Experts Still Predict Dismal Holiday Season — I just read that headline in our Centre Daily Times — black Friday issue — and before I read the article, the first thought in my mind was…which experts?  Was it the Kindness Experts and were they predicting that this Christmas season fewer people will do something nice this Christmas season?  Was it the Generosity Experts and the prediction is an increase of the Scrooge-like mentality?  Was it the Family Experts predicting that fewer families would gather on Christmas day to spend time together?  Or perhaps it was the Worship Experts predicting that fewer people would be moved by Silent Night, Holy NIght, that fewer people will ponder the incredible wonder of God-in-the-flesh born in a manger, that for some reason Christmas Eve worship gatherings would lack a sense of awe?

Local Kohls 4am rush

No of course not, it was the Economic Experts.  Black Friday ushers in the holiday shopping season —  This is NOT a black friday rant.  Many people whom I love, celebrate the day in many diverse and unusual ways, have fun mom :)  — and the concern is that the dismal economic outlook threatens to keep shoppers credit cards securely in their pocket.  All I want to say is that as counter-intuitive as it might seem, keeping our credit cards in our wallets might ultimately lead to great Christmas and a much less dismal new year.

If our Christmas is to go deeper than the economy, we probably need to start with some true Christmas experts, like Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  That’s right, go back to the beginning the ancient, authentic stories of Christmas.  Then check out a couple of websites like Rethinking Christmas or Advent Conspiracy.  Then take a moment or two…or three or four and dream about the kind of Christmas season you would like to experience this year.  Finally make a plan, don’t overdo it… this isn’t meant to be an added stress-list.  Start with just two or three things that you want to do differently this year.

Let me know what you come up with… and let’s confound the experts.

There is this really cool story in the Bible, 2 Kings 7:1-9.  It reminds me a little bit of Thanksgiving dinner.  I would title the story:  Four Lepers at Lunch.  It’s about four lepers who found themselves outside the locked gates of a city filled with famine and surrounded by a great enemy army.  Think about that for a minute, this has the makings of a really bad day!  You have leprosy.  You are not allowed in the city, but that’s okay because everyone in the city is starving.  But that also means there is nothing between you and a horde of enemy soldiers who are intent upon killing everyone in the city.  Out of desperation, the four lepers decide to go surrender to the enemy army — “If they don’t kill us, we’ll eat.  If they do kill us, we were going to die anyway.”

When they get to the enemy camp they find out that the enemy has fled — on this side of the story we find out that God scared them all away — and left all their silver, gold, clothes and food behind.  So frame the story…we have four lepers at lunch, and it’s a feast.  Everything they always wanted they now have.  It all belongs to them.  So while they are feasting on lunch, they start stockpiling everything of value.  Digging holes and hiding it.

But something happened, good news turned to gratitude and gratitude led to sharing their stockpile.  In fact the four lunching lepers said, “This is not right. This is a day of good news, and we aren’t sharing it with anyone! If we wait until morning, some calamity will certainly fall upon us.  Come on, let’s go back and tell the people at the palace.” 2 Kings 7:9

I love how God stockpiles good things for hungry lepers locked outside the city.  So I’m thinking about my stockpiles.  For example money, check out global richlist to see how big your stockpile compares to the rest of the world.  But it’s not just money or stuff.   If you are a Christian, you have an even better stockpile. We have God.  We sing these songs about an amazing God, the creator of the universe, a universe filled with billions of galaxies filled with millions of stars, a God who not only created the milky-
way, but knit u together in your mother’s womb.  I’ve got a stockpile.  God loves me.  Jesus died on the Cross for me, so that I can be forgiven.  He gives me a million second chances.  I am not defeated by my own stupidity or failures.  Not only that, I have people that I love hanging out with… I get to laugh and cry and dance (but only if it embarrasses my daughters) and I get to worship & be stretched and grow…  What a stockpile…huh?

And there is more, wow I have the Holy Spirit with me and in me, if I can learn to be quiet, God is even willing to speak to me, when I don’t know how to pray He translates my groans into the language of God.  He empowers and guides me and encourages me when I’m down.  I have gifts and abilities and  opportunities that I’ve been given through no merit of my own, and I get to use them to make a difference in the world.  I get to enjoy experiences like hikes on Mt. Nittany, sunsets across the pond at Harvest Fields, and a light snow the day before Thanksgiving. And as I’m enjoying them I get to say thank you to the one who made them.  What a stockpile huh?

I have a body that moves (somewhat) & a mind that thinks (sometimes).  And, if all that isn’t enough, I don’t have to be afraid to die, because I’ve been promised that death is not it… I go beyond death.  I get to hang out with God and Moses and Peter and Esther and Jesus for a great forever with no tears or pain or loneliness or depression.  That’s not just four lepers at lunch, that’s GOOD NEWS.

So here’s my challenge.

1)  Make a list of your stockpile.  Or in traditional language, make a gratitude list, for what are you thankful?

2)  Figure out how to share your stockpile — especially on black friday — what a great day to share rather than stockpile more.

Hope your thanksgiving is God-awe-full!

I came across this very insightful call to prayer for President-elect Obama.  It compares Joseph, Solomon and Daniel to democrats, republicans and the kind of leadership we need in these times.  Then it ends with a call for prayer.  It is written by a friend and fellow Kingdom-worker who has also ministered here in State College.  His name is Ed Silvoso and his passion is revival and city transformation.

Check out his blog article here: Ed Silvoso

Nehemiah 8 contains such an important snapshot of God that we must make sure we don’t miss it.  It’s in Nehemiah 8:10… the people have been listening to a preacher read the Bible for 6 hours and at some point in this reading, the Holy Spirit started convicting people.  No sermon, just reading the Bible.  So the Holy Spirit starts touching people’s hearts and the tears start to flow…the groans start to escape from the lips of people whose hearts have been tenderized by God’s Word.  The people are filled with sorrow, their hearts are broken because they realize how far from God and how messed up their lives have become.

In the midst of those tears, Nehemiah stood up and spoke for everyone to hear these words…
“And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD
is your strength.”  Nehemiah 8:10  (ESV)

This tells me there is no such thing as “just joy.”  Here is my concern.  I think we have seriously underestimated two things.  We have seriously underestimated our need for joy and we have seriously underestimated God’s capacity for joy!  According to Nehemiah to be without joy is to be without strength.   The philosopher Pascal once wrote,

“All men seek happiness.  This is without exception.  Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end.  The cause of some going to war and others avoiding it, is the same desire in both…  …This is the motive of every action of every man…

I believe that God created us to desire joy.  We thought it was just happiness and we legitimized it’s      pursuit in our national constitution.  But joy goes deeper than happiness, happiness is based on what happens.  Joy goes beyond the happiness of happenings.  God created us for joy…when we do something because it brings us joy…we are not being selfish, we are being creatures in his image.

C.S. Lewis put it so well when he said…

Indeed if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the life promised us in the gospels, it seems the Lord finds our desires not too strong but too weak.  We are half-hearted creatures fooling around with drink, and sex, and ambition, when infinite joy is offered us.  Like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mudpies in the slum because he cannot imagine what the offer of a   holiday at sea is like; we are far too easily pleased.

Our problem is not our desire for joy, it’s our pursuit of joy in things that at best will bring us momentary happiness.  “Do not be grieved,” Nehemiah said, “for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”   So here is the question I’m asking us, “Where do we find our strength?”

A recent blog post by Mark Batterson reminded me of a book I looked at a few years ago.  Didn’t read the whole thing, but have pondered the concept.  The book is Purple Cow by Seth Godin. In the book Seth unpacks this idea: If you have seen one brown cow, you’ve seen them all, but a purple cow, now that would catch your attention. One statement in the book gives a good ponder moment: “If you aren’t remarkable you’re invisible.”

Now here’s the deal…sometimes it’s okay to be invisible.  In fact my dark side leads me to a great desire to be known.  I must constantly remind myself that living the dream comes when I live for an audience of one — not myself, Jesus.  Which means that I want to be invisible so that He (Jesus) can be remarkable.

On the other hand, when it comes to living the dream God has for us…we are remarkable.  We are unique creations shaped by the master-artist.  A church is nothing less than a group of remarkably unique God-shaped masterpieces, which reflect the glory of the artist.  When people live as this kind of church, it should become remarkable in the community.  In other words, the community should take notice and remark.  And the mark of this kind of people is that it is good that we are here.  In other words, we should live in such a way that the Good News is good news for everyone.

How does this happen?  It happens when we live the dream and do the good works that God has planned for us ahead of time.  That’s why I get so excited about the annual experience we call leadership advance.

LEADERSHIP ADVANCE is an opportunity for a group of people — primarily, but by no means limited to those in their late teens through early 30’s — to come together and dig deeper into the discovery of God’s dream for their lives.  It’s taking another step to live the dream, follow our calling.

If you are interested in this experience, go tofor more information.  Or shoot me an e-mail.

That’s what President-elect Barack Obama and Senator John McCain spent on the last election.  This is NOT counting the primaries…just the final presidential election.  One BILLION dollars were spent by the two.  Now I didn’t do the final math.  Obama received more votes, but spent more money, so I really don’t know who paid the most per vote.  But the two of them together paid about $8 per vote.

Now this is NOT a political post.  It’s simply a reminder of the power of synergy and addition.  Small things done by many people can have huge results.  122,394,724 people voted.  One billion dollars was spent.  That’s about $8.17 per vote.  If tomorrow every person who voted would go to their polling place and give $8.17, we would have one billion dollars.  What could we do with one billion dollars?

Well we could elect a president, or…  Have you ever visited the website www.emptytomb.org?  Click the url and the first thing you see is a number.  Today when I looked the number was 8,402,358.  That’s the number of children, under the age of five, who died worldwide, so far this year.  The vast majority of them died from preventable poverty conditions.  This same website suggests that around 5 billion dollars would elimante the vast majorirty of those preventable poverty conditions.  Roughly the math says that if we canceled this year’s election we could save around 2 million children under the age of five.

But like I said, this isn’t a political post.  In fact let me take it to the most non-political subject I can find… Christmas.  Last year Americans spent 450 Billion Dollars on Christmas.  If we skipped Christmas one year we could save 9-10 million children under the age of five…and do it for the next 90 years.  If the rest of the world skipped Christmas we might get it to 100 years. That’s a lot of people spending a lot of money.

So let me bring it home…to Calvary.  It would be difficult to find one person at Calvary who could give $150,000 to serve the poor.  But is it possible that we could find 1000 people who would give $150?  If everyone did a little, we could do a lot.  If everyone did a lot, it would be a generosity conspiracy against poverty.  So this weekend, we are going to start talking about…a generosity conspiracy against poverty.

A couple of years ago, I took my daughters to Myanmar.  This year my family is going back for Christmas.  And after this election I’m just asking myself, “What could we do together…that might be better than an election…or maybe even better than Christmas?”

I had a number of people asking me over the course of the last few weeks… How are you going to vote? And if you have read any of my blog posts, you may have picked up on the fact that I’ve been pondering whether or not I should even vote.  More specifically I’ve been pondering, What is the proper way for a citizen of the Kingdom of God to be involved politically as a citizen of the United States?

So I just wanted to let those who care know… I did vote.  It was about 1pm.  There was no line.  I slipped in and out of 1250 University Drive — our church facility — without even being recognized.  Filled in my circles, put it through the scanner, told the wonderful volunteers thank you and headed out.  Final step still to be completed, getting my free cup of coffee at Starbucks.  I also thought about driving to Altoona for my free Krispy Kreme but decided it was too far.  So let me tell you how I voted.

1) I voted with gratitude. As easy as it is to see the problems in this country — that is not my final destination but is my current home — we are one of the few places on the face of the earth where there is consistently such a people-directed smooth transitioning of power.  I am thankful for that.  In addition I am thankful for all the Jesus-followers who are living out their calling in areas of government.  It is an incredible mission field.

2) I voted with a bit of heaviness on my heart. There are so many issues facing us as a people, as a culture and as a country.  But my heaviness comes less from the issues and more from my conviction that if our nation is in an unhealthy place the responsibility lies first at our feet — the church.   An early Christian author once wrote, As the soul is to the body, so Christians must be to the world. Or I would put it this way — the church is the heart of the city.  As the heart goes, so goes the city.  So if our cities are sick with greed or other diseases, doesn’t it start with the heart?

3) I voted wishing that I could trust that whoever won would tell me what I need to hear and not what I want to hear. Enough said on that one!

4) I voted with a sense of satisfaction that no matter who wins, we take a small step in a healing direction. What do I mean by that?  I mean that we will either vote into office a woman or an African American.  Less than 140 years ago, you had to be a white male just to vote, let alone run for office.  Discrimination has brought so many wounds to the hearts of people and our culture.  To elect a woman to the vice presidency or an African American to the presidency is a small healing step.

5) I voted with a sense of relief. The ads, the debates, the news articles, the ads, switching between CNN and Fox to hear both sides of the story, the ads, the yard signs, the late night jokes, a billion dollars spent on ads… did I mention the ads?  Anyway…it’s all done.  (Unless of course we get a tie. :)

6) I voted with not one bit of anxiety over who wins. The first presidential election I remember was Richard Nixon’s second.  From Nixon to Ford to Carter to Reagan to Bush, Clinton and Bush, I have yet to see one president who is purely evil or one president who is purely righteous.  I have yet to see a president who hasn’t made me glad that Jesus is King.  I think that’s the main reason I’m not very anxious about what tomorrow holds. Proverbs 21:1 says that the King’s heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs like a watercourse wherever he pleases. I pretty much believe that!  Takes away a lot of the stress.

7)  I voted as a guy with permanent citizenship in the Kingdom of God and guest citizenship in the United States. I’m still trying to figure out everything that means but I know it means this:  I did not vote as though the Kingdom of God depends upon my vote.  The hope of the world is not the United States and the hope of the United States is neither John McCain or Barack Obama.  The hope of the world is Jesus and we get to partner with him in transformational callings every day.  There were issues in this election that I am very passionate about…but I believe that the only way to bring change is by Jesus working through the church.

8)  I voted with a determination that tomorrow, no matter what, tomorrow I will pray for and honor whoever is President. I cannot find a place in the Bible where it says that all committed Jesus-followers should vote.  But I do find in 1 Timothy 2:2 that I am called to pray for all those in authority and I do find in Romans 13:1-7 that I am called to honor, respect and submit to governing authorities because they have been placed there by God.

9)  I voted in anticipation of getting a free Starbucks coffee. Sorry just had to throw that one in there.

10) I voted with these words from Jesus as my foundation. They will know you are my disciples (not by your party affiliation, or by the placard in your yard, or even by the issues you hold dear) by the love you have for each other. Tomorrow (hopefully tomorrow) when the last vote is counted and the last pundit has spun his/her spin.  It is still ultimately about the capacities of our hearts to love God, love each other and love our world.

So that’s how I voted.  Oh, you wanted to know who I voted for?  That’s a whole other blog, which will probably never be written!  :) 

I’m just spending a little time trying to ponder the differences between Halloween and this political campaign…can’t think of many.  Everyone has their hands out; most people are wearing masks; and if it weren’t so funny, it would be kind of scary!  :)  But beyond that let me take a moment and hit two other common intersections between Halloween, politics and the church.

SAYING THANK YOU. With each of my children, whenever they have gone into our neighborhood trick-or-treating.  My number one instruction has always been — Never forget to say thank you.  Whenever someone gives you candy, always say thank you. Too be honest, I think a political season should always cause the church to pause for a moment and say thank you to God.  We live in a nation where ideas are freely expressed and leaders are freely selected.  In many countries around the world, elections are a sham and wicked leaders bring unimaginable levels of suffering to the people — places like Myanmar.  As challenged as we feel, we should say thank you to God for the place we live.

THE CHURCH DIVIDED. Some Christians think Halloween is a harmless kid’s activity.  Some think it is the devil’s holiday.  And I’ve seen some Christians divide over their views on Halloween.  Some think Jesus is a republican.  Some think Jesus is a democrat.  (But both know that He’s not a libertarian.)  :)  And I’ve seen Christians divide over political views.  All I can say is, please don’t.  If you vote, vote as you feel God is leading you to vote and trust that other followers of Jesus are doing the same.  When Halloween/Election is over, they will know that we are Christians…not by our costumes or our votes, but by the love we have for each other.

So the candy is gone.  election day is coming….let’s put away the maks and celebrate the fact that no matter what else happens, Jesus is still King.

We college essays for sale started a new series at Calvary last weekend, Living the Dream. First up…we spent some time pondering the story of Gideon — Judges 6-7.  A lot of thoughts still wandering around in my heart.

What dream are we living? For example why is it that the American Dream has so much power to shape our lives?  I suppose one could argue that somewhere back in time the American Dream was a bit more noble than it is today.  It had to do with things like freedom, servanthood, compassion for the poor and oppressed, liberty, justice, the pursuit of happiness, and stuff like that.  But is that the essence of the current American Dream?  Or has our dream degenerated to low gas prices, a bullish stockmarket, and increasing home values?  There is much being said about the fact that our two presidential candidates offer starkly different perspectives on the best way forward for our country.  But what if they are offering two starkly different perspectives on the best way to live the wrong dream? 

What power are we seeking? I love the journey that God takes with Gideon.  It’s a journey from the many to a few.  The essence of the story is that God calls Gideon to deliver his people from enemy occupation.  Gideon gathers 32,000 men, but the enemy has 135,000.  So Gideon goes back to God because he knows that he needs more people.  He is looking for the power of the majority.  But God isn’t concerned about majorities so God leads Gideon to cull the troops from 32,000 to 10,000 to 300.  And 300 men AND GOD brought home the victory.    Politics inherently seeks the power of the majority.  A few decades ago, Christians began to think that politics was the path to transform society so what was our goal?  A Moral Majority.  It didn’t work.  When it comes to the power God shares, faith is of  far greater value than majorities.  Which means that prayer is probably more important than voting… I’m not saying don’t vote.  Just saying don’t forget to pray.

If  you are interested in listening to the pondering we did… click here.

I love that picture.  It gives me a sense of freedom, potential, opportunity.  I’m not sure if you can tell or not, but it’s a sunrise, not a sunset.  The day is just beginning, full of possibilities.  That’s what our new series is about.  It starts this weekend.  I’m so looking forward to spending the next 5 weeks talking about the dreams God has for our lives.

When I was a kid, my dream was to be a professional football player.  During high school, it changed.  Starting to think I might not be fast enough, big enough or strong enough for professional football, I turned my heart toward coaching.  I was going to teach math and coach football.  But then I got to college and that silly math major was requiring too much — studying.  So I dropped it.  Studying was not what I came to college for to do.  But then I’ll never forget my first theology class in college.  I loved it.  Soon after that my dream was to teach theology and coach football.  I know.  Where was I planning on putting those two things together?  Then I went to seminary; thought I was going for my phd but ended up in a church; thought being a pastor was going to be a short-term gig, but you know how that ended up.

Somewhere along the way, I realized that I loved being a pastor and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else with so much passion.  That’s when I knew what direction I needed to journey to live my dream.

Over the course of the last decade+ God has refined the dream.  Building a church without walls to serve the Centre Region and beyond…all the way to God.

I believe that during the next five weeks, some of us are going to take huge strides to living the dream.  Invite a friend and come to Calvary.