Coaching Fundamentals

I'm attending a coaching conference this week near Tampa, Florida and I'm amazed by some of the new things I have learned.  I'm not amazed that I'm amazed.  I expected that.  Events like this always challenge me and help me see things in fresh ways.  My experience of learning coaching skills and then using coaching skills has been life changing for me. It's helped clarify for my my calling to be pastor of a church, to be a leader among followers, and to be an equipper of disciples. 

This is how I define coaching.  Coaching is helping others move ahead to live and act true to their unique calling from God.  To me it ties in so well with Living Christ's Love.  As a coach I'm called to help people discover #1: "Be true to myself."  Coaching give me the tools to help people discover the truth that God has planted deep in their soul and imprinted within their DNA.  It leads people to discover who they truly are, what God is truly calling them to be, and how they can be true to both in relationship with others.

Action in the coaching converstation is always going forward. The way Jonathan Reitz put's it, coaching is "X arrow X" (or X -------> X ) meaning coaching is helping the coachee identify where they are today, where they are called to go, and the route to take to bring those closer together.  Coaching gives people permission to discover the route themselves.  In fact, let me put it another way.  The coachee does the work because God has planted that truth within them.

God has given us all unique talents and gifts.  Every one of us is unique in all the world.  A coach walks along side the coachee to help them discover those unique gifts and hear the call about where they are going next.

I thank God for the training I have received and I'm excited about how I can use these skills to help people from my church, my fellow pastors, and other ministries from this area discover who they truly are and the steps to take to get to where they feel called to go.  

One Thing Needed

In a world full of distractions, our faith guides us in making the right priorities.  The Bible story in the Gospel of Luke of Jesus visiting the home of his friends, Mary and Martha, helps us see that setting priorties is not always easy.

Quick... Your boss has told you that she is coming over to your home tomorrow to meet with you. What do you need to do over the next 24 hours?

What ever came to your mind, I'm sure there's a good chance it sounded a whole lot like this: "But Martha was distrated by all the preparations that had to be made (Luke 10:40)."  There's a children's Bible I like a lot.  It's a smiplified verison of the Bible, but in the case of the story of Mary and Martha welcoming Jesus in their home, it gives us a whole lot more detail.  Maybe your preparations for your boss would look a bit like this. "Martha, on the other hand, was very busy. She didn't have time to sit down! She cooked - olives, fish bread. She cleaned - sweeping the dirt floor and shaking the mats. Martha worked to make Jesus' visit special."

After thinking about what you would need to do to prepare for your boss's visit, maybe your final conclusion might be: "I need to convince her to meet with me somewhere else."

In the text, Martha becomes of frustrated with Mary, she approaches Jesus to help her get Mary to help out. "Tell her to help me!"  Jesus response is a lesson in priorties and compassion.  With compassion in his heart Jesus knows Martha is struggling and opens her eyes to truth. "'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about may things, but few things are needed - or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her' (Luke 10:41-42)."

What is the one thing needed?  What is preventing Martha from doing the one thing needed?
I can think of a lot of words here: stuff, pride, appearances, fairness, frustration, fear, things. 

What is the one thing needed?

Living the Kingdom of God, living the spiritual reality we have been baptized into means making the one thing needed our priority in all things and in all our realtionships.  We view the world through the lens of that one thing needed.  We do our chores in light of the one thing needed.  

On that day Mary chose what is better because her actions were centered on the one thing needed.  She was free because of that one thing needed. 

What is preventing you from living in the light of that one thing needed?  Are you ready to place those discrations in their proper place in your life?  Are you open to being released to live for Christ my making that one thing needed your number one priority?  Are you ready to pray for the Holy Spirit to inspire you to center on that one thing needed?  Can that one thing needed become a spiritual habit that becomes second nature... I mean... first nature?

When that day comes, you will be ready to welcome your boss today, tomorrow, and anytime.  Mi casa es su casa when your life is defined by that one thing needed.

What in the World is Water?

What in the world is water?

I read this joke in Charles Duhigg's The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and in Business: "There are two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says 'Morning, boys. How's the water?' The two young fish swim on for a bit and eventually one of them looks over at the other and asks 'What in the world is water?'"

Ash Wednesday is about encountering realities we tend to not think about. When we are marked on our foreheads with ashes we remember the reality that "we are dust and to dust we shall return."  We are mortal and this life is finite. We are completely dependent on the graciousness of God to make through this live and beyond.

The fact that the ashes are marked on our forehead in the sign of the cross reminds us that we belong to Christ: "You belong to Christ in whom you are baptized." Our mortality is not the end of the story for us. Isaiah 43 is our reality: "I have called you by name. You are mine."

Which of course also reminds us of our baptismal reality. On Ash Wednesday we can see that we have been marked with the cross of Christ... but that marking lasts forever.  Our baptism lasts forever.  Reality is that marked with the cross long after the ashes are washed away.  Reality is that we are wet in the waters of baptism long after the water dries.  Christians who forget their baptisms are blind to reality just as much as our two young fish are blind to the reality around them when they ask: "what in the world is water?"

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus teaches us about treasures on earth and treasures in heaven.  Both heaven and earth are real, but too often we neglect the Kingdom of Heaven reality we are free to live in today.  We trudge on head in our earthly reality forgetting that we are free to live Christ's love... a Kingdom reality that is a real as the air we breathe... and as easily forgotten. 

The disciplines of Lent: self-examination and repentance, prayer and fasting, sacrificial giving and works of love are Kingdom habits that we can focus on in Lent with the hope that they endure for a lifetime.  They are the treasures in heaven we are free to live right now.  The world might try to convince us that they are burden and weigh us down.  They don't. Living Christ's love in that way actually liberates us.

There is a battle going on between two realities... both very real but only one with the power to give us life.  Paul shines some light these realities well in 2 Corinthians 6:8b-10:

We are treated as impostors, and yet are true;

as unknown, and yet are well known;

as dying, and see - we are alive;

as punished, and yet not killed;

as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing;

as poor, yet making may rich;

as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

People often say that Lent is a time of sorrowful mourning... of dirges and misery. Don't believe it. Through the disciplines of Lent. Through the Kingdom habits we live of prayer and kindness, of generosity and repentance our spiritual eyes are opened to reality.  Christ reveals to us "fish" the real "water" we swim in.   

Living Christ's Love

In John's Gospel, Jesus gives his followers a new commandment at the Last Supper.

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. 

Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 

- John 13:34

Christians every since have struggled with the question: how do I love as Christ loved?  It's not easy. Because of sin we never get it right. It becomes a spiritual disciple for us to even try.  Because it is Christ's command we are moved to just do it.

Thanks to the Lombard Menonnite Peace Center, my work in Bowen Theory, the colaborative work with the Shepherds Minsitry in my congregation, and the feedback of many people I journey through this life of loving Christ and living faith, I have come up with some steps we can take to do the work of living Christ's love. 

To live Christ's love means navigating within the reality that God made each and everyone of us as unique individuals called to live in community with other unique people.  How do we remain true to our self and live among others who are different?  So much of what we encounter in human relationships falls right here:

LIVING CHRIST'S LOVE

Being an individual child of God in community with others.

Living freely in the light of grace I can:

1. Be true to myself. I am created in the image of God and one with Jesus through baptism.
2. Be in community. I am created by God to live among other people as the body of Christ.
3. Accept disagreements. Conflict is a normal part of human relationships.
4. Affirm hope. God will use disagreements as an opportunity to grow.
5. Commit to prayer. God invited me to lift up my needs and the needs of others in prayer.
6. Humbly go directly to others. I can own my own part in a disagreement while communicating directly with the other.
7. Listen. I can seek to understand the other who is free to have a different opinion.
8. Be slow to judge. Having a different opinion on one issue does not make the other my opponent.
9. Negotiate. I can work through disagreements constructively, celebrating the possibility of reconciliation.  
10. Trust the community. Neutral people from the community can help mediate solutions.
11. Love, even when it's difficult. I can live the golden rule, "Love your neighbor as yourself."
12. Stay connected. I don't need to cut off from or insincerely give in to those I disagree with. 

  

All Showered and Ready to Go

Curtis blew it.  Things have been tense in his marriage for a while and  Samantha warned him to be ready by 6:30.  Their only daughter, Hannah, is four years old and has been deaf since birth.  Tonight was their sign-language class with her and they couldn't be late.  Curtis had every intention of being good and ready.  He didn't want to let Hannah or Sam down.  But Curtis blew it.

Curtis works for ComEd and things got really hectic out on the lines.  The rain was just not letting up and he had to get those repairs done.  By the end of the day he was pooped... and he stank... and he pulled into the driveway... at 6:22!  He completely forgot the class.  Sam said "get in the car."  But Curtis stank bad.  He wanted to get a quick shower.  Between apologizing to Sam, he begged her to let him get a quick shower.  But no... they had to go.  With his head down, dejected, Curtis got in passenger seat and off the three of them went.

There were about fifty others at the class that night... all sitting in rows... listening closely to the instructor before they would break up into the groups to practice the signs with their kids.  Curtis was the only one with mud all over his shoes.  Curtis was the only one who smelled like that.  He felt shame, and anger at Sam... then a little more shame and finally sadness for Hannah as he looked into her sweet eyes.  Curtis blew it.

If only Curtis would have gotten home a little sooner.  I mean how long does a quick shower take?  For a guy... three minutes tops... and dried off and dressed and ready to go in less than ten.  Curtis needed a shower bad.  Thankfully, someone took a bath for him a long time ago: Jesus.

The most famous bath in the history of the world occurred when Jesus was baptized in the River Jordan.  The Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove.  A voice claimed Jesus as his own: "You are my son, the beloved, with you I am well pleased (Luke 3:22)."  Curtis was baptized too, when he was a baby.  Now a good shower would have been quite a gift for him that day before the sign-language class, but his most important bath actually occurred that day he was baptized.  He was given the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus was when he was baptized. Curtis was claimed as God's child as well.  "I have called you by name. You are mine (Isaiah 43:1)."

Curtis learned the hard way just how important a shower can be.  When you make time for a quick shower you are then ready for anything.  All that dirt and grim go right down the drain.  The stink disappears.  Those who live by faith and live daily in the reality of their baptism are ready for anything too.  It's been called living wet: living the reality that because we are baptized God has forgiven our sin and has prepared us to live this day... this moment... in righteousness and purity.

When we forget the grace of our baptism the stick of sin remains with us and grips us like the dirt on Curtis' shoes.  It's a real tragedy too, because remembering your baptism is so easy.  Being centered in prayer or in the Word and "bang" you're there: you remember that amazing grace.  Your sins are forgiven so you may arise and live now before God in righteousness and purity.

That night at the school Curtis wasn't ready to arise and stand before anyone: not the other parents and kids, not the instructor and certainly not in front of Sam and Hannah.  Yes it was a long day... and he had excellent excuses... but in the end the feelings of anger, shame and sadness were what he was left with.  We're talking more than dirt and body odor here... when we start talking about anger and shame we are getting to the filth that sticks to us deep in our soul.  Think about it this way: when Curtis, or any one of us, gets so busy that we forget about grace and the love and forgiveness given in baptism, the stink of sin holds on to us.  Because we blow it, over and over again, we need to remember our baptism.

In baptism you are one with Jesus and receive the same gifts our Lord received in the Jordan.  "I have called you by name. You are mine."  You belong to the Lord.  The stink of sin has been washed away.  Feelings of shame, anger and sadness don't control you any more.  In Christ you are all showered and ready to go.  Now live "wet" before God in righteousness and purity forever.

The Star Shines on a New Kingdom

Tomorrow is the Epiphany of Our Lord.  We celebrate the festival in which wise men are led by a star to Bethlehem to pay homage to a new king for a new kingdom.  With the birth of Jesus, God turns the powers of the world upside-down.  Previously ultimate power was held by those with military strength and great wealth.  Now, power is expressed through love, humility, service and justice.  When the wise men visit King Herod, who represents old kingdom power, they quote Micah 5:2 that describes this new Kingdom of God: 

"And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, 

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; 

for from you shall come a ruler 

who is to shepherd my people Israel."

At Christmas I compared the shepherds of the Christmas story to the TV show Duck Dynasty.  In Jesus, God becomes one with us and meets us right where we are at.  Not only may be approach God, fully human, but we should approach our Lord, just as we are.  We don't need to wear our Sunday best, instead we can let our hair down.

For Epiphany, the light is shining on a new kingdom.  God's Kingdom will be established through Jesus who will shepherd his people in the ways of peace.  Out with the old and in with the new.  For me that sounds a whole lot like the TV show Downton Abbey.  It just so happens that the third season of Downton Abbey will be premiering Epiphany night on PBS.  The general tone of the show is of a age on its last legs: an age where people knew their place.  At the head of the manor is Lord Grantham, Robert Crawley and his mother the Dowager Countess of Grantham.  Then everyone else in the Crawley family comes next.  Even among the servants there is a hierarchy.  Mr. Carson runs the house followed by Mrs. Hughes and then a whole list of various people who know their place, with poor little Daisy, the lowly kitchen maid at the bottom of the heap.  Downton Abbey depicts a time less than 100 years ago... the world of King George V and the great British Empire.  They used to say that the sun never sets on the British Empire... well, all of that is long gone.

While not described as such in the Matthew 2 text, the wise men have traditionally been described as kings or magi.  For centuries Christians have sung of the humble gifts the three kings present to the new king: Jesus.  In many respects in passing to Christ the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh... the "kings" are passing on the baton or the torch.  There are still monarchs.  Some respectable, like Elizabeth II, some tyrants like King Herod... but their age is ending.  Jesus never rules using any of their gifts.  He will not rule with gold.  He will not rule with the sword.  Jesus' instead rules with a shepherd's crook, leading his sheep to spiritual truth in him.  Jesus rules on the cross, meeting us humans at our worst. 

The star is the symbol of this reign of God.  It's light of truth breaks through the darkness and leads us in the way of peace.  They say that wise men still seek him.  From rich to poor.... from lowly Daisy, the kitchen maid to Lord Grantham... to King George himself... All will bow to this ruler: who is Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Twelfth Night

Tonight is Twelfth Night.  The Christmas season is twelve days long, as anyone who listened to even an hour of a 24/7 Christmas music radio station last month knows.  "The Twelve Days of Christmas," and its various variations, gets played over and over again.  Well... tonight is the twelfth night of Christmas.  In my family it's the night that we pray for God's blessings upon our house. 

We have claimed as our own an eastern European tradition of doing a yearly house blessing either at the time of Twelfth Night or Epiphany, which is January 6.  On Epiphany we celebrate the arrival of the wise men from the east to Bethlehem as it is described in Matthew 2.  They follow the star and after a conversation with King Herod they go to the house where Mary and the child Jesus are staying.  They give this new king gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Tradition says that these wise men were kings by the names of Casper, Melchior and Balthasar.  The blessing that is done over the main doorway of the home reflects this by using the first letter of each of their names: C M B.  In Latin the letters "C M B" also stand for words of blessing: Christus Mansionem Benedicat meaning "Christ bless this home."

Standing on a stool at the doorway this blessing is done, using chalk: 
The magi of old, known as
C   Caspar,
M   Melchior, and
B   Balthasar
followed the star of God's Son who came to dwell among us
20   two thousand
13   and thirteen years ago.
+   Christ, bless this house,
+   and remain with us throughout the new year.

in the end the blessing looks like this:

20 + C M B + 13

Afterwards, using a small branch from an evergreen tree, possibly the Christmas tree, you sprinkle water in each room, asking for God's blessings to be upon the whole household.

Its a beautiful blessing to do with children and those letters and numbers in chalk remind you throughout the year that Christ does bless your home and blesses you.  God is with you always.

What a nice tradition to end the Christmas season with.   

God becomes human... We can be human.

The wonder of Christmas is that God becomes a human:
God becomes human through a young and humble woman. 
God becomes human by being born in a stable with farm animals. 
When God becomes human the good news is first proclaimed to shepherds, who were not the highest ranking people in the society by any stretch of the imagination.
When God becomes human, he really becomes human.  He's not a super human.  He's not powerful or impressive by any worldly measurements.  God becomes human by meeting us right where we are. 

Most nativity scenes don't do justice to just how lowly the whole situation was.  The barn, manger, and animals were common, less than common even.  The shepherds are way overdressed and far too clean cut.  The shepherds in the Bethlehem countryside would have been a messy bunch and I'm sure they would have had long disheveled beards.  In fact as I sit hear and ponder those shepherds I can't help but think of the Robertson clan in the reality TV show: Duck Dynasty.

The idea behind that show lies behind the real-life story of a true Louisiana red-neck (his words), who loves hunting and the outdoors, making it rich because of an extremely successful line of duck calls he created under the name Duck Commander.  Now Phil has gotten up in years and its time for his son Willie to take over the business as the CEO.  The TV show follows Willie's struggles with keeping both the successful business and his crazy "red-neck" family together.  It's hilarious.  Phil and Willie are the stars, but its Uncle Si and brother Jase who really steal the show.  Yes they have money, and they are successful by worldly standards, but that doesn't stop them from being the people God created them to be.  Money or no money, success or no success, you know that this gang wouldn't be one bit different. 

This is why the Robertson Family would make fantastic shepherds for any church's Nativity Play.  They are the real deal.  They are human.  They are not going to pretend for anyone... not even for God.

God entering into created reality at Christmas means that we may be and should be humans before God.  God, who can do anything God chooses do to, chooses to meet us right where we are, just as we are.  Be yourself... and certainly don't pretend.

The authenticity of the show Duck Dynasty has me shaking my head every week: "They can't possibly be acting" I say to myself, shaking my head as I watch them get into another crazy conversation about life. 

God gives us permission to be the real deal before him.  Come to the Christ child, just as you are.  God has met you in Jesus.  Oh yes, the world is going to change through this Messiah.  And he will convict us through his cross and give us life through his resurrection, but the change that is made in you will be authentic, coming from your heart.

So be yourself this Christmas.  Let your hair grow out.  Don't put on a show.  Come to Bethlehem and see the baby... just as you are.      

We Made It!

So much for the Mayans.  Though their 5,000 year-old calendar expired Thursday, the world did not end and we are here to proceed on with life.  All of the predictions about the-end-of-the-world once again were proven false just by the fact that we're still here.  We made it.

Actually, those still connected with Mayan history have been pretty vocal for months that the conclusion of the old calendar didn't mean the-end-of-the-world at all.  Instead, those doomsday predictors were once again playing on our society's fears and expectations that the world is indeed ending.  The conclusion of the Mayan calendar was just another convenient tool for them to spread fear.

Mayans who actually know a thing or two about this calendar told us instead that the end of this calendar meant it was the end of the 13th Batkun, or age of about 400 years.  Time for a new Batkun.  Time for a new calendar.  I wonder if they will get one for Christmas.  We made it.  Time to turn the page.

For Christians, the birth of Christ ushered in and is continuing to usher in a new age.  God is one with us in Christ and his birth, death and resurrection means that the world is about to turn the page into a new reality.  "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, repent and believe the good news," was and is Jesus proclamation to us.  A wonderful place to read about this coming kingdom is in Mary's song to Elizabeth in Luke's Gospel.  A young and pregnant Mary visits her very old and very pregnant relative Elizabeth who's son will be John the Baptist.  Elizabeth, Mary's elder and the wife of a priest, differs honor and respect to young Mary who will be "the mother of my Lord."  Mary's song is one of the ages.  Faithfully she recognizes how God has blessed her.  She also describes a new age... a new kingdom... that will be ushered in through her son:

“My soul glorifies the Lord
⁴⁷     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸ for he has been mindful
    of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
⁴⁹     for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
    holy is his name.
⁵⁰ His mercy extends to those who fear him,
    from generation to generation.
⁵¹ He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
    he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
⁵² He has brought down rulers from their thrones
    but has lifted up the humble.
⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things
    but has sent the rich away empty.
⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel,
    remembering to be merciful
⁵⁵ to Abraham and his descendants forever,
    just as he promised our ancestors.” (Luke 1:46-55)

The world is going to change.  We have made it into the 14th Batkun, yes, but we have also made it into the Kingdom of God.  It's not yet fully revealed, but through faith in Christ we can already live according to this coming kingdom.  We can live by faith, share hope where there is only darkness, and know that God provides for all our needs.  The page is turning on the past age.  A new age is coming.  The humble are lifted up.  The hungry are filled with good things.  God's people are not forgotten.  The rich and haughty will have no part in this kingdom.  It will be a kingdom rich in mercy, justice and love.  Live this reality now. "God's mercy extends to those who fear him."

Prayers for our Nation

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. - John 1:4

The news of the events of at Sandy Hook School in Newtown, CT has struck our country hard today.  Once again the wicked acts of a single individual, lashing out his hate upon the world, has cost us the lives of too many of our brothers and sisters.  Please keep the families of those effected in your prayers.  Pray for peace.  Pray for hope.

I had the opportunity today to be at Foster School today, serving as a chaperon for a third grade field trip to the Field Museum.  The museum was alive... teeming with school groups of young kids from all over Chicagoland: learning, laughing, having fun, and goofin' off a bit as well.  All over this country millions of teachers, administrators and parents are doing an amazing job with these kids... providing love as they provide places of wonder and growth.  The desperate acts of evil will not have the final say.  Evil's days are numbered.  The Light of the World is dawning.  We can can live with hope and dedicate our lives to Christ who is the Prince of Peace.

Hold on to your kids and grandkids a little tighter tonight and answer their questions about what happened with care and honesty.  Pray with them and remain hopeful.  As the days get darker in this world know that the light of Christ's love get's brighter and brighter and brighter!  

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. 

We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, 

who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. - John 1:14

12/12/12

I didn't hear as much about 12/12/12 today as I expected.  Most of the talk about 12/12/12 has been about the concert tonight for Hurricane Sandy relief.  I don't think people realize just how much struggling is still going on in the Northeast because of Sandy.  I hope tonight's concert is a success and has a big impact.

Today marks the end of the yearly cycle that began in 2001 of interesting repeating number days like this.  Start with January 1, 2001 (01/01/01) we have had one of these each year.  But one could argue that the first one only really occurred on October 10, 2010 (10/10/10).  After all, does anyone really write a "0" before the number?

These dates have been a bonanza for weddings.  And I must say it does help you remember if something big happened on the date.  I'll never forget that the first night game at Wrigley Field was on 8/8/88.  The game was rained out and wasn't official... but I sure do remember 8/8/88.

People who need a date like this to look forward to are already talking about November 12, 2013 (11/12/13), but I don't think that counts. Did anyone say a thing on October 11 of this year (10/11/12)?  Nope.

So we have to say farewell now to the repeating number dates.  The next will be on February 2, 2022 (2/2/22).  I suggest if you can't wait that long start looking for repeating patterns, like January 3, 2013 (1/3/13).  Being born on July 2, 1972 (7/2/72) I'd say I prefer them. 

Just remember... regardless of the number..."This is the day the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad in it."  Today is a gift.

   

Plan Advent

There are certain cycles in our society that are so predictable.  The Christmas Season is one of those cycles.  As we move through the month of November more and more signs of the Christmas season appear in stores and public squares.  You see things about Christmas on TV and your hear Christmas music beginning to be played on the radio.  Then when Thanksgiving arrives the whole nation seems revved up and ready to go.  And to tell the truth I think that such a cycle has been more evident this year than in the past few.

It's as if the unpleasantness of the election season and the fatigue of a bad economy for over half-a-decade has made us all ripe for a full-blast Christmas season.  Through "Cyber Monday" (the Monday after Thanksgiving where people are encouraged to shop online) online sales in November where $16.4 billion for Christmas and $1.46 billion on that day alone.  Both numbers are up nearly 20% from last year.

Looking around its as if everyone is shopping like its 2004.  Won't we ever learn?  Will we always be stuck in the cycle of spend and spend and rush and rush?  Those who are tired of such cycles of work, debt, buy, and sprint are looking for a Plan B as an alternative that can free them from the stress of these endless cycles.  This past week many people looked toward Powerball as their Plan B.

That's right, with a jackpot of over half-a-billion dollars... HALF-A-BILLION DOLLARS!!! (Actually half-a-billion plus $88 million) the only cycle a person would need to ride is one completely of their own choosing.  Powerball promises the freedom do whatever you want the the allure of never being unhappy again.  Don't believe me?  160 million tickets were sold.  One for every 1.5 adults living in this country.  You don't sell that many tickets without making some pretty hefty promises.

But Plan B didn't work.  Now what?  Back on the cycle of spend and rush, buy and collapse from exhaustion?

The days are surely coming for a new plan.  "The days are surely coming says, the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah (Jeremiah 33:14)."  The days are surely coming when the cycles of the old covenant and the empty promises of the present will be exposed for what they are.  The days are surely coming for a new covenant, a new righteous Branch from the line of David, a new plan... a plan B which actually is a Plan A.  And today... this day... such a coming hope is not symbolized by the Powerball ticket, no.  The days of hope that are coming is symbolized by the Advent Wreath.

The days are surely coming... and are now here... when we can be still and wait upon the Lord.  We can dwell in his presence and bask in his light.  We don't need to be chained to this cycle of spend and rush, buy and collapse.  Instead we are welcome to embrace this Season of Advent that begins right now... not on November 1... not on Thanksgiving... not on Black Friday... not on Cyber Monday... not on Powerball Wednesday.  Now is the time and now is the moment to embrace the calm, peaceful truth of Jesus Christ who is the Lord... who is our righteousness.

As the Advent Wreath gets brighter... slowly and steadily... week after week: we know that Christ is upon us and giving us peace and hope.  As the world's days get shorter and busier... the Light of Christ will be our bright Morning Star.  The days are surely coming when we can embrace this peace: regardless of money, regardless of employment, regardless of stuff. Allow the Spirit to turn your Plan A's and your Plan B's into a Plan Advent this year.  "Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10)"  

We Are Not Squirrels

A true treasure of grace in Scripture comes from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in Matthew's Gospel.  "Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing (5:25)?"  Life is more than food and more than clothing. 

Jesus uses examples from nature to make his point.  The birds don't worry and they are provided for.  The fields don't worry and flowers still grow to give amazing beauty.  If God will do that for them, how much more is God going to do for you... you created in the image of God? 

But nature also ends up being the example of worry to the extreme.  Look at the squirrels.  There whole existence is moving about looking for food, getting ready for winter, finding a mate from time to time I'm sure as well.  Their life is all about about.  Their existence is essential survival.  God provides for them giving them all kinds of trees to hop into, but there doesn't seem to be much else.

For us though, created in the image of God, life is so much more than food and clothing... so much more than searching for the essentials.  God provides us for those needs and provides enough for all of us.  I saw a tweet today from Bread for the World that states that "most hungry people now live in middle income countries."  God provides for our needs.  We are the ones who fail to distribute those necessity in a way that is just.

God gives us permission to stop acting like squirrels.  Stop hording.  Life is more than food and more than clothing.  Life is more than stuff.  Life is more than securing your future. 

Christ has secured our future for us through the cross.  We have received forgiveness of sins through his generous love and been promised eternal life, spiritual life through baptism.  God provides for our needs to day and promises us a future for tomorrow.

So how do we occupy our time if we are not spending it hording for a rainy day, preparing for the worst that life can dish out to us.  Oh life can sure dish it out.  Taking an image from Revelation: The dragon is on the lose and he hurts.  There is much to be worried about.  But through Christ we have been given permission to let it go.  Give it to God.  Christ has beaten the dragon, who is on his last breath.  Don't let worry control your life.  Stop being a squirrel.

Instead: "strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (5:33)."  God gives you what you need.  Striving for righteousness and living in faith now opens you up to live the kingdom now and live in righteous light of Christ.  Squirrels don't live in that light.  We do.  Living faith frees us from worry and fear.  Living faith moves us to act on behalf of others, justly sharing with those in need.     

Where Have You Gone Twinkies?

"The future of the Twinkie remains uncertain..." so says a newspaper article today.  A couple days ago the bakery that makes the world famous Twinkie shut down in the midst of a labor dispute.  Since that announcement the nation has had to come to grips with the very real possibility that there will be no more Twinkies. 

I have not been surprised by the national response.  People everywhere are talking about it.  The Twinkie represents America in many ways and on many levels and the idea that these soft, spongy twin yellow cakes filled with delicious cream filling might be gone forever has struck a pretty strong cord.  The Twinkie that we have taken for granted might be no more. 

Is there any snack cake quite like the Twinkie?  It can withstand a nuclear blast.  Its convenient and cheap.  Its has a unique taste that we loved as kids but grew to think otherwise as adults.  The Twinkie represents our society's unhealthy eating habits and yet is ingenious: an easy snack for any time and place.  It represents American ingenuity and a simpler time when we didn't care about what we fed our kids.  It was the first purchase many kids made as young consumers.  Where have you gone Twinkies?

As much as anything the Twinkie touches our very sensitive nostalgia button: A button that is lit bright red (and green) this time of year.  "O the way things used to be."  We mourn our childhood and lost loved ones.  We miss at least the ideas of what life used be like and those Twinkies, just like Christmas, play an important role in those memories of the mind.

No spot is so dear to my childhood...

Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio?  Where have you gone Twinkies?  Where have you gone the happy Christmases of the past?  Where have you gone O church in the wildwood?

Nostalgia is to faith as Twinkies are to Holy Communion.  It is a phony, sugary substitute that is bad for our health physically and spiritually.  Jesus is Lord today and calls you to follow today.  When we do consider the past, we do it through the eyes of faith... thanking God for the great cloud of witnesses that sowed the seeds of faith in us and our community.

We will begin our Jubilee Year, Fiftieth Anniversary celebration this month at Resurrection with our Christmas Tapestry concert on Sunday, December 16.  We thank God for the many ways we have been Making Christ Known to All through the years and we will look back, not through the cloudy sticky nostalgic lens we use when we look at the Twinkie, but through the lens of truth based on faith in Christ.  God is on the loose right now and will be doing great things through all of you today and tomorrow because of the Spirit's unending power.

Personally, I think we're going to have Twinkies for a long time to come.  But if we don't I suppose we can hold on the memories of those delicious cakes and that cream filling unlike any other...  We will be fine.  We will also have Christ from now till everlasting.  Christ is King and his Kingdom will stand forever.  Having been bathed in the waters of baptism this future is assured.        

Everything You Got

Open to abundant joy... and overflowing generosity.

There is a story in Mark's Gospel where Jesus does some observing.  He already has observed the scribes.  He sees their long robes.  He sees how much they enjoy the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.  He also is watching how rich people are putting money into the temple treasury.  Many are putting in large sums.  It's the widow he points out to others.  He sees that she is poor.  We can imagine what he saw.  Jesus also sees that she puts into the treasury a couple pennies.  He knows it's everything she has.  "She out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on (Mark 12:44b)." 

Jesus leaves it at that.  He doesn't tell us to go and do likewise.  He is just stating what he sees.  But we are moved by his observations.  Don't we like the best seats as well, nice clothes and the like?  Maybe we given, even large sums.  But have we given everything we've got?  Is this really what Jesus expects?  He doesn't say. 

The Spirit says, however.  We know Jesus loves us completely and we know that Jesus wants our hearts.  We have heard Jesus teach us that "where your heart is, there your treasure will be also."  Living in the light of Christ's love means living with your hands wide open... open to receive from God... open to give back.  A heart that belongs to Jesus is a heart that is filled with abundant joy, thankful for all the ways that God has provided for our needs.  It also is a heart that overflows with generosity.  We cheerfully give back while our heart sings out of gratitude and love.

Jesus doesn't say whether the poor widow was singing.  He didn't see that.  But we can be sure she was not giving out of obligation, nor out of guilt.  May she not be an example of the scribes devouring widow's houses as we hear in Mark 12:40. 

Instead she is a living example of living hope.  Completely dependent on God, she gives everything she has away.  The Lord, is it the source of hope for everyone and is her source of hope as well.  She is living that hope and can now live with the abundant joy Jesus offers to us all. 

By living with your hands wide open you are giving faith everything you got.  You are open to God's love and his blessing to be showered on you.  You are free to overflow with generosity.  Where's your heart when you live this way?  What's your heart singing?  As you live with your hands wide open may it be free to sing a song of praise and thanksgiving... experiencing the abundant joy that only comes through faith. 

Electoral College

One of my favorite computer games.

The game of presidential politics fascinates me.  It always has.  When I was a kid in the 1980's I would play the old PC game "President Elect" over and over again on our family's Apple IIe (the first and last Apple Computer I ever used regularly).  There were no graphics on that game.  Just lines of questions and choices about where to campaign and what issues to focus on and what type of advertising to use.  I would re-create the 1980 and 1976 races over and over again.  Rarely would Ford beat Carter in '76 and Reagan always triumphed over President Carter in '80 but it was fun anyhow.  You could even try running the races with different candidates.  How would Kennedy have fared in 1980?  I loved that stuff.

I take that back about the graphics... there was one screen with graphics in "President Elect": the big map of the US indicating which candidate was winning in each state and which states were too-close-to-call.  It's a map you are familiar with.  Back in the 80's though it was the Republicans indicated by blue and the Democrat states were red.  That's the way they were displayed in President Elect and there's a story that Nancy Reagan (always known for loving to wear red) wore blue at President Reagan's second inauguration because the whole map was colored blue for her husband on election day.

A blue Nancy Reagan

I loved pouring all my resources into states that were too-close-to-call.  What a great feeling it was when you could pull a state to your favor that way, but also how frustrating it was when, no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't get a state to budge.   

In a lot of ways following the polls in our presidential election campaign the past month has felt like my old "President Elect" game.  Those polls just are not budging.  No matter how much President Obama and Gov. Romney put into those swing states the polls have pretty much remained just as they have been. 

I will be voting tomorrow and I hope every American eligible to vote will do the same.  I will also be riveted to the election results tomorrow night.  Thanks to my faith, I am able to look at the results with a whole lot more grains of salt than I used to when I was younger.  I see good in both candidates and understand human nature enough to know that no one party or candidate represents total good or wickedness.  God is the source of our hope and I pray God guides us to have leaders that will help us be a just and prosperous nation. 

I am fascinated to know if these unwavering polls are going to turn our right.  Will the President, who is no where near as popular as he was in 2008, really only going to lose a couple of percentage points nationally?  Are conservative Christians really going to come out in full force to vote for a Mormon to be president?  Will the President really win Ohio by 3 or 4 points?  Did Sandy have an impact of solidifying support for the President?  Do the polls actually short-change Republicans as some are claiming? 

I'm going to enjoy tomorrow night... and I'm sure I'll be up late.

Frankensandy

I have never been through a hurricane.  Through the magic of media, however, I have witnessed the effects of an hurricane.  Being all nice and cozy in Ohio as Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and seeing its terrible aftermath left me filling sick.  "Surely there is something we can do.  Can't we get down there to help?" 

I first heard of Katrina several days before it hit land.  I was on vacation. Valerie and I went to a mega church on Sunday morning for worship.  The pastor was all over Katrina: "They are saying its going to be a big one."  I remember thinking, "they always say that."  That time they were sure right.  Katrina still defines so much of what New Orleans is about, even today. 

Before I knew her as Hurricane Sandy, I knew this hurricane as "Frankenstorm."  A headline in the Tribune several days ago said that this "Frankenstorm" might be another "Perfect Storm" for the Northeast.  They made a movie about the Perfect Storm.  The media was all ready to make another one with Sandy... A Halloween horror. 

As the storm is now hitting the east my prayers have been with the people out there.  It is a frighting, devastating event.  Already lives have been lost.  God is walking with the people.  May they find courage and strength as they work together to get through. 

A week from today we will have an election in America.  I wonder what impact this storm will have.  Maybe none... maybe a world of impact.  Do storms like this move us to depend more on our leaders, or do they put things like elections in perspective?  Leadership means standing courageously for what you believe... even in the face of life's storms.  Even when it looks like all is lost, a leader will stand tall and inspire a people to the possibilities that lie ahead.

Faith in Christ leads us into a world of possibilities.  He stands with us in our struggles.  Christ suffers because we suffer.  He also strengthens us to stand tall, to reach out, and to step forward in faith.  So many prayers are being lifted up for just that kind of strength and guidance for what we face as a people over the next week.       

Freedom to Be Bold

As Americans we know that we are free.  We even sing: "I'm proud to be an American because at least I know I'm free."  We are free to vote.  We are free to travel.  We have free speech and freedom of religion. We are free to buy what ever we want.  We are free to do whatever work we are hired to do.  I can go on and on. 

But are we really free?  When Jesus speaks to a group of fellow Jews about discipleship they are confused by his words because, like us, the Jews felt they were free.  Jesus said "if you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free (John 8:31-32)." They say that they have never been slaves to anyone.  Since the exodus, when Moses led them out of slavery into freedom, they have always been free. 

Jesus explains himself quite well.  "Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin."  We don't have to be under the thumb of tyrants in order to be slaves.  We are slaves because of the sin we commit. 

There is a lot of ways of looking at this.  When hundreds line up for days to be the first to own an iPhone 5, that's an example of slavery. 

When a woman says "yes" to her neighbor, and "yes" to her sister, and "yes" to her co-worker, and "yes" to her kids... only to collapse late at night in anger and resentment: that's slavery. 

When a man refuses to call his dad on his birthday and will not speak to his ex-wife and considers his step-son dead to him: that is slavery. 

When a woman hoards her money, food and possessions to the point it squeezes out the rest of her loved ones: that is slavery.

When people remain stuck in patterns of destructive behavior for months and years and simply cannot make the bold step to become healthy: that's slavery.  All of these forms of slavery are alive and well; even right here in the United States. 

Sin enslaves us.  Fear enslaves us.  They prevent us from knowing and living the true freedom we have been given through the gospel of Christ.  And honestly... fear is at the bottom of every one of the forms of slavery I mentioned above.

Knowing the truth about Jesus is knowing that fear does not control us.  We don't have to have the latest thing, we don't have to be people pleasers, we don't have to hold those angry grudges, we don't have to self-medicate the pain, we don't have to think of ourselves as less because Jesus our Lord has though the world of every single one of us.  He died on the cross to set us free from sin and set us free from fear.

Knowing this truth is only part of the battle.  Don't just know that you are free; do something about it.  You live out your faith in truth by boldly throwing that fear in the wastebasket given to you through Christ.  Instead of hoarding you give generously out of gratitude and joy.  Instead of holding on to grudges and hate, you reach out to people, even when they are nasty.  Instead of pleasing people you are free to stand on your principles and values.  Some of the greatest heroes in the history of the world lived in the light of Christian freedom... and not because they had the Bill of Rights to back them up.

Martin Luther said "no" the doctrine of salvation through works and indulgences and yes to translating the Bible into a language that people could understand.  He didn't have the right do that, except under the shadow of the cross.

Abraham Lincoln said "no" to the idea that people could be property.  He easily could have been enslaved himself in the chains of public opinion, but instead he boldly stood on his principles and changed our nation forever.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer a pastor in Nazi Germany said "no" the requirements of the Reich's Church.  He had no right to say "no" to Hitler, but he did and he still remains an example of Christian freedom in action, even in the face the death.

Great men and great women have known the truth and have lived the truth.  Christ has made you great as well.  Boldly live our your faith for the cross has shattered the chains of sin and fear.  The acts of living faith: service and generosity, devotion and justice are yours.   "If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:36)."

  

You Don't Stand in Your Furnace Alone

There is a great a story in Daniel about three guys with funny Babylonian names: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.  Their names are Babylonian, but these young men are Hebrew... having been part of the group of important leaders and families who had been exiled to Babylon after the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and conquered Judah.  They were doing just fine in Babylon until the King (another great name) Nebuchadnezzar built a giant golden statue and made it law that all people to worship it every time some wacky music played.  A line was drawn in the sand.  It was a line that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego would not cross.  The penalty for disobedience was death: death by a really hot furnace.

I know it doesn't sound like it, but this often is a story included in Vacation Bible School curriculum for young kids.  It's also a story that's been made into a Veggietale, with Abednego's name changed to Benny.  (No wonder I often pronounce his name as A-BEN-de-go.)  It's funny how that often works.  Some of the Bible's most violent stories get turned into a children's Bible staple.  Just look at Noah's Ark.  The story of God destroying all creation by a flood becomes the decorating theme for a newborn's nursery.

Great lessons are learned from those stories, so why not teach them to kids.  In Noah's Ark God promised never again to destroy creation.  He gives us a rainbow as a sign of his covenant.  In Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego we get a lesson of faith that needs to be shared and heard, even by children, because it's impact is grace for our whole lives.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego worship the Lord and they are firm in their principles and values.  Up till them they had lived just fine under Nebuchadnezzar and have participated in the life of Babylon.  But when a line is drawn that would force them to compromise their values they don't struggle for a moment.  They say no.  No, we will not worship your statue.  No, my faith in the Lord will not permit me to do as you ask.  Threats don't sway them.  They know their punishment will be death, but they still hold on to their faith.  I ask though: what do they have faith in?  Do they have faith that God will save them?  This is what they tell Nebuchadnezzer in Daniel 3:16b-18:

O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to present a defense to you in this matter.  If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us.  But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up.

They have faith in God.  They have faith that God will be with them.  Their faith is not that they will necessarily survive this.  No.  Instead, whether they perish or whether they are saved they know God will be with them.  They will not budge from their values.

Bound up, the young men do get thrown into the furnace, now seven times more hot than normal because Nebuchadnezzer is so angry.  When the king looks into the furnace he is amazed by what he sees.  The men are unbound and there is now another individual "like a god" there with them.  Old Nebuchadnezzer demands they come out.  They are saved.  Not a scratch.

God meets Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in their furnace.  God stands with them.  God loves them.  On that day it meant that the furnace would not devour them. Faith is a powerful gift.  But what do we have faith in?  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego's faith was based on core values that they would not compromise.  Their faith was in God who would stand with them as they faced their furnace and while they were in the furnace.  Their faith was not that God would let them live that day, but instead their faith was that whether they burn or whether they live God will be with them and God will be God.  "We will not serve your gods..."

Chances are that there's a furnace that your facing right now.  We all have our furnaces.  In Christ, on his cross, God meets us and stands with us no matter what that furnace might be.  Allow the Spirit to empower you to stay true to your values, principles and faith.  No matter what: God is with you.      

Hit Hit Hit Hit Hit

Today is the 30th anniversary of the Milwaukee Brewers first World Series game.  In Game 1 of the 1982 Series the Brewers faced the St. Louis Cardinals and won BIG: 10-0!  Paul Molitor, the Brewers lead-off hitter, the Ignitor (and of course future Hall of Famer and holder of 3,319 career hits) got five hits in the game.  He still is the only player to have ever done that.  The game was also a 3-hit shutout for Mike Caldwell: a masterpiece.  It's also interesting to note that Molitor didn't go 5 for 5, but 5 for 6.  He made the first out of the game when he grounded out to Tom Herr in the first.   

Now I could say "unfortunately" and list what happened next for the Brewers that October and for the next 30 years... but I'm not going to do that.

Instead... what a great game!  It's a game worth keeping score and then framing the scorecard.  We'll always have October 12, 1982.