Coffee Talk

"I was in the military, attending a church every Sunday, pretty religious if you ask me. It was time for my second child to be baptized and the godparents and in-laws were coming in on Friday night. I went down to the church and asked the pastor if we could do the baptism on Saturday. He explained that the baptism had to happen during a weekend service. I explained that my family was only going to be here Saturday. He said no. I told him I had invested $6k in the church the year before and not to spend it this year because it wouldn't be there. Where the hell does the Bible say you have to baptize in front of X number of people? I never went back."

This was the conversation I overheard five minutes ago as I sat drinking my tall skinny pumpkin spice latte. It was followed by similar stories from the others sitting in the circle. I've heard these stories countless times before. I've read about these stories in books I read about the de-churched. But, I still get heartbroken and angry every time it happens.

Make no mistake, I overheard this conversation from the opposite side of the coffee shop, but it was intended for my hearing. I frequent the coffee shop as does this group. We say hello, we've exchanged names, we've shared friendly banter when we end up in each other's seats. They know who I am and what I do, and today they wanted me to hear what they think about the church.

I hope this is the first step closer to them being open to me joining the conversation. It's taken a year to get this far.

I need some feedback. What do you think when you hear this kind of conversation? Have you had a similar experience personally or with a friend or co-worker who still won't accept your invitation to worship?

Talk to me please.

After the Message (Sermon Notes)

Who’s Your Team? Part 4

Winners

I like to win – you could say I’m a little bit competitive

Doesn’t matter what the event/activity – board games, brushing teeth

So competitive, I’ll compete at being bad at something – someone says to me “I can’t draw,” my response is “Oh, you want to see someone who can’t draw? I promise I’m much worse than you.”

Where are you winning in your life right now and where are you losing?

Are you winning the fight for your marriage? Your kids? Your neighbors? Are you winning with your money (to steal a Dave Ramsey line)?

Life can feel so often like an uphill battle – the moments we feel as though we’re winning are few and far between

But here’s the good news…

Romans 8:31-39

- Lead-up – God is working things out, despite present hardship or suffering, God is at work redeeming all of creation

- V. 35 – what’s going to separate us from a God who wants to be with us – anger, pride, aggression, bad decisions, pain, anxiety??? None of that

- V. 36 – bad stuff happens, doesn’t change the answer in v. 37

- IN ALL THESE THINGS, WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS

- the only way we win is with Jesus who loved us more than we will ever understand

- with Jesus, we win and we win big – more than conquerors

Priority Check

I'm reading the book "Mad Church Disease" by Anne Jackson and in the chapter I was reading yesterday morning she was talking about the two greatest commandments (i.e. love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and our neighbors as ourselves) and she pointed out that it doesn't say to love our neighbors with all our strength, it tells us to love God with ALL our strength - only if we do that are we able to love our neighbors at all. She also went on to say that a lot of us are doing a pretty lousy job of loving ourselves, which means we're setting a really low standard for loving our neighbors. (For more stuff from Anne Jackson, check out her new book "Permission to Speak Freely" or her blog.)

I needed to hear that. It's so easy to get caught up trying to do everything for everyone and forget to first love God with ALL our strength. It's only when we expend all our energy on God that we have energy to give to anyone else, including ourselves.

I'm going through an overwhelming season of life and I'm thankful for the perseverance God is teaching me (even though I'm not always the best student). But even though overwhelming seasons are part of life, we often bring them on ourselves when we think we're too busy to make time, our best time, for God. We start running on an empty spiritual tank and it doesn't get us very far.

So, here's today's gut check - what are the things currently getting the benefit of ALL your strength and where is God?

After the Message (i.e. Sermon notes)

Who’s Your Team?, Part 3

Maximizing Your Investment

College Football Tickets - $150

Parking - $20

Gas to and from game - $60

Tailgating - $45

Hotel room - $150

Game Day Apparel - $40

Big Foam Finger - $5

Spending Saturday with 85,000 of your closest friends – priceless

A few caveats:

Money talk is always a little uncomfortable b/c it’s personal

Too often the church has done a poor job of talking about money b/c we only talk about the 10% we want you to give to the church and we don’t talk about the 100% God has entrusted us with and biblical financial management of that money

To make it worse, we didn’t learn it in home economics either – we learned to sew a pillow and make no-bake cookies, but skipped the “home economy” part

So, most of what we’ve learned has come from the credit card companies who spend millions and millions every year talking us into spending more than we have

This message - Not talking about what we give to God, but what we do with what God gives to us.

Parable of the Talents, Matthew 25:14-30

- Jesus has just finished telling a story about the kingdom of God, which he ends by telling his disciples to “stay alert,” because no one knows when he is coming back

- Notice first off that the master entrusted his money with his servants, the money never belonged to them

- A talent was a large unit of money, one talent worth about 20 years of work from your average person

- They didn’t all start with the same amount of money – fair? No. reality? Yes.

- If this were a modern parable, there would have been a fourth guy who spent all of his talents, borrowed more from someone else and when the master came back, he was actually at -6

What we do with our money has eternal significance - do we sit on the incredible gifts God entrusts to us or do we use them for His glory?

- 70% of Americans haven’t kept what God has given them – we blow it and then we finance 30% more, as a result, we’re broke

- Average American family spends between $500-$1500/month on debt payment, excluding our house payment

- Average family can get debt free in 18-36 months

Challenge/Place to Start: Take out a blank piece of paper and open your bank account on the computer – make a list of all the things you spend money on and then rank those things in order of where you spend the most – talk about it with your family, have an honest conversation including your teenagers about how you spend money

If you are part of Ashley Ridge Church, sign-up for a small group today. In the coming months, our small groups will all have opportunities to go through a 6-week study called "I Was Broke. Now I'm Not" by Joe Sangl that will provide practical steps to becoming debt-free and investing wisely.

Someone's Always Watching

It's true, you know. I was making some updates to our church website this afternoon and I happened to click on the stats button. The first graph that appeared showed how many unique visitors come to our site each day, and I was surprised at what I saw. It's easy to think no one is looking, no one is watching, but it can be mind-blowing when you see the data. The same is true with this whole blogging thing sometimes - often, like now, I'm sitting by myself in an almost empty coffee shop, tapping away at my computer, not even thinking about the fact that others will actually read what I write. And then someone I barely know makes a passing comment about something I said on my blog and I think, "wow, did I really put that out there for strangers to read?"

Sometimes we start believing that it doesn't really matter what we do, what we say, how we act, how we react, etc., etc. But it does, someone is always watching.

It might be your kids... We think they're so caught up in their own world that they don't notice the little things, but they do. My 19-month old is in the parrot stage where he repeats everything he hears - it is a constant, and sometimes not so flattering, reminder that someone is not only watching but listening. I read in a book recently, "Our personal relationship with God and with our spouse make a bigger difference than we think in our kid's lives." Our kids are watching, what are we teaching them when we don't think they're paying attention?

It might be your parents... Here's an example: when I'm on facebook, I'm primarily interacting with people my age and younger. Sometimes I'm not thinking and I put silly things on my status, and then my mom calls and asks me about something going on in my life that I know I didn't tell her about - that's right, she's on facebook too. (I met a youth pastor recently who said one of his favorite Sunday morning activities with his students is to throw facebook up on the big screen and then pick random profiles to open for everyone to look at - yikes!)

It might be the person you ate lunch with who looked to see how big of a tip you left... I know we throw this fact out there all the time, but it's true that you can talk to all kinds of restaurant waiters and waitresses and they'll tell you they hate working on Sundays b/c the after-church crowd are some of the worst tippers of the week.

People are watching. What are they learning from your life?

I Love Wednesdays

Wednesdays are my people days. Wednesdays are my days to ignore my computer through the morning and sit with people face-to-face. I need Wednesdays to remind me sometimes why I love what I do and what it is such a privilege to do what I do.

When is your Wednesday and what does it look like?

Gettin' My Reads On

Stressed? Anxious? Overwhelmed? Self-consumed?

I recommend a date with a good book. There's nothing like a good book to transport you out of your current situation, lift your eyes out of the dense forest and be re-inspired by a greater narrative (gee, I kinda sound like Donald Miller :).

And so, if you're looking for a recommendation, here are a few from my most recent reads and even one that's coming up next on my list:

1. Christian Atheist by Craig Groeschel - there are 10 chapters in this book, and I promise you'll find yourself in at least one if not all of them along with some concrete steps forward.

2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett - excellent book about black maids and the white ladies they worked for in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960s. Of all the books I've read dealing with segregation and the civil rights movement, this one surpasses them all. It's funny, honest and an opportunity to see life through entirely different eyes. This is definitely a good one if you need a little perspective.

3. Fall of Giants by Ken Follett - releases on September 28th and I'm so excited! Follett doesn't write stories, he writes epics. This one won't be for the faint of heart at almost 1,o00 pages and that only the first installment of a trilogy, but based on previous experience, I think it will be worth it.

Go ahead and roll your eyes now, but I won't write a post like this and miss the opportunity to point out that the best book to be reading at all times is the Bible. Stressed? Read your Bible and be reminded of God's faithfulness and provision. Anxious? Read your Bible and be reminded to cast your cares on the One who cares for you. Overwhelmed? Read your Bible and don't miss the part about walking through fire and not being consumed. Self-consumed? Read your Bible and remember life isn't about you - it's about living everyday for Jesus, the One who gave His life for you.

After the Message

So easy to zero in on the things that excite us, the things that get our passion running high –

Can you just imagine if we were as excited about Jesus as we are about football?

Thousands of people crowded into stadiums every weekend, faces painted, signs made – so eager to get in that they show up early and cook out in the parking lot, making friends with the people parked next to them b/c even if they’ve never met, they have this one, amazing thing in common.

Not just football…basketball, rock concerts, etc.

Are we that excited about Jesus, or do we come here when we don’t have anything better to do?

Revelation 3:14-22, Church in Laodicea:

Water source was about 6 miles out of town, so when it came through the pipes into their town, it was tepid

Hence, the metaphor resonated with them that they were not to be lukewarm, better to be cold than lukewarm. Jesus wants us to be hot, passionate, on fire.

Jesus doesn’t need lukewarm, he needs boiling hot, passionate, on-fire people who are ready to live a radical, sold-out life to him

The issue is not feeling guilty about loving college football or basketball, or playing golf or doing any of the things we love – it’s about what has captured your heart, or better said, it’s about WHO has captured your heart.

Where are you going to place your passion? What are you going to get so excited about that you’re willing to look foolish for the sake of it?

Can You Feel It?

There's something special in the air, a shift, an excitement, a buzz - that's right, today is the start of the college football season. If you read any of the other blogs listed on my blogroll or if you've tuned into any kind of media today, you've heard others already speak eloquently about what this day means and what it represents.

I'll admit it - I share the sickness. This morning over a bowl of cereal I explained to my 18-month old how he and I would be spending Saturday morning watching College GameDay to help him learn the players and gear up for the day ahead. My husband has been working with Jake for weeks, teaching him to say "War Eagle" and "Touchdown!"

I've always loved football and I grew up in Steeler country where pride and passion run high, but I married into the college football obsession that is only amplified by living in SEC country where words like "diehard" don't begin to describe the intensity with which people follow and support their teams.

I was a quick study and today I converse easily on topics like the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry and the Iron Bowl. I have a cake pan in the shape of a football field and plenty of food coloring to make orange and navy icing. Heck, I even think my favorite Auburn shirt will fit again this year now that all of the pregnancy weight is gone :)

So, let the games begin - pull out your flags, show your colors and may the best teams win!

...and when the games are over on Saturday, don't miss worship on Sunday morning (before the NFL games begin). Throughout September our worship series "Who's Your Team?" will resonate in the hearts of football fans everywhere. And make plans now to be with us for the Ashley Ridge tailgate on September 26th.

Asking the Wrong Questions

I took Greek in school, but I couldn't conjugate anything for you today and there are very few vocabulary words I could pull out of a line-up. I studied Paul's missionary journeys in school, but don't ask me off the top of my head to tell you whether Paul went to Laodicea or Ephesus first (I think it was Ephesus because that was on the coast vs Laodicea which is inland, but the point is I don't know for sure offhand). I took a course in undergraduate on Shakespeare's works, but don't ask me to explain the form of a sonnet to you - I don't remember.

Here's the point - the educational process is less about the facts and figures we learn and much more about learning how to learn and how to think clearly and well. Maybe this isn't true of all education - I'm fairly certain that doctors need to remember the anatomy they were taught in school without looking at a book, but you get the point.

And so, I'd like to offer one of my top 3 seminary take-aways that just might transform how you read and understand the Bible:

Don't ask the wrong questions.

You see, too often we read the Bible expecting the Bible to answer questions it wasn't written to answer. The Bible is not a history book. It wasn't written to provide an unbiased, detail-specific, geographically and chronologically accurate and cohesive history of the era in time it covers. Instead, it's a book about God, meant to explain who God is and how God works and who we are as God's people.

Let me get more specific, we can get very frustrated reading the Bible if we get hung up asking questions like, "Did Jesus overturn the tables of the moneychangers in the Temple in the beginning of his ministry or toward the end?" After all, John's Gospel has it happening early and the other gospels have it happening late. I could ask who's wrong and who's right, but that's the wrong question and it won't get me anywhere. A better question is, "Why did John choose to tell the story when he did?" or "What does it tell us about Jesus to see this story in this context?"

Here's another example: in Genesis 1 we read that God created the heavens and the earth and everything in them in 6 days and then He rested on the seventh day. We have and continue to debate this idea extensively in our culture - i.e. was it 7 24-hour periods, or is it a relative statement? is it literal or figurative? Does this disprove the theory of evolution? All of these are the wrong questions. A better question - what is Genesis 1 telling us about God? For starters, it's telling us that God created everything and everything God created was very good. You see, now we're getting somewhere.

It's so important to ask the right questions because if we spend too much time asking the wrong questions we either get frustrated and stop reading because we don't understand, or we decide the Bible must not be true because it can't answer the questions we want it to answer.

Next time you pick up your Bible, ask God to show you what it's teaching you about Him and who you are as His child. The Bible is God's gift given to us, it's a story of God's tireless and relentless pursuit of you and me, it's a story of Jesus offering us life that we don't deserve, it's a story of God choosing you and me - don't miss the chance to be amazed by asking the wrong questions.

Kiss Me

"An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips." Proverbs 24:26

Some kisses are awkward - like when you bump noses or suddenly remember you ate onions for lunch. Most kisses are awesome - they come from someone you love, they're a gesture of intimacy and love and warmth.

Both of those statements being true, I definitely agree with the Proverb above. Sometimes honesty is awkward, sometimes it's even painful, most times it's beautiful - always honesty is preferable.

Who do you need to be honest with today? Maybe you need to be honest with God about where you have or haven't been in relationship with Him. Maybe you need to be honest with your spouse about the thoughts and feelings you've been having and not sharing. Maybe you need to be honest with your kids about ways you've fallen short. Maybe you need to be honest with a co-worker, boss or someone who works for you. Maybe you need to be honest with yourself.

Whatever it is, be honest - and when you're done being honest, ask the person you were honest with if they enjoyed the kiss (haha, okay, maybe not, but it could be fun if it's your spouse :)

After the Message

Priscilla and Aquila – Acts 18

- Rome to Corinth to Ephesus

- sent out of Rome by Emperor Claudius when he expelled the Jews

- met Paul in Corinth and helped start the Corinthian church (all tentmakers, lived together for about a year and a half)

- went on and ended up in Ephesus where they helped lead that church, hosting the church often in their home

Taught Apollos who was an important preacher and evangelist in Ephesus

- could have shunned him as a false teacher, but they saw that he was earnest and genuine and instead found opportunity to guide him in the right direction

Risked their lives – may have cost them their business to host the church (Romans 16)

Obscure: not discovered or known about, not important or well known

Romans 16, roll call of the obscure

We live in a culture of rock stars, fighting obscurity – with youtube, 24/7 news channels (the airline guy who became a folk hero), blogs (there are blogs about becoming a better blogger and getting your blog noticed), twitter (game of how many followers, or minions I can collect), facebook

*everyone has become their own agent

Problem: we can get so caught up and spend so much time trying to look like something and never be anything

People who tweet all day about loving their spouse and loving Jesus – only problem is that love is a verb and if they had spent half the time they spent tweeting actually doing those things they might have some credibility

Not everyone could be Paul – in fact, Paul’s letters are often a testament to the fact that the hard work came when Paul left and people like Aquila and Priscilla were left to be faithful in a world that encouraged fulfillment

Kevin DeYoung:

“What we need are fewer revolutionaries and a few more plodding visionaries. That’s my dream for the church — a multitude of faithful, risktaking plodders. The best churches are full of gospel-saturated people holding tenaciously to a vision of godly obedience and God’s glory, and pursuing that godliness and glory with relentless, often unnoticed, plodding consistency. Until we are content with being one of the million nameless, faceless church members and not the next globe-trotting rock star, we aren’t ready to be a part of the church.”

When Jesus ascended to heaven, he didn’t leave one – he left many, he left the church to continue his work, he asked us to be faithful – are we being faithful or are we trying to look faithful?

And here's why it's all worth it...

Something Personal

This is a break in our regularly scheduled programming...

Today, I want to talk about being a working mom. I suppose I can talk broadly about being a working parent and I'm sure much of what I have to say is applicable to both moms and dads, but I will also own "working mom" as my primary perspective and not generalize about how the guys probably feel. (you know you're in trouble when a blog post requires this much prep)

Anyway, being a working mom is not new for me. I have been a working mom since Jacob was 6 weeks old. In fact, I came back to work at 6 weeks because it was Holy Week and I couldn't imagine not being at church for the most important build-up to the biggest celebration of the year, which is obviously Easter. Now, let me be honest, while that was true and I had planned long before having Jake to be back that week, I didn't go back crying and weeping to leave my baby boy at home. I went back to work ecstatic to get out of the house, eager to be around adults and have a schedule and go to meetings and eat lunch instead of being lunch (okay, maybe that's too personal, but I'm being real here).

I wanted to work. I love what I do and I wake up every morning eager to do it. This isn't the right decision for everyone and I'm not writing this in any way to advocate for working moms over stay-at-home moms. This was and is the right decision for me and my family for right now.

That said, being a working mom gets harder all the time. I love Jake so much and he is growing so quickly and I don't want to miss anything. He is at an awesome stage of talking and learning and I even have trouble resisting the constant gleam of mischief in his eyes. It's also getting harder because Jacob is old enough to go to preschool two mornings a week and take swim lessons and do so much more. I want him to do all of those things, but that means balancing my job, Clark's job, Jake's activities, laundry, groceries, cooking, cleaning and so much more.

I know I'm not saying anything here that hasn't been said a thousand times by a thousand different people, but being a working mom is hard. I constantly feel as though I'm not doing anything in my life as well as I should or could. When I'm at work, I'm thinking about home. When I'm at home, I'm thinking about work. And often, my husband bears the brunt of my stressed out and harried existence - and yes, you guessed it, that means I now feel guilty about a third area of my life where I'm not doing nearly as well as I would like - the wife category.

And so, to update you on the tally, I'm now a less-than-perfect pastor, a less-than-perfect mom and a less-than-perfect wife - if I weren't somewhat of an optimist, that sentence would read "I'm a slightly-above-failing pastor, a slightly-above-failing mom and a slightly-above failing wife." And I haven't even mentioned yet how awesome I'm not doing at being a child of God and a follower of Jesus Christ.

Anybody feel me out there? Can I get a witness?

Here's the thing - we were lied to when we were told we could have it all. We bought into the lie when we decided we could have our cake and eat it too and then decided to ask for seconds.

So, where's the give? Awhile back, Andy Stanley wrote a book called "Choosing to Cheat" where he talks about this very dilemma. He says that there's a reality that we're going to have to cheat somewhere and when we do, we need to cheat in favor of our God and our families. I'm in a season of my life where I need to pick up the book again, and for those of you feeling the same way maybe you should to (if you can find the time).

We've built up expectations in our life of how we're supposed to be perfect at everything. Let me ruin the dream - it isn't going to happen. At some point, we have to decide what's important and where to draw some lines. And then we have to walk a grace-filled life. We need to receive grace and we need to give grace.

I don't have many answers - I'm a work in progress, but here's a prayer from one working mom to others who may need to use it today (it's short cause I know y'all don't have time :)

"Jesus, give me grace today for every time I've fallen short. Give me eyes to see the things I can do better and give me wisdom to see the things I need to let go. Show me Your way. Amen."

After the Message

Profiles of the Obscure: Epaphroditus

Kindergarten report card – what was your mark for “works well with others?”

In school the ‘others’ were classmates; in adulthood, the ‘others’ are co-workers, spouses and neighbors and dare we say, fellow church members

Are co-workers the people we compete with for the next promotion, people we gossip about, people we gossip with (usually about our boss and other co-workers) or are they people with a shared mission, a shared goal whom we work with and depend on?

Epaphroditus – Philippians 2:25-30 and 4:18

Paul calls him his co-worker – he came and worked alongside Paul, caring not about his own recognition, but focused on a shared mission and goal.

Do we depend on each other or do we put up with each other?

Work, Marriage, Church

John 17:20-23 – Jesus prayed for us to live in complete unity so that the world would know God’s love

I Need a Place to Hide

I'm talking about the kind of place where I'm not going to run into anyone I know, the kind of place where no one is around so if I need to lay on my face in prayer, I can. If I need to pace or dance or play my music really loudly, I can. If I need to sing, no one else has to hear me. If I need to talk out loud to myself or to God, I can.

This feeling of needing to hide pops up more frequently these days. I suppose some of that has to do with parenthood - as any parent will tell you, there's no hiding with kids in the house. Even your morning shower is open to interruption once they're big enough to open doors on their own. I suppose another contributing factor is the heat of summer. When the weather is cooler, I like to work outside in parks and other places where you can find spots to be alone. Then, there's the leadership factor, i.e. the fact that there are always decisions to be made and almost never enough time to put the amount of thought, consideration and prayer the decision needs. E-mails come in, I hit reply. Situations happen, I react.

But let's be honest, the big reason I think the feeling comes with more frequency is self-imposed. I've chosen to roll with our culture and live in a way that opens and invites interruption 24/7. If someone sends me a message on facebook, my phone lights up. If I get a text it sounds an alert, and if I don't get it right away it sends another alert 5 minutes later. People know the church phone is my cell phone so if they don't get a call back quickly, they know it's not because I didn't get the message or at least see the missed call. So there's the guilt, the expectation and the constant contact. Most of the time, I thrive on this interaction. Sometimes, I need to hide.

I'm not meaning to complain. I sound like I'm complaining. Maybe I am complaining a little. But, what I'm trying to say is that I need a place to hide. I need some habits in my life to help me disconnect and get quiet enough to hear God. It might be a place, but it just as easily may be a discipline.

Any suggestions? How do you disconnect? Where do you go to rest?

Talking, Talking, Talking

I make a lot of mistakes, every day. Most of them have to do with opening my mouth too much and too soon. The Bible verse I struggle with most is James 1:19 where we're told to be slow to speak. I'm quick to speak. In fact, I'm fast to speak. I'm the fastest. If there were an Olympic gold medal to be had for opening your mouth quicker than everyone else, I would win it.

I do try. In fact, as a kid I use to pray that God would make me one of those quiet people that everyone likes who doesn't speak much but when they do everyone listens because they know it will be worth it. This wasn't just an occasional prayer. In junior high, every time we took communion and prayed at the altar, I would pray this prayer. Yes, I know there are much more important things to pray about, but in my junior high mind being likable topped the list.

I don't think there is such a thing as an unanswered prayer (despite Garth Brooks song). I think sometimes the answer is simply "no," or "wait," or "be patient." I've learned in years since that God most likely chuckled to Himself as I prayed those prayers, thinking "just wait to see what I'll do with your propensity to speak." I do believe God made me a talker and I do believe God is using my gift of gab for His glory and for His kingdom...just not all the time. Being called to speak does not equal being called to speak always.

And so I continue to pray for the patience and obedience to be slow to speak - not so that everyone likes me, I've given up on that. Rather, I pray that God will make me slow to speak so that I take time to listen to Him. I pray God will make me slow to speak so that I can hear what He's saying through the people around me. I pray God will make me slow to speak so I don't talk over Him as He's speaking into someone else's life.

I also pray that whenever I do speak it would be God-honoring, honest, sincere, gentle and in love.

How about you? Have you listened to God today or just talked to Him? Make time for both.

"God is Still on the Throne"

Two years ago I was at a conference where Dave Ramsey made 10,000 people, including myself, stand and repeat those words. The economy was just starting to go downhill in a way people were feeling at home and Ramsey's message was one of faith and encouragement to remind us that nothing about our faith and our hope and our foundation has changed or been shaken.

I was reminded of those words this morning as I talked with several people, some looking for jobs, others fighting with teenagers and others trying to make difficult decisions.

It's so easy to feel defeated, let frustration win the day or allow stress to dominate our lifestyle, but truth is truth - God is still on the throne!

Our hope in this life and the next is sure in Jesus Christ and that's more security than anything in this world can ever give.

My two cents...

So, I would like to be the 1,000th person to blog/comment about author Anne Rice's recent departure from Christianity - you can read more about it here. If you're interested in comments from others that I appreciated you can check them out here and here.

In truth I don't want to talk about her decision specifically because, I'll be honest, I've never read any of her books and I didn't know anything about her other than her name before the recent news. So it's hardly in my place to comment on her life, her history and her motives. However, her departure and the attention it has received brings up an interesting point: It's in to bash Christianity, especially among people who call themselves followers of Christ. I've done it, I've supported those who've done it and I understand it completely.

As Christians, we've too often settled for being cultural Christians who take Jesus as a vaccine in order to avoid infection as people whose entire lives are changed and impassioned in a way that makes no logical, earthly sense. We've settled for wearing the t-shirts and putting fish on our cars instead of radically selling out in the name and for the sake of Jesus Christ. Brennan Manning said it well when he said, "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world finds unbelievable."

As a result of our sinful, selfish, judgmental living, we've given Christianity a bad name. And so, we have two options: ditch the name and separate ourselves from its failures; or fight hard to redeem it with faithful living.

The first option is obviously easier and I don't want to readily dismiss it. I was at a conference a few years ago where Andy Stanley, one of my pastor heroes, was speaking and he was asked a question about how to go about taking a traditional church stuck in some old ways and mindsets to a place of renewal and relevance. He said, "I don't know, I wouldn't be the one to do it." He went on to explain that while he didn't dismiss the work as necessary he would rather spend his time starting something new that has the opportunity to do so much more in a shorter time than spending years fighting for inches forward. I resonated with his response that day - might explain some of why I'm a church planter today.

The word Christian is not used in Scripture. So, it's tempting and maybe even useful to ditch the ill-fated, misperceived, confused, beaten-up moniker and move on.

On the other hand, if we just change names and don't fight the cultural Christianity that got us here, what have we really done? In other words, you can change the name, but it doesn't change the behavior. We could unanimously ditch the word "Christian" today and probably by tomorrow "Christ-follower" would be a bad word because all the former "Christians" would have adopted it.

For better or worse, when Jesus ascended to heaven, he asked us - the Church - to be His hands and feet in this world. Crazy, right? He asked us - a bunch of imperfect, sinful people to be His living, breathing letter of recommendation. We've messed it up - again and again and again - and yet God still calls us. It's a high calling and an almost impossible task, but who are we to question the living God? We have a lot of work to do to redeem a name we have dragged through the mud more times than we can count with judgmental and hypocritical living.

Good news - Jesus said He would help us. He said He would even send a helper, His Spirit to live in us and work through us. Maybe we should start leaning on that, throw away our safety nets and get dirty reclaiming the Church, whatever you want to call the people composing it. After all, Jesus called the Church His bride and died for it - it's worth our every effort.

After the Message

Yesterday we started our series on Profiles of the Obscure. We're taking it back old-school and learning about some of the people in the Bible we may have never heard about or talked about before. Highlight - getting everyone in the mood by singing "Father Abraham" with the motions - so wish I had that on film!

Our profile subject was Boaz whose story is found in the book of Ruth. He was the "kinsman-redeemer" who married Ruth and, through their son, continued the family line of her dead husband. Perhaps the most incredible thing about Boaz is not that he simply stood by his family and did what was right, but he went out of his way to do so. Ruth was not an Israelite - she didn't look right or talk right. She didn't know how to pray or how to worship. She was a foreigner, a member of a hated enemy of Israel. Yet Boaz redeemed her and welcomed her to the table. He praised her for her loyalty and her decision to follow the one true God.

Jesus did the same for us. He took us in - sinful, selfish, bruised and road weary - and gave us a new name. He redeemed us - bought us at a price.

What's your story of redemption? Have you shared it? Have you passed it on to someone else who needs to know they have a seat at the table and a Savior who wants to give them a new name and a new story?