Believe me, I know God! Just look at me.

Last Sunday at New Beginnings Church, we began a new book study based on James Bryan Smith’s book called The Good and Beautiful God. This is actually the first book in a three part series.  This first book deals with how we know/perceive God in our lives.  Over and over he states that there are narratives in our lives that give shape to what we think and know about God.  He does a great job of naming the false narratives about God and replacing them with what he calls “Jesus narratives.”  I highly recommend the book to anyone searching or wanting to know more about God.  Amidst my reading I ran across an article in which the author quoted Clark Pinnock.

“We end up looking like the God we believe in.”

This quote, along with reading the book, has really got me thinking about the God I have come to believe in.  Most of my life I believed that God wanted me to be a good person and he wanted the best for me.  He also wanted to punish me when I did something wrong.   I also believed that this God was far off, some where up in the “heavens” and no where close to my own life and situation.  Don’t get me wrong I knew he cared but I also knew that he had a lot more to deal with than just me.  I believed that God was forgiving but only after I had prayed at an altar.  It was as if he was just waiting with his fingers crossed that I would step out and come and ask.  I believed that God only blessed those who blessed him.  Unless you were in church on Sunday you were not getting a piece of the pie.  I believed in a God that would send me to hell if I said a cuss word right before I died.  I always made sure to ask for forgiveness after each basketball game.

As I look back on my life in growing up, I can honestly say I looked like the God I believed in.  It hurts me to write that but it is true.  I hope that my life now is a more true reflection of who God is and the God I believe in.  It is sometimes hard to step outside ourselves to really look at our lives and evaluate.  What does your life say about the God you believe in?

Serve Week

Last week the students of NBC, along with some great sponsors, participated in “serve week.”   For four days straight we cleaned a church, cleaned a park, prepared lunches, passed out lunches, scrapped and painted a porch, picked up trash, passed out more lunches, worked at a food distribution service, mowed and trimmed a yard, and worked in a clothing closet.  Our theme for the week came from Matthew 25: 35-36            Feed.Clothe.Love

³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

Overall it was an amazing week of God’s spirit moving.  Here is a run down of each day.

Samantha restocking seats

Jordyn packing lunches

Day One:   We began the morning by making our own lunch for the day but also preparing two extra lunches for homeless people.  Following this we cleaned the church foyer and sanctuary in preparation for Sunday.   Then we went to Swope Park and picked up trash following a two day festival that was held there.  In all we picked up about 25 bags of trash and too many beer bottles to count.  Then we went downtown KC and passed out lunches.  Great day one.

Us and Deloris

Day Two:  Once again we began the morning by packing our lunch and two extra.  Then we went to the Turner District in Wyandotte County and helped scrape and paint a porch for an elderly lady.  We had the privilege of meeting Commissioner Pat Pettey and she set us up with service opportunities in the Turner District.   Deloris, the elderly lady, was so thrilled that we were there painting her house and after it was all said and done (and as she stood there crying) she tried to pay us for the work.  It was great to see and hear all our students in unison say “no way, it was our pleasure to help.”

Harvesters

Harvesters

Day Three:  We began our day a little early as we had to be at Harvesters at 8:00am.  At Harvesters we boxed bread to be sent to food pantries all over the KC metro area.  We also packaged cereal as well.

Harvesters

Following Harvesters we went to Mary’s house to do some yard work (Mary is a widow and was trying to get her yard ready for her husbands visitation).  Once again, the look on her face when we showed up was awesome.  You could she how overwhelmed she was with the yard and about 20 of us showed up (in the rain) and knocked it out.  We will continue to do her yard work the rest of the summer.  Thanks to Marcia Lee for helping us connect with her.

Cornerstone Clothing Closet

Day Four:  We began by helping sort clothes at Cornerstone Church in Lee’s Summit.  Every second and fourth Saturday they open up their food pantry and clothes closet for the community in need.  Following lunch we went to Youthfront and helped with their Feed the Hunger initiative.  Our good friend Kendon is the dude that runs the Hunger initiative for Youthfront and he needed our help unloading the truck.  Each week they get shipments of supplies in at Youthfront and they need volunteers to help unpack them.  Check out the link above to see how amazing  the Feed the Hunger initiative is.  We will continue to partner with them as we help world hunger.

Us at Youthfront

So…as you can see God truly blessed us with a great week.  We were able to be instruments of his grace and peace in our local communities as well as build relationships with people that we will continue to maintain.  Thanks be to God.

Dandelions and God…I like them both, now.

Yesterday I was playing in my backyard with my four year old son, Caleb, and my one year old son, Luke.  As we walked out onto the porch we all noticed that the backyard had been taken over by this hideous yellow flower.  As I proceeded to walk off the porch and  into the yard, I began to curse God (not really but I was questioning a little) about the creation of this little weed!

I began mulling over in my head just exactly how I was going to get rid of a backyard full of them.  I was disgusted, annoyed and really angry at the sight of these little pesky flower of a thing.  Then my four year old Caleb came off the porch and begin to run around the yard in excitement at the sight of the dandelions.  He was telling me how pretty the flowers are and how we can pick some for mommy and all I could think was…these are the ugliest and most annoying things ever.

As I took a seat on the steps and continued to watch Caleb and Luke play in the backyard, I began to think.  How often do I look at life situations and people and say the same things.  I grumble and complain about people or about what life has handed me.  Or I see people and judge based on appearance or circumstance.  And then there is God, much like Caleb, who sees the exact same things as I do but sees them totally different.  He sees their/there value and beauty, where I can only see worthlessness and annoyance.  He sees hope and possibility, where I can only see despair and  failure.

It never ceases to amaze me that God can take things and people that sometimes we deem of no worth or value, and restore and redeem them into something beautiful.  He takes the messes in our lives and recreates a new story for us.  He takes the weaknesses in us and uses it for his glory and power.  But sometimes what happens is…we don’t see it.  All we can see is worthless and ugly dandelions.

May we have eyes of a four year old today, seeing the world the way they do…full of hope, love, worth and possibility.  Seeing God in it all.

“Shema O Parents”

One of my favorite passages in the bible is Deuteronomy 6:4-9, also know as “The Shema.” Shema is a Hebrew word that means “hear.”  As I have been going back through some old notes from my undergraduate youth ministry classes, I ran across some valuable writings.

Most of us have probably read, sang, contemplated, and written this section of scripture. An examination of Deuteronomy 6:4-9, reveals truths that highlight the “different path” adults should take with teenagers.

Adults, starting with parents, are commanded to be active participants in their childrens’ spiritual formation. Several portions of the Deuteronomy 6 passage indicate parental and community involvement in a child’s spiritual formation.

First, “Impress them on your children” is a phrase that indicates the parents’ responsibility and agreement to teach their children about the LORD.

Second, the words “…talk … walk … lie down …get up…tie …write” are action verbs that indicate constant process. The phrase “on your forehead” indicates the LORD’s desire that, through formal teaching and the witness of right living in the lives of parents and the surrounding adult community, God’s ways remain “between the eyes” of children.

So what level of responsibility does the overall community have in the process?  Historically in Israel, families carried out their formational responsibility in the context of the broad community.  Supplementing the education received in the home was an entire sequence of festivals and observances that provided instructional opportunities for the whole Israelite community.

After rereading this information I am challenged as a parent to be more intentional in my two boys lives.  On one level I am challenged as a parent to work harder at teaching and showing my boys the ways of Christ, and for them to begin to see that we are a part of God’s larger story.  On a second level I am challenged as a NBC’er to be more involved in my community.  To begin to help those around me by participating in their lives in a more intentional way.  Specifically, in their children’s lives.  To be a  consistent presences that helps guide and strengthen.

So may God bless us as we continue to journey together and may we be “witnesses” to our children today and forever.

Advent…the New Year?

So, here we are in this second week of the new year.  That’s right the new year.  I know for some (mostly pagans:)) the new year doesn’t start till January 1, but for the Christian community our new year begins the first Sunday of Advent.   When we talk about the “advent” of something, we’re usually referring to its beginning or coming into being.

That definition is a good place to start. For Advent, is, indeed, a beginning. It’s the beginning of the Christian story, the birth of Christ. The season of Advent anticipates this birth for four weeks leading up to Christmas, through a variety of readings, prayers and other observances (depending on the tradition).

But perhaps an even greater reality lies just beneath the surface. In many churches the first Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of the liturgical calendar—the church calendar that divides the year into celebrations of the many qualities of God. The church calendar reminds us we are in a story greater than ourselves; it pulls us out of the daily minutiae of life and trying to make it to the next day (or, in most cases, the weekend) and lets us know that we are, in fact, living in God’s reality, not our own.

Advent also has its roots in the Greek word parousia, a term used in the Bible to refer to the Second Coming of Christ. This is one of the other ways the idea of Advent is deeper than might be expected. In many traditions, Advent serves a dual purpose—to commemorate the birth of Christ, but also to anticipate the Second Coming of Jesus. Each Sunday in Advent centers around this tension. The Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, will be born into humble circumstances … and we simultaneously look forward to His final return to usher in His Kingdom.

All that anticipation is another reminder of what Advent brings: it reminds us of waiting on God. When Christ was born in the most humble of surroundings, He came to a culture centered around the idea of waiting for a Messiah—even those who weren’t explicitly waiting had just forgotten how (especially those in political or religious authority who found the absence of a Messiah profitable). He came to a place so eager to find a deliverer that they believed they’d found one every few years.

And now, we wait again—we wait for the return of Christ. Whatever you believe Christ’s return will look like, the fact remains that He will, indeed, return one day. He’s the firstborn among the resurrected, and we wait for His return as we wait for the resurrection of the dead. We wait to be reunited with those who have joined Jesus in His eternal kingdom already. And we wait for the injustice and oppression we see around us and the groaning of all creation to finally be answered. Waiting on God is a Christian activity, and Advent reminds us of what we wait for.

Remember that this season is the beginning of a new Christian year—a timeline that encourages the exploration of the person of God. Realize you live in God’s timing and that waiting on Him is an act of trusting worship. And remember Advent points to the One who is to come. In the midst of the busyness of the season with family, presents, Santa, Charlie Brown, Bing Crosby, ornaments and that creepy manger scene your grandparents have kept since 1951, remember this season shows you God’s love. He sent His Son once to die for all—and He’s sending Him again to bring His Kingdom to Earth.

So all the hope, peace, joy and love be to you this Advent Season!

Thanksgiving and Hospitality

We love to have people in our home and especially during the holidays.  The only down side of it all is getting the house “ready” for company.  This means, doing laundry, cleaning bedrooms, putting on clean sheets, cleaning bathrooms and worst of all scrubbing hard wood floors.  It always amazes me that we work and work to get the house ready and once our company arrives we begin to “mess” it up again.  I would love to tell you that our house is always ‘ready’ for friends and family but of course that could  not be further from the truth.  So why is it we feel the need to get things ready for those we call family?

I think we could come up with a number of reasons why we get things ready but I want to consider something a little different.  What about the “drop-in” (any Seinfeld fans out there?)?   How do you feel when people come by your house unexpectedly and come in to see your house for what it really is, a mess?  Or how do you feel when you are the one dropping in and you find your friends house to be a little on messy side?  Let me be honest for a second.  I love a clean house and I love the way it makes me feel, like my life is put together all nice and neat, but the fact is my life, nor my house, is always put together nice and neat.  At times it is very messy (both life and house) and I find myself looking for something?.?  What?  Someone to share this place of messiness with me, someone who will not judge me for what my house looks like or my life.  Someone that comes along side me to feel the burden of the mess.

I have been a dropper-inner myself a few times and I usually love what I see.  A somewhat messy house that I feel right at home in (with exception of a couple friends i.e. Van Drunen’s and Bynum’s).  There have been times where I have been on the phone with a friend and they ask  “Well, do you want to come over?” I’m am immediately struck by the intimacy in the invitation. Into their home, with no prior planning, to share some coffee and have a conversation face to face. I note that we spend an entire day getting our house “ready for company” – clean, presentable, putting on a good show. But these friends are inviting me into their life, as it is, right now.

As I type this I wonder. I wonder about this ‘open hearted as-you-are hospitality’, in contrast to our “are the bathrooms sparkling” worrisome way.  Different than Biblical times, we don’t wash each others’ feet upon entering any longer – thank God!  – so instead we clean the bathroom. But that’s not really hospitality; hospitality is being with the other.  Being with each other in the mess of life and inviting others into our lives as they are and entering into the lives of others as they are.  So to all my friends and family I just want to say, don’t clean your house for us and we won’t clean our house for you.  Just come over and we will share in the place of messiness and do life together as it should be done!

Moved the Codd’s

Spent the morning with some fellow New Beginners moving Matt and Kim Codd into their new home.  Matt and Kim have been at New Beginnings for the last few months and they just bought a house in Lee’s Summit.   Matt is a fellow seminarian and an outstanding Starbucks barista, Kim is a teacher and most significant they are soon to be parents.  All that to say, they have a whole lot going on in their life and it was great to get to help them out.  Matt and Kim have joined our community running.  They both are student ministry sponsors , Kim teaches our 3rd and 4th grade class and they are now in charge of the wonderful coffee you drink on Sunday morning.  Amy and I have been getting to know the Codd’s and it seems like we have a lot in common.  I will share a few….

• We all attended Southern Nazarene University
• Amy and Kim were both Elementary Ed majors
• Matt and I were both Theology and ministry majors
• We all attended the same church (at different times) while going to SNU (Lake Overholser)
• We both moved to KC to attend NTS
• Our first dates with our spouses were at a SNU event called Heartpal

If you don’t know Matt and Kim, you should.  Take a minute to say hi and get to know them.  You can find them Sunday mornings at NBC.

Fall Retreat

There are many things that I love about being a youth pastor (going to students activities, Wednesday nights, summer camp, mission trips, lunches) but one event that I look forward to each year is the fall retreat.  One reason, among many, I look forward to it is because it is a chance to ‘pause’ life for a weekend and get away to a place where you can relax and be among friends.  It is a weekend that a schedule is not followed rigorously nor should it be.  For most of us our lives are full of schedules and deadlines and this weekend is just the opposite.  It is a time to find a place of solace and to enjoy and celebrate the beautiful creation that creator God has given us.

Once again we had a wonderful weekend at Youth Front for our fall retreat.  The weather was amazing, the trees were changing to their beautiful fall colors and the crisp fall breeze was refreshing to ones soul.  Through out the weekend we got to hear from Erik about how we are all on a journey.  He challenged us to begin to point to ‘markers’ in our lives that challenge, help, direct, us towards being the person that God has created us to be.  He used the person of Peter to narrate how our lives are full of ‘markers’ and how God loves us unconditionally and is always chasing after us in hopes or restoration.

We ended our weekend by playing the trash can game (ask one of the teens what it is) and by sharing with each other our weekend highlights.  During this time a number of teens shared that they have a new hope and this weekend was a ‘marker’ for them and they want to turn their lives around.  I pray that God will continue to use this weekend to impact the teens lives for years to come.

May this weekend be a Marker for bric. ministries.

The Kingdom, to me.

The Kingdom of God is something we talk about often and hopefully it is something that consumes all of our lives.  Sometimes it seems as though the Kingdom is just a mere cognitive reflection in our daily routine.  So allow me to paint a picture of the Kingdom I know.

The Kingdom, as I know it, is…a morning cup of coffee with a couple of guys talking about family, life and church.  It is the conversations that challenge me to rethink and change the way I live, based upon what God is doing around us.  It is the time spent with my family at a meal, at a park, playing trains, and deep theological conversations with my three year old before bed.  It is the open and transparent exchange between Amy and I that leads to a closer relationship together.  It is the late night phone calls from a teen not knowing what to do now, or a parent that is in disarray about how to raise a teen in the brokenness of the world.

It is the way my heart burns at the thought of Heaven coming down and dwelling, dancing, moving, igniting, changing hearts in our midst. It is the way we are blazing with the fire to see the Divine meet the mortal. Pressing in, digging deeper, never relenting, never losing hope. It’s the way I realize, all over again, that He is closer than my skin, invading every part of me until I am completely at one with Him. It is the way that I know I simply cannot be silent anymore.

It is also…

Gathering around with friends that feel like family, with little concept of what the word ‘late’ means. Worshiping together, lingering in the presence of the One we live for. Seeing the Kingdom in their lives, their art, their hearts. It is hearing it in their words and singing along with it in their songs. It is in a room full of broken people that represent the very image of God, coming together as a beautiful mosaic and reflecting who He truly is in a potent way.

It is the way the candles flicker on our mantle and counters. They remind me of the Light that came down to drive away the darkness in our world, the hope that came into our midst. Yahweh with skin. Emmanuel.  It’s the way God has proven over and over again that He is a faithful Father, providing our every need and astonishing me at His perfect timing. It’s so much more than bills paid, budgets balanced and savings in the bank. It is a perfect peace, a wholeness, in which He has taught me to dwell. He dismisses my every worry and gently, yet righteously, exposes my distractions and idols as I learn how to be part of His plan of redemption for the world each day that I live (thanks to Shane for his sermons on the beatitudes :))

This Kingdom is part of every day, invading, pervading, living, moving, breathing. It grows only as quickly as we allow our hearts to catch on to it. In its truest form, it emulates the character of God Himself—loving, above all, gracious, compassionate, righteous, holy, just, actively effecting change, never dormant but always looking to establish itself more and more. It is beautiful, beyond what any word or song or expression of man or woman can capture. It is everything, wrapped up in our very existence, and discovered in a way as unique as the person who takes part in it.

What about you?

MUTEMATH

Here is a band that I was introduced to by Mr. Platter this summer.  They have a really cool indie pop sound and at times remind me of Coldplay.  Check out this video …it is pretty cool.  They are Christians but do not sing under a “Christian” label.  They have some really great lyrics.  If you have time google them.