A Christian Attitude Toward Sports

Technology and God

It's only 4:30 am and it's already been a strange morning. First, I had a disturbing dream, then I got a text message at 3:52 am and finally the printer in our bedroom did a self-diagnosis that caused it to hum and rattle at 4:09 am. At a minimum, I got the message that I'm supposed to be awake now.

I dreamed that all of our technical team at church was on vacation and someone else was preaching at the church. I was not preaching but was in attendance. The microphones went silent. The technology failed. Yesterday, I sent an email to our worship team about being smooth with transitions in worship and the need to remove awkward moments in worship services. In my dream, worship was anything but smooth. I tried to adjust the microphone receiver and made it worse. Not only could you not hear the speaker, but now we had radio interference coming over the house speakers as well. At one point we were even picking up television signals. Hey, it was a dream. Plausibility is not necessary. After a very awkward attempt to walk to the room behind the platform for batteries that involved the back entrance to the platform being blocked and the need to walk back in front of the pulpit and out the side door, I finally found some batteries. Apparently, this was the problem. Someone else made the same trip in front of the congregation to help find them. Meanwhile, the preacher and congregation sat in awkward silence. No one was pattering, no one suggested singing, and no one left. All in all, it was a disturbing moment for someone like me who cares deeply about people in the church encountering God in worship. They encountered technical failures and human foibles, not God.

It was my iPhone that woke me up. I get a text message when my daughters change their Facebook status. It is one way I can feel connected to them in their busy young lives. My daughter posted a status update at 3:52 am. Something about her Facebook language being changed to French and how Pirate was a language option. This morning was starting off weird.

About the time I settled back to an uneasy doze, my printer did something I've never heard or seen it do. With no computer hooked to it, with no capabilities for network printing, at 4:09 am, it randomly did a system check. The last time it was used was about 6:00 pm the evening before. In my foggy state of mind, the first thing I thought of was horror movies. Maybe the printer was going to print out a message of doom, a prediction of some traumatic event, or an apocalyptic premonition of the end of the world. I think I've read too many books and seen too many movies with those themes. Now, I was imagining it happening to me.

I am sitting here wide awake a half hour after the weirdness began wondering what to make of it all. What does my trust in God have to say about such dreams of worship technology train wrecks, being awakened by technology and a rogue printer with apocalyptic premonitions? In the best of the ancient Hebrew mind, I now wonder what all of this means.

I have been thinking a lot about the act of corporate worship, so it's no surprise I'm dreaming about it. However, I think it is something more than dreaming about doomsday scenarios in worship. I've also been thinking a lot about life and death (witness two posts ago which had to do with both as well as another dream). My friend Martha Brown passed away last week. Tomorrow we bear witness to the Resurrection of Christ and her resurrection to new life with Christ after physical death. We will celebrate her life tomorrow. Somehow these thoughts of technology meltdown have to do with issues like life and death.

I am a big fan and user of technology. I Facebook, Twitter, Skype, blog, podcast, subscribe to multiple RSS feeds, surf the Internet, use graphics, slides and videos for presentations including during worship/preaching and read books and other printed materials constantly (printing was a revolution in technology back in the day). I max out my iPhone in applications as well as usage. My phone even has automatic updates to my computer on which I now type. If I change one piece of information in either one, the other device is automatically updated. Suffice it to say I am a fan and user of technology.

I am a fan, but I did not accept technology into my heart as my Lord and Savior. I am not in a personal relationship with my iPhone or computer or Sennheiser body pack with a Countryman over-the-ear microphone. Those are all tools to help with the primary concern of mine. Maybe the dream, text message and rogue printer were all there to remind me of my priorities this morning. My primary concern is God and people. God is the greatest priority, not technology. My calling is to please God by helping others have a strong and personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Everything else is in a support role, including technology. I guess I just needed a little less sleep this morning to ponder that very thought.

Maybe you need that reminder too today.

God is Green

Yesterday, a group of us cleaned up our local beach. It was a picture perfect day and we each had about a half mile stretch to clean.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. The place was packed. It was a Saturday in Florida at beach. There was plenty of trash to gather. I filled up two garbage bags with candy wrappers, cans and discarded bottles. It felt good. In a very small way, it felt like I was able to help move the earth back toward the garden God planted at the beginning of all things. Back when God provided all that was needed. Back when God spoke with man and woman in the cool of the evening. Back when all enjoyed the original beauty of the earth.

I think God cares about the earth. That's why I love the name of the project which was totally stolen from someone else. God is green. I don't see where, in spite of all the abuse we heap upon this planet, God has withdrawn from it or us. When I see the beauty of a sunset or heavy morning dew hanging on a spider's web, I see the fingerprints of God. God still cares, but we've gotten careless.

I've never been much of an environmentalist. I've always found tree huggers admirable in their zeal, but their politics and made-for-media tactics don't inspire me to the cause. God, however, does inspire me. Taking care of what God asks me to steward inspires me. Imagine what it would be like if all of the Christians rallied the churches, civic organizations and businesses with a simple message: seriously pay attention to the impact your life or business has on the planet.

As for me, I will enjoy the afterglow of being a Saturday morning environmentalist on a warm Florida beach and I will ponder what more I can do to continue to care for this planet God loves.

Going Home

I dreamed I was dying last night. Cancer. I was at the last stages. I know it well. I have often been with others dying from cancer as a pastor. I was still able to talk, but my motions were limited and thoughts were in and out of reality.

I rarely dream about death and I'm sure I dreamed this because my wife and I are going to a funeral tomorrow in our hometown. It is the first funeral I have been to in the last 12 years that I have not had some official duties to perform. As I told my wife, "It's strange."

What made this dream memorable was the fact that I had those final conversations with my children. It was present day, so I was my age and they were their teenage selves. I talked with them about their boyfriends, interests, and school. It was a fully transparent conversation where I knew it was then or never to tell them what mattered most and what was on my mind. At one point, I slipped out of consciousness (so I was in the subconscious dream state dreaming about being subconscious...weird) and awoke in my dream to see three heads right over my bed staring down at me. "I'm ok." They smiled.

"I want you to know one thing," I said to them. "I want you to know that I still believe what you have heard me speak about all of your lives. I believe there is a God and God came into the world in the flesh in Jesus and I believe that when I die, I will go to him." My eyes were closed at that point, but I had more to say to them. "I know you have committed to live for Jesus in your lives. Never back down from that commitment. Live for him." And then, as they have heard repeatedly over the years, "Nothing matters more."

I could feel the weight of their bodies laying against mine and hugging me at that point. It was a bittersweet moment. I didn't want to leave them. They didn't want me to go. But we all knew I was a sick man and this was no way to live. So we hugged and loved each other in the moment.

It was then time to talk to my wife, but before I got to the final conversation with Cile, I woke up, grateful to be very much alive and well, but feeling exhausted. I am writing this not long after waking up and still feeling the heaviness of that dream.

This blog is about living the way of Jesus. It is about what it means to live as a Christian in this world. Part of what it means is being clear about our future. Theologians will categorize this as the doctrine of hope. We are hopeful about our future destiny. Contrary to many beliefs in our world, something happens after our death. Physical death is not the end of the journey. We continue to exist after our physical deaths.

This puts a unique spin on experiencing death in this world. The apostle Paul says we never grieve as others do who have no hope. I have friends who are funeral directors and they tell me they notice a difference all the time between those with faith and those without. The difference is hope.

I don't want to experience death for many years. However, by faith I know what will happen when that time comes. I believe Jesus meant it when he said he was going ahead to prepare a place and would come back to get his disciples and take them to their true home in heaven. He was talking to his first century disciples, but I believe he was talking to all of his people.

For that reason, I think of death as a homegoing full of hope.

Manly Christianity

I had a conversation with my middle daughter's boyfriend, Alex, today. It started with Alex's comment about having to watch the movie Mamma Mia last night. I told him that as a father of three daughters, he has entered into an estrogen-loaded household. He comes from a family of three boys. Think: testosterone.

I've never been much for stereotyping gender roles. I've taken my daughters fishing, camping, to ball games, on high ropes courses and shooting guns. Like me, all three of them earned a black belt in Taekwondo. They are not sissies. But they are girls. One is an actress, one sings opera and the other dances ballet. All three liked Mamma Mia. They liked Anne of Green Gables. They liked The Notebook.

So I felt it my duty to prepare Alex. "They will do a lot of guy stuff, but they are girls. Just know that."

Like it or not, guys think about things differently, including church. For many guys, church is too feminine for them. We pastors talk about having a "personal relationship" with Jesus. Guys on construction sites or in business offices, hospitals or professional teams don't talk like that. We don't typically want to talk about being in relationships (even though that is exactly what God wants). We like the bold statements of Jesus like, "Follow me!," over relational statements.

Church values communal decision-making. This used to drive one the elders in my first church crazy. "Does everything have to be discussed?," he asked. "I'm a entrepreneur. I'm used to making decisions alone!" Guys like to be lone decision-makers.

Also, much is made of the compassionate side of Jesus, which everyone loves, but guys especially connect to the strong side of Jesus, like taking on the Pharisees or turning over the money tables in the Temple.

Without reducing women's power or going over the top with themes of virility, heroism or militant Christianity, the church needs to think about the way men hear the message of Christ.

At the church I serve, we are just beginning a men's ministry. God has raised up a leader for this ministry who is already talking about building things, outdoorsy activities, and mentoring boys. It is a welcome addition to ministry. It keeps this church and our ministries from becoming too girly.

Fear not, women. Our danger is not heavy-handed male domineering. A strong men's ministry can never be about that. The problem for us and many churches is that men are not being discipled. Men are not being shown how to walk in the way of Jesus as a man. Jesus showed great strength under control and Jesus showed emotions. He was the total man. He was the complete man. He was the model of manhood for Christians.

Men who follow Jesus can show great strength under control. When physical danger threatens people I love, I will act with as much strength as I have. When lies are being told, I will speak the truth with strength under control. When people ignore honorable and faithful living, I will challenge people to live the better life God has for them. The problem with strength is not strength itself. The problem is the abuse of strength. Jesus showed great strength under control. In fact, that is the biblical sense of the word meekness.

Men who follow Jesus can also have and show emotions. For me, the thought of my daughters getting married makes me cry with happy and sad tears all at once. All of the prayers and energy and love and hope of my life has been poured into these three amazing girls. Weddings are a rite of passage and a goodbye of sorts. So show me a scene of a movie with a parent and child at a wedding and I'm a goner. Predictable as Mamma Mia was, I still got all locked up when the mother was helping her daughter get ready for her wedding.

Churches need to man up. At least enough so the average male in our country can learn to follow Jesus in ways that allow men to be, like Jesus, complete men.

Christmas from Church Staff Perspective

As I got ready to walk up the aisle for Easter Sunday one year, an elder said to me, "Biggest crowd of the year, pastor. Its your Super Bowl game. Don't screw up." I took it well. I knew his sense of humor. He was right. It was a big crowd. Just like at Christmas.

Christmas and Easter are the two high water marks for church attendance. With good cause. They are huge days as we remember God becoming flesh and then, at Easter, rising from the dead. There is also enough cultural memory of these days as somehow spiritually significant to draw otherwise reluctant crowds to churches. Most churches go all out for these high holy days which puts extra burdens on church staffs, especially at Christmas.

For youth staff, Christmas is the season when the students are out of school and all attention shifts to spending time with them. For worship arts staff, like choir directors or worship leaders, Christmas usually means some big event that requires hours of extra effort. Our church recently presented a choir cantata with a 15 piece orchestra and 45 member choir complete with narration, solos, light shows and congregational singing. It was a work that took several months of preparation. For pastoral staff and for me as lead pastor, this is the time of year where everything that family is all about--the good, the bad and the ugly--all rises to the surface. For healthy families, this is a time of great joy. For the rest, Christmas brings with it feelings of depression, irritation, sorrow, anxiety or bitterness. Add to that the cultural predisposition to spend too much money and the anxiety that brings and it makes for a wild ride for pastoral care.

It gets to the point sometimes that many on church staff are eager for the season to end. Not that we don't love Jesus or Bethlehem's manger or Christmas in America. It's just that we are sometimes so busy telling the story or working with people on vacation, that we are worn out. One year, the staff and I decided to have a murder mystery theme for the staff Christmas party. It was completely non-Christmasy and we had a blast.

The real challenge for church staffs walking with Jesus is to not get so caught up in all of the production around Christmas that we lose sight of a baby wraps in cloths lying in a feeding trough who just happened to be the Alpha and Omega and the Ancient of Days. The challenge is to make sure that our knees are also bent in homage before this Christ child. The challenge is not to be professional Christians, but fellow journeyers who are in awe and childlike wonder of it all.

10 Reasons I Don't Like Most Christians

I just read a post by Tony Morgan and I want to include it here. I so agree with Tony, especially on points 1, 2, 5 and 10 (#10 is killing the church). You can see the link on http://tonymorganlive.com/2008/12/04/10-reasons-i-dont-like-most-christians/. Here it is... enjoy.

After going back and forth on this for a couple of weeks, I’ve decided to just do it. I mentioned recently that I’m not sure I like Christians. With the help of some of my friends, here are the top…

10 Reasons I Don’t Like Most Christians

1. They consistently seem angry and bitter and worried. I thought Christians were supposed to reflect joy and kindness and peace.
2. They don’t dream big dreams. That seems odd given the fact that we’re supposedly worshiping a God who is “able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare ask or hope.”
3. They seem to worship their theology more than Jesus. For whatever reason, this appears to be especially true for folks that come from a reformed theology.
4. They don’t like it when other people or ministries experience success. Think about it. There are Christians who would be overwhelmed with joy if NewSpring experienced fewer salvations, fewer baptisms and our attendance dropped.
5. They use prayer as an excuse for inaction. They’re waiting for God to do his thing, but they aren’t willing to step out in faith and obedience.
6. They’re more concerned with the BMW next door than the lost person who drives it. Christians hate people with money. They’re willing to sacrifice time and money for those without it, but they’re satisfied to let “rich” people go to Hell.
7. They would rather people live life without Jesus than give up their personal preferences. What happens when your preferred teacher doesn’t teach? What happens when your preferred worship leader doesn’t lead? What happens when you don’t like the music?
8. They are fake. They dress up a certain way on Sunday and they live as completely different people the rest of the week.
9. They think they’re better than other people. That’s why they create rules to follow. It helps differentiate why they are holy while others are not.
10. They’re comfortable with mediocrity. Doesn’t matter where. Think Christian music and movies. Think how we invest our time and money. You don’t seriously think God deserves our best do you?

The reality is that I’ve sinned in just about every one of these areas. It pains me to say that, but it’s true. If people hear the Gospel and reject Jesus, that’s one thing. If I’m the barrier to people accepting Christ because of me and my sin, that’s a completely different deal. Fortunately, God’s much bigger than my stupidity.

When does your humanness get in the way of people knowing the hope, forgiveness and love of Jesus? Does your life make people curious about the claims of Jesus or does it make them flee? What would you add to the list?