Incomplete Disciple

Since I became a follower of Jesus (33 years ago), I have always known that I was imperfect. Yeah, I know. I'm sure you're shocked and disappointed to hear that.

Over the years, my growth as a disciple has ebbed and flowed, waned and waxed. While there has been forward movement, I can't say that I have been completely consistent in my pursuit of the holy life - the one which we are called to live.

And yet, I know that I have grown a tremendous amount since that day I first committed myself to being under Jesus' lordship. Through deep study of and meditation on His Word, and by putting into practice at least a portion of what I've learned, I've become who I am today.

But from time-to-time it becomes glaringly apparent that I am far from complete. "What now?" you ask.

Well, I'm considering a few things that I have had the tendency to ignore previously.

Here's one...

"I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead." (Phil 3:10a NLT) I'm okay with that. I'm excited by that. I really do want that.

But it's the next sentence that gets my goat: "I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death..." Am I okay with that? Does that excite me? Do I really want that? I'm not so sure.

And what about when Paul says, "...and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." (2 Tim 3:12) Have I really experienced that? I mean REALLY? Truth be told, any "persecution" that I may have suffered for being a follower of Jesus amounts to nothing. Only words. Nothing of substance.

Jesus himself tells us, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23 NIV) How prepared am I to deny myself on a daily basis? I'm reticent at best.

So here I am - an incomplete disciple - not having disciplined myself to the fullest extent of Christ's expectations.

Still got a long way to go.

Self examination

Lately our life has been crazy. I usually work 12-15 hours most days and have to force myself to take time off.

Being so focused on my work, it's all too easy to become inward-focused. I've been asking myself, "What am I doing to reach out to those around me with the love of Jesus? What effect am I having on my neighbors, or the baristas at Starbucks, or the clerk at the grocery store?" Okay, I'm nice. I engage them in pleasant conversation. I try to encourage them in their work. That's all good.

But is there more I can be doing? Do they know that they are loved by the Creator of the universe? Do they know that their lives have meaning beyond the menial, daily tasks of making a living?

I was challenged this morning as I read this in Greater Europe Mission's Vision and Mission Blog:

"We must always remember that as Christians, we carry Jesus’ light wherever we go. When we enter the local grocery store, coffee house, or restaurant, we can take Christ into that situation with us. We can choose to use every simple transaction or conversation to bring a touch of Jesus into others’ lives. Will we keep Him under wraps or will we, in faith, reach out and bring the Kingdom into the establishment?"

Shyness is no longer an excuse. Fear is no longer an excuse. Lack of time is no longer an excuse. Pride is no longer an excuse.

All these things... I must leave home without them.

Living in the South

Never really intending for things to end up this way, I have now spent more than half of my existence in The South. My mom grew up in Dallas and we kids always enjoyed making fun of our grandparents' accents. I grew up in Kansas, where there really is no accent, unless you're truly country folk. Then there is this kind of western twang.

Upon landing in Nashville, TN in '82, I was struck by the fact that even news anchors and radio personalities had drawls. I must admit that, despite my best efforts (and prideful denial thereof), I was a snob and thought the local broadcasters sounded unprofessional at best. You see, I had grown up equating a southern drawl with a lack of education or refinement. What I didn't think about then was that a few centuries of refinement had gone into developing the twists and turns of the English language that define a Southern accent.

You may be thinking, "But wait - you live in Florida..." This is true. But what you may not realize is that "The South" extends well into Florida. In fact, Tallahassee has one of the most endearing timbres of all the Southern accents.

Another thing that I've come to learn is that the rest of the English-speaking world is fascinated by a good Southern drawl. This is evidenced by northern tourists who, upon being greeting by their waitress insist she repeat whatever comes out of her mouth.

"She said 'y'all!' Say it again!"

While it is rather obnoxious, they mean no disrespect. Come to think of it, I've actually been on the receiving end of this scenario. While in Cork, Ireland, a few young kids, upon hearing my foreign accent, encircled me demanding, "Say 'Ireland'!" When I did so in my best Cork brogue, there was a unison "Aaah" of disappointment.

There are a couple of Southern colloquialisms that I love. For instance, anywhere else we might say "excuse me?" or "I'm sorry, what did you say?" Where we live, the thing to say is, "Do what, now?"

But I think my favorite is when you have something that isn't working properly, it's "done tore up."

Now, apart from linguistics, there are other oddities you may find only in the South. Here are a few examples of actual business names:

Flags and Afghans Galore

Barstool Variety

Le Salon n' Spa

And my favorite:

St. Nick's Christmas and Knives

The South has such an interesting mix of personalities and cultures that can be at once off-putting and endearing. It's rich in tradition, steeped in history.

You gotta love it.

The Aftermath

I was reliving Sept. 11, 2001 last night, thanks to the help of the History Channel, which was running a real-time account of that morning's events.

THC made it such a human story, utilizing a lot of footage shot at street level that really focused on the people of New York. The thing that struck struck me so strongly was the innocence on the faces of those witnessing events that were beyond their comprehension.

There was no frame of reference. Nothing like this had ever taken place on American soil. With sympathetic reactions to the tragedy unfolding before their eyes, they had no idea what was really happening. Okay, so an airliner flew into the north tower of the World Trade Center. We had seen accidents like this. Rare as it was, it was not unbelievable.

But when the south tower was struck 17 minutes later, whether first-hand or by way of broadcast, every person watching it was snatched out of reality into a surreal landscape that resembled nothing in his or her experience. Suddenly we were in a cinema watching yet another doomsday flick. Right?

But all too soon, we realized that this was reality, strange as it was -- painful as it was A new reality was thrust upon us.

Yet still we had no idea how our world was about to change.

Looking back over the eight years since then -- it really was a different world wasn't it?

That innocence will never be regained.

belief?

I have this scripture on my desk: "For nothing will be impossible with God." (Luke 1:37)

Do I believe it?

"...faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." (James 2:17)

I'm not sure the Luke passage - although I've read it, thought about it, contemplated it, examined it - has quite sunk in. If it had, I would be living every moment of every day under the conviction that anything is possible and doing all I could to prove it.

I think I need to begin a study of scripture wherein I REALLY test what's there. What better way to build my faith than to act on what I'm reading in scripture? I think my tendency is to think, "Yeah, that's good stuff," and pray that the Lord would help me live it out. Not that it's a bad thing to do, I just don't think it's always making a immediate, tangible difference in my behavior. If it is, it's slow, minute movement. I'm talking about reading it and immediately putting it into effect.

I think I'll call it my "Believe-What-You-Read-And-Test-It-In-Faith" study.

Anybody want to join me?

(I must clarify here that I'm not meaning to promote any theology that puts "us" in control. God is the author of all things and I strive to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit in all things. God is not my co-pilot. No, indeed, He is in the driver's seat - when I let Him - ideally.)

Hi.

Yeah - so I just found out that the last time I blogged was in the ides of March. St. Patrick's Day.

Five-and-a-half months.

Shameful.

Basically I've been sucked into Facebookworld. I'm approaching 1000 friends there and have found it to be a good vehicle for sharing about our work.

Buuut...

I really miss blogging. I feel it's important for me to write on a regular basis. It helps me to work through things that are on my mind and that I think are worth sharing with others. Of course that's what I think. You may have a different opinion.

So I'm setting myself a reminder on my calendar to pop up each week and remind me to blog. I do actually have a lot of ideas of things I'd like to talk about. I just need to develop the discipline to stay with it.

So maybe you'll be hearing from me more often.

To update you on our progress - we are close to 60% in our needed monthly financial support and are hoping that we can finish up our MPD (Ministry Partner Development - a.k.a. fund raising) soon, go to pre-field training and get to Ireland permanently to continue our work full-time.

Keep praying!

The Legacy of Patrick

When I think about St. Patrick, there are a few things that come to mind.

The first is - Patrick started his ministry in Ireland when he was in his 40's. That's where I'm at, and we're starting our ministry there. That encourages me.

Next - Patrick was used in amazing ways by the Lord, yet never took any credit for himself. He always maintained a spirit of humility, couched with the knowledge that "..all things are possible with God...", which I think was key to his ability to win over those he was evangelizing.

He suffered many hardships in his lifetime, but always looked for the good that would come from such suffering.

Finally, his legacy and those of his contemporaries (monks, priest, nuns) was to pass on knowledge of the Scriptures and train Christian workers to reach the world with the Gospel. In fact, the Irish are responsible for not only saving the Scriptures from disappearing from the face of the earth during the dark ages, but re-evangelizing the mainland of Europe as the Renaissance dawned.

If each and every one of us who call ourselves Christian would clothe ourselves with the same ethic that Patrick possessed - it would be a whole new world.

You may want to read Patrick's autobiography, his "Confessio". It's a short read and can be found lots of places, including here: http://www.cin.org/patrick.html

I encourage you on this St. Patrick's Day to pray for Ireland. 99.3% of the people of Ireland have no relationships with Jesus. Also, several years ago Patrick organizers of the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin decided that Patrick was too religious of a figure and should no longer be allowed to appear in the day's festivities.

We want to see the "days of Patrick" return with a renewed fervor and watch in awe as revival once again spreads across the Emerald Isle!

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!

The Shifting Tide

You know how you're just trucking along in life -- trying to keep a handle on things, stay apprised of what's happening in the world around you, thinking you have a good broad perspective on things and then out of the blue your hit by something that either takes you by surprise, or shows you that your thinking has been way too shallow?

Well that's happening to me right now. I try to keep myself educated about things that are happening in Christendom here and abroad and how that relates to society as a whole, yadda, yadda, yadda...

In the past 4 hours, I have read two articles, brought to my attention by two individuals, that has me refocusing on my perception of the Western church and it's role in the world today.

Rather than go into a long diatribe about the content of these articles and my reactions to them, I think it would be more beneficial to simply provide you with the links to said articles and let you read them.

But before I do (I know, I just can't help myself) I must at least say that, although they both carry with them a fair amount of what appears on the surface to be "bad news", it gets me excited to think about what this really means for the overall health of the world-wide Body of Christ.

The first article is a straight-up news report based upon statistics.

The second is written from the perspective of a servant of Christ who shares his thoughts about coming changes in the evangelical church, based upon his observations, and then ends by giving us the "good news" of what it all could mean for the life of the church.

Thus said, here you go...

Religious Groups in US Losing Ground

The Coming Evangelical Collapse

The calling of a place

Maybe it's just the fact that we haven't really traveled anywhere within the last year-and-a-half, but I am feeling the urge to be somewhere else. I read a description of a little tavern that's just outside the gate of an historic medieval walled town in Croatia and was immediately enamored. Ready to get on a plane and head there right now. I think Beth nailed it when she said, "You just haven't been anywhere for more than a year. Anyplace would look good to you."

For those of you who like to travel, you understand. It gets in your blood, and after you've been idle in one location for a while it feels like being cooped up in a small cabin all winter - the proverbial "cabin fever".

Well, I've hit that point again. If given the opportunity, I'd be at the airport tonight, or loading up the car for a long road trip. Come on, twist my arm...

Just got a note from a friend who is heading to Ireland in a couple of weeks. Aah!

But aside from discovering new places while traveling (which I love to do), there is something about those places you've been - those that mean something special to you. From time-to-time they will call to you, a veritable siren to your conscience.

There are a few places like that for me, but two in particular that reign.

First there is my home, where I grew up. Kansas. A lot of people have driven through Kansas with the only lasting memory that they couldn't wait for it to end. I can understand that. For hundreds of miles there is nothing but farm crops and ripening prairie grasses.

But for me - I hear music. There is music there that is just waiting to be realized. I have come to know that there is beauty to be found anywhere you are in nature. Sometimes it assaults your senses. Sometimes it chooses to call to you in subtle urgings to look longer, deeper, closer.

Every now and then, my mind will wonder to the Great Plains and get stuck there for a bit.

For those of you who know me, this will come as no surprise, but another place that calls to me in this way is Ireland. Having been there multiple times has enabled us to become familiar with it. That, and the fact that when we are there it seems so much like home, makes it hard to ignore.

In the same way that I feel rooted to the plains, I have a similar connection to the Emerald Isle. But there is something different, as well. My roots in Kansas grew naturally through my years of growing up. They run deep and strong. The roots that have grown for me in Ireland have grown quickly and are still quite shallow, but they're tenacious, nonetheless.

I enjoyed traveling from a young age, but I never had this burning urge to "get outta Dodge" (well, Pratt, actually), as some I have known. No, instead, I simply knew when it was time to go and never regretted the leaving. I look back fondly on my youth, but have no desire to return permanently to that place. Yet it calls still. I hear it call me to never forget, to always remember. It's undemanding, yet persistent.

Ireland, on the other hand, is somewhat more forceful in her approach. Eire (her true name) will often cause me to lose myself in thoughts of being there; driving through the country, exploring ruins, walking down the street, sitting in the park, engaging with people. With Ireland, I get glimpses of what could or will be, not what once was. I think that's why there seems to be more of an urgency when my thoughts are taken there; why it demands more of my mind and heart.

Ireland will be our new home, and has already begun to be so insofar as it has captured my heart. I will always have a divided heart, though. Part will always be in Kansas. A huge, HUGE part will be wherever our daughter Molly is. Part will be where we are.

Regarding Florida -- we have a home here with the people we know and love, and it will be difficult to leave them. But as for the place -- I don't expect it to call to me once we leave. After 20 years I never have felt like a Floridian. I could probably live here the rest of my days and never experience that.

All that to say... "When do we leave?"

Well, I have taken this far beyond what I had planned, and I'm sure you have better things to do, so I believe it's time to close.

Charis and Shalom...

The 3 missing points

So this morning I gave the message at Coast. It was about David and Goliath and facing the giants in our lives.

We usually have an insert in the handout with scriptures and fill-in-the-blank bullet points and the like, where those present can take notes throughout the sermon.

Well, I got off my notes and ended up skipping three important points (although the things were covered otherwise, the three fill-in-the-blank points made them easy to remember).

So, for those who were present and wondering what the three points were, here you go:

Three things that are instrumental in our victory:

1 - God's Word 2 - God's Ability 3 - Our Faith

Thank you for your attention.

Super Bowl

Those of you that know me know that I'm not the world's biggest sports fan.

Growing up I participated in the obligatory little league baseball, Pass Punt & Kick, neighborhood football games, Kick the Can, et al. In Jr. High, I "played" basketball and ran track. By the time I got to High School, I realized that I was not an athlete. I remember vividly the call to my dad from the school the day of basketball tryouts telling him that I didn't want to play. He was disappointed, but gracious.

About the only sport I was any good at was golf. That was only because my family belonged to the Country Club. I even have a trophy. Now it would take too much of my time and money for me to get back into it.

Come to think of it, I was a pretty fair skier, too. We used to go to Colorado every winter until I was 18. I would probably kill myself if I tried it now.

So through High School and College, I tried to act like I was into watching sports on TV, but eventually concluded, "What's the point?"

Okay, I will admit that I do enjoy watching the Olympics and the X-Games. But as far as keeping up with ongoing team sports - not so much.

Now if you're ever hanging around me talking sports and I don't have a lot to contribute to the conversation, you'll understand why.

So this weekend is the Super Bowl. I know that because I happened to be talking on the phone with a friend for the first time in 20 years and he mentioned that he and his wife were hosting a party on Sunday. I should have known it was soon, because I've always known it was just after Kansas Day. I know that because we learned about it in grade school. Some things just stick, you know?

Don't ask me who is playing this weekend. Like I said, I don't follow college basketball. Just kidding. I'm sure come game time, I'll know the teams, as I know guys will be talking about it at church Sunday morning.

Part of me thinks I'm un-American for not taking a greater interest. Part of me thinks, "I'm a guy. I'm supposed to be into watching team sports." Part of me is a little embarrassed about it. But the 99% that is the rest of me thinks, "Eh - who cares?"

I must admit though - I'm a little concerned. If you think Americans are fanatic about their sports and their teams, you haven't been to Ireland. I would classify the Irish as rabid about "sport".

Who knows, maybe I'll get caught up in the fervor when we're living there. We'll just have to wait and see...

The heart of controversy

So regarding this whole uproar about President Obama asking pastor Rick Warren to do the invocation, and his "praying in Jesus' name"...

Here's the way I see it. That there was a controversy doesn't surprise me. It doesn't get me uptight or anything, because basically we know where the world is headed. It will only get worse before it gets better. We can't change that by getting all worked up about how the world perceives Christians. It is what it is.

What was interesting to me was the discussion among the members of the TV and radio press regarding the Bible that was used for the swearing in. There was long discourse about the history of that particular Bible and about the use of the Bible throughout the past two centuries. However, there was no kind of feeling expressed through these discussions regarding the significance of using the Bible at all. No complaints that a "Christian document" was the very thing that nearly every president has sworn upon.

So why the uproar about the prayer and not the Bible?

I can see several possibilities...

Perhaps that the use of the Bible is such a deep tradition it is viewed not as iconic Christiana, but perhaps simply an historic, weighty document that provides a foundation for the ceremony -- a touch point to the founding of our nation. It may be viewed as one of many such documents (including the Koran, Confucius, the Torah and others) that define the human experience as a whole. I don't know. I'm taking a stab in the dark here.

But regarding the uproar over Pastor Rick and praying in Jesus' name, it seems obvious to me that the world's perception of evangelicals is none too favorable. We evangelicals may not be quite lumped in with radical militant religious groups, but in many regards we are in the same general category. Those who are in the "fundamentalist" camp are at once expected to be dogmatic, unloving, intolerant, narrow-minded, exclusive, judgmental... I could go on. Because of such labels, there is a distrust and a perception that we have an agendum when we choose to be faithful to our beliefs.

The long and short of it is that in a pluralistic society, you can't please everybody. There will always be some who feel disenfranchised. Heavens, if you prayed in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, there would be a certain contingency of Christians who would object.

Just to stir the waters a little more...

Going back to the swearing in, consider the following statement from Jesus:

"But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one." (Matt. 5:34-37 NKJV)

I'm thinking that this includes the Holy Scriptures. What do you think? Now I'm not a legalist. I'm not going to declare that we have had no legitimate presidents these 220 years, save those who chose not to swear on the Bible. I just find this all very interesting.

Alright, enough rambling. I know, I know - I haven't really made any strong arguments or profound statements in my little diatribe here. Just kind of random thoughts of someone trying to get a handle on how the world works.

I'll close by saying this.

I applaud President Obama for sticking so far to his promise of striving toward a more unified nation -- a more inclusive administration. No, I don't agree with many of his viewpoints and values. But I will be praying that he will turn to the One through whom all things were made for guidance and wisdom as president -- and the hope of eternal life as a fellow human being.

Oh, and one more thing...

No matter how you feel about the man, this is truly a remarkable era for our nation and world. Centuries of struggle, violence, oppression and turmoil have led us to this point and we should be proud that we have finally arrived here.

The weather ain't the reason

Rain. Sleet. Snow. Temperatures hovering around freezing. Winds up to 100 mph. Power outages. Hazardous driving. Stranded motorists. Trees and road signs blown down -- on top of cars. 30 ft. waves in a bay. Flooded roads.

This, my friends is Ireland right now.

My word, they are getting slammed with horrible weather! And the kicker is that it's supposed to continue like this for the next week or so.

Now why is it that we want to move to Ireland? Well, I could have told you from the beginning that it wasn't for the weather. Except maybe when it's 99F with 99% humidity here in Gulf Breeze, while it's in the 70s in Dublin.

This picture is us in Ireland in August...

Okay, this was a little too cool for summer in our minds.

Nonetheless - that's where we want to be. That's where we're supposed to be.

May it be sooner rather than later...

2009

So here we are - starting another year. What will it hold for each of us?

I know that with the economy the way it is at present, many are looking at 2009 with fear and trepidation. We're definitely feeling the crunch ourselves, as music students are having to cut back on lessons, or having to quit altogether. And the little side jobs in carpentry, etc. are all but non-existent.

But we are encouraged.

While certain aspects of our income are suffering, the one thing that is on the increase is the main thing upon which we are focused - our support level for our work in Ireland. I believe we are truly experiencing something miraculous.

God has been teaching us patience and that His timing is perfect. It seems very likely that we will be able to move to Ireland in 2009.

We have a strong support base building, including a number of individuals who have been faithful partners with us for several years. We have seen the fruits of their commitment in the work that we've already been able to accomplish on our short-term trips. At present, their monthly support is enabling us to spend the time needed to raise the remainder that we need so that we can make our permanent move.

We are so excited about continuing our work and fulfilling the vision that God has given us for the church in Ireland.

Here's our vision statement:

To equip and train up worship leaders and musicians in the Irish church to better enable them to move the church forward and reach the Irish people with the Gospel.

Raising up leadership is what it's all about.



Beth and I would love to share with anyone who wants to know more about the work we've been doing, our vision for the work once we are living there and our financial goals for making that happen.

You can let us know if you'd like to learn more by leaving a comment with your email address or phone number. We will NOT publish your information, out of respect for your privacy, but can then contact you with more information.

Here's to 2009!