Growing up we had two ways of responding to many of these tough topics. My dad was “hard nosed and in my face.”  My mom was a “lead by example” person.  I am not sure either of these examples was great, but somehow they created a balance in my brother, sisters and me.  Of course we look to Jesus for the ultimate example—the one who is ready to talk about it, and obviously the one who is ready to lead by example.

            Someone once said to me, “If you set high goals, there is a greater chance that your kids will meet your expectations.”  At first I didn’t agree with that, because of the legalistic way my dad handled many of these tough topics.  But through time and being a father to my own kids, I understand the comment outside of my history.  My expectations are high for my kids, but I also attempt to set my love at a high standard.  What do I mean?   Mindy’s family is a big clan.   A couple times when we have been out to eat with our extended family, Abby has been all over the place and has a hard time sitting.  I realize that she is two, but I know what she is trained to do at home.  I expect her to sit.  The boys know my expectations and have learned to sit and talk with their cousins.  At home, if I find myself spending too much time preparing a meal and not enough time being engaged with my kids, I am critical of myself in the fact I need to make sure I am involved with them.  I say all this because Jesus knew that as we grew in the Spirit, the Holy Spirit would shape us to be His people.  And He was clear about what was and is expected of us.  At the same time, Jesus died on the cross to take away our sins.  His deep love is there to rescue us whenever we miss the mark.  Tough topics make us stronger, aware of our sin; and at the end of the day they draw us to the cross and to Jesus.

Backwards Growth

For whatever reason, Mindy had her shirt on backwards for a few months.  I looked at her and said, “Kris Kross will make you…” She had no clue what I was talking about.  At that point, I realized a key thing in our marriage: Mindy and I have some very opposite ways of thinking.  I love music, and constantly am enjoying the latest artist; curious to see where music will go next.  But you don’t forget an artist who wears his clothes backwards.  Backwards always stands out.  Chris Kelly from Kris Kross died this year.  I am not sure that you can call it backwards growth but he went from being famous at a young age to dying of a drug overdose.  It is odd to me that someone who has the presumed American dream can move in that direction.  I am pretty sure we would call this descent, not growth.

            As a kid wrestling with sin, I think I saw an end to it.  Sure, I knew the truth, but hopefully felt one day it would all be better.  I look at my life in the last six years, and see growth in my drive to be a better husband, father, and pastor.  I watch and listen to how people develop in growth, and I ask myself how I could improve.  I look at the discipline of athletes, friends, and many others to drive myself forward.  Yet, as good as I see what God is doing, there comes a point where I am faced with the same thing I faced as a kid.  I am hoping that one day I can alleviate all of my sinful nature.  Many say that I am constantly critical because I find myself critiquing all areas of my life.  I read this key line in my commentary by Gregory Lockwood, “Christian growth is, in contrast to all other growth, a growth downward in ever-increasing recognition of our own sin, our own guilt, our own death, our own condemnation.”

            Let’s put that in layman’s terms, and make it real.  One day my son Jacob will look at me and say, “Dad, why did you do this…?” He will point out one of my sins and ask me why I did that.  It is inevitable and unavoidable.  Trust me, I am not going to quit trying to not make it a reality, but it will happen.  No matter my hopes and dreams to avoid my parents’ mistakes and be different, I will leave the markings of my sin in this life, the life of my kids, my wife and even in the churches I serve. Before we focus on the sadness of this, the hope in this realization is the growth in clinging to the cross.

            It is here that we find that Jesus is the one who makes change happen in our lives.  And we look different because of the work that He and the Holy Spirit do by guiding us forward.  That is the fun part.  But it’s important to realize that we are going to see our sin, but there is an end to that realization which is called Heaven.  In eternity with Jesus we will no longer look at that sin. This weekend we will dive into the pieces Paul shares with the people of Corinth.  It blends into the Gospel reading of how the Pharisees were blinded by their belief that they could move their good works forward on their own.  Backwards Growth may sound funny at first, but it only brings us closer to understanding the intense need to have Jesus in our lives.

Groundhog Day Wisdom

I’ve always liked Groundhog Day.  I am sure a lot has to do with the movie.  When I was 14 and 15 years old, I was beginning to develop a relationship with my new family.  My dad got remarried quickly after the divorce, and I met Danny and David. They were my step mom’s nephews.  I was barely starting high school and they were close to finishing it.  Everything about them was cool.  I was like a little dude following them around, soaking up everything they did.  At that point Groundhog Day had come out and David and Danny loved it.  And since I did whatever they thought was cool, I fell in love with this movie.

            Groundhog Day--the movie in itself embraced an odd concept.  It was a story where Bill Murray gets opportunity after opportunity to fix his arrogant and selfish ways.  If you haven’t seen the movie, the time frame involves the same day being repeated over and over again.  Bill’s character wakes up time and time again to the same day--a day he didn’t really like.  Immediately he begins to be angry, and to continue his selfish and rude behavior to the people around him.  But after that behavior gets him nowhere, he decides to care for people, believing that tomorrow they will not remember it.  An unusual piece of wisdom:  “Love those even though they will never remember it.”

            This is odd because we tend to thrive in our sinful natures of doing what is good for us.  We look for opportunities to make ourselves look good.  We rely on the fact that what we did yesterday will be remembered.  If we were to just Love 1, not expecting anything back, what would that look like?  Honestly, I cared for David and Danny, but it was completely selfish; it was about learning how to be cool like them.  Do I know where they are today?  No, of course not.  Was I annoying to them at some points?  Yes, absolutely!  Did I worry about their opinions?  Yes, I was completely consumed with their opinions of me.  This is the wisdom of the world.  We function in this self-consumed nature that looks out and often Loves 1 based upon what we receive back.

            Since 2000, the groundhog has seen his shadow every year but two.  (Here’s hoping for an early spring!) And honestly, most times it has nothing to do with what really happens.  It seems like a silly holiday, and it seems odd that we celebrate it. But maybe it is more like how God operates.  Human wisdom becomes obsolete, but His way of leading His people is unique.  He is more into the celebration of life and how He revives His people, as opposed to something we can get from groundhogs or people.  Hear me out; in human logic the goal of Groundhog Day is to have less winter.  But in the world of Christ all life and seasons are to be celebrated.  It is the reason He would take such a cruel punishment to rescue us.  Maybe the groundhog is onto something.  It may be less about his prediction and more about the fact that the sun sometimes shows him his shadow on February 2^nd and sometimes it doesn’t. But that’s neither here nor there.  God has come to rescue us and give us life that is not dependent on animal or human predictions.  That is against our human wisdom, and we thank the Lord, because all too often, we are driven by our selfish natures.

Readjusting Our Eyes

I remember the quotes he wrote on the chalkboard; they seemed to mean nothing.  Mr. Michael, my math teacher in 8^th grade, wrote sayings on the board that always seemed so random, and yet he had intent behind all of them.  Tuesday I was reminded of one, “I hate scraping my windshield.”  It was simple and to the point, and yet to an 8^th grader, it had little or no meaning unless you were your parents’ slave scraping their windshield for them.  I left my boys in the house on Tuesday morning as I headed out to use my Number 1 Dad Scraper to scrape my windshield.  It honestly works surprisingly well for the 50 cents Gavin spent on it.  Trust me, I don’t like scraping my windshield, but I understand what is necessary to fulfill my duty as husband, father, and pastor.

            Mr. Michael’s sayings may have been odd, but I certainly remember them.  I also remember some of his specific examples about math.  I am not sure if he was the one who was responsible for my love of math.  But even with no driving experience, I understood that driving over the speed limit only got you to your destination a little bit faster unless you were going a crazy amount over the limit, and maintaining that speed for a long distance.  His examples were clear-cut and to the point, which helped me to learn some great concepts about math.  These are the things I like about math:  the exact nature of it, and the expectation that there would be a solution.

            The world had been waiting for a solution for the problem with sin for a long time.  Certainly, like us, people thought they had found the solution in just doing things better.  The problem, of course, is that eventually there is failure.  All too often I have examined my life with my failures and mistakes, and was disappointed.  The solution was not something I could find in myself.  Unlike math, this problem is unsolvable by our own human nature.

            This weekend we start talking about the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.  Through His fulfillment of the prophecy, He came to accomplish some challenging things.  Some “scrapping the windshield” - like activities that would lead Him to the end result of fulfilling His role as our Savior and our God.  I am not going to say Jesus hated doing these things, but I am sure that because He was also true man, they were still challenging to Him.  Every piece of Jesus’ ministry was an integral part of the plan God had for us to be rescued.  The Isaiah passage connects with the Matthew passage, and they illustrate how the prophecy came before, and was fulfilled in Jesus.  No longer do we just talk about Jesus being a baby and coming here, but we also discuss what it means that He is truly here doing the work of salvation.  This weekend we begin that discussion, and dig into some of the first pieces of Jesus’ ministry as we discover what they meant for the whole picture of salvation, and what they mean for us today.

CCLS Sunday

During my elementary school career, I was the testing mark for my family as far as teachers go.  Naturally I was always the one who had the first experience, since I was the first-born.  At the completion of each school year, my mom would decide whether or not to request that particular teacher for the next child.  Now my mom is a nice lady, but that was an intense amount of scrutiny for a teacher to go through to see if she was an appropriate fit for the next child.  Yes, I said she because I did not have a single male teacher until middle school.  Honestly, it still is amazing to me that I made it through all those grades without having a male teacher.

As a kid I just learned from each teacher, and expected them to be there every day.  I was frustrated on the days they missed.  That just might have been my systematic way of thinking, and when you messed with my system I didn’t like it.  Yes, I am still like that today; maybe it wasn’t only my mom who had expectations!  When you marry a teacher, you get a whole new understanding of her role as you listen to the stories about each kid day in and day out.  It made me aware that even though I had had a lot of exposure with teachers, I never realized that they had a life too.  Teachers are so sacrificial and loving; it is amazing to watch them learn about all the children and care for them.

This weekend we celebrate our association with Christ Community Lutheran School.  We rejoice that these teachers take time to learn from Jesus, and then portray that love to each student.  Christ set that sacrificial example, and the teachers certainly follow His lead as they care for their students.  We also celebrate the installation of Samuel Fishburn, 3^rd grade teacher at CCLS.  What an amazing blessing to have a male teacher loving those little people.  I certainly loved my teachers but it would have been a nice change of pace to have a cool male role model in the midst of all of my remarkable female teachers.

Today our lessons naturally lead us to focus on the love of God, but also on the sacrifice He made as the Lamb of God.  John explains that in our lesson because the world at that time was beginning to prepare for the greatest teacher ever.  Jesus set a great example of how to love others.  CCLS teachers, as well as our CECE teachers, have a great way of modeling the love of Jesus.  We celebrate His love, and pray that we also can demonstrate that deep level of sacrifice and love for God’s people.