We're here to talk about the wild, ridiculous love and grace of Jesus. So come along for the ride, and take time today to laugh, love & forgive. Never regret anything that makes you smile. Don't label people & focus on the positive. And enjoy EVERY sandwich!
I'm sure that many of you are familiar with the classic hymn of the church called Love Lifted Me. Today I would like to share with you an exercise in gratitude that uses the chorus to that simple song as its basis. The lyrics to the chorus are as follows:
Love lifted me, love lifted me
When nothing else could help, love lifted me
In the song, "Love" represents the love of God whose name isJesus. And that love does indeed lift us out of many difficult situations and give us hope when all hope seems gone. But there are many times when that love comes to us through other people in our lives. And today, I want you to remember those special people, who have lifted your heart and your spirit when you needed it most. So sing the entire chorus, or if you don't know the tune, just read the words aloud. Go ahead. "Love lifted me..." Now do it again. But this time, instead of the word"love,"substitute the name of someone who has given you love and hope. For instance at various times in my life I have sung"Steve lifted me"or"Denise lifted me."Again, sing the entire chorus. Keep going, substituting a new name each time. Recognize how oftenJesusworks in our hearts through the people he places in our lives. Finish the exercise by singing the name ofJesusin place of love. Then take a few moments in prayer, giving thanks for all of the names you have mentioned.
I do this exercise several times a week when I am alone and aware of how important the people in my life who love me are to my spiritual growth and mental health. I encourage you to make this a regular part of your prayer life as well. We all have known so many people who are blessings from God in our lives, and we should live with an attitude of gratitude. Have a blessed day, and thanks for being among the many who have "lifted me." You are needed today more than ever! Because of Jesus,
The music of the late Dan Fogelberg has had a profound influence on my life. A classic 1970's singer/songwriter, Dan's music spoke to my heart from the very first moment I encountered it, when Paula Teague and friends used his brilliant song To the Morning in the first Quaker Lake Camp slide show in 1976 or '77. His music became a staple around camp- especially the Crafts Hut- and was used numerous times for devotions and in slide shows over the next 8 years or so. I purchased all of his albums and saw him in concert 3 times before his death from prostate cancer in 2007. His song Along the Road was featured in the first post on this blog; his lyrics have been used in many other posts along the way. But more than that, Dan's lyrics reside deep in my heart, and on many occasions I find myself turning to his words for consolation, comfort, encouragement and peace. That is still true today. Dan's music is seldom heard anymore on radio or in movies. His mellow style and comforting voice once caused one of my 1990's Kissimmee students to refer to him as "Dan Fogelfart." Even if you are an old-timer like me, you may not know many of his songs. Songs like Same Old Lang Syne, Part of the Plan, Leader of the Band, Place In the World For A Gambler, Missing You, Language of Love and Power of Love were hits in their day, but few remember them. His great love song Longer is still a favorite at weddings. But for me, the true greatness of Fogelberg is found in listening to entire albums, not singles. Great hidden gems like Wishing On the Moon, Morning Sky, Souvenirs/The Long Way, Once Upon A Time, Stolen Moments, Scarecrow's Dream, Ghosts and Lessons Learned are deep cuts that are among my favorite songs from any artist. And then there is Stars. The second cut on his 1972 debut album Home Free (right after To the Morning), Stars is a love song- but it is anything but typical. The lyrics capture those moments so many of us have felt in the reality of romance, somewhere between "She loves me yeah, yeah,yeah" and "She ripped my heart out and stomped that sucker flat!" The reality that everything you feel is honest and true and seems to be the most important thing in your life, and yet the other person just does not feel that way...at all. It is a song about how love can be both "true" and unrequited all at the same time. Love can be one-sided and still be authentic and overwhelming. Which, as Dan notes, makes it almost impossible to give up on. How can that kind of love not be shared, not be mutual? It is a question most young people get to ask over and over again in life. Stars is about that kind of love, about that kind of obsession. And for me, it is simply haunting. Sure, it's been a few years since anyone could spend a dime to make a phone call. But many of us know the feeling of trying catch a falling star with some grand romantic gesture...and having that star fall right on top of us. The lyrics hold up so well. Read them. Listen to the song once or twice. And then try to get it out of your head. I dare ya...
Stood out in the rain
Let it soak me down
Before I called you, I called you
Didn't see me there
Hidden by the rain
Beneath your window, but I saw you
Putting on your face
Before the mirror on the wall
Dreaming that the looking glass was me
Catching your fondest gazes
Living through your fickle phases
I love you
And it's getting easier each day
To weep about you
Harder every night to sleep without you
How many years must I be driven
By this dream of love with you?
Spend my dimes on phones
Trying just to talk
But you don't answer, you let it ring
Spend my nights alone
Catching falling stars to give to you love
They're just for you
For stars fall every time
A lover has to face the truth
And far too many stars have fell on me
And as they trail the skies
And burn their paths upon my eyes
I cry
And it's getting easier each day
To weep about you
Harder every night to sleep without you
How many years must I be driven
By this dream of love with you?
With you
With you
Thanks Dan, for writing songs that make the things we feel seem normal- even when they are not. Most love songs strive to make us wish upon a star. You remind us, to quote another of your songs, that sometimes we have to "Wish upon the moon tonight; there's not a lucky star in sight..."
Last year I wrote a series of posts that focused on the concept of the #NarrowRoad that Jesus call us to travel. Along the way there were a number of posts that focused on twists and turns, bad directions, roadblocks and other challenges that separate us from God and from the people around us. But all of those things are overcomeable obstacles that may throw us off course and delay us, but should not stop us. With perseverance and commitment we can continue the journey. Relationships that are damaged can be repaired. We just have to keep our eyes on the destination. Unless...we run into a wall. Walls are game changers. Imagine being an invading army back in the day and running into the Great Wall of China. BAM! End of the road. Imagine being Joshua and company and starring down the walls of Jericho (before the trumpets and the crashing) and thinking, "Well this is a waste of time." Walls are much more than obstacles. They are...WALLS! If The Donald is elected he wants to build a wall to keep all of the Mexicans out of this country. If he is elected Canada may have to build a wall to keep all of us out of theirs. Walls separate us. Walls divide us. And not just the physical ones... Most of us encounter walls in our personal lives as well. We yield to walls of fear, of heartache, of social convention and of anger and mistrust. We let old relationships put up walls between us and the new people in our lives. We build entire fortresses based on what others say should be true in our lives. These walls often keep us from living fulfilled lives, and they often hurt other people as well. But what can we do about them- after all, they are freakin' walls! The best option of course is to tear them down. But whether physical or emotional, that is never easy and occasionally impossible. Tearing down walls is often a God thing, not an "us" thing. I always thought our other choices were to go over the wall, go around the all or go under the wall (like the old Bear Hunt song from my camp days)- all of which are long trips that may still let the wall win. Walls are never easy to overcome. And then one day a few weeks back I was listening to music while traveling up to do work at my Mom's villa and heard lyrics from the great philosopher/theologianJames Buffett. I had heard the song a dozen times before, but this time something new hit me. And it hit me hard. Check out these words from the song Coast of Carolina:
Most every day goes by
According to design
I live this dream but still it seems
I have you on my mind
From the bottom of my heart
Off the coast of Carolina
After one or two false starts
I believe we found our stride
And the walls that won't come down
We can decorate or climb
Or find some way to get around
'Cause I'm still on your side
From the bottom of my heart
If we can't tear down the walls, and we can't go over or around- we can decorate! Walls are not always bad. Boundaries are often helpful. They can make us feel safe and protected. But in order for those things to be true, we have to use the walls to our benefit- not let them control us. If we put up walls of fear, then let the fear keep us from doing foolish things, not the things that need to be done. If there is a wall of anger in our lives, use the anger to motivate ourselves to be a bigger and better person that the one who created the wall within us. And should society seek to tell us that we are too "soft" or that we love too much or love the wrong person, decorate that wall! Use hearts and flowers and love songs and the words of Jesus himself to cover such walls in ways that make them reminders of what love can be, not obstacles that frustrate us. Sometimes loving people- REALLY loving them- means breaking some rules and doing unconventional things. That's how we control the walls. Imagine how differently invading armies would have felt if the Great Wall had been covered in peace symbols and flowers with a sign directing new arrivals to Visitors Center. Walls can be difficult. But they can also be what we make of them. Something amazing happens in our hearts when we feel a wall come down. But short of that, we have to keep moving. We have to find our stride. We have to be the people God calls us to be. And if that calls for a little decorating that no one else understands, then count me in! Because of Jesus,
Social media and the music industry has been buzzing this week with reminders that we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Beach Boys amazing album, Pet Sounds. On September 13th of this year Marilyn, Will, my original Beach Boy buddy Steve Semmler and I (and perhaps a few players to be named later!) are going to see Brian Wilson, Al Jardine and their band perform the entire album (and many other BB classics) live in St. Petersburg, FL. My love for this album is very personal and very intense, and to join in the celebration today I re-post my thoughts from January of 2014 on the artistic masterpiece that is Pet Sounds. Enjoy. On May 16, 1966, the world of music changed forever. The Beach Boys, known for their breezy anthems about California girls, surfing and hot rods, released an album that no one was quite prepared for or would ever forget. Pet Soundswas a whole new type of popular music. Brian Wilson had written rich orchestrations using instruments no one had heard in a pop song before, and his new collaborator Tony Asher wrote lyrics that captured the hearts of young people everywhere. The album is in the top 5 of most every "greatest albums of all-time" list ever made, and produced several songs that teenagers in 2014 still know today. The Beatles were often quick to point out that there would have been a very different Sgt. Pepper without the influences of and the creative gauntlet thrown down by Pet Sounds. Paul McCartney said this in a 1990 interview: "It was Pet Sounds that blew me out of the water. First of all, it was Brian's writing. I love the album so much. I've just bought my kids each a copy of it for their education in life---I figure no one is educated musically 'til they've heard that album. I was into the writing and the songs. I’ve often played Pet Sounds and cried. It's that kind of an album for me." I first heard the album years after its release when I started collecting Beach Boys vinyls in the mid 1970s. I too was simply stunned at the majesty of the music and the passion of the lyrics. It was immediately one of those rare albums that I could never listen to just a few songs at a time. The album was ONE masterpiece that told ONE story, and needed to be heard as such. Time passed and I replaced the vinyl with a CD. And then more time passed and the CD was borrowed and never returned. The Beach Boys box set contains a number of the songs, but not the entire project, and I had been missing Pet Sounds and longing to listen to it with my now 18 year old son Will. This Christmas, Santa delivered a new copy. And I have been listening over and over and over. It takes me back, not just musically, but to so many lost relationships and moments of heartbreak and discovery. No matter who you are or what era you have grown up in, Pet Sounds is the soundtrack of young love. Many of you know Wouldn't It Be Nice and God Only Knows (called by McCartney the greatest song ever written). but those are far from the only gems on the album. Here's the song list and a few of my thoughts with selected lyrics: * Wouldn't It Be Nice ~ This song totally captures that feeling that you have when you are young and in love that everything would be better if you could go ahead and be together forever. "You know it seems the more we talk about it, it only makes it worse to live without it...but let's talk about it...wouldn't it be nice?" Reality can sometimes bite, but hope springs eternal! * You Still Believe In Me ~ An unbelievably beautiful melody and lyrics that remind us that true love always seeks to be unconditional. "And after all I've done to you how can it it be that you still believe in me?" * That's Not Me ~ A song about striking out on your own seeking to make it big only to discover "I could try to be big in the eyes of the world but what matters to me is what I could be to just one girl..." Who hasn't felt that way? When you are young (or old!) and in love there is often nothing else that seems to matter. * Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder) ~ Another ultimate expression of young, passionate love that knows nothing of struggle or issues... "I can hear so much in your sighs, and I can see so much in your eyes. There are words we both could say...but don't talk, put your head on my shoulder. Don't talk close your eyes and be still. Don't talk, take my hand and listen to my heart beat..." Wow. Just wow. * I'm Waiting For the Day ~ The girl he loves has been hurt, and is not ready to move into a new relationship. But the songwriter will wait. Just as we all did at some point in time. "He hurt you then but that's all gone, I guess I'm saying you're the only one. I'm waiting for the day when you can love again." * Let's Go Away For Awhile ~ A beautiful instrumental piece. * Sloop John B ~ Brian's arrangement of an old Caribbean folk song is pure genius. While lyrically a bit out of step with rest of the album (which is not a surprise as it was a single done months before the rest of the project) the orchestrations and harmonies set the bar very high for the rest of the songs that followed. I own an album called Stack ' O ' Tracks that contained Beach Boys songs without the vocals. This song was the highlight- unbelievably complex and strikingly beautiful. * God Only Knows ~ The first non-religious song ever played on the radio with "God" in the title, it is the essence of young love. "I may not always love you, but as long as there are stars above you, you'll never need to need to doubt it. I'll make you so sure about it... If you should ever leave me, though life would still go on, believe me. The world could show nothing to me, so what good would living do me? God only knows what I'd be without you." I have felt those lyrics so many times in my life... *I Know There's An Answer~ A song about discovering truth and dealing with know-it-alls. Originally titled Hang On To Your Ego. * Here Today ~ One of my very favorites among an album of favorites! It captures the excitement and drama of new young love - "It starts with just a little glance now, right way you're thinking 'bout romance now...you know you ought to take it slower, but you just can't wait to get to know her. A brand new love affair is such a beautiful thing" - but with this very practical reminder- "but if you're not careful think of all the pain it can bring. It makes your heart feel sad, it makes you feel so bad, it makes your days go wrong, it makes your nights so long, you've got tokeep in mind love is here today and it's gone tomorrow. It's here and gone so fast." * I Just Wasn't Made For These Times ~ One of the hardest parts of being a teenager- whether in the 1960s or today- is fitting in. Who among us hasn't felt like we just weren't made for the times we live in? "Sometimes I feel very sad..." * Pet Sounds ~ Brian at his instrumental best. * Caroline No ~ "Where did your long hair go? Where is the girl I used to know? How could you lose that happy glow? Oh Caroline, no." The album ends with young love dying. Because so often that's what young love does, leaving one party -or both- hurt and longing with unanswerable questions- "Break my heart, I want to go and cry. It's so sad to watch a sweet thing die. Oh Caroline, why?" And wondering if you'll ever be able to feel that way again. Although at age 56 it is often hard to remember, I was once a teenager and a young adult. I also spent 28 years of my life working with teenagers as a youth pastor. There are few things that impact the lives of that age group more than the search for acceptance and love, and the heartbreak that often accompanies that search. If you've "forgotten" what it was like to feel the agony and the ecstasy of those days and those relationships, Pet Sounds can take you there. Over and over again. And that is a memory that will never go out of style. Love & Mercy,
Ten years ago today I had loaded up my Ford Taurus station wagon and was leaving Tampa for my new ministry in Waycross, GA. My first few months in Waycross were going to be hard, as Marilyn and Will remained behind so Will could finish 5th grade at his school. Still, I was excited to see what new adventures God had in store for me. I stopped at the Tampa Christian Bookstore on my way out of town to pick up a few things for my new office, and while there I received a phone call from my Mom. My Dad, who had been very sick for a couple of months, had passed away. Obviously my plans changed and my trip was delayed as we took care of my Mom and dealt with Dad's passing. Ten years ago today. My Dad is such a huge part of who I am, and I still miss him every day. In some ways it doesn't seem that long ago. And in some ways it has been a lifetime. These have been 10 very long years... Why so long? Let me count the ways! I survived 5 months without my family, but just barely. Thirteen months after Dad's death my life fell apart. I lost my ministry and for a short period of time my freedom. We moved back to Tampa, where from 2007-2009 I was basically a hermit, certain no one outside of my family really wanted to see me. I was unable to find a job and felt pretty useless. Through the support of some great friends and this blog, I began to bounce back. Then in 2012 I was diagnosed with diabetes and had the big toe on my left foot amputated. In 2013 I lost 2 more toes, this time from my right foot. I was dealing with not only the disease but some emotional turmoil in my personal life as well, and life just got difficult. But with lots of support, love and encouragement I made it through the rain. And then came Sunday, August 16, 2015. My beloved dog Conner, who had been my constant companion through so much of the decade, passed away. On Friday of that same week my best friend, Lisa Jewett, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. On Saturday, Will moved out of the house for the first time and into his apartment at the University of Central Florida. Since that week much of my life has been spent caring for Lisa, visiting doctors, spending nights in hospitals and trying to take care of myself at the same time. Sharing life with her has been a true blessing, and her good news last week brought a smile to my heart. And then on January 30 we received a call that my mother had been taken to a Hospice House. On February 5, my Mom died. And somewhere in the midst of the pain it occurred to me that these 10 years had come full circle. It has been a kidney stone of a decade in many ways. My prayer is that it has now passed. The Apostle Paul once wrote that in the end, 3 things remain- faith, hope and love. And that has certainly been my recipe for survival. I could tell you that my faith in God has never wavered, but that would be a bold faced lie. I have doubts every day. But my faith has never left me. My friends and family have shown faith in me, even when I didn't deserve it. Faith has helped keep me afloat. And because of my faith and the faith others have shown me, I always have hope. Even in the darkest of times there is hope for a better tomorrow, and that hope is always present in my heart. I may be down, but never out. Life hurts, but there are reasons to persevere. There are people who have given me hope to carry on. And I am blessed. And love? Love is everything. The past 10 years have taught me that whatever the question, love is the answer! All the Sunday school cliches- God is love, Jesus loves me, love one another- are all absolutely true. It becomes clearer to me each and every day that life is about understanding that I am loved by so many people in so many ways, and that sharing that love with others is what makes the world go 'round! I know so many of you love me. I hope you know how much I love you. So here's to the next 10 years! May they be full of love, light and joy. And may the peace that passes all understanding fill out hearts so that we will never be content with merely surviving. Let's get out there and truly live!!! Because of Jesus,
In the wake of yesterday's Supreme Court ruling that bans on same sex marriage are unconstitutional there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth in sections of the Christian community. There were a few dozen blogs post lamenting the day, and most seemed to pose this question: In what ways should the Church respond? How will organized Christianity respond? If recent history is any indication, the answer is "poorly." How should we respond? The answer is written all over the New Testament. There is a response. And it's the only one that matters...
Beloved, let us love one another in the name of Jesus. Now more than ever, it's the only creed we need.
Last weekend I finally got see the new movie Love & Mercy about the life and times of Brian Wilson, founder of The Beach Boys. The movie was amazing, and the actors in the key roles- John Cusack, Elizabeth Banks, Paul Giamatti and Paul Dano- were simply brilliant. Brian's story is very complex, and they tell it well. Please go see it if you have the opportunity- I will be seeing it again soon. I have been completely immersed in The Beach Boys music ever since. There was a fair portion of the film dedicated (and my listening this week) to the time Brian spent in the studio making his masterpiece, Pet Sounds. I have written of the significance of that album in this space before. Inspired by the movie, I do so again today.
On May 16, 1966, the world of music changed forever. The Beach Boys, known for their breezy anthems about California girls, surfing and hot rods, released an album that no one was quite prepared for or would ever forget. Pet Soundswas a whole new type of popular music. Brian Wilson had written rich orchestrations using instruments no one had heard in a pop song before, and his new collaborator Tony Asher wrote lyrics that captured the hearts of young people everywhere. The album is in the top 5 of most every "greatest albums of all-time" list ever made, and produced several songs that teenagers in 2014 still know today. The Beatles were often quick to point out that there would have been a very different Sergeant Pepper without the influences of and the creative gauntlet thrown down by Pet Sounds. Paul McCartney said this in a 1990 interview: "It was Pet Sounds that blew me out of the water. First of all, it was Brian's writing. I love the album so much. I've just bought my kids each a copy of it for their education in life---I figure no one is educated musically 'til they've heard that album. I was into the writing and the songs. I’ve often played Pet Sounds and cried. It's that kind of an album for me."
I first heard the album years after its release when I started collecting Beach Boys vinyls in the mid 1970s. I too was simply stunned at the majesty of the music and the passion of the lyrics. It was immediately one of those rare albums that I could never listen to just a few songs at a time. The album was ONE masterpiece that told ONE story, and needed to be heard as such. Time passed and I replaced the vinyl with a CD. And then more time passed and the CD was borrowed and never returned. The Beach Boys box set contains a number of the songs, but not the entire project, and I had been missing Pet Sounds and longing to listen to it with my then 18 year old son Will when Santa delivered a new copy. In the 18 months since that time not only have I been listening to it over and over and over, but Will purchased it on vinyl and loves it almost as much as I do. It takes me back, not just musically, but to so many lost relationships and moments of heartbreak and discovery. No matter who you are or what era you have grown up in, Pet Sounds is the soundtrack of young love. Many of you know Wouldn't It Be Nice and God Only Knows (called by McCartney the greatest song ever written). but those are far from the only gems on the album. Here's the song list and a few of my thoughts with selected lyrics: * Wouldn't It Be Nice ~ This song totally captures that feeling that you have when you are young and in love that everything would be better if you could go ahead and be together forever. "You know it seems the more we talk about it, it only makes it worse to live without it...but let's talk about it...wouldn't it be nice?" * You Still Believe In Me ~ An unbelievably beautiful melody and lyrics that remind us that true love always seeks to be unconditional. "And after all I've done to you how can it it be that you still believe in me?" * That's Not Me ~ A song about striking out on your own seeking to make it big only to discover "I could try to be big in the eyes of the world but what matters to me is what I could be to just one girl..." Who hasn't felt that way? When you are young and in love there is often nothing else that seems to matter. * Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder) ~ Another ultimate expression of young, passionate love that knows nothing of struggle or issues... "I can hear so much in your sighs, and I can see so much in your eyes. There are words we both could say...but don't talk, put your head on my shoulder. Don't talk close your eyes and be still. Don't talk, take my hand and listen to my heart beat..." Wow. Just wow. * I'm Waiting For the Day ~ The girl he loves has been hurt, and is not ready to move into a new relationship. But the songwriter will wait. Just as we all did at some point in time. "He hurt you then but that's all gone, I guess I'm saying you're the only one. I'm waiting for the day when you can love again." * Let's Go Away For Awhile ~ A beautiful instrumental piece. * Sloop John B ~ Brian's arrangement of an old Caribbean folk song is pure genius. While lyrically a bit out of step with rest of the album (which is not a surprise as it was a single done months before the rest of the project) the orchestrations and harmonies set the bar very high for the rest of the songs that followed. I once owned an album called Stack ' O ' Tracks that contained Beach Boys songs without the vocals. This song was the highlight- unbelievably complex and strikingly beautiful. * God Only Knows ~ The first non-religious song ever played on the radio with "God" in the title, it is the essence of young love. "I may not always love you, but as long as there are stars above you, you'll never need to need to doubt it. I'll make you so sure about it... If you should ever leave me, though life would still go on, believe me. The world could show nothing to me, so what good would living do me? God only knows what I'd be without you." *I Know There's An Answer~ A song about discovering truth and dealing with know-it-alls. Originally titled Hang On To Your Ego. "I know there's an answer. I know now but I have to find it by myself." * Here Today ~ One of my very favorites among an album of favorites! It captures the excitement and drama of new young love - "It starts with just a little glance now, right way you're thinking 'bout romance now...you know you ought to take it slower, but you just can't wait to get to know her. A brand new love affair is such a beautiful thing" - but with this very practical reminder- "but if you're not careful think of all the pain it can bring. It makes your heart feel sad, it makes you feel so bad, it makes your days go wrong, it makes your nights so long, you've got tokeep in mind love is here today and it's gone tomorrow. It's here and gone so fast." * I Just Wasn't Made For These Times ~ One of the hardest parts of being a teenager- whether in the 1960s or today- is fitting in. Who among hasn't felt like we just weren't made for the times we live in? "Sometimes I feel very sad..." * Pet Sounds ~ Brian at his instrumental best. * Caroline No ~ "Where did your long hair go? Where is the girl I used to know? How could you lose that happy glow? Oh Caroline, no." The album ends with young love dying. Because so often that's what young love does, leaving one party -or both- hurt and longing with unanswerable questions- "Break my heart, I want to go and cry. It's so sad to watch a sweet thing die. Oh Caroline, why?" And wondering if you'll ever be able to feel that way again. Although at age 55 it is often hard to remember, I was once a teenager and a young adult. I also spent 28 years of my life working with teenagers as a youth pastor. There are few things that impact the lives of that age group more than the search for acceptance and love, and the heartbreak that often accompanies that search. If you've "forgotten" what it was like to feel the agony and the ecstasy of those days and those relationships, Pet Sounds can take you there. Over and over again. And that is a memory that will never go out of style. "Enjoy every sandwich."
Back in the 1970s my Dad and I used to coach little league football together in Greensboro, NC. The team was the Guilford College Steelers, a "country" team that was once a doormat for the powerhouse city teams in the 8-9 and 10-11 year old age groups. Under Dad's leadership they became perennial contenders, playing in 5 city championship games and winning back-to-back titles in 1976 and '77. He made the game simple and fun. His teams were seldom the most talented but always the best prepared. Dad, unlike many of the Vince Lombardi wannabes coaching kids, understood that winning at that level required a different way of thinking than high school or college. This showed up in a variety of ways, but none was more obvious that in his offensive play calling. The Steelers had a diverse offense and lots of plays. Basic running plays, passing plays, trick plays- you name it and it was in our arsenal. Dad would begin every game by showing off our basic running plays. If a play gained good yardage he'd come back to it a few plays later. And if it worked well a second time we all knew what would come next. He would break into a huge grin, grab one of the kids on the sidelines and send the following message into the huddle- "Run it 'til they stop it!" And that's exactly what the team would do. I remember the Steelers scoring touchdowns, driving down the field 5-7 yards at a time running the same play 10 times in a row. There was no need to make it complicated. There was no reason to overthink. "Run it 'til they stop it." We won a lot of games that way. In 1992 former Arkansas governor Bill Clinton surprised the nation by winning the Democratic Party nomination to run for President of the United States. He would oppose George (Daddy) Bush, the popular incumbent. The only negative for Bush was a staggering economy that was causing his approval ratings to fall. Clinton seemingly suffered through one public relations nightmare after another, and the chances of him winning seemed slim. But then his young, brilliant campaign staff made a bold move. Whatever subject the press and the public wanted to talk about, they would turn the conversation back to the economy. Their mantra became "It's the economy, stupid!" They knew it was the one issue they could win on, the one issue where Clinton held the upper hand. As the Bush campaign began to flail a bit, the Clintons simply talked about the economy more. Their efforts snowballed and there was nothing the Republicans could do to stop it. Clinton won the presidency and the economy was the major reason. I could almost hear George Stephanopoulos whispering in Clinton's ear before every speech- "Run it 'til they stop it." And they never did. When you are the parent of an infant or a toddler, finding routines that get them to eat, sleep, use the potty and otherwise make your life simpler are discoveries of great joy. And when you find something that works, you stick to it. If playing airplane and flying the food into the the baby's mouth gets her to eat, you fly the airplane. If reading the same book every night for 12 months gets them to sleep, you read the book. You keep attacking the problems with a solution that works until they outgrow it and you move on to something else. You "run it 'til they stop it"- and then you move on. For over 2000 years church leaders, theologians, seminary professors and talking heads have worked hard to make the teachings of Jesus seem complicated. Their theory is this- the more complicated being a Christ-follower is, the more we need them to help us figure it all out. So we fight over this and that and what we think Jesus meant or what he might have said if he had addressed a particular issue at all. We debate things as inane as "Why did Jesus say the word 'the' in Greek in that verse instead of speaking Aramaic?" when in fact we are reading in english a text that has probably been translated a dozen times. We argue over the minutia because what we KNOW scripture says is out of step with our world. Most of the things our churches hold dear come from founding fathers and church leaders, not from Jesus. And yet every denomination claims to know the way Jesus would do things were he among us today. We make it so complicated, when in fact it couldn't be more simple. Jesus made it very clear, and he did it over and over again. The church is to get out there in this messed up world and LOVE people in his name. People who are different. People who are hurting. People who are lost and confused. People who don't like us. People who shoot at us. People who fear us. Our calling is to go after these people with LOVE and not stop until they know the love of God whose name is Jesus. And all we are to ask of them is that they share the love as well. It's pretty simple church. Our job is to love one another. Now and always. "Run it 'till they stop it." The play is love. And it's unstoppable! Because of Jesus,
Everyone knows the Frankenstein story, right? A mad scientist seeks to create a perfect human being by reanimating body parts gathered from dead people- and it all goes wrong. Suppose you could take the DNA from some of the greatest Christians you know in a quest to build a perfect Christian. What traits would you want to include? There would need to be solid theology and a commitment to the spiritual disciplines. Certainly you would want the knowledge of a great Biblical scholar, someone who not only knows scripture but is fluent in Greek and Hebrew as well. You would want the gift of evangelism from someone like Billy Graham, whose heart is broken by the lost. You would want the golden voice of one of the great communicators of the faith who could speak words of encouragement and wisdom to everyone they encountered. Perhaps a gene for counselling should be included, along with the gift of song to help the world sing praise to the LORD. I would include a desire to care for the downtrodden and impoverished just as Jesus did. And the wisdom of Solomon would be a welcome addition as well. This lab creation, a sort of ChristianFrankenstein, would be the ultimate leader in our search to complete the Great Commission. One of my very favorite movies is Young Frankenstein. In that flick, the man becomes a monster because Igor brings the his boss the brain of "Abby Normal" instead of the brilliant brain he requested. Our creation would fare no better. You see, scripture tells us that if we created a specimen with all of the attributes listed above, it would be a failure. Even with all of those gifts, all of that knowledge and wisdom, it could not communicate the true nature of Jesus to this hurting world. Why not? Because we left out the one ingredient that our creation cannot survive without. I'll let Paul tell you... 1 Corinthians 13: 1-7 (The Message)-If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love. So here's the deal- we can know more, experience more and be gifted more than any other Christian walking this planet, but if we don't have the overwhelming, radical, passionate and forgiving love of Jesus in our hearts, then we still don't get it. We are indeed like Frankenstein, imposing and overbearing, with nothing real to offer the world. Theology and public piety will not win hearts for Christ. Love will. There is no such thing as a perfect Christian. But a reflection of God's love and grace in this hurting world? Yeah...we can do that. Because of Jesus,
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. left us with a great legacy of words that still carry great weight in our world today. These past of months have served as a reminder that many of the things Dr. King fought for are still issues in our world today. It is a tradition on this blog to share this post each year in the hope that we will never forget him or his teachings, which have made a difference in so many lives. Today is a holiday that we too often remember only because we get a day off from work or get to do something fun. I do hope that you and your families have a special day and enjoy whatever time off you may get. But do not forget the man and the life that today is set aside to remember. A man who changed history. A man who reminded us that the way to revolution and real change is the way of Jesus- strength through non-violence.And a man who gave everything for a cause he believed in. He was not a a perfect man; no one God chooses ever is. But he was a man whom God used to do great things. Remember.
In honor of the celebration of Dr. King's birthday...
Today is the second Sunday of Advent, and if you attend a church that is using an Advent wreath then today they will light the candle of love. (I love my church, but they don't do a Advent wreath. In fact, they seldom mention Advent. Uh-oh- I feel arantcoming on! We attend a very "non-traditional church" and I love many of the things they do in worship. The music, the message, the dramas and the technology all help make it a large growing church that preaches the gospel and serves the community in the name of Jesus. But in their attempts to be "non-traditional" they often eliminate tradition completely. Not only just Advent, but this year I am still waiting to hear about Lent, and Pentecost as well. It wouldn't hurt to say the Lord's Prayer or the Apostle's Creed on occasion. Some old hymns were better in their original arrangements. And Moses H. Cone, could we just sing a normal Christmas carol at least once this year? Thus endeth the rant...and by the way I am to be at church today!) You have no doubt heard it said that love came down at Christmas time. The lyrics from the song Love Has Come at the top of this page, written by Amy Grant, tell a similar story. Scripture tells the story in a most familiar yet meaningful verse: "For God so loved the world that He sent his only Son..." Let there be no doubt- God's love has a name, and that name is Jesus.
So as you prepare your heart for the coming of the Christ-child this Christmas season, remember that love has come. Show grace and forgiveness to those around you. Find a way to show love to those who are hurting, under-resourced or different. And take time each day to thank God for the love He has shown you in sending Jesus to bridge the gap between our sinful nature and his perfect peace. Make this Christmas season one of true expectation, remembering that the coming of Christ changed the world. We are called by the Babe of Bethlehem to do the same in our world...
We're Americans, with a capital 'A', huh? You know what that means? Do ya? That means that our forefathers were kicked out of every decent country in the world. We are the wretched refuse. We're the underdog. We're mutts! Here's proof: his nose is cold! But there's no animal that's more faithful, that's more loyal, more lovable than the mutt. - John Winger (Bill Murray in Stripes) The above quote is part of a hilarious scene from the great 1981 comedy, Stripes. But there is also a great deal of truth in the speech. And, I'm afraid, it is a truth we have forgotten. It seems to me that far too many of us here in the good ol' US of A have become elitists. Instead of mutts, we see ourselves as the pure breeds. Not only do we no longer embrace the role of underdogs, we are dismissive and often afraid of those who do. We worry about who we let live in our country. We worry about who we might have to sit next to on the bus or in a restaurant. And worst of all, we worry about keeping the riff-raff out of our churches. I read a story recently of a man who was thrown out of a church service on a Sunday morning when someone in the congregation recognized him as one of the local panhandlers. The pastor told the ushers to ask this homeless man to leave. He didn't belong there because his presence was upsetting the "good people" who were members of that church. I hate to break it to that pastor and his flock, but when that man left that building, Jesus went with him. Read the gospels and you will be overwhelmed with the number of people Jesus hung out with who would be banned from our churches today. We often claim it's a safety issue. More often than not it's a love issue. We love the people who are like us, forgetting that Jesus came for the sick, the lost, the lame, the sinners and the homeless. He came for the felons, the illegal immigrants, the unwashed and the ugly. Jesus came for the mutts. And the sooner we in the church remember that Jesus loves the "least of these" every bit as much as he loves the saints, the sooner we can actually show the world what a Jesus Revolution looks like. Everyone matters. I see commercials all the time inviting us to adopt stray dogs and give them the love and attention they need. That's a great idea- for the church. Let's start adopting mutts. You can start with me. My name is Carl, and I am part of "the least of these." I have been a "notorious sinner." My nose is cold, and my heart is faithful. Jesus loves me. How about you? Because of Jesus,
The above lyrics are are from the 1992 Michael W. Smith song, Love One Another (words by Wayne Kirkpatrick). They speak to a basic theology that is often misplaced or missing altogether in today's world- and worse yet in today's church. We manage to make things so theologically complicated, when in fact Jesus bottom-lined it for us all those years ago. The Great Commandment- love God, love people. Life with God is all about relationships.
Scripture is full of One Anothers. Ways that we should respond to the people around us if we want to be in God's will and God's love. I can't help but think that if we were to live by these scriptural commands that our lives- and this world- would be a MUCH better place. Imagine if we all would:
A new commandment I give you- Love one another. (John 13:34)
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. (Romans 12:10)
Live in harmony with one another. (Romans 12:16)
Stop passing judgement on one another. (Romans 14:13)
Accept one another, even as Christ accepted you. (Romans 15:7)
Greet one another with a holy kiss. (2 Corinthians 13:12)
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. (Ephesians 4:2)
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:21)
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Colossians 3:13)
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. (Hebrews 10:24)
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25)
Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. (1 Peter 5:5)
This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. (1 John 3:11)
And those are just a few of the at least 59 one another scriptures. It should be as plain as the nose on our face- we are here to take care of each other, no matter who or what we are, and no matter who or what others may do. There is no way out. In Genesis, when Cain asks God if he is his brother's keeper, we now know that God's answer is a resounding YES! We cannot be in the will of God if we judge first, admonish first or seek to change first. Our first task is always...ALWAYS...to love and care for one another. If our churches would simply heed these admonitions from scripture, our churches could change the world in a real way.
But perhaps more importantly, if we would focus all of the energy we spend on judgement and condemnation on loving others, it would change US. If we would live the One Another Life our priorities would change, our attitudes would change and our lives would change. We Christians say we want to follow the example of Christ. To do that, it is clear where must begin. Not by reading more books, listening to more sermons, building a more complete systematic theology or being louder with our words. If we want to be like Jesus, then we need to do what he did and believe what he taught. We have to die to ourselves and begin living the One Another Life. "The journey will be long, but here is where it starts..." Love One Another!
