Jesus Gone Wild

Relating to the subject of the previous post...and a much more light-hearted note...below is a video I made for our worship gathering this past Sunday.

It is a montage of Jesus' temple fit in John 2 from various Jesus movies.



By the way, I really want one of those Jesuses to say, "...brotha" after his line. Can you guess which one?

overturning tables

Below is a quote from the book Divine Nobodies by Jim Palmer. The quote is long, but it is certainly worth reading.

"I don't really want a relationship with God. Here's what I want. I want to share with God all I feel, all I need, all that grieves me, all that makes me happy, the puzzling things, the fun things, and the hard things, but I would prefer that God keep his stuff to himself. I don't want to hear about his pain and share in his grief...This goes way deeper than feeling guilty about doing more; I'm trying to figure out how I got to the place where the things that break the heart of God are so marginal to mine. I'm starting to wonder if I can even have a "relationship" with God this way, and I'm left with the question of how much I really want to know God. There's no having it both ways. Whether I like it or not, the God who dances over the breathtaking sunrise weeps over each victim of brutality."

Those words are quite unsettling to me.

Having a relationship with someone means sharing their joy in the good AND sharing their pain in the bad. One look at my marriage and I can easily see how true this is. If Betsy gets hurt or angered by something or someone, as soon as I hear about it I am instantly hurt and angered as well.

That is true with my wife. But is that true with my God?

Sure, I get an empty feeling in my stomach if I watch a Dateline NBC special report about human-trafficking or read a book about third world hunger and disease. But, unfortunately, it pretty much ends there.

Yesterday Mark taught about Jesus clearing the temple in John 2. In case, you are unfamiliar with that story...its the one where Jesus gets pissed-off; about the lack of reverence and passion of God's people; about the exploitation of the poor; about the...whatever, he just gets pissed.

And based on that Mark challenged us with these words, "May we, as His followers, hurt where Jesus hurt; get mad where Jesus got mad; overturn tables where Jesus overturned tables; and love as Jesus loved."

To that I say, Amen.

(Rembrandt's rendering of the event in John 2)

ode to an explorer

Okay, I know its not eco-friendly. And I realize it maybe the symbol of the western/suburban/middle-class culture that many of the books I read like to rant against.

But...

I love my SUV.

I mean that. And not in the "I love pizza" or "I love the Bears" sort of way. I love it in the "I love my wife" sort of way. Seriously.

No. I am, of course, kidding. But I do love it.

Back in March, Betsy got in an accident and totaled her car. It was unimaginably scary, but outside of the expected soreness, she was completely, and thankfully, unharmed.

The insurance company gave us a check for the totaled vehicle and with it, we purchased a used Ford Explorer. And...I think I have said, "I love this car" every day since.

Let me explain. Because it has nothing to do with the color or the comfort of the car. It has nothing to do with the way I feel while driving it or the status I think it gives me.

No. I love that car because sometimes in life you need to transport 8 music stands, 40 5-gallon water jugs and an entire sound system all in a 2 hour window (as I did this past Friday). And sometimes...especially when you have the words 'creative-arts' in your job title...you have to do things of this sort multiple times a week.

I can't tell you how many times in the last decade that I have played my own little game of Tetris trying to load music equipment in the back-seat of a 4 door sedan. I can't tell you how many times I have had to borrow cars or coordinate trips with multiple vehicles (or multiple trips with one vehicle). All I can really tell you is that I love my SUV. I may have already beaten up the interior a little, but I love it. It is a dang work-horse...and a dang blessing.

So, call me a yuppie. Or look down on me because global warming is all my fault. Whatever. I don't care. I love my SUV.

4 w's of small groups

Below is a video I made this past weekend featuring a handful of people from the Crossings community answering the questions: "what?", "where?", "when?", and "why?" in reference to small groups.

Is the video any good? Maybe. I don't know. But I stayed up late editing it after going to the UT game on Saturday night. And if I am going to miss out on sleep for it, I'm sure as heck going to post it. So here it is....



(side note: you can now go to Crossings' website and from the Experience section watch the videos we have created.)

branches

There are many branches in my life. Some bear fruit and some do not.

Jesus said in John 15:1-2, I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.

I am beginning to realize more and more as I get older that I there is great virtue and wisdom in the ability to say 'No'. Especially to yourself.

24 hours in a day. 7 days in a week. 52 weeks in a year. That is all I've got. There simply is not enough time to do everything I want to do, not to mention everything I have to do.

So I've been struggling for the last few months with this idea of branches. I have a lot of branches in my life; a lot of things I do. Some are fruitful, others are not.

Unfortunately, I can't always tell the difference.

And that is very hard for me, because its not really about what I want to do or don't want to do. Ultimately, the issue boils down to what is fruitful and what isn't. That is what is most important. There is a lot that I want to do...and can do, but not all of it is time well spent. Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial (I think Oprah I said that or something).

God has given each of us talents and gifts and passions and...time. And we would be fools to let any one of those go to waste.

God, I want to bear as much fruit as absolutely possible in the time I'm given. And that takes pruning. As I continue to abide in You, help me remove the fruitless branches. And by Your grace and to Your glory, prune the fruitful branches that they might produce even more fruit.

and...i'm back

Well, at least I will be soon.

I apologize about not having posted for a week. I have been out of town at my friend Gunnar's wedding. It was a good trip. I got to see my family, the first place Cubbies, and one of my best friends get married.

In case you do not know who Gunnar is, here is a link to something I posted after finding out last year that he was engaged.

I'm leaving in a few minutes to drive all the way back to Knoxville. Pray for safe travels if you will. Also, in case you weren't paying attention to this post:
Gunnar is married AND the Cubs are in first place. So you also may want to pray just to make sure you are right with the Lord.

Cause it appears the End may be near.