A series of semi-connected Stories and Pictures
Here is a trailer for the Call + Response Film…
I love that quote, “Justice is what love looks like in public!” I need to put that idea up to 1 John and let God go to work on my heart.
Jen and I have some dear friends who do work in Cambodia named Don and Bridget. They’ve helped begin a ministry called AIM for Asia that is actively doing something about this issue on the front lines. Check out what they do and be a part of the solution…
It’s been a while since I’ve talked about things that I love in hopes that you will love them too…so here we go
Books:
Anatomy of Peace
by The Arbinger Institute
When I read Leadership and Self Deception
The Call of the Wild
by Jack London
Yes, for real. I found this book in a Dutch thrift store and remembered reading it as a kid in school. So, I decided to make this book my ‘mindless’ read. This is a classic book, amazing writing, and a cool story about a genius dog that can pull 1000 pounds in the snow and kill a moose by itself. I really found myself relating to Buck in his extra-ordinaryness…ok, maybe not.
The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse
by David Johnson and Jeff VanVonderen
My friend Laina loaned me this book and I’m only in the first part. It’s honestly a lot to think about. Because the truth is…it happens and people are harmed by people whom they give spiritual authority to. If you are a leader of people in a spiritual position it would be good to read this to heighten your senses to the subtle ways that we can unintentionally hurt those whom look to us as leaders. I hope that as I process this, I’ll be given insight into how I need to repent!
Lastly…
Organizing Genius
by Warren Bennis
I just picked this off of my friend Al’s bookshelf and it seems appropriate for the season that Jen and I are in. We are starting to look at recruiting for the future and this book is all about how to collaborate with other people and ‘manage’ talented people…which is an aspiration of mine. So we’ll see how it goes!
From the eyes to the ears…Music I’m listening to…
Brandon Grissom - Brighter Ep
Brandon is an acquaintance whom I met in Paris years ago when he was passing through. He’s a worship leader for a ministry called Axis in Chicago. This album seems to be written with corporate worship in mind…as he is a worship leader. I have to say…this album is a refreshing departure from standard worship tunes but is still catchy enough to be able to sing along with. If you are looking for worship songs that are musically good and have good lyrics…then check this out. It’s a welcomed breath of fresh air in the oft-boring and cheeseball worship music that is marketed well enough to make it ‘bigtime’…gosh I’m jaded. Another good album in this vein is Travis Taylor’s You Have Loved.
Copeland - You Are My Sunshine
I just bought this today (and Brandon’s album) thanks to my friend Rachel hooking me up with an iTunes gift card! I am half way through it and I love these guys…it’s kind of head bobbing pop-rock with good instrumentation and percussion…check ‘em out!
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
Jen discovered these guys back in March and it is easily my favorite album of 2008. The cat is out of the bag about these guys and they are kind of blowing up in the Indie scene. I got to see their show in Amsterdam and they blew away very high expectations. I think that a lot of Indie bands try to hard to be ‘artsy’ and come across as pretentious and contrived. Bon Iver is a band of people that seem the exact opposite. They genuinely seem to be surprised at their success and seem to just love playing…and they should because they are brilliant…
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Howl
Thanks to my buddy Tim who is putting together a pretty amazing list of albums on his blog, I found out about these guys…and they’re just good.
Jon Foreman
That’s not the real title of Switchfoot frontman’s albums…but it works for me. Jon Foreman has put out four EP’s entitles Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring…each one with a bit different vibe to it. I’ve really be into them.
Ok…that’s enough for now…I hope that you will enjoy any and all of these things I’m enjoying…
Remember the days when the simplicity of the Gospel was protected, taught, and fought for? Remember the days when leaders would rather stand alone with the Gospel, than stand in a crowed with a shade of it?
I read Galatians this morning and let’s just say…Paul really brings the pain here. Not in a, “You should do this, this, this, and that” kind of way. More in a, “Are you stupid? Why in the name of Jesus are doing this, this, this, and that as if it’s going to change anything?!?” I’m sure it was just a slip of the pen when he said that they were not intelligible, unwise, and foolish…no good pastor would ever say such things…
But here is my favorite rebuke of Paul’s…which would easily be included in a list of top 10 things teachers should say that they don’t/can’t/won’t anymore:
Galatians 1:8-9
Whoever tells you a good news that is different from the Good New we gave you should be accursed, even if he is one of us or an angel from heaven. I’m now telling you again what we’ve told you in the past: I’m now telling you again what I told you in the past: If anyone tells you good news that is different from the Good News you recieved, that person should be accursed.
Not just once, but twice, does Paul make it clear that people who distort the freedom we have Christ (as he explains in the rest of this letter) should be accursed. Some translations say: condemned…one even says ‘condemned to hell’ (I think it’s for a little extra somethin’ even though it’s not in the greek…I had to look, thanks studylight.org!)
I think that if we get past the shock of Paul being so strong here, we can see something else. At this time in the Church, the purity of the Gospel was at stake. The Church’s message in it’s infancy could not be distorted and required protecting. If a corruption were to have occurred at this stage, then every offspring that this message produces would carry the same…wound. So, the message Gospel had to be purified of the untruths put on it.
Are any of view finding yourself asking the question, “uh, why did we ever stop protecting the clarity of the message of Jesus? Shouldn’t this be something that we still do?” I think this is a worthy question. And I think that Paul addresses it Galatians when he says, (1:10)
Am I saying this now to win the approval of people or God? Am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be Christ’s servant.
This says all that I could.
Amongst all the things that Paul says are not important to a true Gospel, he says three things that we should chew on ’till our jaw hurts…I’ll leave you with these:
“As far as our relationship to Christ Jesus is concerned, it doesn’t matter [what laws we do or don't follow]. What matters is faith working itself out in love.” (5:6)
“[Use your freedom to] serve each other through love.” (5:13)
“Certainly, it doesn’t matter whether a person is [following a specific law] or not. Rather, what matters is being a new creation.” (6:15)
Jen went blond again today. It’s been 5 years since she was blond. So when she walks by I have to remind myself that she got her hair colored and that it’s not another woman in my house or posing as my wife! But she looks beautiful (as always) and I’m sooooo, seriously…sooooooo happy she like her hair cut! Here is a cute picture I just have to share!
I celebrate when I hear stories and see live of people who are loving God and doing what they love. This is the spot that I think God wants us all to be in. Our friends Tony and Tina have opened up a Grocery Outlet in Oregon and the local news put up a bit about them online. I’m not sure it’s in print or not…I hope it is!
Here is the link: Grocery Outlet Owners are Community Minded
There are few great lines that get put into this article…here are a coupld of my favorite:
“Owning our own store allows us to give back,” Tony said. “If we were working for another store, our hands would be tied, but here our hands aren’t tied. We didn’t do this to get rich - we did it to give back.
“I knew I wanted to do community service,” Tina said. “It’s important for both of us to get out there and talk to people. I think we compliment each other. Tony is going to join the (King City) Lions. We feel God granted us this store to be involved in the community. Our goal is to give back 10 times more than we get.”
I think that these would be words Jesus would have said if He owned a Grocery Outlet…
Tony and Tina…I want to publicaly (to all 5 of my readers) say that I love that you guys are doing this and I pray that as you live out your dreams that God will give you wisdom and prosperity. Some of us start churches, and others of us start businesses…and each are equally important and influencial in the Kingdom! Thanks guys for your example!
I’ve been reading through 1 John the last few days. Today this part stuck out to me:
1 John 3:23
This is [God's] commandment: to believe in his Son, the one named Jesus Christ, and to love each other as he commanded us. Those who obey Christ’s commandments live in God, and God lives in them. We know that he lives in us because he has given us the Spirit.
The simplicity of this verse stands in stark contrast to the amount of all that I’ve read, heard, and lived in regards to being a follower of Jesus. My reasoning for this error is that we live a culture that values the pursuit of knowledge above most else. In the story of the Garden in Genesis…what does the serpent tempt Adam and Eve with? Knowledge. Abandoning the simple trust in their God, they chose it.
I wonder: In our pursuit of knowledge about God, scripture, and what we believe is Christian living; in what ways have we abandoned the commandment of God: to obey Jesus, and love each other.
I wonder: How would the world be different if we traded our talk, thoughts, and plans for loving others - for actually loving others?
I wonder: Will we ever be content with the simplicity of love? Or will we continually be tempted to add more to it? …maybe as a justification for our lack of obeying Jesus’ commandment to love?
I’m serious about this choosing love thing. We’ve done the knowledge thing for a long time and it’s gotten us only so far. I say we allow our knowledge to evolve into love and let God have a shot using that for a few generations.
I think that I’m realizing something more clearly now than ever: I miss the feeling of home. I miss ownership of space. I would have thought this was weird more than a year ago, but after this season of life I am finding myself wanting to sit at my own table, clean my own kitchen, sit in my own chair, and sleep in my own bed. None of these things have been a reality for us. All of these things are more of an expression of familiarity, and this is what makes home feel like home. Living overseas adds even more strain to not feeling like much is familiar…and the issues kind of multiply themselves.
Familiarity is not a sentiment I would use to describe our lives. I think nomadic is a much better word. The only things are familiar to me now are the suitcases we have, clothes we wear (which are wearing out quickly), and the reality that the only thing constant has been our little tribe.
I’m at a place now, where I can’t even imagine what it would be like to live in the same place for more than a few months. It will be weird when we settle into a city. The thought of it kind of excites me to be honest. I never would have thought I would hear myself say, “I wish we could just get settled…” But alas. Here I am, wanting and praying that God will make a way for us to find familiarity in the sea of all that is unfamiliar.
Our journey over the past year or so has made me reflect about how spiritually speaking we’re never going to feel like home in this life. Our souls (should) be nomadic, wandering this earth, leaping at anything that resembles what our spiritual home will be. We should carry with us the excitement that one day we’ll get settled, but at the same realizing that God has us in a nomadic place, as hopefull sojourners, to give this hope away to other nomads who don’t have it.
So, pray for our family as we wait, seek, listen, and pursue. Pray that our souls won’t lose hope and that our bodies will quickly find some place familiar to rest.
This is seriously amazing…I half way respect their effort, but the rest of me just can’t this ‘are you serious?’ grin off my face…you know the one: where you’re kind of smiling because it’s awkward…and you don’t know what to do with your face.
Anyway…watch this and you’ll see what I mean.
ht: mike g
After a couple of comments by Erin and Kozmo this had to be put in the mix. I don’t really know which one I like more. Both have such positive messages and nice matching outfits that I’m sure honor Jesus more than unmatching ones…but this is a toughy.
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