last for a few days

Today will be my last postings for a few days. I'm going backpacking up to the Sierras with Eric Abbate and Dan and Cari Dutcher. Last year was the first year I had not been backpacking in 20-some years, so obviously I missed it. Gotta get back into the saddle

signs

Over the weekend, I saw the movie Signs. I saw it when it first came out and then again for a class in seminary, but i really got involved in it this time. Maybe for the first time. it was billed as an alien invasin movie, perhaps not as big as Independence Day, but an alien invasion movie nonetheless. Actually, it's less alien and more family drama. it's the story of an Episcopal priest who lost his faith when his wife died in a car accident and his faith is then challenged and at the end invigorated by the events that unfold. But there's a significant conversation that the Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) has with his brother Merrill(Joaquin Phoenix) about what the aliens may mean to people. Merrill is looking to his brother for comfort, even though Graham has give up the faith. This is Graham's response to Merrill:

"People break down into two groups when they experience something lucky. Group number one sees it as more than luck, more than coincidence. They see it as a sign, evidence that there is someone up there, watching out for them. Group number two sees it bas just pure luck. Just a happy turn of chance. I'm sure the people in group number two are looking at those lights in a very suspicious way. For them, the situation isn't fifty/fifty. Could be bad, could be good. But deep down, they feel that watever happens, they're on their own. And that fills them with fear. Yeah, there are those people. But there's a whole lot of people in group number one. When they see those fourteen lights, they're looking at a miracle. And deep down, they feel that whatever's going to happen, there will be someone there to help them. And that fills them with hope. See, what you have to ask yourself is what kind of person are you? Are yo9u the kind that sees signs, sees miracles? Or do you believe that people just get lucky? Or, look at the question this way: is it possible that there are no coincidences?"

I'm happy to report that I'm in group number one.

Review of Preaching in Concord

Concord Bible Church is at a crossroads. By their own admission, they are lacking in leadership. They have no pastoral staff at all. Their Youth pastor was let go a few months ago over differences with the Senior Pastor who then him self resigned in the middle of a church meeting. Brought that meeting to a screeching halt, I imagine.

It is a church with tremednous potential. There's probably 90 people or so, some older, some with kids in high school. There is a sense in which the church does want to move forward, but someone is needed to kick it into gear. Mike, the guy I spent the most time with today says that the church needs to challenged. A guy named Rich is getting some men's discipleship groups going. So there is hope here. Their prayer should be that God brings them a Godly man with a concrete vision for growng the church and challenging those already involved to grow in their faith.

The preaching went really well. Of course everyone who comes out always says what a great job I did. But there were some who were encouraged by the fact that i spoke from the Old Testament. If all goes well and they do not pick a Senior Pastor soon, I might be back in August to preach again. God willing

Preaching tour this weekend

This Sunday I get to preach at Concord Bible Church, the first time I've ever preached at church that I didn't attend. It's also the first time I've preached a message that I've preached before. I'm doing Genesis 32 (the night Jacob wrestled with God)

Concord Bible Church is an EVFree church which lost its pastor a few months ago and has been busy with fill-ins since then. That's got to be a difficult time for a church with no pastoral leadership. I've never been part of a church that has gone through that. Also the lack of stability in regard to sermons has to be difficult. I thik also that they are struggling a bit financially. When I talked to their administrator Lynn, she said somewhat dejectedly that they were down to 80-90 people on a Sunday.

Lord, please bless this congregation. Provide them with a spiritual leader who can help them grow in You. Give them Your Strength and Your Power in the midst of these difficult times.

Insight from Eugene Peterson

I am contuing to be inspired by Eugene Peterson's new book Eat This Book, which is guide on how to read Scripture on its own terms and not the terms we usually superimpose upon it. Just yesterday I was reading a section on what is called Lectio Divina, translated as 'Divine Reading'. How is we are to read Scripture?

Too ofte we do it just for inspiration or guidance in life. One of his main points is that what is contained in Scripture is not information but revelation. It is not God telling us things but revealing Himself to us.

We do not read Scripture like any other book. Peterso uses 4 latin terms that should guide our reading. They are Lectio (reading), Meditatio (meditate), Oratorio (Prayer) and Comtemplio (Live). These 4 are not to be done in a routinized way but instead are meant to overlap. We are to read, meditate on it, pray over it and live it in our lives. It's that easy. And that hard.

It is a process which we grow into and takes deliberate wqoir on our parts. This is something that i want to instill into my men-a new and deliberate way of reading Scripture that gets in down into our tummies and deep into our very lives.

doing ministry by faith

Tj brought up an interesting point when we got together on Tusday. He's leading a small group called 'Experiencing God', based on a book by Henry Blackaby. There is homework to do 5 days a week in it. One of the questions that came up this week in reference to ministry dealt with how we do ministry by faith. What is there in our ministry that can only happen if God shows up and does it? TJ had to answer that he couldn't come up with much, either in his ministry or at our church.

In ministry, we often and strategize to death and often try not to leave any detail missed. WE try to control the ministry and often leave very little time for God. I think this is true at Bay Hills. W e've got this big move coming up (August 20, up the street at the high school) but we've got it all mapped out. A business could almost do it just as well as us because we plan the whole thing and leave very little to faith and God. Oftentimes when churches do think they are stepping out in faith, it has to do with finances and not people.

I want to live by faith in my ministry. The arena most in need of this is my discipleship group. There is only so much I can do, but if these men's lives are going to be transformed, the God needs to do it. I am totally dependent in my ministry for God to change lives, because I cannot do it on my own. I can do whatever I can to provide an environment, pray for guidance and study diligently, but God does need to show up if anything significant is going to happen in these men's lives.

playing for Charlie Brown

For the first time in years, I'm on a softball team. I just really missed playng it and signed up with the Hercules Rec Center for any team that needed players. Let's just say that I did not end up on the best team. We've played 3 games and lost them all by a composite score of 44-6. We really, really suck.

Last night was a perfect example. We lost 16-0 and got hit with the 15-run mercy rule. We never got a runner to third base. Nobody, and I mean nobody played well at all. Of course I am included in that. First pitch of the game was a hot grounder to me that went right under my glove. It was all downhill from there. ACtually, it got worse. There was a simple groundball to second and I took the throw at first-probably not much harder than Caleb would throw it and it bounced off of my glove. To make matters worse, as soon as that happened, I dropped an F-bomb on the field. Not one of my prouder moments. In fact, that probbly made me feel worse than the butt-kicking we got on the field, the fact that I could so easily just slide into that kind of language.

not the best week ever

Okay, it's been a few days since I've been here. It hasn't been the best week. We got our butts kicked in softball again (more on that later). The guy who was going to do the BBQ for Family Camp Day dropped off the radar. Car issues, too. HAving car problems drives me crazier than jsut about anything else.

I'm at the parking garage at Barnes and Noble when it happens. The car starts fine, but the gear shift will not physically go from Park to Reverse. Uh-oh, I think. Not another transmission problem. What it ends up being is a minor problem but it causes major headaches. The brake light switch went out. a $10 part. But for a Jetta, you have to have your foot on the brake before you can shift into reverse. Since the switch was out, the transmission didn't know that I had my foot on the brake and would not shift. A minor problem, but a headache nonetheless. I took it to Letcher Brothers in Pinole and I was off on the road in 20 minutes.

New men's group on the horizon

It's looking like my new discipleship group will begin meeting 2 weeks from tonight. I've got men, I believe and am hoping to pick up another or maybe two by this Sunday. So far it is skewing a bit more mature than last year. I'm not aiming that way, but that is who God is giving me.

I've come up with three markers, or benchmarks (whatever you want to call them) that will define how we do business. The first is the ver is Revelation 10, where the Angel gives to John a scroll and tells him to eat it. That is how we will deal with Scripture this year. I want it to get down inside our stomachs, stengthen our bones and muscles and give health to the body. Not casual reading, but eating the book.

The second image is simliar. At our first meeting, right after we open in prayer, I'm going to give each of the guys a lifesaver and ask them to just let it sit in their mouths until it dissolves. No eating, chewing or swallowing. Just keep it there until it is gone. This will serve as a parable for how we will do things. We will sit on the stories in Genesis slowly and let them dissolve into us. No hurrying or trying just to get it done. Let it dissolve.

The last image is that of a volcano. When a volcano erupts, what is inside explodes outwardly. The opposite is that is an 'irruption' where what is outside explodes inward. In the stories of the Patriarchs, God breaks into their lives much like an irruption. How does God break into our lives in a similar way??

AAH, the beef

Saturday night, the men in my group and myself went out to celebrate the ending of our year-long adventure in discipleship. After much wrangling, we decided on Harris in San Fran. if you've ever driven down to So Cal on Hwy 5, you've passed a stinky cattle ranch right out of Coalinga. That's the famous Harris ranch. In San Francisoc is their signature restaurant. They do have the absolutely best steak i have ever had. They have a Martini on their menu as an appetizer. The decor is like a men's club from the 50's. It's a man's man's restaurant.

I had the Steak Diane ($35 and well worth the price). This steak could have been cut with a fork. The sauyce on top was a shallot/Cognac reduction that almost had me licking the plate. An excellent way to end one of the best small groups I've ever been a part of.

down for the count

The flu is not a good thing. Case in point: Me at my office last Friday (one of the reasons why I haven't posted since Thursday). I wake up and don't feet like coffee. Warning Sign #1. I just didn't feel right for the first couple of hours of the day. Not really sick, but just a bit...off. of course Gary and Roxy in the office had to take advantage of the situation and began talking about sunbaked potato salad and all other sorts of nasty stuff. That did. 30 seconds later I'm off to the bathroom to evacuate my tummy contents. At which time home was the only option.

I wasn't sure if it was food poisoning or the flu, but I ended up just lying on the couch all day and night. I felt a little better going to bed Friday night and woke up fine on Saturday.

I needed to be ready to go on Saturday because of a little thing called Harris restaurant for dinner!!! More juicy details on the beef later

legally or ceremonially?

My friend Matt asked me a question the other day. What is it that makes a marriage, the lgeal acknowledgement or it or the ceremony?

The question comes as a result of a couple I know who (and this isonly strong rumor) might have gotten legally married so they could live together(in a celibate way) until they got married in a church cermeony two weeks later. Matt's question was whether the church ceremony as only for show or not.

This also paralleled another case I knew (which I didn't tell Matt about) in which a couple at church had a 'Committment Ceremony' but did not get legally married. The reason for this was because the man would have lost some pension money or something like that if he had gotten legally married. Two opposite cases. Which one is marriage and which one isn't?

I believe that if I were the pastor, I would treat the second couple as not being married. The main reason is that they are not leaving everything behind to be with each other. Instead, they are bypassing the law for financial reasons but 'committing' to each other in the church. This is a classic case of trying to have cake and eat it also. This also ignores the 'for better or worse' part of being married. If getting married will cost you in a financial sense, then you need to ask whether you really want to marry that person or not. Your love for them should overwhelm any reasonable financial obstacles.

The other case is a bit trickier. What if you get married legally and then have the ceremony two weeks later? To an extent, it does not matter. What about couples who get married legally at the courthouse and do not have a large, elaborate ceremony? Does that render their marriage illegitimate?

It seems though I have leaning toward legal marriage being the defining moment. I think this is true. We arevencouraged by Paul to obey the laws of the land. For us in America, a legal marriage is one which is recognized by the government. Not just by a ceremony. All sorts of doors are opened by this thinking (thank you, Gavin Newsom)