Killing Churchianity

Glorious Crash

2012-02-01T17:17:00.000-08:00

I ran over my dog with a snowboard.

It snowed last week in Seattle, and the only good thing about being house bound for a week is that we live on a hill. So in addition to the snow fort and the snowmen and the snowball fights, we were sledding and snowboarding on the hill in front of our house. It took about 8 minutes to hike to the very top, but if you did that, and got enough speed to clear the flat parts, you could get a really nice, long, snowboard run in for free. To me, that’s called a win/win. My kids were having a blast all week, but my dog, Scout, was going out of his doggy mind with joy. He loves the snow. He eats it. He rolls around in it. But mostly he loves running in it. So I would take him with me as I hiked to the top of the hill, and he would run behind me as I snowboarded down, sort of herding me ahead of him, and no matter how many runs we made, he was always game for another one. Oh, and he slept really good that week, too.

On Friday, we had the last day of snow before the great melt. And so we were all pushing to get our final runs in, and Scout was running after the kids sledding on the hill, and it was the typical chaos and laughter. So I took one last snowboard run, and Scout rushed at my heels, barking, joyfully herding me…toward a tree that had fallen over in the night. Not wanting to impale myself, I slowed, and tried to cut a path behind Scout. But the slowing startled Scout, and he jumped backwards, right into my snowboard. We collided. He yelped. From the sound he made, I could tell that he was hurt. Of course, my first emotional response was annoyance. Dumb dog. But then I saw the wound…where the edge of my snowboard cut the back of his forepaw. Deep. It looked like a whole chunk of his leg was missing. I immediately sat next to Scout and kept firm, steady pressure on his wound, and prevented him from bleeding out. Jodie got the car. We used a sled to transport him to the vet. They put him in emergency surgery. Now he’s in his third cast, with three tendons repaired, and muscle re-attached, and stitches holding the whole thing together. I’m hoping PETA doesn’t show up.

Overall, he’s doing fine.
Maybe too fine.

We need to keep him calm and slow and not bounding around and not chewing his cast and it is a challenge. Because he feels fine now, and he’s a high energy dog. And so we’re giving him doggy narcotic, and doggy sedative, and I’m mixing him doggy Nyquil cocktails…but he’s still a bounder and a jumper and a crazy “I want to run everywhere” kind of dog. Which means that he doesn’t know what’s good for him.

And I've been thinking that in these regards he’s a little bit like you and me.
We chase after things that are dangerous. Things that could wound us.
We injure ourselves in these pursuits.
And even after God bandages us up, and puts us back together, and gets us on the road to recovery, we’re still bounding, eagerly tearing around, wanting to engage in the same activities that got us into the mess in the first place.

You're a mess. So am I. Praying that you allow God's glory to shine through your mess this week...

Relentless Grace

2012-01-31T14:08:00.000-08:00

I am a mess. I am a pastor. Somehow God's relentless grace breaks through and shines glory in the midst of mess. I pray this is profoundly encouraging to you today.

Recently, I made a list of the times I’ve put myself into glorious messes…the list was a lot longer than I’m comfortable talking about outside of my counselors office. Most were so shamefully stupid that I can’t believe that they actually happened to me, let alone I was responsible for them.

One story that is fairly safe to share happened in college, I got busted stealing a mattress. We were living off campus…I didn’t really need a mattress, my friend did, but I had the truck…you can see where this is going.

So I drove him on Pepperdine campus on the first day of school, when everyone was moving into the dorms, mass chaos, freshmen weeping, upperclassmen checking out the new crop of ladies, and we went to a dorm that was the “supply” dorm for the rest of them, where there was a pile of mattresses. My buddy and I went up, grabbed a mattress, and put it in my truck, and drove. Of course we were spotted by the fuzz. Not real cops, mind you, but rentals. They were called campus security…they were packing no heat, but they packed other things walkie talkies, flashlights, donuts, handlebar mustache, fondness for the word negatory.

And they gave chase, full siren, lights flashing, in their golf cart.

I’m flooring it in my 1.5 cilinder Nissan, going upwards of 30, 31 mph, when I realize it’s hopeless. My truck had no guts, I’m hearing sirens from all different directions, and Pepperdine only has two exits which both have gates, and I begin to see the absolute folly of our plans…it might comfort you to hear that I’m no criminal genius.

So I drive into a parking spot, hand my buddy the keys, and then we get out and sit on the ground with our hands on our heads just as 10 public safety vehicles surround us, helicopters, swat team repelling down from the Law School, K9 Units…Pepperdine is a pretty sleepy campus, so this was high drama…you would have thought that plastic mattress was worth its weight in diamond.

Busted. A glorious mess. No way out. I received more community service hours than it is possible for a human being to fulfill. I still head back there on weekends to pick up trash. My kiddos go with me, doing time with daddy.

Here is the good news about Mike Howerton…God didn’t give up on me then, and He didn’t give up on me when I ran my dog over with a snowboard (last week), or when I almost burned down Durango Colorado(it was an honest mistake), or when I did the other knuckleheaded things on my list, and God will never give up on YOU!

Facing Difficulty Today??

2011-11-15T10:50:00.000-08:00

Sarah Young has written a book called Jesus Calling. I honestly can’t tell you how often Jesus has spoken to me through her work. Maybe it’s just because of the circumstances I face in leadership, or perhaps it’s the way that my personality works, but she has tapped into the truth of Scripture in such a personal way…that I sense Jesus’ words through hers.

Today I read this, and it was so refreshing I wanted to share it. These paragraphs are based on Psalm 89:15 and John 16:33, and from them, Young imagines Jesus saying:

“Approach problems with a light touch. When your mind moves toward a problem area, you tend to focus on that situation so intensely that you lose sight of Me. You pit yourself against the difficulty as if you had to conquer it immediately. Your mind gears up for battle, and your body becomes tense, and anxious. Unless you achieve total victory, you feel defeated.
There is a better way. When a problem starts to overshadow your thoughts, bring this matter to Me. Talk with Me about it and look at it in the Light of My Presence. This puts some much-needed space between you and your concern, enabling you to see from My perspective. You will be surprised at the results. Sometimes you may even laugh at yourself for being so serious about something so insignificant.
You will always face trouble in this life. But more importantly, you will always have Me with you, helping you to handle whatever you encounter. Approach problems with a light touch by viewing them in My revealing Light.”

Speaking of Dating...

2011-10-07T10:05:00.000-07:00

This weekend at OCC, we are continuing our Crazy Love series, and I'm giving a message on Dating. I wanted to give two head's up:

First, this message will be SLIGHTLY PG-13, with the remainder of the messages in this series being strongly Rated M, for Mature Audiences Only. Parents are welcome to bring their kiddos into the Worship Center, but just be forewarned for the conversations that you'll be having on the ride home. At OCC we seek to speak frankly about all of the issues we face in life from a biblical perspective, without being crass or rude. In other words, if you want Pastor Mike to be the one to inform your kids about sex, by all means, keep bringing them through the series!

Second, when it comes to dating and intimacy, I want to begin with the conclusion: Jesus is the one who meets our deepest needs for love, companionship, and intimacy. End of story. Sarah Young, in her excellent book, Jesus Calling, writes as if from the perspective of Christ:

"Never take for granted my intimate nearness. Marvel at the wonder of my continual Presence with you. Even the most ardent human lover cannot be with you always. Nor can another person know the intimacies of your heart, mind, and spirit. I know everything about you--even to the number of hairs on your head. You don't need to work at revealing yourself to me.
Many people spend a lifetime or small fortune searching for someone who understands them. Yet I am freely available to all who call upon my name, who open their hearts to receive me as Savior. This simple act of faith is the beginning of a lifelong love story. I, the Lover of your soul, understand you perfectly and love you eternally."

Speaking of GRACE

2011-09-20T12:41:00.001-07:00

God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. Romans 5:19-21 NLT

CNN has been running a story all week (in four parts) of a preacher’s family, Rev. Robert and Ramona Nichols, which was terrorized for 6 years, endured 10 bombings, multiple shotgun blasts at the house, and cryptic threatening letters. The terror finally culminated when a lone gunman entered their parsonage and shot the preacher and his wife multiple times in front of the seven year old daughter (Rebecca) and their two year old son. The wife died immediately, and the preacher never recovered. He died a few years later, in a psyche ward, at the age of 46. These events happened 30 years ago.

The reason it’s in the news today is because the daughter, Rebecca Nichols, wrote a book about it, called “The Devil in Pew Number Seven.” In her book, she forgives the gunman, and she forgives the men who were responsible for the terror.

Here’s how a CNN reporter concludes the story: “Rebecca's book has cracked open long-buried memories and forced folks to grapple anew with decades-old events they never fully understood. She's stirred emotions of sorrow, guilt, anger, loss. But she's also opened a conversation about faith and forgiveness.

After the shooting, Rebecca moved away from all that was dear -- her church, her friends, her school. Her father never fully recovered physically or emotionally. He died seven years after the shooting. Rebecca was 14; her brother Daniel, 9. They could so easily have been ruined.
Yet Rebecca found strength, in her faith, in her family that remained and in the love instilled by her parents.

"I wasn't going to throw the rest of my life away for anger and bitterness," she told me. "Just because my parents' lives were over, didn't mean that mine was, too."

I ask Rebecca: "Are you crazy to forgive?"

"I'll tell you how I respond to that," she says. "If I had not forgiven, I would be crazy in an institution somewhere. My parents had planted the seeds of forgiveness in me as a little girl: Pray for those who persecute you and bless those who curse you. Sometimes, when people forgive, they feel like they're saying what that person did was OK. That's not what it's doing. When you forgive, you're letting go of the pain and giving it to God."”

Do you "Dine and Dash" your church?

2011-09-19T11:39:00.000-07:00

A friend passed this blog on to me, from a Pastor named Troy Jones. It gives a great challenge to one of the major problems in Churchworld…check it out:

Troy writes: “We all know what the phrase “Dine and Dash” means. This describes the action of going into a restaurant, sitting at the table, ordering whatever you want, eating and then leaving quickly without paying.
If you do this at a restaurant you are breaking the law and being a moron. Period. Few people will argue with me about this.
Why do so many people “Dine and Dash” their church?
Let that question sink in. Deeper!
National average is that only 3% of Christ followers tithe (give 10% of their income).
Over 50% percent of the members of any given Christian congregation donate little or nothing toward their church’s upkeep and ministries.
Most Christians don’t ever find a meaningful place to serve their church or community.
Ask me to get involved and serve…Pray for my pastor…Give to missionaries…Feed the hungry…Begin giving in a systematic way…Work the parking lot…Serve my community…Lead a growth group…Stay after to help with chairs…
Are you kidding me, Pastor? I would rather enjoy the music, let someone else take care of my kids and enjoy the message…in effect you are saying “Pastor, I would rather ‘dine and dash’…have a good week.”
The story gets worse in the church…those who dine and dash at church also whine the most…I am not getting fed enough, the music is too loud, my kids are not happy…Christians “Dine, whine and then Dash”…talk about pathetic. But true!
If you are a Christ follower and find yourself caught up in this “Dine, whine and dash” approach to your church…repent of this kind of sloppy attitude towards your church and pastor.
Start serving today!
Begin to give systematically!
Be bold and actually get involved with a discipleship setting!
Find a way to make a difference in your community!
Stop attending church and begin to be the church–everywhere you go be the hands and feet of Jesus to this world.”

What do YOU think? Why do so many Christ followers “dine, whine and dash” their church? (love to hear from you!)

Long, Joyful FAD of Adoption

2011-09-15T10:34:00.000-07:00

You see, through our faith in Jesus, God adopts us into His family. He becomes our father, we become brothers and sisters…we’re rescued from sin, from bondage, from isolation…and we’re now in a forever family…free to love ourselves, to love one another, and free to love God…

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15 NLT

John Piper says that adoption is bigger than the UNIVERSE. I think he’s right on. Bible is filled with references to care for the orphan and the widow…in other words, to care for those who’ve lost families (parents and spouses) by welcoming them into yours.

This challenge identifies with the very heart of God:
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. Psalm 68:5 NIV
Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the cause of the widow. Isaiah 1:17 NIV

So we KNOW God cares about the fatherless, the orphan, the vulnerable children. But the kicker is that adoption has ALWAYS been on God’s mind…literally.

Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son. Ephesians 1:2b-4 Message

It was always God’s plan to adopt YOU into His family. It was always His plan to adopt ME.
Before the foundations of time. Before the foundations of the Universe were set. God had a plan, And that plan was adoption.

I can’t even talk about it without getting emotional, because adoption is the road that God has called my wife Jodie and I to walk, and I know that for many at Overlake, for many in my community, God is stirring adoption there as well! This is why we are thrilled to host a FREE Conference on September 24, called Wait No More! Because there are 1000 kids in Washington State who are ready to be adopted into loving homes! And you have one of those homes! Your heart identifies with the heart of God!

Let me give you one last picture of adoption: Pastor Josh and I visited an orphanage called ithemba Letu, in South Africa, and we got a chance to see a little boy get picked up by his forever family, and say goodbye to all his buddies. (He stayed in the rental car, holding hands with his new brother, while all of the other children from the orphanage came out and gave him a hug in the backseat of the car. He didn’t want to get out of the car, because he was afraid he’d be left behind). One of the practices of ithemba Letu is that they’ll ask the adoptive parents to send a photo album over with some pictures of their life that the child is going to be joining. So pictures of family members, pets, car, house, school, etc. are all placed in the photo album, and then it’s given to the child about to be adopted.

The director told us that when this particular little boy received his album, he wouldn’t put it down. He kept walking around with it, he slept with it, he’d keep it with him at playtime, he barely put it aside for bathtime. He just kept holding it tight, then he’d open it again and look at it, showing it to everyone at the orphanage again and again: “I have a brother! I have a dog! I have a bedroom! I have a new last name! I have a family!”

That might be the most powerful picture of adoption I’ve ever seen, with the most powerful connection to our faith. Because of the cross, You have a FATHER! Because of the death, burial and resurrection, You have a HOME! Because of Jesus, You have a new name! You have a family! You have brothers and sisters! You have a clean slate, a future! You have LIFE…abundant and eternal. Hold these truths close to your heart, just like that little boy, excited to walk the road of adoption.

God sent him (Jesus) to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. Galatians 4:5 NLT

God is the one who started this FAD. It's time for those who follow Him to get on board!

A Firefighter's Prayer

2011-09-12T09:41:00.000-07:00

On 9.11.2011, Overlake Christian Church was honored to host special services focused upon the events of 9.11 and our response one decade later. If you missed it, I highly recommend viewing it at occ.org. As a part of these proceedings, two local firefighters, and members of Overlake, Rob Robertson and Phil Pierson, led the congregation in prayer. After each service we've received dozens of requests for the content of Rob's prayer. Here it is...offered in humility, knowing the heartfelt and heartache that it was written in:

"Greetings.

These class A uniforms that my brother Phil Pierson and I are wearing today are a symbol of the shared losses of fellow firefighters, police, military personnel and citizens’ of our country and especially to honor all who lost their life -- on this day - 10 years ago. Please bow, and join us now in prayer.

Father God, Lord Jesus,
on this anniversary of the horrific attacks on innocent men, women and children….

We are profoundly sorrowful…. remembering what we witnessed just one decade ago
We offer you our broken hearts…. and we grieve with all who were touched most brutally.
The orphans and widows, family and friends, that today, ache with fresh grief and loss…. yet to grow less painful.

Please draw each of these who mourn close to Your heart, so that they may intimately know Your unconditional love, comfort and hope. We are sobered by the staggering loss of life and the reality of the ill intentions that caused such travesty.

May we never succumb to reacting out of bitterness or giving way to hatred.

Fill us instead with the love that can only come from you, as you have commanded us to love our enemies.
We beg for your intervention in all that seems, to us, impossible to resolve.
And that your desires would become our desires, that we would trade our will for your will.

You are gracious and forgiving to all who seek You…. fill us with your love.

Open our eyes to any blind spots we may have in the complexities of all that enters into these global sufferings and adversities.
Please help us to have yielded hearts, that you might use us, as you choose, for your ultimate glory in all things.

In Jesus’ powerful name,
Amen"

Keeping

2011-09-08T15:34:00.000-07:00

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of
little minds,
its been said,
with great self confidence and gusto.
But a humble, thoughtful
consistency,
might be,
like the migration of a Monarch;
Bold, bespeckled, fluttering, fragile,
fraught with danger,
disaster,
distance,
and yet, in
the end,
filled with a quiet,
ultimate
triumph.

Wanderlust Tenant #3

2011-08-30T13:26:00.000-07:00

After a summer of hitchhiking around Britain and sleeping out under the stars, I felt that I had a grasp of a third element of the appreciation philosophy...a sort of hack-job thought structure that was part "carpe diem" and part "love thy neighbor." Anyway, here is number 3, from the British Isles section of Miles to Cross:

The third pillar of this wanderlust appreciation philosophy is that life itself is a gift. You didn’t ask for your lot in life, and you had no control over your entry stall. Nobody did. So nobody (literally) has the luxury of complaining. Of course, work like hell to better your situation, and to get to the places that you feel called to go. You have dreams for a reason. Complacency has no quarter here. This is simply a recognition that complaining is the root of all evil. Complaining signals weakness. Complaining tips the hat to a selfish frame of mind. Complaints invite anxiety. Gratitude, on the other hand, destroys it. Being thankful for where you are, who you are, what you are experiencing now...this is more than a good idea. It’s a frame of mind that allows you an odd peace in the face of any circumstance. It’s a healthier way to live. Counting your blessings may be hopelessly old wives-ish, but it’s a good idea nonetheless. Notice things, know yourself, and never complain. These three tenants provide the moral fabric for a life on the road, as well as for the person whose travels consist of venturing to the nearest coffee house and back.

“Complaints wither the fragile fruit tree of your soul. Laughter waters it unto life. Abundance, or a sickness unto death? You choose.” –Japhy Tinyspear

Hitching Around

2011-08-29T20:03:00.000-07:00

After another recent wander through the Pacific Northwest on my iron horse(you can see the pics on my Miles to Cross Facebook Page…click right), I felt inspired to return again to that great meander of twenty years ago. At the time, I found that with a little chalk sign, a rucksack, and a smile, that hitchhiking through the UK was a treat. Here’s a taste:

“It is deep dusk, and I am in a field on a river in a little town in the Peak district near Leeds. I’m on my way to Glasgow. Today I had a huge discussion with Kelly Rivers about life and truth and belief. I don’t know all the answers. I don’t. Can one person really know? Can there be certainty despite confusion? But I do know God, and because of HIM:
I say life’s for living.
Road’s for traveling.
Eye’s for wondering.
Soul’s for soaring.
Bag’s for sleeping.
Heart’s for loving.
God, please don’t allow me too much success and ease as the devil’s advocate. Please don’t allow my love of ale and travel disqualify me from a role in your delight. Do I really have to become a safe, boring CHRISTIAN in order to love you? Tell me what my heart longs to hear…that following YOU well is the only true adventure left.
It is getting dark and I have no light to write by. I’ll lie down and look up and listen. I’ll fall asleep thinking of those I love.
This field is full of flowers.”

The Value of Ministry to the species known as GIRL

2011-08-23T16:08:00.000-07:00

My friend, Neely, has a blog called More than Gossip, which highlights ministry to girls and female students. She asked me to be a guest blogger for her, so here goes:

First: thanks to Neely for asking me to blog…I love her book: 99 Things Every Girl Should Know. I didn’t read it for me. I read it for my ministry, for my family, and to increase my knowledge. As a lead pastor, and as a father of an incredible, athletic, academic eleven year old girl, and as the husband of an amazingly strong, intelligent woman, I can only describe my take on this new movement known as girls ministry with the word: THRILLED.

Is it really a new movement? You’d think that wouldn’t be the case, since girls have been around, you know, forever. Consider the traditional mindset: “reach the guys and the girls will come.” That’s actual ministry advice that I’ve received over the years. Multiple times. I hear Pastors to Men talk with incredible fervency that ministry to dudes is the only thing that Jesus would really be interested in. Reach the studs, and the doughy eyed chick-lettes will traipse along behind. Can there be any more dismissive view?

But Jesus was an amazing value-giver to women. The cultural appropriateness of males and females traveling together was nil when Jesus was on earth, and so he didn’t choose female travel partners, and his disciples were male. This makes sense. He did exactly the right thing (as if you needed another example of Jesus making a good choice). But Jesus valued women more than any single leader that we have record of up until his arrival on planet Earth. He included women in his ministry: He taught both men and women. He personally ministered to several women. He raised a girl from the dead. He disclosed his role as Messiah first to the woman at the well. He revealed himself post-resurrection to women first, and trusted them to deliver the information to the men, who were, by the way, in hiding.

In all of these ways, Jesus was counter-cultural, and modeled ministry to girls. That’s why I’m thrilled. I get excited when I see the Church (capital C) seeking to follow in Jesus’ footsteps.

Here’s a quick primer:
To think that only guys have God’s call on their lives for impact or ministry is a tradition that goes back to Genesis 3. It’s the effect of the fall, it’s the curse of sin. But in the church, we’re to go back further, and to see the effects of sin rolled back all the way to Genesis 1. That’s where God created both male and female in His image. That’s where God called both male and female to subdue the earth, to steward its bounty. That’s where God called both male and female to reproduce, to fill the earth and multiply. To hear some preachers talk, you’d think it was Adam’s job to rule, and Eve’s job to reproduce. But God called both, to both.

What this means at my church, (and what it should mean in yours): Speak life into your girls. Speak God’s call over them. Give them opportunities to serve, to share, to speak, and to develop their full potential in the Lord. Invest in your female leaders, just as you invest in male leaders. Try really hard not to use language or jesting that equates femininity with weakness. (There is a whole host of “girlie” language out there that serves as fun-fodder, ie. “You throw like a GIRL.” Why is 'girl' in that context synonymous for LAME? Did you not see the Women’s cup final this year? “You kick like a GIRL” ought to be a mark of strength and skill, and you can help change that context).

In short, I challenge you to believe in your girls.
Because you know Jesus does.

Travel Logs

2011-08-19T09:18:00.000-07:00

There is still a month left this summer (am I in denial, or what?); just time enough to grab that summer/travel read you’ve been itching to explore. In hopes of spurring you on to a wander (I’m talking about sitting in your front yard, sipping Iced Tea, and losing yourself in a good read), I wanted to give you my take on some EXCELLENT travel logs…these have been my favorites:

7. Through Painted Deserts, by Donald Miller
6. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert Pirsig (this one got my juices flowing for an American ride-about, plus I was a philosophy major, so double-bonus)
5. Open Roads, by Larry McMurtry
4. Travels with Charlie, by John Steinbeck
3. Dharma Bums, by Jack Kerouac (I know that On the Road gets all the press, and maybe it’s because this one gets overlooked that I like it so much more…definite insight into the beat generation)
2. The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho
1. Miles to Cross, by Mike Howerton (oh come on, you knew it was coming…)

Runners up: Under the Tuscan Sky, and Bella Tuscany by Frances Mayes, although I think the details mire her work down a bit, and every year I believe there is a “The Best American Travel Writing” book that gets published, but I haven’t picked one of those up for a few years.

Soak in the Summer! And share your favorites with me! I’d love to explore new territory!

Vagabond in Britain

2011-08-18T11:56:00.001-07:00

While still a student at Pepperdine, I was able to study abroad two different seasons…once in Heidelberg, Germany, and once in London. My first trip, all of the travel was on trains, but when I stayed in London, I traveled on the cheap, backpacking, hitchhiking, and sleeping under the stars in open fields. I also talked to Van Morrison. Once. Briefly. On the phone. His daughter, Shana, was in my program, and one time I traveled to Bath, England, where she was hanging out at her dad’s house, and I called to speak with her. Van Morrison answered the phone. “Hello?” he said. “Hi, is Shana there?” I asked. “Hold on a sec.” He said. So, I can say from experience, he seems like a great guy. Here’s a nugget…

“Last night as I slept out (this was after a great evening hanging out with Shana, Van Morrison’s daughter) an interesting scene unfolded. I was sleeping in a farmer’s field just outside of Bath when someone blundered through the trees and almost stepped on me. I cried out and the guy ran back to the trees and disappeared, but I could tell that he just stopped in the shadows. There was no answer when I asked who he was, just more rustling. So I packed up my stuff and headed off to find a more secure resting place. I ended up in somebody’s garden, but it was so late the foxes were out, (I saw two) and I didn’t disturb a soul.
I forgot to mention that the night before last I heard witches. It was a full moon, and I was in an isolated field on a hillside (outside of Eastbourne). The field was bordered by trees, and the grass was close to three feet high. At one point, I was suddenly awakened by loud female cackle and laughter at the top of the hill behind the trees. It grew in volume for half a moment or so—then silence. Seconds later cackles loud sound from the bottom of the field, again behind the trees. These continue a moment and cease as abruptly. I suppose it was some sort of broomstick race under the full moon, but perhaps it was just a gaggle of spinsters having fun with a sleeping trespasser.
You never know your luck.”

GO

2011-08-17T17:19:00.000-07:00

Impatience is the
great laugh.
It is choosing mirage
while stumbling past
oasis
after
oasis.

Life is what happens in the meantime.

Yearning

2011-08-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

I sense that there is deeper strata of life available: more joy, rich wisdom, wide love. It’s there, down there, beneath this shallow bandwidth of comfortable American suburban maleness that I typically and conveniently dwell in. But in all my writing, in all my preaching…I yearn to be the finger pointing…there, there it is…I’ve glimpsed it, and it’s good. I’ve tasted it, and the tiniest portions of it sentence me to longing for more. And more. More and more life with God.

A Bunch of Hot Air

2011-08-16T20:42:00.000-07:00

Tonight, after a family dinner, as we were wrapping up a walk together with Scout, the kids spotted a beautiful hot air balloon floating towards our neighborhood. On a whim, we decided to follow it, to watch it land. So a terrific chase ensued. Each of the children were in rare form, cracking each other up, as we galavanted up and down road after road. We finally lost it behind some tall trees, and we headed home, in a car filled with sound effects and third grade jokes.

We totally failed in our quest.
And yet it totally felt like success.

Just wanted to encourage you to fail with your loved ones in a similar fashion...and have a blast doing it.

More American Miles

2011-08-16T10:11:00.000-07:00

As a part of my pilgrimage mentality I embraced through spending a year or so on the road (over four travel experiences) in my college days, my brother Mark challenged me to come up with my own philosophy...how do I see life? What is the Tao of How, if you will. So in Miles to Cross, I tried to capture not only the journey, but the weightiness of the quest. Here is the second of four keys:

wanderlust Tenant #2

Know Yourself.

The second tenant of this wanderlust appreciation belief is that whoever you are is a gift. You are beautiful right now, just as you are, incredibly more beautiful than you think you are. If our media culture would just keep its mitts out of our self-consciousness, you would discover this. You are loved, right now, just as you are. You are loved beyond your ability to comprehend. And the great news, the hope that rises as bright as the sun, is that you are a work in progress. Notice things. Know yourself. Unless you spend the time it takes to know yourself, you will continue to project your own issues on the people that surround you, or sometimes even the places that you find yourself. You can change your surroundings...the people and the places. But you can’t travel away from you. In order to know yourself, you have to listen to your emptiness, to your dissatisfaction, to your restlessness. It is telling you something about your heart’s deep longing. Know yourself, and be comfortable with you. When you are comfortable with you, devoid of arrogance but full of confidence, then you can truly appreciate the Life that surrounds you.

“Know thyself, and love what you know. Then not only can your heart breathe, it can soar fueled with unflappable joy!” –Japhy Tinyspear
“I have loved you with an everlasting love.” –The Lord of All Things

Dissatisfaction

2011-08-15T08:41:00.000-07:00

like a flea
being sought by the wandering scratch of a dog
irritated,
or a fly
buzzing the ear of a picnic practitioner
to distraction,
the poetry of discontent goads
not to despair
but rather
to annoyed hopefulness
holding out to the end
that true balm does exist:
contentment,
rest.

only not here.

Bittersweet

2011-08-14T16:25:00.000-07:00

Poetry speaks to me deeply. Honestly, I love sketches of something...a verbal picture that points my emotions in a certain direction. I used to write more of it. Here's a poem from the Freedom Tour portion of Miles to Cross:

last twilight
walking on a path deserted,
my eyes dazzled by the contrast
between silhouette
and light faded,
so that when I glanced along the darkened path
the shapes and vague movements ghostlike
were unreal
images cast from older days:
a country lad’s daydreams,
remembrances
of a more innocent age.
The songs of locust blanketed me
wave after wave; I heard
hoof-clops of a rider returning
from a general store supply run, perhaps,
and I imagined,
giddy, like a school-girl after her love’s kindness,
fireflies, and a soft harmonica playing on
the edge of memory.

it was a helicopter,
not a firefly,
and I realized that the hum of harp
was the toll road speeding cars at breakneck
speeds toward
progress.

More American Soil

2011-08-13T09:19:00.001-07:00

When I wrote Miles to Cross, it was originally in the form of super rough journal entries, with pen and leather-bound parchment, and I ended up shoving photos, poetry, and pictures taken en route into these journals. The motorcycle quest for America happened 20 years ago this summer, and we called it the Freedom Tour.

One of the reasons why I’m excited about building the Miles to Cross Facebook page is that I’ll finally be able to include the poetry, the photos, but also interact with folks who are lovers of the journey as well. Meet me there!

Here are a couple of American Soil snapshots:

“I sit in a green valley in God’s country, outside Durango, and I am happy. I am also saturated with fatigue, for the last two days have seen many miles. Toph joined me in Victorville, and we cruised the Las Vegas desert together up to St. George. I hooked a right on Highway 9 to Kanub (Toph was heading north to go through Denver for a visit with his lady, Jen), where I spent one starlit night. Right before I went to sleep I had a cigarette. I recently finished Still Life with a Woodpecker by Robbins, which inspired me to start smoking on this trip. I think its cool to watch people smoke. It’s a James Dean thing. I even like the smell of the Camel hardpack that I purchased to learn with. The problem is this: I can’t do it. I cough and hack like Tuberculosis incarnate. It is ridiculous. Plus, I woke up this morning and my breath tasted like I’d gargled with manure. So I think I’ll cut my losses and call it quits. And spare myself the joy of blacklung.
Today the ride was okay until I hit Cortez. Then, I was amazed. Awestruck. The mountains and the valleys and the green of the hills and trees was symphony and majesty to my tired soul. That breeze of glory carried my horse and I to Durango, where I prepare to bed for the evening. A dog barks, the sun sets, I hear children laughing in the distance. I am, like all my fellow journeymen, a wanderer in this pilgrimage of life.”

A couple of nights later, camping outside of Garden City, Kansas:
“A man named Homer gave me a brochure for the Christian Motorcyclists Association. Their motto is “There’s still time to change the road you’re on,” which is a line from Zepplin’s Stairway. In a live recording of that song, Robert Plant sings the lyric, and then in the pause afterward says, “I hope so.”
You and me both, Rob.”

American Soil

2011-08-12T14:08:00.000-07:00

“Cathy, I’m lost” I said, though I knew she was sleeping. “I’m empty and aching and I don’t know why.” Counting the cars on the New Jersey turnpike, they’ve all gone to look for America.”
Paul Simon, “America”

This is a pic of the HOG that I hit the road with 20 years ago, with my Buddies Christopher “Toph” Wilshire and Mike “Dean” Anderson. It’s not the exact bike that I did over 11,000 miles on, but I’ll try in the next few days to get a bunch of the original pics up on the Miles to Cross Facebook page. Toph drove a Magna, and Dean was on a Yamaha. All the bikes performed well, and yet, after hitting all four corners of the continental US, each of us had a certain soreness in the posterior region. No matter how comfortable Bike seats are, apparently we crossed the threshold.

Life is a Journey.
Enjoy the ride.

God in the Ancients

2011-08-12T08:29:00.000-07:00

you citizen of this old town
or pilgrim from far away
looking for some
tranquility
here you may become silent
at the well of all beauty
and life
no one is a stranger
in this old church
where God as a loving father
is waiting
only for you

anonymous
onze-lieve vrov wkerk
Bruge, Belgium

Miles

2011-08-11T17:31:00.001-07:00

I guess I should have noted in the previous post that I spent a total of a year on the road...traveling and studying abroad and through America.

Europe by train.
America by motorcycle.
Britain via hitchhiking.
Central America by any means possible, including light air and riverboat.

The challenge was to live life well, and to come up with a "philosophy"...the Tao of How, if you will. And since that was a challenge far beyond my capabilities, I had to content myself with 4 Tenants of Wanderlust.

Road-Trip Nostalgia

2011-08-11T17:05:00.000-07:00

Since we're taking a road-trip through the Scriptures at my church this summer, I thought it'd be fun to go nostalgic about the glories of the open road. Here's a snapshot from Miles to Cross...hopefully whetting the appetite for your own miles untasted. For additional Miles to Cross love, hit the Miles to Cross facebook page and post your own roadtrip pics and stories!

no·mad
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin nomad-, nomas member of a wandering pastoral people, from Greek, from nemein
Date: 1579
1 : a member of a people who have no fixed residence but move from place to place usually seasonally and within a well-defined territory
2 : an individual who roams about aimlessly
- nomad adjective
- no·mad·ism noun

Wanderlust Tenant #1
Notice Things.

The very first tenant of belief in the wanderlust theory of Appreciation is that you have to Notice Things. You don’t even have to go anywhere to practice this tenant. Wherever you are is a gift. Beauty surrounds, even in the oddest, most sterile places. If you’re eyes aren’t open, you will never learn to live a life of appreciation, no matter where you go. If you’re eyes are open, you will never stop. Notice things. Butterflies. Streaks of cloud in the skyscape. The breeze as it moves the wooden chimes, or the smell of rain on the warm asphalt. There are a host of things to notice, even on the most familiar pathways. Notice them. And in doing so, you remain open to wonder.

“If you remain open to wonder, your heart can breathe.” –Japhy Tinyspear
“This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad.” –Holy Writ

It’s been two decades since I first penned the rough on-the-road manuscript of Miles to Cross, and yet I still affirm the idea that our lives are journeys, that we are not people of the destination, but we are in fact travelers, vagabonds, and wanderers in a foreign land. And while we’re here it is absolutely appropriate to appreciate the surroundings. It’s common grace that surrounds us…all of us…if we will but notice God’s goodness and nearness.

Go See Soul Surfer!

2011-04-12T16:33:00.000-07:00

Shortest review in history: Loved it. Thumbs up. Wholesome, inspirational family movie.
Qualifying Confession: I’m a Bethany Hamilton fan.

I simply find her story fascinating. I love Kauai, love surfing, and love people putting Jesus first. You add a horror like a shark attack leaving an aspiring surf champion with one arm, and you’ve got all of the elements of a brilliant human interest story.

So, when I have an opinion about this movie, it’s qualified in the fact that I’ve followed her story from the very beginning, when even from the hospital after losing her arm, she was giving God glory.

I bought and read the book, Soul Surfer, when it came out, which chronicles her life and story, and it was excellent, written by my good buddy Rick Bundschuh, who is the pastor of Kauai Christian Fellowship, which is exactly where I’m hoping to serve when I get to heaven.

When the 31 minute documentary came out about Bethany getting back in the water three weeks after the attack, called Heart of a Soul Surfer, we bought and devoured it. It helps that I taught my daughter Alex and my son Caleb to surf at the exact same pier in Hanalei Bay. Watching her come back from a tragic event, filled with joy and faith, and eventually become one of the best female surfers on the planet (number 23 to be precise)…that’s an incredible underdog saga. And yet, you’re sort of amazed at Bethany’s steadfast faith…she never comes across as the underdog. She never views herself as handicapped or disabled. She’s just herself, a vibrant girl loving Jesus and the surf he provides, and she lives Romans 8:28 magnificently.

Trial makes some bitter. Bethany is miraculously better, and millions have been inspired by her faith, and tenacity. Honestly, she’s just a great lover of Jesus. And I want to be like her.

So, the MOVIE: Soul Surfer.
I loved it. Go see it. Twice. My son Duzi said it’s his favorite movie ever (he’s six). He told me after watching it: “Lots of people have two arms. Some people have one. Nobody has four, or twenty.” Needless to say, he was inspired.

What’s great about it: Kauai, surfing, and watching people put family and faith first. It is inspiring to realize what an inspiration Bethany is to all sorts of kids (and grownups) who face unique, tragic circumstances. Most of the acting is great. If anyone ever makes a movie about my life, I pray they cast Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt as MY parents. (my wife stole that line from me, but the truth is that I steal lines all the time and what goes around…) And the actress playing Bethany Hamilton is great (AnnaSophia Robb), emotive, believable as a surfer, and a phenomenal choice.

Here’s what’s typical:
1. Faith dialogue in the movies always sounds like it was written by Hallmark. Jesus is mentioned twice, and there are a couple of verses of Scripture referenced. But it’s pretty safe. In the documentary, you get a much more realistic witness of authentic faith. The movie didn’t do a poor job, it just did a typical job, not stepping into the possibility that even this tragic event might be a showcase for God’s glory and love revealed. I keep waiting for a guy like Aaron Sorkin to become a believer, and then we’ll see some snippy, intelligent conversations about faith while people walk briskly on the big screen. You can watch Bethany’s personal testimony on my wife’s blog (sunbreaksintherainycity.com) or the website called I Am Second. She’s for real.

2. Carrie Underwood. She’s beautiful, cool, and cast here as a draw to 12 year old pre-teens, but honestly, even my daughter’s friends thought she wasn’t a strong actress. I am sure she’s a wonderful person, but her presence and her accent felt out of place on the north shore of Kauai.

3. Editing. I couldn’t help but think that just a bit of a larger budget might have made the editing jump from a B to an A.

None of these things are real deterrents…I still think this is the family movie of the year. I did take Duzi (who is 6) out of the theater when the actual shark attack happens, just because I didn’t want to risk potential nightmares. My 8 and 11 year old surfer kids loved the entire thing. And Jodie and I were emotional multiple times as we watched parents walk the hard road of having a child suffer. We’ll own it when it comes out on DVD, so we have the entire Bethany Hamilton library.

Finally, as a pastor, a believer, and a dad, I’d love for this movie to get a ton of traction. I’d love for people to realize that most of the things that distract, deter or disappoint us are mostly molehills. Come watch a true story about a tragic event as big as a mountain, that a faith-filled surfer girl throws into the depths before she joyfully surfs the glorious waves that she thanks Jesus for creating.

Another Glimpse of Heaven

2011-02-08T15:36:00.000-08:00

Last week at OCC, I challenged our congregation to think of three ways that meditating on Heaven impacts our lives today, and to journal about those implications. I was so pleased that hundreds of Overlakers took up the challenge! Here’s the heart of the matter…

CS Lewis observed in Mere Christianity:

“If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither.”

I’d love hear your thoughts on this. And I wonder how specific we can be…the big picture answers are things like: Meditating on Heaven inspires us to work to bring heaven to earth, or to make sure that people know they’re invited, or it eliminates the sting of death…which are all true. What I’m looking for is how these things specifically work themselves out…how our lives are specifically fuelled with joy and significance as we think about eternity. What comes to YOUR mind? How is God stirring in YOU? (incidentally, if you’ve missed our series thus far you can find them at www.occ.org on the media page)

I’d also like to use this opportunity to invite people to come to Overlake this week, as we rap up this series. I’ve received many comments and emails, and had many conversations regarding how God is inspiring people through this topic. I’d love to encourage you to join us on Sunday, where we are talking about eternal rewards and reigning with Christ…just a little heavenly R & R!

We will discover that Heaven fuels and excites our passion to glorify God through Good works, to love others tangibly through meeting needs, and to store up treasures in Heaven which will last for eternity!

Can’t wait to see you Sunday!

Heavenly Musings #2

2011-02-03T14:55:00.000-08:00

I'm finding WAY too many of these nuggets of truth and glory to preach them all. But you gotta check this out...
Theologian A.A. Hodge writes:

“Heaven, as the eternal home of the divine Man and all of the redeemed members of the human race, must necessarily be thoroughly human in it’s structure, conditions, and activities. Its joys and activities must all be rational, moral, emotional, voluntary, and active. There must be the exercise of all the faculties, the gratification of all tastes, the development of all talent capacities, the realization of all ideals. The reason, the intellectual curiosity, the imagination, the aesthetic instincts, the holy affections, the social affinities, the inexhaustible resources of strength and power native to the human soul must all find in heaven exercise and satisfaction. There must always be a goal of endeavor before us, ever future…Heaven will prove the consummate flower and fruit of the whole creation and of all the history of the universe.”

Meaning: Heaven will be completely and wholly “human” and “home,” while at the same time being completely glorified and untainted by curse. There will be learning and growth, future and forward looking, while at the same time no possible wistfulness at the brevity of time or the scarcity of resources. Relationships and personal talents will flourish, culture will bloom, all to the glory of our very Present Lord, Savior, and Father.

Heavenly Musings

2011-02-03T14:25:00.000-08:00

At our church, we are mid-way through a series on Heaven. It’s the first time in 20 years that I’ve taught through significant portions of biblical thought on Heaven. The more I research and study, the more I realize how incredible God is in revealing snapshots of that goodness in the here and now.

C.S. Lewis writes: “All your life an unattainable ecstasy has hovered just beyond the grasp of your consciousness. The day is coming when you will wake to find, beyond all hope, that you have attained it, or else, that it was within your reach and you have lost it forever.”

And as Randy Alcorn says, “You are made for a person and a place. Jesus is the person. Heaven is the place.”

Personally, the way that God has been firing me up as I’ve meditated on the way He has revealed bits and pieces of His plans for our eternity: I have a renewed passion to make sure that I’m dragging as many with me as possible!! Glorified bodies, Glorified beauty, Glorified desires, No disease, No scarcity, No Sorrow, AND we'll be in the manifest presence of our Loving God. Jesus IS that awesome, and Eternity is THAT amazing!

A Peaceful Violence

2011-01-04T17:07:00.000-08:00

Unpopular Truths of Leadership through Transition

Change is always hard.
Change always feels a bit violent.
I’ve been blessed to work in church contexts for the last 20 years, and in each context, I’ve become the leader in a ministry that was already in existence. What that means is that there were certain structures already in place, and elements of DNA that were established, and not all structures and not all DNA as I found them, were healthy. So this is a bit of the wisdom God has taught me as I’ve led through transition (as most of my church-world brothers and sisters are doing right now). Since most of the time we mortals tend to be as wise as doves and as gentle as serpents, above all I know that listening to Jesus and following His example will always be the best course…

Lesson 1: Gentleness is more powerful than rage.

Proverbs 16:32 tells us that it’s better to have self control than to take a city.

Gentleness is one of the fruits of a life lived filled with God’s Spirit. It has many inherent advantages. But, one of the best aspects of being gentle is that you never have to apologize.

I know several pastors who employ the rant and the rage, and I know that tends to lead to some difficult places personally. I’ve done it. Most of the time, it also forces us to go to a place of humility, where we end up needing to apologize for the un-gentleness we’ve exhibited. I have a dear friend in ministry who was always having to apologize…to women, to the press, to another ministry that he didn’t really hate but ranted against as if he did…what’s interesting is that as he has grown as a gentle leader, his influence has also grown. While I readily admit there are seasons for strength, and for holding a hard line, it’s always good to be reminded: You’ll never have to apologize for being gentle.

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1 NIV

Merry Christmas, from the Howertons!

2010-12-22T20:43:00.000-08:00

I’m up early, and it’s still dark out. The only light on in the house comes from the Christmas tree. The Howerton house is peaceful and calm. Even the dog is still sleeping (which is how I like him best). I mention the peace only because it’s so rare. Chaos is closer to what everyday looks like, so moments like this one I try to celebrate, and remember, when the volume level goes north of healthy.

In a few minutes I’ll wake my daughter, Alex, so she can get on the bus that will take her to her morning violin practice at school. She loves playing Soccer (a fierce mid-fielder), she’s School Vice President (which she won on the slogan of “I’m organized, kind, and I like puppies”)…I’m very proud of her. She does a great job with friendships, and with being a judicious big sister. She’s got a great sense of humor too, and a growing familiarity with pre-teen “sass,” I believe it’s called.

My son Caleb is an early riser. He’ll probably get up when Alex does, just so he can spend time reading before he has to launch into the day. He destroys books. I mean that literally. I don’t know what he does with the books in addition to reading them, but my guess is rugby. Caleb’s stepped out into Basketball for the first time this year, and dad doesn’t even pretend to know how to coach him. Everything in his life is high adventure, including Lego creation, skateboarding, and his zany third grade friendships. He’s also adjusting slowly to his role as big-brother. He seems to approach it from a love-hate perspective, which might be fairly common among siblings. Fortunately, there is a bit more love than hate, and Caleb has discovered that his younger brother, in addition to being competition, might also be his biggest fan.

This morning, I’m guessing that Duzi will sleep in as long as mommy will let him. He’s our snuggler, who can’t quite snuggle with mommy and daddy without kicking them. Hard. Sometimes in the head. Of course, the big news from our clan this year is his arrival, and the trip over to South Africa in July to pick him up. Adjustment has been good. Hardly pain-free (read: many tears and anxious moments), but honestly, good. One of things he’s noticed is how BIG Americans do things…he knew what Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas were before coming here. But each holiday, he was wide-eyed at how MUCH Holiday was enjoyed. Oh buddy, just wait until Christmas morning. Prepare to be amazed.

Jodie is incredible, as always. I’m blown away by how she manages to stay on top of a very active family schedule, work a bit from home, feed her family gourmet meals on a budget, and hit the gym regularly. She’s my hero (which I repeat to myself when we’re at each other’s throats). And she’s hot. I’m just saying. She could be a part-time model.

As for me, life seems to be cranking along, meaning I turned 40 this year. I’m still not the person I want to be, but I’m one more year along on the journey. I love my family, I love my wife, I love my life. Ministry at OCC is a hurtling roller coaster (read: equal parts thrill and terror), with folks breathing deeply the joy, hope, and love that Jesus came to bring. In fact, that’s really the reason for this letter, and for any Christmas cheer it offers…I’m just one more finger pointing to Jesus. One more seeker pursuing the infant king, born in a stable. One more heart shattered and reformed by his arrival, heralded by the wisest men. One more life undone by the grace of our Christ, illuminated in the darkest night by a celestial light. One more voice adding my flat and tremulous melody of praise to join in with the choir of heavenly hosts.

We love you dearly. We’re amazed by Jesus’ love. Merry Christmas,

Mike, and the whole crazy Howerton Clan

No Cost/Low Cost Christmas Celebrations

2010-12-07T16:13:00.000-08:00

Gearing up for this week's message, titled "Punching Consumerism in the Throat," we thought we'd start with some amazing and helpful No Cost/Low Cost ideas to celebrate the birth of Jesus!! Thank you Overlake for submitting these ideas!! We received so many suggestions that there was no way to incorporate all the ideas into this weekend’s message…so here are a bucket-load on the front end! We’ll tackle a few more key thoughts during this Sunday’s Service…SEE YOU THERE!! And thanks again, for being as generous and giving a church as you are!! If you have more suggestions, please leave them as comments…THANKS! Merry Christmas!!

Encourage your loved ones to create something: knit, write a letter, paint a picture.
Since Jesus was a carpenter, I would we should give lovely, handmade gifts from the heart.
Make things – create a coupon with gifts of service.
Write notes of encouragement to each other.
Make photo calendars, pens, or mugs.
Make (create) as many gifts as possible. My wife gave homemade jam and scone mix this year, and it was delicious!
Instead of buying gifts make cookies and send them to family.
Make gift baskets for family instead of a gift for each member.
Create fun memories as a group.
Bake & frost cookies together.
Get messy, play in the snow.
Donate food and serve at a Mission this Holiday Season.

Give a gift to Jesus in honor of His Birthday.
Rather than buy gifts for extended family, purchase gifts for those in need through World Vision website.
Give through World Concern.
Giving gifts that help others - World Vision offers such practical gifts as cows, goats, chickens that provide income for families.
Instead of gifts, my husband and I are doing a donation to Toys for Tots.
We host an open house for all our friends/co-workers in the area. In lieu of gift to us we ask they bring a cash donation for World Vision.

White elephant gifts! Bring 1 gift (new or used), especially an oddity, and the entire family always has fun!
Eliminate one thing we can do without.
We chose a friend in need to bless this Christmas instead of buying gifts for each other.
Adapt a family instead of exchanging gifts.
After candlelight service, we get kids in their pajamas, put them in the car and drive all around looking at lights.
Read the Christmas story in Luke.
Have the kids in the family act out the Bible story with nativity set.

Give your kids or someone special the gift of undivided time.
Spend less on things and more giving of your time.
Volunteer time together as a family to serve.
Adopt a family in need to minister too.
What you would spend on yourself "give away" instead.
Reduce the amount of money spent on gifts by some percentage, and give that instead.

Re-gift!
Visit nursing homes and spend time caring for those who might be lonely.
Set a budget for Christmas gifts.

For every gift received give an item or possession to charity.

Give the gift of planning, and invite a person over for dinner once a month for the year. Make a pandora.com radio station especially for them.

Think of what someone else is going without that you have multiples of, and connect the gift to their need.

Give to shelters.
Make a gingerbread house together.
Have fun family nights, watching some holiday classics together.
We go caroling to our neighbors houses with kids from school, then have a coco & cookie potluck after.
Draw names and give gifts to them, instead of buying for everyone in the family.
Use newspaper for wrapping paper.

Save, and pay cash for presents, instead of using credit cards.
Make memories instead of giving stuff
Give gifts from the heart: kind words mean morn then anything.
Stop reading ads - remember I have all I need in Jesus!

We pick names.
I buy used toys, and the kids like them better because of the lack of crazy packaging when they open them!
We set a per person dollar limit on gifts.
My friends and I spend a fun evening together instead of spending the time trying to buy the right gift.

Climbing Towards Financial Freedom

2010-10-05T16:20:00.000-07:00

This week at Overlake, I'm tackling the topic of Incinerating your DEBT in our IGNITE series, and I'm curious...

Do you have a story of being in debt? Do you have a story of climbing OUT of debt?
How did you do it?
What sorts of lifestyle changes did it require?

Do you have a story of climbing out of debt, and then going backwards into it again? (This MIGHT be our story...and we've been on this cycle a couple of times...)

How does saving come into it for you? I'll bring the message on Sunday, but for now, I'd like to learn from you...

Together Accomplishing MORE!!

2010-10-05T15:52:00.000-07:00

Friends of Overlake Christian Church,
Ever since we launched our OCC 2012 Vision Campaign last fall, I’ve felt prompted by God to shoot for 100% participation by Overlake's MEMBERS (those folks now attending OCC who’ve actually gone through the our membership process). I knew that if our members were empowered to participate through prayer, through serving and through financial investment, we'd be able to accomplish EVERY part of the vision that God wanted to accomplish through OCC 2012.

After we shared the heart behind OCC 2012 with our entire church family last fall, we tallied just over 50% participation among actual, OCC members; and honestly…I battled with Jesus - and with some discouragement. I have never been a part of a church that was going after a more selfless vision than Overlake, and I knew this vision truly reflected the heart of Christ. So I joined our elders in praying for a greater amount of participation from the Overlake family.

Throughout 2010, as stories of how our campaign initiatives were progressing, the number of OCC 2012 participants edged up slowly…but consistently. Then came our September TAKING AIM series (that ended Sunday, Sept. 26). With its focus on education and challenge, each week we added dozens of new families into our OCC 2012 Vision Campaign at various levels of commitment (and not just OCC member families)! All of this has given me great pleasure, but even more importantly, I believe with all my heart that it gives God great pleasure as we pursue a greater vision as a church.

And the bottom line? God has given us 100% participation among OCC's members. In fact, He’s given us MORE THAN 100% participation when you include the nearly 200+ households that have committed, but aren’t yet actual OCC member households! I am so excited! So grateful! So honored to be a part of a church like Overlake!

And God gets ALL of the glory!!!
So, I just wanted to cheer you on, Overlake! Great job! Let’s now fulfill our commitments! Let’s pray! Let’s serve! Let’s give! And let’s continue to bring glory and honor to Jesus! He’s the one whose love started this whole journey, anyway!!

Be blessed today…and we'll see you SUNDAY as we continue our IGNITE series!

News of New Directions...

2010-10-05T15:47:00.000-07:00

Early this summer, my good friend and partner in crime, Pastor Jesse brought me in on a journey that God was taking him on…a stirring to expand God’s Kingdom through church planting. He and Marisa had been praying and fasting, and were confident that God was calling them to plant a church specifically designed to reach their brothers and sisters who are far from God. I know how sensitive they are to God’s prompting…it’s HIS call that led them to Overlake seven summers ago.

After prayer and discussion with our Executive Pastoral Team and our Elders, we feel led by God to affirm the stirring of God in the Butterworth's lives and to release them to pursue church planting in the Greater Seattle area. We seek to partner with Jesse and Marisa:
Through blessing.
Through resources (books, training materials, etc.).
Through finances (of a limited nature).
Through gratitude (for the amazing ministry that Jesse and Marisa have brought to OCC these last years).

I AM excited. I do believe that God has been working on my heart towards this regard, and I honestly want to be the kind of leader that releases leaders. I also know that all throughout scripture, God brings people in, builds them up, and sends them out. I’m on board with God. This has the potential to be a HUGE Kingdom win.

But I have to be honest (as I have been with Jesse) about my personal sadness which is due almost totally to the friendship that Jesse and I share. If you’ve been around OCC for a while, you have probably sensed that Jesse and I are the best of friends. I’ve never had a ministry partner so connected as we charge the hill for God together. We craft OCC services together. I preview his songs and give feedback, he previews my messages and makes them better (although he is responsible for a FEW of the lame jokes you’ve heard through the years). We touch base several times a day. We share several meals a week. The Butterworths do Christmas at the Howerton’s house. We’re in a Life Group together. So what I’m feeling is based upon the reality of separation.
YES, I get it…Jesse’s not dying, cell phones still work, and we’ll still sushi together every once in a while. Also, you’ll continue to see Jesse around, leading us at OCC when schedules allow. But I’m still wrestling with some grief - and I just wanted to be honest about that, because I’m betting that more than a few of you who love Jesse’s talent and leadership will feel grief as well. It’s OK. Give it back to God. It’s God’s fault, anyway. It’s His call that started this whole thing. HE can handle it.

In order to make this the greatest investment in God’s Kingdom possible, the elders have asked Jesse to explore communities west of Lake Washington, or areas roughly twenty miles from Overlake’s campus in Redmond. Jesse and Marisa are in that prayer process now and they request your prayers as they seek to land in just the right location.

Jesse isn’t looking for hundreds of Overlakers who love his music to attend this new church plant. His vision is to target people far from God. He IS literally looking for a dozen rough and ready missionaries to plant with; men and women who are willing to immediately give sacrificially, serve sacrificially, and invite shamelessly. If Jesse speaks with you personally about his vision (which he has the elders’ blessing to do), count it a compliment…it means he has identified you as that kind of servant leader.

Finally, there will be some who read the news of this move and will wonder about Overlake. You know that we are poised (after an incredible summer of growth) to move into a HUGE fall season of harvest, firing on all cylinders. Some might be tempted to see Jesse’s move as a distraction at best, or as a competition to attract committed, giving church members at worst.
Don’t do it.
Don’t go there.

God is in control. God is on high. God is sovereign. God’s Spirit is prompting Jesse and giving wisdom to OCC. God’s Spirit comforts and carries. Jesus himself promises to build HIS church, and He will continue building His church called Overlake as He is choosing to expand His church. He has not given us a spirit of fear…He has given us a spirit of LOVE, and it is with that spirit that I choose to celebrate the years I’ve served with Jesse as a gift, and to bless him and release him to the fullness of God’s call on his life.

As for a timeline, Jesse will continue to lead Overlake in worship through most of the fall. We’ll have a special service of commissioning the Butterworths, and we'll celebrate November's release of the new LIVE worship recording with especial poignancy. We'll also be praying for Jesse and Marisa on this new adventure – new both for the Butterworths and for Overlake!
But "new" has never been a stretch for God. Remember, He’s the one who says this:
Behold I am doing a new thing!

We’re thankful that God loves us, that God has a unique plan He is unfolding, and we’re thankful that HE is doing a new thing in all of us!

THE BRAVE COMRADESHIP OF GOD

2010-08-05T08:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my buddy Jesse and I were doing some honest, theological and personal wrestling regarding how we might contribute to God's Kingdom. Jesse was telling me that his dad had encouraged him with an Oswald Chamber's quote. Here it is, and it is INCREDIBLY encouraging to goofs like me...

"Then He took unto Him the twelve." Luke 18:31

"The bravery of God in trusting us! You say - "But He has been unwise to choose me, because there is nothing in me; I am not of any value." That is why He chose you. As long as you think there is something in you, He cannot choose you because you have ends of your own to serve; but if you have let Him bring you to the end of your self-sufficiency then He can choose you to go with Him to Jerusalem, and that will mean the fulfillment of purposes which He does not discuss with you. We are apt to say that because a man has natural ability, therefore he will make a good Christian. It is not a question of our equipment but of our poverty, not of what we bring with us, but of what God puts into us; not a question of natural virtues of strength of character, knowledge, and experience - all that is of no avail in this matter. The only thing that avails is that we are taken up into the big compelling of God and made His comrades (cf. 1 Cor. 1:26-30). The comradeship of God is made up out of men who know their poverty. He can do nothing with the man who thinks that he is of use to God. As Christians we are not out for our own cause at all, we are out for the cause of God, which can never be our cause. We do not know what God is after, but we have to maintain our relationship with Him whatever happens. We must never allow anything to injure our relationship with God; if it does get injured we must take time and get it put right. The main thing about Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the atmosphere produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to look after, and it is the one thing that is being continually assailed."

-Oswald Chambers

Politics-Free Zone

2010-08-04T15:58:00.000-07:00

Every time an election comes around, candidate yard signs pop up like mushrooms, and I’m almost entirely delighted. I’ve spent enough time outside of America, and I’ve spent enough time with my father (a career Marine who fought in two wars to preserve the freedoms we enjoy in America) that I know I’m a bit of a patriot. When we first landed in the states with my adopted son, and he looked out the window and yelled “Look Mom! The American Flag!” Jodie and I both started to cry. I love this land that God has given us to live in. I cherish the things that make America great. I truly try to be mindful of our blessings, and honor God for the freedom to worship, the freedom to express ourselves, and the freedom to choose our leaders through the electoral process. As a pastor, I want to encourage all citizens to be informed, to vote their conscience, and to serve/volunteer in your community to make your nation stronger.

By the way, OCC is one of several churches on the Eastside participating in a Community Serve Day on August 21, 2010, (mostly in public elementary schools) and I’d LOVE to encourage you to join us!

But here is what my pulpit is not for…it is not for this pastor to tell you how to vote. Overlake is a politics- free zone. I’m not called to use my pulpit to back a specific candidate, nor am I called to back a specific political philosophy. Jesus calls us to something higher and holier. We, who are followers of Jesus, have a dual-citizenship.

But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. Philippians 3:20

I love America, but I love Jesus more. And Heaven will not be a capitalistic democracy. It will be a benevolent dictatorship. And we will rejoice under the unrivaled reign of our perfect, glorious King. In the meantime, since we, the people, are invited to construct our own government, I’m all FOR it! I want passionate, intelligent Christians to engage the issues while honoring God. Please go hard after Jesus first, and bring that passion to whatever political philosophy you embrace.

Remember, nobody loves the poor like Jesus. Nobody loves the rich like Jesus. Nobody loves the immigrant like Jesus. Nobody loves the citizen like Jesus. Nobody loves the unborn like Jesus. Nobody loves the elderly like Jesus.

Jesus loves both environment AND humanity in a perfect balance, the way I’ve yet to see modeled by a political philosophy. Jesus loves righteousness and unrighteous humans in a way I’ve yet to see modeled by a political philosophy. When it comes to foreign policy, nobody knows the history of injustice like Jesus, and nobody understands forgiveness like Jesus.

Since all political stripes fall short, my encouragement to those who are interested is this: get involved in your brand of choice, and revise it to be more like Jesus. Use your voice to make things better, kinder…in short, to be a blessing. Honor Jesus with your specific political voice.

FINALLY: If you see any yard signs on Overlake Christian Church property, you can safely assume two things: 1. They were placed there without permission from the church, and 2. I haven’t seen them yet. When I see them, I will take them down. Because I want you to know, no matter what your personal political leanings, that you are welcome in God’s House. You don’t have to vote a certain way or have certain political bumper stickers on your car to be welcome at my church. Everyone is invited, and everyone is loved. It’s a politics-free zone, remember?

Inspiration for ONE DAY

2010-08-04T10:24:00.000-07:00

Last week, Pastor Gary challenged us to live ONE DAY with Jesus. The entire day. I've had that goal in the back of my mind since then, and it pops up from time to time, mostly when I realize that I'm failing to do exactly that. I read the following today, and it both blessed and challenged me...Praying it does the same for you:

Each Day…

It’s quiet. It’s early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is still asleep. The day is coming.

In a few moments the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day. The calm of solitude will be replaced by the pounding pace of the human race. The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met.

For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day’s demands. It is now that I must make a choice. Because of Calvary, I’m free to choose. And so I choose.

I CHOOSE LOVE…
No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.

I CHOOSE JOY…
I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical…the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I CHOOSE PEACE…
I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.

I CHOOSE PATIENCE…
I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I CHOOSE KINDNESS…
I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

I CHOOSE GOODNESS…
I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.

I CHOOSE FAITHFULNESS…
Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their father will not come home.

I CHOOSE GENTLENESS…
Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.

I CHOOSE SELF-CONTROL…
I am a spiritual being…After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ. I choose self-control.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek his grace. And then, when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.
- Max Lucado

Kisumu, Part 2

2010-08-01T07:43:00.000-07:00

I wanted to add a follow up to yesterday's post, as I just received this email from Pastor Dan, who is working with our Kenyan partners (ie. Pastor Joseph) to open/run the Drop-In Center in Kisumu, Kenya.

Dan writes:

"I am officially a Kenyan now as I contracted Malaria. I cannot imagine having this and getting no medication and being forced to go sleep out on the streets somewhere so I am trying not to be too big of a wusey.

The trip has been unbelievable. I hope OCC is not suffering in our absence because I am convinced that I have 17 of OCC's finest with me. They have reflected Jesus at every level. Pastor Joseph's church is totally engaged and sharing in the street boys' lives. They are loved and welcomed at this church the way Jesus would love and welcome them. It is such a blessing to see the hope rise up in these boys. I heard the phrase this week that "we are giving them back their future" and that is exactly what is happening. Boys who through no fault of their own have had their futures stolen from them now have hope for a better future. Joseph has them refer to themselves as "Overcomers" and not "Street Boys" as he says they are no longer street boys. It has been hard not to just walk around crying as you see God so obviously at work. I can't wait to tell you all the stories. Pray that the vomiting will stop and the medicine will kick in so I will be able to enjoy everything that is left on the trip, Tomorrow we go to the rural area to work on our program of street children prevention. Praying for all of you."

And this morning, Lord Jesus, we lift up Dan, his team, our Kenyan partners, and the Overcomers to you. We ask that you move through these efforts, and that you restore hope and a future to those who have had theirs stolen. Thank you for choosing to include us in your good work. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Kisumu

2010-07-31T08:48:00.001-07:00

Today in Kisumu, Kenya, Overlake’s first Drop-In center was launched. It is a ministry designed to serve the street children of that community. It will serve as a safe place for kids who have no place, in Jesus’ name. It will serve food, for kids who have no nourishment, in Jesus’ name. It will be a safe harbor for kids who live in the storm, in Jesus’ name. It will a clear, loving, sober-minded refuge for kids who live under the tyranny of glue-induced haze, of lostness, of depression, in Jesus’ name. But most of all it will serve as a half-way house, preparing those street kids who desire it for adoption into a loving, caring HOME.

Overlake Christian Church is partnering with the local church community in Kisumu, and those dear people are also preparing themselves to open their homes for the adoption of the street kids who are sick of the street. This is an amazing thing. It’s a miracle of God’s love in action.

And here’s one more piece of the miracle: the funds to build, prepare, and launch this Drop-In center were all raised (are you ready for this?) by the Students of Overlake Christian Church. By Junior High and High School students. American students used their spring break to babysit, to mow lawns, to walk dogs, to create and sell jewelry, to host garage sales…they worked diligently…so that they might donate the funds necessary to launch this center. And today that hard work has come to fruition. This is an amazing thing. This is another miracle of God’s love in action.

All of this is under the umbrella of the vision God gave Overlake one year ago. OCC 2012 is a vision that has gripped this local body of followers of Jesus, and it is bringing great joy, even as we labor to fulfill it. God has given us initiatives that fall in with each of our three purposes: Love God, Love People, and Serve the World. The Kisumu Drop-In center is a Serve the World Initiative that focuses on Orphan Care.

Of course, now that the first Drop-In center has launched, we’re already in strategic conversation regarding the next one. And of course, our students are already dreaming about how they will be able to raise the funds for it, too. They’ve seen the miracle of the loaves and fishes firsthand, and they’re hungry for more. I love our students. I love the leaders who are right now on the ground in Kenya, enfleshing a miracle. And I love Jesus, our Lord, who places the lonely into families. I’m thankful to HIM, for the chance to be a part of a church like Overlake!

The MAGIC of Bing (and pure imagination)

2010-07-29T12:56:00.000-07:00

So many of you have been following the story of our adoption, and the journey of the Howerton clan embracing, and being embraced, by Duzi. I thought I’d share another moment of PURE MAGIC (giggle).

After traveling for 26 hours, we were delayed on the tarmac in Atlanta, waiting for the final leg to Seattle to begin. Duzi had a window seat, I was in the middle, and sitting next to me was a really friendly Microsoft Employee named Brian. He asked me some questions about our adoption process, and was insightful, articulate, and kind. When I mentioned that our faith was a major motivator for us, he was respectful and affirming, even though he indicated that faith normally wasn’t his thing (I forget how he phrased this exactly, but he was cool.) He asked me if I had shown Duzi anything on Bing Maps.

Uh, no. I hadn’t. In the whirlwind challenges of adoption, Bing Maps didn't make it to any sort of priority.

So he pulled up Seattle on his computer. It was in a 3d, Birdseye view, which I thought was pretty cool. We tried to find Duzi’s hometown, but it was slow to load, and when it did, it was 2d Arial view. Just like Google Maps. Then we looked at my home…2d Arial view. By this time, Duzi was bored, so I put on Clone Wars on my computer for him. Brian looked up the Washington Monument, but Duzi was glassy-eyed with travel by then. I was a bit glassy-eyed myself, and as I fell asleep, with my son’s sleeping head on my lap, I noticed Brian looking up additional locations on Bing Maps, and I was honestly glad that he was excited about where he worked.

As we were descending, Duzi and I woke, and prepared to deplane. Brian and I shared a few more pleasantries…I believe we both wished one another well, which was sincere on both sides. All in all, a great plane buddy. NOW, check out the story from HIS perspective…I had no idea the pure MAGIC that was unfolding. The following I have left in Brian’s own words…apparently it was a pretty powerful flight for him. He put this on a Microsoft Work Distribution list. My comments are in parenthesis. PLEASE enjoy:

“Hi everyone,

“After telling this story to a few people in the office, it was suggested I write it up and send it out to the group. On my flight home from MGX last Saturday, a little boy and his father came to sit next to me and I overheard the father talk about the boy’s “new home in Seattle.” I quickly found out that this little boy was a South African orphan being adopted by a family from Redmond. The husband and wife already had an 11 year old girl and 8 year old boy but found it in their hearts to have a 5-year old orphan of a different race and background join their family. (Brian really WAS a nice guy).

“Halfway into the flight, the father and I got into a discussion about job and then about how the boy really didn’t know where he was going, how far he was moving from his old home, and what opportunities he now has. At the risk of being too forward, I asked the father if I could switch to the middle seat and provide the boy his first experience with a computer, first experience with the internet, first experience with maps, and his first opportunity to see his new country and new home. Providing all these firsts is an extremely rare opportunity these days and I was lucky enough to be on a flight with WiFi, and get a “yes” to my question! (NO chance in HELL that I would give an eager techie unrestrained access to my NEW, adopted son who was ALREADY in culture shock. This guy obviously doesn’t have kids.)

“I first showed him how far he was traveling and where his old and new homes were located. The boy, Doozier, originates from Durban which is on the East Coast of South Africa and the Southeast Corner of Africa. The fluid Silverlight navigation into his old orphanage and then out to South Africa, Africa, and then the World lit up Doozier’s eyes, and I got some amazement from the father too. (Only amazement that it didn't happen this way.)

“Then we explored his journey, which took him from Durban to OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg to Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta which is a city in the Peach State. After a six hour layover, he was now on the last leg of his journey to Redmond, Washington. His new home is a really beautiful house in Overlake. The father was floored and Doozier reached over me to give his father a huge hug when he saw his house. Father and son already had super big smiles but we weren’t done yet. (Does this read like emotional porn to anybody else?)

“I let Doozier take control for a few minutes and watched as he scrolled in and out to random places all over the world. I had to teach him typing and mouse movement a little bit, but kids pick up technology so fast and once he seemed comfortable I gave him a directed tour around the US and the world. (Now we have loosed all semblance of reality and have embraced the flight into pure imagination).

“First, he searched for Washington, DC – the capital of his new country, and my home! The left-panel gave him a brief history of the city and we opened up the Wikipedia page to have him learn more. Then I had him search for the Washington Monument, learn about that, and then go Streetside so he could take a virtual fieldtrip to one of my favorite places to visit. At this point, I wished a camera magically appeared and took a snapshot of Doozier’s face. It was pure amazement, excitement, and happiness. (Or maybe just a hint of drool on his sleeping chin. Aren't ALL 5 year olds crazy to read more Wikipedia pages on our nations capital?)

“The father patted me on the back and I could see he was on the verge of tears as it hit him just how big of an impact he is making on this boy’s life. We say it and we hear it – but this…this was proof of the Magic of Software. (PUKE.)

“We spent around 30 more minutes doing tours like this - the Empire State Building, Ayer's Rock in Australia, the Taj Mahal, Mount Everest, and a few others. It was one of the most special experiences I’ve had and proves that anyone can make an impact, anytime, with just a little bit of technology. I’m thrilled to be a part of this team and hope this story was inspiring. Thanks for reading!

“Sincerely, Brian”

This is Mike again, and I’ve got a few thoughts:

Seriously? I’ve seen God move mountains, I’ve seen Jesus save, I know that the Lord puts the lonely in families, I’ve traveled around the world and invested blood, sweat, tears, and resources into adoption, Jodie and I have been to the brink of despair stuck in bureaucracy and we’ve felt the deliverance of God’s Spirit…we live in joy because we trust Jesus for everything, including our amazing son…and a 3d image on a Bing Map search is supposed to have some kind of emotional impact?

I like Brian a lot. I'm glad the ride with us was a special experience for you. But please. You need to set your sights a little higher.

Adoption is a bit larger than looking at pictures. The real world is full of amazing stories and wonderful people and all sorts of significant needs that you can be involved in filling. There's really not much else to say. There is a LOT of life to be experienced when you lift your eyes up from the computer screen. LIVE it.

Now a word to my friends in ministry: I know we’re all tempted to stretch the truth just a bit when we tell stories, analogies, illustrations…we want to make the biggest impact possible to move people to Jesus. We don’t just want people to get fired up about software (pardon me…the MAGIC of software), we want people to know peace through God’s love, we want them to know hope through Jesus…our desire for folks impacts eternity. But still. Whenever we take flights of fancy in telling people's stories (like Brian did with ours), we render illegitimate the very truth we are so passionate about.

The truth has nothing to hide.

It’s the truth that sets us free.

The Father is looking for worshippers who will worship in spirit and in truth.

So Brian, if you read this…I love you. I’m not mad at you. It’s a forgivable lie. I’ve been known to use a kernel of truth to create a whole meal of emotional fluff too…and I thank you for the reminder to keep it clean.

And if you Microsoft guys ever make a commercial about this story that is loosely based on actual events, then just remember to get the royalties to Duzi. Spelled D-U-Z-I. Thanks.

FAVOR

2010-06-28T13:36:00.000-07:00

It has been a while.

I have been so overwhelmed that I’ve been unable to write much of anything.

For the entire last year, we have been on pins and needles about this adoption, not knowing how open the process really is, not sure how much we’re allowed to know about the boy named Duzi, not sure how much we’re allowed to share about the journey that we’re on…it’s a weird year of complete self-editing that I’ve lived under, simply because I’m never sure what might get me slapped as off limits to share…and the penalty for playing this one wrong happens to be the life of a boy and the wholeness of my family.

So suffice to say that I’m a little constipated verbally.

NOW imagine my surprise, when we arrive in South Africa, and find just about every step of the road is covered with FAVOR. There is no other way to say it. The Favor of God Almighty has simply gone ahead of us, and greased every grease-able wheel. The process that we feared would take several weeks now appears, possibly, to be accomplished in several days. I’m not even sure yet if I’m going to post this, and yet even as I write this, even to myself, I’m afraid of jinxing it, of negative repercussions, of somehow blowing this thing that God is making incredibly awesome. I’ll post it. I’m trusting to FAVOR.

From the start, of course, the US Embassy greeted us with smiles and our files when we arrived in JoBurg. That was FAVOR. And Sue, our South African Child Welfare worker, was on the ball. The places we’ve stayed were completely comfortable, and the people we’ve met have been more than accommodating and over the top friendly. Its as if, all of South Africa is riding the high of hosting the World Cup, and watching Ghana rock the US has only friended them towards us!

I even left the lights on and ran the car out of juice tonight, and three incredibly kind security guards jumped my battery. It was FAVOR. Our court date is on Thursday, and we’re praying for more FAVOR.

Lastly, most importantly, there is Mduduzi Ezekiel Howerton. No picture will do justice to the joy that is felt (although my wife has already posted a bunch of photos on Facebook). No video captures the awe of meeting a family member. My kids have already welcomed him in as a true brother, and he’s instantly wrestling with Caleb as his new best frenemy, with Alex being the one Duzi wants to hold hands with as they cross busy roads. He’s handsome. Solemn. Goofy. Intelligent. He speaks with a crazy cool South African accent that I pray he never looses. He’s been calling me “DAD” since the first moment we arrived. It kind of makes my heart flutter. Favor.

Jodie has been a miracle worker. She’s constantly on the ball, always one step ahead. She’s always on it with what we need to do, and she’s always been right. Because of her diligence, I believe that it’s easy for God to place his favor on this journey.

My role has been that of even keel, luggage carrier (along with Caleb, who has decided to step up as a true stud, now that he’s in THIRD GRADE), and official driver of stick shift Hyundi on wrong side of road. This has been an adventure, and I’m certain that the lack of traffic accident is another sign of God’s Favor. And I’ve been navigating the spagettit string roads of the Greater Durban communities, for which I might be taking a bit of pride in. Alex is mostly sweet, responsible, and gracious. Caleb has played with all of the babies at IthembaLetu, and wants us to bring home a little Stella, too. Let’s just say, with the emotional state of his parents right now, he wouldn’t have to push too hard to get his way.

All in all, I don’t know how to wrap up the thoughts and dreams of another life being added to our family through the miracle of adoption. It is VERY similar to the over the top emotions of childbirth. Except the child in this case can also make us laugh by crossing his eyes and yelling that his head is on fire, which has done, quite loudly, in an Italian restaurant at the mall.

Welcome to the craziness of Howerton living, young Mduduzi. May the Lord’s FAVOR shine down upon the pathways you’ve yet to travel…

What Really Matters

2010-03-31T13:45:00.000-07:00

As we approach EASTER, which always brings a view of things Most Significant, I thought I'd pass on a little quiz from my man Chuck Swindoll. I hope as you take it you'll realize not only who has blessed your life and how, but you'll also be inspired to invest a bit into others this week...

No pen or paper required. You can do this one in your head:

Here’s the first set of questions:

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world today.

2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners. Too tough? Then name the ten gold-medal winners from the recent Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

3. Name the winners of the Miss America pageant for the past five years.

4. Name ten people who have won either the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize (Okay, just name five! How about three?)

5. Name the last decade’s World Series winners. Or if that’s too tough, name the most valuable players for the last five World Series games.

My guess is you didn’t too well. Despite their renown, fame, and achievements, well-known award lose their luster, and the memories of who won them quickly fade.

Now let’s try a second part of the quiz:

1. Name two teachers who made a difference in your life.

2. Name three friends who were there for you during a difficult time.

3. Name a mentor or two who believed in you and thought of you as someone worthwhile.

4. Name five people you enjoy spending and evening with just because they’re fun to be with and you admire them greatly.

5. Name three or four heroes, living or dead, whose lives have inspired and encouraged you.

How did you do that time? You probably got an “A.” The real difference makers in life are those significant others who have pulled up close.[1]

[1] Charles Swindoll, Paul: A Man of Grace and Grit, 301-302.

Churchy? There's more...

2010-02-23T14:52:00.000-08:00

Doing some reading on Vacation, and found this gem:

“I love churches that aren’t about helping people become churchy.

Churches should be about helping people experience a transformed life in Christ that challenges folks to live out their faith daily in today’s culture. That’s a lot harder than just being churchy, quite frankly. Churchiness is easy. You just follow the prescribed rules.

Real faith is dynamic. It’s controversial. It’s dangerous. It’s constantly growing. It asks challenging questions. It involves mystery. You can’t put it in a box. You can’t keep it quiet. You can’t outgrow it. You can’t out-dream it. It’s more focused on others than it is on itself. Real faith gives me peace but makes me discontent to let things stay the same.

It’s amazing to see what God chooses to do through a church that embraces this kind of vision for life together. It’s revolutionary.” –Tony Morgan, Killing Cockroaches

Tony, my man…I could not have said this better myself. And if you haven’t checked out Overlake, then I’d love to invite you…not to churchy, but to revolutionary…

The Book of Eli Makes the Cut

2010-02-04T16:44:00.000-08:00

Last week, I took my wife away for an afternoon date. We watched the Book of Eli. After the movie, I spent the drive home trying to gather my thoughts about the whirlwind that is Denzel Washington, as Eli, on the big screen, a man of violence who longs for peace, a man who doesn’t “want any trouble,” but who brings trouble on all sorts of violent men, a man of simple faith in a world where nothing is simple, and faith isn’t even a memory. I spent some time processing why I was moved by this film.

Without seeking to be a spoiler, I want to mention two scenes that I think might be on my all-time favorite list:

There is a scene where Eli prays over a meal. In normal circumstances, this sounds completely mundane, and unworthy of screen time. But in the ultra-barren landscape of a post-apocalyptic desert, both spiritually and verdantly, this scene almost brought me to tears. There was something so completely holy about a man, a man of violence and faith, teach a young girl, entirely post-christian, completely post-faith, how to pray to God. The prayer is one of astounding simplicity and gratitude. My own mealtime prayer carried greater weight that evening.

There is one scene when Eli recites Scripture. He quotes Psalm 23 in it’s entirety. You know it, probably by heart. But you’ve not heard it in the dusty, desperate, Mad-Maxian world Eli inhabits. The hope it provides is palpable.

There were additional scenes that touched my heart…times when Eli stood honorably and un-tempted by his appetites, times when he listened to the Spirit of God leading him. He’s different, and everyone knows it.

Rarely does Hollywood produce a film that honors the Bible, rarely does it portray a man of simple faith and profound conviction. The whole movie was an incredible reminder of the POWER of the Words of God…an incredible valuing of the memorization of the Word, and reading the Word, and living the Word. In the movie Eil poured over the words of God. “I read it everyday.” Eli says simply.

I actually don’t think The Book of Eli will do well in the box-office, because it’s a paradox. While it doesn’t go completely over the Tarantino/Kill Bill line, my guess is that it’s too violent for the typical Christian movie-goer. (I anticipate some negative feedback from this post.) I want to warn you, if you thought Braveheart was too graphic, you need to skip this one. However, it’s also far too Christian for the typical agnostic, sci-fi, movie buff who went to see some standard negative-utopia film.

Friends, in all fairness, I must tell you that my wife hated this movie (not a good date choice). But I am smitten.

And here is why: I’ve got eight Bibles on my shelf in my church office. I’ve got three that I work from at my home office. I’m a guy who values the Word, who reads it daily, and who memorizes it periodically. But, the sheer value of Scripture that Eli carries. Is. Emotionally. Stirring.

And I want to value God’s Word that much.

Angel

2010-01-20T16:29:00.000-08:00

I saw an angel this morning.

Maybe it was our conversation last night at dinner. My daughter Alex was convinced that as she watched the trees swaying in the wind, she also saw an angel, waving at her, bringing her peace.

There has been a lot of un-rest and non-peace in the world lately. I’m like many, I’m sure…watching the news from Haiti, emotionally wrapped up in it. My brother’s family is adopting from Haiti, and his wife Kristen was over there visiting with her eight month-old baby, Karis, when the quake struck. She was evacuated safely with Karis, but the little boy they’re trying to adopt remains there…and it’s breaking my heart.

It’s more than just hearing of the numbering of the dead. It’s the story of a mom, lifting a blanket and discovering that the still form is indeed her son. It’s the story of a young girl being rescued from the rubble, only to die from wounds too serious to be treated at a makeshift hospital. It’s the plea for help on the computer or television screen. I was running my dog this morning, and processing it all with God. He was patient with me.

Then, on my run, I passed Little Bit, a Therapeutic Riding Center in Woodinville. It’s a place where tiny kiddos who wrestle with physical or mental challenges get to ride gentle horses as a form of therapy. I saw up ahead on the trail, a little girl dressed in pink, with a riding helmet covering her blond hair. She was riding a brown horse, and hi-fiving her caregivers…six adults who walked next to the horse, for safety, support, and encouragement. As I jogged close to her, she turned towards me and took in Scout and I.

It was like the sunshine came out. Her smile was heavenly. Her face shone with delight, and she raised both her itty-bitty arms above her head, squealing, “Oh…wow!” She beamed like Christmas morning. I’ve never been celebrated so richly in my life.

I smiled big at her, at her caregivers. I passed her on the trail. And as I ran past, I burst into tears, making some weird, half-laugh, half-sob, I’m-out-of-breath-from-this-run kind of heaving noise.

My heart was pierced with joy and beauty and ache, with the sun-breaks of holiness in the midst of a broken, fallen world. All is not well, not now…but even surrounded by heartache, there is much to celebrate. And she WAS celebrating! A man running with his dog! Oh…WOW! A chance to ride this beautiful horse! Oh…Wow! Being surrounded by people who love me! OH…WOW! She was an angel. I’m convinced of it.

There are wonders all around us. I truly pray for the eyes to see them.

I didn’t look back, mostly because I was convinced she was an angel, and I didn’t want to be proved wrong. But then I was thinking, maybe there ARE angels all around. The Bible tells us to be kind to strangers, because by doing so we might entertain angels unaware.

Angels bring messages of peace. Messages of hope. Messages of joy. Messages of healing. Messages of help.

Maybe that’s what the relief workers are in Haiti. Maybe that’s what peacekeepers are. Maybe that’s what her caregivers are. Maybe that’s what you and I are called to be today.

Be an angel to someone. Go on. Celebrate!

More JOY

2009-12-22T17:20:00.000-08:00

JOY

2009-12-21T11:24:00.001-08:00

‘Tis the Seasons, right?
I mean, this is the time when everyone is supposed to feel all holiday and sentimental. Where generosity is supposed to trump greed. Where being full is supposed to be accompanied by being fulfilled.

But I would argue that for many, this season reveals our lack. That even in the display of multi-covered Christmas light shows (and there are many on the Eastside, ranging from sublime to spectacle) we sense a longing. That even finishing our Christmas shopping list early leaves us yearning. Many of us feel our pain slightly more around Christmas…I’m talking about relational pain, emotional pain, spiritual pain. I’m speaking of the pain that centers around dreams unmet in a fallen world, not the pain of dropping a frozen turkey on your foot (although if you google this, you’ll find that there are many suffering with that pain as well).

Here, recognizing the limits of yuletide cheer, is where I believe Christmas becomes magic.

When we invite Jesus to be born, even here. When we prepare Him room, even here. In the midst of our pain. In the center of our lack. In the hole of our yearning. We invite the Lord Jesus to be born here in the mess, in our brokenness, in the fallen-ness of our world. Jesus, be born in us. We have prepared room for you.

This is Joy. This is joy to the world, to our world.
In the darkest time of year, light.
In the stillness of the night, praise.
In the stink of the stable, glory.

I don’t know what trials you face, what darkness, what you wrestle with in circumstances or in personality, internally or externally, but I do know this: the magic of Christmas is for you. And it’s for me. It’s for everyone.

It’s Immanuel, God with us.
And what it brings is JOY.

Four Hamburgers

2009-12-21T09:46:00.000-08:00

This blog is written by my wife Jodie, from Durban, South Africa, while she was leading a Mission Team there...for more of her work, click here

At first glance, the Zulu children we met on the bus en route to Ithemba Lethu’s leadership camp were just like any other seventh graders we had ever met. They boarded the bus with tremendous enthusiasm. They were full of life and noise and a certain pre-teen angst. They were excited to be with their friends, armed with bits of junk food, slightly insecure and were chatting about celebrities and rappers. If one didn’t already know that the children were from one of Durban’s poorest townships, that most lived in tin shacks, or that many were being raised by siblings just a few years older than them, it wouldn’t have been immediately obvious that these kids differed from suburban American youth.

As the weekend progressed, we began learning more details about their lives. One child’s parents had just died. Her mother died of AIDS and her father was murdered by human hands. She was now living with an aunt who didn’t want her. Several of the children were being physically abused on a regular basis. School was not a safe place for the kids because teachers hit them with pipes.

As we sat down together for meals, I began to notice that the kids were consuming food in massive quantities. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were provided at the camp and to our American team, it was typical camp food. Palatable but, far from gourmet. I ate enough to sustain me but wasn’t interested in going back for seconds. As I pushed food around my plate, the kids were inhaling every morsel of food on their plates. They went back for seconds, thirds, and fourths. They had an astounding affinity for ketchup. A 65 pound boy sitting next to me consumed four hamburgers in a row.

We were keeping the kids incredibly busy with soccer games, jump rope, swimming, late nights, and obstacle courses. “They have really worked up an appetite,” I rationalized. “They are almost teenagers, after all.”

As the weekend continued so did the pace of the eating and I began to wonder how children could possibly consume so much food without becoming ill. I mentioned the spectacle of food consumption to one of the youth workers and she replied, “When they get home, they will only have pap and sweet water. They’re eating as much as they can here because there’s little food at home.”

Her words felt like a sucker punch to the gut. The food I was turning my nose up at was an incredible, luxurious, excessive feast for the children. They were eating like mad because they didn’t know when they would get to eat again.

I’m still not sure what to do with this or about it. It’s an injustice I feel overwhelmed by and powerless to correct. All I know is that God called me to this place at this time to interact with these children. So, I interacted and I encouraged. I prayed for them and tried to love them.

In the midst of their dire circumstances, thanks to the efforts of the Ithemba Lethu team, the kids are learning to become leaders, learning to make different choices than their parents. I cannot for one second label these children as victims. The term connotates powerlessness.

And these children are not powerless. They are survivors and heroes.

I can't wrap this post up in neat bow. I have no clue how to end a post like this. Sometimes we need to live in the tension....

Presence

2009-12-21T09:43:00.000-08:00

Today's Blog is provided by a guest blogger: the lovely Jodie Howerton. She recently returned from leading a Team to South Africa...here are her thoughts:

I'm spending the first half of December in Durban, South Africa, leading a team of incredibly wonderful people from our church on a missions trip. I was here last December, with another amazing team. After a flight cancellation, three airplanes, layovers across the globe, and 4 solid days of ministry with school age Zulu children, I'm finally sitting down to reflect, process and, well, blog.

Our mission here is to support a local organization called Ithemba Lethu. Ithemba Lethu means "I have a Destiny" in Zulu. In truth, the wonderful staff of IL could survive without our help. We are not here to save the day in typical American, independent cowboy fashion. Quite simply, after seeing the incredibly way they are changing the world, we begged them to let us participate, to literally ride their coattails. We wanted to get in on what they're already doing and thankfully, they said they could use us.

Ithemba Lethu works in the public schools in the townships, educating school children (beginning in grade 5) about the risks of HIV/AIDS and about each child's immeasurable value to God. They believe you can't do one without the other. The kids have grown up in poverty with little to eat and little to hope for. They do not actually know their infinite worth to God when they start the program.

42% of pregnant mothers in Cato Manor are HIV positive. Forty-two percent. This means that 42% of infants are at risk of contracting the virus in -utero or during birth. If the children living in Cato Manor do not contract the disease in infancy, there is a very large chance they will contract it later in life. The townships in South Africa have one of the highest rates of child rape in the world. These children are in danger every day, all the time, of contracting the disease that has spread like wildfire in their midst. The children know all about HIV/AIDS. They see it everyday, lurking in the shacks of their makeshift community. They have lost parents, aunts,uncles, friends to the disease.

We went away to camp with 140 school age leaders from the local township schools and the incredible Ithemba Lethu staff youth workers. The kids spoke Zulu and a little English and the Americans spoke English and absolutely no Zulu. The goal of the weekend was to hang out with the kids, teach them that they matter, and introduce them to the love of Jesus. We had all kinds of plans. Crafts, beads, balls, jump ropes.... But, when it came down to it, we ended up sitting around a lot, trying to break through the language barrier. We sat with them during meal times, we sat with them during activities. We sat at the piano, teaching them basic notes. We sat and smiled. We had a few significant conversations and we cheered like insane fans during their outside competitions. We walked with them on the beach and showed them how to make bracelets. Then, we sat with them some more. By nature, I'm a task master. I like having to-do lists and outlines. I began to wonder what we were accomplishing. Admittedly, I'm not very good at sitting, resting or just being present.

It just seems terribly inefficient.

Turns out, the sitting around was the best possible gift we could have given these kids. Our very presence, our unrelenting efforts to sit next to them and turn jump ropes for them communicated the very thing we had hoped. That they matter, that they are worth the time of a few crazy Americans. And that God loves them. We gave them the gift of presence. We showed up and stayed. Much like God shows up and stays with all of us. Presence is not something one can quantify or measure. You cannot represent it through statistics or pie charts.

We'd appreciate your prayers as we head off to another camp today.

I can't wait to spend some quality time just sitting around.

3 Encouraging Things

2009-11-12T09:02:00.000-08:00

Vision Campaign: OCC 2012: Changing the World by Degrees: Be the Degree

Pastor Mike has been focused lately.
I’ve been consumed with this Vision Campaign for the last 6 months, maybe more. I’ve shared with good friends that it’s been a difficult road for me. I feel that the assault has been massive: fear, stress, anxiety, discouragement, depression, temptation, fatigue, exhaustion, feeling alone, developing an eye twitch…these are just a few of the weapons that I feel have been leveled against me. I think it’s like that whenever followers of Jesus attempt to do something powerful for His name’s sake.

As we wrap towards completing the public arm of this thing (the next TWO weeks are going to be powerful!), it was fun to have 3 encouraging things happen.

One, we had a full membership (changing the name to MISSION-ship) class last night…where we had to just keep adding chairs for all the folks streaming in. Energy, excitement, and passion for Jesus were profoundly encouraging to me.

Two, we received a $1000 check towards our vision campaign. From a family that lives in California. They have only been to OCC a handful of times, but as they track with us online, they heard about OCC 2012 and wanted to be a part of God’s amazing work through this campaign.

Three, a college student sent me an email. I won’t steal his reward by mentioning his name. But the short story is that he had been addicted to porn for years. He found the grace of Jesus at OCC, and now he’s porn free, in accountability, and amazed at Jesus. He said that he knows he used to look at women from Thailand…maybe even some of the slaves that we are seeking to set free. So God expanded his heart. This full-time student on a part-time salary committed $100 a month for the next 3 years, so that he could set slaves from the sex-industry free.

Passion. Selflessness. Freedom. 3 encouraging things.

Be encouraged today!

Don't Miss your Moment

2009-11-11T11:39:00.000-08:00

I want to show you a moment.

This moment is a glimpse. If you play your cards right, if you trust Jesus and take a RISK every now and again for HIM, then this moment is certainly one that you can look forward to.

But if you think it’s about you. If you choose to turn inward. If you never take a RISK for Jesus, then you’ll miss it.

Don’t miss your moment.

Akeelah and the Bee, and a Church on Fire

2009-11-10T17:05:00.000-08:00

I watched Akeelah and the Bee last Friday night with my family. It was a warm movie about an inner city middle school girl, who competes, and wins the National Spelling Bee. Lawrence Fishburne plays her coach. The uplifting story line contained elements of overcoming, of rising above, of stepping through fear, of daring to be great.

I’m honored to be a part of a church that is a part of a similar kind of uplifting story. Overlake is truly pursuing God’s call. It is a selfless story of overcoming. Of rising above. Of stepping through fear. Of daring to be great. I’m not overstating this.

OCC is called to be a church of 10,000 lives living free in Jesus, impacting 100,000 lives around the world. In a season of economic uncertainty, we seek to invest $3million in each of our 3 purposes: Love God, Love People, and Serve the World.

The Love God initiatives will focus on local Bringvitation, sharing Christ’s love with our community. The Love People initiatives will focus on Transformation, growing more and more like Jesus. And the Serve the World initiatives focus on Multiplication, caring and sharing around the globe. Which, practically speaking, means this: 1000 slaves set free. 2000 orphans placed in homes. 50 HIV/AIDS clinics opened. 1000 churches planted. Lives will be saved. Eternities will be changed. Hope will be offered.

I’d love to invite you to be a part of this journey too.

In Akeelah and the Bee, there is a quote from Nelson Mandela (at least it is credited to him; perhaps he just quoted it as well). It goes like this:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.”

Overlake, you are not a church that plays small. Let us Love God, Love People, and Serve the World, together.

Mobilizing towards Vision

2009-10-27T14:26:00.000-07:00

In light of an incredible Vision Campaign, called OCC 2012, (details at occ.org) my buddy Chris sent me these thoughts as an encouragement. Please be encouraged by them as well! Thank you, Chris, and thank you friends, for being on the journey, praying and joining us in Changing the World by Degrees!!!! Chris’s email follows:

“The word kosmokrateros (“rulers of the darkness of this world”) is a military term that has to do with discipline, organization, and commitment. The devil is so serious about doing damage to humanity that he deals with demon spirits as though they are troops! He puts them in rank and file and organizes them to the hilt. Meanwhile, the average Spirit-filled believer often doesn’t stay in one church for more than one year at a time!

“Yes, we do have more authority than the devil has; we do have more power than the devil has; and we do have the Greater One living in us. The Church of Jesus Christ is loaded with heaps and heaps of raw power. But at this particular time, that power is disconnected and disjointed by a Body that lacks discipline, organization, and commitment!

“As Christians, we have no power shortage, nor are we short of God-given authority. We simply have a great lack of discipline, organization, and commitment. In order to change this, we must buckle down in the local church and begin to view ourselves as the troops of the Lord! Once we match the discipline, organization, and commitment that the enemy possesses in his camp, we will begin to move into the awesome demonstration of God’s power!” -From the book “Dressed to Kill” by Rick Renner, p. 238

This section jumped out at me as it related to the OCC 2012 Vision campaign. What this vision is providing is direction, organization and calling us to a commitment as a church to bring all our individual focus together as ONE body and directing it towards a God honoring set of initiatives. As we succeed at this, I am super excited to see what God is going to do through it.

I appreciate the leadership that you, the elders and staff are bringing to this campaign and to our church. Continue to mobilize our “army” at OCC to come against the devil’s schemes and we WILL prevail!

CRAVE Adventure

2009-10-20T11:22:00.000-07:00

I think it’s at the center of the human experience. Adventure. God has planted deep within our hearts a longing for FULL life, for experiencing His Abundance, for stepping through our fear and taking a RISK with HIM…this is partially what we refer to when we use the word FAITH. Now, I know that there is another aspect of the human experience that wars with this one: the side that longs for comfort, for ease, for peace. That hobbit-ish side of each of us that thinks adventures are nasty little things that make one late for dinner.

Here’s the road that I’m walking NOW: I have heard God’s call, and we’re walking the road of RISK at Overlake Christian Church (www.occ.org). However, as we’ve taken the first few steps, I’m being buffetted by fear. Discouragement is roaring, loudly. Temptation whispers in the wings, and on top of it all is the stress of attempting something that is without question more significant than anything I’ve ever attempted in 19 years of ministry. The hobbit-ish side mentions something like maybe the status quo isn’t so bad after all.

And then it hits me: Of course.
This vision IS more important than anything I’ve ever pursued in my whole life. It has HUGE consequences: hundreds, thousands, and even hundreds of thousands of souls will be impacted for eternity. People who are far from HOPE will find it in Jesus. Slaves will be set free. Street children will be adopted into homes. Churches will be planted.

We have an enemy. He’s been taking shots at me. But not for my own sake, not because I’m important. He’s trying to take me out because this kind of thing SCARES him. Churches waking up. Hearts set ablaze. Love practically impacting lives. He hates it. So let’s pour it on.

Encouragement came this morning while reading a book by John Eldredge, called Walking with God. In a chapter called Assault. He describes what I’ve been walking through with crystal clarity. Antidote: Draw close to God, and continue to RISK for Him. After all, he’s planted adventure deep within our hearts…

Sex and GRACE

2009-09-30T18:33:00.000-07:00

This week we’re wrapping up our Series on LOVE by talking about Grace, and how the Gospel, the good news of God’s love made known through Jesus, is the key to life, to freedom, and to change. His grace and forgiveness are transformative.

I’m excited to unpack this more at Overlake, but for now I’d love to share some insight from Tim Keller, from a paper he wrote called Gospel: The Key to Change.

Tim Keller writes:

Paul says to Christians, ‘your life is hid with Christ in God’ (Col 3:3), and in numerous places he says that we are now ‘in Him.’ This means, on the one hand, that the Father accepts us in Christ and treats us as if we had done all that Jesus has done (cf. Col 3:2a). But this is also means Christ’s life comes into us by the Spirit and shapes us into a new kind of person. The gospel is not just a truth about us that we affirm with our minds, it is also a reality we must experience in our hearts and souls.

He goes on to say:

Paul does the same thing in Ephesians 5:25ff, where he urges husbands to be faithful to their wives. What is the point? What makes you a sexually faithful spouse, a generous-not avaricious-person, a good parent and/or child is not just redoubled effort to follow the example of Christ. Rather, it is deepening your understanding of the salvation of Christ and living out of the changes that understanding makes in your heart—the seat of your mind, will, and emotions. Faith in the gospel re-structures our motivations, our self-understanding and identity, and our view of the world. Behavioral compliance to rules without heart-change will be superficial and fleeting. The gospel changes your heart…. The gospel is the dynamic for all heart-change, life-change, and social-change. Change won’t happen through 'trying harder' but only through encountering with the radical grace of God.

On the topic of repentance, Keller writes:

It is important to consider how the gospel affects and transforms the act of repentance. In ‘religion’ the purpose of repentance is basically to keep God happy so he will continue to bless you and answer your prayers. This means that ‘religious repentance’ is a) selfish, b) self-righteous, c) and bitter all the way to the bottom. But in the gospel the purpose of repentance is to repeatedly tap into the joy of our union with Christ in order to weaken our need to do anything contrary to God’s heart….

In the gospel our hope is in Christ’s righteousness, not our own – so it is not so traumatic to admit our weaknesses and lapses…. the more accepted and loved in the gospel we feel, the more and more often we will be repenting. And though of course there is always some bitterness in any repentance, in the gospel there is ultimately sweetness. This creates a radical new dynamic for personal growth. The more you see your own flaws and sins, the more precious, electrifying, and amazing God’s grace appears to you. But on the other hand, the more aware you are of God’s grace and acceptance in Christ, the more able you are to drop your denials and self-defenses and admit the true dimensions of your sin. The sin under all other sins is a lack of joy in Christ.

SEX: What I couldn't say at Church

2009-09-28T17:06:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we talked about SEX at church. (Hit occ.org/media to watch the message). There’s always more to cover. After the first service, an elderly couple was exiting, and talking. The wife asked the husband, “What do you want to do today, hon? Do you want to get breakfast, or do you want to watch the Seahawks game?” And he looked at his bride with a twinkle in his eye…”You KNOW what I want to do!” And they laughed together.

Heard one story (from the principle parties) of a man many years ago who asked his crush out on a First date. For some reason they decided to go to church. They were listening to the message when he opens up to Song of Solomon, begins to read, and nod, and says “Amen, Amen.” She’s curious. She cranes her head over to see what he is reading, and he shows her the verse that says your breasts are like clusters of fruit (SOS 7:7,8)…there is a moment of silence as their eyes lock, and she starts laughing at his quirky sense of humor. They celebrated 40 years of marriage last year. Friends, don’t try this today. Today this doesn’t lead to the altar of marriage, as quickly as it leads to a lawsuit.

Song of Songs, or Song of Solomon is a book in the bible that is so explicit, young Jewish boys were not allowed to read it until they were determined to be of a certain responsible age. It not only wows with it’s poetic imagery and it’s erotic setting, but it captures a love that is rapturous, as God desires monogamy in marriage to be. Finally, it is a metaphor of the kind of intimacy in prayer that is desired by the Lord for His people, and a precursor to the union of Jesus the bridegroom with His Bride, the church.

Several of the questions that I’ve received through the years have to do with the sexual activity that the Bible refers to. So I read through the Bible’s most metaphorical and explicit book on sexuality, and I have no doubt that after reading it, you’ll discard ANY notion that sex within marriage is designed to be dull or boring. Here’s how another pastor puts it:

The Song of Songs gives great liberty to sexual freedom and the full use of all five senses.
1. kissing (SOS 1:2)
2. oral/fellatio – her initiative (SOS 2:3)
3. manual stimulation – her invitation (SOS 2:6)
4. petting – his initiative (SOS 4:5)
5. oral/cunnilingus – his initiative (SOS 4:12-5:1)
6. striptease – (SOS 6:13b-7:9)
7. new places, positions, etc. including outdoors – her initiative (SOS 7:11-13)

As long as both participants in the marriage bed are feeling comfortable and honored, then there is great freedom and enjoyment planned by the Lord there.

Is it hot in here? I’ll say: the last time I taught this material my Father in Law was in the front row! I had to tell him, “Randy, after 13 years of marriage and 2 kids, you need to know…I’ve been sleeping with your daughter!” It just felt good to get that off my chest.

Remember, there are three types of sex for married couples:
1. Practice. Talking, communicating, discovering what sorts of things that both of you enjoy together.
2. Maintenance. This is due to high levels of exhaustion, and it’s sort of the minimum requirement necessary. Many couples live here, and it’s one of the reasons why the spark isn’t sparking like it used to.
3. Feasting. This is when you prioritize date nights, weekends away, and even vacations together without the kiddos. Again, for a Biblical example of feasting, read through Song of Solomon together, by yourselves, listening to your favorite romantic tunes with the fire roaring and the kids at grandma’s house for the night.

I know the world messes with sex all sorts of ways. But God really did give it as an incredible gift…Cherish your spouse, and honor your marriage bed…

Seven Day Sex Challenge

2009-09-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

As I understand it, Pastor Ed Young Jr. challenged his congregation (the married folks in the Fellowship Church in Texas) to take up a challenge to have relations with spouse everyday for a week. He talked about it on the Colbert Report, and it's pretty hilarious. His point was that God has a plan for husbands and wives to be close, and that frequent physical connection would bring spouses closer together, not drive them farther apart.

It’s a fun idea.

At least it has the potential to be a fun idea.

And if you’re married, and it sounds completely NOT like a fun idea, then there are probably some really important things that you and your spouse need to commit to working through. Because God does want you close to Him and to one another. God does want you honest and available to your spouse. God does want you tender and affectionate. I know it’s a fallen world and things can be hard in certain seasons. But if that’s the case in your life, please don’t just accept that as normal. Instead, pursue help and wholeness. Seek Jesus, and godly counsel. Spend some time in 1 Corinthians 7.

I’m posting the video of Pastor Ed on Stephan Colbert, and I’d love to bring the challenge to the married couples who are reading this. The challenge is simply this: do whatever you can to grow closer to your spouse. Take steps this week to grow more giving towards your wife. Seek to pursue your husband in new and fresh ways. And ask Jesus to help you walk this road.

Peace. Enjoyment. Closeness. Who knew these are just a few of the good things God has in store for you in marriage?

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/216624/january-26-2009/ed-young

p.s. For some reason I can't embed the video...but it is worth cutting and pasting it...if for no other reason than to watch Pastor Ed's face get progressively more red throughout the interview...

Marriage Disclaimers

2009-09-18T12:19:00.000-07:00

(from one Pastor regarding one message on Marriage in which a single sermon isn’t going to be able to address most of the nuances and difficulties of two people living together in love for a lifetime in a fallen world without going insane). This weekend at Overlake, MARRIAGE is the topic in our LOVE: THAT 4 Letter Word Series. Here are the disclaimers in advance:

D1: There is no way 30 minutes, regardless of how skillfully crafted (oh, and this one IS skillfully crafted, friends) can address every situation or season a marriage faces.
D2: This message will be infinitely helpful as a Biblical target to strive towards.
D3: This message is not designed to exclude single people. If you are single, and someday hope to be married, I believe this is a phenomenal message to be challenged by. If you are single and have decided that your singleness is God’s Gift to you, and do not plan on ever marrying, then you will be WONDERFULLY encouraged by this weekend’s message. You won’t have to deal with any of this mess.
D4: If you are married currently, this message will be infinitely challenging. Hopefully and helpfully challenging.
D5: If you are married currently, and your personal emotional stance regarding your marriage is somewhere between “hurting” and “ridiculously broken” then I sincerely want to pray for you, and provide any resources that OCC has to come alongside you in your journey. We believe that God has health and wholeness for you. Please contact Pastor Larry for a full rundown of the counseling resources and support groups that are offered currently. He’s at larryb@occ.org
D6: If you’re currently engaged to be married, this message will cause you to break off your engagement. Just kidding. That was a joke. Seriously. You can breathe again. I believe this sets an INCREDIBLY helpful mental posture as you head into marriage. DO get into one of OCC’s pre-marital counseling classes (you can hit Pastor Larry for that as well).
D7: If you are divorced, there will be no shame or judgment levied against you. But I do predict that you will agree that if both parties in your previous marriage strove towards the Biblical Perspective we are talking about, then the whole shooting match would have turned out differently. And OCC has resources to come alongside you as well.
D8: If you are currently head-over-heels in love with your spouse, then you’ll leave OCC going “why the disclaimers? Mike was just ON. I love it when he PREACHES it. Now get over here and French-Kiss me wildly. It's business time.”

FINAL DISCLAIMER: There is very little substitute for pure grace offered to one another without any expectation in return. It is simultaneously the most difficult AND the most Christ-like thing that you could ever offer in any relationship. As you pursue health, wholeness, communication, love, desires, needs, and plans, never forget that you stand knee-deep in grace. God’s Grace is for you. God’s grace is for your spouse. Receive His grace, and then offer it to others…

Juiced up Pastor

2009-09-16T11:14:00.000-07:00

The sun is streaming down into my office, and I’m a bit in awe of God this morning, and I can’t stop thinking about OCC’s membership class last night. I'm a bit juiced up...

God is so good. Another full, and over-full class, another amazing collection of humanity…a cross section of intergenerational, multi-ethnic, amazingly talented, incredible humans…a picture of heaven. One couple had been at OCC for 5 years. Many had been attending for more than a year. But the majority are new to our church within the last 12 months. New life, fresh perspective.

We crash-coursed through Unity, Purpose, Truth, and Covenant. Then we prayed, and after that the conversations began. Pastor Gary and I spent an hour or more just hanging out and connecting with individuals and families who floored me. This couple is from Brazil, she’s a famous folk singer there, and they want to start a Portuguese-speaking life group in their home. This couple started a web resource called Soulbyte, and they want to make products specifically to support the congregation of Overlake. This woman is so passionate about Seattle that she can’t wait until we open a venue down near Pioneer’s Square so we can welcome the demographic that can’t make it to our campus into the same kind of dynamic environment where they can meet Jesus.

There were the amazing stories of how people found our church. Some by accident. Some were looking for another church, and happened to get the directions wrong. Some were planning on going to another church with an earlier service and didn’t get ready in time, so they had to find a church with a later service start time (ours are 9:20, 11am, and 6pm on Sundays). One couple was interested in trying every church EXCEPT Overlake, until a friend earnestly suggested that she give it a try. They did, their family loved it, and now they’ve found a home. One family drives up from Tacoma! What the what?!

These things I share knowing that God is up to something. It is something good. Something exciting. Something impactful. Something that glorifies HIM. He’s on the move at the OCC…

To those of you who were at our membership class last night, I simply want to say again what an HONOR it is to be on this journey with you. To those of you who aren’t yet connected to a life-giving, freedom-living, passionate-for-Jesus kind of church, I humbly want to invite you to check out OCC. And to those of you who are IN, who are ready to charge the gates of Hell with a war-cry and a watergun, I want to say, “Let’s DO this thing!”

Love God.
Love People.
Serve the World.

And remember that its all for Jesus.

p.s. OCC.org is a great place to go to get questions answered…our current series on LOVE: THAT 4 Letter Word…our archives contain all sorts of Hot Topics as well if you’re curious…love to invite you to poke around a bit…Blessings today...and JUICE!!

Praying for Miley

2009-09-15T12:05:00.000-07:00

Today, in honor of her Concert at the Tacoma Dome, I confess that I listened to Miley Cyrus on my wife’s ipod. Through my daughter, Miley, or Hannah Montana, has invaded our home, via Disney TV, cd’s played in our car, and merchandise like cups, nightlights, and toothbrushes. Miley is a big deal around here. So I thought I’d write Miley a quick note. You are welcome to read it, too.

Dear Miley,
I pray for you. I invite others to pray for you as well. I bet that might come across sounding hard, or meanspirited, but that’s not my heart. It is offered with compassion and grace. Here’s what I mean:

Miley, you have achieved the kind of stardom and wealth that very, very few people ever achieve. I’m talking Solomon-like wealth. Flipping through an issue of Time, I read that last year, your merchandise net alone brought in 1.3 billion dollars. Bring in the way Disney has packaged your TV personality into a product. Add in the CD sales and your 3-D concert movie. Remember that you can sell out a stadium concert faster than anyone ever has. There’s a lot of gravy flowing, and Billy Ray’s little girl is riding that train at breakneck speed. Since wealth is power, I pray that you’ll steward yours well.

As far as I know, Miley, you are like 16 years old. I can remember how chaotic and circus-like my life was at 16. There was friend drama, the weeks that circled around our Friday night football games, the invites to parties, the time I crashed my car, and of course the pinnacles and heartbreaks swirling around the quest for a girlfriend. And if life was crazy for me at 16, I can’t imagine how crazy it would be for a person who is an uber-gazillionaire. In America, celebrity is royalty, and Miley, you are the current reigning princess. That has to mess with your head. So I pray that it doesn’t.

Not only that, but I remember making some pretty dumb moves as a 16 year old. And the thought of having every bonehead move photographed and splashed on the front page of a gossip rag is just shameful. I mean that literally…it produces shame. To know that everything you do, every boy you go out with, every fight you have with your dad will be news…I imagine that produces an overwhelming amount of pressure. So I pray for you.

I ran to the punk-pop-beat of your songs today, and I was admiring them. The come across like fun Go-Go’s tunes (I cut my chops on the 80’s) filled with energy, and a bubble-gum-smack voice that cracks at just the right time, like Cosette from my Les Mis Broadway Soundtrack (I am hoping this is a compliment to you both). But here is why I truly like them…the Lyrics. Wholesome, filled with themes of love, of falling in love, and of empowerment. You sing a song to your deceased grandfather called I Miss You, and it’s touching. You have a song with a chorus that says, “Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re not strong enough.” And when I see my daughter belting those words out with all that she’s got, I get this crazy lump in my throat. There are so many negative and hurtful messages in the songs of our culture, and I celebrate the ones that are joyful or quality. And so I pray for yours.

In fact, the biggest reason that I pray for you, Miley is my daughter, Alex. My daughter is 9 years old. She wears glasses and plays soccer. She has the most beautiful, innocent, compassionate soul that I’ve ever seen. She befriends everyone, especially the kids that don’t have a ton of other friends. Once her teacher brought in a new student, mid-year, who didn’t speak much English. Alex moved her seat to sit next to her, and stayed with her all day showing her around school, and introduced her to all her friends. The only reason I know this is because her teacher emailed the story to us, and both my wife and I teared up when we read it. I’m tearing up right now as I try to figure out how to communicate the absolute golden nature of this beautiful child of God who has Jesus in her heart and Hannah Montana on her wall. For one reason or another, Alex has placed a portion of her heart in your hands. Miley, what you say matters to Alex. How you live matters. The lyrics in your songs matter, and the choices that you make…I just want you to know, they matter.

They don’t matter to the paparazzi who want to exploit you for a buck. They don’t matter to your PR folks who can figure out how to spin your life in an interesting way and sell the story to VH1. They don’t matter to handlers and managers, because the wild exploits of celebrities are what keep them in business. But they matter to little girls who have never had a hero before, and who have decided that you’re it. Life is going to try to knock those stars out of her eyes soon enough, and so I’m hoping…I’m begging…I am praying for you. I’m praying that you would please handle her heart with care.

And as I pray for you, I’d love to remind you that at the end of the day, this voice, this honor, this wealth, this ride, and this life that you’ve been given…you’ve been given it all by God. He loves you just because you’re you, I know you know that. And the greatest thing you can do, is to offer it all back to Him as a gift.

I’m praying for you.

Sincerely,

Alex’s Daddy

Date with JOY!!

2009-09-11T10:32:00.000-07:00

OVERLAKE, in the spirit of our LOVE: that 4 Letter word, I wanted to give some auxiliary tips for maximizing your dating life…whether you are single, in a dating relationship right now, or married, and are looking to creatively date your spouse. Here are 30 low cost, relatively creative ideas that you can try to work through to keep things fresh…

DATES, Dates, and prunes:
1. Go to the Zoo (and try to discover an animal you never knew existed)
2. Backpack Snow Lake
3. Canoe at the Seattle Arboretum
4. Puddlejumping/mudball fights (10.5 months out of the year this works in Northwest)
5. Thrift Store Raiding (don’t spend more than 8 bucks!)
6. Cheap Food (Mexican or Italian are best, but tip well)
7. Picnic (better when themed, even better if you can get a mandolin serenade)
8. Rock Skipping (watch out for boats if you happen to be at Carillon Point)
9. Fish off of the pier at Newcastle Park
10. Toys R Us Video Game Blitz (you might have to share time with elementary school kids, but there are some great games for you gamer couples to sample)
11. Learn to Swing Dance
12. Fly a Kite
13. Little League/Soccer Fan it (cheer like crazy: extra points for wearing colors/painting face)
14. Roller Blade Sammamish River Trail
15. Borders Poetry Read (write your own…trust me, you’ll do fine)
16. Garage Sale it (but this is only for the early birds, or go at noon and complain that all people have is trash)
17. Sunset Watch at Bicrackie Park Hill
18. Sunset Watch in Style (rent Uhaul, bring couch, rug, candles, friends to serve the sparkling cider, open up the back right on a bluff overlooking the lake or the sound…)
19. Sail Boat out on Lake Washington
20. Walk the Flower Fields up in Mount Vernon
21. Live Music at a Coffee Shop and good conversation
22. Watch Salmon Run at the Ballard Locks
23. Walk SAM and surrounding Galleries and pretend you appraise art
24. Dress to the nines, and pretend you’re interested in buying Millionaire homes
25. Learn to Wakeboard together
26. Learn to Snowboard Together
27. Aquarium, Seattle Science Center
28. Explore Sunrise at Rainier
29. Take a ferry ride to Poulsbo and visit the Swedish downtown bakery
30. Have dinner rotating around the Space Needle
(Hint: 25 Best Places to Kiss in Seattle, by Paula Begoun)

More Helpful Dating Tips:
KILL THE MOVIE
Movies don’t provide interaction, and remember, that is the number one goal of dating: to learn about this person’s character and the compatibility that you share, and to learn some things about yourself. You can’t learn a whole lot by sitting silently next to someone for two hours, other than what kind of movies they like. Ask them what movies they like instead. Same with Married folks: you need the time to catch up…to reconnect…to fall in love again. For my wife Jodie and I, 2 hours at the Purple Café is great to send us running toward intimacy again. (Caviots: Sporting Events can be great fun as long as both parties agree that the the sporting event will be fun. Lots of good talk time. If you're the kind of guy who gets way too wrapped up in whether your team wins or no, skip altogether. Pike's Place, of course, is great for explore, talk, laugh, etc. If you ARE going to a movie, there are new theaters out there with waiters and fancy desserts and plush reclining armchairs...very posh and they deliciously enhance the experience. But build tons of connect time before and after...)

Gentlemen, ASK OUT IN STYLE
By being boldly creative, very average and homely men have found matches totally out of their league. One dude asked my wife out, when she was in High School. He put a helium balloon on her front porch each night with a different number in it. At the end of a week she had all the numbers to his phone number and he revealed who he was and the note said call me if you would like to go to prom with me. Isn’t that a good idea? Be creative! She said no to the guy, but you can’t win them all!

Save kissing for at least a season so you know if there is some quality there (if you missed the message on Sunday about Physical Intimacy you need to hit it at occ.org right now!) but if you get a sense that the guy or girl you are with is going to try to mack you and you don’t want to kiss them, here are a couple tips on HOW TO AVOID A KISS:

1) Eat nasty garlic and say, “No thanks, I’m good HEH HEH” when your date offers an Altoid
2) Fake a cold and begin to sneeze and blow your nose a lot as the date comes to a close
3) Talk about how painful your canker sores (plural) are…
4) Strategically place lettuce in your teeth and smile a ton

Those are for free. You’re welcome.

Rainbow Sandals

2009-08-07T08:06:00.000-07:00

Most surfers and California beach-wear afecianados know what Rainbow Sandals are. They are a light-wear, leather sandal that forms to your foot, virtually indestructible, rather like wearing twin slices of heaven on your feet.

I like to think of them as the sandals Jesus wore.

Whenever we are back in San Clemente, Ca., we stop by the factory to pick up a pair or six. This last visit, the chief architect running the construction of the sandal manufacturing empire gave us a tour, and it was absolutely fascinating. Fashioning the leather straps, cutting the layers of rubber sole, applying the patented glue…you could tell this guy LOVED making Rainbows. Each one was special to him. And like Jelly Bellies, whose factory we also visited, even the flops were items of love and care. (Try purchasing bags of belly-flops the next time you’re passing through Fairfield, Ca.)

Which brings me to my own experience with Rainbows. I have owned, through the years, multiple pairs. They each have different purpose. My nice ones, I wear to work, or to important meetings, like with my elders, or the Mayor. My “Used to be Nice” pair has started to become worn and faded, and so they are my Lake Pair, or Surf Pair…whenever I’m heading to the beach, wherever they will potentially get soaked, or left out in the sun for hours…this is the pair that is good to go, rough and ready…my adventure pair. Then, I have my “Yardwork” set…my oldest and most cherished pair, I’ve loved them for more than a decade, but due to age, and rough wear, they are…what is the word I am looking for…shot. The rubber sole is worn thin, and the leather is worn completely through where my toe lands when I walk, and they stink, but let’s not dwell on that fact. What you need to know is that, if I were to send them back to the Rainbow factory, they would restore every worn part of the sandal and return them to me good as new, because that is their guarantee. But I am not eager to do that, because I love them exactly as they are.

In other words, I have some Rainbows that I use for noble purpose, some for ignoble purpose, but all of my Rainbows do I love dearly.

Now, I’m no Karl Barth, but I am certain that God loves you more than I love my Rainbow Sandals. The next time you read a difficult passage in the Scripture, like Romans 9:21, never forget that our God is the Lord of Love. And just like the factory in San Clemente, when we return to Him, He restores us and makes us good as new…that’s His guarantee.

Another Stott Shot

2009-04-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

For some reason, this week I’m seeing how short I fall. I’m seeing how many times I’m choosing selfishness over selflessness. How many times I’m in need of the grace of Jesus just to keep BREATHING. I don’t think it is coincidence that this week we see the Cross of Christ more clearly than any other week. This is the place where grace flowed down to us. If you can read this quote, in love, without accusation, recognizing its truth, it will rock you.

Every time we look at the cross Christ seems to say to us, “I am here because of you. It is your sin I am bearing, your curse I am suffering, your debt I am paying, your death I am dying.” Nothing in history or in the universe cuts us down to size like the cross. All of us have inflated views of ourselves, especially in self-righteousness, until we have visited a place called Calvary. It is there, at the foot of the cross, that we shrink to our true size.
And of course men do not like it. John Stott, Authentic Christianity

Thank you for the Cross Service
Overlake Christian Church
Friday Night, 7pm
Childcare for kiddos under 5
Easter Services: Sat 5:20, 7pm, Sun 9:20, 11am

A Little Hot Stottie

2009-04-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

(That’s my attempt to spice up a British Octogenarian Theologian…hot Stottie. John Stott. He’s hot. Enjoy.)

In his death Jesus did something objective, final, absolute and decisive; something which enabled him to cry on the cross, ‘It is accomplished’; something which is described by the author of the epistle to the Hebrews as ‘one sacrifice for sins for ever’; something which turns Christianity from pious good advice into glorious good news; which transforms the characteristic mood of Christianity from the imperative (do) into the indicative (done); which makes evangelism not an invitation for men to do something, but a declaration of what God has already done in Christ. John Stott, Authentic Christianity, pp 55

Thank You for the Cross Service
Overlake Christian Church
This Friday: 7pm
Childcare for Kiddos under 5
Easter Services Sat: 5:20, 7pm, Sun 9:20, 11am

God uses a Riding Mower

2009-04-07T11:52:00.000-07:00

We’re coming up on our five-year anniversary living in the same house on the Eastside of Seattle. I think it bears mentioning that I’ve never lived in a single residence for this many successive years, and I think it means I’m maturing, (if by mature, I mean a more fatherly, more settled, less-schizophrenic sort of mature). The reason this figures important is that upon moving into our home, I purchased a riding lawnmower. It fulfilled a life-long dream.

So, five years ago, heading out to mow the lawn, my (then) two year old son would want to ride on my lap. Caleb would sit, nestled into the crook of my elbow, and talk up a blue streak, telling stories which were drowned out by the drone of the mower. But inevitably, after ten minutes or so, I would notice that he had stopped talking, and had begun yawning. That would be followed by his head nodding forward, or lolling backwards, and he’d be sound asleep. So I’d finish the lawn, steering with one hand and holding my sleeping son on my lap, with the other arm, and just praise, praise, praise, that my heavenly Father gave this earthly father a golden memory of mowing the lawn.

This happened regularly when Caleb was two.
And three.
And four. You get the picture. No, he doesn’t have narcolepsy.

Well, last weekend it was clear skies, and time to do the first yard clean up after the winter storms wrecked their havoc all over my suburban dreams. So I cleared branches away, and prepped the mower for the inagural run of ’09. I called over to Caleb, “Hey bud, you wanna help me mow?” Now, keep in mind, he turns seven next month. He’s, like, big.

“Sure, dad.” And he climbed up on my lap, talking a blue streak. Within a few moments, his stories turned to yawns. And then his head rested on my shoulder, and he was out.

This time, it was different.
In the first place, I was overwhelmed with the sense of love and closeness that I felt with my bud. I know it’s a cliché, but I felt that heart was filled to bursting. I took more than a few extra laps to make the most of that time with my boy. And it hit me that in some respects, I know God must feel like that with us. It’s hard to believe, I know. But it’s true. God delights over us. God’s love for us is unlimited. Everlasting. Unconditional. Which means that we don’t need to perform to please Him. Even sleeping on His lap while he mows the lawn brings Him joy. Closeness is a value to God; that’s why He didn’t remain far removed, but came close in the person of Jesus.

In the second place, what struck me was the sense of ultimate unconcern that Caleb feels on my lap, on the mower. He is lulled to sleep by the hum of the motor, the strength of his dad, and the peace that pervades knowing that he is exactly where he is supposed to be. I thought to myself, this is what Psalm 23 speaks of. Complete peace in the strength of our Shepherd. Ultimate unconcern, knowing that He has things handled, He knows how to hold me, and how to get the job done, at the same time. This is the very picture of safety and contentment, and it’s found in our Father’s arms.

In the third place, it struck me that Caleb is turning seven soon, and boys don’t want to sit on their dad’s laps forever. I don’t know exactly what age that is, but the picture of him, as a full-sized teen sitting on my lap (tipping the mower over, most likely) didn’t evoke the same kind of emotion. I want him to grow to the fullness of stature and wisdom that God has for him, and I want to cheer him to great heights of godly influence and significant contribution. But he’s my little boy right now. And I’m not ready to lose these moments. So I was thankful again, for the chance, just this once more, to have my son knock out on my lap.

My prayer for you, (it’s the same prayer for me) is this: I pray that in the midst of pace, in the heat of planning, of running, of achieving and performing, you’d pause. Draw close to the ones you love. Celebrate the moment, because the moment won’t last forever. And find some time today to climb up in your Father’s arms, let Him drive the universe, and you just rest. He’s a strong dad.

You’ll never get to big for this lap.

The Fantastic Mr. Stott

2009-03-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

Since I love Jesus, I love grabbing truth that explores the fullness of what it means to live with him, for him, and through him. This is Mr. Stott, our protestant Pope, and it's only one tiny nugget from that rich vein.

"Certainly we must never conceive ‘salvation’ in purely negative terms, as if it consisted only of our rescue from sin, guilt, wrath and death. We thank God that is all these things. But it also includes the positive blessing of the Holy Spirit to regenerate, indwell, liberate and transform us. What a truncated gospel we preach if we proclaim the one without the other! And what a glorious gospel we have to share when we are true to Scripture!" –Stott, Baptism and Fullness, pg 26

A Well-Scrubbed Version of ME, part 1

2009-03-10T14:49:00.000-07:00

In today’s world, technology offers us a unique view of one another. I’ve recently been wrestling with this. I am a follower of Jesus Christ. I seek to live my life consistent with the beliefs that I hold from Scripture. There are times when I live incredibly empowered by God’s Spirit. There are times that I stumble and fail. I try to keep short accounts with my wife, short accounts with my brothers, and short accounts with Jesus.

None of this is really where the rub is, hopefully none of this should land as a surprise. Here’s where I’ve been wrestling lately. On my Blog, on my Facebook pages, in my messages, I’ve been offering the “well scrubbed version of me.” So, while I believe that today’s technology offers a clearer view of KNOWING one another from a distance than has ever been possible before, I also recognize the potential for hypocrisy that exists. That’s why I’m calling it out. And because confession is good for the soul.

Here are a few ways that I scrub myself: PHOTOS.
The photos I post are typically selected from whole rolls of less exciting photos, and rolls and rolls of photos that picture me in an combination of unflattering, confused, and rather typical expressions. I try to scrub the boring out, so that a viewer might think, “It must be an amazing adventure to be a part of that clan!” It is and adventure, but not nearly as exciting as pics might suggest. I also choose to post pics of myself that make me look confident, strong, or handsome (Theses pics are more of a challenge to find).

I share a ton of family STORIES.
Those are typically the stories that make my kids sound like theologians, my wife sound like a patient genius, and that make me sound like a great dad, a great husband, and an all around great guy. They are all true. But what is also true are the stories where my kids fight like kids, where my wife is tired and short, and where I live closer to dolt-ness than to great-ness. I scrub the counter-balance, and so opinion is naturally prone to tip towards a too-favorable view.

Even my FAILURES are scrubbed. For example, I might share a time when Jodie was looking for help cleaning the house in preparation for the arrival of guests, while I was upstairs playing Galaga (yes, we have the old arcade version of Galaga, and yes, I am the MAN at it)…and I pretended that I couldn’t hear her calling. And that “confession” might actually make me sound more holy…like, oh look, even Mike gets a bit selfish sometimes. But I’ve scrubbed out the other times during the same weekend that I was already acting selfishly, and how frustrated that must make my wife, and how selfishness is something that I consistently battle to my great chagrin. (This paragraph is intentionally hypothetical, but I’m hoping you get the point. A small, safe confession scrubs me too clean.)

Here’s the last truth: I’m not changing the tactic of scrubbing. I truly don’t think Blogs or Status Updates are the best place to do deep soul-work, nor the best places for gut-level confession. I don’t suggest that to you, nor will I walk that road. But I do want you to be aware of the scrub.

Just knowing brings us closer to Jesus. And I guess the challenge is, for me and you both, to live more and more like the scrubbed versions of ourselves…

The truth shall set you free.
I’d love to hear how YOU scrub…

U2 is on God’s Ipod

2009-03-03T13:38:00.000-08:00

I’m pretty sure.
I’m listening to the new U2, No Line on the Horizon, and I love it. The weakest part of the album is the title. I’m not going to review the album, (leaving the reviewing to persons of Musical Proficiency, like Rolling Stone Magazine, who gave it perfect marks). Instead I’m going to list a few reasons why I love U2, and why U2 fans are becoming more rabid, and why new crops of U2 fans are continually being harvested.

1. Instant Nostalgia.
I don’t know a single band that can make me longingly remember the past like U2. And it doesn’t have to be the distant past, either. “Mike, remember when you first heard the song, Moment of Surrender?” and I’d answer absolutely, and my eyes would glaze over a bit with romance. I remember exactly what I was doing. I was sitting on my bed, writing on my laptop, and waxing nostalgic. That was a good memory. It was like 4 minutes ago, but already in my golden past. Only U2 can do that.

2. Legitimate Nostalgia.
I can timeline my life by U2 albums. I was in Junior High when Unforgettable Fire came out, and there were two videos on MTV (Surrender was one, and I watched it with my mom). I talked to my buddy Gary Johnson about how they were Christians, and he said horrified, “WHAT! But they’re COOL!” In High School my buddy Robby Adams invited me to go to the Joshua Tree Concert and I blew it off. To this day, I’m pretty sure that’s my biggest bonehead regret. I kissed Jenny Hill at a Sophomore Dance to With or Without You. In college, I listened to Actung, Baby literally everyday for two semesters. In my travels, U2 was a constant soundtrack to inter-continental road trips. So today, listening to my U2 collection on shuffle, takes me through the epochs of my life.

3. Continual Innovation.
Some might even claim, “self-betterment.” Each subsequent album is a refreshing nod to the music that is already loved, and a stretch to new heights. When I first heard, “All that You Can’t Leave Behind,” I was amazed at the synthesis they were able to pull off…combining great sounds from their past but clearly pulling us into the future. When my son was three, he learned to make a ‘Rock and Roll’ face while drumming to Vertigo in his carseat.

4. Incredible Concerts.
If you’ve never been to a U2 show, I just need to encourage you to make the investment. 20,000 people with their hands raised singing “Yahweh, Yahweh” or the words to Psalm 40, or “Hallelujah” well…there really isn’t anything in our culture at large that is as unifying, nor as uplifting while being flat out fun.

5. Bono’s Work on Behalf of the Poor.
Celebrities have often picked causes to champion, but no one has logged more hours or miles, no one has met with more politicians, no one has accomplished more on behalf of the voiceless, and no one has invested that kind of effort without a paycheck of any kind. The One Campaign is just the tip of this guy’s berg. Bono and his wife have logged months in refugee camps. He’s the real deal.

6. Faith Matters.
My big love. Whether Bono is wailing about hope, or growling about loss of faith, God is in the Wings. The yearning for redemption is pervasive. Only these guys can pull of a whole song as a prayer to Jesus. Bono isn’t as big on theology as he is on poetry, which is perfect for his medium. But as a hawker of God’s grace, I don’t know of anyone who has touched more people with that good news. God is, God is love, and there will be a day when we all will be running where the streets have no name.

And Bono, if you’re reading this, I’d love to hang out sometime.
Call me.

Haunted by Hemingway

2009-03-01T16:56:00.000-08:00

I love Earnest Hemingway, I see his hunger for God and meaning (ultimately unfulfilled) all over his stuff, and I truly love the way he writes, straightforward and tough. I pick up his work from time to time, especially when I’m in the mood for tragedy.

So here is Chapter VII, from his short stories:
While the bombardment was knocking the trench to pieces at Fossalta, he lay very flat and sweated and prayed oh Jesus Christ get me out of here. Dear Jesus please get me out. Christ please please please Christ. If you’ll only keep me from getting killed I’ll do anything you say. I believe in you and I’ll tell every one in the world that you are the only one that matters. Please please dear Jesus. The shelling moved further up the line. We went to work on the trench and in the morning the sun came up and the day was hot and muggy and cheerful and quiet. The next night back at Mestre he did not tell the girl he went upstairs with at the Villa Rossa about Jesus. And he never told anybody. –Earnest Hemingway, The Short Stories, Chapter VII, pp 143

Would you help me compile a nuanced list of how this lands as tragedy? I started a list, and then thought I’d ask instead…how do you see this as tragic?

Losing my Religion AND Loving God’s Church

2009-02-27T12:06:00.000-08:00

I just read another article about how the church is missing it. Last week I read a book about how the church is failing. There are quite a few blogs (in the hundreds of thousands) that carry the same sentiment. (Inhale deeply). Since my Blogs are consistently titled “Killing Churchianity” or “Losing my Religion,” you’d think I’d be thrilled.

But I’m not. In fact, I’m done for a while.
Reading blogs, books, and articles about how the church is missing it, I mean. I’ve had my fill, at least for a bit. Maybe it’s because I’m a Pastor, and I love my church. Wow. There it is. I love my church. I said it out loud. I love my church. It feels like I’ve come out of some kind of theological closet. I LOVE my church.

Now, I don’t love her in a completely unqualified way. I don’t love everything about her. But I’m trying to love her in a completely unconditional way. In other words, I’m trying to love this Bride of Jesus like I imagine Jesus loves his bride.

And maybe that’s really at the core of this. The church is the Bride of Christ. The picture given to us by Scripture is that of a Bride. She’s not perfect. But Jesus himself loves her, Jesus himself is washing her, growing her, perfecting her, and loving her in His gentle, persistent, washing-dirty-feet kind of way.

So. Let’s place it in human terms. If my best friend is getting married, and suddenly: books, blogs, and articles are written about how fat his bride appears, how dumb his bride seems, how irrelevant his bride dresses, or how hypocritical his bride acts…I might find myself in more than a few fist-fights. HE loves her, and that’s really all that matters.

People who are a whole lot smarter than I am (minds I truly respect, and friends I honestly love) are skilled at voicing frustrations with the Church, and attacking with precision her myriad shortcomings. But you would NEVER treat your wife with that kind of disdain. If you did, I’d conclude you hate her.

Maybe your argument is that since we ARE the church, we can be self-critical. And certainly the Apostle Paul is a case study in this (feel free to start in Corinthians and work your way through). But I would argue that if ALL of our self-talk is critical, then we have a problem with self-loathing. And we’ve again missed the heart of Jesus for His bride.

So let’s bring a little love to the discussion.
There is incredible loveliness and victory to be found in the Church, all over this nation, and all over the world. There is noble sacrifice and generosity. There are sincere people struggling toward pure hearts and holy living. As Giglio says, “The Church is KILLING it all over the globe!” There is also a good deal of mess, because the Church is full of messy, broken people. But that’s not the Headline in this fallen world, that’s just the Setting. The REAL story is that Jesus loves her, anyway.

Can I get a witness? Anybody else want to come out of the closet and love their church?

The First shall be Last, or Divine Justice

2009-02-20T12:13:00.000-08:00

This week I traveled over to the Big Island with my family. We were set to stay in my Parents time share, plane tics were buddy miles, and we were humbly aware that without the generosity of others we wouldn’t be able to rent a car, enjoy a place, or get fare over to the Island. So when we realized that our plane seats were the very last ones on the plane, you know, the ones that don’t recline right next to the bathrooms, it wasn’t a big shocker to us. We’re just happy to be on the plane.

When we landed, and the plane halted at the gate, the stewardess made an unusual announcement…for some reason, we would de-plane from the rear. Being in the last row, we would be first to set foot on Hawaiian soil. (Cue Monty Python voice: A blessing! A blessing from the Lord!) I thought, amused, this is at least one parable of how sometimes the last shall be first.

As we were all standing in the aisle, waiting for the rear door to be opened, a lady pushed past us. Since we were all holding our carry on bags, the aisle was crowded, and she fairly shoved her way through my family in her haste to get to absolute rear of the plane, so that she would be the first off. Several people that she had pushed past were frowning and grumbling. I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt, like maybe she was late for a heart transplant, or really needed to pee. But, I won’t lie, it was still an exercise in patience for me.

So now, we were no longer going to be first to de-plane, she was. She had shoved herself forward and was now waiting, as we all were, for the plane doors to open.

And then another announcement. It turns out that, for whatever reason, the forward door in the plane would be our exit, after all. I noticed distinctly that smiles lit up on all the faces that this woman had shoved past in her haste to be first off. And now, since she was truly in the very rear, not only would she NOT be first: She would be dead last. It was as if a Hallelujah Choir began singing from the Heavens. God is real, even in the mundane.

The doors then opened, and people began to move towards the exit. But I couldn’t help noticing a leisure-ness about the process. People moved relaxed, languid. It seemed that there was a collective response against the pressure to hurry. The aloha spirit was already in full force. At least, I might have deplaned a bit slower than normal. Mostly to help the lady behind me practice patience.

I’m a pastor. It’s my job.

Blog to My Homies

2009-02-13T15:00:00.000-08:00

This “Expert” Blogger is in need of serious assistance! What you are about to read will sound like a complete contradiction in terms, so prepare for paradox. Here goes: Jodie and I have recently begun blogging on a nationwide Christian blog-community site called Conversant Life. You can find them at www.conversantlife.com

They’ve picked me up as a blog “expert” in the realm of belief. I do believe, so I’m not worried necessarily about the “belief” part of it, but it’s the “expert” part that puckers my giblets.

Because it’s a nationwide deal, there are quite a few more folks that are browsing the blogroll daily, so the potential for drawing a crowd and strengthening God’s kingdom is good. However, right now, when you go to my conversant blog, I only have one friend.

So, the person who has never checked out Mike Howerton’s blog before will go there, see his lonely friend, who, by the way, is the administrator of the site, and conclude that I’m a hopeless, no-one-cares-what-he-has-to-say, non-expert. Now, maybe that person will decide that AFTER they have read my blog, and I get it. That’s fair. I just don’t want them to conclude that BEFORE they read anything, just because I’m a cyber-dork with one friend who doesn’t really count because he runs the thing.

Here’s the other perk…you can check out my wife’s witty, fun, touching, poignant blog as well! I am amazed that her posts are so consistently more thoughtful than my own! Become her friend too!

Feel free to leave comments, suggestions, prayers, and thoughts! YOUR two cents is a BIG deal to me! Know how much I THANK you for being in this thing with me…again, it’s all for HIS glory!

Here it is again: www.conversantlife.com

I'm Hosting Saturday Night Live!

2009-02-13T08:34:00.000-08:00

Ok, not really. But here is my picture if I ever host SNL. I’m that prepared, in case I get asked.

And here is my wife’s picture. She’s a total and complete hottie. Look at those eyes, for crying out loud!

Just for fun, I’d like to propose an exercise in creativity: IF YOU were hosting SNL, what are the 5 favorite skits that you want to be written into? Since this is pure fantasy, the rules are that you can use any season that you want to, use any SNL cast that you love, and write yourself in however you’d like. Since I’m obviously hosting first, here are mine:

1. In the old John Belushi skit where he flips Cheeseburgers as a Samauri, I’d come into his restaurant and order a taquito.
2. Dana Carvey in Church Lady (of course), and I’d be a Deacon on “her” show.
3. Andy Sandburg in a Digital short, and since Chronic(what?)cles of Narnia is sort of overdone, I’d like to be in the video where he punches people who are trying to eat. I think it’s called “Punching while Eating” or “Follow your Dreams.” I’d like to be in the zombie dance at the end.
4. The one where Natalie Portman brings her boyfriend Jeff home to her uber-weird European parents (“sit in the Hair Chair, by Moby”), and they can’t pronounce his name (“Gwaaarrrrfff?”). I’d be happy to be the younger brother serving yogurt.
5. I’d like to be Lawrence Welk in the recent one hosted by Anne Hathaway, where she and her sisters sing. Kirsten Wiig might be the most amazingly inappropriate singing sister in entertainment history.

There you have it! My top 5! Now it’s time to share yours! So, on this FRIDAY (day before Saturday!) let’s here it! What are your favorites?

Grace City

2009-02-12T09:35:00.000-08:00

This morning I hit the trails with Scout (my shelter-mutt), and just about every part of my body froze. It was oddly beautiful, however, this frosty winter morn, listening to inspiring songs of praise to our vast, creative God, and I forgot my discomfort almost entirely (or simply became numb, I couldn’t tell which).

As I crested a large hill, I ran beside some wide open horse meadows, and suddenly I could see the whole of Seattle in the distance. Downtown standing official and industrious, an emerald skyline, with the Space needle off by itself looking smallish, and rather left out of the party.

And the image that came to my mind was one used by my friend Judd to describe the city he lives in and loves, Las Vegas. Instead of Sin City, Judd refers to Vegas as Grace City. The biblical truth being thus: where sin abounds, grace abounds more. Since most of my body experiencing some form of frostbite at this moment, this image of God’s grace was entirely unexpected.

With the whole of the city spread out before me, I found my heart filled with a crazy love for Seattle, a kind of holistic, Daddy-loves-his-kiddos, emotionally charged love for the people of the most beautiful city I know. And it made me remember again that Jesus loves Seattle. He loves it all. He loves you, Freemont! He loves you, Downtown! He loves you, Kent! He loves you, Mill Creek! He even loves you, Renton! Not only does He love it all, but Jesus came for Seattle.

And as a Pastor, I want to make sure that my ministry is motivated by the same love that Jesus has. Of course, there is sin…it abounds in this fallen city, certainly. But that’s not the final word, nor the amazing part of the story. The final word is grace. The amazing part of the story is that the unlovely is offered unfailing love by a God who is unlimited love.

Today I stand knee-deep in grace.
Today I pray God’s grace on a beautiful city in desperate need of it.
Today I pray grace for you as well.

May His grace find you in an unexpected moment, and may He receive your praise for it.

The JOURNEY is about lives...

2009-02-10T10:45:00.000-08:00

I am SO thankful that I get the honor of being a part of a great church. It is an amazing thing to be involved in a movement where God touches hearts, where people experience forgiveness and love, where the truth is actually setting people free. This last weekend was a complete and total party, as we got together and focused wholly on how GOOD God is. We focused on how good his gifts to us are. And we praised God for the gift of Jesus...who came to seek and save lost folks like US! My favorite thing in the whole world is to see, to actually SEE tangibly how God's invasion transforms lives...

So here are a few lives that have been touched by Jesus. It's a short video, but the good news is that it's entirely true. These men and women aren't perfect...none of us are. But each life here has been invaded and changed by a loving Savior named Jesus...the journey is about lives.

And Jesus is crazy about the life called YOU.

Cardboard Testimonies from Overlake Christian Church on Vimeo.

Sacrificial Love

2009-02-06T00:48:00.000-08:00

Scout

2009-02-05T09:46:00.001-08:00

There are so many lessons about our spiritual lives that can be mined from pet ownership.
Here is the truth about the dog I adopted from the local shelter.

His whole life nobody had wanted him, nor claimed him to love.
He is overweight.
Scout has chewed a hole in his tail, and it sort of stinks.
At the vet yesterday, they hooked him up with a cone that prevents him from chewing his tail, and it makes him look like a canine version of Little Bo Peep. Plus they shaved his tail, so he looks slightly like a giant black rat. With a bonnet. And the medicine stings when it’s applied to the wound.

Here is the point: unloved and unlovely. And my family has claimed him. And we love him so much that our hearts hurt a bit at his obvious discomfort and loss of dignity. So we’re doing all we can to help him heal as quickly as possible. Even if it stings.

God has seen us unloved and unlovely. And He has claimed US. And his Heart is moved at our obvious brokenness. So God works in us individually and personally, to help us heal as quickly as possible. And it might sting.

The point is, God is the true Skillful and Loving master. My prayer is that you allow Him to touch you with His healing love today. Because HE loves you. Really.

Even more than we love our stinking rat dog.

The Cost of LOVE

2009-02-04T07:01:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to share a little video love from Sunday...
This is what you call a bucket o' love.
Bottom line: Love ya!
Can't wait to see you at OCC this weekend for a LOVE celebration!

Temptation

2009-02-03T19:40:00.000-08:00

I think it was W.C. Fields who once said, “I can resist anything but temptation.” Since the dawn of time, that seems to be the irresistible lure. Certainly, as a parent and dog-owner (yes, I just placed those two roles in the same category…I live in Seattle) I see ample examples of my children (and my dog) wrestling with temptation. So far, I’m working in the realm of “given,” no arguments here. It goes without saying, I also see how I struggle with temptation myself.

The other night, Jodie and Caleb were having a mommy date, and they had decided to curl up with some popcorn and watch the deeply theological movie, Back to the Future. But Jodie needed to do a quick store run first. So before she left, she made Caleb PROMISE not to start the movie until she got back. Which he did in wide-eyed faith. Five minutes after she left, Caleb and I are in full blown wrestle-mode, pictures rattling on the walls, and in a panting moment of stillness I throw out the question, “Hey Bud, you wanna start the movie now?”

A heartbeat of silence. Then Caleb yells, “NO!!!” I say, ok, ok, settle down. I just thought I’d throw a little temptation your way. And he smiles, “DAD, I’m not like Adam and Eve.”

Oh, buddy.
In the first, unfortunate, place, we all are in many respects JUST like Adam and Eve.
In the second, delightful, place, this is the reason Jesus came. To forgive us when we stumble, to clean us up, and to set us into a right relationship with God. This is the reason Jesus is called Savior. We find ourselves in the embarrassing position of needing to be saved.

Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive? But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you. Psalm 130:3,4 NLT

Because it turns out it’s true…we can resist anything but temptation.

What the Holistic Practical Stewardship?

2009-02-03T10:17:00.000-08:00

For the last 5 weeks we’ve been nailing the idea that there is an exciting, dynamic and dangerous road of faith we can all walk, a road that allows us to see the radical provision and blessing of God. It is the Steward’s road. Since the only Steward in recent cinematic history is the Steward of Gondor, and since he falls off a cliff in a flaming bundle of insanity, there’s a reason why the term Steward has some questions around it. So for the last 5 weeks we’ve been unpacking these questions and this lifestyle at OCC…

We’ve also been providing TOOLS for folks to approach their whole life as God’s steward. This Sunday EVE, from 4-6pm, we offer yet one more tool. Stewardship EXPERT (and I mean that literally) John Frank will be at OCC, teaching a Seminar on Holistic Practical Stewardship. That means how to practically look at all of your life and make good value decisions on how to spend your time, how to use your talents, and how to employ your treasure for God’s glory.

We want to make sure we’re being as “rubber-meets-the-road” as possible in this challenge! Please plan on coming this Sunday (Feb 8th) and join John Frank and myself for some real and practical ways to make value decisions.

By the WAY, Sunday’s Services will be a CELEBRATION of the kind of blessing God has for those who pursue faithful stewardship! Bring some friends and party with us at OCC: 9:20, 11am, or 6pm! Rock on!!

Unconditional Surrender

2009-02-02T13:09:00.000-08:00

As a dude who speaks every Sunday, about topics spanning the spectrum from sex to Jesus, there are days when I wake up and realize what I should have said. Or what I wanted to say. Or I’ll find someone who said what I was trying to say so much better than I actually said it. So here is a quote from a really old British guy, whom I think is brilliant. His name is John Stott, sometimes referred to as the protestant pope, and on the issue of surrender writes:

“Our attitude to our fallen nature should be one of ruthless repudiation. For ‘those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires’ (Galatians 5:24). That is, we have taken this evil, slimy, slippery thing called ‘the flesh’ and nailed it to the cross. This was our initial repentance. Crucifixion is dramatic imagery for our uncompromising rejection of all known evil. Crucifixion does not lead to a quick or easy death; it is an execution of lingering pain. Yet it is decisive; there is no possibility of escaping from it.
“Our attitude to the Holy Spirit, on the other hand, is to be one of unconditional surrender. Paul uses several expressions for this. We are to ‘live by the Spirit’, to be ‘led by the Spirit’ and to ‘keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:16,18,25). That is, we are to allow him his rightful sovereignty over us, and follow his righteous promptings.
“Thus both our repudiation of the flesh and our surrender to the Spirit need to be repeated daily…” (John Stott, Authentic Christianity, pp 83)

Head. Feels. Stuffed.

2009-01-27T09:55:00.000-08:00

The average human head weighs eight pounds. At least that’s what the kid said on Jerry Maguire.

Right now mine weighs about 37 pounds.

I feel like a bobble-head version of myself.

There are other descriptors that I might use, but honestly, they’d put you off your lunch. And who wants to hear another whine about “I’ve got a cold in Seattle?” A better question is, “Who DOESN’T have a cold in Seattle?” I thought that was one of the selling points of the Northwest. Constant nose drippage and Dayquil on tap.

So it may surprise you, (it certainly surprises me) that I’m choosing joy today.
As in, “This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” I’m taking a few moments this morning and rejoicing over all the wonderful things that I can identify as a blessing. I love my wife, I love my family, I love my church, and I love my life. All these are gifts graciously given from the hand of a Loving Father.

I don’t know where you are today, nor what you’re struggling with.
But Jesus does. And He loves you.

And if you spend a few minutes to look, you’ll find that the evidence of His love is all around you. This is another one of His gifts, this day.
Let’s be glad in it together.

Grandparents

2009-01-25T07:11:00.000-08:00

Last week I traveled to Oklahoma to do my Grandma’s funeral. It reminded me of the Summer a few years ago when I still had three grandparents. Now I have none. The grief this time around feels hollow, like I’m losing a bit of my mooring to history. So I’d like to share this bit about my grandparents. Maybe it will encourage you to call yours…drop them a line…or just to thank Jesus for the gift of a couple of people in the world who love you unconditionally…who spoiled you every chance they got. Enjoy them. They won’t be around forever…

My Lord Jesus,

I’m in tears today as I write, having just come from the hospital.

I visited my grandma today, and just “visited” as my grandma and grandpa shared their lunch. They are so beautiful.

So beautiful.

My grandma with her thin skin, her shaky hands, her words that stumble over a mini-stroke she had a few years back, and her gentle brown eyes amplified by her coke-bottle glasses I’ve never known her to be without. Wearing those, a visual world is opened up to this wonderful lady, Ellen Soft, my grandma and one of my favorite people on the planet. Beautiful.

And if that isn’t beautiful enough, there’s my grandpa too, mouse-like thin and hunched, with strong brown hands bent with years of a painters trade; his hair white, well oiled and combed the same way I’ve seen it all of my life; his smile quick, with dentures that mostly stay where their supposed to. So beautiful.

A myriad of wrinkles between them.

And as they share a meal, slow, slower than most people retain interest in a meal, they forget that they are sharing a meal, and instead share memories. Today they shared how my grandma was sleepwalking during her recent visit back to Kansas, so now when she gets up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, my granddad goes with her. Making sure she stays indoors.

What amazes me is how well they know each other. They both traverse across the years to share stories that the other knows exactly…they track to the year, the situation, the significance…with just a few words.

I was telling them how Alex kicks the covers off in bed, and my grandma said, “Well, Nancy and Janet used to come in bed with us…Chester, what did Nancy say that one time?” To which my grandpa replies, “Oh, shoot.” Which is just a filler statement, and all he needs to get a handle on the framework of the story. He then tells the tale of a Christmas past, of how he had purchased a wrist-watch for Ellen, no doubt a major purchase for this humble painter. The gift was wrapped and under the tree, waiting impatiently for Christmas morn, as were two little girls, both very excited about this gift. And as they were all in bed one morning, my grandma asked, with honest intent, “I wonder what time it is?” Quick as she could, a giggling Nancy replied, “If you look under the tree you’ll know what time it is!”

At the punchline of the story both of them erupt in laughter, and I laugh right along, because they are just so dang beautiful.

They are the salt of the earth.

The righteous poor.

My grandparents lost their first boy, Jackie, when he was five, and it seems that this devastation haunts them mildly, like the smallest of pebbles rattling in the toe of a walking shoe. They have such great memories of this joy-filled, amazing boy, and a true confusion about the illness that stole his life, that most days, I’m sure, Jackie makes his way into their waking thoughts.

They discussed the assisted living home that my mother had taken them to, in hushed tones…it’s just so big…a mansion…it does have a big room to watch Monday Night Football in (grandpa grinning)…two meals a day and you order right from a menu…not just a cafeteria…a reading area and sitting room to have people over. But it’s just so nice! Rich people live there. It would probably cost more than two thousand dollars a month, and we just couldn’t let your Dad pay…we don’t deserve…surely we couldn’t…

What these humble, beautiful people don’t realize is that they deserve the best there is. They will probably be embarrassed to discover, on that day when the Lord calls them home, that the largest Mansion on the top of the hill is theirs, bought and paid for far in advance by their Christian kindness, painted and maintained by those hundreds my grandparents served in this lifetime, visited daily by their friends, robust and dear, and by their beloved Jackie. The joy that they will dwell in for eternity the best of our writers can only hint at.

“I thank God everyday for my family,” my grandpa said today.

So do I grandpa. So do I.
For my beautiful, beautiful family.

Sunshine

2009-01-24T18:59:00.000-08:00

When the sun shines on the Eastside of Seattle the world sparkles in newness and glory. You can see the golfer's white shoes from a mile and a half. The shadows become sharp enough to cut your fingers on. The folds of the lawn roll down with a halo glow. Rainier smiles as a silent sage crowned in wisdom, playing the role of foundation, the role of permanence, like a pillar holding up the sky.

It’s a hooky-playing day, a day when the real work of the day ought to be kite-flying or a game of Frisbee golf created on the go (“that mailbox looks like a par 4”). I have an urge to grab my kids and roll around in the park with them, like so many dogs. We opted instead for the Dog Park, taking our mutt out for a romp with hundreds of other, unleashed joy-hounds. The naked trees all stand excited, wishing that the bath of sunlight means that springtime really is coming, and wondering if it’s time to start unfurling their inner beauty. TS Eliot said that April is the cruelest month, because of the illusion of hope as the world wraps itself in newness, but when you get a golden day in January, there is nothing cruel at all about it…hope is no illusion, rather an obvious dream, a known and fleeting angel, a memory of warmth even at full noon. There is no expectation for greatness as the day dawns, only an understanding that greatness is upon you. Light has such power over the souls of men: poetry dark and brooding comes from the cloud, introspection is exalted in the rain, but in the sunshine, the vision is cleared, and the life song lingers with a sweet reverb, humming all the way back to the office after being blinded with a lunch hour. So how broken am I that I hope for just a little cloud on Sunday, so a few of my seattle-sun-freak-brotherhood will join me in church?

Lord, as I proceed, would you shine your grace upon me, so that I might live the light you call me to be, to reflect, to embrace. Allow me to shine like your stars, amidst the midnight black that exists all around me, and within me as well…Wrap me in the arms of your light like a surprise January day. Make me golden as well. And let your sun shine…

Kingdom

2009-01-13T12:56:00.000-08:00

Sitting at Tully’s, I’m fighting back tears as I listen to Matt Redman wail on about how the cross of Jesus makes us whole again, how Jesus is the one who wipes us clean of sin, how Jesus is the one who sets us free, heals our hearts, and makes us friends of God.

Thoughtful and thankful, I’m sort of ruminating on all sorts of concepts, having just finished Study, and preparing myself to tackle this week’s topic of Debt and God’s desire for us to live unburdened. I’m thinking about how there is always a tension between things…economic fear versus generosity. A tension between trusting God or shouldering my own burdens. A tension between longing for the “good old days,” and hoping for a “bright future.” A tension between remembering my sin, and remembering my forgiveness. At our EPIC Men’s Event, Mike Erre pretty much rocked me with this clarity…that God wants me Alive and Thirsty. Fully Alive and yet Thirsty for Him. Content with His Love and yet Longing for More of His Glory. On this side of eternity, there will always be a tension…probably stemming from the Now/Not Yet nature of the Kingdom of God that Jesus came to announce.

I finished Erre’s book, Why Guys Need God, before church on Sunday, and he rips off what he says is the greatest chapter title that he’s ever seen, and I’d like to rip him off, ripping it off, because it is absolutely where I am. I imagine I’m not alone. Here is the title:

Truly Changed, Truly Changing, and Still at War.

Welcome to the Kingdom of God.

Our Daily Beard, part the fourth

2009-01-08T08:17:00.000-08:00

This is the expression I make when I know that soon I get to shave the bristles off my face. This is the look I make when I realize what that means in terms of my marriage.
This is the face I make when I contemplate the hundreds of dudes who have signed up for EPIC, in small part, I’m sure, to this facial hair challenge on Our Daily Beard.

I’ve actually talked to probably dozens of guys (a bunch last night at First Wednesday) who are planning to come, but who haven’t signed up yet. Ok, here’s the deal. EPIC is tomorrow night. As in Friday. Like the day after today. We can take walk-ups, of course, but without your sign-up, we won’t know how many of Mike Erre’s books to buy, and you might not get yours. All that we could offer you is some of the leftover clippings from my freshly shorn face.

So sign up. And I’ll see you Friday.
I’ll be the guy without a beard.

P.S. I realize my blog this week has been VERY local, entirely OCC…next week, I promise…I’ll get just a bit more regional with my musings…

Our Daily Beard, part trois

2009-01-07T15:41:00.000-08:00

You can probably tell that I’ve been shaping.
It’s much less “Grizzly Adams.” It’s just a tad “Brett Favre.” I actually got a compliment on it today, “It makes you look older.” Oh…thank you?

What you probably can’t tell from the picture is that the softness quality of my facial hair resembles that of a wire brush. I kiss my kids goodnight and their soft cheeks start bleeding. My wife kissed me on the forehead two days ago. That was the last time I’ve received what could loosely be called “affection.” I have a feeling that when I went into the bookstore yesterday, they thought I was casing the joint.

So, please sign up for our EPIC Men’s Event at Overlake. Men, you are Hairy, Hoary, Holy Image Bearers of the King of Heaven and Earth, and this weekend will unite and inspire, liberate and motivate, challenge and assure.

My friend Mike Erre is coming up to bring the WORD.
He’s the author of the book, Why Guys Need God, which our EPIC gentlemen will all receive, but I also wanted you to know that Mike has written two more books as well. I haven’t read Death by Church, but if you were around for the Revolution Series two years ago, you’ll catch glimpses of Jesus of Suburbia sprinkled throughout (point of note: I routinely use Mike Erre as inspiration, thought-provocation, and research, or what some of the more anal among us might call “plagiarism.” When I have an original thought, you will know, because I will mention it. Often.)

You can sign up by clicking the word HERE in my last post.

I really can't wait to shave.

Our Daily Beard, part deux

2009-01-06T10:19:00.000-08:00

Here is my face. It’s getting more and more nappy. That means you must sign up for our Men’s Event: EPIC. Ladies, you must sign your men up. It’s just going to get increasingly vile.

You can sign up here.

I just got off the phone with my bro, Pastor Mike Erre of Rock Harbor Church in Costa Mesa California…and he’s fired up to spend the weekend challenging our men. This will be so much MORE than a Superbowl with a cross above it. I know God is going to use this weekend to transform the way we see Jesus and ourselves.

Here is Mike’s book, Why Guys Need God. Every guy at the conference gets one.

Seriously, you need to sign up. I want to shave, and start kissing my wife again.

Our Daily Beard

2009-01-04T07:25:00.000-08:00

Men.
Hairy. Hoary. Image Bearers of God.
Event.
A Happening that must be participated in by Men. It's Epic.

This Friday night we kick off our second EPIC Men's Event, and if you are a man, then I expect you to be there. I am growing my beard as a walking Billboard for this event. A dear sister at Overlake said to me last Sunday, "I will pay you not to grow a beard." To which I replied, "Don't pay ME. Just get your husband to Epic." So really, I guess, the beard is a form of spiritual blackmail.

I know the man-growth is unattractive. I know how my wife feels about it's scratchy-ness. I'm only doing this so that you'll sign up for EPIC. Sign up. Now.

New Year's Day

2009-01-03T22:13:00.000-08:00

I know that it’s three day’s into the New Year, but it’s never too late to write a blog celebrating that fact. Actually, there probably is a time when it’s too late to celebrate the new year…like around Thanksgiving, but we’re still on the front end of this puppy.

On New Year’s Day, we watched an old U2 concert that took place in Ireland around the start of this decade. The one at Slane Castle. We were watching with family, and one of the songs they sing happened to be titled: New Year’s Day. I think there are a few ways to listen to this song, but one of them is through the lens of Jesus’ love, hearing His Voice singing the words “I will be with you again.”

And what struck me as I listened was, this is HOPE…that tomorrow will be better than today, that someday true righteous justice will reign, all harms will be healed, and God himself will live with us. This all seems to turn on a dime around the new year…there is incredible optimism that 2009 will be better than 2008.

Even in the Bible, in the middle of the Book of Lamentations (which is mostly describing the worst year EVER for the Israelites), we find this incredible HOPE:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. Lamentations 3:22,23 NLT

Maybe it’s my own innate optimism, but I absolutely believe this is going to be a year of great adventure. I believe it will be a year of great selflessness. I believe it will be a year where heroic acts are done by all sorts of wonderful, ordinary people. A year of fresh mercies. And I believe that this will be a year in which Jesus is honored. At least, that’s what I’m excited to go after.

And I’ve got some personal goals, too, which I’m refusing to call resolutions. These I actually want to work on all year long:

Be ALIVE. Be FREE. Be LOVED. Be LOVING.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-23T14:44:00.001-08:00

In the spirit of our Advent Conspiracy, my wife Jodie and I have decided to deliver our Christmas love electronically this year!! I know, I know...it's a cheap thing to use technology to fuel frugality. But I mean this sincerely, so here it goes:

This year,
I am thankful to Jesus for the life that He has given me.
I am thankful for my wife Jodie, my daughter Alex, and my son Caleb.
I am thankful for the incredible people of Overlake Christian Church, for their dedication to Jesus, for allowing me to be on the journey with them, and for the staff and leaders there who make it a truly dynamic place to serve.
And I am thankful for you.

This year, in sincere humility, I encourage you to thank Jesus for ALL of His gifts in your life. I wish you a very Merry Christmas, and an ADVENTUROUS 2009! Join us for Christmas EVE, if you are up for braving the roads!

Snow Day

2008-12-22T08:05:00.000-08:00

I spoke on Humility last week at church.

God chose to use that as a springboard to teach me humility. You see, here is a brokenness that almost all pastors have…and certainly, that I deal with from time to time, and that is the brokenness I call “Attendance Validation.” It means that, as a pastor, you are actually validated as a human being if the attendance in your church is strong and growing. If the attendance in your church has plateaued or is declining, you really have no purpose in life, and you might as well make an end of it. The Samauri call this hari-cari or seppuku, but some pastors I know perform emotional self-disembowelment every Monday morning.

The problem with serving at a church in the Northwest is this: the weather freaks people out. A lot. It rains a good amount, and rain freaks people out which makes their cars only drive as far as Starbucks. Occasionally it’s nice on a weekend, and it freaks people out and they scatter to the mountains, which they can suddenly see for a change. But it also happens, from time to time, that it snows, and when it snows here, people lose their minds.

They buy up ALL the gas at the gas station for their generators. You can’t find a BBQ lighter for sale in the state, people buy them by the gross. If we had bunkers, everyone would be hiding in them, as if was RED SNOW, with high radiation levels. Here is a true story…when it begins snowing people abandon their cars on the side of the road and walk home. I’m not making this up. It is an M. Night Shyamalan dream.

Back to my point: It snowed this weekend. It snowed last weekend. Attendance at my church was affected. (That’s the politically correct way to state things.)

I’ve been humbled. It’s a lesson I learn with some regularity…

So Jesus, I know my validation doesn’t come from attendance, but that it comes from who YOU say that I am. My value comes from the worth that YOU ascribe to me…and since worth is determined by what someone is willing to pay…and since you gave your LIFE for me on the cross…I have to conclude that my worth to you is priceless. THANK you, Jesus, for re-teaching a fundamental truth. I love the liberation that your truths bring…and…and...

I’m pretty sure I’ve been humbled enough, Lord.

So…maybe it could just be cloudy next weekend.

With a slight chance of no weather. Amen.

Flowers

2008-12-12T12:59:00.000-08:00

Come, see real
flowers
of this painful world.

-Basho

Some people like Milton or Chaucer, but the poem form that speaks to me is Haiku. It might be an attention-span-thing.

Today, I walked with my 6 year old son, Caleb, through the World Vision Experience: AIDS exhibit. It was masterfully done, like you are stepping into Africa, and we both listened on the same Ipod to the story of Emmanuel, who was orphaned at age 4 by AIDS. You get to experience Emmanuel's story, which culminates in a clinic where you find out whether you test positive or negative to HIV.

Caleb was wide eyed, but not terrified. He gripped my hand firmly, but not desperately. At the end of the guided tour, the narration instructs you to pick up a photo of a child to pray for. Caleb grabbed a photo, placed it between his hands folded in prayer, and squeezed his eyes tightly shut. He prayed fiercely on behalf of this child...and suddenly I began to cry. It was my son's unbridled faith that really got to me. With the complete assurance that God loves kids, Caleb petitioned God on behalf of a little boy from Rwanda. The fragrance of a six year old, praying with determination for a 4 year old orphan, was overwhelmingly lovely.

Yes, this is a painful world.
Yes, the tragic is all around.
But that's not the story.
The story is that, for those with eyes to see, there are real flowers here as well.

Caleb, through World Vision, now sponsors Emmanuel, who shares a name with the boy whose story we heard. My daughter Alex also now sponsors a child.

Today, I simply recognize...
that God has given me two real flowers...
bringing the aroma of His love...
into this painful world.

A Snapshot of AIDS

2008-12-11T13:30:00.000-08:00

One of the nicest people I know plays percussion in our worship band at Overlake. She’s also one of the most amazing people I know. Everything that follows is her story, in her own words. It’s a bit more powerful than most of my blog-posts, but it is absolutely worth the read. -Mike

It’s not a secret that HIV is a dangerous disease, but when you hear about it, it’s through people who are mainly advocates. But you also pray to God, that it never infects anyone you know. I was one of those people who thought, it clearly would never happen to me…I was wrong, because now it’s what I have to deal with on a regular basis. At first I was in denial about it, I didn’t it want it to be a reality. So I chose never to discuss it and until this day I’ve only told five people.

After being at the AIDS forum at Overlake a couple weeks ago. I immediately knew that God wanted me to share my story. My first reaction was, why Lord? Why would you want all those people to know something that sensitive about me? Deep down I knew it was His will, but I still was hesitant. After lots of praying, crying & clinging to His words, I knew that God would never give a situation I couldn’t handle. HIV has been like a raw wound that I didn’t want to open. It’s so real, it just brings back bad memories, I had chosen to bury & nightmares that I don’t want to re-live. I have seen it affect my family and friends. It wasn’t until four years ago that I found out that they were all diagnosed with same disease, AIDS. So for the years before that, I wasn’t given an accurate explanation as to what seemed to kill some of the closest people in my life due to culture. In Uganda, when you have HIV, it’s such a disgrace and the most shameful thing you could ever bring to people who know you. You get shunned, disrespected and everyone considers you as a dead person walking. You’re feelings, actions even presence don’t matter anymore and I know exactly how that feels like.

My world came to a screeching halt when I received a phone call from my mom. She said, she needed to tell me, some not to so good news before I found out from anyone else. When she told me that she would have preferred telling me in person, then I knew it was serious. And those two hours were most excruciating pain I’ve ever endured. I found out that my mom and my youngest sister were infected with the HIV. She told me, she found out before my dad passed away and that my dad had had it as well. Here I thought he had passed away from complications due to pneumonia. Which was technically true, he had had a stroke a couple of months before. They both found out, through routine tests that were done before he got discharged from the hospital. After they came back home, the mood was different. My mom cried a lot, I thought she was worried about him and I clearly remember trying to comfort her and tell her that he was going to be fine. I missed talking to my dad, due to his speech being slurred, but every time we came in the room, his face brightened and he used his good arm to stroke us. Then one night, he got pneumonia & by the next afternoon we had lost him. After that, everything turned upside down, the only thing that calmed me was that he was with God. My mom assured my sister & I that God always takes care of all widows & orphans and not to worry at all. To be honest, I was relieved that Papa wasn’t in pain anymore, but that didn’t mean that I wasn’t angry because he went too soon. I didn’t think it was fair, that I would never have him carry me on his shoulders, take me for walks in the neighborhood, while we chased each other’s shadows. I would never make breakfast with him. I would never have him pick me up from school to go & have ice-cream which happened twice a week without my mother’s knowledge. But of all the above, the most thing I was going to miss, was when he came back from work, he always called out excitedly, “Abaishikyi bagye.” Which meant,” My girls, where are my girls?” We would all literally scrabble from different corners of the house screaming, “Papa yigya” which meant, “Papa’s home!” And we just fought for all his attention. Overall I was going to miss being a typical Daddy’s girl!

After that phone call, so many things began to make sense. I found out he got infected through a blood transfusion, he had to get after we were all involved in a car accident. A drunk driver hit us and while we escaped with bumps & scrapes, my dad wasn’t that lucky, the broken windscreen glass had cut his head, neck & one of his wrists. By the time he got to the hospital he was in & out of conscious ness because he had lost a lot of blood. Back in the late 80’s hospitals at home just checked to see if the blood matched your blood group and they never tested it for any other diseases. As soon as he passed away, so many changes happened, traditionally my dad’s side of the family is entitled to take anything. So they wiped out my dad’s accounts, took some and sold some of our property. I guess to them, they thought it was only a matter of time before we died as well. My mom had finally had enough when someone suggested, that she should send Maureen (my sister) and I to the village to live with grandparents until we were old enough to get married & then she would receive half of our dowry (a groom’s payment to the bride’s relatives for their daughter). My mom had finally had enough after that statement, she became like a mother-bear guarding her cubs & she didn’t really care for what tradition & culture called for anymore. She put us up in Catholic boarding school when we about six & five. And made sure the headmistress knew that nobody was supposed to take us unless they had contacted her first. It wasn’t easy for her not to see us every other 3 months. But at least she had a little peace knowing that we had a safe place to stay, 3 meals a day & most importantly having an education. She also made sure that Maureen and I were tested for HIV as a precaution, every other semester for the first year. And by God’s amazing grace, we tested negative every time.

About six years later, my mom started to date again and when she got pregnant, things didn’t work out between her and the guy she was seeing. When she found out she was having twins, she was excited. In a way, she was lonely when we left for school and now she was going to have babies to fuss over, which would occupy her thoughts & free time. I now know she was scared of the possibility that the twins could be infected. Since she was already on medication, she looked fine & healthy and had unwavering hope that God’s will would be fulfilled. Unfortunately the babies were born premature, Robert my brother couldn’t make it and Melanie tested positive for HIV. My mom was so devastated she had just lost a son and she didn’t know if Melanie was even going to make it. I look up to Melanie in so many ways, she’s one strong fighter. She started the medication early which was a little strong for her already frail & weak body. Her baby teeth were so charred & black. We were always in hospitals when she couldn’t breathe on her own. And yet she never complained about taking her medicine everyday, she couldn’t play much but she didn’t sulk about staying indoors all the time. She just looked forward to much better days. She and my mom never let bad situations get to them. And we went through some bad experiences with relatives. I never could figure out why they treated us in a distant manner. They wiped down everything we touched or sat on. We were given special plates, cups even bed sheets & they would discard all these items immediately. It was so obvious that they want not going to be used again. When we questioned our mom about it, she calmly said, “Yes it was interesting, but don’t dwell on it, its snake-like behavior and I have taught you to be gentle like doves and to be like miracles to all you meet & know.”

I have another whole new appreciation for my mom, sisters & friends. I talk to my mom every week and am rejuvenated every time. My sisters are just incredible best friends to me and I continue to praise & glorify God for the time I have with them. I know that when that day comes when the tissue that makes white blood cells can’t produce anymore and their days are numbered, it will be scary and I don’t look forward to it. I worry for them, but then at the same time I know that God would never let me carry that burden, He simply asks that I play a role in handling it, it’s not my task, it’s His.

So join me in playing a role this advent, let’s give hope to others who are in my position, if not even worse. Let’s give them a good reason to wake up in the morning. Let’s educate more people both here & all over the world on how to prevent & control HIV. People in there 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s are all dying, which leaves seniors or grandparents to take care of the multiplying numbers of orphans. Instead of spoiling their grandchildren, they are working to put food on the table. Let’s give the orphans some dreams back. Dreams to go to school, to be ambitious, to get careers and be better examples for their communities, hence creating a better tomorrow.

I want to end with this quote from Fredrick Wood, “The only life that counts is the life that costs.” It reminds me that true discipleship means true sacrifice and yes there is some element of cost as always. But as living sacrifices, we should remember that resources are not insufficient when God is involved. Let’s give thanks to the Almighty, for all he has provided and to show more gratitude especially in this time of Advent.

Thank You for hearing my story.

-Melissa

Ferris Bueller

2008-12-10T13:44:00.000-08:00

Because someone dropped a Ben Stein video on my desk, and because of a recent frustrating discussion the details of which I shall spare us all, (imagine my teeth clenched as I type) I am reminded of a noteworthy line from Ferris Bueller's Day Off. It's in the scene where Bueller pretends to be the Sausage King of Chicago, at Chez Quis. After receiving a half-hearted apology from a snooty (snotty) host, who thanks Bueller for his "understanding." Bueller replies:

"It's understanding that makes it possible for person like me to tolerate a person such as yourself."

I'm just guessing here...but I'm pretty sure Jesus himself might feel this way. About some of his more obstinate children. From time to time.

AIDS: Powerful Exhibit

2008-12-09T10:21:00.000-08:00

Today’s blog is a newspaper article. About something that's happening at my church. It is a good article. This will be a great exhibit. I’m truly excited for what God is up to in all of this…

A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF AIDS: POWERFUL EXHIBIT ON DISPLAY DEC. 12-15
By MARY STEVENS DECKER
Redmond Reporter Reporter
Dec 05 2008, 1:18 PM
Redmond's Overlake Christian Church, 9900 Willows Rd. NE, is hosting the free exhibit "World Vision Experience: AIDS" from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13; 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14; and 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 15.

This 3,000 square foot, interactive exhibit recreates an African village where children are gripped by poverty and life-threatening disease. Through powerful photography and audio presentations, visitors gain a new understanding of the AIDS epidemic. "This is the first time it's been at Overlake. Since the prototype was first on display in 2005, more than 150,000 people in 80-plus cities throughout North America have walked through the exhibit," noted Josh McQueen, Serve the World pastor at the non-denominational church.

We asked about the incentive to bring this program to Overlake. McQueen explained, "The heart of Overlake is to simply love God, love people, and serve the world. Overlake has partnered with World Vision on other humanitarian projects in the past and this seemed like the perfect fit, given the church's 'Advent Conspiracy' initiative for the 2008 holiday season — where the church is encouraging people to purchase one less gift this year and give what they would have spent to help others. In this case, HIV/AIDS relief."

Some might question the timing of the exhibit, shortly before Christmas. On one hand, Christmas is a time when Christians are called to think about the less fortunate. However, it's also a joyous season and some might see this exhibit as depressing or disturbing. McQueen responded, "Overlake and World Vision truly believe the exhibit will bring HOPE to visitors — hope that even individuals can make a difference in the lives of children and adults touched by HIV/AIDS around the world. This exhibit helps people learn more, in a very heartfelt way, about the human side of HIV/AIDS and also shows what can be done by individuals to help change a life — in essence, to give a gift of life during a season that's all about giving."
He added, "As we celebrate the birth of Jesus and his mission in the world, that was in a large part to care for and heal the sick, we think Christmas is the perfect time to remind ourselves about the needs of the afflicted in our world and of Christ's love for them. Just as an interesting side note, a recent survey by World Vision found that seven in 10 adults plan to spend less money on holiday presents this year, but about half say they are more likely to give a charitable gift than a traditional gift. Americans care ... and we, as a church, want to help people channel their goodwill toward a cause that has touched, in some way, the entire world."

More than 1,000 people have already reserved their free tour times for "World Vision Experience: AIDS" at Overlake Christian Church. McQueen expects that this number could more than double, or potentially triple, as we draw closer to the dates of the event and through word-of-mouth promotion from people taking the tour early. Although not required, tickets are recommended. The self-guided tour takes 20-30 minutes. To reserve your tickets for a specific time, visit www.worldvisionexperience.org.

Also, please note that parental discretion is advised. Some portions of the exhibit may be frightening or inappropriate for younger children. The World Vision Web site includes a page explaining the content and why kids under 13 might not be candidates to tour the exhibit. For additional information, contact Josh McQueen at (425) 702-0303 or joshm@occ.org.
Redmond Reporter Reporter Mary Stevens Decker can be reached at mdecker@redmond-reporter.com or (425) 867-0353, ext. 5052.

p.s. This is Mike again: I did want you to know that I edited a few things: Josh is one of our Serve the World pastors, called Reach ministries in the original article. OCC pursues three purposes: to Love God, Love People, and Serve the World, reported originally as two. And the number of 1000 signed up has increased significantly, and is creeping towards 2000 as I write this. Jodie walked through the same exhibit in a neighboring city two months ago, and so we’ve decided to take our kids through this one. I’ll walk Caleb through it (with a splitter so we can share the Ipod) so if there is audio that’s too intense, I’ll just FF.

p.p.s. I’m praying that hearts are broken this Christmas…broken for the things that break God’s heart. If you can make it, I bet this is one experience that you’ll never forget.

Peace

2008-12-08T09:31:00.001-08:00

Last night, after the single-parent craziness of my week (my wife is in South Africa volunteering two weeks with AIDS babies at an orphanage and comprehensive elementary HIV prevention program called iThembaLetu), I felt shaky, like I was just emerging from the depths of the flu.

My kids have been phenomenal, but what is amazing to me is the amount of human resource management that is required, even as I’m trying to keep my own ducks in a row. Without a partner in the fight to stay sane, to laugh with, to double-team kid-tasks…I don’t know how it’s to be done…AND I’m amazed that single parents actually pull it off. I consider this a Herculean feat.

Jodie and I SKYPE-d this morning (Luddite Note: Skype is this Jestsons-esque kind of video phone you can download for free). She cried when she saw our frowsy-headed kiddos, and they made her laugh by doing goofy faces into the camera. She told us about how the camps have been going that her team has pulled off…the amazing work with elementary school kids teaching them their value in God’s eyes, that Jesus loves them, and to embrace healthy behavior because of that value. She told us how their team took the whole house of AIDS babies to the beach yesterday…splashing and playing with these toddlers and just loving them like crazy. It’s hot in South Africa right now, so even as she was relating these stories, she was sweltering.

After we hung up the phone, I spent a moment sitting at my desk in silence.

I love her so much, and I miss her desperately. But what I felt more than anything was peace. Overwhelming peace. Peace that she is exactly where Jesus wants her right now. Peace that she is caring for those who are close to Jesus’ heart right now. Peace that she is once more modeling for our kids God-values right now. And a peace that, right now, no matter where she is, no matter what frenzy of pace and exhaustion consume us, Jesus is with her, Jesus is with us, Jesus is HERE, and He is the Prince of Peace.

I sat quiet for a moment thankful for His peace.

Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27,28

My prayer for you is that you are able to sit quiet for a moment today.
My prayer for you is peace.

The “F” Word

2008-12-04T08:15:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer: sorry to be so potty mouth in such a short span of time. It won’t happen again.

Yesterday, Scout, our 9 month old puppy, was being walked by Alex (age 8), Caleb (6) and I after school. As we walked the trails near our home, some dogs started barking. Scout is a bit skiddish (the folks at the shelter guessed that he might have been beaten as a young pup), so he lowered his ears and slinked as far from the barking as possible. The kids commented that the dogs seemed to be yelling at Scout. Here was their conversation:

“It's like the dogs are shouting bad words in dog language.”
“Maybe they’re saying the ‘F’ Word,” Caleb says, matter of fact.
“The ‘F’ Word is so bad adults go to jail for saying it,” Alex adds, solemn.
“Do you know what the ‘F’ Word is?” I ask my first grade son.
“Yes.”
“Did Alex teach you?”
“Yes.”
Instantly Alex looks up at me, with both giggle and fear behind her oh-so-busted blue eyes. Her face reads: passing knowledge along to my younger sibling really IS my job…I’m just fulfilling my duty.
“What is the ‘F’ Word?” I ask Caleb, gently.
He whispers like we’re in a museum…“Fub.”

We walk along in silence, with leaves crunching under our feet, but the laughter inside me was bubbling up like a torrent of joy. Innocence truly is a lovely, and fleeting, commodity. Today, I simply cherish it for the gift that it is. Because, yes, someday there will be a day when even the pastor's kids will have a grasp of all sorts of colorful language. But today I simply thank Jesus for the innocence of my angels. And I pray to God for wisdom to be a good dad.

And mostly I pray that I don't fub things up.

"F@#K Africa!"

2008-12-03T14:38:00.000-08:00

At church last Sunday, we had a very agitated man berate Pastor Josh for the message that he gave to kick off our Advent Conspiracy series. To see the message, click occ.org. To see the video that explains Advent Conspiracy, hit occ.org. It’s that easy.

Anyway, the man didn’t make a ton of biblical sense, (he was trying to argue that Jesus didn’t care about Africa because America has problems of its own) and since he opened with, “F@#K Africa,” it did make it a bit hard to take him seriously. Hard to imagine Jesus opening up a conversation with that line. I believe Jesus loves Africa. It's one of his favorite continents (top 6, anyway).

I spoke with him, (I stepped in to protect Josh’s heart) and he ended up leaving feeling heard, and, I believe, loved; but knowing that he was not going to change our direction this month. I let him know that this is a safe church, and that you don’t have to agree with everything I teach in order to come to our church. I’m not interested in Stalin-Church where we go after Thought Control. In retrospect, however, I probably should have told him that just about every conversation I have is blog-fodder.

But it made me think about why I’ve been charging this Advent Conspiracy direction. I consider it a personal challenge from Jesus to get Matthew 25:31-46 in front of as many people as I possibly can, starting with my Overlake Christian Church friends, my Blog friends, and my Facebook Friends…you get the picture. I consider it a personal challenge to invite as many people as I possibly can to our World Vision Experience:AIDS tour here from December 12-15th. I consider it a personal challenge to encourage as many people as I can to buy two less gifts this Christmas, and for Christ’s sake, to give the money that would have been spent on those gifts to AIDS relief.

That’s where I’m landing.
You sure don’t have to land in the same place.
I’m not Stalin.

But if you disagree loudly enough, I’ll probably blog about it.

P.S. I should note that MOST of our church is thrilled about the direction of this Advent Conspiracy Series, and that we already have well over 1000 people signed up to the World Vision Experience:AIDS tour. We’d love to have you join us!

P.P.S. It goes without saying that the title of this blog was a quote, and a hook to get you reading it, and as a sentiment, couldn't be furthur from my heart.