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This Week...

Highlights coming up this week:

1. Short interview in a class at George Fox and then lunch with Dan Kimball on Saturday. It'll be good to finally get to sit down with Dan. We've met, conversed via blog and email, but never really gotten to spend any time together. The last time we were scheduled to have lunch, a vasectomy got in the way. Mine, that is...

2. Heading to Haiti on Thursday. Seems like all is still a go- Thursday March 4th, I and two other Evergreeners (Sarah and Jonathan) will board a plane with some others from the PDX area to head to Haiti. Evergreen has been supporting the Haiti Foundation for Hope for a few years now and slowly outfitting a village there with clean water. Every month we're able to provide funds for a few more water filtration systems in the village of Terre Blanche in the north of Haiti. We'll be heading there to help out in a medical clinic and to continue our relationship with the folks there. 

If you think of it, between the 4th and the 14th, would you pray for me? I feel like lately I've been more susceptible to tiredness and bugs/flu and I would hate to get sick down there and be less than effective in helping out. 

I hope to keep everyone updated here on the blog...

No Time...

"Got no time
Got no mind
For the line
In my life
No time to think
Time for sleep now
Time to sink way into the blue, dear"

-Alexi Murdoch, Blue Mind

I'm not sure how it happened- how I got so busy, so weighted down with so many things. I think maybe it was the inevitable and simultaneous growth of all the areas of my life- family, pastoring, side business... but one thing after another has been crowded out. Exercise, reading, writing... 

The tragedy is, the things that have all been crowded out filled two functions. First, they were things I needed, things that gave me pleasure and health and personal growth. But more, these things I wanted to do were the things that fueled and made possible the things I have to do. They gave me energy, vitality and creativity for the tasks at hand. 

By God's grace, I haven't been running on an empty tank, but I think I can see it from where I'm at. What all this has been working in me is more of a desperate dependence on Jesus to get me through, as opposed to a woe-is-me, I'm-sooo-busy mentality. Few days find me making it through without at some point uttering something like "God, please help me here. I don't think I can do this." I feel as though somehow, miraculously, my capacity has increased. 

And yet, while I've been gettin' jive done,  I'm tired and feeling uninspired. I need to read more. I need to write more. I need exercise both physical and mental. I need to join a gym again, and maybe I need to pick a blog fight just for old time's sake? :)

"So watch your time...

Time descends
Let it spill quietly
From your hands
Oh, and the time is at hand
When all things under the sky
Go free of time
Time is passing you by
Got no time
And I am drifting

Yes, I am drifting "

Ecclesia Network National Gathering

 I had the privilege again this year to attend the Ecclesia Network National Gathering last week in Washington DC (okay, technically in Chevy Chase, MD). 

Ecclesia is a relational network of missionally-focused, theologically-centrist, Gospel-centered churches and church planters. By relational they mean that relationship comes first and foremost. The focus is on churches and planters being in relationship with one another- that means the way into the network is to be in relationship with someone already in the network and the way to participate is to continue building relationships with others in the network. By missionally-focused they mean that this a network of churches concerned with orienting themselves around the mission of the church- being a sign and foretaste of the Kingdom and what God is doing in the world. Theologically centrist, it's a group that takes Scripture seriously, yet focusing on the majors and leaving the rest up to individuals and their communities and open to women in leadership. And they are all about the Gospel.    

All that to say, it's Evergreen's tribe, and always a kick to get together with the men and women of Ecclesia. 

 The national gathering is also an expression of the more organic, main-thing-is-the-main-thing values of the network. Intentionally small (capped at 175 or so), extremely low-cost (less than $300 for the conference, all the meals, lodging...), and lo-fi (zero lasers and smokemachines, thankfully), there's plenty of time to connect conversationally over meals (and cigars), and the emphasis is on interaction with the presenters who are there for the whole time, not fly-in and then gone. Want to have lunch with Dallas Willard and talk about what he just presented? Yeah, you can do that. (In fact, Todd Hiestand totally dissed me to do just that!).

 But perhaps one of the big highlights for me these last two years, aside from some of the paradigm-shifting wisdom that's been crammed into my head by the likes of Dallas Willard, Mike Breen, and Jon Tyson has been the space that Ecclesia gives ordinary planters to address the whole group. This year, some of the best stuff of the conference came at the end as one pastor, one pastor's wife and some other church planters addressed the group with some things they've been learning. Hearing from Dallas Willard was great. Hearing from these folks? Even better. 

Love this gathering. Love this network. Hope you can be a part of both. 

Ash Wednesday Gathering

Here's the Ash Wednesday Gathering we did last year- I think we'll end up using much of this this year as well, but I wanted to post this in case you are still struggling to put something together for Ash Wednesday.

On Screen as people enter: The sacrifice of God is a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart you will not despise. -Psalm 51.17

Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me- The Jesus Prayer

Welcome:  

Welcome to our service of ashes for Ash Wednesday.Ash Wednesday is the traditional start of the season of Lent, a season when we focus in various ways on Christ's journey towards crucifixion, a journey He took, knowing full well it would end with Him laying down His life for you and I.

For those of us who are trying to hear the voice of Christ and follow, we need regular times of focusing on Christ's call to follow, to lay down our lives for one another. Lent is one of those times- a period of 40 days not including Sundays which are given to considering what we will lay down, what we will not. What our lives count for, or how they fail to count. We hear the call of Jesus and struggle all over again to die to ourselves and live for Christ and others. The Journey of the next 40 days ends on Good Friday and Easter with us seeing in sharp relief the exact cost of our sin, and the means by which God will restore all things.

Ash Wednesday begins Lent by reminding us that the journey towards the Cross is one every Christ follower must make- step by step, selfish impulse by selfish impulse. And Ash Wednesday also reminds us that the time is finite, limited... because it reminds us of... our mortality.

So, we invite you this year, to observe a Lent, of self-examination and repentance; of prayer, and fasting, of saying "no" to self and "yes" to God and others; and of reading and meditating on God's Word, listening all over again for the call of Christ on your life.

We'll have a moment of Silence, and then we'll pray.

SILENCE

 Prayer

 Let’s read this together

Lent Prayer Guide

I have "put together" (read: written, adapted and outright stolen from various sources) a Lent Prayer Guide. 

And Kobie Moore, an Evergreener with an amazing design-eye, has made it look pretty. (you should see what she does with greeting cards- and the most amazing thing- each card is usable twice- I know, I know- how could that be? You'll just have to check it out to see)

Three versions for you:

Raw word doc

print version (feel free to edit out Evergreen's name and add your own- but you have to take the rap for any typos!)

online, or downloadable version just for you (depending on your browser, to see it, just left click, to download it, right click)

Final Beard Pic

Before and After...    

Me 'n' Comcast: Social Media WIN

 We have basic cable. And when I say "Basic", I mean seriously basic- local stations, a few shopping channels... TBN just for kicks. You know, basic.

But the other day, I heard we could get that basic in HD for just a couple of dollars more. I called the cable company, and sure enough. They could even get a tech out that afternoon. 

So while waiting for the cable guy, I ordered an HD TIVO on Amazon, expecting to give away or sell our old one, and looking forward to the glory that is LOST and American Idol in HD so brilliant, you can see the hairs in Simon's nose or the food stuck in Hurley's chops. 

Cable guy came and did his magic, leaving a little HD box on top of our armoire as he left. 

So far so good- at least until the next day when the Tivo came. The HD box didn't have the right outputs to go to the Tivo AND plugging the cable right into the Tivo got me a message- you need two "CableCARDS" to make this work. 

Okay, thinks I- how hard could that be?

Incredibly. 

I called the cable company and was told- Sure- we have those- just go down to the service center and pick them up. Sounds easy I thought. 

The next day around lunch time, I head down, take my number, wait my turn, and get promptly DENIED. Not only was I denied, but I was made to feel foolish. "We don't do that" they said. Regardless of what the customer service rep told you- we don't hand out the cards (they actually don't- it's a tech install) and we don't give them out for anything under our basic extended package (two tiers above what I wanted to pay). 

Why not? "It won't work- technically it's incompatible" three separate customer service people lied to me. 

But I have a friend who already has exactly what I'm asking for. "No, you don't." 

Ahh- fine, whatever. Upsell me. 

So I left, angry and a lot lighter in the wallet than I wanted, determined to look at the DISH network. 

And that's when the magic started. On the way home, at a stop light and definitely NOT contrary to Oregon's newly passed anti-texting laws, I Twittered the following: "I despise the shifty, upselling, lie-telling tactics of @Comcast. "Sorry we just dont do that simple thing we already did for your friend.""

Within minutes I had a reply from @ComcastBonnie asking what had happened. In 140 character increments I told her just what had happened and just how I felt. SHe told me the reps were misinformed and that BY LAW they had to give me what I was asking for. 

That was all I needed to hear. I called Comcast and explained my situation to the first rep. Again, denied. We don't do that. I told him I was in touch with a customer representative from their headquarters who assured me they did. I got kicked up a level. 

This guy told me the same thing. We don't do that. BY LAW? No... there's no law. Who's telling you that? 

Uh... ComcastBonnie? On the Twitter? 

Yeah...

No. But we *can* do this with just the basic started package, one tier down from what they had sold me earlier- but still more cable than I wanted. 

Sigh- let's do that. 

I reported back to Comcast Bonnie what had happened and she continued to assure me I was in the right. In the meantime, I checked Google for this "law" of which she spoke, and sure enough- the FCC/Congress *mandate* that the cable companies provide these cards to whoever asks for them. This is to keep the cable companies from shutting out other devices besides their own- basically making you use their DVR. 

Comcast Bonnie asked for my phone number and a 1/2 hour later, I had a call from someone at Comcast, no doubt a few pay grades above the drones I had been being frustrated by all day. She assured me they'd work something out, and after checking and calling me back, told me that YES, they could do exactly what I was asking. Her exact words? "We don't proactively offer this to customers, but we do provide it when asked." 

Yeah. When asked repeatedly over the course of 15 different conversations with 20 different reps, you do. Otherwise...

But the thing that impressed me was this: While the traditional route of calling customer service yielded the expected results of frustration and run-around, simply Twittering my anger with them resulted in attention and service beyond anything I've gotten from a company like Comcast. Regardless of their other issues and the fact that they seem intentionally to be subverting the will of the FCC and their customers, they are getting customer service thru social media right. 

Kudos, Comcast and @ComcastBonnie. I appreciate this piece of my experience with your company. 

And if I have any other problems, I know now how to let you know :)

From the Archives: The Cowardly Preacher?

"If you are a coward by nature, don't worry. We can still use you. You can get down behind the biblical text. You can peek out from behind the text saying, 'I don't know if I would say this, but I do think the text does.'"- Walter Brueggemann (as quoted by Will Willimon)


This has been a go-to concept for me. The longer I have been doing this preaching thing, the more I see in the text that is at odds with modern sensibilities- things so outsized and seemingly indefensible.. commands to kill, commonly accepted actions declared as heinous sin (seafood anyone?), descriptions of awful, awful actions held up as praiseworthy (Psalm 137)... So many texts I’d just rather not preach. 

The preacher has two ready choices- either declare it as The Word of God which Must Be Accepted Without Question!, or hemm and haw, apologizing for the text, explaining it away into irrelevance. 

The first option leads to rabid fundamentalism, particularly as it often gives no alternative, no interpretive method for sifting the timeless from the time-bound. If the Word says it, we do it. End of discussion. No, you can't ask a question about it... I said "End of Discussion!"
And beyond just the kooky externals that inevitably work their way into the life of a community that lives this way (NO! Of course women can't wear pants to church! The Old Testament forbids it!), something happens inside. Questions are stifled, left unasked (at least out loud), doubt is seen as a sign of lacking true relationship with God and with the text ("You just don't value God's Word!"). And eventually people are divided into two groups- The fully accepting who stay, and the doubters and questioners who leave- and this last group, in their leaving often leave Church and God completely, thinking that if that's what it's all about, then I want none of it. 

The other option, explaining the text away into irrelevance leads to the kind of bloodless religiosity that rarely does anyone any good. Church takes on a social function, the Bible is patronizingly accepted as a necessary inconvenience... any religious book would do, this just happens to be ours... and because they are bound together in the same Book, in the losing of the difficult parts we necessarily lose all the rest- the power of God's Word and the Gospel itself.


But there's a third option, one which I use as necessary... and although I've titled this "the Cowardly Pastor" and Brueggemann's quote does nothing to counter the notion, I tend to think that approaching the text this way, especially in our preaching, is actually a courageous choice. 

It's courageous because what we are saying to our community is "I don't understand this. I have wrestled with this all week. I have read commentary after commentary and none of the 'answers' offered satisfy. There's no getting around this... this is a hard text." And if any of you have ever preached, you know that the last thing you want to stand before the people and say is "I don't know."

But between asking the community to accept blindly and asking them to disregard casually lies the third option- asking them to wrestle. 

This begins when we ourselves wrestle with the text- when we walk shakingly up to a passage that threatens to shipwreck us, to do us in and we stand before it, determined not to give way. Like Jacob wrestling with God, we approach these most frightening texts and say "I will not let you go until you bless me" and we wrestle, as individuals and as a community with the words that we know hold truth and meaning for us, a blessing for us, a communication from God Himself, if only we could understand them.

And so we wrestle. As a community we say, "We know this doesn't sound good, and we're not particularly sure that we really get this..." and we pray, and we ask, and we discuss... and we don't back away. Perhaps understanding comes quickly. Perhaps it comes after many months. Perhaps it never does. But we keep on wrestling.

And we keep on wrestling, because we want, we need to hear from God... and we know that God does not always speak things which we will like, nor does He always speak things which we will easily understand... but He never speaks things which are unnecessary. We refuse to write off His Word. God speaks to us for reasons, His own reasons, reasons which may not be readily apparent, but reasons. 

And so we neither say "We just accept it, la la la!" and to hell with those who can't quit manage that mental trick, nor do we say "Well, no matter... let's just move on…"

As preachers, we can stand and say, "No, I wouldn't have said it that way myself, but the text certainly does say it. Now, what will we do with it?"

And then we wrestle.

Bonhoeffer on Idealism and Community

"The man who fashions a visionary ideal of community demands that it be realized by God, by others, and by himself. He enters the community of Christians with his demands, sets up his own law, and judges the brethren and God Himself accordingly... He acts as if he is the creator of the Christian community, as if his dream binds men together. When things do not go his way, he calls the effort a failure... So he becomes, first an accuser of his brethren, then an accuser of God, and finally the despairing accuser of himself." (Life Together)

Frost, Hirsch, Horse Brass

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