June 2007 Archives

I saw this on another blog and i just absolutely could not refrain...

Please allow me to share my initial thoughts...
What are you supposed to do with this? Throw it in your neighbors pool and pray that they get saved? I am not one to put God in a box and say that it can't happen but... how many things will we come up with that further enables us from living life in such a way that forces us to have spiritual conversations. That's life... that is life as a disciple, as a follower of Christ. i hope that we will stop relying on things like rubber ducky's to share the gospel. The gospel was meant to be lived. LIVE IT!

Wow...

F

Tonight we had another great meeting... I can't explain the "feeling" that i have or get when i say things that i never meant to say or planned to say. We had planned to have several team building exercises and instead we discussed what we want to see happen on our trip to Mexico in 8 days. It was refreshing to see the different perspectives and at the same time sense the apprehension that still exists in some of the students. My prayer for me, for us as a team, us as a community before the trip, during the trip and after the trip is that God would amaze us. Amaze me in such a way that i know its you! We attempted to get beneath the surface answer(s) to the deep core of what our heart desire is for this trip. My desire is that we simply LIVE LIFE. Mexico is just an extension of life here... our context will change, but our mission remains the same... live life as a disciple of Christ.

May we swim in the deep of your intimacy.
May we explore your wonder, your awe, your mystery.
May we live well.

F

Meet Elwood...
I have no words... actually i do... What was God thinking?
Poor guy.

Here are all the competitors... enjoy these pics.
http://www.sonoma-marinfair.org/uglydogvote07.shtml

F

Wednesday night at camp in our individual church meetings i wrote the words, "Eliminate Distractions" really big on the white erase board and left it there for the rest of the week. I felt that there were many people allowing things to block them from where they wanted and needed to "go," whatever they may be. For some it was as simple as a cell phone. For others it was a relationship that wasn't right and needed healing. Still for others, they needed a miracle...they needed God to engulf them and to come face to face with them to see how beautiful he is, but also to see how beautiful he thinks we are... how significant in his eyes we shine.
Distractions will keep you from going where you want to go and keep you from going where you need to go.
This is a reminder that i need often in life... We will never live life with the fullness and abundance that is promised to us, while distractions dominate our time, thoughts and dreams.
Eliminate the distractions that have held you in prison. Know that the abundant life that is promised in John 10:10 is a reality. Not only is it a reality, it is the reality. That is what life was meant to be. That is what life was meant to look like apart from the distractions that leave us empty.

What distractions do you need to eliminate in life?

F

I got a phone call tonight... and on the other end was an answer to a long time prayer request. God is so faithful...
At camp, Chad Norris, the speaker said disciples of Christ understand that their problems are in fact not their problems... they are God's problems. When Jesus becomes our LORD, which literally translates to "owner"... He is in control.
Chele and i have been praying about something that finally tonight, literally while at Starbucks, we said that OK God, this is not our problem... this is your problem. We get home and i get this phone call. WOW... is that amazing or what? This is the way that life works. We have not because we ask not... we ask not because we don't believe. Believe that God is who he says he is and that he will do what he says that he will do.

THANK YOU DADDY...

F

Wow... so much to talk about... all the way from Fluzal (a game that we made up that could change your life) to the ability to live an abnormal radical life. Throughout the course of the week i will be posting several different things and topics from the past week @ camp.

Don't accumulate things... accumulate experiences!

Here are some of my favorite memories...

- Blue 2
- Yea, Ryan Shrum!
- Fluzal... absolutely amazing... getting hit in the face with the tennis ball by Khris
- Walking out in the hall way to see ALL the guys chanting the fluzal theme
- "You must be from Harvester."
- Oh Ron! My new friend.
- The marker wars the last morning between Taylor and Mason, Jon Ryan and Ethan were absolutely priceless.
- Volleyball in the afternoon during free time... good stuff.
- the Khris-isms: (How could we forget?)
- The soap, water and air sinks at the rest stop...amazing!

- The conversations... thanks Tanner!
- Who are you? I am... "unfinished"... "forgiven"... "satisfied"... "significant"... "a player" (its gametime)... "ready"... so many new identities found in Christ.
- The worship... music, dancers, art, lights, preaching
- The presence of God
- Swimming in Intimacy.

I feel rich from the new experiences that i have gained this week. Share your memories from camp...

What did you experience at tc07?

F

We are off to camp first thing in the morning...
I will get the next blog out ASAP - when and if i can find an internet connection.
Off to good ol' Boliver, MO.

F

Is there a difference between authenticity and honesty?

Tonight at our Mexico training we discussed this topic in length. It was incredible to be part of teaching something so over-looked and often missed. We settle for the status quo in life, while opportunities fly pass us without us knowing and caring.

I think there is a definite line that separates the two. I understand that we can have a conversation filled with subjectivity and semantics, but viewed in the context of LIFE, i think they are starkly different. One student tonight said, "honesty is something you do, authentic is something you are." Another said, "you can be honest without being authentic, but you cannot be authentic without being honest."

I had a friend in college whom i became very close with. There was a time when he was struggling with his relationship with Christ because of the decisions that he was making. I understood where he was, i had been there, done that, got that t-shirt. He found himself caught in "stuff" all the time, yet in conversation i was always impressed with his ability to be up front with his situation and the decisions he was making. I remember thinking how AUTHENTIC and real he was. The reality was that he was NOT being authentic, he was being HONEST. He was being honest about the things he was doing and the decisions he was making, but he was not being authentic to who he was. My definition of authenticity is simply... being TRUE to who you are. My friend was a Christian, he was a follower of Christ, but he was not being true to who he was. He was following Christ in word, but not in action. So again, he was honest, but he was not authentic.

Unfortunately, i think for far too long we have settled for the mantra that being honest is enough. Sadly, at best, that is exactly what the world has seen, people who call themselves Christians, who live like they want and do what they want, and turn around and say , "sorry". I am NOT saying that we have to be perfect. We have the right to struggle, we even have the right to fail. But when we chose to submit our lives to Christ we gave up our right to not care. How long will we live life not caring, and/or not caring to do anything about it?

Imagine a community of people who call themselves followers for Christ, who actually live like they follow Christ with their lives.

You talk about starting a movement? This is how it was meant to be. Authenticity is the starting point. It is the radical minimum standard. We have lowered the minimum standard to honesty... time to raise the bar to authenticity. It starts here.

Are you being true to who you are?

If we call ourselves Christians, Christ followers, God followers (any tag line you want) we better be living like it. We better be striving for authenticity. Pick yourself up, tomorrow is a new day, a new opportunity. Don't miss it! Strive to be who you were meant to be.

BE,
F

I love what John Richardson said: "When it comes to the future there are only three kinds of people: those who let it happen, those who make it happen and those who wonder what happened."
We need to be people that "make it happen." The future awaits us and we cannot sit back idle and expect incredible things to happen. There is much that needs to be done.

What in your life needs to happen to be ready for what awaits us?

How can you prepare for the opportunities ahead?

I look forward with anticipation, with no neglect for the present.

F

I read a great post today from Mark Batterson... "10 random thoughts on Vulnerability". He made a great statement... "people who are more vulnerable are more lovable." What an incredible statement. The ability to be vulnerable, is the ability to be real. Everyone wants to be real and wants to be with real people. Who wants to hang out with plastic people? Here is a few of Mark's random thoughts...

#1 People will only be as vulnerable as their leader!
#2 Embrace your imperfections!
#3 The happiest and healthiest people laugh at themselves the most!
#4 The greatest freedom is having nothing to prove!

Good stuff...

Allow yourself to be vulnerable...
If everything comes back to life and our ability to live life... we have to be willing to be vulnerable with one another. Be you today... who you are is more than enough. You have nothing to prove...

F

This morning, Justin McLaury delivered a brilliant talk on character. He examined the way ancient Greece described character through the philosophy of Plato and the lens through which Paul viewed character through scripture. He then showed us how modern America and the American Christian attempts to build character. Unfortunately, we have equated moralism, doing the right thing, or for that matter, not doing the wrong thing (so we think) to spiritual maturity. This is why the market is flooded with self-help books. Everyone wants to do the right thing, the right way. Everyone is looking for the right, easy formula to live a "successful" life. Unfortunately, we're easily misguided... In Philippians, Paul describes the character of Christ with two characteristics. Jesus loved God and loved people. Off the top of my head, i cannot think of any instances in the Bible where Jesus was known for something that he did not do. In fact, most times he was challenged on the way that he lived his life. All my recollections remind me of the things that Jesus did... the way that he lived life, how he lived life with "sinners", how he loved people, etc. My challenge for you, for me, for us as a community, is to be known for the things that we do, not necessarily the things that we don't do. May we be known for the way that we loved, for the way that we served, for the way that we cared for each other, for the way that we pushed our culture. May our legacy represent the life of Christ... the character of Christ. May your life represent Jesus.

Great insight... thanks Justin.

F

I read a post today by Mark Oestreicher, that further emphasized something that i heard when i was at the Q conference in Atlanta in April. Kevin Kelly, who is the founding executive editor of WIRED magazine, presented a 30 min. short on where Christianity is headed in the next 1000 years. One of his suggestions was that there would be a huge momentum shift for Christianity in Asia. The post i read today, looked at some cultural shifts in youth culture that are taking place in Asia. Some interesting stuff. He says, "let’s face it: the united states hasn’t been leading most international youth trends for many years (which is an interesting sociological question, since it is almost universally agreed that the u.s. is responsible for creating youth culture)." He suggests that we look toward Asia to see what is coming our way. Interesting Stuff... Check this video out.

It is 11:49 Thursday night.... i have been going non-stop all day long... all week long. I am tired, but i am energized. I have had three amazing conversations since the Mexico Team Training earlier tonight. Great conversations keep me going. They encourage me, they motivate me, they make me better, they make me stronger. Great conversations force me to think, to reflect, to DREAM.
Let me encourage you to have good conversation(s). Take the time... make the time to make your words matter.

F

Are you one of the crazy ones?
I am...

F

Ryder is two weeks away from being a year old. Can you believe it? It just seems like… well you know how that goes.
Tonight he thought that it was fun to test me. We have wires that come out from the right side of our TV that connect the DVD player to the TV. He knows that he is not allowed to play with those wires. TRUST ME… he knows! Tonight, we would crawl over to the TV, pull himself up and hit the TV as usual. That is cool… that is fine… no big deal. We allow him to do that. It’s very entertaining for both him and Chele and I. But after we laugh at him for awhile and he gets comfortable up there, he begins to test us. He gently starts making his way over to the right side of the TV, along the way glaring back to see if we happen to notice him. But not the “look at me, I just did something cool like put the ball in the hole,” more of the mischievous, “nothing to see here” look. When he gets within reach, the testing begins. He starts off slow, just moving his little chubby fingers slightly that way every now and then. We say, “Ryder…NO!” He looks back as if to say, “No… about what? I wasn’t even doing anything.” He continues to hit the TV, then goes back… a little more, a little further. Then, all of a sudden, he thinks he is in the clear, he even looks back again to see if we are watching him, and at that moment he goes for it. Call him naive, call him innocent… he just straight DISOBEYED! He needs to learn that there is a reason that mama and dada don’t want him to touch those wires. I can’t tell you what happened to Ryder after that, I don’t want child services to come and take him away… JUST KIDDING… Time out is a beautiful thing.

How often do we make decisions thinking that we are in the clear, knowing all well that we are just trying to justify the situation?

How close do you tend to get to the “line” to see how far you can go before someone notices?

There is a reason that God has put boundaries in place. He knows what we need and how we need it. Stop trying to push the boundaries to the point of your comfort and convenience, and know that they exist for a reason. The things that we fill our lives with are the things that we fill our souls with.

Those who thirst and hunger after righteousness, they will be SATISFIED!

Live,
F

Remember the Smith's in your prayers. This sounds cliche, i hope that it will NOT be for us. We are responsible to be their support system. We are responsible to pray for them. We are responsible to live with them.
This is what REAL communities do... whatever it takes.
This is what REAL communities are.

Berkley, Tanner, Hannah... know you are loved.
We will miss you Greg...

F

I don’t have the final numbers for you yet… but I do know that there was over 135 pairs of TOMS shoes sold last night at our TOMS event. More importantly, that is 135+ pairs of TOMS shoes that will be given to a child in need on the next shoe drop in November when the team travels to South Africa. That is what influence can do… that is what your influence has done! You have helped change lives. Feels good… right? To be a part of something bigger than you. To play a role in a larger story. We get so much more when we give. A great paradox in life

Don’t stop… DREAM… LIVE… tell the story, the story of hope, the story of difference… the story of LOVE.

Don’t forget… Life is short… What will you do with the time given to you?

Tell your story.

Live,
F