Unity

I had the tremendous pleasure of being at Vaughn Chapel Missionary Baptist Church Sunday after services at Northridge. It was the anniversary of my good friend, Pastor Tony Fraley, and they asked me to come and say a few words on his behalf. I wasn't able to get there until 12:15 but was quickly ushered onto the stage to sit with other pastors for the duration of the service. As an African-American church it was stylistically different from the normal Sunday at Northridge but it was incredibly passionate and energetic. While I didn't know all of the songs that were sung, I was able to catch on quickly and our shared enthusiasm for powerful words seeking God's Kingdom created an energy that filled the room.

I was impressed with the deep love that the people of the church feel for their pastor. This was an obvious reflection on the life-to-life investment that Tony has made over the last six years. The level of respect for him and for all of the visiting pastors was also very humbling. It was inspiring to share in this celebration and to be given the future opportunity to return and preach. Sharing in our "chat & chew" after the service was also a tremendous pleasure--not just from the great food, but the chance to spend time with brothers & sisters fighting for the same Kingdom cause.

I made the statement on Sunday that I felt very welcome in my 2nd church home. The people of this church have shown me tremendous love and honor on multiple occasions and it gives me hope for the future as our two churches work together. While the prejudicial lines of race and socioeconomic status are still deep within our community, our two churches are working diligently to see them erased. We are not where we want to be, but I am confident in the progress that has been made as we join together to change the future of our community.

Failing

This past weekend was homecoming for my old high school-Buc Pride Never Dies! As I looked at pictures of the game and friends that were in attendance, it got me thinking about my years working at Mainland and some of the old teams & athletes. For some reason, one former athlete in particular came to mind and I Googled him to see what he was up to. I knew that he had been arrested several years ago and was curious to see if things had changed--sadly, they had not.

This young man had incredible athletic talent & was intelligent, but lazy. He continually got into trouble at school and failed classes, but instead of being held accountable his athletic talent helped him avoid the consequences. This was a repeated pattern of being bailed out under the misguided notion of benefiting him by helping the football team.

As I look back on this, I wonder if we did him any favors. I'm not denying his personal responsibility in his current circumstances, but did we do the best as influential adults to prepare him for future success? Did we send the message that there are no consequences for poor decisions--that someone else will pay the price for your mistakes? It only reinforces the stirring in me that there are bigger things at stake when we are investing in the lives of others. We can't just be concerned with the present, but have to realize our potential to influence their future. Do we have the courage to make hard decisions that might be difficult to temporarily endure, but provide a better opportunity for mature decisions later in life? 

Recognizing the need for "tough love" and choosing to avoid it is a failure of nerve that neglects our true responsibility to develop the character of those we've been entrusted to care for.

Winning & Losing (Part 2)

How do we intentionally play to win instead of coasting and doing the safe things in our lives?

• Having tough conversations with our children that guide them through difficult ages and decisions instead of coasting through each day & assuming things are fine because there aren't any glaring problems
• Speaking honestly & respectfully with our spouses instead of ignoring problems and hoping they will go away
• Living with a spirit of financial generosity that benefits your church & other missions instead of limiting contributions to what seems safe
• Taking risks in our career (even if that means changing jobs) to find the fit of vision and passion that God has created in us
• Giving up our most precious commodity-time-to volunteer in a ministry that stretches you instead of just a comfortable place that allows you to not feel guilty
• Contacting someone you have held a grudge against for years and asking/offering forgiveness instead of allowing a past event to control your present spiritual state
• Choosing to take an active role in meeting the needs of people in our community and around the globe instead of assuming that someone else will do it
• Looking at baptism & following Christ as the first step in our journey of faith and not the finish line
• Realizing that having kids that obey us & get good grades, a stable financial status, a job we don't hate, and a turmoil free marriage isn't the end goal of our existence. We are called to make a bigger impact that actively & intentionally seeks out God and leads to taking risks of faith that probably scare us.

Choosing the safe route might get us into heaven, but it isn't a life that will change the world we live in. We've got to expand our vision, take risks of faith, and play to win.

Winning & Losing

Are we playing to win or playing not to lose? In athletics this applies to teams that are afraid to take a risk that might lead to a loss. Instead they run a game plan that isn't willing to be aggressive, but hope that a passive (and somewhat timid) approach will bring victory. In my sports and ministry experience this isn't usually successful in the long run.

Just as there is a distinctive difference between the two methods in sports, there is the same discrepancy in philosophy of life. We are faced with the decision of which strategy we will choose to employ. The path of fear & hesitation is aimed at not disrupting our relationships or the temporary reality we feel we have worked so hard to construct. Pursuing God's vision will require a focused mindset that will change our actions. We will have to choose to have difficult conversations, to increase our generosity to the point of financial sacrifice, to risk rejection as we share Christ, and to boldly & consistently ask God for big direction that we can act on. These aren't actions of people playing it safe, but that isn't the way of life for a Christ-follower anyway.

Two Worlds

I have to admit to a guilty pleasure. Probably at least once a month I go to YouTube and listen to David Phelps from Gaither ministries sing the song, "No More Night." It's a style of music that doesn't appeal to everyone & isn't something I listen to any other time. There is something captivating about this particular song however, that keeps me coming back to it. Part of the attraction is in Phelps' voice--it is one of the most pure and powerful voices I have ever heard--and I am a music geek that finds tremendous pleasure in harmonies & melodies.

It's not just an appreciation of talent that keeps me coming back to this song though. It's the depth in the lyrics that resonates with my soul. It reinforces a tension that I regularly feel--that we are made for more than just this world and moment. We are incomplete here--even in this world's joys & pleasures created by God. This world is merely a reflection of something better and perfect and our best moments here will be wisps of memory when we achieve perfection in Heaven. Meditating on this song and the promise of a better realm creates feelings of longing and provides comfort when this journey becomes weary. It can be a bright light when things seem dark or when I simply need encouragement to keep pushing through difficult times with the hope of a better day.

Crammed Together

Have you ever had a day that felt like three or four completely different days? I don't mean in terms of length of the day (although that certainly applies) but segments of one day that don't match the other pieces. That's what my Wednesday has felt like. There wasn't one constant theme throughout it except for busyness.

I don't know that describing each portion of it will be sufficient to express the widely changing emotions. Suffice it say that it included laughter, frustration, semi-productivity, camaraderie, good food, exhaustion, mundane activity, prayer, sorrow, exercise, coaching, conversation, catching up with an good friend, and more exhaustion. It seems like an often-frantic pace (and felt like it as well) but I hope that it contributed to the greater cause of the Kingdom. At the end of the day, that's a big chunk of what I am looking for. I want to know that what I did made a difference in some way even if the process was chaotically hectic.

Detour

The highway of the upright avoids evil; those who guard their ways preserve their lives. Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:17-18

I hate traveling and getting stuck in traffic due to construction or an accident. It can tie up ridiculous amounts of time (often for what appears to be nothing) and ruins a travel schedule that was going well. On a few occasions I have been vigilant enough to look ahead enough to see potential slowdowns and detour around them. I wish there was a more reliable way to see these pitfalls and find ways to avoid them.

This is a true spiritual principle for us as well. If we have decided to follow Christ, it is necessary that we pay attention to the road that we travel and look to avoid things that cause delays and destruction. We can't cruise along and pridefully believe that we have things conquered or we will quickly find ourselves waylaid along our journey. Scripture (and experience) caution us to guard our path or we will end up causing destruction to ourselves and those that are important to us. This means that we have monitor our conversations and avoid coarse talk and gossip. We learn to protect our eyes (and mind) from impurities on our TV, in movies, on the Internet, or in person. We choose to avoid places that we know will influence us to make decisions that will only destroy our family and not build them up. We don't engage in "harmless flirting" to make ourselves feel better when we are married, but quickly run the other way. 

Being on the "highway of the upright" doesn't mean that we will never see any evil--it means that we work diligently to avoid it. We make the right choice to detour around the things that can derail our life.