Emma's Fun School Dance Party

To help raise money for her elementary school, Emma brought the family to a dance party where plenty of pre-teen kids jumped up and down to adult rock-and-roll music. A very interesting experience. I'm old fashioned I guess - I'm not used to seeing my five year old daughter moving to the beat of Love Shack and We Will, We Will Rock You. Anyhoo - me and the boys had some fun on the floor while Emma cruised the cafeteria looking for her friends to dance.


Emma and her good neighbor friend Illyanna - they had fun dancing the night away.

Emma had no hesitancy in jumping into the conga line.

The boys took awhile to get involved in any kind of dancing - we sat on the floor with our neighbor Phil and his daughter Abbey, taking in the sights and warming up to the music.

In case you hadn't noticed, Emma had lots of fun dancing with her friends!

Levi & Isaac: Preschool with Dad

In October Isaac and Levi each got to be a star-student for a whole week, and I was able to go in on a Monday for each of them to read a story and generally hang out with them. Like a dunce, I forgot the camera on Isaac's Monday (even though Tara laid the camera out on the counter right in front of me), but I didn't forget the next Monday for Levi! Here Levi is showing me what he must do at the beginning of every day: move his name from the home section to the school one.

The teachers said that normally Levi and Isaac don't play much together while at school. I guess since Dad is here, they are sticking together - at least for the camera shot! Their version of Connect4 is this: to race to see who can put the most chips in the grate the fastest, and then hit the lever and release them all.


The sand box is always popular. It seems that the more sand you get on the floor, the more fun you are having.

The craft project for the day was to make a fire truck. We used lots of glue.

One of the benefits of being the Star-Student is that you get to be the Line-Leader. Levi is not about to let anyone past him until the teacher says it is time to go to recess!

Formed By Christ

Christ remains the only one who forms.

Christian people do not form the world with their ideas. Rather, Christ forms human beings to a form the same as Christ's own.

However, just as the form of Christ is misperceived where he is understood essentially as the teacher of a pious and good life, so formation of human beings is also wrongly understood where one sees it only as guidance for a pious and good life.

Christ is the one who has become human, who was crucified, and who is risen, as confessed by the Christian faith.... To be conformed to the one who has become human - that is what being really human means....

All super-humanity, all efforts to outgrow one's nature as human, all struggle to be heroic or a demigod, all fall away from a person here, because they are untrue. The real human being is the object neither of contempt nor of deification, but the object of the love of God....

To be conformed with the one who became human means that we may be the human beings that we really are. Pretension, hypocrisy, compulsion, forcing oneself to be something different, better, more ideal than one is - all are abolished.

God loves the real human being. God became a real human being.

- from Ethics, 93-94
A Year with Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Daily Meditations from His Letters, Writingss, and Sermons.

Sunday Sermon Notes 11.09.08

With Election Tuesday past, I thought that the first Sunday of the "new" year ought to be dedicated to some reflection on what we will do now that the votes are in. All that work that so many Christians put into choosing the "right" candidate - what to do now that the candidate has been chosen, what to do with all those concerns we had...if it was a concern we had before the election, how do we take action on it beyond just voting?

It is worth noting: check your attitude towards our new president. Most people have the tendency to overlook any flaws in someone they already like; and most people tend to overlook any good traits over someone they already dislike. There is no need to treat our new president with kid gloves - be interested in knowing and speaking truth - acknowledge his strengths and weaknesses, don't gloss over his weaknesses and don't downplay his strengths.

Romans 13 was my text for the morning, we looked at four key passages to give us some direction on what kind of action to take in the years to come now that we have cast our ballots and are looking for change.

1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

What makes Christians unique is our public allegiance to God, we accept his authority and submit to it with glad hearts. In this text Paul is making the point that those who govern are also under the authority of God, whether they acknowledge it or not. Christians are to understand this point, and thus submit to those who govern as a way of submitting to the authority of God.
Takeaway point: Pay Close Attention to how those who govern use their authority. Our submission to their authority doesn't mean that we are disallowed from voicing the truth to how wisely they use their authority.

6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Christians are to avoid all slander - especially towards those who govern with authority over us, and especially when we disapprove with their use of the authority. It is one thing to publicly disagree with an action or decision of the President, it is another thing to start speaking half-truths, sharing destructive gossip, slathering on dirty adjectives, and demeaning character. You can disagree - even vehemently - without getting into name-calling, character defamation, and slander.

10 Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Christians are to love our new President, we are to do no harm to him. Some Christians pray for the President as an act of love: I say then - be part of the answer to your prayers for the President. If you pray that he might have wisdom, consider how the LORD wants to use you to get him wisdom. If you pray that he might have courage to do the right thing, then consider how the LORD wants to use you to infuse him with courage. Of course integrity requires that we are seeking to live by the same wisdom and courage in our everyday life that we expect from our president.

11 And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Christians can be naive about their place in history, about why things are happening, and how to get the results they think God wants. Too many Christians default to "God is in control" and then do nothing. But Jesus gave evidence to understanding the times he lived in, waking people up to the current work of God, and inspiring/empowering them to take action. Christians need to understand the times and what is required to make the kind of change God envision for the world now.

Power is required to make change, and knowledge is power. So is moral purity: moral purity makes possible moral authority, and moral authority is a powerful change agent in influencing people do to the next right thing. We believe that the Spirit of God is granted to us so that God might channel his power through us: our knowledge of how God works, our moral purity, and our openness to doing/saying what God directs makes possible for God's great power to work through us. No doubt we are faced with situations that seemingly only God can change. God, however, puts his Spirit to work through people...so until people wake up from their slumber and cultivate the kind of power God seeks to use to bless and redeem his world...well we'll keep on getting what we are getting.

With the votes in and our new president to be sworn in on a late January day, maybe some of us can make an early new years resolution: pick one...
Pay Attention to the use of the authority you submitted to.
No Slander from your mouth/heart towards those in authority over you.
Be the answer to your prayers
Understand the times in using your power

The Good News and Gangsters

For my Friday/Laundry-night movie I watched American Gangster. I figured it would be good since it had Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe in it. It was good - gritty good, provocative good. It was also a dirty movie, not that this is what made it good, but it was disturbing to me in that I live a clean, "safe", crime-free life.

Which got me to thinking: as a pastor, how would I possibly begin to speak the good news into the lives of the people caught up in the drug-riddled, crime-contaminated city? For the corrupt cops and evil crime-bosses, what can the church do to help them resist their darkness?

Being a Hollywood movie, and knowing that this movie - even though it is based on a true story - is mostly fictional...the church did figure into the movie. The main antagonist of the film, Frank Lucas, brings his church attending mama to live with him. In fact the day Lucas is arrested is a Sunday, and the cops meet him immediately following the service. Prior to the worship service, Lucas' mama had confronted him about his dirty work - she says that she never wanted to ask her son where he got all the money because she didn't want him to lie.

The church in this case was either complicit in the corruption or else very, very naive. So many cops had either turned their eyes away, or were willing to take cash to keep quiet or help out just a little bit. Maybe the church had also looked the other way, or felt like it was benefiting from the money too much to make a fuss.

Are there churches out there that are seriously considering how good the good news would be for the slums and drug-infested ghetto's? Most churches I know are focused on keeping kids and youth safe, providing a safe atmosphere so we can stay pure and holy. But that means looking the other way when the gangsters and rich/corrupt politicians and selfish/greasy businessmen keep pushing their slime onto their neighbors and regions.

Watching the movie made me feel like the gospel is really quite impotent against gangster-darkness. I know God is always at work in this world fueling justice and mercy in all its forms: I bet he'd like to see more church's stick out their neck more often and join him in his "dirty" work.

What Makes the Good News Good?

One of the unique struggles adult Christians have if they became a Christian as a child and learned a lot about the Bible and Christianity as a child is this: trying to make the leap to understand the Bible and Christianity as an adult.

As a child, I understood the good news to be this: Jesus died for my sins, and if I ask for forgiveness he will come into my heart so that I can live with him forever when I die.

The Problem: that doesn't work for me as an adult who is a Christian. Existentially, it doesn't ring as good news to me.
The Other Problem: the Bible never once poses the good news as what I just summarized above.

So: what is the good news that Jesus proclaims to first century Jews and Gentiles? And how does that translate to good news for today - to me in this twenty-first century?

Scot McKnight takes a shot at this issue in a blogpost (you really ought to take the time to read) titled: The Problem is the Problem. He writes:

To say that we Christians have the "gospel" is to say we have "good news that resolves the bad news." So, we ask, What is the problem to which the gospel speaks this good news? What is it that Christianity "fixes"? The most significant problem many presentations of the gospel face is that the problem the gospel is trying to fix is not robust enough. In other words, the problem has become the problem.

What is the need humans have that the gospel satisfies? I'd be interested in your response to this question.

Here's what I wrote as a response:

Scot, you ask: "What is the need humans have that the gospel satisfies?"

Hope.

Humans need hope that there is a way that "works."
Is there a way to live that reduces/negates my fears?
Is there a way to live that helps me quit doing shameful things or takes away the shame?
Is there a way to live so that I can get along with everybody?
Is there a way to live so that my little part of the world stays beautiful?

A lot of people I know are giving up on hope that there is a way that works and are just trying to make the best of it. They are taking medication for the fear, hiding dark shameful secrets, walking away from friendships/family when it gets hard, and giving little consideration to how much they need to care for the creation around them.

For the people who haven't given up hope, they are still pretty frustrated that their way isn't working that well, and that so many other people don't seem to have it figured out.

I think the four "cracks" that you identify are on the mark.

I've never used the fear of hell to convince people to "believe" in Jesus, but I don't feel confident about the alternatives. I've drifted towards heralding how much better the way of Jesus is than the world's way, but I have a hard time connecting it to what the way of Jesus saves us from and what it saves us to. It's not been clear to me the connection between loving God/others and salvation/gospel.

Maybe I need to get some more of your books...

McKnight is a gifted writer, and he addresses this issue in more detail in his book Embracing Grace: A Gospel for All of Us where he tries to define the problem by making sure we are asking the right questions. I've ordered it - I know I need it...

Jesus & American Politics

Here's the basic message from Sunday - the last one before Election Tuesday. I asked a bunch of friends on Facebook to give me some wisdom on what I ought to consider as I prepared this message. Their feedback was really, really helpful.

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As followers of Jesus, some of us will be voting for the Republicans on Tuesday, others voting for the Democrats, others won't be voting, and others are still undecided about who to vote for on Election Day. I'm glad we have political diversity here - it's a sign of health and wisdom. I'm glad you're glad for the political diversity - it helps us be more thoughtful and considerate when we speak publicly about politics - though it doesn't mean we speak with less concern or conviction.

I think it is necessary that at least once in this very long political campaign season we together search some Scriptures as disciples of Jesus to better hear what God's Spirit is saying to us, and thus shape us as we prepare to vote. Please hear this: I am not presuming to know what candidate God has endorsed, OR which one he will prompt you to consider. I am NOT endorsing either candidate through this message.

Question: Does Jesus care about American politics? Yes. Why? Because politics is about power, and Jesus cares a lot about how power is used. Pretty much the good news is good news about power - Jesus is announcing the good news about how God is going to use power to liberate the world from the grip of evil, injustice, mercilessness and bondage. Jesus is very aware of how power can be used to liberate people (think Exodus and Easter...) and how power can be used to crush and enslave people (think Empire and Crucifixion...).

Jesus has demonstrated for his disciples how to use power. The kingdoms of this world use power over people, but the Kingdom of God as announced/introduced by Jesus uses power to come under people (power over/power under terminology comes from Greg Boyd - The Myth of a Christian Nation). Jesus makes really clear in John 18v36 that his kingdom, his usage of power is not of this world. He doesn't use his power to fight and thus force his way upon others. Jesus knows that his usage of power will prevail in the end - Revelation 11v15 is a central verse of that prophetic letter: the heavens announce that the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah and he will reign forever and ever!

We ought to be aware of the damage and destruction that comes from the world's usage of power. It's this awareness, then, that gives such power to the announcement of Jesus in Luke 4v18-19: I - in all my power - have come to bring good news to the poor, the prisoner, the blind, the oppressed, the powerless! Disciples of Jesus understand that we are to use our power to come under them and set them free - this is what the Spirit of God is always up to in this world. Which is why Jesus invites us in Matthew 6v32 to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and he'll take care of everything else (which means don't worry...).

Yes it matters who we vote for. There are many wise Christians who have spent decades and even centuries considering how our faith ought to shape our political involvement and goals. But it also matters that you listen to the Spirit of God and you do what he prompts you to do so that you are using your power to set people free, so that your usage of power is good news to those on the underside of Empire. And this leads us to the main text for the morning, Mark 12v14-16; "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, give to God what is God's."

Here's some very interesting stuff about this text: the Herodians and Pharisees (usually enemies towards one another) have come together against a common foe - Jesus, in order to trap him and hopefully get him arrested and killed, and thus silenced. The Herodians are pro-Roman; the Romans have placed King Herod in power, thus the Herodians gleefully collect taxes and enforce Roman law and defend Roman abuses of power. They'd be happy to hear Jesus encourage the masses to give their taxes to Caesar (more money for them), but in this case they are hoping Jesus will denounce giving taxes to Caesar, which will make Jesus guilty of treason, and thus liable for quick crucifixion.

The Pharisees are anti-Rome and pro-Israel; mostly they are pro-strict adherence to Torah. The Pharisees believe that if enough people would adhere to Torah strictly, God would get rid of the Romans. The Pharisees are all about holy righteousness, which means avoidance of impurification- the Romans are basically making it virtually impossible to keep Torah, and this angers the Pharisees. They'd be happy to hear Jesus say that we are only to give taxes to God, but in this case their hoping that he'll advocate giving only taxes to God so that he'll be labeled as fomenting rebellion against Caesar and thus quickly crucified.

Jesus is too smart for that. The tax in question is the Imperial Tax- that which is levied on subject peoples of the Empire. Rome conquers people in bloody, tyrannical, devastating, genocidal fashion; then they tax those terrified people so that they can go on conquering others. Jesus tells everyone who is listening: go ahead and pay the taxes to Caesar. Caesar can have the coins he minted.

But note what he goes on to say: also give to God what is His. As soon as his Jewish listeners heard this, they would have immediately thought of Psalm 24v1 "The earth is the LORD's and everything in it!" He's subverting the claim of Caesar - Caesar can have his little bloody empire/coins, but the whole earth is the LORD's! He's also upbraiding the Pharisees - Caesar cannot keep you from keeping Torah. The LORD is bigger than Caesar, and no decree from Caesar, no law, no requirement from Caesar can keep you from keeping the heart of the law: Love God/Love your Neighbor (Mark 12v28-34).

This is why everyone was amazed: Jesus avoided any accusation of treason while at the same time subverting the claim of the Herodians and wildly expanding the belief-system of the Pharisees. Brilliant. Yes, the taxes you pay back to Caesar only seem to encourage him in his bloody "peace through victory" empire - HOWEVER - your love of God/neighbor will dull the glory of Rome and increase the glory of God, the light of your love will bit by bit drive back the darkness of Rome's devastation. Yes, you are paying taxes that support that darkness, but more importantly you are loving your neighbor instead of giving into bitterness, fear, and despair - and that is very, very, very powerful.

Paul picks up this theme in Romans 13 as he reworks this teaching of Jesus for the Christians meeting in Rome. Paul writes very, very carefully to his friends - they live in the city of darkness, the new Babylon, the place of bloody politics. The culture is anti-Christian, the society is anti-Christian, the schools, the entertainment, the marketplace is all anti-Christian. But Paul doesn't say to flee! Instead he sets up the tone of the chapter with this verse from 12v21 - Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. This is a basic reworking of: Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, give to God what is God's.

Notice how Paul carefully phrases the letter in 13v6-7: pay your taxes, respect those in authority over you (even if they are corrupt killers, unjust judges, slimy senators, etc). But hear what Paul goes on to say in 13v8-10: fulfill the law by loving one another (even your enemy...). Rome was all about rule of law - except that their law kept on killing off whole cities and classes of citizens.... Jesus was all about rule of law - the law of love: Love does no harm to its neighbor! Can you imagine a more subversive theme for Paul to promote in the heart of Rome? No wonder Jesus and Paul got killed by the Romans - they're not stupid! When enough people don't buy into the propaganda of the Empire, when enough people start loving their neighbor and personally doing no harm, when they seek first the kingdom of God and allow no fear of death (because of the promised resurrection) to sway them from righteousness - well who can stop that?

So, when you go to vote on Election Tuesday - carry with you a proper perspective of what is at stake. It does not matter who is elected - followers of Jesus will live out the good news no matter what. God does not decide to bless a nation solely based on who is the President and the choices that he/she makes. God primarily blesses a nation through the individual actions of those that claim to follow his Son and participate in His kingdom.

If you are voting motivated by fear, then you may be hard-pressed to vote out of love. If you are voting and worried about the direction of this country, you may be missing out on what God is doing all around you. If you are anxious about the wrong candidate getting chosen, you may be unaware of how creative and capable God is of still being able to work through any person/government.

It matters who you vote for - not because of who actually gets elected, but because of how you let the Spirit shape your decisions on who to vote for. It doesn't really matter who you vote for because God is always at work in this world to overcome all evil with good. Whether Christ returns this decade or in a hundred decades - Christ will be looking for people who worried less about electing the right candidate and who worked more to love the neighbor God put in your path.

Three things to do before you vote:
1) Pray - not that God would make your chosen candidate win - but rather that God would grant you wisdom and knowledge as you listen to his Spirit for direction.

2) Prioritize - rediscover what are God's priorities. Then discern, out of all the things that are God's priorities, which ones do you really care about? Then pray about what action God wants you to take about those things that you care about that are on God's priority list according to the Scriptures. This will help you keep your vote and its consequences in perspectives.

3) Discern the Political Realities - what is possible right now in light of who the candidates are, the force of the political winds, the mood of the country, and your sense of what God is already doing in and through you/your fellow followers.

The USA and Constitutional/Liberal Democracy

I posted this article by Fareed Zakaria on my Facebook page, but I also wanted to post a small section here. These quotes are an outline of the kind of government we are designed to have in the USA.

As I re-learn some ideas about our constitutional democracy, I'm also being challenged to re-think the role of the church within that kind of government. The church is primarily concerned with moral issues - how does the church address morality issues when the church is in the minority, and is one of many competing voices for the mass public?

These quotes (and the whole article) were very helpful to me as I continue to process my understanding of how the church and the state work together for the Good.

It has been difficult to recognize this problem because for almost a century in the West, democracy has meant liberal democracy -- a political system marked not only by free and fair elections, but also by the rule of law, a separation of powers, and the protection of basic liberties of speech, assembly, religion, and property. In fact, this latter bundle of freedoms -- what might be termed constitutional liberalism -- is theoretically different and historically distinct from democracy.

As the political scientist Philippe Schmitter has pointed out, "Liberalism, either as a conception of political liberty, or as a doctrine about economic policy, may have coincided with the rise of democracy. But it has never been immutably or unambiguously linked to its practice." Today the two strands of liberal democracy, interwoven in the Western political fabric, are coming apart in the rest of the world. Democracy is flourishing; constitutional liberalism is not.

He goes on to quote Samuel Huntington:

Elections, open, free and fair, are the essence of democracy, the inescapable sine qua non. Governments produced by elections may be inefficient, corrupt, shortsighted, irresponsible, dominated by special interests, and incapable of adopting policies demanded by the public good. These qualities make such governments undesirable but they do not make them undemocratic. Democracy is one public virtue, not the only one, and the relation of democracy to other public virtues and vices can only be understood if democracy is clearly distinguished from the other characteristics of political systems.

I think it's been helpful to be more precise about how we are governed - democracy in and of itself, apparently, isn't good enough:

This definition also accords with the commonsense view of the term. If a country holds competitive, multiparty elections, we call it democratic. When public participation in politics is increased, for example through the enfranchisement of women, it is seen as more democratic. Of course elections must be open and fair, and this requires some protections for freedom of speech and assembly.

But to go beyond this minimalist definition and label a country democratic only if it guarantees a comprehensive catalog of social, political, economic, and religious rights turns the word democracy into a badge of honor rather than a descriptive category. After all, Sweden has an economic system that many argue curtails individual property rights, France until recently had a state monopoly on television, and England has an established religion. But they are all clearly and identifiably democracies. To have democracy mean, subjectively, "a good government" renders it analytically useless.

This brief recounting of where our constitutional/liberal democracy originated from is really helpful:

Constitutional liberalism, on the other hand, is not about the procedures for selecting government, but rather government's goals. It refers to the tradition, deep in Western history, that seeks to protect an individual's autonomy and dignity against coercion, whatever the source -- state, church, or society. The term marries two closely connected ideas. It is liberal because it draws on the philosophical strain, beginning with the Greeks, that emphasizes individual liberty. It is constitutional because it rests on the tradition, beginning with the Romans, of the rule of law.

Constitutional liberalism developed in Western Europe and the United States as a defense of the individual's right to life and property, and freedom of religion and speech. To secure these rights, it emphasized checks on the power of each branch of government, equality under the law, impartial courts and tribunals, and separation of church and state.

Its canonical figures include the poet John Milton, the jurist William Blackstone, statesmen such as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, and philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Adam Smith, Baron de Montesquieu, John Stuart Mill, and Isaiah Berlin. In almost all of its variants, constitutional liberalism argues that human beings have certain natural (or "inalienable") rights and that governments must accept a basic law, limiting its own powers, that secures them.

Thus in 1215 at Runnymede, England's barons forced the king to abide by the settled and customary law of the land. In the American colonies these laws were made explicit, and in 1638 the town of Hartford adopted the first written constitution in modern history. In the 1970s, Western nations codified standards of behavior for regimes across the globe. The Magna Carta, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, the American Constitution, and the Helsinki Final Act are all expressions of constitutional liberalism.

Wise Christian Politics

Christianity Today has an excellent article by John G. Stackhouse Jr. titled: A Variety of Evangelical Politics. The point of the article is to review some books that reveal how diverse evangelicals are when it comes to political thought and action. What I found really helpful was the last part of the article, a section which I have copy/pasted here. Here Stackhouse outlines three typical approaches Christians take to political involvement - the third way best describes what I have been trying to figure out. It was helpful to me, it may be helpful to you. Read the pasted section below, and then read the whole article at CT.

A Mixed Field
Jesus once described the world as a field full of both grain and weeds (Matt. 13:37–43). So what should we expect in this weedy world?

We should expect sin. We should expect some politicians to accept graft, and some executives to sell out their companies and shareholders and customers for personal gain. We should expect drunk driving and drug pushing and cartels and sexual assault and stock manipulation and terrorism and a hundred other evils.

Beyond outright sin, we should expect waste. It should not shock us that governments and armies and corporations and schools waste money. It should not shock us that institutions waste people's time and waste people's talents and waste the earth's resources. Indeed, beyond sin and waste, we should expect stupidity and absurdity, vanity and promiscuity. And we should also expect a certain amount of confusion in which it is not always clear what is weed and what is grain.

Furthermore, we must reckon not only with what is bad out there, but also with what is bad in here: in our individual selves and in our most sacred institutions, whether families, churches, or other Christian organizations.

Reckoning means "acting accordingly," thus structuring and conducting our lives so as to restrain the evil within us and the evil without us as best we can, and responding properly when those restraints give way, as they so often do. Such reckoning also means that we do not wait until our motives have resolved into perfect purity before we attempt to do God's work, since few of us consider ourselves "entirely sanctified" as of yet. Furthermore, such reckoning means that we not only are not shocked by impure motives in others, but also that we presume impure motives in others. Doing so, we yet will decide sometimes to support them, cooperate with them, and praise them for their successes, since we do not demand of them an unrealistic purity.

We will always wish it were otherwise, and we will demand legality at least and high principle at best. But we will not merely wring our hands and despair of politics until a truly good political option appears. For we would then have to wait for Jesus' return and remain useless politically in the meanwhile (except perhaps in the limited role of chiding everyone else for failing to be as good as he is). We will expect our leaders—in state, commerce, the professions, and also the church—to be tempted by power, money, and fame. So we will construct the healthiest possible hierarchies, which will both help them resist temptation and protect the rest of us from their expected failures to do so.

All of these negative expectations, however, arise not out of despair, which enervates and immobilizes, but out of both clear-eyed empirical analysis and our own theology, which illuminate and motivate. For our theology, which contains a robust doctrine of sin, includes also robust doctrines of both providence and redemption. God set up institutions to bless us, despite their corruption, and he continues to work through them. God also rules history and aids those who press for greater shalom in those institutions. God is not discouraged by the evil evident in ourselves and our world. He is sad about it, angry at it, and grieved by it, but not discouraged. He works away at it, knowing that his labor is certain to produce fruit. And he has called us to do the same as human beings and as Christians.

Wise Christian Politics Is Complicated
In the light of this reality, we can now see that there are three kinds of people who undertake political action. The ideologue has it easiest. He simply asks himself, in any situation on any issue, what's ultimately right. Then he does everything he can to realize that ideal.

That's the way many Christians have engaged in political action, whether on the Left, Right, or whatever. If we believe that abortion is wrong, then we work to outlaw it. If we think that gay marriage is consonant with Christian values, then we should make it legal. Graphic movies, globalization, immigration, climate change—whatever it is we believe is right on any issue, we simply seek to universalize by whatever means are available.

The pragmatist also starts with the question of what's ultimately right. But then she carefully appraises the situation and works for what she deems currently possible. If abortion is wrong, but the best she can do is get a ban on partial-birth abortions, she works for that. If gay marriage is wrong, but the best she can do is see "civil unions" instituted instead, then that's what she aims for.

The pluralist asks what's ultimately right and what's currently possible. But he interposes a third, admittedly odd question between those two: What is penultimately (second to last/second-best) right? Might it be God's will that what is ultimately right not prevail immediately?

The pluralist Christian might have strong views about x. He is also pragmatic enough to know that a total ban on alternatives to his views of x is unlikely in his society. But he is also willing to consider the possibility that in God's providence, it is better for there to be more than one view of x allowed in society. He might see that, yes, ultimately God's will is to get rid of this or that, but penultimately it serves God's purposes for society to allow this or that to remain.

Let's consider an easy example. It is ultimately better that all speech be accurate, eloquent, and edifying. But most of us Christians think it's best for our societies to allow for considerable freedom in speech. For some good things to happen, we concede, some not-so-good things and even some bad things must be allowed to remain.

Thus, wise Christian politics has a difficult three-fold task: to determine what is ultimately right, to determine what is penultimately best, and to work for what is politically possible.

ecclessiology, missiology, and political philosophy...

Big fancy words for the ideas floating around in my head as I try to work through my thoughts on what's the church supposed to look like these days, what does that mean for our mission/purpose, and how does that intersect with our nation's obsession with how to use power.

What does the church care for who is in power? Would that actually stop the church from proclaiming and living out the good news? No. From feeding the poor, caring for the orphans, loving the widows, visiting prisoners? No.

If the church is to be the good news it is proclaiming, then obviously this good news ought to affect our participation in the economy, the military industrial complex, the justice system, education, etc. And to what extent do we rely on the elected officials to help make happen what we are convinced of is necessary to come to pass because of the Gospel?

Since nothing is perfect, and power often leads to some form of corruption, and since we must use power and thus partner with imperfect politicians to infuse the good news into the economy, education, environmental issues, health/life issues, etc, then how do we process our frustration at the compromises and betrayals that result from working with politicians?

Liberal Democracy is seen by some as the final form of governance to emerge out of our human history; it's obviously been tainted in our country. Where are the Christians who are seeking to live out the good news of the kingdom in partnership with people who seek to establish liberal democracy in its best form?

Every Huckleberry is Precious in the Lord's Sight!

This is Huckleberry Season #4! And this is the picture of the long-awaited Huckleberry Pie! It is so tasty!

Here's what's different about the huckleberry season this year: we have bags and bags and bags of huckleberries! Woohoo! Last year we had maybe two quarts (see those little plastic containers - last year we had the harvest equivalent of two of those containers)! This year we had over 50 quarts!

Look upon the beautiful, bountious harvest of huckleberries! I've never seen so many in my whole entire life!

I'm smiling now because the task of de-stemming each berry had only begun. It took me over three hours to go through that whole bucket of huckleberries. Ugh. My thumbs were pretty sore by midnight.

This is all that's left of my father's huckleberry harvest! It took us over an hour to cut down the huckleberry stalks and then cut the clusters off of the stalks. Each of the boys did a great job of helping!

This is what the huckleberry patch looked like before the harvest! I laughed in utter disbelief - it was like a dream come true! Despite my father's great skill at gardening, I just never imagined he'd be able to grow this many huckleberries! Oh the joy!

The boys are helping carry their harvest of huckleberries back to Papa Ger's truck.

Eli was a super helper - he carefully picked each individual huckleberry off of the cluster and then carefully placed it in the box. He took his job seriously!

Grandma Rozer's strategy was to cut down huge stalks and throw them in the big box. Then she sat down and pulled out a stalk at a time to cut off the clusters and then de-stem them. Just like Henry Ford - she has to find a better way!

Isaac and Levi made a great team - even when they got tangled up in the oversized stalks!

Papa Ger was glad for the help - the boys floated back and forth between grandpa and grandma. Did they offer to help me? Of course not. I'm chopped liver when the grandfolks are around!

Here Eli is showing off his handiwork: an individual huckleberry that he has carefully plucked from the stalk.

Eli floated all over the place: he'd help Papa Ger, he'd help me, he'd help Grandma Rozer, he'd wander around, he'd try to help his brothers - but they weren't too keen on him butting into their space.

Mr. Isaac taking a break from harvesting!

Mr. Levi and his cheesey grin!

Grandma Rozer leads the way to Papa Ger's heavenly huckleberry patch: I am totally unprepared at this point for the bonanza of berries I am about to behold with my eyes. All I can say is this: Dad knows how to grow huckleberries! Way to go Dad!

Sunday Sermon Notes 10.26.08

Grace and peace to you
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 I thank my God every time I remember you.

4 In all my prayers for all of you,
I always pray with joy
5 because of your partnership in the gospel
from the first day until now,
6 being confident of this,
that he who began a good work in you
will carry it on to completion
until the day of Christ Jesus.

When I first started Anchor I was very excited and very nervous. Eventually the excitement mellowed out, but the nervousness/worry/fear/anxiety continued to go up. My insecurities and lack of experience were overwhelming my confidence. I constantly was asking "What if..." questions from a negative point of view. What if no one comes? What if no one's life is changed? What if I'm a failure, etc.

A couple of weeks ago, while reflecting on some Jesus-wisdom, I was convicted of my worry/fear. I was so afraid of failing at Anchor that all the fun was sucked out of it. I read the part where Jesus gives permission to his followers to not worry. He says: Do not worry! Instead of worry, seek God's kingdom - with confidence. It's been a huge release to not worry/be afraid about how my work will turn out. It's alot more fun to have confidence in God's work in and through us.

Paul is very confident - based on his trust in God, his belief about Jesus, and his experience in the past - that the good work God has begun in the world will not be in vain. Paul is confident because he knows what kind of failure he was - despite his best efforts to do good; but the LORD got a hold of him and began using him for good. Our worst failures are still capable of being used by God to further his good work in this world.

Paul reminds us that the good news is this: Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the gospel, this is the good news, the good work that God is up to in the world by Jesus through his Spirit. If crucifixion of His Son can be used for good, if God can give grace to the soldiers and citizens who crucified his son, if God can make peace with rebel on a cross, then he is definitely willing to give you grace, to make peace with you.

And odds are that he is wanting to give others grace and peace through you. Which is one of the best attributes of a church: a community of people giving and receiving grace from one another - and having that grace and peace overflow into their homes, school, work, the neighborhood.

Are you afraid of how your life is turning out? Worried about how your marriage, kids, job, schooling, neighborhood etc. is going? Jesus gives you an invitation: don't worry about it. Instead, trust God to help you figure out what is the next best step to take. This way of dealing with the problem makes possible some confidence that God will give you some grace - open some doors of opportunity, and give you some peace - a way for things to work out "all right".

When enough people start seeking grace and peace from God so that it affects their everyday life, it will be alot easier for more people to see God at work in the world. I don't know about you - but I'd really like to see more of God's grace and peace at work in this crazy, violent, beautiful world.

Isn't there a better candidate to vote for? Please?

Why is it that I think that my fellow Americans who are running for president of our country ought to hold to a higher standard of discourse, reasoning, nuance, etc.? A small rummage through the history books of past presidential races in the past century or two reveal much worse experiences - gross slander, outrageous lies, immoral conduct, obvious media bias...so why do I think today should be different? Running for president seems to bring the worst out of presidential candidates...especially the closer they get to the voting day. The final criteria comes down to: out of two terrible candidates, who is likely to do the most acceptable damage to our country.

Sooooo...as a Christian - do I bring a unique set of decision-factors to my voting choice? As an American citizen, I have a right and a responsibility to vote. I intend to exercise that right and fulfill that responsibility. As an American citizen, I am pretty much confused over who will do the most acceptable damage. The Democrat is accused of being a big fan of inducing socialism...this coming from the Republican candidate who's party has just nationalized a bunch of really, really big banks (otherwise understood as a form of socialism). Oh the irony. The Democrat is accused of being untested and too young...so then the Republican brings on a VP who has less. Oh the irony. The Republican is accused of being very, very negative - and my wife has received a negative piece of mail everyday for two weeks from the Democrat. Not a single one from the Republican. The Republican is accused of being too much like Bush, having all spent all that time with him, but the Democrat is from Chicago politics!

Sooooo...as a Christian, what else should I consider when it comes to my vote? Moral stuff?

Since presidential campaigns pretty much use lots of fear to scare votes their way, and since they constantly worry about the polls, and since their rivals are full of anxiety about losing, and since many, many, many, too many Americans are on medication because they can't handle their overloaded fears, worries, and anxieties...maybe the major difference for Christians is that they cast a vote for either candidate totally worry/fear/anxiety-free. And this is not because the Christian is naive, narrow-minded, or stupid. It's just that worry, fear, anxiety have a powerful dulling effect, they cloud one's ability to see reality. Could it be that one of the big gifts Christians could give to the next president is not a voting bloc, but action-oriented citizens who seek to serve and work and strengthen their neighborhoods with a certain confidence, generosity, and wisdom that seems...well...better rooted in reality and less rooted in fear.

Really, does it matter who is elected?

Really?

Did You Know...?

Tomorrow Anchor celebrates Anniversary #10! It's the last Sunday of our first decade; Sunday #521!

Did you know that there were about 120 people at Anchor on that first Sunday?
Did you know that there are about 20 people still at Anchor from those first couple Sundays?
Karen Lauer; Joanna Herrick; Jeff Jacobs; Laura, Brianna, Brandon Pence; Tim & Alice Bauman; Terry, Joe Leatherman, Steve & Pam Dennie, Wendy, Taylor, Tyler, Alyssa Vergon; Amy Saleh, Karen Johnson, Tim & Tara Hallman.
Did you know that there were about 20 people from Emmanuel Community Church that met for the first time in the Dennie's living room one month before our launch date? There are four of us left from that group. There were over fifty people that came over from ECC to help get Anchor going - there are six of us left from that group (thanks Amy and Karen!).
Did you know that the Leathermans had been attending ECC for a few months until they felt the Lord prompting them to start attending Third Street UB. A few months after that ECC began the process of planning out the restart there! Terry and Joe were ahead of the curve!

Did you know that Anchor has averaged almost 100 individuals a Sunday in the past decade?
Did you know that Anchor has baptized about 30 individuals unto Jesus Christ?
Did you know that Anchor has dedicated about 30 infants to the LORD?
Did you know that Anchor has supported five missionaries?

Did you know that Anchor has worked hard to bless our neighborhood?
We hosted a huge summer carnival the first four years; we've hosted a popular Halloween MAZE every year! We've walked the neighborhood picking up trash, we've landscaped homes, Christmas caroled! We opened up a youth center: had an after-school program, a youth cafe, a concert ministry, and a bible study. We've partnered with the other local churches, other local non-profits, and other neighbors to meet the needs of the community. We've helped families at Thanksgiving and Christmas, we've provided community service projects for juvenile's on probation, and visited those in prison.

Did you know that Anchor sponsored four mission trips: Laurel Mission (KY), Reynosa, Mexico, South Dakota, and the Bahamas! We even had some Anchorites go serve in New Orleans following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Our youth went to DC/LA 2000 and 2003; and the very first youth group in 1999 went white-water rafting! The youth have helped raise food for the hungry, school supplies for the needy, and raised money to buy Christmas gifts for kids going without. In 2000 we had over 70 kids and youth get together for a very fun night at LazerTag! In 2002 and 2003 we had over four hundred youth come for a concert-fundraiser at the church! One time Tony Biard had almost 700 youth at a concert at our church!

Did you know that Anchor and Emmanuel have joined together every year the past ten years to form a softball team for the summer? Anchor also had a indoor soccer team for a couple of years at Tahcumwah - with some friends from Fellowship Missionary (and some other churches too)! Anchor partnered with Grace Presbyterian, First Mennonite, and North Highlands Church of Christ for a VBS in 2006, and again in 2007 - this time with Trinity Presbyterian and Spring Street Wesleyan! In 2008 Trinity Lutheran joined the crew for a Walk-thru-the Bible event! Anchor's music team has played events at Union Chapel Church, Corruna UBC, and several other churches.

Did you know that there have been lots of kids, youth, and adults who have been a blessing to Anchor? They've also along the way been blessed by Anchor...may God continue to bless the world through Anchor...and all those who've been part of Anchor along the way.

Tim @ REVEAL - Post-Afternoon Two

My confidence about Anchor is going up with the REVEAL information - it gives objective data/tasks to do which we know to do, but now we can do with more focus, clarity, and boldness.

To summarize REVEAL and FOLLOW ME:
There are four segments of people in the church
Exploring Christ - interested but not following
Growing in Christ - made a choice to follow, but still new to the beliefs and practices of being a disciple
Close to Christ - consider Jesus their friend who they rely on to help them get through their day, their trials, their plans for life.
Christ-centered - consider Jesus to be the most important person in their life to whom they have pledged whole-hearted loyalty and seek to obey everything He has instructed them to do.

With these four segments, there are then three major movements people need to make to move forward in their life as a disciple
Movement 1 - from Exploring Christ to Growing in Christ: this includes a decision to become a disciple of Jesus
Movement 2 - from Growing in Christ to Close to Christ: this includes increased intensity of belief and action
Movement 3 - from Close to Christ to Christ-centered: this is the hardest movement to make, the total abandonment of self and complete surrender to the Way of Jesus.

The three movements are made through participation in four key categories of spiritual catalysts that cause movement from one segment to the next.
Catalyst 1 - Core Spiritual beliefs and attitudes
Catalyst 2 - Organized church activities
Catalyst 3 - Personal spiritual practices
Catalyst 4 - Spiritual activities with others.

What the two books then detail is the identity of the four segments, and then how each catalyst works in each movement for each kind of disciple. It gets a little overwhelming, but there are some key catalysts that emerge:
1. Spiritual Friendships are very important for people to move forward.
2. Personal engagement in Scripture for purposeful action is key.
3. Serving others is a good way to move forward as a disciple.
4. Choosing to give myself away in imitation of Jesus is crucial.

Churches are strongly encouraged to take the REVEAL survey, identify how many are in what segments, and then identify the key catalytic actions that need to be taken to get people moving. And even if you don't take the survey soon, now we know with greater assurance and boldness what we'll be preaching on for a very long time.

Oh, and lest we forget: if the pastor is going to work hard at getting his congregation to move forward as disciples, then the pastor must also make the move towards Christ-centeredness. You can't lead people where you won't go. The pastor ought not to focus on making disciples if he is going to then neglect his own need to become a disciple. The more a pastor focuses on becoming a Christ-centered disciple, the more capacity he will have to let the Spirit work through him to do the catalytic tasks that help make more disciples.

Tim @ REVEAL - Afternoon Two

What a great event!

For the benediction Greg Hawkins had most of the fifteen pastors who spoke at the event come up for a special word to us. What struck me most about this line up of speakers was this: they weren't chosen because of their special speaking ability, for the national reknown of their church, or their charismatic personality - they were chosen because the empirical data revealed their churches to be some of the best in the country at making disciples. I found myself listening with extra intensity to what they shared about their ministry, their church, their best practices - they were sharing not so that they'd be invited back to the next conference, but because they were wholly devoted to being a disciple and making wholly devoted disciples. Very refreshing and inspiring.

The two sessions this afternoon were very different from each other. The first afternoon session had two very different parts to it: the first included an interview with Eric, the guy who was the brains behind the REVEAL implementation, and with two of his clients from the marketplace.

Takeaways from their input: accept the data (facts are your friends!), make compelling change (no half-hearted stuff), the senior leader has to support it 100%. Jump in with both feet, look for long-term results, and be innovative in making disciples - make it work within the realities that you are immersed in.

The second part of the session included a panel of pastors who shared how their churches were working through the current (and extended) economic hardships.

Takeaways from their insights: economic hardships ought to be a spiritual formation opportunity; tithing in the hard times reveals what you believe about God's provision for you, churches are never immune from the economic realities of their members - churches need to be prepared to weather the hardships, and to prepare their members.

The last session of the day was spent with John Ortberg. His words were nourishment for the soul. He asked us: are we focused on making better Christians or more disciples?

Takeaways: people move from being a stranger to Jesus to an admirer of Jesus, and some then become a follower. But what often happens is that people move from being an admirer of Jesus to a User of Jesus. Usually Jesus is used as a way to get into heaven when they die.
John noted three different kinds of faith: public faith - what we want others to think we believe; private faith - what we think we believe; and then core faith - what we actually believe. How do you know what is your core belief? Your actions reveal what you actually believe.
The Bible doesn't teach us that we should trust Jesus in order to get into Heaven; rather the Bible reveals that to trust Jesus is to believe to the core of us that He is right about everything and thus we act accordingly.
According to Dallas Willard, Life Transformation comes from Vision, Intentionality, and Means. We must have a vision of God that causes us to intentionally take action using means/methods to experience that kind of life with God.
And: only the love of God secures the vision of God.
Finally: no one can become a disciple because you think you should; you have to want it.

Tim @ REVEAL - Morning Two

To the one who has ears: Hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches/Anchor/me.

That's a paraphrase of John's refrain to the seven churches of Western Asia - and to America - and to the world.

I hear the Spirit speaking...this conference is so good for me. There are some great churches in this country - let me repeat that: there are some GREAT churches in this country! It is so inspiring to hear their stories of what they are doing to make disciples. It's also inspiring to know: I/we can do it too! It's there...right on our fingertips...Anchor can be a great church too...we're almost there...but we're a few strategic steps from getting there...big steps...but steps we can take.

Takeaway from this morning's two sessions here at REVEAL:
* Preach with a burden. Robert Morris from Gateway Church shared how this works for him...beautiful and compelling.

* Plan Sunday Mornings around experiencing God: make the morning include three sections: worship singing/preaching the word/a time of ministering. People want to experience God...why not when they gather on a Sunday morning? God's Spirit must show up for this to happen, but God's people who oversee the event must make sure they do their part to help make it happen.

* Consider what people are bringing in with them on Sunday mornings - and thus what you must then do to address the baggage they bring: what are the things they bring in with them that God wants to do something about.
Things people walk in with on a Sunday morning: fear, anxiety, worry; boredom, stress, distraction; brokenness, shame, guilt; doubt, questions, confusion; despair, depression, hopelessness.
The question is: how does our time of worship singing take into account this reality? How does the sermon? The response time of ministering (prayer, counseling, etc)? How can our time of worship, hearing the Word, ministering help facilitate moments for God to meet those needs?

Worship/Church is not about observing God, but about meeting/experiencing God.
Provide an atmosphere where as many people as possible can experience God.

Have the last line on the Sermon Outline be: What is God saying to me through this message?

* Make sure people understand that they don't go to church, the are the church!
24/7/365...
Have a very high standard for membership - it equals leadership/discipleship. All the churches here that are noted for doing a GREAT job of making disiciples all have very high expectations of involvement/commitment. They believe that people want to be inspired/challenged...but those people also have to be held accountable.

* Instead of counting morning attendance, figure out ways to count touches: touches = touching lives for God. The pastors on the platform all agreed that this is a very hard transition to make - it's hard to count what matters most.

* Get everybody who is part of the church to be serving somewhere, somehow with their skills, passions, natural opportunities.

* Churches need to build bridges to the community! Disciples must have an avenue for actually being good news to the community within which they live!

Tim @ REVEAL - Pre-Morning Day Two

Last night I spent a couple of hours reading through the book FOLLOW ME; here is some stuff that I found revealing.
The focus of this book is spiritual movement: specifically what moves a person from one stage of spiritual growth to the next. pg27

Spiritual Growth is a highly individual process, full of mysterious moments that crystallize and catalyze our faith. 47

The Top Five Spiritual Catalysts for Movement 1 59
~ The top five spiritual catalysts out of the more than fifty factors evaluated are listed in order of importance for Movement 1. These five factors represent the combination of catalysts that are the most predictive of movement from Exploring Christ to Growing in Christ.
Movement 1: from Exploring Christ to Growing in Christ
1. Salvation by Grace (Spiritual Belief/Attitude)
2. The Trinity (Spiritual Belief/Attitude)
3. Serve the Church (Church Activity)
4. Prayer to Seek Guidance (Spiritual Practice)
5. Reflection on Scripture (Spiritual Practice)

The Top Five Spiritual Catalysts for Movement 2 62
~ The top five spiritual catalysts out of the more than fifty factors evaluated are listed in order of importance for Movement 1. These five factors represent the combination of catalysts that are the most predictive of movement from Growing In Christ to Close to Christ.
Movement 2: from Growing In Christ to Close to Christ
1. Personal God (Spiritual Belief/Attitude)
2. Prayer to Seek Guidance (Spiritual Practice)
3. Reflection on Scripture (Spiritual Practice)
4. Solitude (Spiritual Practice)
5. Evangelism (Spiritual Activity with Others)

The Top Five Spiritual Catalysts for Movement 3 75
~ The top five spiritual catalysts out of the more than fifty factors evaluated are listed in order of importance for Movement 1. These five factors represent the combination of catalysts that are the most predictive of movement from Close to Christ to Christ-centered.
Movement 3: from Close to Christ to Christ-Centered
1. Giving Away My Life (Spiritual Belief/Attitude)
2. Christ is First (Spiritual Belief/Attitude)
3. Identity in Christ (Spiritual Belief/Attitude)
4. Authority in the Bible (Spiritual Belief/Attitude)
5. Reflection on Scripture (Spiritual Practice)

If you don't know anything about REVEAL or FOLLOW ME, click on the links, or send me an email. If you are interested to know more, click on the links, or email me, or let's plan on getting together to figure some stuff out.

It's worth noting that the one common catalyst for all spiritual movement is Reflection on Scripture for application. The more often someone does it, the more it is a catalyst for following Christ. Think about that...it's so simple...

Tim @ REVEAL - Afternoon One

One full day of REVEAL under my belt. I'm starting to get a headache. Maybe it's from the 1am bedtime lastnight. Or the junk-food I ate to stay awake on my trip. Nothing a good nap can't solve! But I think that maybe the headache is coming because my brain's been on overdrive today - so much good stuff to absorb and process and review.

Both sessions this afternoon were based on some selected pastors of churches that according to REVEAL are doing alot of things right. In the spirit of sharing best practices, these pastors agreed to come and reveal what they are doing right. It's important to note that these are humble men - no inkling of pride or ego. Refreshing.

Takeaways from this afternoon (you'll note that there is nothing revealed that is new or novel...):
* getting people into God's Word so that God can get into people is central, primary, crucial to people moving forward as disciples. Get creative, help remove obstacles/excuses, model, raise the value - do what it takes so that more people are living out the Scriptures, so that they are getting a fresh understanding of God's Word, and then taking responsibility for fusing their faith and works.

* raise the level of intentionality about making disciples in through the local church. Making disciples ought to be THE thing a church does - and how it does it ought to be OBVIOUS to the whole congregation, and not only obvious but understandable. The Senior Pastor has to be a huge factor in this, whether it is personally leading the charge, or always waving the flag for it. The church needs to discern how it will make disciples - the HOW will take time, not because it is hard to figure out, but because it is hard not to make it complicated and misleading. And this is where REVEAL comes in: through empirical data you can discern best practices from other churches for how your church, regardless of size/location/resources can start making more and better disciples.

* did I mention the high value of getting Scripture inside people to catalyze the work of God in helping people become disciples of Jesus? Apparently it's a pretty big deal...

Tim @ REVEAL - Morning One

Morning Number One is finished at the WCA REVEAL Conference.
Very Good STUFF.

One point they repeatedly stress: they have not come up with new ways to make disciples. What they have done is come across strong empirical facts for how certain biblical ways contribute to making disciples. What Bill, Greg and Dave all testified to was the increased boldness and confidence they gained from having these facts in front of them when it comes to leadership and disciple-making.

At Anchor we've simplified our mission, focusing on making disciples who love God and others. The big question is: HOW?

That's what REVEAL is going to get into more this afternoon and tomorrow. I've read the first book on the subject: REVEAL, and I just purchased the other one: FOLLOW ME (which has all of the 'best practices' ideas).

Takeaways from this morning:
Leaders must know what is God's part in making disciples, Leaders must know what is the church's part in making disciples, and Leaders must know what is the individual's part in becoming a disciple.

Leaders must understand what are going to be the catalytic experiences/events that people need that will help them move forward in their discipleship journey. The top four catalytic experiences? Increasing in useful knowledge of the Scriptures; Increasing in reliance upon Jesus Christ for everyday life; Increasing in meaningful service opportunities; Increasing in meaningful community experiences.

Leaders must understand the basic four stages of the people who are part of your church: Explorers (not know much of Jesus); Beginners (know some about Jesus); Close to Christ (consider Jesus a close friend); Christ-centered (reliant upon Christ in everything). Leaders need to know that that the hardest transition to make is from Close to Christ to Christ-centered. Leaders also need to know that it is the Christ-centered people who bring the most passion, resources, energy, maturity, and love to the church community. Leaders need to know how to use Christ-centered people to help those in the other stages move forward in their journey with Jesus.

Good STUFF. The question is still for us in our community: HOW?

Levi & Isaac: First Day of Preschool!

Note: this post is overdue by a month!

September 8 was a mighty big day for our boys! The long awaited day for preschool had arrived!

Isaac is eating his lunch using the only Today Is a Special Day plate, so Levi came up with the idea of using one of Tara's China plate from China! Clever boy! Also, Levi is showing off his Spongebob Squarepants watch that he insisted on wearing to the first day of school. Isaac is also wearing a watch - a Homer Simpson watch with sound effects "Mmmmm...burgers!"

Isaac's thinking he's ready to go...though he was a bit apprehensive.

Levi's all ready to go!



Tara snapped a photo of the boys crossing the parking lot with their bags in tow, she had a hunch that upon entering the building, the boys may not let her take a photo.

Hanging up their bags in the right spot. Step One of the afternoon.

On the first day, it's important to get some time to play - they seemed attracted to the magnets!

Painting with the opposite colors, the boys told Tara to go sit in the van in the parking lot and wait until school is over. They seemed to be adjusting well. Following a successful afternoon, Tara took them to Dairy Queen to celebrate. While there, she asked them if anybody mixed them up. They explained that if kids did it was okay because "Some kids called Miss Jill Miss Traci, and Miss Traci Miss Jill, so it's okay."

This wasn't Emma's first day of kindergarten - more like day 14. Going full-day is finally wearing her out - she hasn't even had supper yet!